Chapter 64

Song Haowen was overjoyed when his parents finally agreed to move to Beijing. He immediately discussed the plan with his parents and second sister, and they decided there was no need to wait for Song Huihua’s college entrance exam results; they could start preparing right away.

Firstly, they needed to find a way to lease out the contracted land. However, this had to be done discreetly because transferring the land to others so soon after obtaining it could lead to complications if narrow-minded people found out.

Secondly, they had to deal with the crops and vegetables grown on the land they intended to keep for themselves. They didn’t want to rent this land out, but they needed to leave it to someone trustworthy. Otherwise, unpleasant situations might arise if they wanted to reclaim it later.

Thirdly, they needed to handle the pigs, chickens, and ducks on their property. They would sell them if possible, or consume them if needed. Either way, they had to deal with these matters before leaving.

Fourthly, they would wait for Song Huihua’s results before making their move. If she passed, they would need to fill out the university enrollment preferences and wait for the admission letter. Without anyone at home, they wouldn’t be able to receive the admission letter promptly.

Lastly, and most importantly, Song Haowen needed to resolve the matter of his younger brother and sister transferring to a new school next semester. Without a household registration in Beijing, transferring to a school in the capital was almost impossible. The only solution was to spend money to arrange for them to attend as external students and then figure out how to transfer their school records.

While the first four tasks were relatively easier compared to the last one, they still required time and effort. Once these were mostly settled, Song Huihua’s exam results came out. She excelled in the liberal arts, ranking first in the city, and like her younger brother, she was accepted early into the Literature College of Beijing University.

The Song family, with two top scorers, two Beijing University students, caused a sensation in the province, attracting various honors and awards. As for Song Haowen’s high school classmate Zhou Lei, as predicted by Song Haowen, he did not perform well in the college entrance exams and had to repeat two years to enter university.

Once again, the Song family hosted a grand banquet, celebrating both Song Huihua’s acceptance to Beijing University and the family’s impending move to the capital.

The feast also served as a thank-you to all the fellow villagers. Of course, they didn’t dare to announce that the whole family was settling in Beijing. They simply said that both their children were studying in the capital, and they were going there to look after them for a while.

Therefore, when they left, they only took essential items, leaving everything else, including bedding, as they could buy everything they needed there.

Before leaving their hometown, Song Haowen specifically visited his grandparents and invited them to come and stay in Beijing for some time.

He regretted not having a car at the moment, especially a business car that could accommodate more people.

Leaving the rural area for urban education was the happiest thing for Song Haomin, the fourth child, and Song Huafang, the youngest. To facilitate their move, Song Haowen requested a transfer certificate from the school for both of them.

It was early August in the Gregorian calendar, and the availability of bus tickets was not tight. Considering the large family and the numerous packages they had, traveling from the rural area to the county town in the early morning to catch a bus was inconvenient.

Therefore, the Song family arrived a day early and stayed in a guesthouse at the county station, purchasing adjoining sleeper tickets in advance.

The next day, when Song Haowen and his family boarded the bus, they were surprised to find that the two drivers were both familiar. Wei Da, the chubby one, and Han Dong, the thin one They overjoyed to see Song Haowen and warmly arranged for his family.

To avoid any trouble, Song Haowen asked the two drivers not to disclose his identity, and they both assured him that they wouldn’t add to his travel burdens.

Throughout the journey, Wei Da and Han Dong chatted and joked with Song Haowen’s family, making the trip seem less lengthy. Song Haowen was the only one in the family who had traveled on a long-distance bus before the rest of the family found the journey quite exciting, especially with the anticipation of settling in Beijing and Song Huihua’s admission to Beijing University.

Whenever there was a rest stop, Wei Da and Han Dong invited Song Haowen’s family to their driver’s compartment for a meal. Song Haowen didn’t want any special treatment, politely declining their offer, and the family had simple meals in the main lobby.

To avoid being recognized by fans and causing a commotion, Song Haowen always wore a hat and sunglasses when getting off the bus. His attire remained modest.

He tried not to go to crowded places, and if necessary, he moved quickly through, attempting to attract as little attention as possible. Due to his cautious approach, no one discovered his identity during the journey.

Upon arriving in Beijing at noon, Song Haowen and his family bid farewell to Wei Da and Han Dong, waving as the drivers drove away.

They then found a restaurant to have a meal. After lunch, Song Haowen took the family to his business store to rest. In the afternoon, he went out with Qian Youlai to buy a few folding beds for them to use.

In the evening, as Zhu Hongyu and Ren Hua were both in town, having returned to school a week earlier, Song Haowen invited them, along with Qian Youlai and Wang Li, to have dinner with his family to get to know each other.

When Zhu Hongyu and the others heard that Song Huihua, the second child of the Song family, had also been admitted to Beijing University this year, they were all astonished.

As a rural family, producing two top scorers, both becoming provincial and city exam champions and gaining admission to Beijing University, was an unprecedented achievement.

Song Huafang, the fifth child, and Song Haomin, the fourth, were still young but were mentioned by Song Haowen’s father. He confidently stated that with the strong family genes, the fourth and fifth children would undoubtedly excel in their exams and get into prestigious universities.

His implicit message was that their family genes were exceptional, and he had produced excellent offspring.

Hearing her husband bragging, Li Ying, Song Haowen’s mother, sarcastically remarked, “You can’t even do math, and yet you have the nerve to boast about being intelligent?”

Song Huaisheng’s secrets were exposed by his wife, and he blushed, bravely saying, “That’s because I didn’t want to learn. If I want to learn, is there anything I can’t learn?”

Ren Hua immediately chimed in, “As the saying goes, a dragon begets a dragon, a phoenix begets a phoenix, and the son of a mouse can…”

She suddenly realized she had said too much, and the last two words were not suitable to be spoken aloud. Blushing, she dared not continue.

However, her meaning was clear to everyone, and it triggered a burst of laughter, making her feel a bit awkward.

Song Huihua knew that if it weren’t for her younger brother, she would have little hope in this year’s college entrance examination. In terms of intelligence, she wasn’t worthy; only her younger brother was qualified.

She quickly humbly said, “It was a coincidence that I did well in the college entrance exam. The topics happened to be ones I had mostly encountered before, so the exam was relatively easy for me. In terms of intelligence, I can’t compare to my two sisters.”

Zhu Hongyu laughed, “I don’t know much about your situation, little sister, but I know about your brother. He is exceptionally smart. We never see him studying textbooks normally, and it seems like he doesn’t review much before exams, but every class test, he always ranks first, leaving the second-place far behind.”

Song Haowen proudly shook his head, “This is called blessed people not needing to work hard, and an unfortunate person working hard in vain.”

Ren Hua rolled her eyes, “Just mentioned being fat, and you’re already panting.”

Wang Li said seriously, “Sister, although Xiao Songzi’s strength is evident, if he doesn’t pant, we might not notice it.”

Song Haowen blushed and said to Qian Youlai, “Don’t you care about your future wife? Look at what she said, how bad.”

Qian Youlai chuckled, “Master, I think Xiao Li’s words make sense.”

Song Haowen pretended to be angry, “I’m not your master. Is there such a disciple like you in this world?”

Wang Li acted as if she were wronged, “Master, I was wrong…”

With a “boom,” the whole table burst into laughter.

After dinner, Song Haowen asked Zhu Hongyu and the others to go home, and he took his family for a stroll on the street. It was their first time in a big city, and everything seemed interesting and fresh, turning them into curious childrens.

In the department store, Song Haowen told everyone to pick out clothes freely. If they liked it, he would buy it. At first, his parents and second sister hesitated to choose expensive ones,

but later, Song Haowen had come up with a big idea, saying, “From now on, when I take you out to spend, today will be the standard. If you spend ten yuan today, next time you can only spend ten yuan. If you spend a thousand today, next time you can spend a thousand.”

Although everyone thought Song Haowen was joking, they gradually let go of their psychological barriers and started to spend generously.

In the end, each person bought more than two sets of new clothes, carrying big and small bags as if they were a group purchasing goods at a market, which made them all laugh.

After buying everything, Song Haowen took everyone to a hair salon. After this transformation and putting on new clothes, it was likely that Zhu Hongyu and the others wouldn’t recognize them at all.

At night, Song Haowen gave the east room to his parents, the west room to his second sister and youngest sister, and he and his fourth brother slept on two folding beds in the living room.

The night passed without incident. When the day broke, Song Haowen took his family to a restaurant for brunch.

After brunch, Song Haowen said, “Let’s go look at the houses.” Song HuaiSheng and Li Ying were puzzled, asking, “The house we’re living in now is big enough. Why do we need to look at other houses?”

Song Haowen smiled without answering, deliberately keeping them in suspense, “You’ll know when you see it later.” He hailed two taxis, taking the family to Yangliu Hutong first to visit a quadrangle courtyard.

Everyone said it was too big; the family didn’t need more than a dozen rooms.

Song Haowen said, “Mom, Dad, this is the smallest quadrangle courtyard I bought. Come on, I’ll show you a medium-sized one. It’s not far from here, we can walk.”

With an immensely shocked mood, the family followed Song Haowen to Xinger Hutong to visit a double-entry quadrangle courtyard.

Seeing the scale and decoration of the courtyard, Song Huai Sheng and Li Ying were more shocked and bewildered than entering the Grand View Garden, hardly believing whether what they saw was real.

“Third son, you said this courtyard is also bought by you?” Li Ying asked hesitantly.

“How much does this house cost? Third son, is your money obtained legally?” Song HuaiSheng asked anxiously.