"How could I possibly accept this?" Liu Laosan hesitated when he heard that the other party was going to give him these exam papers for free.
He didn't just want these few exam papers; he wanted more. If he gave them away for free this time, how could he possibly come back next time?
Dong Kaishan was unable to help him with his request for assistance. He only knew a few words, and besides, Dong Kaishan had come to him with a problem, so he couldn't make decisions for others.
But the old man Hua didn't say much, so Liu Laosan could only bite the bullet and say, "I know you have several students taking the exam. If there are any more exam papers like this in the future, I'll just borrow them and return them immediately after I've looked at them. Is that alright?"
Hua Guangzong thought he could get rid of them this way, but he didn't expect them to push their luck. "...I really can't make that decision. They're all studying right now, and it's not good to disturb them. Why don't you come back and take a look in a few days?"
After all, it was Dong Kaishan who brought the men, so he couldn't make any absolute statements. He would still need to go to the village frequently to exchange supplies, so he would stall like this for now. Maybe the other party would give up on their own.
Liu Laosan was somewhat disappointed at not getting a definite answer, so he could only thank Dong Kaishan repeatedly before leaving.
"Uncle Kaishan, you've really had a hard time this time." On the way, Liu Laosan still wanted to take Dong Kaishan's route, and his attitude was very sincere. "You know that the educated youth in our village are arrogant and keep their information very tightly under their control."
I'm the only one from our village taking the college entrance exam, and I'm really at my wit's end.
"It's a rare opportunity like this, so I wanted to seize it. I didn't mean to put you in a difficult position."
Dong Kaishan scratched his head. The only high school student in the village was being so polite to him, which made him a little flustered. "No, it's just that I'm not very familiar with the Hua family. I've had a few exchanges with them, but I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
To be honest, he couldn't afford to offend either side, so he could only pretend to be stupid.
"Uncle, don't say that. You've already helped a lot." Liu Laosan looked troubled. "These days, everyone keeps their information very secret. It's rare that the Hua family is willing to give me a few papers."
If it weren't for your connection, they definitely wouldn't have given me that favor. It's just a bit of a shame, though; they don't seem too willing to exchange the test paper with me.
Dong Kaishan, "...After all, everyone has to take the college entrance exam..."
“Yes, everyone has to take the college entrance exam, so these things are even more precious,” Liu Laosan said, walking with his head down. The educated youth in the village thought they could all pass the exam this time, so they didn’t give the village any face. His father had gone to the village several times to beg, but they refused without any regard for feelings.
But what can they do? No matter how angry they are, there's nothing they can do about it.
Dong Kaishan had heard some of these stories, which made the villagers have an even worse impression of those educated youth. Seeing Liu Laosan so heartbroken, he couldn't help but comfort him, "I heard that you did quite well in school before. You'll definitely get into university this time, and then you'll be a role model for the children in our village."
"Uncle, you're really flattering me," Liu Laosan said with a dejected look. "I only have a few books in my hand right now. How much can I learn by flipping through them over and over again?"
Right now, all I'm thinking about is how my whole family has high hopes for me, and how everyone in the village is watching me. If I don't do well on the exam, I'll be too ashamed to show my face in the village afterwards.
Liu Laosan was indeed under a lot of pressure, but it wasn't as serious as he claimed.
My father had already said that if I could pass the exam, I could take it; if I couldn't, I could take over his job in the village.
But now, in order to gain some sympathy, he had to make it sound a bit more serious. In case Dong Kaishan took pity on him and pleaded on his behalf, it would be much better than trying every possible method on his own.
Dong Kaishan gave him a sympathetic look. That's how people in the village are. If you succeed, everyone will fawn over you; otherwise, they'll be happy to see you fail.
"It's alright, Uncle believes in you."
Liu Laosan, "..."
&
Zhou Xiaolan didn't dare to delay any time and went straight to the factory to find He Ping'an. "No matter what it is now, put it down and let's go home immediately to see if we still have our old textbooks and materials."
You wouldn't believe how sought-after these things are right now. People are willing to pay high prices for them. Our old practice papers and study materials are incredibly hard to find now.
She was initially very ambitious and wanted to sign up, but halfway there she realized that this was simply a way to make money without any initial investment.
Even if they are lucky enough to get into university, they might not even be able to afford the travel expenses.
He Ping'an stayed at the factory and was better informed than her. "Now everyone in the county goes to school, and the teachers hand out test papers from time to time. Our stuff isn't very useful to others."
"You're only talking about the city, what about the remote rural areas?" Zhou Xiaolan stamped her foot anxiously, and to prevent others from hearing, she quickly pulled the person to a corner. "There are no schools in the countryside that offer classes for them. There aren't many high school students in the villages, but there are some."
Did you know? Today I ran into Hua Guangzong and his group. That old woman, Tian Guihua, traded a few exam papers for a whole bag of vegetables.
They had to spend money to get these things back, while the other party could get them with just a few used exam papers.
“Your family will definitely exchange the books, but they certainly won’t exchange the test papers.” Zhou Xiaolan was incredibly grateful. They had just graduated from high school, and some things hadn’t been cleared away yet, so they should still be able to find them.
He Ping'an was very interested in hearing this, so he went back and told the steward. The two of them then hurriedly headed home.
When they got home, they realized that no one was home. Luckily, the locks hadn't been changed yet, so the two of them went inside to search the house.
The books were indeed long gone, but they actually managed to find some test papers and workbooks.
Some elderly people in the compound noticed them returning to their respective homes, but they didn't seem to care.
Even if the two families quarrel, they are still their own flesh and blood.
When they left, they only took some scrap paper, so I couldn't help but say a few words of advice, telling them to apologize to their families properly so that they could help each other in the future.
They mumbled something and hurriedly left, even though they were taking their own things, afraid that the other two families would gossip when they returned.
"You can go and exchange these. I'm going to work at the factory now. If we get a lot of things in return, we can make a fortune tonight." He Ping'an handed the items directly to Zhou Xiaolan. If they could really get something back, it would be a risk-free business.
Zhou Xiaolan was full of confidence. She had been traveling around the village and knew which villages had students taking the exam. "Okay, go straight home after get off work and don't linger outside."
After saying that, she left in a hurry. This time she really took the right path. She found two families and exchanged the documents in her hands for excellent terms.
In the past, this would have been worth ten or more yuan, but now it's just waste paper that they were planning to sell.
Zhou Xiaolan sat at home, her heart burning with excitement. If she could get more of these, they might be able to own their own house soon.
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