Chapter 71 Aftermath

"Mom, no need. Why run and hide? That fellow surnamed Liu is like a clay Bodhisattva crossing a river—he can barely save himself! We just need to wait and hear the news!"

Hearing his mother's words, Yang Xingwu immediately stopped in his tracks.

"You can't be serious, child! You must not be so stubborn!"

Seeing her son stop and refuse to leave, Wang Zhaodi tried once more to persuade him earnestly.

Upon seeing this, the fellow villagers in the courtyard also chimed in one after another.

"That's right, Xiao Wu! A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him. Go out and hide for a while!"

"Indeed! Just treat it as going to your grandmother's place for a few days. You hardly get to go there a few times a year!"

Hearing the advice from his mother and the villagers, Yang Xingwu felt a mix of being deeply moved and somewhat amused.

Having reached middle age, he was long past the impulsive hothead he once was, and many things had become naturally clear to him.

The fact that he couldn't control himself earlier wasn't just driven by a burst of raw emotion and anger; it was also the lingering obsession of the original body's soul that had made him act with such madness.

However, matters had already reached this point. A beating was a beating, and that fellow surnamed Liu would just have to swallow it.

With this thought in mind, Yang Xingwu called out to his mother and the villagers gathered in the courtyard:

"Mom, fellow villagers, all of you watched me grow up. You know what kind of person I've been since I was a child, and you surely know the whole story behind this. That fellow surnamed Liu wanted to buy my secondary vocational school admission quota for two thousand yuan!

This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing, and it's the first time for all of you too, right?"

"Xiao Wu, does this imply something deeper?"

"The implications here are huge! It has already been two years since the secondary vocational school exams.

Why hasn't this fellow surnamed Liu ever shown his face before? Why show up precisely now? And why is he suddenly willing to shell out a high price of two thousand yuan to settle this?"

Hearing this, many of the villagers suddenly had an epiphany.

"That's true! People from the city couldn't possibly be that foolish, could they? It's been two years already!"

"Right, something extraordinary must have happened. That fellow surnamed Liu is probably being targeted by a sworn enemy who's trying to bring him down!"

"This means our Yang Family Village is about to produce a true dragon! It's late July, and the college entrance examination results are about to be released. They must be terrified because of Xiao Wu's score!"

Following the sound of the voice, Yang Xingwu looked over and saw Uncle Six-Finger standing at the entrance of his courtyard.

Seeing this, Yang Xingwu quickly broke free from his mother's grip, trotted over to the gate, and supported Uncle Six-Finger as they walked into the courtyard. Seeing the teacher arrive, Yang Xingwen hurriedly went inside to fetch a chair for Uncle Six-Finger to sit on.

After sitting down, Uncle Six-Finger looked at Yang Xingwu with great satisfaction.

"Xiao Wu, there's no need for the two of us to speak in riddles. Tell the villagers what's going on!"

"Right, right, Uncle Six-Finger is right. We're all rough folk, and since you, Xiao Wu, are an educated man, make it clear so everyone can stop worrying!"

Hearing his teacher's words, Yang Xingwu stopped keeping everyone in suspense.

"When I was fighting earlier, that fellow surnamed Liu said he would intercept my university admission notice. I'm sure the villagers heard it too. This proves that the fellow surnamed Liu works at the post office, but judging by his standing, he's at most a section chief—nothing all that formidable!

Nowadays, substituting someone else's identity is simple: the post office intercepts the admission notice, the school is notified, the records are transferred, and a word to the household registration department settles it. It doesn't necessarily require getting a certificate from the village, right, Uncle Jianguo?"

"Correct, that's precisely how it works!"

"There were three people in total. Aside from that fellow surnamed Liu and his son, the third person was someone I'd never seen when I was in middle school. Plus, based on the timing of the score releases in previous years, the results aren't due for another two or three days.

The fact that they already caught wind of it means that person must be someone in charge of archives. The only reason they found out is likely because my exam scores were exceptionally high, and my file was requested for review by the provincial or regional authorities. That's why they were willing to bleed a fortune to smooth things over!

That's also why I was so confident when I told the surnamed Liu that I wasn't afraid of going to jail and threw his words right back at him. Nobody here is foolish; they aren't going to make things difficult for me!"

"Is that true? Uncle Six-Finger, tell us!"

Though Wang Zhaodi desperately wanted to believe her son's analysis, she still wanted to hear Uncle Six-Finger confirm it!

"It's true!"

With that said, Uncle Six-Finger looked at Yang Xingwu with an approving gaze.

"Not bad, you've improved a lot over the past two years. Our Yang Family Village is finally going to produce a university student! Kaishan, you have a fine grandson!"

Hearing this, the villagers in the courtyard instantly erupted with excitement.

"Oh my goodness, does this mean our old Yang family is finally rising up? We'll have someone powerful to lean on in the future!"

"Of course! Didn't you hear Uncle Six-Finger? Could anything he says be false?"

"Goodness me, a literary star has been born in Yang Family Village!"

The villagers might have doubted Yang Xingwu's words, but they trusted Uncle Six-Finger implicitly. Upon hearing his absolute verdict, the crowd immediately became thrilled!

Hearing Uncle Six-Finger's words, Wang Zhaodi was overcome with joy and hurriedly urged the villagers.

"Uncles, aunts, don't leave yet. Stay and have dinner at my place!"

Hearing this, Yang Chunsheng quickly joined in the persuasion.

"We can't do that. Let's wait a few days until Xiao Wu's notice arrives, and then we'll all celebrate properly!"

"That's right! Brother Chunsheng, sister-in-law, no rush. Once the admission notice arrives, we'll drink until we drop!"

"Right, right, right!"

As they spoke, the crowd gradually dispersed in different directions.

Helpless, Wang Zhaodi pulled Uncle Six-Finger and Uncle Jianguo aside and said:

"Uncle Six-Finger, brother Jianguo, the others are leaving, but the two of you cannot!"

"Fine, I won't leave. I'll share a few drinks with Kaishan later! Haha!"

Uncle Six-Finger readily agreed with a broad smile. One of his students had been accepted into university, and he shared in the honor!

Hearing this, Wang Zhaodi immediately took her sister-in-law and mother-in-law back to the kitchen to start cooking dinner.

By evening, the courtyard of Yang Chunsheng's house was bustling with activity. Uncle Six-Finger, Yang Jianguo, the five males of Yang Kaishan's family, and Yang Honggui along with his two sons and two grandsons, crowded around an eight-immortals table, drinking, chatting, and boasting!

The younger children sat at another table with the female family members to eat.

Wang Zhaodi placed two boiled eggs in front of Yang Xiaohong and Yang Xingbao.

"Xiaohong, Xingbao, you both behaved very well this afternoon. This is your reward!"

Seeing the eggs, the two little ones were overjoyed. They took the eggs, carefully tucked them into their trouser pockets, and continued eating their meal—they planned to save the eggs to eat later when they got hungry.

Standing beside her mother, Yang Xiaofeng watched with longing as her older siblings tucked their eggs into their pockets. At only three years old, she was not yet able to control her emotions.

"Our Xiaofeng gets an egg too!"

"Yay! Auntie is the best!"

Holding her egg, Yang Xiaofeng thanked Wang Zhaodi.

The lively atmosphere at Yang Chunsheng's home lasted well into the night. Most of the men had drunk quite a bit, and Yang Xingwu, who long ago reached his limit with alcohol, was carried back to the brick bed to rest by the others.

Lying on the heated brick bed, Yang Xingwu reminisced about the events of the day.

Throwing punches could be called youthful vigor!

If he had truly been a hot-headed seventeen or eighteen-year-old kid, he could have beaten the men up and then dragged them through the county town to parade them in shame. But as a middle-aged small-town exam-grinder, he naturally had to consider the bigger picture.

Right now, he was still a commoner with no official standing. Pulling such a stunt might feel satisfying for a moment, but it clashed with his usual honest and steady reputation.

Moreover, it could easily draw the displeasure of higher authorities, and implicating the entire village in the process was never his intention.