The old lady stepped aside to let the three of them in, then went over and opened the door to the tightly closed room. It felt slightly damp, as if the sun hadn't shone in a long time, but there wasn't much dust, and the bed was quite large. A simple cleaning would be enough to move in; it wasn't a big deal.
This was even better than Yu Caihong had imagined, and she made her decision immediately.
"Grandma, I want to stay here. How much will it cost? If possible, could you cook lunch and dinner for me for the next couple of days? It's too early in the morning, I can get up and cook something myself. I can charge you extra for that."
Yu Caihong asked sincerely that if meals were provided, it would save her a lot of trouble, and she could use the remaining time to study.
"I can provide you with lunch and dinner, but you'll have to eat whatever we eat; I won't cook anything extra for you."
The old lady was easy to talk to.
"Sure, I'm not a picky eater."
Yu Caihong nodded happily.
"Then I'll just charge you two yuan for these two days, accommodation and meals are included."
The old lady didn't ask for a high price; it was a very normal price, considering how many people were vying to rent it.
"Okay, thank you, Grandma."
Yu Caihong immediately took out two yuan and gave it all to the old lady. The two of them agreed on this, and Yu Jiu and Zhang Yan were happy for her. They followed her in and offered to help her clean the room, but Yu Caihong pushed them out.
"One of you just finished your postpartum confinement, and the other is pregnant. How can I let you help me clean the room? Hurry up and go home. I won't see you off. I'll rest here after I finish cleaning. I'll come back to find you after my exams. Don't worry, I'll do my best on the exams and I won't let you down!"
Yu Caihong said with high spirits, after all this trouble, she has calmed down and will no longer be upset. She is confident that tomorrow and the day after will go smoothly!
"Okay, then we won't stay here and keep you from getting any more attention. You should get ready and rest or study. I'm waiting for you to get into university so you can treat us to a meal."
Yu Jiu patted her shoulder with a smile, gave her a few words of advice, and then slowly walked towards the production team with Zhang Yan.
"If I hadn't had bad grades and had a child, I would also like to take the college entrance exam and go to university. Who wouldn't want to?"
Zhang Yan held Yu Jiu's hand, feeling somewhat wistful. If she had known about this earlier, perhaps she would have chosen not to have children. No, they had been married for several years, and not having children was not realistic, unless they hadn't gotten married at all, but that was so many years ago. Who could have imagined so much?
“Going to university isn’t necessarily the only way out. Rainbow is obsessed with studying and really wants to go to university and go back to the city. Do you want to go back to the city? What do you want to go to university for?”
Yu Jiu turned to look at her.
“I don’t want to go back to the city. It’s actually quite nice in the countryside. My son is very good to me, and his parents are also very good to me. I have two sons now, and I’m quite content. It’s just that I have to work in the fields, which is not only tiring but also doesn’t earn much money. I want to go to university mainly so that I can find a job after graduation and earn money easily.”
Zhang Yan wants to go to university, partly to experience the wonderful university life, but more importantly, she wants to earn money. Right now, she doesn't have to work in the fields. Gouzi also says she can just stay home and take care of the children without having to work in the fields for work points. But how many children are there? Even if the family is doing well now, as the children grow up, the expenses will increase. How can she not work to earn money? Every extra person means extra strength.
"If you want to make money, there are many more opportunities. You don't necessarily have to go to university. Think about it, the college entrance examination has been reinstated now. Maybe there will be even bigger changes in the future. Let's just wait patiently. Things will get better and better. Don't think too much and worry unnecessarily."
Yu Jiu gave a subtle hint, indicating that Zhang Yan should relax.
"Yeah, we can still get by now, why think so much?"
Zhang Yan was just making a casual remark, and immediately returned to her cheerful demeanor. Anyway, she felt that her life was better than many people's, so there was no need to be so pretentious.
Two days passed smoothly, and Yu Caihong returned with her package in high spirits. Yu Jiu and Zhang Yan were already waiting for her at the educated youth settlement.
"How was it? I could tell from your expression that you did well on the test."
Yu Jiu teased her.
"Yes, I feel I performed very well. I got all the questions I knew right, and for the ones I didn't know, I just guessed. I think I guessed a few right too!"
Yu Caihong was all smiles, her mouth practically agape. She was most pleased that she hadn't made any mistakes due to carelessness.
"In that case, I congratulate you on getting into university. You'll be a college student now. Don't forget your good sisters from the poor countryside."
Zhang Yan teased her with a grin.
"Don't worry, I can't forget you guys even if I forget anyone else. If I really get into university, once I've saved up enough money, I'll invite you all to visit my university and have some fun!"
Yu Caihong put her arms around their shoulders and said with great enthusiasm.
"I'll remember what you said."
Yu Jiu also smiled and glanced at her sideways.
"Come on, dinner is ready. Let's go to my house for dinner tonight. An'an has been missing you for days. She even wanted to ask you what your college entrance exam paper looked like so she could take a look beforehand. She said she's going to college too."
Yu Jiu gestured to Yu Caihong to put the package back inside, and then followed her to her house for dinner.
"Good girl, you have ambition!"
Yu Caihong praised An'an for having such a goal at such a young age, and expressed her belief that she will be able to achieve it in the future.
After Rainbow put her things away, the group headed to Yu's Restaurant in high spirits. Gouzi was also at her place, so they could have a small get-together that night.
"The exams are over. Take a couple of days off. If you want to go home and visit your family, I'll have Xu Zijiang write you a letter of introduction. Go home and stay for a few days before coming back."
On the way, Yu Jiu brought up the matter of getting the certificate again. She was afraid that Yu Caihong would be embarrassed to say it, so she always brought it up herself. Yu Caihong was very touched by this and appreciated Yu Jiu's kindness.
She secretly vowed that she would repay Yu Jiu if she ever had the chance, because if Yu Jiu hadn't taken such good care of her, she didn't know if she could have survived that period, let alone mustered the energy to study ahead and take the college entrance examination.
"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony with you. I really do want to go home and see my mom again."
Having already troubled Yu Jiu so many times, one more time wouldn't make a difference. Yu Caihong didn't stand on ceremony with her, and the group returned to Yu Jiu's house in a lively atmosphere. As expected, Xu Zijiang and Gouzi had already prepared a table full of food, which was very plentiful, with meat, vegetables, wine, and even two fish that Xu Zijiang had caught in the river.
"You're back. Come and eat. The food is freshly made and smells delicious."
"Mom, I helped Dad pick vegetables too. Aren't I great?"
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