Chapter 36 036 Further Education, Promotion, and Buying a House
Limited by outdated testing equipment, it took the experts three years to basically determine the detailed characteristics of several plants and animals that frequently appear on the dinner table in this area.
Currently, domestic grain reserves are still insufficient. After confirming that these foods are safe to eat and will not cause any uncontrollable ecological problems, experts submitted a report to prepare for the nationwide promotion of these species.
During this period, Song Xiaoli skipped grades several times. After her younger brother turned four, she directly took the high school entrance exam and was admitted to a key provincial high school with the highest score.
But this also means that she will have to leave home alone and go to boarding school at high school.
After learning of Song Xiaoli's choice, her younger cousin became sullen as soon as the holidays began. Even though he didn't slack off at school under Song Xiaoli's supervision and his grades were among the best, he skipped a grade once and barely managed to take the high school entrance exam at the same time as her, but he only got into the high school in the county town.
He was better than most other students, after all, he got in with one of the top scores, but he was a little short of getting into a provincial key school.
Song Xiaoli was the only one in the whole town who passed the exam.
"It's all my fault for being stupid," he said, hanging his head and looking dejected. "Otherwise, I could have gone to the city with Xiaoli."
The rest of the family was also worried. "Xiao Li just turned twelve. She didn't live on campus when she was in junior high school. Can she manage to go all the way there by herself? Sega's university is in another province, so they can't take care of her."
In particular, she is too young. Nowadays, people generally start school later, and most high school students are over sixteen years old. With such a age difference, it will probably be difficult for her to make friends.
The provincial key educational resources are definitely better, but the problem is that they are too far away. If something happens, it takes a long time to call the brigade and arrange for someone from home to go.
"How about you don't go there, Xiao Li? Go to high school in the county town with your brother instead?" Grandpa asked.
Song Xiaoli frowned. She wanted to make a greater impact on the world as soon as possible, so she couldn't confine herself to a small place; she had to go out and explore.
Going to Huilin City now is nothing; in the future, she might even have to go abroad.
But she really loves her family and doesn't want them to worry about her, so she's having trouble making a decision.
Fortunately, there is still a lot of good news this summer.
The family members worked diligently and achieved remarkable results. My second uncle, Song Dianwu, was transferred to the county as a brigade commander two years ago. This year, he will be promoted again to become a detachment commander in Huilin City. The detachment is just a transitional position. The criminal investigation brigade commander will retire soon, and Song Dianwu will take over the position.
And then there are Mom and Dad. They are both teachers with formal positions. They have achieved excellent teaching results in recent years and have won several awards. So, considering that they are a married couple, the school in the city simply took them both with them.
The primary and junior high schools were very close to each other. Originally, it was an affiliated school of an automobile factory. Initially, it was a nursery (preschool), primary school, and junior high school all connected directly. Later, the automobile factory moved away, and these schools became fully public schools, open to the public for enrollment. A high school was also added nearby. Many families in that area sent their children to study there. It wasn't a particularly prestigious school, but the atmosphere was quite good. The children, their parents, and the teachers all knew each other. Most of them would urge their children to finish junior high school, and a very small number would continue to high school to go on to university or junior college.
"My second uncle, dad, and mom have all been transferred to Huilin City, so I'll go to high school in the city instead." Song Xiaoli made the decision easily this time.
My younger cousin, however, was very unhappy.
After discussing it, the family decided to spend some money and ask someone to find connections to send Song Shiyi to study there as a temporary student.
It just means paying a lot more in tuition fees.
"Should we send my younger cousin to study at a different university?" Song Xiaoli frowned. Her uncle and aunt were farmers with limited resources, and her older cousin was studying at a university away from home. His living expenses and tuition fees were already quite high. If they had to pay an additional fee for him to study at a different university, it would be a huge burden on the family.
They may not be very good at making money, but they value their children's future very much. They are willing to endure hardship for a few years, but once their two sons have made something of themselves, life will be much better.
That makes sense, and the maternal grandparents both expressed their support. "We, the two of us, still have some savings, and we'll pay for the tuition. This concerns Shiyi's entire life. The tuition is only a few hundred yuan per semester, so it might be a little over two thousand yuan for three years. We can afford that."
Song Shiyi was not as worry-free as his brother Song Shijia. Song Shijia relied entirely on his self-discipline and talent to get into a good university in another province. He received scholarships every year, served as the student council president, and participated in an invention and creation interest group. He even won a gold medal in some competition. Before he even graduated, several large companies contacted him, wanting to secure him a job early. They planned to manipulate things behind the scenes so he could get a direct job at these companies, ensuring a bright future for him. He didn't need his family to plan for him.
As for Song Shiyi, he's a little less academically gifted, but he's not stupid either. With his genius younger sister leading the way, he has to work hard to keep up, and he's currently considered the "model child" by everyone. But once Song Xiaoli is no longer there to guide him, it's hard to say whether he'll go astray on his own.
In his past life, didn't Song Shiyi become a petty hoodlum early on?
Song Xiaoli frowned, "Then I'd better keep a close eye on Xiao Ge."
Coincidentally, she had already planned to step up her efforts in high school.
In previous years, the enrollment of students in the town's primary and junior high schools was too limited. Many students had to go back to do farm work from time to time and could not concentrate on their studies. There were not enough people or enough time for them to come and follow her arrangements to carry out scientific research activities together.
Things changed after that. When she got to a key provincial high school, there were many students who were aiming to get into university, and there were also many smart students. She was able to gather a large group of friends and quickly produce research results with significant impact.
As for my younger cousin, I'll definitely drag him along and find him more things to do so that he can focus all his brainpower on his research and won't have the energy to think about anything else.
Once they both get into university, which is a microcosm of society with a high concentration of highly educated individuals, even if her younger cousin doesn't attend the same university, he can maintain at least a passing grade in a very supportive learning environment. After graduation, they'll both be adults and won't easily change their ways. They can either follow the school's assignment and work in the local area, or they can catch the wave of reform and opening up and try starting their own business. Both options are more promising than being a petty hoodlum.
To be honest, Song Shiyi was too lively, had an outgoing personality, and couldn't sit still, so he wasn't really suited for academic pursuits, but he was intelligent.
Song Xiaoli touched her soft cheeks and decided that she should take advantage of her three years of high school to exploit her cousin's brainpower one last time. No one else is as obedient as her brother. He would do whatever she was asked to do and would not complain that the amount of calculations in a whole book of draft paper was too much or too complicated.
Sigh, without computers, it's so hard to work both physically and mentally...
The children are going to a top provincial high school, which is a great promotion for all three adults. It's a happy occasion, so naturally we have to celebrate.
The Song family, the Hu family, and the families of the two aunts—a total of four families—gathered at a large restaurant in town, where two large tables were set up for a feast. The children squeezed around the tables, fishing and picking at the food.
The Hu family is small, but they have saved a lot of money over the years without much expense. The whole family is planning to move to Huilin City, so they intend to buy a house there.
"Both Wanxia and I have stable jobs and no debt at home. Even if we use up all our savings, the pressure won't be too great. So, we plan to buy a bigger house within our means."
Hu Lixin, who rarely drinks today, had a few drinks on his face. "I asked the principal's friend in Huilin City to help me find a house. There are four that are quite suitable. After we tidy up our house, we will go to Huilin City. We need to see all the houses in person. We adults will mainly look at whether they are comfortable to live in and whether they are convenient for commuting. Xiaoli and Yiming will also need to go and take a look. They will be living there permanently, so they need to like our new home."
The other three families exchanged glances and sighed softly, "What about your houses here in the commune?"
“It’s empty. I’ll ask the brigade leader’s family to help look after it. They give me thirty yuan a year, and I’ll still come back for holidays.” Song Wanxia answered quickly.
Most of their relatives and friends live here, so they definitely have to keep the old house.
Song Dianwu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are houses easy to buy in the city? How much do they typically cost?"
"We asked people to find them. They specifically requested detached houses with large yards. Some of these houses were gradually cleared of their original charges after the movement, and the properties were returned to their original owners, but they didn't really want to live there anymore. Others were houses that the owners wanted to sell in exchange for gold or other hard currency as they were preparing to go abroad."
"The four houses are in different locations and are also slightly different in size. It seems that two of them are damaged. The current quoted prices are as follows: the cheapest is 2,000 yuan, and the most expensive is a small yellow croaker."
Hu Lixin teaches junior high school, including important math classes, and occasionally science as well. His salary at the town's middle school is a little over seventy yuan. Song Wanxia teaches elementary school Chinese. The school doesn't have many teachers, and she teaches from first to fifth grade, with a full schedule, so her salary isn't much lower than Hu Lixin's, at sixty-seven yuan. Holiday benefits are separate.
After I'm transferred to Huilin City, my salary will increase a bit, but I estimate it will only be five to ten yuan more.
Based on this wage standard, even the cheapest house costing 2,000 yuan would cost the couple more than a year's salary if they didn't eat or drink.
The place that sells a small yellow croaker, converted to cash, costs nearly 3,700 yuan, which is more than two years' salary...
It's really not cheap.
Everyone gasped in shock.
“Why don’t you stay in the school’s dorms for now? In a few years, it will be your turn to be allocated a house,” my aunt’s brother couldn’t help but suggest. “You don’t have to pay for the house allocation, or you can just give a few hundred yuan as a token. It’s better than spending several thousand yuan like this. How long would it take you to save up so much money?”
Hu Lixin shook his head. "There are many schools and teachers in the city. If housing is allocated, it will probably be difficult for outsiders like us who have been transferred here to get one within the next ten years."
“Xiao Li is twelve years old, and Yi Ming is four years old and will be starting elementary school soon. We can’t let them not have their own rooms. What would it look like if they squeezed into a small dormitory with us?”
People in the countryside have bigger houses, unlike city dwellers who are used to living in cramped conditions.
Anyway, the whole family is in good health, without any illnesses, and two of them have stable salaries. Buying a house won't cause their quality of life to deteriorate.
"Since you've already made up your minds, then go ahead and buy it."
“I see that quite a few people are going out to do small businesses now. The country is gradually loosening its control over this area. Once these people get rich, I guess they will be like those big capitalists in the past, opening big factories and hiring people to work. In the future, maybe those of us who toil in the fields will be the minority. Young people will be willing to work in factories outside and earn money. Where are there so many houses to allocate outside? Maybe in the future, we will all have to save money to buy houses ourselves.”
“If you find a suitable big house now, just buy it. Anyway, it’s money that you two saved up, so you don’t need to borrow any money.”
Song Xiaoli's eyes widened slightly. Good heavens, compared to most country folk, her grandfather's vision was far ahead of his time; he had completely guessed the future developments.
Taking this opportunity, she decided to provoke Song Dianwu, "Second Uncle, your salary is a little higher than my dad's, and Second Aunt also has a salary. You must have saved quite a bit of money, right? Why don't you buy a house too?"
My second uncle had this idea in mind, but he couldn't make a decision right away and was deep in thought. My second aunt, on the other hand, made a plan much faster and said enthusiastically, "After I received the news of Dianwu's transfer, I asked my dad to find someone to help me transfer my job to Huilin City as well. I'm willing to accept a lower salary. The whole family has to live together, and of course, the children should go there to study. My new workplace doesn't provide housing, only small dormitories. It seems that there are still many senior employees at Dianwu who haven't gotten their turn yet. I don't know how long we'll have to wait, so why not buy one too?"
"There are three of us in the family. We don't need to buy a big house. Neither set of parents will stay there permanently. We'll leave a guest room for the elderly, then my husband and I will have a room, our son will have a room, and there will be a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom... I estimate that a house of a little over 100 square meters will be enough."
The second uncle nodded, feeling that his family should be able to afford it and that it would be a good deal. "Alright, then I'll trouble you to introduce us."
After the agreement was reached, both sides actively prepared cash, and a few days later, they went to Huilin City and quickly settled on their preferred house.
Once the signing and registration were completed, Song Xiaoli's system notified her that the world line had changed again.
It seems that the homeowner who wanted the small yellow croaker successfully left the country after completing the transaction, causing quite a stir in the world.
"Originally, he couldn't sell the house and waited for a while before going abroad by ship. He died in a shipwreck at sea and didn't achieve anything. Now, by selling the house ahead of time, he can go abroad immediately and have a smooth journey. He will become a very powerful capitalist with a significant impact on the world."
As for the house on my second uncle's side, after the sale is completed, the owner will be completely transferred to another province due to work, deviating from the original timeline, and gradually affecting the people and things there.
Overall, these are all positive changes.
Song Xiaoli breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that after she came out, it became easier to create a "butterfly effect" in the world.
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