As spring turns to autumn, time flies by.
In the blink of an eye, Huo Xingchao has turned eighteen years old.
In 1978, he is in his final year of high school.
Ever since the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination came out, the atmosphere in their entire high school has changed.
Huo Xingchao keenly noticed that many of his classmates’ eyes suddenly lit up. Even the most careless students began to study day and night under the influence of this atmosphere.
They thought that they were, after all, legitimate high school students and might as well try to pass the exam.
The school organized three mock exams in just one month for the seniors.
It seemed that all the teachers, students, and even school leaders were caught up in this sudden wave of reform and change.
It was a period of chaos.
In fact, not only the current high school students, but also many educated youth who had gone to the countryside for various reasons, were affected by the resumption of the college entrance examination.
Huo Chenyang asked someone to bring the news that he also planned to take the exam that year.
The news was delivered by Grandma Jiang, who had come to the city.
After conveying the message, she hesitated for a while before somewhat embarrassedly asking Mother Huo if she could help get some more milk powder.
Because the third daughter-in-law of the Jiang family is pregnant again, and this time she gave birth to a pair of twin boys.
Grandma Jiang was overjoyed and wanted to bring some nutritional supplements to her daughter-in-law to increase her milk supply.
In the past, she didn’t need to ask for it herself because Mother Huo would give a lot of malted milk to He Nian.
But now…
Over the years, since Huo Xingchao followed her to visit Shaping Village, Mother Huo finally realized that she had placed too much trust in this smiling and kind old lady.
Although she might not necessarily be a bad person, everyone has their own selfish motives in life.
He Nian and He Yi were just little kids, and Mother Huo didn’t dare to take any risks.
Fortunately, He Nian has now gone to junior high school.
Shaping Village doesn’t have a junior high school, so she goes to a school in the town, which is close to the county.
Mother Huo often delivers things directly to her school. He Nian lives in the school, and the Jiang family doesn’t need to take care of her. Even if she comes back to the village on weekends, she stays in the house left by her parents.
As for He Yi’s food expenses, He Nian calculates and gives a little extra every week, and also gives some extra money as compensation for their help.
As for whether the extra food and money actually reaches He Yi’s mouth or is eaten by the Jiang family, she doesn’t care.
Although He Yi is physically weak, he is actually a lively and bold child.
Whether it’s Grandma Jiang or the siblings of the Jiang family, He Yi tells his sister every time they are bullying him or when he is hungry.
At least for now, the Jiang family has not mistreated him and has taken care of him well.
He Nian has finally come to terms with the blow she received years ago.
But…
“He Nian, don’t ever think that you owe them. You gave them money and loaned them a house! Just think of it as paying for a nanny for He Yi, okay?”
When Huo Xingchao wrote a letter to He Nian, he was afraid that the young girl would be fooled again, and he mentioned it every now and then.
He was the kind of person who liked to talk.
After the last final exam, He Nian went to the county town to see Grandfather Huo, and was invited by Mother Huo to have lunch. When she left, Huo Xingchao escorted her to the intersection.
He Nian was very grateful to the people of the Huo family.
Whether it was Grandfather Huo, Uncle and Aunt Huo, or even Huo Xingchao, they were all sincerely good to her.
So before getting on the car, she looked at the large and small bags of food and fabric items that were forcibly stuffed into her hands, and thought about how the Huo family had been supporting her and her brother to grow up for so many years.
They took care of everything, from clothing, food, shelter, transportation, to school supplies.
She sincerely bowed to Huo Xingchao.
“Brother Xingchao, thank you so much, thank you for taking care of me and He Yi all these years. When I grow up, I will definitely repay you.”
Huo Xingchao avoided her bow.
He raised his eyebrows and pulled the girl’s collar to the side of the road, sighed, and approached her mysteriously.
“He Nian, you don’t understand, actually we should be thanking you.”
He Nian blinked in confusion.
“Why are you so stupid?”
The young man looked disgusted. “Didn’t I tell you that your grandfather saved my grandfather’s life?”
“Think about it, if your grandfather hadn’t saved my grandfather, my dad wouldn’t have a father, without a father, my dad wouldn’t have become a fourth-level worker, without becoming a fourth-level worker, he wouldn’t have married my mom. Without marrying my mom, there would be no Huo Chenyang and me.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“See, if it weren’t for your grandfather sacrificing himself, our whole family would be done for.”
“But your grandfather and your parents left only you two little brats behind. He Nian, you tell me, can’t we just thank you?”
…
A sentence after sentence, without any gap in the middle, it sounded very logical at first listen.
The little girl stood there stupidly for a long time, unable to come up with a rebuttal. After racking her brains, she finally blurted out, “But, but how can you say that…”
“Why can’t I say that?”
He raised his eyebrows and pulled her towards the ox cart. “I’m telling you, as a child, your brain isn’t smart, why do you think so much all day long?”
“Just follow smart people, okay? Do you think I would harm myself?”
“Okay, go home quickly. If you don’t leave now, it will be dark. Let me tell you, He Nian, stop thinking too much and read more books when you have time. Don’t you know that children who think too much will grow white hair!”
He pushed He Nian onto the ox cart, and as she looked at the serious and somewhat intimidating expression on the young man’s face, she hesitated for a moment before finally smiling.
She waved to him. “I’ll remember, Brother Xingchao. Goodbye.”
Huo Xingchao put his hands in his pockets and responded with a casual wave.
The ox shook its tail, and the cart slowly rolled forward.
…
Since Huo Xingchao first sent He Nian paper to write letters, they have been communicating through letters.
As the starlight value displayed by the sensing star increased from zero percent to forty percent.
He Nian’s steel pen handwriting also changed from a soft and shapeless beginning to becoming more and more similar to Huo Xingchao’s handwriting.
Although she was a kind and gentle girl, the words she wrote were bold, unrestrained, and very much like a second Huo Xingchao.
If someone who wasn’t familiar with them saw their letters, they would think that one was domineering and the other was gentle.
–But the nearly identical handwriting made it seem like a split personality.
It was strange.
Although He Nian’s fiancé was Huo Chenyang, she had become closer to Huo Xingchao over the years.
Every time she saw Huo Chenyang, her manners were awkward and polite, even trying to avoid him.
But Huo Chenyang didn’t mind.
Because there was always a little tail behind him.
Jiang Xiaxia, whose smile was bright and optimistic, like a small sun full of vitality.
Huo Xingchao and He Nian’s communication, besides the two of them, hardly anyone else knew about it.
But the closeness between Huo Chenyang and Jiang Xiaxia was visible to everyone in the village where they both lived. Especially Grandma Jiang, she knew clearly in her heart that if things continued like this, something would happen someday.
But she told herself,
“In this era, free love is advocated, and opposing feudalism is what Chairman Mao said. I cannot and should not stop young people’s free feelings.”
–That’s how she convinced herself.
But the real reason was actually hidden in a corner of her heart that she was unwilling to explore.
Years went by.
And then the desire grew larger and larger.
…
Sure enough, something happened between Huo Chenyang and Jiang Xiaxia.
During this summer vacation after the college entrance examination.
Huo Chenyang had gone to the countryside in his early years and his grades were not particularly outstanding. He hadn’t touched his textbooks in so many years.
He tried to cram at the last minute, but in the end, he failed the exam.
On the other hand, Huo Xingchao had been doing well in school since junior high. This year, in his second attempt at the college entrance examination, he became the provincial champion. He has already been confirmed to be admitted to Peking University.
Father and Mother Huo were both happy and proud of their younger son, but they were also afraid of hurting their elder son’s feelings.
So in the end, they quietly invited some acquaintances and neighbors to have a small celebration at home.
Huo Chenyang returned to the city after the exam.
Although he was depressed because of his own failure, he was still happy for his younger brother who got into the best university in the country.
To not dampen everyone’s mood, he tried to smile and raised a glass to Huo Xingchao,
“Come on, Xingchao, I’ll drink to you and wish you success in your studies in the future.”
Huo Xingchao clinked glasses with him and comforted him,
“Brother, don’t think too much, you have experience this year, you’ll pass next year.”
Huo Chenyang smiled, remained silent for a long time, and then said,
“I don’t plan to take the college entrance examination anymore.”
“My score this time is actually quite bad, and I don’t have the natural talent for studying like you, Xingchao. I was thinking that after this year, I’ll find a job so I can start supporting the family earlier.”
Mother Huo frowned, “Our family is doing well, your dad and I can still work. We don’t need you to support us.”
“… “
Huo Chenyang moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately held back.
“Okay, how about this.”
The guests had all left by now, and Father Huo sipped on a small cup of wine. After thinking for a while, he made a decision.
“Old Yang from my workshop just retired, and his child is going to college this year.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll bring a gift and ask him if the vacant position can be left for you. Old Yang and I have a good relationship, so I think he should be able to agree.”
Mother Huo nodded in agreement, “That works too. Xiujian just sent over two bottles of wine, you can bring them tomorrow.”
…
As Father Huo had said, Old Yang readily agreed. He and Huo Zhong had been workmates for most of their lives, and their relationship was already good. On top of that, he had spoiled his only son too much, resulting in his son falling into bad habits. Later, he gradually started playing with Huo Xingchao, and only now had he been accepted into a university.
When the couple heard that Old Huo wanted to secure a workshop position for his eldest son, they didn’t wait for him to finish speaking before agreeing.
But just as everything had settled down and Huo Xingchao had packed his bags and was waiting for his train to the capital in two days’ time, Huo Chenyang got into trouble.
He had angered Grandfather Huo and caused him to have a hypertensive crisis.
When Father Huo received the news, Huo Chenyang was already in the hospital.
He received a call at the workshop, his face darkened, and he hurried back home. He grabbed a rolling pin and started to walk out, which frightened Huo Xingchao.
“Dad, what are you doing with that?!”
Father Huo was furious, his voice deep with anger.
“I’m going to beat that ungrateful son to death!”
“… “
Huo Xingchao stuffed the rice dumpling into his mouth and quickly followed behind.
“Dad, dad, don’t act impulsively. If you beat up my brother, you’ll still have to pay for his medical bills!”
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