The day’s lessons had just ended, and the children in the classroom gathered around once more. The Miao family and the Han Clan kids had both seen Yezi and Xiao Xian’s parents heading to the temple this morning, guessing that the two must have dared each other to stay overnight at the temple last night. They ca to ask who won or lost.
"No loss, no win, call it a draw," Yezi said nonchalantly. Strictly speaking, neither he nor Xiao Xian had spent the night behind the temple at the burial ground, so both had lost. But of course, he wasn’t about to share that with them.
"But what should we do? They say there can’t be two tigers on the sa mountain; surely we can’t have two bosses," the Miao family children protested.
Xiao Xian remained silent. After all, the ss was made by Yezi, so it was only natural for him to handle it.
"That’s easy, haven’t you heard of ’won manage inside, n manage outside’? From now on, you listen to Zhu Xiaoxian in the temple classroom, and to outside," Yezi parroted what his Mama and father used to say at ho.
Xiao Xian and Taohua, lying in the cradle, both rolled their eyes simultaneously. "Yezi is an idiot, such a lack of comprehension."
And so, the drama within the Miao Han temple was temporarily settled.
Ti flew by and half a year passed. During this period, life in Ge Village seed to have frozen in ti, except for the growing rice paddies and the sonorous reading voices in the temple, everything else remained as usual.
anwhile, the Zhou Ziang family who lived in Shanghai had moved to Beijing due to Zhou Qiang’s job promotion.
Not long after arriving in Beijing, Zhou Ziang enrolled for that year’s college entrance examination through his school and graduated as the top science student in Beijing of 1997. After graduating from high school, Zhou Ziang did not accept the invitation of dostic universities. He gave up the opportunity to study in renowned local institutions, took the TOEFL during that sumr, and by the fall, he had successfully received scholarship offers from several universities in the United States, eventually deciding to enroll in Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
During those months, Zhou Qiang truly experienced extre highs and lows. First, he transitioned from a modest role in Shanghai’s Agricultural Bureau to becoming the deputy director of the Bureau of Industry and Comrce. Then, his once underachieving son achieved a sensational high score that shook Beijing’s educational circles. However, Zhou Qiang’s joy did not last long before he faced consecutive shocks.
In July, one afternoon, Zhou Qiang heard Xi Lijuan ntion their son’s latest decision, "What, that kid turned down the acceptance letter from Tsinghua University?"
Xi Lijuan said irritably, "It was you who suggested that our son study abroad. Why are you making a fuss now? Recently our son has been warming up to us. You better not nag him and affect his revision mood."
In September, one evening, another roar erupted in the Zhou Family living room.
"What, he even looks down on Harvard, going to what Cornell University, which I’ve never even heard of," Zhou Qiang’s voice revealed that he was angry once more.
"Why, are you entering nopause too early? I haven’t even said anything about our son going so far away, yet you, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade, have never heard of Cornell University, which is one of the Ivy League Universities with the most renowned agriculture program in the whole United States," Xi Lijuan spoke casually. She had spent half a month researching with her son to find this information.
"Weren’t you the one who opposed sending him abroad? Now you’re all gung-ho about it, and you two even presumptuously chose plant biology for him. I got the offer from the Ministry of Agriculture sohow, and now our son is actually going to study agriculture. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh," Zhou Qiang sensed a hint of resentnt in his wife’s tone and felt guilty. After he took office in Beijing, he had been preoccupied with handling his official duties and neglected his son’s education. The school had nothing but praise for their son’s change and overall performance the past year. Zhou Qiang assud Zhou Ziang would choose a more popular major for a future in governnt, perhaps follow in his footsteps. But in the blink of an eye, the kid had chosen Cornell University.
"A son is not a puppet of his mother. Besides, who says studying agriculture ans becoming a farr? You also ca from a math background but ended up as the director of the Agricultural Bureau," Xi Lijuan was truly a wise and supportive spouse and a good mother. When she first learned of her son’s choice, she didn’t react imdiately. To prevent Zhou Qiang from bringing his authoritative office deanor ho, she kept Zhou Ziang’s interest in agriculture a secret. Only after the acceptance letters arrived from the States did she reveal the news to Zhou Qiang, knowing that he would respect their son’s decision, but it would take so effort to guide him through the process.
"It’s different. I need to talk to that kid. Don’t interfere. n’s business." Zhou Qiang confidently walked into his son’s room, resigning to the fact that it was Cornell, though he considered convincing his son to switch majors, perhaps study architecture and beco as renowned as Ieoh Ming Pei.
Half an hour later, Zhou Qiang ca out of his son’s room with his tail between his legs. Xi Lijuan was slicing several peaches; they had bought them from a supermarket near the Arican Embassy that morning when delivering visa materials. The peaches chosen by her son were indeed as sweet as honey, making her think that maybe his choice to study agriculture was right.
"That kid really knows how to talk now. Claims he wants to go to the United States so China’s agriculture can be as large-scale as abroad, to make all Chinese farrs wealthy. He knows nothing—China has eight hundred million farrs. Just with him alone, does he think he will beco Yuan Longping?" Zhou Qiang sat silently on the sofa, his son’s words still echoing in his ears. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welco to cast your recomndation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian [qidian]. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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