Similar discussions were heard across the country.
Some college students wrote thank-you letters, some parents organized to contact various departments to report the situation, hoping that the newspaper price would be higher, and some actually lost their admission letters and filed a complaint...
All major cities got the news first, and the rural areas were not much different. Although they did not get the newspapers printed in the provinces first, the radio still sounded the news first.
Soon, people who were staying at home to prepare for the New Year also knew about this.
Families with children taking the college entrance examination rushed to the production team's office as soon as possible to check whether their children had passed the exam.
Although the list had been repeated three times, those who passed the exam were afraid that they had heard it wrong, and those who failed the exam also suspected that they had missed it.
I really can't accept it unless I see it with my own eyes and hear it with my own ears.
At the same time, in remote villages with inconvenient transportation, staff began to go to the countryside, either by bicycle or on foot.
A remote area in the northwest.
At the home of a little girl named Amei, the family was staring at the admission letter on the table and sighing.
There were many people in the area who took the college entrance exam, but only their daughter passed. This was of course a great thing, and even the villagers came to congratulate them.
At first, the whole family was happy, but when they came to their senses, they started to worry again.
Even though it was their daughter who passed the exam, not their son, they weren't the kind of family that didn't treat their daughter as a human being. What was wrong with their daughter? Wasn't she still their own? If they really cared, they wouldn't have paid for her to go to school.
But my family is poor!
The whole family worked hard to pay for her junior high and high school education. In addition, the girl worked hard and skipped grades. It happened that the college entrance examination was resumed, so she was admitted to university.
That’s a university. In ancient times, it was like becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination. It was a great event that brought honor to the family and smoke from the ancestral graves!
No matter what, it's definitely going to happen.
But what about tuition and living expenses? Not to mention that the school my child is applying to is far away in Beijing, and travel expenses are also a huge expense.
The old man in the family was smoking a pipe, with deep wrinkles on his face carved by wind and frost. He frowned and spoke slowly after a long time.
"Boss, come with me tomorrow and go door to door to borrow money from the villagers. No matter what, we have to raise enough money for A-Mei's travel expenses and tuition. We'll figure out the rest later."
The eldest son of the family, Amei's father, was a simple farmer. He also frowned and nodded dully, feeling a little guilty.
It's all because of him being a useless father. He can't even afford the child's tuition, and he has to let his father lose face and beg others for help. It's really unfilial.
The old man ignored him and continued, "Old woman, count out all the money in the house and give it to A-Mei for emergency use. Big cities are different from here. You have to spend money on food and drink. At least we have food to eat in our hometown. We won't starve to death."
"Hey!" The old lady next to her responded, then went into the room and took out a box from under the bed. She opened it and took out the banknotes wrapped tightly in a handkerchief.
She knew how much money it was without counting it: forty-seven dollars and forty-three cents, the family's savings over the years.
He sighed, took the handkerchief and walked out.
"All the money is here. I don't know if things in the city are expensive. I'll ask Amei to bring some food back from home when she leaves. It'll at least last a while. The more we can save, the better."
The old man nodded, agreeing to her proposal, and then took a deep puff of his pipe.
At this time, A-Mei, who had been silent for a long time with her head down, said sullenly, "I'm not going to college anymore."
The room suddenly fell silent.
"What did you say?" the old man couldn't help but ask back.
Ah Mei raised her head, revealing red eyes, "I said I won't go to college!"
Her family had been worried about her college education for days. Now, they were bankrupt and even burdened with a heavy debt. She really couldn't afford to go to college.
She knew she could earn more money if she went to college. When she was studying in the county town, her teacher encouraged her by telling her that some workers outside earned more in a month than her family's savings. If she graduated from college, she would definitely earn more money.
But she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to wait.
Just to pay for her travel expenses and first-year tuition and living expenses, her family would be bankrupt and burdened with foreign debt. She could still bear it, but college lasted for four years...
Four years, such a long time. She was worried that her family would not be able to wait for her to graduate and lead them to a good life.
A few days ago, she secretly overheard her grandfather and the others talking, and she planned to talk to the team leader next year and assign them the work with the highest work points.
Grandpa is over sixty years old. He started doing some easy work in the past few years. Can he bear to do the most tiring work again?
As for my eldest brother and his family, because her schooling costs money, the family lives frugally. Two years ago, a matchmaker came to propose marriage, but the bride price was too high and it would empty the family's savings, so in the end it fell through.
All these things were like heavy chains, pushing her heart further and further away from university.
She couldn't do it, she really couldn't do it...
Looking at his granddaughter's red eyes and her stubborn look, the old man's raised hand fell down without him knowing when.
What right does he have to beat a child? Isn't it because he is useless as the head of the family?
"I deserve to die! Why am I so useless!" The old man slapped himself in the face with his backhand. The man who had been strong all his life couldn't help but shed tears.
The others were shocked when they saw this and rushed over in panic.
"father!"
"Master!"
Ah Mei was also frightened. When had she ever seen the old man cry?
"Master, don't scare me. It's not your fault. It's my fault. It's all my fault!"
"I'll listen to you and go to college! I'll study hard and take you to the city to live a good life!"
"Amei, Amei, I'm sorry for you. I'm useless! You have to go to college. Only by going to college can you have a future, okay?"
"Okay, I'll go, I'll go to college!"
The grandfather and grandson hugged each other and cried together. Seeing this, other people around them couldn't help but sob softly.
There was a thick sadness in the air.
At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door outside the yard.
"Second Grandpa, open the door quickly!"
The crying in the house stopped, and the old man wiped his face with his sleeve and said in a hoarse voice, "Go open the door."
The eldest grandson in the family was the closest to the house. He answered, opened the door and ran out.
Everyone also took this opportunity to quickly clean themselves up, some moved chairs, some packed up their things.
Not long after, the eldest grandson came in with a group of people.
The two young men leading the group were capable and different from the others at first glance.
The old man recognized him instantly. This was the county official. He had seen him before when he went to deliver something to his granddaughter.
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