Chapter 21

On her way back to the countryside, Lin Qing hitched a ride on an ox cart.

She was physically fit and wouldn’t have been tired walking back without the cart.

However, the old man driving the cart was incredibly enthusiastic.

The old man knew Lin Da Hua.

Lin Qing was essentially using her father’s influence.

Was she subtly relying on her father?

They chatted casually along the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at Shanglin Village.

After getting off the cart, Lin Qing handed the old man a small oil-paper package.

It contained homemade ointment, specifically for mosquito bites, which would relieve the itch with just a little application.

The old man had just welcomed a new grandson and happily accepted it, “Next time we meet, I’ll give you a ride.”

“Okay.” Lin Qing didn’t refuse.

On the way back to the village, Lin Qing looked calm. She greeted those she knew along the way.

When people asked her where she had been, she simply said she had been to the county.

No one stopped to ask further about what she had done in the county.

After the apology incident, the villagers looked at Lin Qing with a hint of sympathy.

Her confident demeanor won her a lot of goodwill.

Now, the villagers had a very bad impression of the Zhao family.

Devious and shameless.

Once this impression was formed, it was very difficult to erase.

Wang Lanfeng didn’t go to work that afternoon, staying home alone to wait for Lin Qing’s return.

As soon as she entered the house, she threw down the shoe sole she was making, eager to know the results, but she felt she couldn’t be too obvious.

What if her daughter hadn’t passed the exam and her eagerness affected her mood?

So, she tried to calm down, “How did it go? Did you pass?”

Lin Qing shook her head solemnly.

Seeing Lin Qing’s dejected look, Wang Lanfeng felt heartbroken, “It’s okay if you didn’t pass, what’s the difference, we’re still alive. Times are good now, not like before, we won’t starve.”

Lin Qing’s eyes flashed with mischief, Wang Lanfeng had no idea.

She whined in a muffled voice, “Mother, I’ve been studying all these years, I don’t know how to do any farm work, and I’m not used to it anyway. Am I going to starve myself to death?”

“Nonsense.” Wang Lanfeng wanted to spit.

“With me here, how could you starve?”

Lin Qing had just wanted to tease her mother, but she ended up teasing herself.

Her heart ached with sadness.

She clung to Wang Lanfeng softly, “Mother, just not starving isn’t enough.”

“Actually, your daughter is quite greedy. She wants a good life, the kind where she eats meat and drinks soup every day.”

“Mother…”

Wang Lanfeng’s face wrinkled enough to kill a fly.

“…”

Lin Qing knew she couldn’t tease her anymore. If she did, her gentle mother might turn into a hot pepper.

“Mother, look what this is.”

She waved an envelope in front of her mother’s eyes. Wang Lanfeng was startled at first, then overjoyed.

She didn’t know what to say, overwhelmed with anger and joy. This usually good-tempered woman punched Lin Qing twice, “You little rascal.”

She wanted to reach for the envelope, but then drew back, wiping it on her clothes before accepting it, “You really passed? Which school?”

Wang Lanfeng couldn’t read, she just recognized the two characters “Lin Qing” on the envelope.

The envelope had “xx University Education Committee Office” on it. Lin Qing had taken the exam for Shen City Finance and Economics Vocational College.

This college was newly established this year. When filling out the application form, the first form was for key universities, and the second form was for schools that were more likely to be accepted.

Based on the system’s analysis, this college should be easier.

Although it was just a junior college, it was still a remarkable accomplishment in this era, with graduates starting as clerks.

People in the countryside didn’t care about bachelor’s degrees or junior colleges, they only knew that those who passed the college entrance exam were college students.

They would be eating rationed food.

This was a source of pride and glory.

Lin Qing also felt proud, she had only had ten days to review.

Isn’t that amazing,

Big Sister was thinking about her sister’s exam while working in the fields, and she ran to her mother’s house after work.

Deng Lao Pozi’s face wasn’t good, but Big Sister pretended not to see it.

Deng Lao Pozi was so angry she almost popped her eyes out. When she saw her son, she complained, “Look at your wife, she says she’s married into our family, but her heart isn’t here.”

Big Brother-in-law’s face turned serious, “How can my wife’s heart not be with me? When I get a cold, she worries about me. When I don’t eat enough, she worries about me. She even gave birth to two children for me. How can you say her heart isn’t with me?”

“Mother, when you hold Yangyang and Tiantian, don’t you feel guilty?”

Deng Lao Pozi: … You look like you haven’t married a wife in eight lifetimes.

Big Brother-in-law: Mother, why don’t you say you haven’t been through the hardships of a wife in several lifetimes.

Deng Lao Pozi: I can’t talk to you.

As soon as Big Sister entered the house, she just glanced at the two of them and knew something good had happened.

Her mother’s face had a glow of happiness.

“She passed?”

Lin Qing nodded.

Big Sister was so excited she wanted to scream. After the excitement subsided, she felt a little sad, and her eyes gradually turned red.

Their family finally had some good news.

The envelope was still unopened.

They all wanted to wait for Lin Da Hua to come back and open it together.

After all, he was the head of the family.

They had to show him some respect.

When Lin Da Hua returned home, he noticed that his wife and eldest daughter were looking at him with disapproval.

He was a little confused.

What was wrong?

Had Lin Erli come to cause trouble again?

Could they please stop looking at him like that?

He was a little scared.

“Why did you come back so late? We’ve been waiting for you.” Wang Lanfeng said impatiently.

Lin Da Hua scratched his nose, waiting for him?

What big event needed him?

Lin Qing curved her beautiful eyebrows and smiled at her father.

In a flash, Lin Da Hua had a revelation, “She passed?”

Lin Qing smiled even brighter.

Lin Da Hua smiled just as brightly as she did.

The four of them gathered around the table, their eyes burning with anticipation as they stared at the envelope.

Wang Lanfeng and Lin Da Hua were beaming with joy, the humiliation they had suffered in recent days no longer mattered.

Lin Qing cleared her throat, sat up straight with a serious expression, “Since everyone is here, I’ll open it, shall I?”

“…”

The other three didn’t say anything, they just watched Lin Qing.

Lin Qing chuckled.

Awkward.

She was bold, and she opened the envelope and carelessly dumped its contents onto the table.

Wang Lanfeng’s heart sank, afraid she would damage the acceptance letter, “Be careful.”

The first thing that fell out of the envelope was a train ticket.

Lin Qing and Big Sister were elated.

This train ticket would save them a lot of money.

Lin Da Hua and Wang Lanfeng were also happy to see the ticket, for their family, the biggest hurdle was over.

Besides the acceptance letter, there was also a list of requirements in the envelope.

The reporting date was the 27th, and students needed to have a chest X-ray at a regular hospital, as well as complete their household registration and grain ration transfer procedures.

They also needed to get the family economic investigation form stamped at the village committee.

Transferring grain rations meant selling their annual grain quota to the grain station.

Lin Da Hua had learned medicine from his grandfather for two years and could read. After reading the letter, he said, “Tomorrow we’ll go sell grain, and we’ll sell the dried herbs together.”

Time was tight, Lin Qing had to get everything done in the next two days.

Wang Lanfeng was already planning what to pack for Lin Qing to take to school.

The couple’s thoughts were racing, racking their brains to figure out what they needed to do before their daughter left for school.

Big Sister was more composed. She looked at the acceptance letter, then at the ticket.

She pondered for a while before asking, “Third Sister, is your school in the same place as Zhao Hui Zhou’s training college?”

The joyful atmosphere instantly faded.

It was very unlucky.

Wang Lanfeng and Lin Da Hua realized that their daughter seemed to have applied to a place that was quite far away.

The couple looked at Lin Qing with a mix of worry and concern.

San Ya, you still can’t let go of Zhao Hui Zhou, right?