"Dad, Mom, I'm back."
Chen Yang was changing his clothes, his hair not yet dry, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. He came out with his discarded clothes and saw that it was his younger sister-in-law, Shen Rong, who had returned.
It had been over a month since she last came home. National Day was only a few days away. Why was this girl coming back now? Couldn't she have waited for the National Day holiday to come back together?
However, Chen Yang immediately slapped his forehead. In those days, there was no such thing as a National Day holiday. National Day was only established as a statutory holiday in 1999.
"Brother-in-law, what's wrong with you? Taking a shower in broad daylight."
When Shen Rong returned home and found no one there, she went straight to her sister and brother-in-law's place, but she didn't see her parents.
Instead, she saw Chen Yang coming out of the room. His hair was still wet, and he was carrying clothes. So Shen Rong looked confused, wondering why he was taking a shower in the middle of the day.
"Your sister-in-law..."
Shen Xue was about to say something when Chen Yang quickly gave her a look. Being peed on by his son was not something to be proud of; an old man still had his pride.
"It was too hot. I was just busy fanning myself with Hao Hao and Yan Yan, and I got all sweaty, so I just took a quick shower."
Chen Yang laughed it off and quickly handed the clothes to his wife. Shen Xue looked at him, suppressing a smile.
He could think of such a flimsy excuse.
Shen Rong instinctively felt something was not quite right, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was for a moment.
However, she couldn't be bothered to care. Today, Comrade Shen Rong had returned with achievements.
In her first exam after entering the second year of high school, Shen Rong ranked second in her class and seventeenth in the entire Liuhe County. She deserved to show off in front of her parents.
There was no other way. At that time, Liuhe County only had one high school, Liuhe County No. 1 High School. One's ranking in school was also one's ranking in Liuhe County.
"Er Ni, this girl, it's such hot weather, you should have come back later. Look how hot you are."
Her father-in-law and mother-in-law also came out upon hearing their younger daughter's voice. Liu Chunmei saw the sweat on Shen Rong's face and quickly went to get a towel and hot water for her to wash her face.
"Mom, I ranked second in my class and seventeenth in the whole county."
"Last year, more than eighty people from our county were admitted to university. My teacher said that as long as I maintain this level, I will definitely get into university."
The girl held her head high, full of pride. She had walked over ten li to come back, all to show off in front of her parents.
"Our daughter, of course, can't be bad. Look at whose genes she has."
Shen Futang, upon hearing this, was so happy he wanted to take out the tobacco pouch from his waist and have a puff.
His daughter was successful; the old man would be the happiest.
"Whether you get into university or not, you're still my daughter. If you don't, I'll still take care of you. Wash your face, wipe off this sweat."
Liu Chunmei brought a basin of water, wrung out the towel, and wiped the sweat from Shen Rong's face. The little girl didn't cry out and obediently let her old mother wipe the sweat from her head.
It was hot weather, and she had been on her way home for almost two hours since school. She walked a bit, found a tree to hide under, and then made it home from the city.
"Er Ni, your brother-in-law promised you that as long as you get into university, he'll buy you a bicycle. You must study hard."
"If you get in, you'll be the first university student in our Shen family. Back in the day, that would be like a female scholar who passed the imperial examination."
Shen Xue looked at her younger sister and was also happy. If Shen Rong could get into university, she would be the first educated person in their Shen family.
"Sister, the scholar is the one who ranks first in the whole country. I'm far from it." Su Dan Novel Network.
Shen Rong was a little embarrassed by the praise. Although her grades were good this time, she was still self-aware. While she could be a little smug, she was still far from being a scholar.
"Study hard and get into university. You can then go out and see a wider world, meet more friends, classmates, and teachers. These will all be precious treasures in your life in the future."
Chen Yang looked at Shen Rong. In his past life, his sister-in-law was also promising and got into university, becoming the first university student in the history of Shenjiaba.
Of course, this time there was also Shen Pandi. Perhaps she wouldn't be the only one to get into university.
"Brother-in-law, I will work hard."
"Sister Pandi is the truly amazing one. She missed so much class, and she still easily got first place in this exam. Her score was more than thirty points higher than the second place."
"Teacher Liu even said that she's destined to be the county's top scorer in the college entrance examination this time, and she might even have a chance to be the top scorer in the city or the province."
Hearing Shen Rong's words, Chen Yang also remembered that slender figure with determined eyes.
"Pandi is very smart. Perhaps our county will really produce a student who can get into Tsinghua or Peking University."
When Chen Yang sent Shen Pandi to school, the girl kept saying that she would definitely get into Tsinghua and Peking University in the future. This was all because of a casual remark Chen Yang made.
But Chen Yang didn't know that this girl had truly made this her sole goal.
"You should go rest too. The sun is so harsh."
It would be great to have an ice cream right now. Chen Yang looked up at the big sun overhead, which was scorching.
At this moment, the baby had also woken up, groggy. Her plump little face had faint bamboo strip imprints from sleeping on the bamboo bed.
Seeing the dazed baby, Chen Yang couldn't rest either. He fetched water and washed the faces of the two little ones.
"Go play in the room, it's hot outside."
Shen Xue was washing Chen Yang's clothes, and he took the two children inside to play hide-and-seek.
It was so good to have more children. They had companions. Before, the baby was all alone, without even a companion.
"This wine vat is almost finished. Didn't you want dregs? I've specifically kept them for you."
The old man ambled outside for a smoke. Seeing Chen Yang inside, he remembered the wine dregs Chen Yang had asked him to keep last time.
"Dad, it's fine as it is. I'll experiment with making something later."
Fish jerky was still hanging under the eaves outside. Now that he had wine dregs, Chen Yang thought it was time to make some wine dreg fish.
Even if he didn't sell it, making it for himself to eat would be extremely delicious.
"The wine is already made. You can do whatever you want with the dregs. Just don't break my wine vat."
The old man waved his hand, uninterested in what Chen Yang wanted to do.
"Daddy, my brother is too stupid. He found me right away. Will you play hide-and-seek with me?"
The baby hopped over and tugged at his pants leg. The little one was not yet as tall as his waist, and she always tugged at his pants leg when she was being affectionate.
Chen Yang couldn't help it. Who told his daughter to be so cute and thoughtful? What other choice did he have but to dote on her?
"Okay, okay, Daddy will count. You two go hide quickly."
"Whoever is found last gets a Big White Rabbit milk candy as a reward."
Chen Yang had bought a lot of snacks for the two little ones, which Shen Xue had hidden away.
She said that they shouldn't eat too many snacks, or they wouldn't eat their meals. Therefore, the milk candy held great appeal for the two little ones.
"Daddy, no peeking. I'm going to hide."
The baby seriously warned Chen Yang, then scurried around the room looking for a place to hide. But the room was only so big, where could they hide?