Although Grandma Su was an open-minded person, it didn't mean she liked Su Xiaotian interacting with people who were inexplicable.
This inexplicable person included Tan Zishi, who was known as Tan Bancheng, but had now fallen from grace.
Su Xiaotian knew Grandma Su was unwilling, so she visited Tan Zishi's home every few days, mostly keeping it from Grandma Su.
"My darling, Grandma just wants to ask what you want to eat!"
Grandma Su didn't suspect what Su Xiaotian was saying. Instead, she smiled kindly and asked Su Xiaotian!
Oh?
Su Xiaotian looked at Grandma Su blankly. How long had it been since she heard Grandma say this?
The taste of the meals during this period had been tailored to her brothers and sisters, for fear that they wouldn't eat to their liking. Why was her opinion suddenly being sought?
"Grandma, Big Brother and the others..."
Grandma Su pouted and said, "They've finished their exams. What do I care about them? My darling has been wronged during this time. Tell Grandma what you want to eat, and Grandma will make it for you!"
Su Xiaotian was stunned. Was this really okay?
Grandma Su eventually cooked according to Su Xiaotian's taste.
During dinner, those who were sleeping did not get up.
Grandma Su didn't ask anyone to call them, saying that the children were exhausted and would wake up on their own when they were rested.
Everyone felt that this made sense. These children had hardly slept well recently, staying up late studying until the middle of the night, and getting up to read before dawn.
Even iron would break!
However, Su Xiaotian noticed that apart from those who were sleeping, Su Taohua was also missing.
"Grandma, where is Aunt Taohua?" Su Xiaotian asked.
"Your Aunt Taohua has gone back," Grandma Su sighed.
With Taohua gone, life would likely not be too comfortable. She had returned to bear the pressure to protect the children.
Grandma Su had lived in Hongxin Brigade for decades and knew the people in the brigade very well.
Although they didn't have malicious intentions, they were very good at gossiping.
If Taohua had a weaker psychological capacity, she could have been squeezed to death!
Thinking of this possibility, Grandma Su couldn't sit still and immediately spoke.
"I'm thinking of going back tomorrow. Anyway, the exams are over now. When they finish filling out that thing, they can go home too. As for the rest of you younger ones, Manxiu can help take care of them!"
Grandma Su was a decisive person. When she said this, she was almost packing her bags.
"Grandma, that's called choosing a university, it means where you want to go!" Su Xiaoba took a bite of rice and explained.
Grandma Su said indifferently, "What choosing a university or not, I don't understand. Anyway, as long as your Grandpa Chi is watching!"
Chi Ge did not speak, but his silence meant he agreed.
The results of these children should be good, and they should be careful when filling out their applications, otherwise, it would be a loss if their good grades were wasted.
"Grandma, if you leave, we won't be able to eat such delicious food!"
Su Xiaojiu didn't understand why Grandma suddenly wanted to go home.
Su Manxiu smiled and said, "Will your aunt let you starve?"
Su Xiaojiu fell silent.
Although his aunt wouldn't let them starve, his aunt's cooking wasn't as good as Grandma's!
Su Xiaotian understood that Grandma Su intended to go back to look after Aunt Taohua, so she didn't try to persuade her. Instead, she said that they would be good in the county town.
The next morning, after making breakfast, Grandma Su packed her bags and prepared to return to Hongxin Brigade.
Chen Zi'an was not around these days, and the driver, Xiao Zhu, had also gone on a business trip with Chen Zi'an.
The children who participated in the college entrance examination had not yet woken up.
Grandma Su looked at the quiet house and sighed.
"These children can really sleep! I won't wait for them. It would be bad if they missed the bus!"
"Grandma, why don't you wait for Big Brother and the others to wake up before you go back?" Su Xiaotian said reluctantly, with a hint of grievance in her voice.
Grandma Su shook her head. "That won't do. I'm leaving now. When they wake up, tell them to eat by themselves. I've put the food in the pot, it's not cold. Your brothers are all wild boys, and my darling needs to help Grandma look after them!"
Seeing Grandma Su's firm resolve, Su Xiaotian could only agree, even saying that she would take good care of her brothers.
Such tender words made Su Manxiu, who was preparing to send Grandma Su to the station, unable to help but chuckle.
"You stay home and watch the house. Wait for your brothers and sisters to wake up. I'll take Grandma to the car and come back."
"Grandma, where is Xiuyuan?" Su Xiaotian remembered her younger cousin and quickly asked.
"He's next door playing with Xiao Si and Xiao Wu. Don't worry about him, let them play."
Su Xiaotian nodded obediently.
Although Chen Xiuyuan liked her, he still preferred to play with his brothers when they were having fun.
Su Xiaotian also wanted to seize the time to study, so she didn't go next door.
After closing the main door, she settled down to read in the room.
After copying so many test papers last time, the book the system gave her this time was excellent, it was a novel.
It was a rare moment of relaxation, and Su Xiaotian read with great absorption.
When Chi Ge returned from his walk, he saw Su Xiaotian sitting by the window, reading diligently, and nodded in approval.
The children of the old Su family were truly remarkable. Their enthusiasm for learning was greater than one another.
Especially this child Su Xiaotian, she was smart and eager to learn, and she would surely have a great future!
He didn't disturb Su Xiaotian, but went back to his room to attend to his own affairs.
Su Ciliang was the first to wake up.
The boy, who had slept enough, looked energetic, completely different from his previous fatigue.
However, as Su Xiaotian observed closely, she noticed that the boy, who was not strong to begin with, had lost a lot of weight due to the arduous studies during this period.
The loose cotton clothes made him look even more hollow.
Su Xiaotian felt that she should properly nourish her brothers.
"Second Brother, are you feeling better?"
"I'm better. Why are you alone? Where's Grandma? Where's Aunt Taohua?" Su Ciliang looked around, not seeing anyone else, and asked.
"Grandma and Aunt Taohua have gone back. Grandpa Chi has also gone out."
Su Xiaotian was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't notice Chi Ge had already returned.
"Why did Aunt Taohua and Grandma leave?" Su Ciliang was clearly startled when he heard this news.
He missed home, and he missed going up the mountain, so why did Grandma leave by herself?
"Didn't they wait for us? We've finished our exams, and we can go home too!"
"Grandma said to wait until you've filled out your applications before going back!" Su Xiaotian said calmly. "Second Brother, you've slept for so long, aren't you hungry?"
After being reminded by Su Xiaotian, Su Ciliang realized that his stomach was rumbling.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a cow!" Su Ciliang touched his stomach, temporarily putting aside other matters.
"The food is in the pot, can you get it yourself?" Su Xiaotian asked.
Su Ciliang said, "I'll go to the kitchen to eat myself!"
In the blink of an eye, a few days passed.
Su Xiaotian observed secretly during these days and felt that although the college entrance examination was over, the county town had become restless.
Especially for those families with members taking the exam, everyone was impatiently waiting for the news.
The college entrance examination carried the hopes of countless people, but similarly, the exam results would shatter the hopes of countless people.
Especially for the educated youths who had been in the countryside for several years, they were even more eager to return to the city through the examination.
They dreamed of this day arriving.
Many educated youths were willing to stay in inns in the county town to await the exam results.
Among them were educated youths from Hongxin Brigade.
Su Xiaotian had seen a few people on the street and overheard some conversations, knowing they were waiting for their results, but Su Xiaotian did not approach them.
She did not have deep feelings for these educated youths.
After the incident with Kang Yiye, the impression of the educated youths in the brigade was very poor.
Many families had ordered their children not to play with the educated youths.
It was while seeing these educated youths that Su Xiaotian heard the system's prompt for completing a mission.
The system prompted that the "Jinshi Jidi" mission had been completed.
Su Xiaotian was overjoyed and couldn't help but smile.
This meant that her brothers' results were good.
"Anna, darling, quickly tell me, what stage of the mission have you completed?" Su Xiaotian quickly hid in a corner and happily communicated with the system.
"Intermediate mission!" Anna replied quickly.
Hearing this result, Su Xiaotian was a little disappointed.
But she quickly thought it through.
There is always someone better than you!
They were just children from the countryside, and it was not easy to score among the top in the city.
"Anna, can you tell me how many points?" Su Xiaotian still asked curiously.
This time Anna was silent for a while before saying, "I don't know, I only know that the ranking is high and the results are good!"
Alright, if you don't know, then you don't know!
Anyway, it was already very good to score in the top three in the city. She just didn't know which of the three brothers had the best score, and the worst was probably the second brother, right?
Soon, the results of this exam came out.
The results first arrived at the school.
When Principal Guo saw the report card, he was so excited that he shed tears on the spot.
Principal Guo held the report card tightly, tears streaming down his face, and said nothing.
The teachers who were waiting for the results were momentarily confused when they saw Principal Guo suddenly cry.
"Principal, what's wrong? Did our school not do well on the exam?" Teacher Wu asked, trying to suppress the panic in his heart.
Teacher Wu was the homeroom teacher of the second-year science class, and Su Shouwen and the others were in his class.
Before the college entrance examination, he had high hopes for these students, but he was actually unsure of how well they would do.
However, seeing the principal cry like this, it was evident that the exam results would not be very good.
"Good, good!" Principal Guo finally uttered a few words.
When these words were spoken, the teachers looked at each other.
What was going on? Did their school's exam results do well or not?
"Principal Guo, please tell us, how did our school's students perform?" Some anxious teachers had already impatiently urged him.
At first, everyone thought they had failed, but when the principal said "good," a glimmer of hope rose in the teachers' hearts.
Being able to make the principal say "good" should prove that it was indeed not bad.
"Our school has achieved unprecedented results!"
Principal Guo's voice trembled with excitement, and his tone was somewhat strange.
"What?"
"Really?"
This was almost the common question of all the teachers present.
Unprecedented exam results?
Was it as they imagined?
How good could it be?
All the teachers had this realization, that the results of this exam would determine the school's status in the city, and even in the province.
"Principal, just say it directly, don't keep us in suspense!" Teacher Wu was the most anxious, almost stamping his feet.
After all, if the results were good, then the few students in his class should have performed the best.
"Our school has produced a provincial first place, a provincial third place, and a provincial fourth place!"
What?
All the teachers were stunned for a moment, even disbelieving what they had heard.
Provincial?
Their school had three of the top five in the province?
"Principal, you're not lying?" This time, it was Teacher Wu's voice that broke!
"Su Sangong is the provincial first place, Su Shouwen is the provincial third place, and Su Ciliang is almost the provincial fourth place." Principal Guo excitedly held the report card and showed it to every teacher.
"They are the top three in the city, the top three! Students from City No. 1 High School didn't outperform them!"
City No. 1 High School was an old school that had been glorious ten years ago and had cultivated many talents.
However, in this college entrance examination after the resumption of the college entrance examination system, it was surpassed by County No. 1 High School.
How could Principal Guo not be excited?
In the first year after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the school had achieved such results, which could be recorded in history.
"Great!"
It was unclear which teacher started shouting, but soon all the teachers were shouting.
There were still some students in the school who heard the cheers from the principal's office and came to join them.
Su Xiaotian was also present.
She clearly heard the principal announce that her three brothers had achieved excellent results.
For Su Xiaotian, who already knew this, there was no excessive joy.
In fact, her expression was a bit constipated!
However, people around were amazed and cheering, and even many who knew their relationship were thanking her.
Was it appropriate for her not to show any excitement?
The atmosphere was so passionate!
Finally, Su Xiaotian joined the carnival.
She had initially thought that scoring among the top in the city might not result in a good ranking in the province.
But in the end, she found that even in the province, these results were very good.
However, they missed out on a provincial second place!
This result directly led to her mission only being considered as intermediate.
The reward received was halved.
Thinking of this, Su Xiaotian couldn't help but want to scold Anna.
...
The college entrance examination results were out, bringing joy to some and sorrow to others.
Those with good exam results were naturally overjoyed and preparing to attend university, while those with unsatisfactory results, even those at the bottom, knew that they had missed this opportunity.
The educated youths in Hongxin Brigade were not in a good mood.
The results of several of them were not very good, and it was uncertain whether they could be admitted. They could only return to Hongxin Brigade dejectedly.
The old Su family, on the other hand, was overjoyed, completely opposite to the mood of the educated youths.
All five children who participated in this exam, including Su Xiaomei and Su Xiaocao, were certain to be admitted to university.
This was Principal Guo's exact words.
Principal Guo said that Su Xiaocao, the worst performing among the children, should also be able to get into a normal university in the province, while the others should be admitted to universities in Beijing.
Su Shouwen and the others hesitated, thinking that it didn't matter where they studied, why travel thousands of miles to study in Beijing?
But Su Xiaotian firmly changed their minds.
To study at university, of course, one should go to Beijing, because the best universities in China are mostly in Beijing, and the universities in their own province could not compare to those in Beijing.
Chi Ge strongly agreed with Su Xiaotian's attitude. He also believed that as long as there was an opportunity, one should go to Beijing to study.
Su Shouwen hesitated for a while before saying, "It's not easy for our family to support us to study. Studying locally can save a lot of expenses!"
"Big Brother, there are subsidies for university students, so it doesn't cost much. Besides, if you have a bright future, isn't that better than this?" Su Xiaotian insisted.
"Xiaotian is right. There are subsidies for money and tickets. If you save a little, you might even be able to subsidize your family a bit!" Chi Ge also said.
Only then did the Su brothers feel relieved.
The Su brothers' problem was solved, but Su Xiaomei was still hesitant.
She wanted to go to Beijing to study, so she might be able to find Teacher Shen. She wanted to ask him in person why he left without looking back, and what he considered her mother to be.
But she also wanted to stay and take care of her mother.
"Sister Xiaomei, you should go to Beijing too. After you graduate from university, stay in Beijing and bring Aunt Taohua to Beijing too!"
This sentence finally made Su Xiaomei's wavering heart completely settled.
Yes, the most important thing she should do was to find a way to get her mother away from this place of sorrow.
After a discussion, the schools they were going to apply for were decided.
Except for Su Xiaocao, who applied to a normal university in the province, the other four applied to universities in Beijing.
Su Xiaomei and Su Sangong both applied to agricultural universities, as agriculture was their shared aspiration.
As for Su Shouwen and Su Ciliang, they applied to Capital University.
Fortunately, Su Xiaocao had a humble and unambitious personality. She did not envy or be jealous of the good results of others, but offered her sincere blessings.
When Su Shouwen and the others returned home, Su Xiaotian and the others were waiting for the final exams.
If it were before, mid-term and final exams didn't matter.
However, at this special moment when they had just received the good news that the school had produced so many high-scoring students, no one felt that the exams were unimportant.
Both teachers and students attached unprecedented importance to the results of this exam.
Su Xiaotian, however, did not take it too seriously.
If it weren't for not wanting to attract too much attention, she felt she could have achieved good results in the college entrance examination.
The exams for the first year of junior high school were truly meaningless to her.
She was even thinking in the exam hall that after the exam, she could go home.
She had been in the county town for several months, and she really missed Hongxin Brigade.
Catching birds in the mountains and catching turtles in the river was too comfortable.
Because she came to the county town to study, the meat at home had decreased!
The eager children, on the first day after the exams, rushed back to Hongxin Brigade by car.
Su Xiaotian had subtly indicated that if they returned now, they could harvest some good things on the mountain before the New Year and have a prosperous new year.
This point was unanimously agreed upon by her brothers.
It was a joke, who didn't like to eat meat?
The birds and pheasants, wild goats and wild boars on the mountain were all waiting for them!
The bumpy journey did not dampen the siblings' joyful mood.
However, upon arriving at Hongxin Brigade, the scene they unexpectedly saw made Su Xiaotian's mood very unpleasant!