Chapter 409: Rural Absurd Past Events Chapter 409: Two Situations That Inspire Striving

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

After resting for a moment, Wang Xiaohua began dividing the money earned from this business deal with Lin Xiao and Li Jianjia.

Their total revenue this time was eight thousand yuan.

As for costs, nine thousand eight hundred and twenty-three and a half jin of waste books cost a total of four thousand nine hundred and twelve yuan.

After deducting costs, the profit was three thousand and eighty-eight yuan.

As previously agreed, Li Jianjia, who invested the most, would receive forty percent of the profit, while Wang Xiaohua and Lin Xiao would each receive thirty percent.

Of this three thousand and eighty-eight, they divided three thousand yuan among them: Li Jianjia received one thousand two hundred, and Wang Xiaohua and Lin Xiao each received nine hundred.

The remaining eighty-eight, the three of them decided to use this money to have a meal together.

So that evening, the three of them went to McDonald's together.

For city children, they might have eaten KFC or McDonald's when they were very young and considered it a cheap restaurant, but for a child from the countryside like Wang Xiaohua, McDonald's was a high-end restaurant in their eyes.

Wang Xiaohua ate a fried chicken leg, feeling deeply moved.

Things that other people's children could easily obtain, he needed to put in enormous effort to acquire.

Life is truly too unfair.

But he did not blame heaven and earth because of this, nor did he blame his parents.

Because he knew that for things you cannot change, no matter how much you blame them, they will not have the slightest effect.

Instead, it would fill you with negative energy, and you would do everything poorly.

The only thing he could do was to go against the current and face all difficulties head-on.

As Deng Ai said: being born into humble circumstances is not a disgrace; being able to bend and stretch makes one a true man.

After the college entrance exam, relying on his own efforts, he earned his first pot of gold in life. Although this first pot of gold was not much money—only nine hundred yuan—it still let him eat his first McDonald's meal in life, filling him with a sense of achievement.

He felt this was a good start. Later, he would tutor Niu Linxin, earning ten thousand yuan for two months, which was an even larger sum of income.

Everything was developing in a good direction.

He was full of hope for the future.

"Xiao Hua, which university do you plan to apply to?"

While eating McDonald's, Li Jianjia suddenly asked such a question.

Wang Xiaohua truthfully said:

"Actually, I'm not too clear myself."

Lin Xiao said:

"You're definitely applying to Peking University or Tsinghua University. Unlike me, a half-baked amateur. If I could get into South China Agricultural University, I'd laugh in my dreams."

The South China Agricultural University Lin Xiao referred to is South China Agricultural University.

Actually, in Guangdong Province, this is also considered a first-tier university. In previous years, the college entrance exam admission score line was ten to twenty points higher than the first-tier line.

And Lin Xiao's score lines in the two province-wide mock exams were both below the simulated first-tier line, about ten points short of getting into a first-tier university.

So a university like South China Agricultural University was already his ultimate goal.

"If my college entrance exam score is similar to my two mock exam scores, it's actually quite awkward. Peking University or Tsinghua University is still a bit out of reach, and as for other universities, I haven't decided on a specific one yet."

Wang Xiaohua truthfully said.

Li Jianjia said:

"In my opinion, there are only three places whose schools are worth considering: either Beijing, or Shanghai, or Guangdong. Beijing means Peking University or Tsinghua University; Shanghai means Fudan University or Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Guangdong means Sun Yat-sen University. The others don't need to be considered."

Lin Xiao said at this time: "Actually, Zhejiang University is also worth considering."

Li Jianjia added: "Right, right, plus Zhejiang University, and University of Science and Technology of China. The others really don't need to be considered."

Wang Xiaohua actually thought so in his heart too.

There are actually not many schools to choose from.

What he needs to consider now is not which university to apply to, but which major to apply to.

That is the key point.

Which major to apply to will very likely determine what kind of life he will have in the future.

"I'll go back and study it seriously. No rush. The scores won't come out until June 25th; there are still more than ten days."

Wang Xiaohua said thus.

Then he asked Li Jianjia:

"Jianjia, what about you? Which university do you plan to attend?"

Li Jianjia said:

"My parents hope I stay in the province to study. So, if I do well, it'll be Sun Yat-sen University or South China University of Technology. If I do poorly, it'll be Guangdong University or Guangdong University of Finance. I almost don't plan to study out of province."

Saying this, a hint of sadness involuntarily appeared in Li Jianjia's eyes.

Because she knew that after university started, she would very likely find it hard to see Wang Xiaohua again.

Even if Wang Xiaohua messed up his exam, his safety net would probably still be Sun Yat-sen University. As for her, Li Jianjia, although her studies were not bad and she had ranked in the top ten of the school all year, she would still need to perform exceptionally to barely get into Sun Yat-sen University or South China University of Technology, the top two universities in the province.

"Then what major do you want to study?"

Wang Xiaohua asked.

Li Jianjia said: "I actually haven't made a decision yet. But my parents gave me a suggestion. They suggested I either study finance or medicine. I don't really like either of these two majors. I've heard the finance circle is quite chaotic, and studying medicine requires very hard work to become a qualified doctor. Thinking about having to use a surgical knife to operate on patients in the future makes me feel afraid. I've never even killed a chicken. But they didn't insist that I choose a major according to their suggestion. They also said that if I don't do well after graduation, they'd let me come back to the County Town and take the County Town civil servant exam."

Wang Xiaohua couldn't help but envy Li Jianjia:

"Then just pick the major you like and study it. There are only two situations in this world that can make someone grit their teeth and persist, study desperately and strive forward; one of them is passion."

Li Jianjia has her parents as a safety net, has the cost of trial and error, and can choose to study the major she likes — these are conditions Wang Xiaohua will never be able to possess in his entire lifetime.

People are like this; they often envy what they themselves lack.

"What about the other situation?"

Li Jianjia asked.

Wang Xiaohua gave a bitter smile:

"The other situation is being poor enough. As long as you're poor enough, you'll discover that besides studying desperately and striving forward, you already have no other choice."

Li Jianjia couldn't help but freeze for a moment; the look in her eyes toward Wang Xiaohua revealed a trace of stunned surprise, a trace of loss.

She had thought the other situation was because of love.

Loving someone, struggling for the person you love.

But she, who had grown up in a greenhouse since childhood, how could she know that the vast majority of people in this world might never possess true love in their entire lifetime?

Survival is a problem that must be solved throughout the lives of the poor at the bottom.

So-called love, whether romantic love, familial love, or brotherly bond, all have to be ranked behind survival.

That's why you can see husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but when great disaster strikes they each fly away; you can see brothers are of the same hands and feet, but when interests clash they turn into enemies; you can even see parents and biological children coming to blows because of interests.

At this moment Wang Xiaohua smiled and frankly said to Li Jianjia and Lin Xiao:

"You all might not believe it when I say it out, but this is the first time in my life I've come to eat at McDonald's."

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