Chapter 72: College Entrance Examination

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: College Entrance Examination

The village head’s wife’s expression went blank for a moment.

"Is this fake? A prank?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"How could it be fake? Touch it," Zhang Ci Hao said anxiously, grabbing her hand and shoving it inside.

The village head’s wife slapped the back of his hand. She was so panicked she could barely think. "Where did this come from?"

"Comrade Deng Yuyuan gave it to me," Zhang Ci Hao replied.

Various dangerous thoughts instantly flooded the village head’s wife’s mind. "Why did she give it to you?"

Zhang Ci Hao grinned and explained, "I went to ask her today if she was really taking the college entrance exam and leaving the village. She said yes. I told her she owed me an explanation since I’ve been chasing her for two years. Anyway, I’m determined to marry her. At worst, I’ll marry into her family as a live-in son-in-law.

"Deng Yuyuan was moved by that. She saw that I was pretty good at taking care of the kid and asked what my future plans were. I told her I didn’t have any. Then she brought out all her savings—about five thousand, I think. She said she didn’t want me to be a live-in son-in-law, but hoped I would take the money, find some decent work, and eventually go to her city to marry her.

"Mom, don’t worry. I asked her clearly. If I spend all this five thousand and haven’t achieved anything, she won’t ask for it back. It just means the deal is off and she won’t marry me."

Upon hearing this, the village head’s wife smacked him right on the forehead without holding back at all. Zhang Ci Hao’s head went BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ. "Laugh, laugh, laugh! You’re still grinning like an idiot! Deng Yuyuan has entrusted all her hopes to you, and you’re still not taking this seriously."

Looking at her youngest son again, the village head’s wife just felt her hands itching to hit him more. Seeing him act like a complete scumbag completely erased the faint displeasure she had harbored over the past two years about him trailing after Deng Yuyuan. Now, all she felt was deep resentment toward his uselessness.

The village head’s wife smacked her youngest son’s shoulder again, covering her face in exasperation as a wave of unease hit her. "I’ll talk to your dad about this. You hold onto the money. You must—within two days—figure out a direction for your future career. If you can’t, your dad and I will arrange one for you.

"You have the nerve to take the money, but I don’t even have the face to call you my son. Don’t tell your brothers about taking this money. Don’t go blowing it all on food, drinks, and having fun. Spend it on the right path. When you earn it back in the future, you have to spend it all on Deng Yuyuan.

"Actually, forget it. I’m taking you over there right now to apologize, and you’re giving the money straight back. I still have a few thousand saved up for my retirement; you can take mine. Why do you need to take a young girl’s money? Have you no shame?"

With that said, she grabbed Zhang Ci Hao and dragged him toward the door.

"Wait, wait, wait, Mom!" Seeing that his bluff had almost gone too far, Zhang Ci Hao hastily pulled out his heavy truck driver’s license. "I want to drive a big truck and do business. That’s what I told Deng Zhiqing, which is why she gave me so much money."

The village head’s wife shot him a suspicious look and twisted his ear. "You haven’t read many books, but while others seek out bosses for investment, you secured funding by swindling someone’s feelings?"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Mom, let go!" Zhang Ci Hao grabbed his mother’s hand to stop her from pulling harder. "I didn’t swindle her! I really plan to marry her once I make big money."

"Still making empty promises. Look at you," the village head’s wife said, letting go and glaring at him. "Marrying her when you make money? If you don’t make any money in two years, you’re going to be her live-in son-in-law. I’ll just treat this five thousand as the bride price I received for you."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Zhang Ci Hao said, rubbing his ear with a wince before bowing dramatically like a eunuch, a grin stretching from ear to ear.

Seeing her youngest son’s worthless demeanor, the village head’s wife recalled his physical deficiency and asked anxiously, "You just can’t have kids, right? You’re not impotent?"

"Of course not!" Zhang Ci Hao shook his head. Ever since he told that lie, he had started paying attention to his personal health, getting an annual checkup to ensure he was both healthy and possessed good stamina.

The village head’s wife could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "I need to discuss this truck-driving business with your dad first. We need to find out how much the policies have loosened up. If the situation isn’t right, you’ll have to wait a bit longer before you start."

Zhang Ci Hao nodded obediently in front of his mother, but in reality, he had already contacted his friends in town. They were planning to pull off something big after the New Year, and they were going to do it completely aboveboard.

Deng Yuyuan had also instructed him to buy more real estate. He planned to use his spare cash to buy a house in town first, and once he had more money, he would immediately buy another one in her city. No matter what, you only had a home if you had a house.

In December, the village head’s wife came over specifically to take Tuantuan away, so as to prevent Deng Yuyuan from being distracted from her studies.

Gou Ya moved into her granduncle’s house. Her granduncle cleared out a small room for her and even spent money to buy a young girl’s vanity table. During the day, Zhang Ci Hao took Tuantuan to play with Zhang Mingzhu (Gou Ya), and at night, he brought her back to sleep at his place. Whenever Tuantuan missed her mom, she just had to bear with it for the time being. She knew this was a critical moment for her mom, and she couldn’t hold her back!

The day of the exam finally arrived. Examinees all over the country nervously stepped into the examination halls. After a nerve-wracking two days passed, the Knowledge Youth Institute returned to its lively and relaxed atmosphere.

Tuantuan sat on the steps of the Knowledge Youth Institute, waiting for her mom to come home.

She cupped her small head in her hands, bobbing it back and forth as she squished her own chubby, bun-like cheeks. The moment the ox cart carrying the sent-down youths appeared, she bounced up excitedly and trotted forward, only to trip and perform a spectacular full-body prostration right in front of Deng Yuyuan.

Deng Yuyuan cleared her throat. Torn between helping the child up and scolding her, she decided to amuse herself instead. "Aren’t you going to pay your respects to Her Majesty the Empress?"

Tuantuan paused mid-scramble. With an excited, milky little voice, she shouted, "Long live the Empress! May she live for ten thousand years!"

Deng Yuyuan nodded in satisfaction, completely forgetting that the village head and his wife had escorted them to the testing site in town today—and that the two of them were currently standing right behind her.

"COUGH, COUGH," the village head’s wife cleared her throat.

Deng Yuyuan sidestepped to make room and introduced them to Tuantuan. "This is the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress Dowager."

Tuantuan was a clever little imp. "Long live the Emperor Emeritus..."

The village head’s wife stepped forward and scooped her off the ground, brushing the dust off her knees. Interrupting Tuantuan’s game, she took a moment to look back and glare at Deng Yuyuan. "Little Tuantuan, did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

Her attention diverted, Tuantuan followed the village head’s wife’s hands, checking her limbs before shaking her head. She was dressed thickly for winter, and her face was wrapped in a scarf. Moreover, Deng Yuyuan had taught her to always keep her head up when falling, so only her clothes had suffered any casualties this time.

The fall had hurt at first, but she hadn’t had time to cry before she had to pay her respects to Her Majesty the Empress. By now, the pain had already faded.

Deng Yuyuan stepped forward and took Tuantuan into her arms. She bounced the toddler slightly—she had gotten heavier again. "Tuantuan, you’re a gluttonous little piglet."

In the background, the sent-down youths were still discussing the university admission letters. They would have to wait another month or two, which was truly agonizing. If they got into university, they could finally end their rural assignments.