Chapter 21 Preparing for the College Entrance Examination 01 Smart, beautiful, good at making money...
“Our family’s circumstances are indeed not as good as those in Beicheng. I’m sorry you’ve suffered.” Yu Xingzhou looked down at the woman’s delicate skin in his palm. He was even more reluctant to let her go back home and have to use those hands to do manual labor again.
"Then when things get better, you'll have to make me pay back double for all the suffering I've endured over the years."
"certainly."
Sitting alone in the front driving, Lin Jinwen couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. "You two are going back now, so just leave me alone. If you want to act in a movie, go back and act in it."
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot there's a bachelor in our car." Lin Tingyue apologized with a smile, but it would have been better if she hadn't said anything at all.
Once the atmosphere is lively, parting won't be too sad.
Today happens to be the Lantern Festival. They had dinner at home before setting off with their already packed luggage. They could have stayed a few more days, but it wasn't as comfortable as living together in a house, so they decided to go back early.
When they arrived at the train station, Lin Jinwen wanted to get off to see them off, but Lin Tingyue stopped him, saying, "Don't bother seeing them off. It's so cold at night. You should go home and rest early."
“It won’t make a difference if you stay a little longer. But once you leave, I won’t be able to see you again for another year, right?” Lin Jinwen patted her head as he always did, but that “past” goes back a long time. In his memory, his sister stopped being close to them when she was seventeen or eighteen.
Lin Tingyue did not hide, and even gradually got used to this kind of family affection. The desire that had been suppressed for many years was also compensated in this world.
Lin Jinwen stood in front of the car and watched them walk away. This time, his sister hadn't suddenly left without saying goodbye, and she had a reliable partner by her side. They could indeed watch her fly away with peace of mind.
Lin Tingyue, who was walking in front, did not dare to turn around. She held back the tears that kept welling up in her eyes and held tightly to the arm of the person beside her.
In her previous life, her family was taciturn and silent. Her parents were both busy with work, and even when they did communicate, it was always a form of oppressive education. As a result, she gradually lost interest in family affection and eventually stopped expecting it.
But everything changed after she arrived here. No matter how much she had hurt them before, they forgave her and protected her in front of everyone. Even though she often thought that their love was for the previous Lin Tingyue, not for her, she initially felt fear and shame.
It wasn't until she overheard a conversation between her brother and sister-in-law that she realized everyone had noticed something was wrong with her long ago. How could her family, who had lived with her for over twenty years, not see that she had been replaced?
"No matter who she is now or what she becomes, she will always be my sister and our family."
The two hadn't noticed anything amiss when they arrived home after their long journey, but once inside, they realized something was wrong. The house had been tidy and clean before they left, but now there were many messy footprints, and the cabinets inside showed obvious signs of having been ransacked, with all the items inside in disarray.
"There might be a thief in the house." Lin Tingyue said, then went to check the west room. The door lock had been pried open and was lying on the ground. Sure enough, the bicycle was gone, and there were also obvious marks on the courtyard wall, indicating that someone must have climbed over the wall to get in.
Yu Xingzhou first examined the gold and silver in the brick hole of the earthen bed, then went to the kitchen, pushed aside the rice in the jar and reached in to scoop it out. He breathed a sigh of relief after touching the object. So the jade artifacts placed in the large jar for pickling sauerkraut were not discovered, only the car was stolen.
"Luckily, we didn't leave any money or tickets at home, otherwise we would have lost them too." Lin Tingyue was a little worried when she left. She didn't leave any valuables at home, and even if she did, she would have hidden them well. The bicycle was actually locked, but it was too big to hide.
Yu Xingzhou was worried that other villagers might also be robbed, so he asked, "Should we go and tell the brigade leader?"
She pondered for a moment and said, "I definitely have to say it, but I need to plan it out first."
"What's the plan? You want to catch the thief?"
Lin Tingyue nodded. Before she could even clean the house, she ran to the brigade office. But she didn't rush to tell the brigade leader about the burglary. Instead, she called Zhou Qichen's workplace first.
Upon hearing that it was her, the other person quickly said, "I was just thinking you could come back soon. I have something to ask you."
"Then you go first."
"Is your bicycle still there?"
"You saw it? Where?"
So the car must be gone, Zhou Qichen said without beating around the bush, "About a week ago, in the same old place. I see your car all the time, and there's your homemade seat cushion in the back seat. It's too obvious. I guessed it was stolen, but I didn't say anything after you went back to Beicheng."
Lin Tingyue pondered for a moment and asked him, "You didn't handle the car, did you?"
"Of course not. I asked them a few questions these past few days. If I'm not lying, one of them is from your village and the other is from Dashi Village. I still remember what they look like. They come here every day to trade goods. Why don't you come and wait for them tomorrow morning?"
"Okay, I'll come see you tomorrow."
Hearing her say that, Zhou Qichen's expression softened slightly, but since they were at work, he hung up after setting a time.
A colleague passing by asked him, "Are you dating someone?"
"No, it's just a friend. Since you're so eager for me to find a partner, why don't you introduce me to someone?"
"Sure, what kind do you want?"
Zhou Qichen put his hand in his pocket after putting down the microphone, raised an eyebrow and replied, "Smart, beautiful, and good at making money."
"Can't you be realistic? Such a good person has already been snatched up by someone else. Do you think you'll get a chance?" After saying that, the colleague shook his head and left.
The two met as agreed the next day. Lin Tingyue was not in a hurry to confirm which one was the thief, and she did not hide anything at all. As soon as they met, she asked Zhou Qichen, "I heard that you have a way to get bicycles? Ours was stolen, and we want to buy another one, but we may not have enough tickets."
Zhou Qichen nodded, "Okay, but it definitely won't be new. Is that acceptable?"
"Why not? As long as it's not a bad one that keeps breaking down."
"Okay, then come with me."
The two of them didn't lower their voices, and everyone around them could hear them.
Once they were out of sight, Zhou Qichen asked, "Did you see that?"
"I was just putting on an act for those two thieves. I don't really want to buy a car," Lin Tingyue replied immediately. "I saw it. Can we borrow the car for a few days? We'll buy a new one from you later."
"Okay, I'll go and talk to someone and reserve a good one for you."
After that, they didn't go back to the black market. Instead, they rode their bicycles back to the village. When they got to the village entrance, they ran into Luo Mingxia and a few other educated youths who had just returned from their hometown. They told them about how their bicycles had been stolen from their homes.
Some people couldn't help but sigh, "You must be rich; you can just buy another one as soon as you lose it."
"There's no other way. It's convenient to go to the county town with a bicycle. Besides, my old bicycle was already old. Out with the old, in with the new."
Luo Mingxia: "You should use this kind of money more sparingly..."
"Don't worry, my dear sister." Lin Tingyue patted her shoulder and quickly said goodbye before going home.
News of their car being stolen and their subsequent purchase of a new one spread quickly. However, less than a week later, the young couple from the Yu family were about to embark on another long trip, and the team leader specifically criticized them before they started work in the morning.
"...Although it's not the busy season for farming, we can't be too lazy. It's okay to ask for leave if you really have something to do, but if one or two of you take leave, who will do the work in the fields?"
As the brigade leader spoke, Lin Tingyue absentmindedly kicked at the stones at her feet, occasionally nodding in agreement with what the brigade leader said.
After the captain finished speaking, Zhang Daqing dared to ask, "You're going on another long trip. Won't the bicycle you just bought at home be stolen again?"
"Well, there's nothing I can do. My father-in-law said in his letter that we have to go see him." Lin Tingyue lied without changing her expression, but in her heart she was frantically apologizing to her father-in-law, whom she had never met. In this special situation, she could only let her father-in-law take the blame for the time being.
The two were leaving the next day, still riding in the village's oxcart. Along the way, some people asked what had happened to Yu Xingzhou's father, but the couple seemed very secretive, perhaps something serious had happened.
Upon arriving in the county town, the two got out of the car and turned to leave, further convincing the villagers that something had happened to Yu Xingzhou's father.
Only when they had walked far enough away that they could no longer see the oxcart when they looked back did they finally burst into laughter.
"I really didn't expect you to be such a good actor!" Lin Tingyue was worried that he would give himself away, but she didn't expect that he could act better than she could.
"It's alright, I just thought about all the sad things that have happened over the years."
Hearing Yu Xingzhou say that, Lin Tingyue couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around to see, she tiptoed and quickly pecked the man on the cheek.
"Let's go, today is sure to be full of happy things." Lin Tingyue said as she took his hand and walked forward.
Yu Xingzhou's heart pounded and his mind went blank from her sudden and bold kiss. He even forgot that they shouldn't be holding hands like that in the street.
The village thieves had been preparing for a long time, and that very night they couldn't resist taking action.
At that time, there were no power lines in the countryside, and it was pitch black at night. Since everyone had already turned off their lights and gone to sleep, you could only see two dark figures flash by.
"Brother Zhi, isn't it too immoral of us to keep stealing this family's bicycles? I heard that something happened to an elder in the family, which is why they took leave to go on a long trip."
"You're already doing this, why do you care about whether it's immoral or not? Why didn't you say that when you were counting your money with your teeth showing before?" Li Hongzhi was too lazy to pay attention to his weak-willed accomplice. He first shone his flashlight on the glass of the west room and found that this family was really stupid. They had already lost something once and still left it in the same place. They didn't even know to move it to another room.
Wang Fang watched as Li Hongzhi skillfully picked the lock, opened the door, and pushed out the locked bicycle. He was already preparing to climb over the wall to get the bike when he turned around and almost blinded himself.
The captain shone a flashlight on the two of them, like dancers performing under a spotlight in a theater, except that while the dancers were elegant, the two of them were making a complete fool of themselves.
"Wang Fang, you've got some skills, kid." Lu Zhenhai only recognized the other guy from his own village. He had never seen the other guy before, but since he had committed a crime in his village, he wouldn't let him get away with it.
The man whose name was called immediately knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling with panic as he tried to explain, "No... Captain, please let me explain, I didn't do anything! He did it all!"
Wang Fang's attempt to distance himself from the situation enraged Li Hongzhi, who pointed at him and yelled, "You, Wang Fang, didn't you say you'd stick with me when we were splitting the money? Let me tell you, neither of us is getting away. Don't even think about it!"
"Shut up and stop arguing. You two come with me." The team leader didn't want the neighbors to hear, so he turned and left.
The two men following behind planned to go their separate ways and escape as soon as they got out the door, but when they saw two militiamen standing outside, they didn't dare to run anymore. They hung their heads and were sandwiched between the militiamen as they walked away.
The young couple who had been hiding in front of Zhang Daqing's house watched as the person was taken away before saying goodbye to their kind neighbors and going home.
As she entered the room, Lin Tingyue tidied up the messy space and said, "I'll return the bicycle myself tomorrow and buy another one while I'm at it. The compensation probably won't arrive anytime soon."
Hearing that his wife was going to see Zhou Qichen alone, Yu Xingzhou was still a little conflicted. However, they had agreed that they would study hard together this year, so Lin Tingyue would not be working as often. The family's work points would all depend on him, so he would try not to ask for leave if possible. Therefore, he could only nod and agree.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Lin Tingyue assumed he was just clingy and didn't want to be apart. So she decided to go early and return early the next day. She set off for the county town early the next morning and went to the scrap metal recycling station first.
She had previously bought some dictionaries for learning English in Beicheng, hoping to review her English. Now she wants to find some newspapers and books, mainly to learn more about recent events and the language used in this era.
Fortunately, she found quite a few books. Considering that she didn't know what major Yu Xingzhou would apply for in the future, she simply took all the books related to arts and sciences.
After that, she bought a lot of meat and daily necessities, and then went to the place where she had bought the bicycle last time, just in time for the occasion.
"Why did you buy so much stuff?" Zhou Qichen saw a cloth bag hanging on her handlebars and several books stacked on the back seat, so he quickly put out his cigarette and went over to help.
"I haven't bought any in a long time; I've used up all the stock I had at home."
"Why didn't he come with you? You're carrying all this stuff back by yourself."
Zhou Qichen didn't say the name directly, but Lin Tingyue knew he was talking about Yu Xingzhou. "He has to go to work. If he takes leave, he'll lose work points. This year's work points are all up to him. I'll avoid going to the fields if I can."
The man's eyes lit up. "You've come up with some new way to make money?"
"I guess so." Lin Tingyue patted the stack of books on the back seat. "These are my future ways of making money."
"Selling books? Nobody's going to buy those."
“These aren’t for selling, they’re for reading, for storing the knowledge in them in your head.” Lin Tingyue said as she untied the ropes binding the books. “Push out the one I want, I’ll tie it up now.”
Zhou Qichen looked closely at the book covers, some of which were high school textbooks. "Didn't you graduate from high school? Why do you still need to learn these?"
"There's university above high school."
"But wasn't the college entrance exam cancelled many years ago?" Zhou Qichen also went to high school back then, but his mind wasn't on studying. He just got a diploma and that was it. He didn't care whether he could go to university or not.
"Yes, but we can learn while waiting for it to be restored. I think if it can be canceled, it can be restored."
There's no word yet that the college entrance exam will be reinstated. Even if there were, they wouldn't be the first to know. But Lin Tingyue is from Beicheng and went back for the New Year, so it's possible she heard something. Zhou Qichen stopped asking about that and instead asked her about the thief.
Lin Tingyue wasn't sure how things would be handled afterward and was just waiting for the captain's instructions. Some time later, when Lin Tingyue received her compensation, she learned that because the two thieves had committed several thefts in nearby villages, with the total amount stolen exceeding one hundred yuan, the captain had transferred them to the county police station. The final result was that they would serve several years in prison. At the same time, news of Lin Tingyue's plan to catch the thieves spread, and even if someone had any other improper thoughts, they would have to think twice before ending up in jail themselves.
But that's a story for another time.
Lin Tingyue returned home with a full load of goods. It was lunchtime when she arrived. As soon as she pushed her cart near the door, the people inside seemed to hear her voice and immediately opened the door.
The man seemed to relax completely and came forward to help her unload the goods.
She asked casually, "Is dinner ready?"
"Yes, we've been waiting for you to come back." Yu Xingzhou carried the heaviest bag over and glanced at the bicycle as well. "Comrade Zhou is really good to our family. This bicycle looks brand new."
"They said it was cleaned, it looks new, and the price is even cheaper than last time, so let's make do with it."
Yu Xingzhou's probing only made him more uneasy. Zhou Qichen had been too good to Lin Tingyue this week, no wonder he always regarded her as a rival in love.
He certainly understood that his wife had no interest in other men and was even unaware of the ulterior motives others might have for her; it was all just empty talk.
Yu Xingzhou thought this was quite good, as his wife's attention would only be on him.
So, late at night, the man unexpectedly took the initiative, like an animal that likes to leave its own scent on you, constantly rubbing against you and kissing you, even leaving several teeth marks of varying depths.
Lin Tingyue was aroused, and her already light drowsiness completely dissipated. Amidst the jolts, she climbed onto the man's arm. Only then did she realize that his once slender arm had unknowingly become broad and strong, and his muscles were firm when he supported her from the side...
But she quickly forgot about it; the man was incredibly excited, I don't know what he ate today. She felt like a lump of dough, being kneaded and turned on the cutting board, and it wasn't enough; she was finally released only after kneeling until her legs were trembling.
After dawn, they'll pitifully apologize, feeling sorry for themselves while promising to be more careful next time. But once it gets dark, they'll still be the same old person...
In March, during the spring planting season, Lin Tingyue was rarely seen in the fields. Even her neighbor, Sister Suxiang, couldn't help but ask her why she wasn't going to work.
Lin Tingyue only said that she wanted to study at home and rely on Yu Xingzhou's work points alone.
For a time, some villagers were envious and jealous, while others said she was pretentious and fake, but she didn't care at all and was just waiting for the moment of truth at the end of the year.
Yu Xingzhou was also reviewing his high school lessons. He used to like to close his eyes and rest during breaks, but now he was always looking at his textbooks.
"Teacher Yu, what are you doing?" Song Xue had been observing him for a long time. Although she had not attended high school, she had heard other teachers say that it was a high school textbook.
Yu Xingzhou looked up at her, his gaze indifferent and distant, but his words were polite, "Looking at a high school textbook, Ms. Song, would you like to look at it?"
"I know you're looking at high school textbooks, but I'm just curious, are you planning to take the college entrance exam because you're looking at this?"
Yu Xingzhou nodded, then lowered his head to read again.
Song Xue actually thought he was being a bit delusional. The only chance to go to university now is through the recommendation system, and first of all, one's family background cannot be problematic. So she was very curious that if people like Yu Xingzhou could persist, wouldn't someone like her with a clean family background also be able to study and go to university?
Seeing that she was standing there and wouldn't leave, Yu Xingzhou felt a little annoyed. So he took out the exercise book that his wife had specially made for him. Looking at the handwriting, he could imagine her sitting at the table writing.
"What is this? A test paper or practice questions? Where did you find it?"
Song Xue asked a series of questions, but the man only replied indifferently, "You can't find it anywhere. This is a question my lover gave me herself."
Seeing that the noisy person in front of him had finally stopped talking, Yu Xingzhou felt secretly pleased and then focused on doing his homework.
Song Xue, however, remained in shock for a long time. Before this, she had always thought that Lin Tingyue's educational level was just so-so, and that she had just gotten lucky in the teacher recruitment exam. It turned out that Lin Tingyue was really capable.
So after school, she immediately went to talk to Xu Xingyi about it, but he didn't take it seriously.
"Her grades are just so-so, she's not even ranked as high as me in the class."
Song Xue was half-believing and half-doubting, but then she asked, "Could you teach me high school material?"
The words had barely left his lips when Xu Xingyi couldn't very well refuse outright. "Why do you suddenly want to learn this? There's no chance of going to university now. Those two are just looking for trouble. You want to join them?"
Song Xue immediately became unhappy and snatched the steamed bun from his hand, saying, "I asked you if you could teach me, why are you rambling on about all this nonsense?"
"No, we don't have any high school textbooks. If you can get some, I'll help you get them."
"Okay, then I'll go find the textbooks." Song Xue said and left, leaving Xu Xingyi looking completely bewildered.
It took her two days to actually find the textbook. Xu Xingyi had no choice but to help her catch up. However, Xu Xingyi had graduated from high school several years ago and wasn't sure if he could teach Song Xue properly, so he had to bite the bullet and try.
So, unsurprisingly, the two of them gradually escalated from minor frictions during tutoring sessions to a major argument. Xu Xingyi slammed his textbook down and stormed out.
"Is Xu Xingyi home? There's a letter for you."
Xu Xingyi had been out for a while, and there was no one else at home, so Song Xue had to go out and get it herself.
They initially thought it was a letter from Xu Xingyi's parents, who lived far away in Beicheng, but the name on the envelope was one they had never seen before, and it was clearly a woman's name...
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