Chapter 42

The news of Xiao Fei's family contracting the village hill quickly spread. Some villagers were surprised, some were angry, and some were anxious, with much discussion.

More people didn't take the contract agreement seriously. What could contracting the hill possibly do? Could they openly forbid everyone from going there to make a little money, graze sheep, or gather firewood?

If the Xiao family really dared to do that, some of the more reckless villagers were already prepared for a fight.

But to the villagers' surprise, after the Xiao family contracted the hill, they did nothing and never stopped anyone from going there to make a little money, graze sheep, or gather firewood.

Everything remained the same!

This left many people puzzled.

What was the Xiao family up to by contracting the hill and doing nothing?

After signing the contract for the hill, Xiao Fei felt much more at ease. In the following days, he wrote, studied music, and practiced boxing, and life became peaceful again.

Bad news from the cotton fields of other villagers in the village increased day by day, causing widespread anxiety.

The sweet corn that the Xiao family replanted grew taller and stronger every day. His parents, brother, and sister were busy weeding, thinning, and tending to the crops, enjoying their work.

However, Xiao Fei didn't pay much attention to these things.

On July 28th, the college entrance exam scores were released.

Xiao Fei didn't plan to go to school to collect his score notification that day. He already knew the result, so he wasn't very enthusiastic about it. Knowing it a day earlier or later made no difference to him.

But around 8 a.m. that morning, Liu Xinmei rode over to the Xiao family's house, asking Xiao Fei to go to school with her to check the scores.

"Let's go then."

He rode his bike with Liu Xinmei to the county town.

On the way, Liu Xinmei was very nervous, constantly saying, "I wonder if my actual score will be much different from my estimated score."

This nervousness was very normal. Before seeing the actual college entrance exam scores, everything was uncertain.

But Xiao Fei remembered clearly that Liu Xinmei's score this year was 671 points (standard score), which was well above the undergraduate line.

"Liu Xinmei, you don't need to be afraid. I think getting into H University will be a piece of cake for you this year," Xiao Fei comforted her.

Liu Xinmei rolled her eyes and said, "I really have no confidence. To get into H University, you need to be at least 20 points above the undergraduate line, right? Hey! How did you know I applied to H University? I don't think I told you that."

Her glance was quite flirtatious.

However, Xiao Fei was immune to it and remained unaffected.

Xiao Fei smiled and said, "I guessed. H University is the best in the province, and I estimate that over 80% of our school's students will apply there."

"Thanks for the good luck. If my score is enough to get into H University, I'll treat you to a big meal," Liu Xinmei said.

"You're definitely treating me then."

"Hehe! I feel like you have the potential to be a fortune-teller, with that calm and collected look," Liu Xinmei said, tilting her head and squinting her eyes with a smile.

She pedaled her bike carelessly, her long white legs occasionally showing from under her skirt, quite eye-catching.

By the time they reached the school, it was already past 10 a.m., and the college entrance exam scores had already been released to the school.

The school was crowded with people.

All of them were students from the graduating class.

At the school gate, they met some of Liu Xinmei's classmates. Seeing her, they called out, "Liu Xinmei, congratulations! You scored 671 points, you're definitely going to H University. Go get your score notification, your homeroom teacher is waiting for you in the classroom."

It seemed that history was still unfolding for Liu Xinmei as it had before. Xiao Fei thought.

"Really?!" Liu Xinmei screamed, jumping off her bike, extremely excited and joyful.

"Of course it's true! Get ready to treat us! Many classmates are waiting to feast on you!" her classmate said.

Liu Xinmei chatted excitedly with her classmate, releasing her inner joy. Many students passing through the school gate looked at her with envy.

Getting into H University as a first-time candidate was a significant achievement.

It was definitely worth celebrating.

In fact, in the 1996 college entrance exam, only about ten students from Heyang No. 1 High School got into H University, and most of them were retakers.

Seeing her chatting enthusiastically with her classmates, Xiao Fei said goodbye to Liu Xinmei and rode his bike into the school.

Just as he reached the teaching building, he saw Yan Zhang and You Gui smoking there. He stopped beside them.

"Xiao Fei, why did you come so late?" Yan Zhang offered Xiao Fei a cigarette and asked.

You Gui patted Xiao Fei's shoulder and said, "Brother, you really missed out!"

His face showed a look of regret.

"I came with a girl from my village. She rides very slowly, so it took us longer on the road," Xiao Fei explained to Yan Zhang, then turned to You Gui and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Your score is above the vocational college line, but I remember you didn't apply to any vocational colleges. So, I guess you won't get an admission notice this year," You Gui said with a laugh, his tone tinged with a bit of schadenfreude.

His score being above the vocational college line was another surprise for Xiao Fei.

"What did I score?" Xiao Fei asked.

Yan Zhang, speaking before You Gui, said, "640 points, just 3 points short of the undergraduate line. You're not honest, man. When we estimated the scores, you said you didn't do well. But look, you almost made the undergraduate line. If you had performed a bit better, you might have made the key university line this year."

"Surprise, surprise, pure luck!" Xiao Fei said with a humble smile.

Xiao Fei knew that the reason he unexpectedly scored 640 points, a relatively high score, was because he performed exceptionally well in history, which boosted his overall score.

In the end, this was also due to the advantage of being reborn.

As they were talking, their history teacher, Qian Meiju, walked over.

"Hello, Teacher Qian!" the three of them greeted her quickly.

Xiao Fei thought Qian Meiju would still treat him coldly as before, but to his surprise, she stopped in front of him and nodded, saying, "You did well in history this time!"

"It's all thanks to Teacher Qian's teaching," Xiao Fei flattered her.

"If you don't think about all the nonsense and study hard for another year, you have a good chance of getting into a key university. Keep it up!" Qian Meiju said calmly, then walked away.

Xiao Fei was taken aback.

It seemed that the respected Teacher Qian still held a grudge against him. Who knew when he could change her poor impression of him.

Xiao Fei sighed.

"This time, you've done Teacher Qian a favor. Because of you, she might get a few hundred yuan in bonus!" Yan Zhang said with a wink.

"What did I score in history?" Xiao Fei asked.

"Guess," You Gui said.

"Right, guess!" Yan Zhang also teased.

Do I need to guess? Xiao Fei thought. He knew his history score was around 140 points, which was an extremely high score in a subject where subjective questions made up more than half.

Maybe I even got the highest score in the province this time?

"900 points!" Xiao Fei said directly.

"Damn! No fun, you guessed it right away." Yan Zhang threw his cigarette butt on the ground, shook his head, and pointed at Xiao Fei, saying, "You're a beast! You got a perfect standard score in history! Damn! I remember your history scores weren't outstanding before. How did you get so high?"

"It was just a coincidence. It's not worth envying. Maybe I won't do as well next time," Xiao Fei continued to be humble.

This time, Yan Zhang and You Gui were both disappointed. Their scores were similar, both around 500 points (standard score), which barely met the minimum requirement for admission.

So, Xiao Fei had to comfort their wounded egos.