Chapter 63

Song Haowen thought for a moment and came up with a reason. “Second sister, the test papers I sent you are very important. These questions were prepared by professors from Beijing University, and they basically cover the content of the college entrance examination. They said that as long as you do well on these papers, you’re guaranteed to get into university.”

Song Huihua wasn’t entirely convinced by her younger brother’s words, but out of consideration for his face, she didn’t say much. She just mentioned that the college entrance exam was in three days, and since she had already done these papers, there was no time to go back and review them.

Song Haowen was unconvinced and asked, “Second sister, do you think you’ll pass this year? What’s your confidence level?”

Song Huihua felt a bit embarrassed. “I don’t think there’s hope this year.”

Song Haowen smiled at his sister and said, “Since you think you won’t pass this year, why worry? You’ve studied for a whole year, and these three days won’t make much of a difference. How about taking a gamble with me? You might still pass.”

Skeptically, Song Huihua looked at her younger brother. “How do we gamble?”

Song Haowen calmly said, “Starting from now, put all your textbooks and exercises aside. Just focus on the three sets of test papers I gave you. Go through them carefully, redo them from start to finish. Then memorize all the correct answers I provided. Even if you still don’t pass, you’ve only wasted three days. Nothing to lose.”

After some hesitation, Song Huihua made up her mind. She chose to trust her younger brother, considering he was the top scorer in the province and had his own strategy for the college entrance exam.

“Alright. I’ll follow your advice. I won’t look at anything else, and I won’t study anything else. Starting now, I’ll redo the test papers you provided.”

“Great. Second sister, just follow my lead, and I guarantee you’ll get into the first batch of enrolled universities.”

“Hmm, we’ll see about that.”

Song Huihua smiled. Even if she could get into a vocational school, she’d be satisfied. After all, that meant entering the cadre system. Although she didn’t take her younger brother’s words too seriously, considering them more as encouragement, from this moment on, she isolated herself in her room and earnestly worked on the test papers.

Song Haowen kept a close eye on his sister’s progress with the papers. Six or seven subjects, three sets of papers each—it took considerable time to go through them all.

After three consecutive days of hard work, Song Huihua finally completed all the questions. At the same time, Song Haowen provided her with two full-score essays he had written during his spare time.

Two days before the college entrance exam, Song Haowen asked his sister to memorize the answers to the questions that required it. Song Huihua had completely given up her own opinions, behaving like a puppet, obediently following all of her younger brother’s arrangements.

The day before the college entrance exam, just like Song Haowen did the previous year, Song Huihua stayed at the Red Flag Middle School exam center.

Following her brother’s advice, she didn’t bring any textbooks but only carried the test papers he provided, repeatedly memorizing the corresponding answers before the exam.

On the first day, when the Chinese language test papers were distributed, Song Huihua looked through the entire paper and was almost shocked.

Every question on the paper was one she had practiced on the test papers provided by her brother, even the content of the essay question was exactly the same.

She immediately bent over her desk, trying to calm her heart that was about to jump out of her chest. The invigilator, thinking she might have a health issue due to excessive nervousness, rushed over to inquire about the situation.

Song Huihua was startled by the invigilator’s questions, her face turning from pale to crimson. She felt as if she were suspected of committing a crime, and her heart trembled for a moment.

Quickly trying to cover up, she claimed to be a little nervous and just wanted to calm down, nothing serious. The invigilator, satisfied with her response, smiled reassuringly and walked back to the podium.

After this shock, Song Huihua calmed down and focused on answering the exam questions. Since she had practiced all these questions repeatedly, solving them was relatively easy. When she finished the essay, the entire paper took her less than an hour.

Song Huihua carefully reviewed her answers twice, triple-checking her examination number and name. Once everything was confirmed, she didn’t rush to submit her paper. She waited until the bell rang for submissions and then followed her classmates to turn in her paper.

After the Chinese exam, instead of joining others to discuss the test, Song Huihua, unlike other students, sneaked away to the back of the classroom. Finding a quiet spot under a tree, she reviewed the history papers for the afternoon exam. At this point, she had complete trust in the test papers provided by her younger brother.

As expected, the history exam in the afternoon went unexpectedly smoothly. Song Huihua was so happy and excited, daring to guess that she was not far from a perfect score in both of these exams.

After the two exams, the class teacher came over specifically to inquire about Song Huihua’s performance. She didn’t dare to tell the truth; instead, she mentioned that the exams felt manageable, and the key points had been covered in class. However, she couldn’t predict the final results.

The class teacher considered Song Huihua as more of a companion in the exam rather than a serious candidate to pass the exam. Without dwelling on the implications of her words, the teacher encouraged her, asking her to focus on the remaining exams and strive to create a miracle.

In the subsequent exams, Song Huihua remained calm and composed, completely devoid of the sense of triumph that some students displayed. After completing all the exams, her younger brother, Song Haowen, was waiting for her outside the exam room.

Upon seeing him, she almost burst into tears. After waving goodbye to the teachers and classmates, she rushed to her brother’s side, ignoring the presence of hundreds of students and teachers. She hugged him tightly, kissed his forehead multiple times, leaving Song Haowen blushing.

“Sis, how did you do in the exams?” Song Haowen quickly pushed away from his sister, expressing concern about her exams.

“Thank you, Third Brother! This time, it seems I might pass the examn. I should be able to get into university.” Song Huihua smiled, radiant and charming.

Song Haowen laughed. “Sis, this time, I’m afraid you might even get into our Beijing University.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Song Huihua looked around at the surrounding crowd, feeling a bit embarrassed. She whispered, “Thanks to your test papers this time. If I really end up in the provincial university, I’ll be laughing in my sleep.”

“Then just keep laughing all the way through, don’t fall asleep.”

“Third Brother, you’re so annoying!” Song Huihua suddenly realized something, her pretty face showing a slight pout. “Alright, when we get home, I’ll tell Mom that you bullied your sister, okay?”

“How did I bully you?”

“You compared me to Fan Jin and said I’d be ecstatic! It’s so mean!”

“Don’t overthink it. I didn’t mean that.”

“But you did. Tell me, wouldn’t someone go crazy if they never slept?”

“Do you think madness is something anyone can achieve? Some people wish to go mad but aren’t qualified.”

“Pah! All you know is to argue!”

…

Song Huihua sat on the back of the bicycle, happily hugging her brother who was riding. The two of them bantered all the way until they reached the doorstep.

Seeing her second daughter returning home happily with her third son, Li Ying estimated that the exam results should be good. Thinking that there would soon be two university students in the family, she felt extremely pleased.

“Second daughter, you look so happy. Did you do well in the exams?”

“It was okay.” Song Huihua intentionally left room for suspense in case the results didn’t meet her expectations.

“Mom, Dad, relax. Second sister is determined to pass the exam this time. Be prepared for her to go to university in Beijing.”

“What? Third Son, what are you saying? Can Second Daughter really go to university? Can she study in Beijing like you?” At this moment, Song HuaiSheng returned home, seeming somewhat incredulous after hearing his third son’s words.

“Mom, Dad, don’t listen to Third Brother’s nonsense. The results haven’t come out yet. Nothing is certain. Brother third, aren’t you afraid you’re guaranteeing something to early? ” Song Huihua scolded with a blush on her face.

Song Haowen immediately made a funny face, making Second Sister and their parents burst into laughter.

“Second Son, you’ve come back just in time. We were waiting for you to make a decision,” Song HuaiSheng said.

Song Huihua looked puzzled. “What decision do you need me to make?”

“I’ll tell you, Second Sister.” Song Haowen jumped in.

It turned out that in the production brigade, after several days of debate and discussion, they had finally settled on a land contracting plan two days ago. According to this plan, the Song family would get nine mu of arable land with a leasing period of thirty years.

According to Song Haowen’s thoughts during winter break, in addition to cultivating these nine mu of land, their family should also consider renting more unused land. At that time, he had given the money he had prepared to buy a tractor to his father.

But since Song Haowen bought four sets of quadrangle courtyards in Beijing, he felt that his parents didn’t need to stay in their hometown and endure the hardships of farming. He wanted to bring them to Beijing, manage the quadrangle courtyards, and, if the adults were willing, they could even open a business to avoid getting bored.

Song Haowen didn’t immediately share this idea with his parents upon returning home. He wanted to wait until after his sister had taken the college entrance exams to avoid distracting her during the crucial review period.

After Song Huihua went to Red Flag Middle School to take the exams, he finally discussed this idea with his parents. Upon hearing it, his parents were first surprised.

They hadn’t expected their third son to be so successful. In just one year, he had acquired such significant property in Beijing. Although they were tempted to live in Beijing, they were reluctant to part with the nine mu of land and the newly built house.

Additionally, they were concerned about their second daughter. If she didn’t get admitted to university this year, she would likely have to retake the exams next year. By then, they couldn’t leave her alone to attend review classes.

Now, upon hearing that their second daughter had done well in the exams and might be admitted to university, eliminating the need for further review classes, Song HuaiSheng and Li Ying felt joyous. They happily shared the suggestion given by their third son.

Song Huihua, upon learning that her third brother had acquired such substantial property in Beijing, was also surprised. However, she strongly supported the idea of the whole family moving to Beijing.

She said that even if she didn’t get admitted this year, she wouldn’t attend review classes at Red Flag Middle School anymore. Once in Beijing, as long as she was willing to endure hardships, even without a diploma, there might be plenty of opportunities.

Song HuaiSheng and Li Ying secretly harbored a deep desire to live in Beijing. They felt that with the opportunity provided by their third son, it would be a waste not to seize it.

In the future, if their eldest son, Song Haojun, decided to transition to a different career, it would be ideal if he chose Beijing. If he didn’t want to move, they could stay in their hometown. After all, the house and the nine mu of contracted land would be sufficient for their eldest son’s married life.

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