Wen Jiajia was a bit tempted. “Do you think we should take this opportunity to renovate the courtyard?”

Wei Dai replied, “It’s collapsed, and only the foundation is left. It will be impossible to repair it in one or two months.”

Wen Jiajia glared. “Why not? If the project isn’t moving fast enough, it only means there’s not enough money.”

Wei Dai advised, “Didn’t you say you wanted to buy the house next door? If you repair it now, won’t you need to repair it again when you actually buy the next door?”

That’s right. Wen Jiajia was committed to building a garden for herself!

What is next door? She even wanted to buy the house next door to that!

She had asked Hao Qingying to secretly find out that the person living next door actually wanted to sell his house.

The main reason is that people nowadays prefer apartment buildings. The family next door even said they would exchange their yard for an apartment building.

Wen Jiajia was deeply moved, but it was of no use since she didn’t have a house.

The exam was over, but Teng Huan, who was expected to attend, did not show up.

There was no avoiding the karaoke or dinner plans. Wen Jiajia had a good night’s sleep and then returned to her usual routine.

She was bored for over half a month and began wandering around the neighborhood like a street urchin.

By “neighborhood,” she meant the entire Linhe area.

Linhe would become a well-known tourist city in a few decades, with numerous attractions. It had been a tourist spot since ancient times, so there was no shortage of places to visit.

It was unimaginable that Wen Jiajia had never visited any of the tourist attractions in the several years she had been here.

At the end of the month, after Wen Chun and Wen Xuan finished their vacation, Wen Jiajia decided to take the whole family out for a day of fun.

They started by visiting various gardens. The interiors of the gardens had changed little compared to decades ago, but the biggest changes were on the outside.

Nowadays, residential areas still surrounded the gardens, but these were gradually being transformed into commercial areas.

The tourist spots were not crowded, so Wen Jiajia and her family had a great time.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were completely engrossed. The two sisters stared wide-eyed, exclaiming over the rockeries and exquisite window lattices. If the flowers in the gardens had been in bloom, their reactions would have been even more enthusiastic.

As for Xiaomei, she was still young, and they didn’t dare let her wander off. This was her first time in the city, and she constantly asked a hundred questions, nearly driving Wen Jiajia crazy.

Only the aunt could fully appreciate the beautiful gardens at this moment. She even gave Wen Jiajia some suggestions. She knew Wen Jiajia wanted to build a garden. Although Wei Dai thought her idea was particularly unreliable and doubted it could be realized, the aunt believed in Wen Jiajia and discussed the matter with her sincerely.

After spending a week touring the gardens, they went to the temple.

Although they hadn’t dared to visit the temple in previous years, people had started going there recently, not for worship but to enjoy the scenery.

Wen Jiajia vaguely remembered that in the next two years, the temple and its gardens would undergo a comprehensive renovation.

What they saw now was one kind of scenery; what they would see in the future would be different.

The group visited the temple and climbed the mountain.

When the trip ended, Wen Jiajia received news—not of her admission, but the news that admission was near.

She needed to undergo a physical examination!

Wen Jiajia received the medical examination notice in mid-January, the first one in the family compound.

This news made her jump for joy.

Teacher Shen heard the commotion and came over to ask, “Are we going for a physical examination now? Where are we going?”

Wen Jiajia replied happily, “We’re going to the People’s Hospital! We’ll go there tomorrow.”

Teacher Shen didn’t have any college entrance examination candidates in her family, so she just asked and then left it alone. However, other families with candidates were getting anxious, wondering why their families hadn’t received any news.

Wen Jiajia went to the People’s Hospital for her physical examination the next day. About 30 other people were there for the same reason.

She couldn’t help but think that the admission rate was really low.

The physical examination was very thorough, including a chest X-ray.

Later, two more people in the family compound received notices for physical examinations.

Sha Yue and Hao Qingying also went, and Wen Jiajia was happy for them.

Sha Yue’s first choice was a normal school in this city, and her second choice was a normal school in the next city. Hao Qingying’s first choice was in Hai City, just like Wen Jiajia. She liked big cities and wanted to explore them.

Hao Qingying had studied financial accounting.

Wen Jiajia was impressed. Those who study accounting are always talented!

She had applied to Haishi College of Finance and Economics. Some stereotypes popped into Wen Jiajia’s mind. If Hao Qingying was admitted, she would need to be reminded to follow the law in her future work.

After graduating from this school, she should not go to a branch school.

The admission letters were released half a month after the physical examinations. At that time, Wen Jiajia was at home, trying to make spring roll wrappers.

She struggled with the ratio of flour to water. The aunt was out shopping with Teacher Shen’s mother next door, so Wen Jiajia had no one to ask for help and had to try it herself.

It was actually Wen Xuan’s fault. When she woke up, she said she had dreamed of spring rolls and wanted to eat them, prompting Wen Jiajia to start making them.

Luckily, there were sprouted bean sprouts at home, leeks planted in the vegetable garden, dried tofu from Wei Dai’s recent purchase, and blanched winter bamboo shoots and fresh pork in the cupboard. These ingredients were enough to make two kinds of spring roll fillings.

However, after making the fillings of bean sprouts, dried tofu, leeks, and meat, Wen Jiajia struggled with making the spring roll wrappers.

“Aunt, is there no way to make the pancakes?” Wen Xuan asked while squatting beside her. Seeing her aunt fail to make several pancakes, she became worried.

Wen Jiajia thought for a moment and said, “I’ll try again.”

To try, just add more water and flour… like making nesting dolls, eventually, you’ll get the dough to the right consistency.

Yes, that’s right.

Wen Jiajia then sat in front of the iron plate and began spreading the dough.

This time, the dough was finally spread to the standard, and Wen Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Wen Jiajia was initially flustered, but as she made more sheets, she became more adept at it.

Wen Xuan was thrilled: “I want to eat first.”

Wen Jiajia: “Go ahead, the filling is on the table. Remember to put the dough on the plate to wrap it, not on the table. The table hasn’t been wiped yet.”

…The aunt went out that morning without having breakfast, planning to eat noodles in the city.

Wen Jiajia had slept until after eight and used leftover rice to cook century egg and lean meat porridge, not eating until nine o’clock.

Wen Xuan said, “Oh,” and ran to get a plate.

The good girl was very filial. She gave the first roll of spring rolls she made to Wen Jiajia and the second roll to her sister, who was reading in the room.

Wen Jiajia had bought a lot of picture books two days ago, spending over 20 yuan in total. Wen Chun was as thrilled as a mouse falling into a rice jar.

After dividing the spring rolls, Wen Xuan wrapped a small one for Xiaomei, who was drooling at the table. Then it was her turn to enjoy herself.

Wen Xuan prepared a cup of osmanthus honey water, took out a picture book, rolled up two spring rolls for herself, and began to eat them slowly, as if she were having afternoon tea.

This “afternoon tea” would have been perfect if not for the interruption halfway through the meal.

“Jia Jia, Jia Jia!”

“Your acceptance letter has arrived.”

Suddenly, a group of people rushed into the house. Lao Wang was at the front, holding an envelope in his hand.

Wen Jiajia was momentarily stunned, then stood up abruptly, dough still in her hands!

She quickly put the dough into the bowl but didn’t have time to wash her hands. She exclaimed, “An admission letter!”

She had thought it would take several more days to arrive!

“Yes, it’s from Haishi,” Lao Wang said, clearly delighted. He was about to hand it to her but noticed her hands covered in wet flour and set the envelope on the table instead.

Wen Jiajia quickly washed her hands and then opened the envelope.

She already knew which school it was, as she had only applied to Haishi College of Finance and Economics in Hai City.

Sure enough, the school’s name was visible once she opened it. Wen Jiajia managed to stay calm, but everyone else was astonished.

As one of the top universities in the East, it was no wonder they were so shocked.

Lao Wang’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Jia Jia, you’re amazing! How many points do you need to get into this school?”

At least more than 300!

Wen Jiajia didn’t have time to respond because everyone else was crowded around her, eager to see the admission letter. Even Wen Chun came running out of the room.

Only Xiaomei, too small to get in, stood outside the crowd, yelling angrily with her hands on her hips.

The more Wen Jiajia read the letter, the happier she felt. She then noticed the reporting time—wow! She had to go at the end of February.

That’s only about half a month away.