Chapter 119

Chapter 119

The news that the highest score in the Beijing college entrance examination was 497 spread like wildfire, traveling through Beijing and gradually reaching the surrounding areas. However, there was one place that learned of this news earlier than others.

Daba Village in Wufu Town.

Wu Hongxia and several others were much calmer than the other anxious educated youths. The books Feng Xia had brought back from Beijing had helped them a great deal, so when they heard the news that the college entrance examination had been reinstated, they did not panic. Instead, they felt joy and a sense of clarity, as if a cloud had been lifted.

She was truly grateful to Feng Xia. If not for Feng Xia, Wu Hongxia would have given up in her third year of being sent to the countryside. Many of the educated youths who came with her had already married, leading mundane lives no different from the villagers. Not that this was a bad thing—everyone has their own destiny—but Wu Hongxia was unwilling to settle. Having seen the vastness of the universe, how could she be content to stay stuck in this tiny corner of the world? Fortunately, she had waited.

While preparing for the exam, Wu Hongxia also made sure to teach Feng Jingui and Feng Jinlian. She treated them with exceptional care. She felt she had no way to repay Feng Xia, so she did her best to pass on her knowledge to Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui. Moreover, they were already very good friends, and she did all this willingly.

Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui were no longer the illiterate little girls they once were. Both were now over 18, and Zhang Ling was thinking about finding them husbands. Thanks to Feng Xia's impressive achievements, the sisters had become somewhat famous in the village and even the town. Feng Chun had hardly come home in the past two years, claiming she was seeing someone in the city. Li Meihua was anxious and frustrated, but she couldn't help feeling proud. Zhang Ling had no interest in marrying into wealth; she just wanted to find honest, reliable men for her daughters.

With Feng Xia keeping them in check, the Feng family dared not interfere in their marriages.

When the college entrance examination was reinstated, Feng Jinbao and Feng Chengzong were sent to school, and under the strong insistence of the old village chief, Feng Qiu was also sent to the village school.

Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui had read many books over the past three years and studied diligently with Wu Hongxia. Though their efforts weren't as extreme as reading by the light of fireflies or snow, they came close. When they heard the news about the reinstated exams, they begged the family to let them take the exam.

The Feng family initially disagreed until Feng Jingui said, "If I do well in the exam, it will make finding a good match easier in the future. Besides, we'll save up the exam fees ourselves. Jinlian and I will dig bitter roots on the mountain to earn the money. Father, Mother, Grandparents—if we get in, it'll bring the family honor!"

These words eventually swayed the Feng family, who agreed to let the sisters take the exam, but with one condition: they could not neglect their household duties. The collective dining system was gone, and now each household farmed its own land and reaped its own harvest, so the more work you put in, the more you got out.

The Feng family was reluctant to lose two laborers. In just half a year, Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui had become thin and sunburned, but their spirits were high. They got their wish and took the exam.

They sent a letter to Feng Xia in Beijing, along with some wild mountain goods like mushrooms and fungus they had saved, and a few sets of underwear they had made for her. Feng Xia naturally supported her sisters in taking the exam and sent them 100 yuan and many study materials. When Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui held the letter, tears soaked their clothes.

Finally, the day for checking results arrived. The sisters went to the town early to see their scores.

Wu Hongxia went with them.

In front of the wooden board listing student scores in the town, a massive crowd was gathered, discussing the results. Wu Hongxia led the group, barely squeezing through, and searched from the bottom up. Near the 390 mark, they found the names of Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui from Daba Village: one scored 398, the other 390, placing them in the town's top 50.

Wu Hongxia scored higher, with 421. The three of them wept tears of joy, hugging each other. Their scores were good enough for college. Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui were guaranteed a spot at a junior college. In those days, a junior college diploma was no small thing; it meant a guaranteed government-assigned job, a secure lifelong position.

They walked home with their heads held high. When Zhang Ling heard her daughters' scores, she burst into tears. She knew how hard her daughters had worked. Thankfully, their efforts had not been in vain.

Feng Aihua furrowed his brows and said hoarsely, "It'll cost way too much to go to college! You're not going."

Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui's faces fell. Even Zhang Ling clenched her fists. Feng Jingui stepped forward and said firmly, "Younger Sister Xia said that if we get in, she'll cover the tuition. You don't need to worry."

Feng Aihua hated it when they used Feng Xia against him. He kicked a stool so hard it made a loud noise.

"Fine, fine. You think your wings are strong enough now, don't you? Then let Feng Xia support you. Don't come to me. Let's see if she's willing. Stupid girls, daring to talk back to me," he said, raising his hand to hit them. Zhang Ling pulled her daughters behind her, staring at Feng Aihua with cold, dark eyes. He eventually backed down, slamming the door as he left.

Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui couldn't stop crying. Zhang Ling pulled out a handful of money from her pocket—mostly small bills, plus a few larger notes Feng Xia had given her. She had saved it all, intending to use it as a dowry for her daughters. But since they wanted to study and had been admitted, she would support them. With an education, they could work in the city, never having to farm or be beaten by a man. They could be like Feng Xia—so wonderful.

The admission letters came quickly. Both sisters were accepted by the provincial Normal University. The county also gave them a 20-yuan reward. The Feng family made quite a name for themselves. The tuition for the Normal University was cheap, and the state provided subsidies. In effect, it cost nothing. Since it was free, the Feng family allowed Feng Jingui and Feng Jinlian to attend. As for Wu Hongxia, she was admitted to Beijing Medical University, earning respect from everyone who heard about it.

Along with these news came another explosive piece of information: Feng Xia—Feng Shizhu's granddaughter, who worked in the military district—had gone to Beijing to take the exam and scored first in the city, practically first in the entire country! Since Feng Xia's household registration was still in Daba Village, the county sent a shiny red certificate of commendation. It was a rare honor.

The certificate was hung in the Feng family's main hall, visible at a glance. As soon as the county officials left, villagers flocked to the Feng home to see it. The county had originally planned to give a cash reward, but the higher-ups said the money should be given directly to Comrade Feng Xia, so that plan fell through. Feng Shizhu watched the money slip away, feeling so sorry he could barely eat.

Oh my, this granddaughter of his had such good fortune! In ancient times, she would have been a perfect Number One Scholar! The best in the entire nation! The Feng family's ancestral graves must be smoking with good fortune, even burning!

Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui's admittance to the Normal University paled in comparison to this news. When the sisters quietly left for university, the villagers finally realized that the Feng family had produced three college students!

In fact, there was one more. Feng Chun crumpled her junior college admission notice in frustration—she had scored 358. How could she go to a junior college? How could she fail to get into a full university? Though she had been doing some business on the side over the past half year, just barely getting into a junior college was a crushing disappointment.

Feng Chun decided not to attend. She would rather retake the exam next year. She was determined to go to a proper university.

She gazed at the increasingly prosperous streets of the provincial capital, feeling a sense of satisfaction. Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui were still farming in the countryside. Feng Xia was still training at the military base. The most accomplished child of the Feng family was her—Feng Chun, who had paved her way in the city early on and amassed a considerable fortune.

Little did she know, she was like a frog at the bottom of a well, unaware of the vast world above.