Extra 3.3

Su Xiaoxiao eventually bought the two siheyuan (traditional courtyard houses) not far from Peking University. Originally, she had hoped to buy something closer to the old house, but she hadn’t been able to find anything suitable in that area. Sometimes, buying a house depends on fate; since she found something appropriate, she decided to go ahead with it.

Once Ya Li learned about this, she asked Xiao Wu to also keep an eye out for the courtyard in the nearby area. With international gold prices soaring, the old man, taking Su Xiaoxiao’s advice, also liquidated some gold bars, leaving him with some spare cash, which he used to purchase property alongside Su Xiaoxiao.

Xiao Wu knew that the two families had a good relationship but hadn’t realized it was to this extent. From Qingfeng Town to the capital, wherever Su Xiaoxiao’s family lived, the other family moved there too. The children of both families were as close as if they were biological siblings; such a strong bond was indeed rare.

Xiao Wu had no idea. Zhuzi spent more than half of his time at Su Xiaoxiao’s house, and if they didn’t live near Su Xiaoxiao, it would be very inconvenient for their family to see their son.

In the past, Ya Li and Jiang Xue were not acquainted with each other beyond knowing of each other’s existence, and the two didn’t look like don’t match. However, after working together in the same crew and getting to know Jiang Xue better, Ya Li discovered that these were just rumors. Jiang Xue was indeed someone who focused solely on her own business. She did not create trouble or take charge of things unnecessarily, yet she had a good character. Despite the demanding nature of her acting, she never complained about the challenges or fatigue. No matter how many times the director called for a retake, Jiang Xue never complained. She showed excellent professional qualities and was particularly kind to children, especially Xiao Roubao. Her tolerance and responsiveness were notable.

Over time, Ya Li’s opinion of Jiang Xue changed, and the two beautiful women who initially admired each other gradually became good friends.

Ya Li was easy to get along with and had many friends, but Jiang Xue was different. She had no close confidant, so she cherished her friendship with Ya Li and was particularly happy to share this with Gu Zhanwang when she returned. Gu Zhanwang was also very happy for her.

When Ya Li and Jiang Xue finished filming their movie, Fantuan’s college entrance exam finally arrived.

On this day, the whole family got up early. They exercised and did their chores, and Han Cheng, taking rare time off from work, led the children out for exercise and to buy soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns. Ya Li’s family came to Su Xiaoxiao’s house to have the “100-point” breakfast, all cheering Fantuan on.

The “100-point” breakfast was symbolic, representing a perfect score. They had this ritual whenever there was an important exam in their family. If Fantuan scored only 100 points on an exam that was supposed to be over 100, it would indeed be worth crying over.

Everyone was a bit nervous, but Fantuan was the most relaxed. Su Xiaoxiao hadn’t slept well these past few nights; her dark circles were very noticeable. Despite knowing that with Fantuan’s ability, as long as he performed normally, he would score near full marks on all but the subjective questions, Su Xiaoxiao was even more anxious than she had been during her own college entrance exam. She tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep until Han Cheng made her exercise to tire herself out a bit.

Since Xiao Doubao and Xiao Zhuzi’s classrooms were in use, they didn’t have to attend classes for the next two days.

After enjoying a “100-point” breakfast, they decided to accompany Fantuan to the college entrance examination and also drop off the two elementary school students at their classes. Grandpa Zhang also joined in the “outing.” Although Su Xiaoxiao also wanted to go, she stayed behind, worried that her presence might add extra pressure on Fantuan.

After the child had left, Ya Li, unable to stand seeing how anxious she was, hugged her and said, “Relax a bit. I’ve never seen a child with stronger mental fortitude than Fantuan. If he failed the exam, nobody else would stand a chance.”

Su Xiaoxiao sighed, “I don’t know why. I just feel nervous.”

Su Xiaoxiao held Han Cheng’s hand and said, “Let’s go pick him up after his exam, okay?”

Han Cheng was at a loss. They had been married for ten years, and their children had grown up, but Su Xiaoxiao was still as delicate as she was back then and even more childlike. He patted her head and said, “Fantuan is not a child anymore; let’s not worry too much.”

Su Xiaoxiao: “But no matter how old Fantuan is, we are still his parents, right? He will be very happy when he comes out after the exam and sees us waiting for him outside.”

    Han Cheng didn’t think that the arrogant boy who was as tall as him needed such a ceremonial gesture. He just played along with Su Xiaoxiao’s wishes.

Ya Li couldn’t help but laugh. “Han Cheng, if she wants to go, you should accompany her. The college entrance examination might only happen once in a lifetime. I will also go to pick up Zhuzi when he takes the exam next year.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go,” Han Cheng said, never refusing Su Xiaoxiao’s request.

In fact, when the boy who was the first to exit the examination room with high spirits saw his parents waving at him at the entrance, his eyes lit up with joy.

Fantuan embraced his parents, who had come to pick him up and twirled around. “Mom and Dad, you haven’t picked me up from school in years.”

Back in Qingfeng Town, he and Zhuzi had been the ones picking up Xiao Doubao from school, and his parents rarely came to get him anymore.

Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes curved into small crescents, and she took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Fantuan’s forehead: “I told you our eldest son would be very happy.”

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t ask Fantuan how he did on the exam; his bright and cheerful approach towards them had already given them the answer.

Fantuan hugged Su Xiaoxiao and said, “Mom, you understand me the most. I’m so happy, really happy.”

Han Cheng, with a smile, patted his son’s shoulder.

Fantuan, with one arm around each parent, led the way as the three of them, all with high looks, happily went home.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

In September of that year, Fantuan lived up to expectations and entered Peking University as the top scorer in the capital’s college entrance exam. Knowing his status, the school wrote a special report on the family, and both the Capital Daily and the local TV station featured interviews.

The following year, Zhuzi, Da Bao, and Xiao Bao all took the college entrance exam simultaneously. Zhuzi became the top scorer in the capital, Xiaobao was the top scorer in the province for science, and Da Bao was the top scorer in the province for liberal arts. They all entered Peking University together, and the special reports once again surged, sparking a citywide discussion.

The entire province was abuzz, the city was abuzz, the county was abuzz, and Sujia Village was especially enthusiastic. The old Su family had already gained significant fame with Su Xiaoxiao’s earlier achievements. Now, her two nephews had also simultaneously secured the top spots in both liberal arts and science, which was an enormous event. The old Su family was crowded with guests and media interviews, but unfortunately, the two main characters had already gone to the capital to work and study. They were nowhere to be found. Even the best universities in the province extended olive branches with various generous conditions in hopes of keeping them in the province, but Su Weimin said their children only wanted to attend university in the capital. The admissions staff had to leave disappointed.

Ya Li, Xiao Roubao, and Jiang Xue’s movie also premiered that summer. With the film’s release, the three became popular across the country that summer. Ya Li was already somewhat well-known, Xiao Roubao was a familiar child star, and Jiang Xue’s name, as Director Chen had predicted, was memorable due to just one role. Adding to that, she was also Xiao Roubao’s godmother. Given Ya Li’s close relationship with Xiao Roubao, the combination of these three names became even more popular.

Gu Zhanwang didn’t forget to add fuel to the fire. He announced Jiang Xue’s identity and signed the three of them as ambassadors for “Guowang,” making sure the hot summer lived up to its reputation.

Another year of college entrance exams came around. Xiao Doubao performed as expected and entered Peking University as the top scorer in the capital. The excitement around this achievement escalated once more. Su Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng had sent five excellent students to their alma mater consecutively, all as top scorers, and they were all still students.

The newspapers, magazines, and even the central TV station couldn’t sit still. They needed to set up a profile interview. Unfortunately, Su Xiaoxiao had taken the children back to Sujia Village, and they couldn’t find them. At this time, Han Cheng had become a nationally protected and nurtured scientist, making it difficult to arrange a meeting. In the end, they had to return empty-handed.

They still had a long time before graduation. Major government agencies and institutions had already extended offers, hoping that they would work for them after finishing their studies. However, each child had their own ideals and was determined, which ordinary people could not influence.

“Three Meals and Four Seasons” was officially established as a company. It now had more than a dozen branches in various cities, each branch bustling with customers every day. Su Xiaoxiao had earned a substantial amount of money from the business’s success.

Su Zhenzhong and Liang Hongmei had resigned from their previous jobs at the state-owned food factory. Following Su Xiaoxiao’s advice, they introduced advanced equipment and opened a private food processing plant in Sujia Village. Su Zhenhua’s breeding farm and fish pond served as their upstream suppliers, while Gu Zhanwang acted as their downstream distributor.

This created an unbreakable industrial chain, generating revenue for the local government and increasing employment opportunities for Sujia Village and nearby villages. The prospects were bright, and common prosperity seemed imminent.

Xiao Yu also did well. To reunite with his friends in the capital, he worked hard and was admitted to the capital’s military academy, officially becoming a military reservist, following in his father’s footsteps. Zhao Xianfeng had called Han Cheng three times, crying and swearing, expressing pride in the “little rascal” who hadn’t embarrassed him.

Xiao Yu, who had never been fond of studying and had always had poor grades, worked tirelessly in high school to get into Peking University. Both he and Zhou Yuhua were heartbroken but knew it was the path he needed to take. Hard work now would make the future easier. They could only take extra care of his diet and secretly cover him with blankets at night, feeling proud in their own quiet way. Zhao Xianfeng was promoted to the capital this year, and Zhou Yuhua was soon transferred to the capital military district hospital. Soon, their family would be close to Han Cheng’s family.

In these years, the housing prices had soared. Fortunately, Su Xiaoxiao anticipated their future move to the capital and bought a house early on. Even if they didn’t stay in the unit dormitory, there was a place to stay, and the rental income was also considerable. They were also preparing to buy a courtyard near Su Xiaoxiao for Xiao Yu. A good relationship between the children would certainly make them happy, and when they retire, they could look out for each other.

As Xiao Doubao entered university, the serialized stories of the children in the daily newspaper had been running for twelve years. The updates had never stopped, even before the college entrance exams became a cherished memory for countless people. The comic strip that had accompanied so many through their growth finally came to a fulfilling end, officially ceasing updates. Some cried some cherished the old newspapers, some were determined to work hard to get into Peking University to be closer to their idols, and many wrote letters to the newspaper, hoping for the series to continue forever…