Chapter 218: True Feelings Fill the Sihe Courtyard (Guaranteed Combined Edition)

Regarding the ownership of a hundred-yuan fortune, all students and parents stared intently at the report card in Wei Ming's hands.

Wei Ming: "Let's start with third place: Math 98, Chinese 92, total 190—congratulations to Jia Zhengdao."

Accountant Jia Saner slapped his thigh in regret—he always scored full marks in math, yet lost two points this time; if he hadn't, first place was guaranteed. It made him furious—when they returned from Beijing, he'd make him do problems, one bamboo stick for every mistake!

Jia Saner specifically exchanged the prize money into one-yuan notes, so Jia Zhengdao received a small handful of bills from Wei Ming. Having grown up in a family of accountants, he knew at a touch—it was exactly twenty notes, though he wasn't sure how many he could keep.

"Second place is shared by two students, each receiving a thirty-yuan prize."

Both students scored 193—Jia Zhengdao's perfect math score made no difference.

And they were both little girls—one surnamed Fan, a relative on his grandmother's side, who even called Wei Ming "Uncle." The two girls each received thirty yuan, and their parents were ecstatic.

The principal and the old village chief murmured together, discussing past years' promotion results—there had never been a single student scoring above 190 before.

Principal: "And this year's math exam was clearly more difficult."

The old village chief nodded—this proved the students' progress was obvious, and that was a good thing.

Finally, the first-place winner.

"Math 100, Chinese 95—let me emphasize: this is the top score across the entire commune!" Wei Ming raised his voice. "Congratulations to Shen Xiaobao!"

The shortest boy in fifth grade, upon hearing his name, showed a ripple of emotion on his otherwise calm face.

Under everyone's gaze, he walked forward, bowed to Wei Ming first, then trembled as he took the certificate and a bundle of one-yuan notes, barely holding back his excitement as he refrained from counting the money immediately.

Wei Ming noticed his hands were coarse, dark, and calloused—clearly, beyond studying, he'd shouldered plenty of farm work at home.

His mother, Zhao Guafu, and his grandmother, Qian Guafu, had also come to the ceremony; the two women who had struggled to hold up this family stood together, silently weeping.

Originally, Shen Xiaobao was just an average student—he never thought he'd achieve much academically; it was better to spend time helping his mother and grandmother with farm chores than studying.

Until the principal and teachers told him: if he ranked first in his class on the primary-to-middle-school entrance exam, he'd get fifty yuan!

Fifty yuan! His family had never even owned that much—let alone owed that much debt!

So this semester he studied like a man possessed. Fortunately, he wasn't stupid—he'd constantly seek out Wei Hong for help, even when she grew annoyed, he'd press until he fully understood.

Other villagers expressed amazement and delight at Shen Xiaobao's performance—first in the entire commune—did that mean he might one day attend university?

But Wei Ming knew how poor the Shen family was—he feared Shen Xiaobao might drop out of middle school. In his past life, Shen Xiaobao had only a primary education; though bright, he'd spent his entire life as a relatively successful farmer.

So he asked Shen Xiaobao's mother, Zhao Guafu: "Auntie, with such excellent grades, will you let Xiaobao continue to middle school?"

"Yes!" Zhao Guafu answered firmly.

"What about high school?"

"Yes!" Still resolute.

No need to ask about university—anyone willing to send their child to high school would surely let them attend university if they passed. Not to mention state subsidies; even if subsidies vanished and tuition was charged, as long as the old village chief and Old Wei were alive, they wouldn't let him go without schooling for lack of money.

Leveraging Zhao Guafu's firm answer, Wei Ming reiterated the importance of education.

"Right now, your good scores earn you only a few dozen yuan in prizes. But if you someday enter university, your life's returns will be hundreds or even thousands of times greater!"

"Nine-year compulsory education" wouldn't be implemented until 1986; before then, many rural children, once they could read and calculate after primary school, felt that was enough—they saw no need to continue.

So Wei Ming couldn't predict how many graduating students would continue to middle school.

But at least the top few students would definitely continue—and perhaps even have a chance to enter university and leave the countryside.

Finally, Wei Ming announced that the nineteen students ranked in the top three of their grade must prepare for departure tomorrow, along with the two teachers accompanying them to Beijing.

Plus Wei Ming and his three younger siblings—twenty-five people total.

Amid applause, the award ceremony ended. Fourth-grade students eagerly anticipated next year's scholarship—next year, competition among students would only intensify.

"Brother, since Yunyun is staying in Beijing for work, can I stay in Beijing too until school starts?"

Wei Ming poked her forehead: "So confident you'll get into Peking University? Don't underestimate the heroes of the world. Teacher Yang said exam results come out at month's end—come back home and wait for news."

Wei Ming couldn't bear having a sister neither working nor studying living with him for two months—that meant two months of celibacy, unbearable.

He even considered making Xiao Hong work at the shop before she returned home.

Wei Hong stuck out her tongue and went to help Yunyun pack clothes and luggage.

Wei Ming asked his mother: "Mama, if we all leave, can you and Grandma manage?"

"Manage? What's there to manage? We'll just earn a few fewer work points."

Wei Ming said: "Not just fewer—we won't earn any work points at all. I'll give you the money. I've kept some ration tickets; if we need more, I'll get them from the county. If anything urgent happens, go straight to the county and call me."

After giving countless instructions, Wei Ming went to bed early. At dawn the next day, he rode his motorcycle to the county, returned the bike to Old Man Yang, then headed to the county bus station—where a bus was already waiting for him.

Since last year, vehicles entering Beijing required letters of introduction. Wei Ming had inquired about the policy beforehand, so during Wei Hong's college entrance exam days, he'd obtained the letter from the county education bureau. Thanks to his reputation, he got a green light all the way.

The bus then drove toward Gouzi Tun, picked up the fully prepared teachers and students at the village entrance, and departed amid the hopeful gazes of parents.

There were no highways then—just slow roads, big and small. With some empty seats, the driver picked up a few extra passengers heading to Beijing, helping the station earn extra income.

After leaving Ping'an County, they entered Cangzhou territory. When passing through Suining County, home of Wei Zhongxian, passengers, hearing these students were going to Beijing for "tourism," were unfamiliar even with the word "tourism"—they were all traveling for business or family visits.

Teacher Hu Qiuyang explained the meaning of tourism.

"That must cost a lot of money, right?"

Young Hu immediately pointed to Wei Ming in the front passenger seat: "This is Comrade Wei Ming, the famous writer from Ping'an County. The tourism money was donated by him."

"Writer? Wei Ming?" Someone recognized him: "Is he the one who said, 'No matter how poor, don't let education suffer; no matter how hard, don't let children suffer'?"

"Yes, yes, that's him!"

Passengers flocked forward to chat with Wei Ming, praising his generosity. Wei Ming smiled and talked with them about Cangzhou martial arts—all good material.

One uncle even tried to demonstrate his leg-stabbing skill on the bus. The driver quickly stopped him: "Don't puncture my chassis!"

Wei Ming laughed: "Uncle, you're still a martial artist!"

The uncle proudly gestured: "Childhood training. In ancient times, I'd have been a great hero."

Wei Ming: "Then if we meet bandits on the road, we won't be afraid."

The uncle patted his chest: "Don't worry—I've got you covered!"

The driver turned around: "Relax. We're close to the capital, and I drive this route often—no bandits here."

Hearing that, Wei Ming quickly hid his watch and large bills—he hated people who made reckless boasts.

Sure enough—never make empty boasts!

Two hours later, students pulled out the snacks their parents had prepared. Yunyun led everyone in singing a children's song written by her cousin, livening the mood—then the bus stopped.

On this narrow road, barely wide enough for one vehicle, an old man in a straw hat guarded a lowered barrier.

The barrier wasn't thick—it could be rammed through, but it might damage the bus, and no one knew if the other side had hidden tricks.

He boarded, counted heads—over thirty people—then grinned, revealing rotten teeth: "Three yuan."

The driver cursed under his breath, reaching for the wrench under his foot, while the leg-stabbing uncle had already returned to his seat pretending to sleep.

The students, all indignant, looked ready to bury the old man alive the moment Wei Ming gave the order—even Xiao Hong looked fiercely determined.

Wei Ming stopped the driver. He spotted several strong men hiding behind the roadside trees: "Forget it—I'll pay the three yuan. By the way, old man, this scenery looks nice—where exactly are we?"

The old man smiled, told him the name of the place, and wished them well on their journey.

Wei Ming memorized it. After departure, he confirmed with the driver—it was indeed this place.

The driver was furious: "Writer Wei, you should've let me beat him! I've driven this route dozens of times—no one's ever dared charge me a toll!"

"Yeah, Brother! I even brought my weapon!" Qi Delong pulled a slingshot from his bag, already loaded with a clay pellet.

Wei Ming said seriously: "If there weren't over twenty elementary students on this bus, I'd fight them head-on. But your safety comes first. Besides, not every problem requires brute force. Xiao Hong, bring ink and brush."

"Huh? Oh." Xiao Hong handed Wei Ming her notebook and pen.

Wei Ming immediately began writing.

"Brother, what are you writing?"

Wei Ming: "A short article for the Hebei Daily—about our study tour experiences and scenery."

The key point: he was leading a bus full of elementary students, the nation's budding flowers, eating snacks and singing songs, yet being robbed on his own province's soil!

Where's the law? Where's justice!

Teacher Hu immediately understood: "Writer Wei, this move is brilliant! With your reputation and writing, this will surely draw official attention and eliminate such misconduct. Students, this is the power of words—sometimes more effective than fists!"

Yunyun immediately led applause; the bus erupted in clapping.

But Wei Ming couldn't smile. Fortunately, this was near the capital—the bandits were mild, and three yuan wasn't much.

In more violent regions, they'd search passengers, even kill them—if something truly bad happened, he wouldn't know how to face the villagers.

The students quickly forgot the incident, excitedly discussing the unfamiliar countryside outside. But Wei Ming pondered whether future study tours should continue—and if so, how to improve safety.

Another two hours passed; the bus entered Beijing territory. At first, it was all farmland and villages—everyone thought, "So what?" But as they went deeper, the city's grandeur slowly emerged.

The children were awestruck, but Wei Ming thought it was nothing special.

The bus dropped off other passengers at the long-distance station, then, under Wei Ming's direction, arrived at Li Guangfu's home.

Li Guangfu's sihe courtyard had now reclaimed four or five rooms—all empty. Wei Ming had mentioned earlier that he'd bring village students to Beijing for exposure during summer vacation; Li Guangfu eagerly volunteered to handle accommodation.

Wei Ming thought he was genuinely philanthropic—until Li Guangfu sheepishly admitted he actually hoped the kids would be mischievous, noisy, and disruptive, to drive away stubborn residents.

Some families truly had nowhere else to go, but others had places to move to—they just didn't want to leave such cheap rent.

Originally, Wei Ming planned to house the students at Peking University, but suddenly accommodating so many might exceed its capacity. Li Guangfu's selfish scheme actually helped.

Moreover, Li Guangfu charged nothing—he provided bamboo mats and quilts. His only demand: let the rural boys show their liveliness and rowdiness.

But when Li Guangfu opened the gate and welcomed them, he noticed the students looked shy and introverted—quiet, hardly speaking.

!

Wei Ming smiled: "They're not used to us yet—they'll loosen up soon. Say hello—call him Teacher Li."

The students immediately chorused: "Teacher Li!"

The students, aged seven to thirteen, roughly half boys and half girls, wore their best clothes—but not a single garment lacked patches.

Their arrival drew neighbors from the courtyard, each with a palm fan, muttering and glaring—the classic Beijing resident's disdainful stare on full display.

"Who are you letting into the courtyard? Are you turning this into a guesthouse? Even guesthouses aren't this careless!" complained a fat auntie.

"Guangfu, where did you get so many country relatives?" an old man said, leaning on his cane. "I was sound asleep in my nap, and look at the racket you've made."

A young nonconformist who clearly had no job sneered: "Uncle Li, are you starting up the Beggar's Sect?" He then flaunted his bell-bottom pants.

Li Guangfu bowed apologetically: "Sorry, old friends. These are all students from the countryside. This summer, next summer, and every summer after, they'll be staying temporarily in this courtyard."

Hearing this, the residents of the sihe courtyard erupted. Every year they come, and now so many? It's unbearable!

Wei Ming watched coldly, muttering: Hmph, it felt like watching a live-action version of "Love Fills the Sihe Courtyard."

Li Guangfu added: "They're all students from my friend Wei Ming's hometown. Comrade Wei Ming is a writer—anyone who's read books or newspapers should be familiar with this name."

True enough, as soon as Wei Ming's name was mentioned, the noise subsided. His name had been widely known recently—even those who didn't read novels had seen his exploits in the papers.

"Comrade Wei Ming simply wants the children to broaden their horizons. He's covering their travel and food expenses, and I want to do something for the kids too, so I'll handle their lodging. This is charity, isn't it? It's responding to the nation's call: 'No matter how poor we are, we can't let education suffer; no matter how hard life is, we can't let the children suffer.'"

Li Guangfu had superb acting skills. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire second courtyard, even reaching those who hadn't stepped out. He'd slapped on such a big moral label that the neighbors' mouths were completely shut.

Wei Ming put on a smiling face: "I'm Wei Ming. Let me thank you all on behalf of my fellow villagers. The children are mischievous—please bear with them."

Next came assigning living spaces. Wei Ming told the two boys, Qi Delong and Jia Zhengdao, to make themselves at home and not hold back.

Qi Delong grumbled: "So we're still sleeping on the floor again."

Wei Ming: "But this floor is so spacious. Delong, tomorrow we'll go out. You can visit your grandfather's place then."

"Alright."

The journey had been tiring. Wei Ming told everyone to rest first, then took Xiao Hong and Yunyun back to his own home to drop off their luggage and get oriented.

"I'll take you out for a walk and dinner after I get back."

At the mention of dinner, the students perked up. They'd only eaten coarse grains on the road and were eagerly anticipating their first meal in Beijing. The girls and boys gradually regained their energy, chattering nonstop.

One or two children weren't much, but twenty children each making a little noise added up to a big disturbance. The neighbors' brows furrowed deeper. They could only grumble inside their rooms, which made Li Guangfu secretly delighted—even as he had to pretend to apologize.

He felt the day he fully reclaimed his property was drawing nearer.

Before leaving, Li Guangfu stopped Wei Ming: "Brother Wei, about the sihe courtyard house you mentioned—it's settled!"

"Oh?" Wei Ming was delighted. Only a few days? No wonder he was an old Beijing hand.

Li Guangfu said: "The location's great—right next to the Forbidden City. And there's only one household. I heard they're very eager to transact in U. . dollars."

Wei Ming thought: Next to the Forbidden City? That's not a good location for me. I'm worried about too many tourists, no peace—and being right under the imperial palace, I fear renovation restrictions will be severe.

Still, I should take a look. At least there's something to buy.

"Tomorrow we'll tour the Forbidden City. We can swing by then."

"Good. Then tomorrow. I'll take a day off from work in the morning," Li Guangfu said.

Then Wei Ming took his two sisters on a bus to Huaqiao Apartment.

At the entrance, Wei Ming explained clearly to Old Sun: "This is my sister Wei Hong. This is my cousin Xu Yunyun, from my uncle's side. They may live here long-term. I'll report it to the police station later."

He didn't want Old Sun to jump to wrong conclusions, especially since Zhu Lin had often come before.

He motioned for the two girls to go ahead, then whispered to Old Sun: "Has my Lin-jie been here today?"

"She hasn't come in a while."

"Oh." Wei Ming relaxed.

The two girls had never seen a modern apartment complex before—there was even grass and flower beds. Wei Hong had visited Uncle Anping's place, but it was nothing compared to this.

"Brother, how much did you pay for this?"

Wei Ming: "Over twenty thousand."

"Whoa!" Both Xiao Hong and Yunyun were stunned.

These days, Xu Yunyun had been listening to the radio with her aunt and heard stories about ten-thousand-yuan households. She thought anyone who reached that level was a genius—yet her cousin had spent twenty thousand just on a house!

That much money back home could build so many houses!

It could rebuild the whole village!

Seeing Yunyun's dazed expression, Wei Ming smiled: "Yunyun, when I get back, I'll find some books on animal husbandry. Send them home to your dad, uncle, and Long Xiaoyang. Better than scratching in the dirt. If you lack capital, I can provide it."

Xiao Hong asked: "What kind of animals?"

Wei Ming thought: "I think raising quail would be great."

He remembered that not far from his uncle's home, the Liu brothers of Hope Group had started with quail farming.

Hearing her cousin wanted to help lift their family out of poverty, Yunyun waved her hands excitedly: "Brother Ming, you don't have to! I mean, you don't need to spend money—I'll send home what I earn once I get paid."

Wei Ming waved his hand: "We'll talk about that later. You're a young lady now—you need money too."

Then Wei Ming carried their luggage upstairs to the third floor and happened upon Wu Lao and his wife returning from shopping. He introduced his two sisters again, emphasizing they were real sisters.

They'd met Zhu Lin several times and knew she wasn't a real sister—more like a lover.

They stepped into Wei Ming's apartment, and the two girls gasped again. Beyond the spacious living room, their eyes immediately locked onto the huge TV!

"Brother, we have a TV at home!" Xiao Hong rushed over.

Wei Ming: "And there's a refrigerator, a fan, and a washing machine too."

He turned on the ceiling fan, brought out the desk fan from the bedroom, then took three bottles of Beibingyang soda from the fridge. Beijing in July was scorching—they needed to cool off.

The two girls stared in awe. After sipping the opened soda, they felt life was truly happy.

So this was city life!

No wonder Brother said he had to pass the college entrance exam and become a city person—it was far better than village life.

They wanted to figure out how to turn on the TV.

Wei Ming placed their luggage in an unused room: "We'll look at it later. How about I take you to my shop now?"

"Yes, yes!"

Brother's shop was slightly more appealing than the TV, and Yunyun also wanted to see where she'd be working.

Wei Ming wondered how far along the renovation had gotten—he'd been gone nearly ten days.

Downstairs, they saw his big motorcycle.

The motorcycle could easily carry three. Wei Ming rode up front, Xiao Hong behind him, then Yunyun.

Soon they arrived at Xidan's "Oriental New World"—and it was open!

…

(Yesterday's minimum)

(End of chapter)