Chapter 148: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 148: The Greatest Obstacle Comes From the Family

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Wang Erhai pulled out his report card with a face full of pride:

"High school is nothing, it's in the bag, absolutely guaranteed I'll get in!"

Wang Changgen and Li Xiulan took one look — Wang Erhai had scored five hundred sixty-something points!

And this year's high school admission score line was four hundred ninety points, ten points lower than last year.

With Wang Erhai's scores, he was indeed absolutely guaranteed to get into high school.

"Erhai, look at how smug you've gotten, it's just getting into high school, don't get cocky!"

Li Xiulan was overjoyed.

The eldest son and the second son could both go to high school, and the third son's grades were even more outstanding — getting into high school was even more of a sure thing.

This was absolutely a great fortune for the family!

Wang Changgen, however, kept a straight face:

"High school isn't compulsory education anymore, it's going to cost quite a bit of money……"

In his heart, Wang Changgen had never planned to let the eldest son and second son go to high school; he had originally assumed they definitely wouldn't pass the entrance exam.

As it turned out, they had the luck of the devil — right when high schools expanded enrollment, they got in easily.

High school tuition was over a thousand yuan per semester; adding room and board and miscellaneous fees, that was no small amount.

Two sons going to high school at the same time put some pressure on Wang Changgen.

Wang Erhai knew exactly what Wang Changgen meant by those words.

He himself didn't care either way, just said lightly:

"If you're willing to let me go, I'll go; if you're not willing, then forget it — I can go to the city to work."

Wang Erhai's mind wasn't on studying at all, so in his heart he truly didn't care; anyway, once in high school he'd just coast through, and getting into university was definitely out of the question.

"Erhai, how can you have that kind of attitude! You've got to be ambitious and strive forward!"

Li Xiulan, however, took this matter very seriously; she felt the second son absolutely had to go to high school.

She also said:

"As long as you can test in, we'll definitely let you go — whether it's high school now or university later, if you get in we'll definitely register you!"

Wang Changgen said coldly:

"He only got into high school by dumb luck — university, don't even dream about it! Only Wang Xiaohua has any hope of testing into university!"

Facing Wang Changgen's verbal suppression, Wang Erhai's heart was already without ripples:

"Right, right, right, you're right, I never wanted to test into university anyway!"

Wang Erhai indeed had never thought about testing into university.

Wang Changgen felt like he'd punched a wad of cotton; Wang Erhai's reaction made him quite angry, yet he couldn't refute it.

Suppressing Wang Erhai didn't give him the same sense of achievement as suppressing Wang Xiaohua.

Wang Xiaohua was spiritually sensitive — touch him and he explodes — and that instead made Wang Changgen feel that Wang Xiaohua's current grades were the result of his own education.

This cognition of his was deeply rooted; so whether in the past, or now, or in the future, he would never change this way of educating.

"Do you think I have a chance to test into university?"

At this moment, Wang Dashan, who had been silently eating his rice, suddenly came out with this line.

By now Wang Dashan was already in high school; after this summer vacation he would enter his second year.

His body had grown much sturdier than before.

High school physical training was far stricter than junior high's, and this had forged his current tall and sturdy build — he was already a head taller than his dad.

"You?"

Wang Changgen glanced at Wang Dashan:

"You just focus on finishing high school properly — university, don't even think about it."

Wang Changgen spoke so bluntly.

Wang Dashan rolled his eyes:

"Besides putting us three brothers down, what else can you do?"

Wang Dashan directly talked back.

Wang Changgen, however, didn't get angry like he did when Wang Xiaohua talked back.

He just kept an expressionless face, didn't respond.

Because he knew, by now he could no longer beat Wang Dashan in a fight.

Wang Dashan was taller and stronger than him; he could only verbally put Wang Dashan down, but didn't dare truly provoke him.

Wang Dashan had been a stubborn sort since childhood — provoke him and he'd definitely strike back for real.

Li Xiulan, on the other hand, still treated Wang Dashan the same as always:

"Dashan, how do you speak to your father?"

Wang Dashan rolled his eyes even higher:

"However he speaks to me, that's how I'll speak to him."

Wang Changgen was half-dead with anger.

But he still didn't dare blow up.

Li Xiulan was quite speechless:

"Do you still understand respecting parents? Your wings have hardened, haven't they!"

Wang Dashan, however, said:

"My PE teacher said, respect is mutual; you respect others, and others will respect you. Dad, Mom, the reason you are the parents of us three brothers is simply because you gave birth to us. But in terms of raising us, to tell the truth, even someone with not-too-high IQ like me can see at a glance that you are unqualified."

Li Xiulan was even more stunned, very angry:

"What kind of talk is this!"

Wang Dashan then said:

"Speaking fairly, you should have signed Little Brother up for an English tutoring class. He is our whole family's only hope. Yet to save those few pennies, you found all sorts of excuses not to sign him up. Do you know how lucky you are to have a child like Little Brother who takes the initiative to strive upward? Yet you not only fail to help him grow, you suppress him, misunderstand him. Do you know you are strangling a genius."

Li Xiulan, hearing these words, was full of shock.

Wang Zhanggen, on the other hand, was very angry:

"You don't know shit! That he has his current grades — wasn't it us who educated him? Did a stone pop him out? Eat bitterness within bitterness, only then become a man above men! I am tempering Wang Xiaohua! I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice; do I need you to educate me?"

Wang Dashan chuckled:

"Right right right, you've eaten more salt, eaten your brains bad. I can't be bothered to waste saliva on you!"

Wang Dashan turned around and went out, no longer paying any attention to Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan.

When night fell and all was quiet, he specially went to comfort Wang Xiaohua.

"Little Brother, don't be too sad either. Who let us be born into this poor, suffering family? The matter of you signing up for a tutoring class, just don't think about it anymore. In studies, you still have to work hard; you can't just throw a tantrum and stop working hard because of this. If you don't work hard, that will only harm yourself. Later, when Big Brother can earn money, Big Brother will sign you up for a tutoring class again!"

Wang Dashan had studied for a year at the County Town high school; this broadened his horizons considerably. He was no longer stubbornly opinionated like his parents; he already knew learning is not something that can be achieved by hardship alone.

He also knew that eating bitterness within bitterness fundamentally will not make one a man above men.

Haven't the parents eaten enough bitterness this lifetime?

Result: they ate that much bitterness, yet a lifetime long they still couldn't walk out of the rural area.

"Big Brother, you're still studying; how can you earn money?"

Wang Xiaohua smiled, and also said:

"You don't need to worry about me. You properly train your sports; maybe you can test into university!"

Wang Dashan, however, said:

"Sports also requires testing cultural scores. High school knowledge is very hard, especially math; I look at it and can't understand it. Testing into university is definitely hopeless."

Wang Dashan, seemingly deep in thought:

"But I have to find my own way out. I really don't want to go work in a factory; that has no future."

Wang Xiaohua asked: "Then what do you want to do?"

Wang Dashan at this moment suddenly had a brainwave:

"How about I go enlist? Heard enlisting gets a subsidy; this subsidy just happens to be able to pay for your tutoring class."