Chapter Sixteen: The Hidden Threat

After finishing her meal, Liu Mei felt a bit drowsy and was dozing off on the counter when she heard someone ask about the price. Without looking up, she replied.

"Then I'll take a can!"

Hearing the price, Yang Chunsheng thought it was a bit expensive, but for his son, no amount of money was too much. Besides, their family was now well-off and didn’t need to fuss over every penny.

At the sound, Liu Mei reluctantly stood up.

“Another can! Two cans in total!”

Yang Chunsheng turned his head to see that it was his younger brother speaking.

“Donglai, what’s this about?”

“Xingwu is my nephew; as his uncle, I have to show some support! Besides, he’s the first university student in our Yang family—this deserves some respect, doesn’t it?”

“How many cans do you want? Decide quickly!”

Liu Mei’s tone grew unpleasant; she had been reluctant earlier and now, seeing the men’s attire, she thought they were putting on airs and became even more irritable.

“Comrade, two cans it is!”

Yang Chunsheng heard this and didn’t object further.

Liu Mei snorted, turned, and took two cans of malted milk from the shelf, placing them on the counter.

“Six yuan each!”

Just as Yang Chunsheng was about to pay, Yang Donglai reached to settle the bill.

Seeing this, Yang Chunsheng suddenly felt reluctant—the two brothers were competing to pay.

Liu Mei grew even more annoyed and slammed the counter hard.

“If you keep arguing, I won’t sell it. If you have money, buy four cans! Fighting over these few cans is just pathetic!”

Hearing this, the brothers fell silent, genuinely afraid she might refuse to sell.

Each paid for one can, exchanging cautious smiles, and finally bought the malted milk.

The brothers each carried a can back to the cart.

Yang Kaishan saw this and said nothing. Passing by the butcher, he had the owner cut two jin of pork, then bought two jin of loose liquor from the town’s supply and marketing cooperative, which was cheaper at fifty cents per jin.

Today, his eldest grandson’s results came out; the teacher said there was a good chance he would get into university. This was the first university student in their old Yang family and the entire Yang village—a cause for celebration.

The family rode the ox cart home before nightfall.

By late May, the days grew longer, giving more time for work.

For farmers, this was a blessing; longer daylight hours meant more time during the harvest season.

Back at the old house, Yang Chunsheng and his brother untied the ox, led it to the shed, tied it up, and fed it fodder.

Yang Kaishan immediately handed the meat to his wife and asked her to stir-fry some spicy peppers with eggs to celebrate properly.

Liu Cuihua saw her husband so happy and quickly asked what had happened.

“At noon, I ran into Xingwu’s teacher in town. The teacher said Xingwu has a good chance of getting into university and told us to cook more nourishing food for him to keep him healthy, increasing his chances.”

“Really? My heavens! Our family is going to have a university student! That’s wonderful and worth celebrating!”

Liu Cuihua was overjoyed—this was a great honor for the family and village.

She wished the whole village could know at once.

Yang Kaishan saw through his wife’s excitement and warned,

“Keep it quiet for now. Wait until he’s officially admitted before boasting. If anyone gets jealous and causes trouble, Xingwu’s whole life could be ruined!”

Upon hearing this, Liu Cuihua quickly concealed her smile but remained joyful, calling her daughter-in-law to help prepare the meal.

Yang Kaishan took his two sons to the eldest son’s home.

Yang Chunsheng followed behind, pulling the cart.

At home, Yang Chunsheng saw his son reading in the main room.

They didn’t want to disturb him and quietly entered.

Yang Donglai came in holding the two cans of malted milk.

Hearing the noise, Yang Xingwu looked up and saw his grandfather, father, and uncle.

He immediately rose to greet them.

“Grandpa, Dad, Uncle, you’re back so soon? Was everything alright?”

“Smooth as silk! If you hadn’t suggested selling at the hospital, we wouldn’t have bought it so quickly today.”

“That’s good! The next few days the wheat ears probably won’t sell well. You should also advise Second and Fourth Uncle and Auntie to stop by tomorrow at the latest, or they might lose money!”

“Got it. When Second and Fourth Uncle come to borrow the ox tonight, I’ll tell them.”

“That’s settled!”

Yang Xingwu relaxed a little upon hearing his grandfather’s words but found their expressions a bit odd, which made him uneasy.

“Grandpa, what’s going on?”

“Haha! Nothing, just overjoyed! Chunsheng, quickly show Xingwu the report card!”

Hearing this, Yang Chunsheng hurriedly took out the folded paper he had received from Teacher Xu.

Yang Xingwu, seeing their solemnity, grew curious.

Taking the folded paper from his father, he carefully opened it, only to find a folded five-yuan note inside.

Seeing this, Yang Xingwu looked at the three elders.

Yang Kaishan and the others were also stunned. Yang Chunsheng immediately explained,

“Teacher Xu gave it to us. He knows our situation and wanted me to use this money to help you keep healthy. He’s a truly good man!”

Yang Xingwu, recalling his own memories, knew Teacher Xu had always cared for him deeply.

Teacher Xu’s salary was low—only about thirty yuan a month—but he often helped poor students who excelled both in character and academics.

During times when Yang Xingwu had no food at school, Teacher Xu had helped him several times.

He held great respect for such a teacher.

“I’ll return the money to Teacher Xu when I go back to class,” Yang Xingwu said, handing the money to his father for safekeeping.

Unfolding the paper, he saw his scores:

English 62, Chinese 80, Math 80, Politics 80, Physics 70, Chemistry 60, Biology 40, Total 472!

His first impression was that these were average scores.

After reading further, there was a message from Teacher Xu encouraging him to take good care of his health and study hard.

Looking at the results, Yang Xingwu realized that at this time, not every high school student qualified to take the official exams.

Three years ago, faced with a growing number of candidates, the Ministry of Education introduced a preliminary exam system.

Every May, students had to pass a preliminary test to be eligible for the national college entrance exam.

This became a sort of pre-exam for the college entrance examination.

As an educator himself, Yang Xingwu understood this was the origin of the current system.

He reviewed his scores and, considering Teacher Xu’s advice, believed that maintaining this level could likely get him past the admission line.

Yet, looking at the results, he saw plenty of room for improvement.

Though these were special times, if he barely got into university, there was a high risk someone might impersonate him.

After all, he was just a simple peasant boy with no connections—an easy target.

The only thing he could do was to work hard on the final exam, excel tremendously, perhaps even become the top scorer.

Only such a spectacular achievement could deter those who might want to sabotage him.