“Right! I’m willing to pay. Anan, don’t be afraid of spending money, your mother has plenty.”
Li Min, holding Ouyang Meihua, ran breathlessly into the village office.
She was collecting seeds in the nursery.
When she heard the electric loudspeaker, she didn’t pay much attention. She thought no matter who the little brother was scolding, it wouldn’t involve the nursery.
After all, the person in charge of the nursery was her sister-in-law.
Who knew that her eldest sister-in-law and sister-in-law would both come to the greenhouse where she was harvesting seeds, asking why she wasn’t excited and why she wasn’t going to the village office to see.
She was still confused.
Her eldest sister-in-law said her Anan had gone to the village office to collect mail, and it was eighty percent likely to be an admission notice.
She grabbed her eldest sister-in-law and was about to run.
Her eldest sister-in-law, however, refused to come, saying she hoped for failure, and she wouldn’t go to congratulate her showy youngest son, lest he get too arrogant.
It was her sister-in-law who spoke up, telling her eldest sister-in-law not to pour cold water on the child’s shining moment.
Only then did her eldest sister-in-law agree to come with her.
As soon as she entered, she heard the little brother advising his youngest son to hold the graduation banquet to the same standard as Lili’s. She naturally agreed.
Chen An, ignoring his mother’s sweaty face and dusty hands, handed the admission notice to his mother:
“Mom, your son has finally brought you honor. Are you happy?”
“Happy!” Li Min’s vision was blurred by tears, but she still stared intently at the red piece of paper in front of her.
Vice Village Chief Ou and Secretary Yang wiped their eyes. Like Li Min, they were crying tears of joy.
“Anan, Xiaoyu.”
Mother Li ran into the office. She had guessed that the notices had arrived when she heard the electric loudspeaker.
But after waiting a while in the courtyard and not seeing the two children come to report the good news, she couldn’t sit still. She left the kitchen to Mother Zhou and ran over.
Chen An showed the admission notice to his maternal grandmother, who had played an indispensable role in his growth.
Li Weiyu also handed her admission notice to her grandmother: “Grandma, I can go to Kyoto with my cousin.”
Mother Li smiled and nodded. The children had all grown up and become successful. She was happy:
“Let’s go home, I’ll make you a good meal.”
Chen An’s phone rang. It was his elder brother calling. After confirming that the letter was indeed an admission notice, he immediately congratulated his younger brother.
He also suggested holding the graduation banquet at the hot spring valley and offered to pay for the food.
Li Min, who had been eavesdropping by her youngest son’s side, immediately snatched his phone and shouted at her elder son on the other end:
“You’ve got some nerve! This is my son, and I’ll pay for it. When your son gets into college, whether you pay for the meal or not, you’ll have to.”
The atmosphere in the office immediately shifted from excitement and elation to laughter.
Mother Li playfully tapped her daughter’s forehead.
Li Zhengguo snatched the phone and told Xiao Fu that Xiaoyu and Anan’s graduation banquets would be held together, and he would let him know once the date was decided.
Chen Suozhu arrived late, having been urged by his sister-in-law.
He had guessed when he heard the electric loudspeaker, but he also knew his wife would come, and the nursery was busy.
Chen An showed him the admission notice, and Chen Suozhu patted his son’s shoulder: “Your father and mother are proud of you.”
Li Weiyu felt a pang of imbalance: “Mom, where’s my dad? Even if he doesn’t care about me, his prodigal daughter, he should at least say he’s proud of me.”
Li Liguo happened to walk in: “Yes, I’m here to praise you, and also to pay the deposit for you.”
“After paying this money, the burden on my shoulders will be lifted.”
Li Weiyu glanced at her cousin, who was talking to his aunt and uncle, and wondered how big the gap between people could be.
Mother Li waved her hand: “Let’s go, everyone home. Let’s go home and discuss the graduation banquet. It’s the 19th today.”
…
The graduation banquet was set for August 24th, the fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month.
When Li Weiyu and Chen An called to invite guests, their classmates with extremely low scores were already preparing to go out to work or were already interning at companies.
Upon hearing that the graduation banquet would be held for three days and two nights at the hot spring valley in Kushan Mountain and that everyone was invited for free to celebrate, they all expressed that they would definitely attend.
Li Weili would certainly help host the graduation banquets for her two nephews.
After accompanying them for three days, Li Weiyu and Chen An knew it had been hard work.
Li Weili chuckled, saying she wasn’t too tired; she was just an accompanier.
After the graduation banquet, it was time to prepare for school.
Although college started a few days later than ordinary schools, it was necessary to visit the environment first.
Therefore, the nursery sped up its seedling planting process because all six parents had decided to escort their children.
Of course, Ouyang Meihua was forced, pressured by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.
They said that no matter how much she thought her youngest son loved brand names and put on airs, she still had to see him through this last step.
Li Liguo was willing to go. He hadn’t been to Kyoto before and wanted to visit, and also to escort his youngest son to school.
When Li Weiyu objected to her father’s remarks, her father said that if it weren’t for the sightseeing, he would have just hitched a ride with his cousin; there would be no need to trouble his parents to accompany him.
…
The Houyi Zi alley was still standing, and the courtyard was still there.
Ouyang Lele’s younger brother and Lin Zhicheng drove two vans to pick up seven people and several large bags of luggage.
As soon as they were settled, Ouyang Lei asked Li Weili to go to the company with him.
Li Weili looked at her parents.
Tian Jing waved her hand: “It’s good to go and see. If you have time, you can intern at the company and reassure your Uncle Ouyang.”
Li Weili, Li Weiyu, Li Weixin, and Lin Zhicheng, the four children, left with Ouyang Lei.
Ouyang Meihua waved at her nephew: “Renzhi, come to your aunt.”
Ouyang Renzhi was already twelve years old and had become much more cheerful since following Ouyang Lei.
Seeing these people, his father called out to them, and he responded promptly.
He no longer felt estranged from his aunt, whom he remembered as having a bad temper.
At this moment, his father was not at home, so he could chat with his aunt about some topics.
For example, the difficulties he encountered while practicing martial arts, and his father’s helplessness at his lack of progress.
As the aunt and nephew chatted, they even laughed about Ouyang Lei’s embarrassing stories.
Du Hongjuan rushed in with two bags of vegetables: “Manager Ouyang asked me to come back and said there were guests. When I saw Lili, I knew it was you all who had arrived.”
Ouyang Meihua quickly took the bags and thanked Du Hongjuan apologetically.
Over the years, whenever there was anything involving her younger brother, she had troubled Du Hongjuan.
Having experienced Liu Yuelian, Ouyang Meihua no longer hoped that her younger brother would get married.
In the past, her younger brother didn’t want to find a partner and couldn’t find one. Now, he also didn’t want to find one, but there were too many women who threw themselves at him, making him even less inclined to seek a relationship.
It would be enough for her younger brother to have a son to care for him in his old age.
Du Hongjuan waved her hand: “Sister Ouyang, you’re being too formal. Whether it’s for Manager Ouyang’s work or personal matters, I consider it my duty.”
“Heh heh, Manager Ouyang even gave me a separate salary.”
Ouyang Meihua still expressed her gratitude: “No matter how much the wages are, they can’t hide the fact that you’ve sincerely helped my younger brother. Let’s go to the kitchen together.”
Li Zhengguo called Lu Xinggang, asking him to come back early after work.
Upon hearing that his old comrade had arrived, Lu Xinggang directly took leave.
When they met, the old comrades punched and slapped each other, joking about their age.
Lu Xinggang was envious to hear that his old comrade had come to escort his daughter to college.
His son had failed to get in after two years of repeating, and it had taken him great effort to get him hired at his unit this year.
Li Zhengguo didn’t comment on whether his old comrade’s approach was right or wrong, but only said that the child was grown up and it was time to let go.
Lu Xinggang sighed: “Raising a child for a hundred years brings worry for ninety-nine. I’m not as carefree as you; I can’t just let go.”
Li Zhengguo disagreed: “The worry should be about physical and mental health. If you arrange everything else for him, will he be able to grow up?”
The two of them even started arguing over this concept.