"Okay, okay, then we'll wait for you to come back next time, and we'll have a proper celebration." Zhou Mingyuan was quite pleased with his son-in-law's flattery and happily agreed.
And so, the three of them left the bureau building without even having lunch. They just bought some fried dough twists and bread at a store and hurriedly returned to the Sen Railway Station.
The motorcycle driver hadn't eaten either, so Sheng Xiping quickly shared his food with everyone, and they all just grabbed a bite in the truck.
Then, following the arrangements of the forest railway dispatcher, the train started on time and headed back.
When the three returned to the forest farm, almost the entire Qianchuan Forest Farm, along with the neighboring Dajianchang Village, knew that the Sheng family had produced two college students.
Liu Changde brought his wife and son, along with a lot of gifts, to offer his congratulations. At the forest farm, Sheng Xiping's group of friends were still on the mountain and hadn't returned, but their families had also sent people over.
The Sheng family was all there, chatting and laughing, making it incredibly lively.
As soon as Sheng Xiping and his family entered the house, everyone swarmed around Sheng Xi'an and Zhou Qinglan, offering their congratulations in a flurry of voices.
Zhou Qinglan was a bit better off; she was at school and dealt with students all day, so she wasn't intimidated by this kind of situation.
Sheng Xi'an is quiet and doesn't like to talk or interact with people. Now that he's surrounded by a group of people, he's at a loss for words.
"Thank you all for your blessings, ladies and aunties."
"Well, in a few days, after my second son and my wife have completed all the paperwork for his school enrollment, we'll host a small banquet and invite all our relatives and friends from the forest farm over for a lively gathering."
Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping quickly spoke up to help his wife and brother out of the predicament.
The group was initially clamoring to see the admission notice, but Sheng Xiping, worried that someone might accidentally tear it, didn't let Zhou Qinglan and the others take it out. He simply said that they had used it to obtain a certificate from the farm department and didn't have it on them.
Upon hearing this, the people finally gave up. It was getting late, and it was time to prepare dinner, so they took their leave one after another.
“Master, Mistress, why don’t you stay and have a bite to eat? I’ll have a drink with you and my two older brothers tonight.”
Liu Changde's family was also leaving, but Sheng Xiping quickly tried to persuade them to stay.
"No, no, it's getting late. The kids at home are probably making a ruckus, and your sister-in-law can't keep an eye on them."
If we don't go back, they might not even get dinner. We'll come over another day, when you're having a banquet."
Qin Qiuyan quickly waved her hand, saying that the Sheng family must be very busy these days with many visitors, and they would be too embarrassed to stay and disturb them.
Sheng Xiping tried to persuade them to stay but to no avail, so he could only follow the Liu family out and see them off at the gate.
Liu Changde pulled Sheng Xiping aside and whispered, "Xiping, your wife has been admitted to university. How many years will she study there?"
If you two are always living apart, it's not a good thing, is it?
Also, won't she be assigned a job after graduation? Where will she be assigned? What if she's assigned to a place far away? Can you go with her?
Liu Changde didn't understand these things very well. He was just concerned about his apprentice and worried that Sheng Xiping would be so focused on supporting Zhou Qinglan's studies that he would end up with nothing.
“Master, Qinglan has been admitted to a key undergraduate university, and she will have to study in the provincial capital for four years.”
After she graduates, she will most likely be assigned to our Forestry Bureau. There aren't many teachers in the Forestry Bureau who graduated from a proper normal university, so we definitely can't let Qinglan go elsewhere.
Even if it's another forestry bureau, I can just transfer there. There's always a way, it's alright.
Sheng Xiping understood that Liu Changde meant well, so he patiently explained it to his master.
Liu Changde nodded. "Oh, that's good. As long as she can come back. I was afraid that once she went to study, she wouldn't come back."
Look at our village, there's that educated youth from the provincial capital who dated and married a girl from our village.
The child was already two or three years old. Then they said they were going back to the city to visit relatives, and they never came back.
“Master, Qinglan is different, don’t worry.” Sheng Xiping smiled upon hearing this and quickly comforted Liu Changde.
"Qinglan initially suggested not taking the exam, but I insisted that she take it."
Zhou Qinglan is a very sentimental person. She loves her children more than anything. With Xinhua and Xinyu in the Sheng family, Zhou Qinglan would never abandon them.
"Okay, that's good. As long as you two are doing well, I'm relieved. Well, you go ahead with your work, we're leaving now."
Liu Changde waved his hand, turned around and led his wife and son westward back to Dajianchang Village.
The news that Sheng Xi'an and Zhou Qinglan had been admitted to key universities spread not only to the forest farm but also to the workers stationed on the mountain.
Those whose families had children taking exams were incredibly envious.
The Sheng family suddenly produced two college graduates, and from top universities at that. What about their own family?
It's all bullshit. I wasted more than a month studying; it was all for nothing.
Children at home were immediately given a severe scolding by their mothers, and those working on the mountain were not spared either.
Most of the fathers work on the mountain, and some of them have short tempers. They will directly swing sticks and chase their own children all over the mountain to beat them.
In a short time, the Sheng family had attracted a great deal of hatred.
Of course, there were also those who disliked the Sheng family and would gossip about them behind their backs.
They said the Sheng family was just a bunch of rich fools, yet they dared to let Zhou Qinglan take the college entrance exam.
Now that's great, Zhou Qinglan has been admitted to university and will become a government official in the future. At that time, she'll kick Sheng Xiping, that lumberjack, to the curb.
Don't be fooled by the Sheng family's current arrogance; they'll have their day of reckoning.
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