Chapter 257: Happy New Year

Li Xiue neatly laid out the newspapers one by one, "Just put them here; let everyone take a look at noon."

She placed the newspapers right in the center of the table, the most conspicuous spot.

Over these past few years, they had studied diligently, filling every moment after work with learning. Their efforts had finally seen a glimmer of hope; how could they not let everyone be happy?

At noon, when everyone finished work, cheers erupted in the courtyard, and every person's face was beaming with smiles.

"Xiue, pinch me, quickly." Yuanyuan pressed against Li Xiue, unable to believe what she was seeing on the newspaper.

Li Xiue smiled but didn't follow through, though Zhao Qiu Hua reached out directly and flicked Yuanyuan on the forehead.

"Snap!" A crisp sound, followed by Yuanyuan's wail of "Ouch!"

For a moment, everyone looked at Zhao Qiu Hua.

They saw Zhao Qiu Hua look at the forehead she had just flicked red, "Sigh, it's not a dream; it's actually real."

At this moment, everyone was speechless...

Xie Shuyang heart-achingly rubbed Yuanyuan's forehead; the originally fair skin was indeed bright red.

Yuanyuan rolled up her sleeves, "Let you flick me, let you flick me."

She unleashed her tickling technique; one had to know that Qiu Hua was most ticklish. The male Comrades in the room helplessly went to the courtyard, while Li Xiue and An Yinan spread their hands and walked out as well.

Zhao Qiu Hua dodged helplessly, laughing until she was out of breath, "I was wrong, Yuanyuan, I was wrong."

Yuanyuan wasn't planning to let her off this time; she pressed her whole body onto Zhao Qiu Hua and used her wicked little hands to grab at the ticklish spots, "Is it a dream? Huh? Is it still a dream?"

Zhao Qiu Hua couldn't help but laugh while dodging, "It's not a dream, it's not a dream, Yuanyuan, good Yuanyuan."

The two of them messed around for more than ten minutes before Yuanyuan finally let Zhao Qiu Hua go, touched the small bump on her forehead, and gave a silly smile.

"Qiu Hua, when do you think the university entrance exams will be? Do we need to study even harder now?" The little girl didn't like to think about much; her greatest wish was not to fall behind, and everything else didn't matter.

The two of them lay side-by-side on the kang, chatting while panting for breath.

"It should be soon, but it's better than before regardless. Before, it was just a thought of Nan Nan's, and we all just charged ahead together. Now that we have these newspapers, it shows that Nan Nan's guess was correct," Zhao Qiu Hua said with a very good mindset.

"Are you two still talking? Xiue wants you to hurry up and tidy up; everyone is going to eat," An Yinan said.

Zhao Qiu Hua and Yuanyuan looked at each other; that was that. The two of them had just been wrestling, and their clothes and hair were a mess. They didn't lie there anymore and quickly got up to help each other tidy up.

After everyone finished eating together, for once, no one moved.

"Nan Nan, you tell us," Li Xiue said upon seeing An Yinan.

It was Nan Nan who first suggested that universities might open, and it was Nan Nan who brought out these newspaper materials.

An Yinan looked around the circle and then said to Xie Shuyang, "Go to the front and call Qian Zhao?"

Now that Xie Shuyang was familiar with them, they no longer had the initial politeness when speaking to each other. If there was something to say, they said it directly, which actually allowed everyone to communicate better.

"Alright." Xie Shuyang also knew the matter was of great importance and immediately stood up.

Although the Xie Family had been rehabilitated, he wanted to rely on his own ability to return to the City.

University was a shortcut!

The two of them arrived quickly. Qian Zhao and Xie Shuyang walked in together. The two didn't say anything, and Qian Zhao was a bit confused; he had been working when he was called over by Xie Shuyang.

"What's up?" Qian Zhao asked, though his eyes turned toward Zhao Qiu Hua.

Zhao Qiu Hua brought over a stool, "Sit and listen."

Qian Zhao hurriedly took the stool from her hand, then understood—it wasn't about him.

"These newspapers were collected by an elder. From the dates, everyone can see that these are all from the last two years, but the marked sections and the word counts of the published opinions have shown obvious changes," An Yinan said, bringing the newspapers over again and pointing to them one by one.

"From these changes, everyone should be able to guess that university is truly not far off," An Yinan concluded.

Everyone finally let out a sigh of relief. Was it true that their years of hard work were finally reaching the time for harvest?

"What does that mean?" Qian Zhao widened his eyes and looked at the people around him. He understood every word, but why didn't he understand them when put together?

Zhao Qiu Hua delivered the final verdict, "University is not far off."

This was what they had been looking forward to, and also what they hadn't dared to believe.

"The news now has a basis. We cannot disrupt our study plan. We've made it through so many years before; we have to give it our all for the time ahead," An Yinan smiled and looked at her partners.

Everyone was already eager to try, right?

After talking with everyone, Zhao Qiu Hua explained it to Qian Zhao again, and only then did Qian Zhao realize that the people in the back courtyard had already walked so far ahead.

Yet he did not shrink back, nor did he feel any sense of being excluded.

Instead, he was filled with even more fighting spirit, and after seeing Zhao Qiu Hua, he was filled with even more motivation and confidence.

The path had already been paved by others; he only needed to make up his mind and study.

"Qian Zhao, have you thought about moving to the back?" Xie Shuyang considered it for a long time before asking.

He lived in the house built by Zhang Qian. Although he had paid for it, he knew that everyone accepted him mostly because of Yuanyuan.

He had always been clear-headed; he felt mostly gratitude toward An Yinan and her group.

He couldn't imagine how Yuanyuan would have managed when she first went to the countryside if she hadn't met them.

Just thinking about it made his heart clench into a ball.

Qian Zhao rubbed his sleeve hem, feeling a bit at a loss, "I don't have money; I can't afford the rent."

He was very poor and had never hidden it. He could look his situation straight in the eye and was capable of doing hard labor. He could endure more hardship than anyone else. The Work Points he earned and the things he obtained were all earned by his own two hands.

Xie Shuyang walked over and patted Qian Zhao on the shoulder, "I didn't mean anything else."

He stated his position first, then spoke slowly.

"These girls, every one of them is proud and has big dreams." Qian Zhao didn't know yet that these girls' dream was that supreme institution of higher learning.

"We have to work twice as hard to keep up with their pace. Come to the back courtyard; there's no need for rent, but in the future, the firewood for the girls' courtyard might have to trouble you." Xie Shuyang didn't pity Qian Zhao; instead, he admired him—admired his character, his persistence, and his courage.

He even wanted to give him a hand; when he was in the darkness, so many people had given him a hand.

Qian Zhao, in his eyes, was someone destined to succeed; he didn't mind giving him a boost now.

Qian Zhao hesitated; he had always been a down-to-earth person who only ate as much as he was capable of earning.

He was never willing to do things that had no end in sight.