Chapter 68 Never Failing an Examination

Knock, knock, knock!

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Sis, Xiaowei!"

"Coming, coming!"

Shen Chunhua opened the door and welcomed her younger brother inside.

"Have you eaten yet? Sit down and have a bite! Xiaojun, go move a chair for your uncle!"

"Uncle, please have a seat!"

Liu Zhijun said as he stood up, pulling his uncle to sit on his own chair.

Then he pulled over another stool and sat down himself.

"Has Xiaojun graduated now? When are you heading to work?"

"I can report for duty the day after tomorrow, and the reporting period is two months. I'm planning to rest for half a month before going. Uncle, what do you think?"

"What do you mean, what do I think? You've already been loafing at home for a whole month. If you keep resting, you'll turn into a good-for-nothing!"

Shen Chunhua looked at her son's unconcerned attitude, feeling a severe headache coming on.

"Sis, Xiaojun is still young. Young people are at the age where they love to play. Taking a few extra breaks is fine; it's not like our family can't afford to feed him!"

"Uncle, you're the best!"

"You just keep spoiling him!"

Shen Chunhua glared at her son, but with his uncle backing him up, Liu Zhijun was completely unfazed by his mother.

After eating for a while, Liu Zhijun put down his chopsticks.

"Mom, Little Uncle, I'm done. I promised Xiaofang we'd go to the movies this afternoon, so I'm heading out!"

"Alright, come back early!"

"Got it!"

After the meal, Shen Chunhua cleared the table and went to the kitchen to wash the pots and dishes. Liu Xiaomei poured two cups of tea for her uncle and father before returning to her room to rest!

Liu Dagang pulled out a cigarette and handed it to his brother-in-law nearby.

After striking a match to light them, the two men blew out clouds of smoke for a moment before speaking.

"In such a rush, is something wrong?"

"Brother-in-law, it's a major crisis. At noon today, a classmate over in Sanchuan told me that Yang Xingwu's personal file was requested and faxed over. I'm a bit worried, so that's why..."

"What are you panicking about? Sanchuan and our place are both at the county level; they have no jurisdiction over us here!"

"No, according to my classmate, it was requested by the prefectural level. Since Xiaojun has already graduated, and calculating the timeline, Yang Xingwu's college entrance examination is also over. Requesting his file now means his scores must be pretty good. I think it's better to get this sorted out sooner rather than later, just in case..."

Hearing this, Liu Dagang paused the hand holding his cigarette and fell into deep thought.

Shen Chunwei sat quietly on the side, waiting patiently.

After a long while, a sigh escaped.

"Once a fish transforms into a dragon, everything changes fundamentally. Since his file could be requested, his scores can't be low. Looks like we're going to bleed heavily this time!"

"Brother-in-law, even the wisest can have a lapse in judgment. It just goes to show that this fellow surnamed Yang has good luck!"

Shen Chunhua finished washing the pots and pans, and upon hearing her husband and brother's conversation, she immediately grew anxious.

"Old Liu, is this troublesome? I hope it doesn't affect Xiaojun's job, right?"

"Sis, what trouble? Just some mud-legged peasant. Give him two hundred yuan, write up a receipt, and frame it as if he sold the quota to us!"

"Yes, exactly! Xiaowei always finds a way. Old Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Dagang's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this.

"Not bad. After all these years of seasoning, you've finally grown resourceful!"

"Thanks for the praise, Brother-in-law. When should we go?"

"No time to waste. We'll leave in a bit!"

With that, he stood up, walked to his daughter's bedroom door, and called her out.

"Xiaomei, go call your brother back and tell him something important has come up at home!"

"Okay, got it!"

Hearing her father's words, Liu Xiaomei hurriedly went out.

Liu Zhijun was currently on a date with his girlfriend. Hearing his younger sister's message, his mood soured instantly, and he returned home very reluctantly.

As soon as he stepped through the door, Liu Zhijun threw a small tantrum.

"Dad, Little Uncle, what is it? What's the rush?"

Shen Chunhua took her daughter out of the apartment building, leaving the space to the three men.

"What could it be? There's a flaw in your job substitution matter. When we go to Yang Xingwu's house later, you better put on a cooperative attitude, get that receipt in hand, and even if this blows up later, it won't be pinned on us!"

"No way! It's been two years already, how could it blow up now?"

"Well, it hasn't blown up yet, but Yang Xingwu took the college entrance exam this year..."

Hearing his uncle's words, Liu Zhijun's eyes lit up.

"Dad, why don't we just snap up this college student too? If our family has a college student, we can go much farther in the future!"

"Nonsense! We don't even know what's going on yet. Why are you being so blindly arrogant? First get your secondary technical school matter sorted out!"

"Fine, won't mention it then. Why the huge temper?"

Mutinously, Liu Zhijun walked aside and slumped across the sofa.

Seeing his son, Liu Dagang felt a sense of disappointment, wishing he had even half the competence of his eldest son so he wouldn't have to worry so much.

Shen Chunwei hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.

After discussing a bit longer, Liu Dagang grabbed his bank passbook, withdrew two thousand yuan from the bank, and then drove his three-wheeled motorcycle, carrying his brother-in-law and son, toward Zhangcun Town!

...

After delivering the public grain quotas, life in Yangjiacun returned to peace once again.

That afternoon, Yang Xingwu woke up from a nap and felt instantly refreshed.

This sunrise-to-work and sunset-to-rest lifestyle had greatly improved his mental state. The only drawback was the lack of a smartphone.

However, over the past two months, he had gradually grown used to this way of life.

After waking up, Yang Xingwu shouldered his farming tools and strolled out to the fields with his father and eldest brother. Though the busy season was over, going out to check the fields every few days gave them peace of mind.

He picked up a hoe to clear away some weeds, and had barely worked for a little while when his younger sister came running with a message: a classmate was looking for him and waiting at home!

Puzzled, Yang Xingwu returned home with his younger sister.

As soon as he arrived, he saw a three-wheeled motorcycle parked at the gate.

Seeing this contraption, Yang Xingwu paused. He didn't recall having any wealthy classmates!

After casting a skeptical glance around, Yang Xingwu finally stepped into the courtyard.

Entering the courtyard, his elder sister Yang Xiaolan briefly explained the situation.

Yang Xingwu nodded in understanding and walked into the main room.

Seeing her son return, Wang Zhaodi hurriedly greeted him:

"Xiaowei, your classmates are here. Go keep them company and chat!"

With that, Wang Zhaodi stepped out of the main room.

Seeing the three people before him, Yang Xingwu froze for a moment, failing to react immediately.

"Yang Xingwu, you really have a short-term memory, don't you? Can't even remember your old classmates after just two years?"

"Are you Liu Zhijun?"

Hearing the voice, Yang Xingwu asked with a hint of doubt.

"At least you haven't forgotten me!"

"You've changed so much, I didn't recognize you at all! What brings you guys here?"

"Yeah! You haven't changed a bit, though. You're even drinking malted milk extract! Seems like you're living quite comfortably!"

Liu Zhijun said, glancing sideways at the three bowls of brewed malted milk extract on the table.

"Stop talking! Is that any way to speak? Classmate Yang, please take a seat. Our uninvited visit today is because we have a favor to ask."

"You're too polite, Uncle. If even you guys can't handle it, what can a simple farmer like me do?"

"Classmate Yang is joking. Here is how things stand..."

Liu Dagang laid out the whole story from beginning to end.

Yang Xingwu fell silent upon hearing this.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"You mean I never failed the entrance exam? The technical school slot was fraudulently taken by you?"

"Classmate Yang, that's putting it a bit too harshly. We merely borrowed your quota. Now that you've been admitted to university, having that quota is useless to you anyway, so you might as well trade it for cash!"

As he spoke, Liu Dagang pulled an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"There is one thousand yuan in here. Consider it a token of my sincerity as an uncle!"