The days passed with such diligent study and practice. Winter passed and spring came, spring ended and summer came, and in the blink of an eye it was summer again.
I was ten and a half years old in the summer of this year. One day in the summer of this year, my family moved. We said goodbye to the familiar village and the land that our ancestors had lived on for generations, and moved to the county town. The reason was because of my eldest sister and second sister. Regarding reading, this is the advice given by Old Man Jiang.
Before giving this advice, my eldest sister had already attended the town's high school for a year.
Here's how it happened.
In our area, I once said that only rural areas have primary schools and junior high schools. There is no choice. If the children are young, they can only study nearby.
But when you get to high school, you have more choices. There are high schools in two other townships nearby, high schools in towns further away, and the best one is the high school in the county.
My parents are people who value education. Although they are illiterate, they admire college students from the bottom of their hearts and wish they could raise a college student in their own family. My eldest sister and second sister have excellent grades. I was taught a 'violent' education by Old Man Jiang. , my grades got better, and my parents became more thoughtful.
It happened that my eldest sister graduated from junior high school last year, and her grades were as good as ever. It didn't matter which high school she chose. My parents calculated it based on our family's conditions, so they enrolled my eldest sister in a high school in the town.
This is the limit of what my parents can do. The quality of education in the township is definitely not comparable to that in the town, and the quality of education in the town is definitely not comparable to that in the county. But in the county, do my parents dare to think about it
At that time, my mother was thinking that since my family’s background was good and my daughter’s grades were excellent, she might be able to go to university and forget about it if she couldn’t go to the county town.
In the summer of 1977, when my eldest sister finished her freshman year of high school, word spread throughout the country that a policy was about to be implemented, that is, the national college entrance examination was about to resume.
This is undoubtedly a heavy bomb that has exploded in everyone's heart. Everyone understands that from now on, studying in college has nothing to do with composition or recommendations. The only thing that matters is grades.
That's all. My parents have confidence in my eldest sister's studies. How can she be in the top ten in the class even if she is not studying in the high school in town? However, my eldest sister was sad because of one of her classmates.
That classmate was a female classmate in my eldest sister's junior high school class. She used to be ranked behind my eldest sister when she was studying. But her family had the ability and sent her daughter to study in the county town. This year, the comparison has become even bigger.
When we got together during the summer vacation, my eldest sister discovered the problem. First of all, her study progress lagged behind others, her grasp of details of knowledge lagged behind others, and even her grasp of general knowledge lagged behind others. Moreover, they also said that her grades in the class were poor. It's just above average.
My eldest sister is excellent and arrogant. She has always had a dream in her heart, a dream that was influenced by my weak health when she was a child. That is to become a doctor and go to a medical university!
In this contrast, with rumors spreading throughout the country that the college entrance examination will be resumed, my eldest sister has no confidence in herself and is even scared.
The college entrance examination is taken by students all over the country. If I can't even compare to a middle school student in a county high school, then why should I take the college entrance examination
After tossing and turning for a few nights, my eldest sister summoned up the courage to find my parents; "Dad, Mom, can I go to the high school in the county to study? Wang Xiaomei is studying there, she..."
Before my eldest sister finished speaking, my mother was surprised: "Okay, why do you want to go to the county town to study? How expensive is it?"
My dad was also surprised: "The county seat is so far away. I'm afraid I can only come back once a month. Our family's financial situation cannot afford to study in a high school in the county seat."
My eldest sister is a sensible person. She knows the situation at home and knows that there are younger brothers and sisters at home. She cannot be so selfish. She has never mentioned this matter again, and she has never mentioned the reason to my parents again. .
The summer vacation passed like this for half a month. My eldest sister suppressed her worries and pretended to be fine, but she looked obviously haggard.
My mother was careful and thought that my eldest sister was used to living in the town and was not used to the country. She was bored, so she said to her: "You and my second sister will go to the mountains to stay for two days? The air is good and the scenery is beautiful." Beautiful, Master Jiang will take you to hunt some wild animals for two days."
Old Man Jiang is "fierce" to me, but kind to my two sisters. He almost responds to every request. He is very active in leading them to catch birds and fish. I guess it is because my two sisters, Shui Ling'er, satisfy his love of watching big fish. A girl's hobby, I am a man, I deserve to be 'abused'.
Mom said so, and the eldest sister really wanted to relax, so she took my second sister up the mountain.
When they came up, my room was given to them, and I had no choice but to sleep next to my master. But when my master slept at night, he snored so loudly that I couldn't sleep at all.
That night, I heard a woman crying.
"F*ck female ghost, you are so courageous, you even dare to intrude on my master's territory!" Having experienced so much, I no longer have any fear at all, but my heart is filled with excitement. I sit up with a vengeance. He kicked Old Man Jiang on the butt.
"Master, get up and catch the ghost!"
Old Man Jiang was sleeping soundly. He was startled by my kicking and shouting. He slapped me as soon as he came up: "How dare that blind ghost come to Mr. Jiang and me? Didn't I see it?" Ghost, I will catch you as a ghost tonight."
In this case, I didn't dare to argue with him, so I quickly pulled him and said: "Really, Master, listen, there is a female ghost howling outside our house!"
When Old Man Jiang heard it, there was really a faint sound of crying. He quickly put on his clothes and took me out. But when he was going out, he said: "This is not a ghost crying, I'm afraid someone is feeling wronged." "
I didn't believe it, so as soon as I went out, I turned on the flashlight and took a photo around me. Sure enough, I saw a figure. I knew it wasn't a ghost. I didn't have that hazy feeling, and there was a clear shadow. I looked more closely. Look, who is the one sitting on the rock crying, if not my eldest sister
I grabbed Old Jiang and ran over quickly. Seeing the eldest sister like this, I was also anxious. I don’t know why, but the words came to my mouth: "Sister, how dare you be so brave? You dare to be alone in the middle of the night. If you cry in the wilderness, you are not afraid that people will think you are a ghost?"
My eldest sister sobbed and said, "Afraid...what are you afraid of? I don't even care who lives here!"
When I heard what my eldest sister said, I felt a little relieved. This is my eldest sister's style! It shows that this sad thing has not reached the point where my eldest sister is seeking death and survival.
But Old Man Jiang gave full play to his 'kindness' in front of my sister and said: "Girl, if you have anything to do, just tell me. Can Grandpa Jiang not help you?"
Hearing what Old Man Jiang said, my eldest sister cried even harder. She sobbed for a long time before saying to Old Man Jiang: "Grandpa Jiang, I may not be able to go to college."
Then, my eldest sister choked and told Old Man Jiang everything. Old Man Jiang was silent for a while, and finally said: "Go to sleep well tonight and wait for my news tomorrow."
Old Man Jiang is the kind of person who doesn't make promises easily, but sticks to his word when he makes a promise. My eldest sister knows his character. With his words, she suddenly felt a lot more at ease, thinking that she could not go to the county to study. Forget it, I actually slept peacefully.
Early the next morning, when it was just dawn and I was still doing my 'morning classes', Old Man Jiang went out. He didn't tell me what he was doing, and just said, "You can take care of breakfast and lunch by yourself." .” Just left like that.
He left for most of the day, and when he came back, it was already afternoon. I was still soaking in the water, and my two sisters were catching fish by the stream.
But he didn't come back alone. My parents were also following him.
"Everyone, come inside, I have something to say." Old Man Jiang said very seriously.
We didn't dare to be careless, so we hurriedly packed up and rushed into the house. Then our whole family sat in a group, all surrounding Old Man Jiang, and no one knew what he was going to say.
"In two days, your family will move to the county town. I have asked someone to help contact my eldest sister's school. The college entrance examination system will indeed be restored." Old Man Jiang usually doesn't speak in a formal manner, but this serious What he said when he got up almost scared our whole family to death.
My dad spit out the tea in one mouthful and was unable to speak for a long time after coughing.
My mother hesitated for a while and said, "Moving to the county seat? But... where will my family get the money?"
"I do!" Old Man Jiang stood up as he said this.