Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 15 Admissions

August arrived in the blink of an eye.

The sun is getting stronger and stronger, and the weather is entering the hot season. The hot season in Northeast China is actually different from that in the south. As long as there is shade, it will be very cool.

noon.

Xiao Wei and Wang Bing came downstairs together, each carrying gloves.

Wang Bing is now able to help with some wall construction and plastering, but he hasn't mastered the craft yet and still hangs out with Xiao Wei every day.

"Why is your area called Honey Cliff? Is it because there's a lot of honey? Are there bees everywhere?" Wang Bing suddenly became interested in place names today.

Xiao Wei glanced at Wang Bing and said, "Then where is your home..." Wang Bing immediately looked around and said, "I give up, I'm not saying anything more, I'm leaving." Xiao Wei laughed. Wang Bing's home was in a place called Wipe Butt Ridge. No one knew why it had such a bizarre name, making people who came from there ashamed to talk about it, and they didn't even dare to mention their hometown in detail.

Wang Bing fled in panic, while Xiao Wei walked towards the cafeteria with a smile.

"Brother Guizi, Brother Guizi!" Xiaowei suddenly heard Xiaohong calling out. He stopped and looked over, only to see Xiaohong standing at the gate, jumping and waving at him. He quickly walked over and asked, "What's wrong? What brings you here?"

Approaching him, Wang Xiaohong's eyes gleamed with excitement as she said to Xiaowei, "Brother Guizi, I passed the exam! Look, here's my acceptance letter. Haha, aren't I amazing?"

Xiao Wei took the folded paper, unfolded it, and saw that it was an admission notice from Northeast Institute of Technology.

In an instant, Xiaowei was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, both happy and disappointed, and stared blankly at the notice.

"Brother Guizi, am I awesome?" Wang Xiaohong asked excitedly.

Xiaowei was startled by Xiaohong's words. He nodded, handed the admission notice back to Xiaohong, rubbed his face a few times, and said, "Amazing! I knew you would get in. What's up?"

Xiao Hong tugged at Xiao Wei's clothes and said, "School starts on September 10th, that's still a long way off, there's still more than a month to go."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Okay, keep an eye out, don't be late. I'll take you there."

Xiaohong said, "Okay, I'm going home now. I came to find you as soon as I got my acceptance letter, but I haven't told my mom yet. You should go home early tonight, let's celebrate tonight."

Xiao Wei smiled and nodded, but he couldn't say a word.

When Xiaowei got home from get off work in the evening, it was already 6:30, and Station Master Wang had already returned.

After going inside and changing his clothes, Xiao Wei sat on the bed for a while, lost in thought, then rubbed his face vigorously before leaving the room. Aunt Wang was already calling him from outside. He didn't know what was wrong with him; he felt a little flustered and inexplicably annoyed. Shouldn't he be happy?

Stepping outside, a table was already laden with dishes, half of which were meat. Aunt Wang and Xiao Hong were busy preparing the food, while Station Chief Wang stood there happily smoking and watching, his wrinkles almost smoothing out with joy.

Xiao Wei looked at the dishes on the table in surprise and said, "What's going on here? Are we not going to live together anymore?"

Station Chief Wang said with a smile, "Xiao Hong has made something of herself, I'm so happy. Let's have a good drink tonight. Your Uncle Xia and his wife, along with a few comrades, will be coming over in a bit, so let's take this opportunity to get together."

Xiao Hong poked her head out of the kitchen and said to Xiao Wei, "Brother Guizi, come in, ignore him."

Station Master Wang chuckled, seemingly unconcerned, and contentedly puffed on his cigarette. Xiao Wei, bewildered, entered the kitchen and saw a small kang table in the middle of the room. Each dish from the outside table had a portion there, though they were all served in two bowls. Aunt Wang and Xiao Hong were sitting on small stools eating. Aunt Wang said, "Would you like to eat here for a bit, or wait and join your uncle and the others for drinks?"

Xiao Hong moved aside and said, "Let's eat rice. What's the point of drinking? Let them drink."

Aunt Wang glared at Xiao Hong and said, "What's all this chattering about? What man doesn't drink? Shouldn't you be keeping Uncle Xia and the others company?"

Xiao Hong turned her head away, snorted, and said, "No way. It's awful to drink too much. What's the point of accompanying them? My dad's with them, isn't he? What was supposed to be a celebration has turned into a drunken party for them. Humph."

Aunt Wang turned to Xiaowei and handed him a small stool, saying, "I thought you were asleep, so I left it in the pot for you. Take it out and eat. If you don't want to drink, that's fine too, so you won't feel unwell tonight. Eat."

Xiao Wei took the small stool and set it aside. He then lifted the lid of the large steamer on the stove. Inside was a small basin filled with vegetables, almost entirely meat. He glanced at the kang table, which was also covered in vegetables, even pickled vegetables. He reached out, took the basin, placed it on the table, grabbed two steamed buns, and sat down.

Xiao Wei put a few pieces of meat in Aunt Wang's and Xiao Hong's bowls, and said, "You guys eat meat too? Who can finish so much? Besides, I don't lack meat; we eat it every day at the construction site."

Xiao Hong rolled her eyes at him and said, "You can't even lie properly. You eat meat every day on the construction site. Do you think Old Xia is a saint? My classmate pushes a cart on your construction site too. He eats tofu and cabbage every day, without even oil. Where's the meat? If you lie to me again, I'll pinch you to death." She put the meat in Xiao Wei's bowl and said, "Eat quickly, they'll be here soon."

Xiao Wei glanced at Xiao Hong, said nothing, and put the meat back. Then he picked up a piece of vegetables with his chopsticks, took a bite of the steamed bun, and started eating. Xiao Hong looked at him, smiled with her lips pursed, put the meat in her mouth and ate it, without giving it back.

After the mother and her two children finished eating, before they had even finished cleaning up, Lao Xia and his group arrived. There were two policemen, Li Zhongguo and Wang Shiwei, who were clearly from the government, along with Jiang Daye and Pei Sheng. There were five of them, including Lao Xia. Station Chief Wang welcomed them in, and the six of them sat down.

In Northeast China, it's an old custom that women and children don't sit at the table when entertaining guests. Although this isn't strictly observed anymore, it's not surprising. After everyone sat down, they first congratulated Station Chief Wang. His family had produced a college student, and one from Northeast Institute of Technology at that. The whole county already knew about it. In local parlance, that was a real source of pride. You have to know that only five people in this year's graduating class got into university, and two of them went to universities in the city.

The truth is, it's not that there are few good students; it's that people these days don't focus much on universities. They're more interested in vocational schools, where jobs are guaranteed. Although university graduates do get job placements, the future is uncertain, and there are too many unknowns. People in small towns don't think that far ahead.

The men started drinking, and Aunt Wang, Xiaowei, and Xiaohong finished tidying up the kitchen and came inside.

Old Xia said, "Xiao Wei, want to grab a drink?"

Xiao Wei glanced at Xiao Hong, shook his head, and said with a smile, "No, Uncle, I can't drink either. You guys drink slowly, I'm going inside to watch TV."

Old Xia nodded, and Li Zhongguo said to him, "Xiao Hong, where are you going to report? Uncle will arrange a car for you."

Xiao Hong looked at Station Master Wang and said, "Thank you, Uncle Li. I'll listen to my dad."

Station Chief Wang said, "School starts on September 10th, so you can go there on the 8th. Which place is convenient for you? Then you can provide the vehicle. I'm afraid it's not feasible for me, as I haven't settled in with the new director yet."

Li Zhongguo took a sip, wiped his mouth, and said, "It's nothing. It's just a matter of a word from me. No need to beg him; it's not worth it. Take it slow. We're brothers, born and raised here. Do you think we can ask some outsider to drink our water?"

Jiang Daye picked up his wine cup and said, "Let's not talk about those things. We're not afraid of anything. Let's drink."

While they were drinking, Aunt Wang, Xiaowei, and Xiaohong went inside, closed the door, and turned on the TV.