Chapter 10

When Song Haowen’s parents finally realized what was happening, Song Haowen and Zheng Yishui including his group, had already left. They hurriedly chased after them from the construction site. Concerned about potential issues, the other villagers also followed.

Arriving at the mudflat about a mile away, Song Haowen saw that his parents and the rest of the crowd had been left far behind. Thinking that he needed to resolve the matter quickly, he decided to stop running and turned around. He stared sharply at Zheng Yishui and said, “My time is precious, so let’s resolve this quickly.”

Zheng Yishui thought to himself, “I’ve seen bold people, but never this bold.” He was also afraid that the his parents and others might catch up, making it difficult for him to take action. Without hesitation, he clenched his fists and charged forward, saying, “Song, since you’re not afraid to die, I’ll help you achieve that!”

Song Haowen mocked, “What’s with the chatter? Just a fight, right? Come. I don’t have time to play around. Go ahead, all of you attack together. I’ll make you doubt life and make your sorry face cry.”

Zheng Yishui laughed heartily, saying, “No wonder you managed to become some kind of top scholar. Your mouth is indeed sharp! Brothers, let’s go together. As long as we don’t kill him its fine! Let’s beat his face into a pulp!! “

The gang of thugs, armed with sticks and bricks, rushed at Song Haowen, attacking him from all directions.

Seeing the group approaching, Song Haowen swiftly moved his body, using his hands to strike in one direction while kicking and dodging with his legs. In an instant, he knocked down seven or eight of the thugs.

Without waiting for the others to react, Song Haowen, with great momentum, swiftly defeated the remaining thugs. Zheng Yishui was dumbfounded. Even when Song Haowen grabbed his collar and relentlessly punched him, he showed no reaction.

At that moment, Song Haowen’s parents and the others arrived, panting. They expected to find Song Haowen in a miserable state, but to their surprise, only Song Haowen stood there while all the thugs, including Zheng Yishui, were on the ground begging for mercy.

What kind of situation was this? Did some hero step in to right the wrongs? But there were clearly no outsiders around.

To everyone’s confusion, Zheng Yishui unexpectedly knelt in front of Song Haowen’s parents, begging for forgiveness. He promised never to have any ill intentions towards Song Huifua again. He looked genuinely frightened, as if he had been scared straight.

Although Song Huisheng harbored deep hatred towards Zheng Yishui, considering the other party’s parents and the fact that he had already been severely punished, and after sincere apologies, Song Huisheng decided not to pursue the matter further. After multiple assurances from Zheng Yishui, they were allowed to leave.

The news of Zheng Yishui causing trouble and getting beaten before being let go quickly reached his father, Zheng Donghe. Furious, Zheng Donghe not only gave his son a good beating but also confined him for a day. He brought gifts and personally went to apologize to Song Huisheng’s family.

Song Family Welcomed him, since it was a matter caused by Zheng Donghe’s son, and considering the punishment his son received, along with sincere apologies, Song Huisheng chose not to hold a grudge.

A few weeks later, the small building in Song Haowen’s home was finally completed. On an auspicious day, the whole family joyfully moved in. With more rooms available, the allocation became easier. The first floor had two rooms, one for the parents and another for the eldest son, Song Haojun, who was still serving in the military. The second floor had three bedrooms, one each for the second sister Song Huihua, the fourth brother Song Haomin, and the youngest sister Song Huifang. The youngest, Song Huifang, preferred not to live alone and chose to stay with her second sister.

As the first small building in the entire commune, coupled with the recent achievement of having the top scorer in the province’s college entrance exam, the Song family became the center of attention.

To celebrate Song Haowen’s admission to the university in Beijing and the completion of the new house, Song Huisheng slaughtered a big pig, hosted a banquet for several days, and entertained relatives, friends, and all the members of the commune.

In this Era, Where Song Haowen we’re located the issue of adequate food and clothing had not been fully resolved for the commune members. Throughout the year, they rarely had the chance to eat meat. Even when they were guests, the meat-filled dumplings on the banquet table, usually three per person, would be frugally eaten, with two saved to take home for their children to taste. When hosting guests, dishes like potato stew with meat or mushroom chicken had only a thin layer of meat on top, with the rest being potatoes or mushrooms. Those who were a bit slow might not even get a piece of meat.

However, Song Haowen’s family’s treat this time was unprecedentedly generous. They hired a chef from the commune’s restaurant, and the dishes were abundant, substantial, and delicious, earning praises from the commune members.

Therefore, no matter how interesting the previous topic might be, as soon as the dishes were served, the eyes of all the members at the table would quickly focus on the steaming dishes, waiting for someone to shout “eat” so they could immediately dance with their chopsticks. The flying time of the chopsticks was extremely short, and the room would soon quiet down again because the most desired food had already entered the mouths of the members, becoming a delicious treat for chewing and savoring.

The wine used at the banquet did not come from famous brands; it was just common barnyard grass wine. This choice was not due to reluctance or an attempt to save money, but rather Li Ying’s disagreement. She believed that their family had already garnered a lot of attention this time, and using expensive wine would appear too ostentatious, making it easy for some villagers to succumb to envy. From a different perspective, the effect of treating guests would be counterproductive. Most people agreed with her viewpoint, so they followed her instructions and opted for barnyard grass wine.

On the third day after treating the guests, a super typhoon hit the countryside with maximum winds exceeding 11 levels. The Song Haowen family did not suffer any losses because of their newly built house; only a few trees in front and behind the house collapsed. However, the villagers still lived in houses made with mud walls and grass. Many houses were either overturned, or the walls collapsed. Coupled with the continuous pouring rain, many members of the community could not stay in their homes, so they all crowded into Song Haowen’s house. In the end, they were all accommodated.

Based on his experiences from a past life, Song Haowen knew that this year, all designated high schools in the county had set up college entrance exam preparatory classes. He himself had entered university through such classes. Although his second sister, Song Huihua, hadn’t taken the college entrance exam, her foundation was decent. If she went for a retake, coupled with Song Haowen’s knowledge from his past life, having participated in the 1980 college entrance exam, he was familiar with the content of both the science and arts papers. Providing a discreet hint during the exam, getting into a top-tier university should be no problem.

Encouraged by Song Haowen, Song Huihua agreed to retake the exam, and their parents expressed their support.

Initially, Song Huihua felt embarrassed, fearing mockery from recent graduates due to her age. However, after Song Haowen explained, she learned that there were many older candidates this year, some in their thirties with children. At nineteen, she shouldn’t feel any psychological burden.

According to the unified arrangement of the county education bureau, unless there were special circumstances, college entrance exam preparatory classes were open to students within a designated area. Song Huihua was admitted to the Hongqi Middle School college entrance exam preparatory class.

The registration for preparatory classes started a few days earlier than that for Beijing University, so Song Haowen accompanied his second sister to Hongqi Middle School for registration.

At that time, there was a saying: “Mastering mathematics, physics, and chemistry makes you fearless anywhere in the world.” Additionally, due to the insufficient emphasis on liberal arts students by various high schools, with most excellent teachers leaning towards science classes, students with good grades tended to choose science.

Song Huihua’s science scores were average, but her liberal arts scores were above average, making applying for liberal arts the best choice. Fortunately, Hongqi Middle School had a preparatory class for liberal arts, allowing her to fulfill her wish.

After registration, Song Huihua stayed at the school as a boarder. The students who had already registered studied on their own until most of the class gathered, and then the school officially started the classes. To Song Huihua’s surprise, there were a few high school classmates who used to be close to her in the preparatory class, making her feel happy and less lonely.

Before Song Haowen returned home, he left 600 yuan for Song Huihua as pocket money. Initially hesitant to accept, she said that there would be many expenses when studying in the capital, and Song Haowen should keep the money. After Song Haowen persuaded her, Song Huihua finally accepted the money, promising to study hard and not disappoint the family’s expectations.

On the second day after Song Haowen escorted his second sister to school, Zhou Lei, a classmate, brought five or six male and female classmates to his house to play. Since they didn’t pass the exam, they also planned to attend the preparatory class at Hongqi Middle School in the next semester. Song Haowen warmly welcomed them, and lunch was abundant.

Looking at the newly built house in Song Haowen’s family and thinking about his upcoming journey to the north for further studies, while they had to stay up late for hard studying, uncertain if they could pass the exam next year, the classmates felt uneasy. One of the female classmates named Cao Yan, while talking, unexpectedly shed tears.

Watching these close classmates, and knowing that some of them would have to go through several high school entrance exams to succeed, and one of them had chosen to give up after failing five times, Song Haowen’s emotions were complex. He wanted to help them but also hesitated, afraid to take action. Because, unlike his second sister, they wouldn’t unquestionably believe his words. If he leaked exam questions in advance, it would undoubtedly raise suspicion and might even jeopardize his own chances in this year’s college entrance exam.