Chapter 55
When Jiang Yao heard this, she cursed Lu Che in her heart.
This person had just made a joke to trick the child, but the child took it seriously and kept it in mind, and kept trying to induce labor. After all, they only knew that the child came out of the mother's belly.
As the saying goes, it takes a hundred lies to cover up one lie. In order to shut the children up, Lu Che made up all kinds of excuses. The most convincing one was: Mom has to go to work and has no time to give birth to a younger brother or sister.
Now that she is at home with nothing to do, the brother and sister have a legitimate reason to continue urging the baby to have a baby.
In order to divert their attention, Jiang Yao had to change the route. Instead of going home directly, she took them to a nearby small park and bought a bag of candy at the supply and marketing cooperative to shut them up.
It was already eleven o'clock when they returned home. After Jiang Yao left them in the care of the old lady, she went to the kitchen to cook.
After the meal was ready, she didn't bother to eat it first. She took out the iron lunch box, filled it with a whole box of food, and sent it to Lu Che.
Changchang and Xiaolu saw her go out and insisted on following her. Jiang Yao had no choice but to take them with her so that Lu Che could feel the love of the children for him and reflect on himself. It was such a despicable thing to deceive them again and again.
Lu Che was a newcomer, and they were already very high-profile by coming to deliver meals every day. Afraid of being criticized, Jiang Yao was not so blatant now. She usually went to the laboratory to call him out, and then the family of four went to the pavilion not far away, letting him eat and enjoy a moment of family happiness.
The gazebo was on the way to the laboratory. The little deer didn’t like the smell coming from the laboratory, so he said, “Mom, my brother and I are playing in the gazebo. Go call Dad. We’ll wait for you here. We won’t be far away.”
"Okay." Jiang Yao thought that the journey was not far, and she felt relieved that Chang Chang, a little adult, was watching over her. But she still reminded him, "If anything happens, remember to shout loudly. Mom is not far ahead and can hear you."
"Mom, we got it. Hurry up and call Dad out. He must be very hungry after working all morning." The deer urged.
As expected, he is someone's sweetheart. He knows how to care for him. Jiang Yao felt a little jealous. "I'll take you to the pavilion first."
"Mom, Dad is in the pavilion." Changchang suddenly said after walking a few steps.
Jiang Yao looked over and saw Lu Che standing in the middle of the pavilion, facing a man. They were talking, but from his tense face, it was clear that he was not happy. The man opposite him also had a bad attitude.
Jiang Yao and the two children were in a somewhat hidden location at the moment, and Chang Chang's voice was not loud, so Lu Che did not notice them.
"Mom, let's go find Dad." Xiaolu was about to pull Jiang Yao over, but she pulled him back, "Little Deer, Dad and that uncle may have something important to discuss, let's not go over and disturb them, wait until the uncle leaves, then we'll go over."
"Okay." The little deer nodded sensibly, but the little guy was a smart guy. He rolled his eyes and said, "Mom, let's get closer and listen to what Dad and Uncle are talking about."
"..." What a natural gossip, but this was exactly what Jiang Yao wanted, because she also wanted to eavesdrop, but was too embarrassed to bring it up in front of the child. Now that Xiaolu had paved the way for her, of course she would follow suit.
The three of them took a few steps forward quietly, and stopped only when they heard Lu Che's voice.
“Lu Che, if Professor Yue hadn’t strongly recommended you, how could you, a person with only a few years of education, have joined the project team? For someone like you, it’s good enough that you can learn from the sidelines, but don’t butt in on everything. I warn you, if you continue like this, don’t blame me for being rude.” The man opposite Lu Che had a look of disdain on his face, looking at him as if he were trash, full of disgust.
"I am just expressing my own opinion. As Mr. Yue said, any scientific research requires bold assumptions and careful verification." Lu Che responded calmly.
"Bold assumptions?" The man raised his mouth with a sarcastic tone, saying, "Are you, an uneducated country bumpkin, qualified to make bold assumptions in front of a group of college students like us?"
"I advise you to be sensible. If you still want to make a living in the project team, don't oppose me anymore, otherwise I will make you regret it." The man snorted coldly, rubbed his sleeves, said nothing more, and turned away.
Even though Changchang and Xiaolu were less than six years old, they could hear that their father was being bullied.
Especially Xiaolu, whose face was twisted and she was about to cry. She was about to rush out when Jiang Yao stopped her, "Little Deer, don't go out now. If Dad knew that we saw him being bullied by others, he would be even more sad."
Jiang Yao knew best what kind of person her bedmate was like. If he knew that his wife and children saw him being insulted, his self-esteem would definitely be hurt, which would hurt him more than being bullied by outsiders.
After Lu Che left the pavilion, Jiang Yao patiently explained to Xiaolu, "Dad is the giant in our family, but even giants can fall down. At this time, what he needs is some quiet time alone, not comfort. Do you understand?"
Xiaolu nodded as if she understood, but Jiang Yao didn't expect her to fully understand. She just said to the brother and sister, "Anyway, let's just pretend that what happened today didn't happen. Dad will forget about it in a couple of days. Can you do that?"
"Yes." Changchang and Xiaolu nodded vigorously.
"Okay, I'll go deliver food to Dad now. You guys play here for a while. I'll come out and take you home after I'm done. I'll play with you again when Dad comes home in the evening. Okay?" Jiang Yao asked.
"Okay, Mom, you go and deliver it quickly, otherwise the food will get cold." The little deer said caringly.
"Um."
Jiang Yao sent the two little guys to the pavilion, then quickly walked to the laboratory. After calling Lu Che out, she handed him the lunch box and said, "Put down your work first and eat while it's hot. I'm going back now."
She tried her best not to let him see her emotions, and he also pretended to be indifferent. When he took the lunch box, she was about to turn back, but she stopped after taking two steps, and turned around to see him standing there, watching her leave.
She suddenly wanted to hug him, but she held back, "Come back early tonight, the little deer is clamoring to play with you."
"Okay, I'll go back as soon as I get off work." Lu Che curled his lips slightly.
Jiang Yao: "Remember, don't put too much pressure on yourself at work, take your time."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and left without even looking back, without even looking at his expression.
In the evening, Lu Che arrived home just after six o'clock.
Jiang Yao was just cooking dinner, and when she saw him, she said, "Hurry up and help with the dinner."
"Okay." Lu Che washed his hands and helped carry the dishes to the main room.
Jiang Yao was worried that the two little guys might accidentally let the cat out of the bag, so she was worried. But when she saw that they didn't mention anything about lunch, she was relieved. It was just that they kept picking food for Lu Che, which seemed a bit like they were trying to cover up their guilt. But he didn't seem to notice anything unusual, and just felt happy. He happily took the food with his bowl.
After dinner, Lu Che prepared bath water for the two children. Changchang took a bath in the children's room, and Xiaolu took a bath in Jiang Yao's room. Jiang Yao waited at the door in case anything happened to them.
When Lu Che finished his job as a porter and was about to wash the dishes, he suddenly glanced at Jiang Yao and asked, "Did something happen to you three?"
"..." Is it necessary for the boss to have such a vicious look? Jiang Yao was stunned for a moment, and said calmly, "What could it be? Go wash the dishes quickly, and when they are done, you have to get me some bath water."
"Okay." It seemed to be his illusion, Lu Che turned and went to the kitchen.
In the evening, after everyone has taken a shower, they snuggle up in the big bed in the master bedroom and enjoy the most comfortable parent-child time every night.
Changchang and Xiaolu both love reading. As soon as they climb onto the bed, they take the books out of the bedside table, and then each of them holds a book and reads its own wonderful book.
There were not many children's books these days, so Jiang Yao relied on her memory to write down the stories she had heard as a child.
Text alone was boring, so she thought about drawing pictures, wanting to make a simplified version of the picture book. But she was not good at drawing, but Lu Che, who usually drew a lot of mechanical structure pictures, could draw something according to what she said.
Therefore, the books that the brother and sister are reading now are the results of their parents’ hard work.
Many picture books were also directly copied and used in the kindergarten of the mechanical and electrical factory.
When Changchang and Xiaolu were less than two years old, Jiang Yao began to tell them bedtime stories every night, and it has become a habit over the years. She did not deliberately teach them to read, but the children learned to read naturally after reading many times. Now the brother and sister can basically read independently. When they occasionally encounter words they don’t know, they ask each other for help, and they will never ask adults again.
With the two children around, Jiang Yao and Lu Che were still very well behaved, at least on the surface. As for whether they would hook their legs and hold hands under the covers, only they themselves knew.
Just like now, Xiaolu was sitting in Jiang Yao's arms reading a book, while Lu Che was leaning against the head of the bed reading his own book, but he did not forget to reach out and secretly hold Jiang Yao's little hand.
Jiang Yao was really impressed by this man's hypocritical appearance. How on earth could he manage to play with her hands while turning the pages of a book?
Three of the four members of the family were reading books. Jiang Yao felt a little pressured and thought that she was not ambitious enough.
No, she has to go to the bookstore to buy books tomorrow, not only to keep up with everyone else, but also because it is almost March and there are less than ten months left before the 1978 college entrance examination, so she has to start reviewing.
This year's college entrance examination questions should not be difficult, but she has been away from campus for many years, especially high school. Almost twenty years have passed in her two lifetimes. She must pick up this knowledge, not to mention that she has never even seen what the high school textbooks of this era look like.
As she was thinking, she felt the grip on her hand tighten, and then she heard Lu Che say, "Okay, it's getting late, you guys go back to bed and we'll see tomorrow."
“……”Okay, they are chasing people away again.
At this time, no matter how the children resisted, it was useless. They had already accepted their fate. Xiaolu was about to get up from Jiang Yao's arms, but suddenly turned to Lu Che and said, "Dad, don't read too late. Take your time. You will definitely be better than that uncle who scolded you in the future."
“…”
I am most afraid of the air suddenly becoming quiet. A night goes by smoothly, but something goes wrong at the critical moment.
Jiang Yao raised her head to look at Lu Che, only to see that he was also looking at her, but there wasn't much emotion in his eyes.
The little deer realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and covered his mouth in panic.
Now that things have come to this, it is impossible to continue lying.
"Mom, I'm sorry." The little deer's big eyes were wet and he was about to cry.
Without waiting for Jiang Yao to comfort him, Lu Che had already hugged Xiaolu. Without asking about the details of the incident, he just coaxed her softly, "Xiaolu, it's okay. Daddy is very happy that you can comfort and encourage him."
"Really?" Xiaolu's face suddenly turned from gloomy to bright.
"Of course it's true." Lu Che smiled and said, "You and your brother should go back to bed early. You will go to school in a few days. You should develop the good habit of going to bed early and getting up early."
After the brother and sister were coaxed back to sleep and they were alone, Jiang Yao explained what happened at noon without waiting for Lu Che to speak.
"You don't have to feel embarrassed, let alone ashamed." Jiang Yao leaned in his arms and said, "Everyone's starting point is different. The fact that you can join the project team proves that you are capable. You don't have to mind too much what that person says. You just have to do your best and wait for the day when you can make a breakthrough."
"I know." Lu Che hugged him and said, "When I was bullied before, there were many people who said things more rude than Jiang Li. This is nothing."
Jiang Yao looked up at his face and found that there was nothing unusual. She felt relieved and wanted to find out the truth. "Who is this Jiang Gan? Why is he targeting you?"
Lu Che: "He is a graduate of Capital University, so he is a professional. Plus, his father is the director of Capital Electromechanical Factory, so he is very arrogant. During the meeting this morning, I questioned one of his opinions, and he held a grudge against me."
"The director of the Capital Mechanical and Electrical Plant? Is that the state-owned enterprise that cooperates with the university on this project?" Jiang Yao asked.
"Yes." Lu Che said, "Although they are both electromechanical factories, the electromechanical factory in our county is just a small one compared to the electromechanical factory in the capital. The one who can become the factory director is not an ordinary person."
"No wonder he's so arrogant, it turns out he has such a deep background." Jiang Yao looked worried, "What are you going to do in the future?"
"You definitely need to tone down your edge." Lu Che knew that his remarkable performance after joining the project team had made Jiang Li wary. This society is not black and white, and he must be able to bend and stretch when necessary. "Don't worry too much. Elder Yue asked me to go to him tomorrow morning. I think he should help me even with this matter."
Hearing that Old Yue was backing him up, Jiang Yao felt relieved and said, "Then let's go to bed early and go find Old Yue tomorrow."
Just as she was about to lie down, he pulled her back and said, "My daughter knows how to comfort me, why don't you comfort me?"
"I was just trying to comfort you..." Jiang Yao hadn't finished her words when she read something from someone's burning eyes. She said unhappily, "Why are you still in this mood?"
"Of course." He lowered his head and kissed her lips.
The next day, when Jiang Yao got up, Lu Che had already left.
She thought that she would pass by the post office on her way to the bookstore, so she wrote a letter to Zhu Xia and mailed it.
I had already sent a telegram to Zhu Xia to let her know that I was safe. This time I wrote to her mainly to chat with her about family matters and to tell her the news that the college entrance examination would be resumed soon.
Of course, there is no news about the resumption of the college entrance examination yet, so she could only be vague and only told her that she heard some gossip here and asked her not to reveal it to outsiders. She also reminded her that if she wanted to take the college entrance examination, she should prepare as soon as possible.
The weather today was not very good, it was a bit gloomy. The family had not bought a bicycle yet, so Jiang Yao asked the brother and sister to stay at home with the old lady and went out for a trip.
She went to the post office to mail the letter first, and then went to the bookstore.
There are very few types of books in bookstores now. She browsed for a long time before she found a few high school textbooks, and then bought them all at once.
After leaving the bookstore, she went to buy some vegetables, and when she got home it was time to cook.
She cooked as usual and brought the meal to Lu Che.
The brother and sister did not follow today. Jiang Yao called Lu Che to the pavilion and observed that there was no one around before asking, "What did Master Yue say today?"
Lu Che: "He asked me to take his classes, and my cultural knowledge level improved. No one dared to gossip about me anymore."
Although Yue Lao was a respected professor, Jiang Li's background was there, so he had to be wary of him. However, he also felt that Lu Che should systematically learn professional knowledge so that he could go further in the future.
"You have to go to work on weekdays, how do you go to class?" Jiang Yao thought this was a good thing, but it was difficult to implement.
"Mr. Yue told me that he would let me sit in on his lectures. He will support me on the project team, but I need to work harder on my own, take the initiative to work overtime at night or on holidays, and try my best to shut other people up." Lu Che said.
"That sounds okay."
"Yes, as long as others don't talk about it, I don't mind working overtime." Lu Che said, "It's just that I will have less time for my family in the future, and you may have a harder time."
"It's okay. Xiaolu and Changchang are about to go to elementary school. There won't be much to worry about." Jiang Yao encouraged, "Just work hard."
After that day, Lu Che really became busy like a top, leaving home early and returning late every day, and only resting for half a day at most in a month. Jiang Yao felt sorry for him, but she also knew his perseverance in doing things, so she could only support him silently.
He would bring him lunch every day at noon and evening. If Xiaolu and Changchang didn't go to school, he would take them with him, so that their father could stay for a while, because when Lu Che came back in the evening, most of them would have fallen asleep.
A month later, Jiang Yao received a reply from Zhu Xia, in which she said that if the college entrance examination was really resumed, she would take part.
Zhu Xia already has two children, and her second child has not been born yet. She is already 26 years old. If it were someone else, they would have felt that it was not suitable for her to go to college long ago.
But she had always had a dream of going to college, and her grades were good when she was studying, but she didn't catch up and went straight to the countryside to join the production team. Now that she has the opportunity, she certainly doesn't want to miss it, but she is not alone now. After thinking it over, she decided to give it a try and discussed it with Zhang Dong. Unexpectedly, Zhang Dong supported her to go without hesitation.
Zhang Dong is really a very qualified husband. He said that he supports Zhu Xia to take the college entrance examination, not just lip service, but also actual action. As long as Zhu Xia is admitted to the university, he will take care of the two children. Of course, the mechanical and electrical factory has a nursery and kindergarten, so he has no worries. He has only one request for her, that is, try to pass the exam and go back to the provincial capital, after all, it is not too far away, and he can go back and forth during the holidays.
In addition to telling Jiang Yao that she was going to take the college entrance examination, Zhu Xia also asked her to help buy books because there were really no textbooks to be found in the county town.
Strike while the iron is hot, Jiang Yao went to the bookstore the next day to buy a complete set of textbooks, and then went to the post office to send it to Zhu Xia. Of course, for safety reasons, she once again reminded her not to leak the news.
Of course Zhu Xia would not leak it. She was not stupid. Regardless of whether she would be criticized, it would definitely not benefit her if she leaked the news. If others had already reviewed in advance, her chances of passing the exam would be even lower.
Lu Che came back at 10 o'clock in the evening. When he pushed the door open, Jiang Yao was reading a book. When he saw the cover of the book, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why are you reading a textbook?"
Jiang Yao didn't intend to hide it from him. After all, it would take many months to read the book. If she kept it secret, it would only make people suspicious. She had already made up an excuse, "Although I don't have a job now, I can't just give up. I have to keep studying and making progress. The social situation is getting clearer and clearer. I think it's only a matter of time before the college entrance examination is resumed. You usually audit classes, so you should know the level of college students nowadays."
When talking about the current level of college students, Lu Che couldn't help but frowned. "It's not that I'm arrogant, but the level of many students is worse than that of me who graduated from elementary school. Mr. Yue also feels the same way. He carefully selected the people in our project team to gather so many people."
"So, only by passing the exam and sending outstanding candidates to college can we cultivate the talents needed by the country." Jiang Yao said confidently: "I think the college entrance examination will definitely be restored in the near future. I am preparing for it now, and I will definitely come out on top when the time comes."
Lu Che thought she made a lot of sense. "Then read more books when you have time and try to become the first college student in our family."
"That's very possible." Jiang Yao said, and then she remembered to ask him: "If I really go to college in the future, will you disagree?"
"Of course not." Lu Che said, "Changchang and Xiaolu will go to elementary school in September. Elder Yue has already arranged for me to go to the elementary school affiliated to Capital University, next to the university. Grandma or I can take care of them. But I have one request. If you really want to go to university, please come back to the capital. Don't go too far and leave us behind."
Jiang Ao looked at him like an abandoned puppy, and said with a smile: "Of course, don't say you can't bear to leave me, I can't bear to leave you either."
As the days passed, in July, Lu Che learned from Mr. Yue that the resumption of the college entrance examination had been put on the agenda at the National Education Conference, and it was very likely that the college entrance examination would be resumed by the end of this year.
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