Chapter 64 Chapter 64 (12 more) Just don’t get too tired…
"Is Zhao Zimo causing trouble again?" Zhao Zhanming frowned subconsciously.
"He's in his third year of junior high this semester. He's been practicing table tennis all summer and is going to a school tryout today. If he makes the cut, he can apply to high school as an athlete."
"What if the selection fails?"
Lu Qinghe frowned. "Let's think positively. Even if he fails, there's still another chance at the end of the year. But ever since I heard Zhao Zimo talk about this, I've felt like you weren't too happy about him becoming a sports student."
Zhao Zhanming was stunned and sighed, "Old Cheng wanted his child to have a stable life and a job, even if it meant learning auto repair or welding, or going into sports... I still don't quite agree with it, but since he's brought it up, let's give it a try. If it doesn't work out later, we can send him to a technical school."
In Zhao Zhanming's mind, pursuing a career in sports is essentially useless and will lead to unemployment in the future.
There is no such thing as students with sports specialties these days, but there are sports schools and sports teams at the provincial and municipal levels.
The coaches would directly select suitable talents from primary and secondary schools, and then send them to state-owned factories and military art troupes. Only then would they participate in large and medium-sized competitions and win honors for the team.
Going into sports means entering a cultural and sports-integrated college directly through sports programs. The results of the high school entrance examination are no longer important, and you don't even need to take the high school entrance examination.
After graduation, there is a chance that I will be selected as a teacher or join a factory or army.
But for Zhao Zhanming, this kind of work is not much different from just wasting time.
Lu Qinghe didn't think so. "That might not be the case. Maybe I can even win an award on behalf of the province in the future."
Even representing the country.
However, international sports events have not yet entered the country, so the wait is quite long, at least it will take 1980...
"It would be great if it were this way, it would be considered as making a name for itself."
Zhao Zhanming sighed, his eyes gentle, "Thank you for your hard work, Qinghe. I know you've been taking a lot of trouble for this child."
"Why are you saying that? We agreed before that we would treat all children equally. Zimo is the same as my child. This is nothing. Why are you being so polite?"
Zhao Zhanming laughed and turned around to cook when he saw Zhao Zimo just walking out of the bedroom.
The master bedroom door was open just now, so he could hear what was said just now.
Zhao Zhanming frowned, "What are you standing there for? Go wash your face and brush your teeth."
"……dad."
"What's wrong?"
"I'll show you something."
Zhao Zhanming was startled, then his expression became more gratified: "I'm glad you have this kind of determination. I'll wait and see."
-
Lu Qinghe didn't expect that there were so many students taking the table tennis sports selection. There were more than ten children from the military families' courtyard alone.
"As long as you pass the test given by the sports school teachers and rank in the top three in each event, there is basically an 80% chance that you will be directly admitted to the sports school at the end of the semester." Teacher Ning explained on behalf of the parents.
"If you don't pass, you'll have to wait for the selection at the beginning of next year. However, the selection at the beginning of next year won't be from a local sports school, so everyone should try their best to seize this opportunity."
Lu Qinghe watched Zhao Zimo tighten his racket beside him and patted his shoulder, "Relax a little, otherwise your movements will become tense."
"Um!"
"Aunt Lu." Zhao Zimo suddenly said, "What if...what if I don't make it into the top three?"
Lu Qinghe: "Then continue training next year. There will always be opportunities. Don't panic."
"no."
"I mean...if I don't make it into the top three this time, will Dad and you be disappointed? Before the summer vacation, I didn't understand why you made me train for the entire vacation. Now I understand. Aunt Lu, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Just remember, this is your own business. You're responsible for your choices. Your father and I want you to have good grades, but what we value more is the tenacity and perseverance you've cultivated before getting those grades. As long as you have that spirit, you'll achieve success in everything you do."
"Really?"
"Of course, when it comes to people and things, character is far more important than results. Enjoy the process of the game. Go ahead and don't be nervous."
Zhao Zimo looked at Lu Qinghe with suddenly more admiration in his eyes.
Aunt Lu probably thought the same way when she was studying. If she enjoyed the process of learning and improving, the result would become a natural thing.
He trained hard for two months under Aunt Lu's supervision, so no matter what, he shouldn't be too bad.
After thinking about this, Zhao Zimo actually relaxed a lot, and his steps became much more relaxed.
The first two groups of selection were relatively easy.
Lu Qinghe was so relaxed that he thought the opponent had never practiced before going on the court.
"Those who choose this profession are either talented, or they just sign up to try their luck and go to sports schools. Not many of them actually participate in training." Teacher Ning knew Lu Qinghe and came over to help her explain.
"Then wouldn't it be easy for Zhao Zimo and his group of a dozen people to get into the top three?"
"There are some who train seriously, and there are even children of physical education teachers, but it's not that difficult to get into the top three in table tennis. In comparison, sprinting is the most competitive."
"That's strange. The registration threshold for this one is indeed lower."
As they chatted, they learned that five people had been eliminated from the table tennis group, and in the sprinting group, there were still at least twenty people competing.
Lu Qinghe gradually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they competed two more times, they would basically have the result.
Although she doesn't know how to play table tennis, she has seen it a lot in modern times.
Compared with others, Zhao Zimo's movements were already considered professional. After easily winning one game after another, he also ushered in the final competition.
The girl fighting with Zhao Zimo was a short-haired girl. She was not tall, but she looked very relaxed.
Lu Qinghe looked at the way she held the ball and was a little surprised.
This girl actually holds the racket with her left hand.
Zhao Zimo took the teacup handed to him by Lu Qinghe and wiped the sweat from his hands. "Aunt Lu, you were absolutely right to let me participate in the training. I asked around, and many people just practiced at home and came here. The opponent I'm going to play against is a girl two years younger than me. I feel like I might win first place."
"Don't underestimate her. She's left-handed, so her style of play might be different from yours."
"It's okay, she's not even as tall as me."
"That's right." Teacher Ning came over and spoke earnestly, "That girl just moved to the Military Family Residence this year. Although she hasn't received any teacher training, I heard she's a talented athlete. After self-study, she was noticed by a teacher at the sports school and was called to participate in this selection."
"You hear me? Be careful."
"Oh, I see."
Although he had been reminded, Zhao Zimo still couldn't help but relax when he saw his thin and short opponent.
As a result, after several rounds, Zhao Zimo lost five balls in advance.
Considering the time issue, there was no halftime break in the match. Zhao Zimo was a little panicked and finally lost the game 11 to 3.
"There's still a chance."
After the scene, Lu Qinghe tried her best to comfort him.
"Um."
"If we can seize the next round, we can at least get third place."
"I understand. I underestimated my opponent just now." Zhao Zimo reflected deeply on himself and went on the court again after a half-hour break.
Zhao Zimo won the next two games, but because he lost once, he came in second. The first place went to the little girl named Ji Rong.
After filling in the application form with the teacher, Lu Qinghe prepared to go back with the somewhat depressed Zhao Zimo.
"Second place is great. I'll try harder next time."
Zhao Zimo hummed, then sighed: "It's all my fault for underestimating the enemy. Give me another chance, I will definitely win."
As he was speaking, Ji Rong also passed by the door.
"Hey, wait a minute."
Ji Rong turned around and asked, "Call me?"
"If not you, then who else?" Zhao Zimo ran over. "Hey, why are you holding the racket left-handed? How did you learn that?"
Ji Rong is thin, with a long face and distinct wrist bones. You can tell at a glance that she is a capable child, and she probably helps with a lot of housework.
Lu Qinghe walked over and patted Zhao Zimo on the head, "Can you please be more polite and talk to him nicely!"
Zhao Zimo scratched his head, "I'm just curious."
"If you're curious, ask nicely."
Lu Qinghe apologized for Zhao Zimo as he spoke. Ji Rong's frown finally relaxed as she said calmly, "I'm left-handed and can only use my left hand."
"Can the left hand be called talented?" Zhao Zimo widened his eyes.
Ji Rong looked over and said, "Why not? Even if I'm left-handed, I can still beat you 3-0."
“…”
Zhao Zimo gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not convinced. Let's make another appointment later."
"No appointment." Ji Rong turned and left.
Zhao Zimo chased after him again, "My attitude was not good just now, I apologize, but I just wanted to make an appointment to play ball with you again, is that not okay?"
"..." Ji Rong lowered her head and said after a moment: "I don't have time."
"Didn't you get picked by the sports school? You don't have to study, so why don't you have time?"
"I said I don't have time, I don't have time. You're so annoying. I'm leaving."
"Zimo." Lu Qinghe hurried over and grabbed Zhao Zimo's sleeve. "He might be in trouble. Sorry, Ji Rong, he's a little impatient. You should go home quickly."
"Um."
Seeing Ji Rong leave, Zhao Zimo lowered his head in frustration: "I never thought that I would lose to a kid younger than me in the end."
Lu Qinghe: "That's what they call there are always people better than you. Remember this lesson. Never underestimate your opponent in future competitions."
"I understand, Aunt Lu. This is a lesson learned!"
When Zhao Zhanming came back in the evening, he was very pleased to learn about Zhao Zimo's results.
"Second place is pretty good. I'm much happier than you who came in second to last."
Zhao Zimo chuckled: "Aunt Lu said that this is called specialization. I may not be well educated, but I am physically strong."
Zhao Zhanming looked at Lu Qinghe and said, "Have you read the high school textbooks? I don't remember asking you for high school books."
Lu Qinghe reacted and explained, "We borrowed books from the literacy class. Wang Ningyu and I are now taking separate classes. She focuses on math, and I focus on Chinese."
After thinking about it, Lu Qinghe simply gave Zhao Zhanming a heads-up, "I'm also planning to learn a foreign language."
"Foreign language?" Lu Yao's eyes widened. "Mom is amazing!"
Zhao Zhanming: "Foreign language? Russian? I know a little bit, and I can give you some advice later. But why did you suddenly think of learning a foreign language?"
"Don't we have a lot of children's picture books from Russia here? I'd like to learn a few simple ones, but it's just an idea. I'll finish my Chinese language studies first."
Zhao Zhanming: "I support you in whatever you learn, just don't get too tired."
"Yeah." Lu Qinghe said perfunctorily, changing the subject: "I met a kid I haven't seen at school today. His last name is Ji, Ji Rong. He said he just moved here this year. Have you heard of him?"
Zhao Zhanming thought for a moment, "Ji? I seem to have some impression of him. Where does he live?"
"It's definitely not here, but if someone moves into the small villa at the back, it will definitely make a lot of noise. I guess it's a building farther away."
"I remember now."
Zhao Zhanming frowned. "She's probably Battalion Commander Ji's daughter. She's not in the same regiment as me, but I heard about her at the commendation ceremony. Battalion Commander Ji unfortunately died last year, and his wife and children never accompanied him. After Battalion Commander Ji passed away, they figured life back home was tough, so they submitted a request to have her taken here."
"Her father died?" Zhao Zimo was a little surprised.
"Well, I've heard people mention that child. He's quite sensible. His mother seems to be ill, and she's been taking care of him back home."
Zhao Zimo was stunned for a moment, feeling a little annoyed and regretful: "I was so rude to her during the day and even asked her why she was busy. She must have been taking care of her mother."
Lu Qinghe thought for a moment and said, "You two should be in the same school, right?"
"She's in the first grade." Zhao Zimo said, "I asked my classmates about it this afternoon. I was thinking of training with her."
Lu Qinghe: "If you run into her at school, ask her again. If she doesn't want to, don't bother her anymore. Be polite, okay?"
"Yeah, I'm definitely polite!"
-
Retirement home for veteran cadres.
As the weather got colder, Ge Hongqing's condition gradually improved.
Ye Yulian went to her mother's house as usual to pick up her children from school. When she passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, she bought two kilograms of soybeans.
"My mom is always idle at home and must be thinking about random things. The fermented black beans she makes are delicious. Now that the weather is cooler, I'll make some soy sauce for cooking this year."
Ge Hongqing's mental state has improved a lot, but he sighs easily when he sees people, and he sighs about life while talking. He talks about his children's affairs with others every now and then. Ye Yulian and her daughter are glad that they did not tell Ge Hongqing about Zhao Zhanming at that time, otherwise it would be exposed.
Ge Hongqing took the soybeans and took a look at them. "This is not enough. I can grind it into tofu later. I already have soy sauce and fermented black beans. Your father is old and not as smart as he used to be. He relied on his old relationship with the cooperative and bought 30 kilograms of beans. Not only did he spend a lot of money, but he also gave him an industrial ticket. I feel so bad for him."
Ye Yulian was very surprised, "Why do you have so many?"
Ye Fuhua smiled cheerfully: "It doesn't matter if there are too many. We can share them when the time comes."
Ge Hongqing rolled his eyes. "What a waste of money! Who are we going to give it to? My family back home is almost dead, and I don't know anyone here."
Ye Yulian noticed something from her father's eyes. After thinking about it, she comforted Ge Hongqing to get beans, leaving her to talk to Ye Fuhua.
"Is it for Xiao Lu and the others?"
Ye Fuhua nodded. "That's right. He might not even remember it himself, but when he was little, his favorite dish was the tofu with fermented black bean sauce your mom made. Your mom's cooking skills are really good. Bring some over for him to try."
Ye Yulian nodded: "But isn't it a bit too much?"
"It's not much. Your mother and I will keep five pounds, and you can take ten pounds home. The rest can be given to Xiao Lu and his family. They have a large family and live in a military compound, surrounded by neighbors. It would be nice to share some as a favor. Besides, it's not just the fermented black beans that are being shared, but also the soy sauce. It can be stored in Huashi in cold weather, so they can eat it for a while."
Ye Yulian smiled, "You are very considerate of your brother."
"Alas, I owe him so much over the years. This little thing is really nothing."
"It's true that our house is quite far from that place. Otherwise, I would have taken you there last time when there was a movie on the playground. You might have been able to see it from afar."
Ye Fuhua waved his hand: "These days I don't dare to think about anything, just meet her."
"well."
"Let's not talk about that. I'll pack it up tomorrow and you can go deliver it. Find someone first and discuss how to deliver it. It's best not to mention that it's you who delivered it."
"clear."
After Ye Fuhua finished speaking, he looked at Ye Yulian again and asked, "Cheng Zhen, how are you two doing recently?"
"He's still the same, but after the last time, he's been much more obedient. I don't know if he's scared after being beaten. He hasn't gone out to play cards recently, and he only drank once, and he didn't make a fuss with me when he got home."
Ye Fuhua nodded: "That's how life is. As long as he knows he has changed, just make do with it. After all, you two still have a child. Just think of it as your child's."
As they were talking, Ge Hongqing came in. The father and daughter both shut up tacitly and talked about other topics.
Turning around, Ye Yulian went to find Lu Qinghe under the pretext of delivering medicine to the children in the military family compound.
The soy sauce sold by the supply and marketing cooperatives is a uniformly distributed product, and it can never be as delicious as the one made at home.
But Lu Qinghe couldn't make soy sauce by herself.
"Even if I wanted to learn, it's time-consuming and labor-intensive. It would take at least half a year. Besides, I don't have any connections with the rural cooperative, so I can't buy that much beans. If I don't make enough, it would be a waste of effort."
Ye Yulian nodded: "I think so too. It's just that the old couple are idle at home, and only those with time and experience can do these things."
Lu Qinghe thanked him and thought for a moment, "Well, I'll get someone to bring it back tomorrow evening."
"become."
The next day, after discussing with Zhao Zhanming, he found Xiao Li and used the excuse of picking up the mountain products sent by his mother's family. He borrowed a military vehicle and went to the staff quarters of the Third Line Factory.
Thanks to the presence of Liu Yanru at the Third Line Factory, Lu Qinghe simply said that someone from Lu Qinghe's in-laws came to help deliver the food, and only then was she able to bring home twenty kilograms of dried fermented black beans and soy sauce.
Lu Qinghe also knew what was going on, so before leaving, he stuffed four kilograms of meat coupons and twenty kilograms of grain coupons into Ye Yulian's pocket. Ye Yulian wanted to refuse, but Lu Qinghe just said that they were for the old couple, and turned around and went back to the military family compound with Xiao Li.
When they got home, in addition to filling two bottles for Xiao Li, Lu Qinghe first called a few familiar households and asked each of them to fill two bottles and take them back.
The next morning, he specially packed two kilograms of soy sauce and two kilograms of dried fermented black beans and sent them to Mrs. Wei's house.
"In previous years, my sister-in-law took me to buy furs, but I never thought of how to thank your family. These were sent by my family back home, and they taste better than those bought outside."
Fermented black beans are rare, and homemade soy sauce tastes better. After seeing it, Wei Xiuhua accepted it without hesitation.
"That's very polite, Qinghe, thank you."
"We don't talk about this in our family."
Mrs. Wei is better informed than anyone else, and her teacher Meng also takes good care of Zhao Zhanming. It is always good to have more contact with him on a daily basis.
September passed in a flash.
Zhao Zimo spends half of his time in class and the other half in physical training.
The remaining three children adapted well to primary school, especially Lu Yao, who even won the title of model student for the "Four Pests Eradicator" competition.
"Aunt Lu——"
Early this weekend morning, Meng Bin came knocking on the door.
Lu Qinghe: "Looking for Lu Yao and the others? Wait for me to call them."
"No, Aunt Lu, it's my mom who's looking for you."
"What's going on?"
Meng Bin: "She said she wanted some suet. If you do, go find her in the back and don't tell anyone else."
Lu Qinghe had an idea in mind, so he settled the affairs at home and hurried to the back to find Wei Xiuhua.
"Sister, what's going on?"
Wei Xiuhua had just come out and saw Lu Qinghe. She pulled her outside mysteriously.
"Do you remember the village behind us? I took you there last year."
"Remember."
"A pig in Zhaizi Village had a broken bone and hadn't been up for half a month. It happened to be a birthday for an elder in a fellow villager's family, so we spent a lot of money to buy it and slaughter it for the old man. Zhaizi Village is close to the mountains and is considered a wealthy village. The pig had been raised for two years and must have weighed 300 to 400 kilograms. I estimate the lard alone must have weighed more than 30 kilograms."
Lu Qinghe's eyes began to light up when he heard this.
Only after coming here did I realize that soybean oil and peanut oil are not as delicious as the lard I make at home when cooking.
The most common food consumed in the military families' compound was soybean oil. Since the supply and marketing cooperatives couldn't supply it, they had to buy soybeans themselves and find someone to refine it for them.
The most rare thing is lard. Usually, when people buy meat, they have to specifically choose the fattier ones.
That's it, you have to save the lard you buy and make at home.
"This should produce at least 20 kilograms of lard." Lu Qinghe became excited.
Wei Xiuhua: "Don't underestimate. I estimate that I can make 25 kilograms. I have encountered this once before, but the pig was not so fat. In the end, I got about 10 kilograms. The fellow villager kept some for himself, and I got 10 kilograms. Well, I saved it and it lasted for more than half a year. Later, we will each have half, quietly. Don't tell anyone later. I guess the news of the pig slaughter will spread this afternoon, and then it will be our turn."
"clear."
The two of them took the car of Commander Meng's attendant and went all the way to Zhaizi Village.
It happened that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and the news had not yet spread, but people from the same village were already holding money in their hands, waiting to see if they could buy some leftovers to take back.
Fortunately, Mrs. Wei had known her fellow villager for several years. When she arrived, she just said that she had made an appointment in advance and went into the backyard.
"Sister Wei, we just weighed it. This whole fan of lard weighs a full thirty pounds. We're old acquaintances, so let's not be too fussy. We'll have a skilled person refine it for you. We'll be able to make at least twenty-eight pounds of lard. We'll keep eight pounds for ourselves, and you can take the rest. How about that?"
Mrs. Wei and Lu Qinghe looked at each other and were so happy that they were speechless.
Twenty kilograms, that means ten kilograms per person, which is not a small amount.
"Okay, let's do as you say." Wei Xiuhua nodded, turned around and pulled Lu Qinghe out to calculate the price.
Lu Qinghe thought for a moment and said directly, "If you convert the market price, one pound of lard is about one yuan and twenty cents. But the most important thing is that this lard is hard to come by, so it's hard to calculate the price."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
