Chapter 147

After discussions between the two families and the children, they ultimately decided to continue creating content through serialized publication in the weekly magazine.

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Han Cheng will go to Minister Jiang’s place before starting work tomorrow, tell him our thoughts, and then have him schedule a meeting with the publishing house. We will only decide on the general direction, let the children talk to them about the details, and also need to determine the topic and story framework. What I mean is that while summer vacation is not over yet, the children should create more saved manuscripts for future needs. Do you think so, children?”

Xiao Roubao raised his hand first and said, “I think it’s great. Ma Ma was right!”

The adults couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

Fantuan, holding his younger brother during the meeting, rubbed his brother’s chubby cheeks. “What do you think, huh? Do you even understand what Mom is talking about?”

Xiao Roubao pried Fantuan’s hand off. “Bad Gege…”

Fantuan retorted, “You’re so good, Xiao Roubao, Gege was planning to work hard to earn money to buy you meat to eat, and you dare call me a bad brother?”

Xiao Doubao rescued his brother’s face from his older brother’s grasp and pulled him closer. “Listen to big brother.”

Xiao Roubao wriggled free from his brother’s embrace and went back to his big brother, trying to please him. “Gege is a good person!”

Xiao Doubao patted his brother’s chubby little bottom. “I spoiled you too much, you little traitor. When I earn my fees, I won’t buy you candy.”

Xiao Roubao ran back and rubbed against his second brother. “Brother is also a good person!”

Han Cheng lifted Xiao Roubao onto his lap. “Let’s talk business, stop fooling around.”

Only then did Xiao Roubao obediently stay in his father’s arms.

Xiao Zhuzi said, “Aunt Su, I think this is a good plan. We’ll tell Uncle Jiang what you proposed when the time comes.”

Fantuan took his little brother from his dad’s arms and placed him on his lap. “Mom, don’t worry. We’ll arrange our time ourselves and definitely won’t let it interfere with our studies.” 

Fantuan sighed, “Mom, if I work harder, maybe I can take the college entrance exam with you.”

Yali looked at Su Xiaoxiao in surprise. “Xiaoxiao, you’re still planning to take the college entrance exam?”

Zhang Hongtu also looked at her in surprise.

They were all close friends, so Su Xiaoxiao didn’t intend to hide anything from them. She nodded, “If the college entrance exam is restored, I want to give it a try. Yali, what about you? Will you join me?”

Yali, one year younger than Su Xiaoxiao, was also a member of the older batch who had been held back. She was eligible to take the college entrance exam.

Yali shook her head. “You’ve been persistently studying and reviewing, studying together with the children. I wasn’t able to do that. It’s been nearly ten years since I put down my books, I’ve forgotten everything. Even if I took the exam, it would be pointless.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Except for graduates from the past one or two years, everyone’s starting line is the same. If you really want to pursue higher education, with your years of experience in the cultural troupe, you can definitely apply to art colleges, like the Film Academy of Communication University. Firstly, the cultural score requirements are relatively lower, and secondly, it’s directly related to your expertise. With a diploma and years of stage experience, returning to the cultural troupe would mean you hold a cadre position. If you want to change jobs, like becoming a film actor working behind the scenes, or even becoming a broadcaster, it’s all possible.

I think instead of being unhappy here and suppressed by Su Minglan, it’s better to take a chance. With the official announcement of the reinstatement of the college entrance exam still pending, there’s still time for everything. Even if it’s announced this year and you don’t have enough time to prepare, you can accumulate experience and continue next year. As they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I believe there’s always hope.”

In fact, by the time they reached Yali’s age in the cultural troupe, most of them were already cadre-level pillars of the stage, either transferring to administrative positions or working behind the scenes. Of course, there were also those lifelong artists. Yali was mainly delayed by the Cultural Revolution for a few years, which led to her current situation of being neither here nor there. Coupled with her cautious personality and better looks compared to Su Minglan, as well as her liveliness, it led to Su Minglan’s constant suppression of her.

Su Minglan had decent abilities, but her personality was just too difficult for people to accept. Moreover, being the wife of the headmaster, she always seemed to overshadow Yali. With her intentional suppression, it was nearly impossible to shake her off unless Yali refused to comply. If Yali hadn’t found a way to break free from this cycle, she might have been oppressed by Su Minglan for her entire life.

Taking the college entrance examination is the quickest and most appropriate way to get rid of Su Minglan.

The recent rumors of resuming the college entrance examination have been buzzing, and Yali has never really thought about it. If it weren’t for Su Xiaoxiao talking about it today, she wouldn’t have even thought about being able to take the exam.

Yali had no confidence in herself and said, “Can I really do it?”

Su Xiaoxiao touched Zhuzi’s head and said, “Our Xiao Zhuzi is so smart. The fact that you and Old Zhang have such a smart son proves that you’re both intelligent. You’ve just lacked confidence in yourself after putting down your books for so long. If you really want to take the college entrance examination, we can review it together in the future. It’ll be nice to have a companion.”

Zhang Hongtu had never thought about this issue before. After listening to Su Xiaoxiao’s words, he was very supportive and said, “Wife, I think Xiaoxiao makes sense. Zhuzi’s intelligence is completely inherited from your genes. I think if you work hard, maybe you can really get into college and get rid of that Su Minglan. If you get into a film school or a media university, I can apply to return to the capital with you. Even if I get demoted, it doesn’t matter. After all, my father is getting old and talking about Xiao Zhuzi all day, I should stay by his side to serve him.”

Xiao Zhuzi never thought about the issue of separating Auntie Su from Xiao Fantuan if she were to take the college entrance exam. After hearing them say this, wouldn’t they be separated from Xiao Fantuan and the others in the future?

“What about Auntie Su? You also plan to take the university entrance exam in the capital, will Fantuan Doubao and the others go with you?” Xiao Zhuzi asked.

Before Su Xiaoxiao could answer, Fantuan spoke up for her. “Yeah, if Mom wants to attend a university in the capital, then Dad will go to school to do some research with her. Doubao and I will go to elementary school, maybe even junior high school there. Xiao Roubao and Xiao Tangyuan will go to kindergarten in the capital. In short, our whole family will go to school in the capital. Hmm, when it comes to a family where everyone goes to school, no one is more suitable to talk about how knowledge can change fate than me and Doubao. How thirsty for knowledge can a family be if everyone is going to school?”

Han Cheng pinched his neck. “You little brat, say a few nonsense words.”

Xiao Zhuzi looked at Yali and said, “Mom, I don’t want to be separated from Fantuan and the others. How about you give it a try too? Aunt Su is very talented. Most of the knowledge we have learned from childhood to adulthood is taught by Aunt Su, and she is the most talented teacher I have ever seen. Fantuan and I are currently self-learning middle school textbooks, whenever we encounter something we don’t understand, we can only solve it by asking Aunt Su. So if you encounter anything you don’t understand, you can consult Aunt Su. With such a good mentor to guide you in your studies, you’ll definitely be able to get into university.”

Xiao Zhuzi blindly admires and trusts Su Xiaoxiao, and in his eyes, Su Xiaoxiao is truly omnipotent.

Su Xiaoxiao was a bit amused and touched by Zhuzi’s praise, she patted Xiao Zhuzi’s head. “I’m not as amazing as Xiao Zhuzi says. I’ve just spent ten years mastering the knowledge in the books. Yali, we’re all family here. Let me be bold and say that I should have no problem teaching high school students. If you’re willing, we can study and research together in the future.”

Yali didn’t expect everyone in the family to support her. She had no reason to hesitate. Her son would definitely go to university in the future, and he didn’t want to be separated from Fantuan and them. If Su Xiaoxiao went to the capital for an exam, he wouldn’t be happy staying here for school. But if he went to school in the capital and lived with his grandfather, she would have to live apart from her son. So, whether it was to get rid of Su Minglan or to live with her son, she really had to give it her all.

“Xiaoxiao, if you don’t mind my foolishness, I’ll study with you in the future.”

Su Xiaoxiao grabbed Xiao Tangyuan’s hand and waved it, saying, “Having a companion to study with Mommy, Mommy couldn’t ask for more, right, Xiao Tangyuan?”

The little girl squinted her eyes and nodded with a dimple on her cheek, “Yes, Mommy. Aunt Yali and Mommy will study hard together, and strive for progress every day.”

Yali rubbed the pretty little girl’s head and said, “Okay, Aunt Yali will listen to Xiao Tangyuan and study hard together, striving for progress every day.”

…………………..

Minister Jiang acted quickly. Within a few days, he settled the matter. The kids resumed their busy summer work. Every day, after finishing writing and drawing, they would have Han Cheng take it to Minister Jiang. If Minister Jiang approves, they will send it to Han Cheng for the kids to revise. If not, the kids would focus on producing more. Once they had accumulated enough work for a week, they would send it to the publishing house for review. If there were any comments, they would be sent back for further revisions. If not, the work would continue to flow steadily.

The kids’ brains seemed to be made of something extraordinary. In just a month, they managed to accumulate work for over fifty weeks! Minister Jiang and the responsible person at the publishing house were extremely surprised by the children’s creative ability.

The process of printing books requires a much longer time for three revisions compared to newspapers. So, by the time September came around, the serialized “comic” created by the kids in a comic strip format had already appeared in a certain daily newspaper.

The learning and lives of the children of military families served as the blueprint for this. The “comic strip” titled “Knowledge Changes Fate,” created independently by three children aged five to eleven, revolving around their learning and life, caused a huge stir on the first day of its appearance in the newspaper.

Because there is a space left below that briefly explains the background of the three main writers and the protagonist, no one can believe that words and paintings with such profound skills were actually created by three children. The key is that the story was created independently by them!

And so, word spread like wildfire. Within a few days of starting school, Fantuan, Zhuzi, and Xiao Doubao were surrounded by classmates, parents, and even teachers who had seen the newspaper, bombarding them with questions and asking for spoilers, and the three kids became popular once again.

………

At first, Yali found it very difficult to keep up with Su Xiaoxiao’s studies. She had been away from textbooks for too long, so picking them up all at once was not easy. Fortunately, she was hardworking and persevering. She gritted her teeth and persisted. Su Xiaoxiao almost started with junior high knowledge to help her catch up bit by bit.

Hard work pays off. Su Xiaoxiao was right. How could parents who could raise such intelligent children be stupid?

It took Yali more than two months to finally catch up with the basics, and then she found the right study techniques, making it much easier to learn.

The rumor of the resumption of the college entrance examination became more and more intense. This matter had become a topic of national discussion at some point. It seemed like everyone was discussing it as if the enemy was at the gate and they were just waiting for the bugle call before thousands of troops could break through the city gates and conquer the territory.

…………..

October 21, 1977, was no different from any other ordinary day.

Recently, Su Xiaoxiao’s family had developed a habit of listening to the news broadcast while eating because, like the rest of the nation, they were waiting for this “horn.” On this day, the news of the restoration of the college entrance examination was broadcast through the waves from the radio that had been with them for years.

After hearing this news, Su Xiaoxiao was in a daze for a long time. After all, knowing and having it settled were two different things. In her previous life, she vaguely remembered that it was announced in the autumn of 1977 and that the exam would be held in the winter. She didn’t have a clear impression of the specific date.

Fantuan struggled to swallow the half-eaten egg he had just stuffed into his mouth. “Mom, did I hear it correctly? Didn’t the radio just say they’re restoring the college entrance examination?”

Yes, not only Su Xiaoxiao was waiting, but the kids were also waiting with her. They all knew how much their mom wanted to take the college entrance exam and how much she wanted to go to the capital to attend university.

Su Xiaoxiao looked at Fantuan, and nodded with pursed lips, and tears unexpectedly flowed down. Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to cry, but those were the emotions of the original owner. Ten years, twelve years of studying by the cold window, waiting for ten years, twenty-two years in total. It took her a full twenty-two years to finally get the opportunity to take the college entrance exam.