Chapter 101

Dignity lies only above the edge of the sword, truth only within the range of cannons.

If this sentence is for the young men and women below the stage, it makes them suddenly silent from their dazed, drowsy, listless, and whispering state, then mentally invigorated, really starting to take this speech from the senior sister who forgot which year she was seriously.

For a professional soldier like Yan Lei, however, it almost pierced through his skull, straight to his soul.

Yan Lei understood every word of Qiao Wei’s entire speech clearly, and he could comprehend the meaning of each sentence.

She told the young boys and girls that the road ahead would inevitably be tortuous, groping forward for the country, and even more likely to be filled with difficulties and hardships for individuals. She told them not to lose faith in any circumstances, to remember that they are a group of people in this country who hold knowledge, and not to let themselves be submerged in difficulties and forget what they have learned. She inspired them never to give up learning no matter when, where, or under what circumstances.

“If you go far away, leaving your parents, you can only bring the least luggage.”

“So, bring the thoughts of great men and your textbooks.”

She described a beautiful future for the young boys and girls, a prosperous and powerful country.

A country where American planes fly to your doorstep, and pilots dare to collide.

A country where knowledge changes lives and changes the world.

He could understand every word, but her voice was so ethereal.

Yan Lei sat in the middle of the front row below the stage, looking up at his wife squarely, feeling that everyone else was blurred, and only she was shining.

Only when thunderous applause rang in his ears did Yan Lei come to his senses, and he followed suit in applauding.

Xiao Zhang sat next to him, clapping his hands until they turned red and still feeling it wasn’t enough. He had been in the army for several years, yet he was as excited as the young boys and girls on the playground.

The school leaders on the stage were also shaken by this speech.

As the speech ended, it should have been the principal who spoke a few words, but the principal was overwhelmed with emotions, his throat choked up, and in the end, countless words turned into just one sentence: “Students! Study hard!”

Once again, applause filled the room.

Witnessed by everyone, the principal stamped his graduation certificate fiercely with the official seal on the platform.

Amidst the thunderous applause, Qiao Wei, a dropout student, received her high school diploma.

The sense of ceremony was overwhelming. Qiao Wei felt as if she had her own exclusive graduation ceremony.

This made the time traveler feel a bit numb, and could only respectfully thank the principal as she received her diploma from his hands.

But Qiao Wei glanced down and was surprised to find that the guy’s expression was dark, and there was not even the excitement and anticipation he had before coming.

But she already understood this man too well, and with a glance exchanged across the space, they understood each other in an instant.

Qiao Wei bit her lip and could only look up pretending to look at the sky.

What else could she do in such a public place?

When saying goodbye, Yan Lei repeatedly shook hands with the principal and Teacher Zhang, sincerely thanking them for giving Qiao Wei the opportunity to speak this time.

This time, it was not false official courtesy; his gratitude came from the heart.

The principal sighed, “I should thank Qiao Wei too.”

It’s difficult for the school to conduct classes normally now. But today, he felt the atmosphere of the past from the students again.

The educators almost teared up.

On the way back, Xiao Zhang kept sighing, “Oh my, oh my, I really didn’t expect…”

Although he had read Qiao Wei’s articles and knew rationally that Yan Lei’s wife had become quite eloquent, emotionally, because of his job, he had more dealings with Qiao Wei than others, so his impression of her past was clearer. The current perception and past impressions couldn’t completely blend.

Today, when he said he also wanted to listen carefully to his sister-in-law’s speech, it couldn’t be denied that there was an element of mockery implied.

But he never imagined that Qiao Wei’s speech not only made his blood boil but also filled him with longing and anticipation for the future.

“I shouldn’t have learned to drive!” He slapped the steering wheel, saying, “I should have learned to fly a plane! If those American planes dare to fly around our place, I’ll be the first one to crash into them!”

“Right, Captain! Captain? Captain, why aren’t you saying anything?” Xiao Zhang glanced strangely at Yan Lei sitting in the passenger seat.

He was even a bit disgruntled. Sister-in-law gave such a brilliant speech today, yet the Captain didn’t praise her even a bit, why so cold?

Yan Lei casually uttered a “Hmm.”

He glanced at the rearview mirror.

In the mirror, Qiao Wei, sitting in the back seat, was caressing Yan Xiang’s little head, as if they had a telepathic connection. She also looked at him in the rearview mirror.

Her eyes were affectionate, different from the determined gaze she had on stage, seeming to be smiling, revealing cunningness.

She saw through him.

Yan Lei felt a bit hot at the base of his neck.

His whole body was hot.

He just wanted to get home quickly.

“Is Xiang Xiang tired?” Xiao Zhang asked again, “Why isn’t Xiang Xiang speaking?”

Although he knew Yan Xiang was a particularly obedient and quiet child, today, he was exceptionally quiet. How strange, just like his father, the strange father and son.

“Yan Xiang? Tired?” Finally, the father remembered to care for his son.

“No,” Yan Xiang replied, “I’m thinking about what Mom said, missiles, airplanes, cannons, are they all real?”

Qiao Wei touched his head and told him, “They’re not that powerful yet, so it’s up to big brothers and sisters like you and other kids to study hard and grow up to make them. Surpass England and America, defeat all imperialist paper tigers.”

Yan Xiang said, “I don’t want to go to kindergarten, I want to go to school.”

Everyone in the car laughed.

Xiao Zhang said, “You little bean, if you go to school now, you’ll cry because those little rascals bully you.”

Yan Lei said, “It’s good to have the desire to learn, but you also have to be down-to-earth. Let’s talk about it when you’re older.”

Qiao Wei also said, “You’re still young.”

In fact, she knew that schools were gradually becoming unable to teach anything useful.

But it didn’t matter; she kicked the cardboard box under her feet.

Yan Lei finally asked, “What’s that?”

This absent-minded person finally noticed.

It was something Qiao Wei had asked Teacher Zhang for before she came. Originally, she just wanted to get her diploma, but after contacting Teacher Zhang, she suddenly thought of asking for help.

At that time, Xinhua Bookstore had not yet taken on the business of educational supplements, and it was difficult to buy textbooks outside of school. They could only go through the school’s channels.

Qiao Wei had also borrowed textbooks from Captain Zhao’s family for Yan Xiang to read before. But their family were all primary school students, and they only had primary school textbooks, which were falling apart.

Before Qiao Wei left, she wrapped the books in calendar paper. Otherwise, they were really hard to read.

Sister Yang still felt a little sorry for the paper; calendar paper was stiff, and it was the best for making shoe patterns. It was a waste to use it to wrap books.

Qiao Wei never had the chance to find high school textbooks; there were no high schools in Xiahekou. She had thought about finding a set from the county’s high school when she had the chance, but she didn’t know anyone and would have to find some connections.

This time, being pressured by Yan Lei to contact her alma mater saved her the process of finding connections, so she directly asked the original host’s former homeroom teacher.

There may not be much else in the school, but there are plenty of old textbooks. Teacher Zhang arranged a whole set of middle and high school textbooks for her.

“Textbooks,” Qiao Wei said, “arranged by Teacher Zhang. Xiang Xiang can read them later, and you can too. Study well in math, physics, and chemistry, and you’ll fear nothing no matter where you go in the world.”

Xiao Zhang suddenly understood.

No wonder the Captain didn’t feel like talking. Marrying a cultured wife was really stressful; he was even forced to study.

A bit scary.

He glanced sympathetically at Captain Yan.

Captain Yan: “?”

Back at home, Yan Lei took off his coat and said to Yan Xiang, “Xiang Xiang, go find Jun…”

Qiao Wei kicked him directly.

Yan Lei also remembered the last time Yan Xiang blabbered at Captain Zhao’s house and changed his words, saying, “Go find your Ma Big’s friends…”

Qiao Wei pulled him aside directly. “Go away!”

Yan Lei rubbed his nose and argued, “Boys need to go out more and run around for health!”

Qiao Wei gave him a look and brought the box over. “Xiang Xiang, come here.”

There were boxes for each subject.

“Start with middle school first, then high school,” Qiao Wei said. “After you’ve finished reading them all, tell Mom which subject you’re more interested in, okay?”

Even geniuses need input before they can output.

Even geniuses can’t start from boiling water and observing apples falling, right?

You have to lay the foundation before you can build a tall building.

This method is good, and it’s from her!

Yan Lei was happy. Because Yan Xiang really loves reading, once he starts reading, he can keep at it for a long time, quietly, ignoring everything around him.

“Xiang Xiang, study hard! When you finish, Dad will give you candy to eat!” The dad above started making empty promises again.

Reading and eating candy are Yan Xiang’s favorites, and he happily agreed.

“Can you stop spoiling the child!” Mom objected.

We need to protect the children’s teeth.

But Mom was weak and powerless, and was dragged away by Dad to the west room.

Then they closed the door.

Yan Xiang got hold of the middle school math book, only glanced at it briefly, and found it very interesting.

These formulas were more appealing to him than fairy tales about princes and princesses.

But for some reason, the wooden door in the west room always made a sound, squeaking and thudding. After Yan Xiang looked at it for a while, the sound of the door became louder.

The little boy had to get up and close the door to the east room.

Now, the world was much quieter, and the formulas were so interesting.

At the end of November, Lu Manman and Captain Li held their wedding.

In the time of food shortages, there wasn’t much to feast on. They just had a lively round in the new house, distributed some candies, and that was the ceremony.

But the bride was the daughter of the director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative after all, so she wore a red high-necked sweater and a red double-breasted cashmere coat.

It was bright red inside and outside.

Many of the girls who came to the wedding admired it so much that their eyes turned red. They heard that the cashmere coat was bought from Shanghai. Besides the Lu family, who else could get it?

But admiration was futile.

As Captain Li was serving in the army and his relatives were not around, they, like them, had their wedding presided over by leaders. His wedding was hosted by Captain Yan Lei.

When everyone saw it, oh, both the officiant and the groom were quite impressive.

The bride’s dowry was also substantial, with many items accompanying her.

There were several thick quilts.

Even the candies were more upscale than those from other families; there were even chocolates inside, which children scrambled for. Some younger adults secretly hid the chocolates, reluctant to eat them.

In short, it was a very enviable wedding, with a perfectly matched couple of handsome groom and beautiful bride.

After the wedding, most of the guests left. The bride detained the officiant’s wife in the room for a private conversation.

“This is for you.” Lu Manman took out a cashmere coat from the closet, exactly the same style as the one she was wearing, but hers was maroon, and this one was black. “Don’t give me money, what’s the money for! Don’t be so formal with me.”

Qiao Wei scolded her, “What are you doing?”

Lu Manman stuffed it to her, “Just take it.”

“In fact, camel color is the best looking.” She regretted a bit, “But it’s too hard to get, so in the end, I only managed to get this black one for you. It would have been better if it were camel. As for my red one, it wasn’t that hard to get.”

“Of course. Only the bride wears it,” Qiao Wei said with a smile, “Those of us who have been married for years are embarrassed to wear red. Black is also nice; I like black.”

Black goes with everything. It was rare for people in the small town to get such a cashmere coat from Shanghai. Only the director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative had this ability.

Qiao Wei went back and told Yan Lei, “It’s too expensive. I tried to give her money, but she wouldn’t take it.”

But Yan Lei said, “It’s okay.”

Not long after, Captain Li was promoted to company commander, taking over the position of the dismissed company commander, becoming the youngest company commander in the military region.

The voices questioning whether the captain was qualified to apply for military housing quieted down.