Seeing Ning Yuan clutching her forehead and wincing in pain, Old Tang frowned and said, "Why do you hit the child so easily!"
Grandma Xia sneered, "Jade must be carved to become a useful object, and a person must be disciplined to become a useful person. When I was in school, the teacher would hit my palm with a ruler!"
Old Tang was not going to back down this time. He pushed up his glasses and said, "You're someone who studied abroad, how can you still believe in this rubbish? Besides, Xiaoyuan is my student, and I didn't even hit her!"
Grandma Xia glared at him angrily: "Fine, fine, every time it involves your students, you go against me. Haven't you suffered enough? I can't be bothered with you anymore!"
With that, the old lady cleared away the dishes and went out to wash them.
Old Tang was always henpecked, but Ning Yuan was surprised to find that Grandma Xia didn't yell or curse at her this time.
She looked at Grandpa Tang with some concern: "Grandpa Tang..."
"It's alright, that's just how she is. At my age, I guess you're the last one I can take in," Old Tang shook his head.
He looked at Ning Yuan gently: "If you're not afraid of getting involved with someone like me who's been sent down for reform, I'll definitely teach you a lesson."
Ning Yuan's eyes reddened, and she nodded frantically: "I'm willing, as long as Grandpa Tang... no, as long as you, Teacher, don't dislike me!"
That's wonderful! She never imagined she would have the opportunity to be taught by a professor from a top university!
When Grandpa Tang heard her call him "teacher," his eyes showed a complex and weary expression. He sighed and said, "You should still call me Grandpa Tang. Calling me 'teacher' will not have a good influence on you if people hear it."
“I’m not afraid!” Ning Yuan shook her head.
“You’re not afraid, he’s afraid of people calling him ‘teacher.’ Those heartless students he used to teach mistreated him the most!” Grandma Xia’s voice drifted in from outside the door.
Ning Yuan was taken aback. Looking at Grandpa Tang's uncomfortable and gloomy appearance, it was clear that he had been touched on a sore spot.
She earnestly changed her form of address: "Grandpa Tang, I'm sticking with you from now on. Don't think I'm bad at my studies or stupid. I've never even studied English, and I've almost forgotten my pinyin, but I want to go to university."
The national college entrance examination was reinstated last October. She planned to take the exam in the next two years, and if she failed in one year, she would repeat the year and take the exam again!
Old Tang smiled with relief: "Good child, it's alright. Although you're clumsy and stupid, I'm sick and can't get out of bed anyway, so I have plenty of time."
Ning Yuan: "Okay..."
She was so clumsy and stupid that she wasn't comforted by Old Tang, no wonder Old Tang and Grandma Xia were able to get married.
They've got quite a sharp tongue.
Then, Old Tang reached under his straw mat and muttered, "Since I've taken you in, I should at least give you a small gift. I don't have much to give you here..."
Ning Yuan quickly stood up to stop her, saying, "I can't accept your things."
Then, the next moment, Ning Yuan saw nearly ten worksheets, each the size of a notebook, in Tang Lao's hand—
"This set of test papers is a mock test I gave you these past few days. Consider it a little gift. Finish it before you go back."
Ning Yuan: "This... is quite abrupt."
What happened?
She had just agreed to be a student, and immediately received a placement test as a "welcome gift"?! But she hadn't prepared for it at all!
Under Mr. Tang's expectant gaze, she still nervously accepted the test paper—although the workbook was not big, there were a full ten pages!
Damn it! I should have said I'd go back and think about it!
She finally understood how high school students felt when they received "Three Years of College Entrance Examination and Five Years of Simulation" or "Huanggang Secret Papers" as gifts.
Old Tang took out a worn-out pocket watch with a patina, opened it, and said solemnly, "The exam will last two hours. Now, the exam begins."
Ning Yuan felt her silence had dried up, and resignedly took out her pen to begin the exam by the light of a kerosene lamp.
Time passed by, and Ning Yuan gradually immersed herself in the exam, but the more she wrote, the more anxious she became.
For half of the two hours, she was scratching her head and racking her brains.
When Mr. Tang's gentle gaze was fixed on her during the exam, it was intense and stern, making her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Two hours later, she nervously handed in her paper.
Old Tang frowned and began to grade her: "Chinese 71, Math 24, Politics 58, History 69, Geography 55, Physics 31, Chemistry 37, English 12..."
Ning Yuan lowered her head further and further as she listened, feeling ashamed of being a poor student, wishing she could crawl under the table.
Last year, when the college entrance examination was reinstated, more than 5.7 million students took the exam, and 273,000 were admitted. Her level is truly...
Old Tang sighed: "Overall, your Chinese is okay, and your scores in other humanities subjects like history and geography are relatively higher than your scores in physics and chemistry, but your English score is only 12."
Ning Yuan said very softly, "I...I've only learned the alphabet, and I know a few greetings like 'Hello,' 'How are you...'"
I learned this from taking care of my child and listening to them learn English. Fortunately, in the 1970s and 80s, when the college entrance examination was first reinstated, English was not tested.
"Although the college entrance examination no longer tests English, many advanced documents and materials are in English, so you still need to study hard," Old Tang said earnestly.
Ning Yuan nodded vigorously: "I will definitely try my best!"
Mr. Tang must be very good at English now that he's studied abroad!
Seeing that she was receptive to his advice, Mr. Tang continued to frown and analyze: "But your science subjects are generally weaker than your humanities subjects. If you want to study medicine, you have to study science. But if you want to study economics, you can study humanities. The economics department accepts both science and humanities students."
Ning Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said dejectedly, "I'm really bad at science. I've never been good at it since I was little. I used to get a perfect score in Chinese, but as for other science subjects... my teacher said I just don't have the knack for science."
Old Tang adjusted his glasses and rebuked him righteously: "How can a teacher talk to students like that? I think it's because you're a bad teacher that you can't teach students well!"
Seeing Tang Lao's confident expression, Ning Yuan gave a dry laugh and said, "Okay."
Later, when Mr. Tang encountered major setbacks in educating her, he probably came to understand that some people are simply not born with "talent."
"In short, I will tutor you in all subjects, both arts and sciences, so that you can develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and practically, and get into Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, or Shanghai Jiao Tong Universities, becoming a talent that our country needs!"
Old Tang clenched his fist, and his originally aged eyes now shone with excitement behind his broken glasses, as if he had found his ultimate goal in life again.
Ning Yuan felt like crying, and clapped her hands vigorously with a numb expression: "Ah... haha... what a great ambition!"
It seems Grandpa Tang is going to "chicken her up"—a practice commonly known as "tiger parenting."
Calabash Brothers, Calabash Brothers, seven brothers on one vine, but she is the only one, so Grandpa can only "chicken" her.
Hopefully, Mr. Tang won't lose heart because of her academic struggles.
"Alright, come over after work tomorrow, and I'll explain the questions to you and help you make a study plan!" Old Tang slammed his hand on the table and made his decision.
Ning Yuan: "...Okay."
Mr. Tang, your excitement is frightening me...
But you have to finish the path you've chosen, even if you have to crawl on your knees.
Ning Yuan understood that from this moment on—
She was about to begin a life of working during the day, studying at night, getting up earlier than the chickens, and going to bed later than the dogs, a life of constant toil and exhaustion.
She dragged her half-dead body out the door, and after taking only a few steps, she saw Grandma Xia coming over with a washbasin in her arms.
"Grandma," Ning Yuan called out, raising her hand.
Grandma Xia snorted and ignored her.
Ning Yuan smiled helplessly, turned around and continued walking.
But after taking only a few steps, the old woman suddenly rushed in front of her and shoved something into her hand: "Take this, lest you fall and die on the way, making this old man heartbroken for nothing."
Ning Yuan was taken aback. She looked down and saw a flashlight in her hand. It was a military-style flashlight, which Rong Zhaonan had given them.
She smiled and said, "Thank you, Grandma."
"Get lost, who's your grandma?" Grandma Xia said haughtily, raising her head.
But when she looked up, the old lady saw her weak and pale face. She stared at Ning Yuan for a while and asked, "Why are you so weak?"
Ning Yuan: "Oh..."
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