Before An Ning could react, inside the kitchen, Ms. Wei, who had been busy just moments before, didn’t even have time to put the fish into the pan. She wiped her hands hastily, and in a flash, she had already zipped out of the kitchen.

That speed was even faster than the fleet-footed runners in the courtyard.

Even An Ning couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.

But then again, according to the timeline, these past few days were indeed when the results should come out. For the sake of her own daughter, Ms. Wei had been making a lot of inquiries lately.

And so, just as Wei Qiao, her face flushed with excitement, flung open the front door, she was greeted by the beaming, utterly delighted old principal, radiating energy:

“You must be Wang An Ning’s parent, right? Congratulations, congratulations! Student Wang is ranked first in our city, a genuine top scorer!”

The old principal was grinning from ear to ear.

Although he had been somewhat prepared when the results first came down—come on, only two points shy of a perfect score, especially during a year when overall scores were generally low, what else could she be but the top scorer?

In his view, not just the city, but even the whole country wasn’t out of the question.

However, just to be safe, he had specifically called to inquire, confirmed it repeatedly, and then hurried over.

See, the red envelope in his hand was still warm!

As his words fell, not to mention the already overjoyed Wei Qiao, even Old Wang, who had just run out, felt his entire spirit and energy surge by more than a notch.

He even regretted not running faster just moments before.

Top scorer, hahaha, and it’s a top scorer from his Old Wang family, hahahaha!

Wang Ming De at this moment wished he could roar with laughter to the heavens.

Tomorrow, he must go and kowtow to his Old Wang family ancestors first!

After seeing off the extremely energetic old principal, for a good long while, the entire family remained in a state of extreme excitement.

Ms. Wei was even more unapologetic. The earlier big fish wasn’t enough; she also brought out several pieces of cured meat from the cellar, along with the small half-piece of meat she had gotten from the pigeon market earlier, plus the canned goods she had saved up.

Sour and spicy fish, braised pork, garlic scapes stir-fried with cured meat, all paired with a huge pot of white rice.

It had been so long since the whole family had eaten their fill, drunk their fill, and slumped on the sofa with round, full bellies.

Even so, Old Wang was still feeling regretful:

“It’s a pity the times aren’t good right now, otherwise, we’d definitely have to set up several tables right in the courtyard to celebrate properly!”

Even so, with all the commotion earlier, many people in the alley had already poked their heads out. Now, with the delicious aroma carried by the wind for miles, it wasn’t long before people started coming to the door one after another.

What? Top scorer? And a college entrance exam top scorer at that?!

Well, but that girl An Ning… it’s not that surprising.

They couldn’t help but feel envy and jealousy in their hearts. That Old Wang next door, his luck is really something. When he was young, he had his wife and father-in-law. Now in middle age, his adopted daughter is about to soar.

Anyway, on the day the Jing University admission notice arrived, even though the times weren’t good, the number of people bringing gifts to offer congratulations was only more, not less. Even Manager Yang specifically asked an old comrade-in-arms to get quite a bit of beef and jerky, hazelnuts, red dates, and such.

Of course, the old manager’s original words were:

“In our family, it’s rare to have a clever little melon seed, a scholar. We must cultivate her properly.”

“Ordinary melon seed” Little Wang Brat silently took a step back, trying to minimize his presence as much as possible.

An Yun, feeling her brain was about to be completely crushed: “…”

An Ning, who was rarely feeling smug because of her results: “…”

Fortunately, hard work ultimately paid off. On the third day after An Ning’s Jing University admission notice arrived, the two of them also received their respective exam results.

With the sea of questions tactic, plus one-on-one high-intensity tutoring, An Yun finally managed to successfully test into No.1 Middle School.

As for Little Wang Brat, although his brain is pretty good, unfortunately, his body is just too, too much of a hindrance. He hadn’t even finished a quarter of that pile of practice booklets An Ning gave him, let alone completed them all.

He just barely scraped by, low-flying into high school.

With these results, unless he suddenly becomes extremely diligent or his brain suddenly has an epiphany, university is pretty much out of the question.

But in these times, a high school diploma is already quite good. An Yun, who had already fully inherited his test question bank, couldn’t help but cast an envious glance from the side.

Sigh, with her brain, she doesn’t dare hope for university. Being able to test into high school like her big brother, she’s already very satisfied.

Vocational school? To be honest, it’s too difficult! Just like university, she doesn’t even dare think about it.

An Ning had actually thought about it, but thinking of her older sister who had already started burning the midnight oil, after a moment of silence, An Ning silently dismissed the idea again.

Unlike high school, vocational school takes at least three to four years. Not to mention whether she could graduate in time before classes stop in ’66, just thinking about her eldest sister…

If she really had to fight for it… forget it…

Sigh, better not make things difficult for her sister. An Ning silently let go of this unrealistic idea.

The whole family was rarely immersed in joy.

However, after the news came out, Manager Yang next door specifically sent over many more good things, among which was even a quite valuable Seagull brand ladies’ watch.

Indeed, no matter how promising someone else’s child is, it can’t compare to the sweetness of your own child.

But after this battle, the already scant power left in Director Meng’s hands shrank even further.

As the saying goes, people are never satisfied. When the child is unruly, you only hope the family can provide a solid foundation. When the child is finally stimulated to improve, and there’s a genuine genius right beside them,

You could say the right time, place, and people were all there, but just because of his body, he couldn’t take that next step.

In the eyes of his biological father Wang Ming De, and even his biological grandfather Manager Yang, nothing could be more frustrating than this.

If you can have a precious university student, who would still want a high school student?!

That push by that Meng guy didn’t just ruin his precious grandson’s body, it also ruined his bright future!

And so, in middle age, Director Meng was still inevitably dragged down another notch by his own daughter.

Which can also be considered a cause for celebration.

Not to mention how lively things were over at the Old Meng family, that evening, carefully stroking her younger daughter’s admission notice on the table over and over, and looking at her eldest daughter who was already halfway through middle school, Wei Qiao finally let out that breath she’d been holding, feeling completely relieved.

“This is wonderful. Our Ning Ning is definitely going to be successful in the future.”

“A Yun too, put in a bit more effort, strive to test into high school. With your dad’s help then, you’ll definitely be able to get a lighter, better job.”

Patting her eldest daughter’s head, Wei Qiao sighed almost imperceptibly:

“In these times, whether you’re a man or a woman, you must have a job, be able to support yourself. Only then can you hold your head high outside, even at home.”

Isn’t that right! Not only An Ning, but even An Yun beside her nodded vigorously in agreement.

Think about earlier. Was Ms. Wei pretty enough? She was also quite clever. But without a job, without a stable income, your lifeline is forever held in someone else’s hands.

The tragedy of her previous life, aside from being mismatched due to others’ meddling, what was really important was actually work and income, the inability to support herself, even her child.

But even so, An Ning doesn’t think there’s anything to criticize.

Who doesn’t know that relying on others is far less reliable than relying on yourself? But in this environment, a job? That’s too simple to say.

Someone with no education, no background, and from a rural area, trying to find a job in this era is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Just look at how many unemployed people there are in the city.

Not everyone is the epitome of a Mary Sue.

Even night school, unlike later generations, night schools in the ’50s and ’60s weren’t places ordinary people could just enter. They were places for cadres to advance their studies or receive training. To get in, you at least needed a recommendation letter stamped by a major factory.

Just internally, people fought tooth and nail for spots.

To blame someone whose upward paths are almost all blocked, asking why they aren’t trying harder, why they rely on others?

What’s the difference between that and asking “why not eat meat porridge?”

At the very least, even during the most difficult times in her previous life, Wei Qiao, this mother, never gave up on the original host, who was a sickly burden.

Even that little chili pepper, the original soul, in her final moment, her wish was only for her mother and sister to be well, to have enough to eat for a lifetime, and not to be bullied.

However, perhaps precisely because she knew how hard-won this learning opportunity was, even if her talent was lacking, even if she had to burn the midnight oil every day and needed her younger sister’s help to barely keep up, An Yun, in her teens, never once thought of giving up.

Sometimes, just watching, An Ning felt her eldest sister was truly very inspiring.

You have to understand, for a study-challenged person, the act of studying itself is painful enough.

“Speaking of which, host, aren’t you even more inspiring?”

No surprise there, this is the national top scorer in liberal arts, after all. Only two points shy of a perfect score. I remember last time, when the original soul hadn’t been worn down, she didn’t even get such a high score.

“Of course, one achieves things easily, occasionally even controlling scores, while the other has to put in hard work to reach her goals.”

To be honest, forget controlling scores, for the results she worked hard for, she wouldn’t be willing to lose even 0.1 point!

Although it was a bit hard, the moment the results came out, she was truly happy!

Lying on her soft little bed, stroking the countless big red envelopes in her pocket, An Ning couldn’t help but chuckle.

Heh, us ordinary folks, today we’re really happy!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep