Chapter 95

Tong Yan's hometown is in a village within the county. Initially, his father, Tong Hang, passed the college entrance exam and got a job in the county, where he met his mother, Liu Nian, a city girl. This is how they settled down in the county town.

When Tong Yan was a child, he often went to the countryside to play, climbing trees to fetch eggs, catching fish in the water, poking beehives, and catching cicadas. One could say that his most cherished childhood memories were all there. However, after his grandparents in the old home passed away, Tong Yan rarely went back. Although the Tong family seldom returned to the old home, the old house was always kept, and living there was much more spacious than in the county town. There was a row of blue brick and tile houses, along with a spacious courtyard.

Ancestral worship is a task for the male members of the family. After the Tong family returned to the old home, they first cleaned the courtyard and rooms of the old house. Tong Yan's family had already transferred their farmland to others, but his father was always reluctant to dispose of the house. He always said that if they got tired of living in the city, they would at least have a place to go, so they wouldn't be homeless.

By 11 o'clock in the morning, Tong Dad took Tong Yan to the gravesite for the ancestral worship, which included burning paper money, paying respects to the ancestors, and setting off firecrackers. Tong Yan was already very familiar with these procedures, as he accompanied his father back to the old home every year.

The cemetery was filled with the crackling sounds of firecrackers. The more elaborate and loud the firecrackers, the better the family was doing. The Tong family had suffered a significant blow last year due to his mother's hospitalization, so their firecrackers were not as loud this year.

After completing the rituals, Tong Dad took Tong Yan to speak with the elders in the village. Because the Tong family had a high seniority, most of the middle-aged people present were his peers, and those of similar age had to call him "uncle." When a group of adults and children gathered, the topic most often discussed was the children's academic performance. Even though Tong Yan's grades had dropped, his father was still the most envied person in the crowd. Many villagers had already sent their children to college, but none had been admitted to prestigious universities. Tong Yan was likely to be the first.

After the ancestral worship, Tong Dad took Tong Yan to visit several senior members of the clan. They should have paid their respects on New Year's Day, but in recent years, they had been celebrating the New Year in the county, so these formalities had to be done in advance.

One regret about this trip was not seeing his childhood friends. However, Tong Yan wasn't sure if they would still recognize him, as it had been quite a while since they last met.

By the time they returned home, it was already 5 PM. Tong Mom and Shan Shan had already started preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. Regardless of the difficulties and setbacks the family had faced in the past year, the New Year's Eve dinner was always very sumptuous, with chicken, fish, and meat, and everything that others had on their tables. It was no less lavish than other families, symbolizing a year of happiness and prosperity to come.

"Unfortunately, there are only four of us, so it's not very lively," Tong Mom complained.

Shan Shan quickly responded, "When my brother brings his girlfriend home and has a baby, it will be lively."

Tong Yan glared at Shan Shan, "When you bring a boyfriend home and give me a big, fat nephew, it will be even more lively!"

Tong Dad chuckled, "It's too early to talk about that. The most pressing matter is for Xiao Yan to get into a good university, and for Shan Shan to work hard to get into the public school in Qing County."

Tong Dad's words immediately dampened Shan Shan's spirits. If she didn't get into the public school, she would either have to pay a lot more for a private school or go to a second-tier high school or vocational school. The pressure was really high!

However, Tong Yan said, "What's so great about Qing County High School? They haven't produced a single student for Tsinghua or Peking University in over ten years. Only twenty to thirty students pass the first-level university entrance exam each year. Our school is much better, with a 90% pass rate for undergraduate degrees."

Tong Mom felt that Tong Yan's words were a bit too harsh. Shan Shan's academic performance couldn't compare to his, and getting into the public school in Qing County would be a great achievement. Let alone Yangping High School, which only a few students in the county could get into each year. His words were a huge blow to Shan Shan.

"Xiao Yan, you should talk less. The county high school is actually not bad," Tong Mom consoled Shan Shan.

Tong Yan saw the disappointment in his sister's eyes and regretted his words. His intention was to use his earnings from writing to send Shan Shan to Yangping High School, where she could receive a better education, not to discourage her.

"Let's just forget it," Tong Yan said, but in his heart, he was calculating. With a year and a half until Shan Shan started high school, he could easily save up the maximum school sponsorship fee of 30,000 yuan with his earnings. He planned to give her a big surprise.

After clearing the table, the whole family gathered in front of the TV to watch the Spring Festival Gala. It seemed that the Spring Festival Gala was their only form of entertainment. None of them liked playing cards or mahjong, and Tong Yan couldn't bring out his laptop to show them American blockbusters.

After the Spring Festival Gala started, Tong Yan kept checking his watch. At 8:14 PM, when his parents and Shan Shan were laughing at Feng Gong's sketch, Tong Yan said, "Oh, right, I need to make a New Year's call to our homeroom teacher."

Tong Mom quickly said, "Go ahead, your teacher has really taken a lot of care of you."

Tong Dad added, "We also owe a lot to Teacher Song for finding the doctor."

Both Tong Dad and Mom knew that Teacher Song appreciated Tong Yan. At the first parent-teacher meeting, Song Xiancheng praised Tong Yan highly, even more than the top student, Dong Mian. Therefore, Tong Dad and Mom respected and admired the gentle and refined Teacher Song.

Tong Yan walked into his parents' room and dialed Teacher Song's home number. At this time, Song Rao should be waiting by the phone.

"Hello?" It was indeed Song Rao's pleasant voice. To hear this voice, two days ago, Tong Yan had colluded with Song Rao to call Teacher Song at 8:15 PM on New Year's Eve, first chatting with Song Rao and then asking Teacher Song to take the call.

At this moment, Song Rao had already sent her father to do the dishes. She never imagined that her father and her beloved student would use such a trick to talk privately. Their feelings had grown even stronger during the past half month, and although they couldn't see each other, they felt closer through QQ and phone calls. Hearing each other's voices, they had endless topics to discuss.

They chatted for twenty minutes and still felt it wasn't enough. If Song Rao hadn't seen her father almost finish in the kitchen, she wouldn't have wanted to hand over the phone.

"My dad is coming out, I have to go," Song Rao said nervously.

"Okay," Tong Yan calmed down and prepared to greet Teacher Song. He could already hear Song Rao calling her father, "Dad, your phone, it's a student wishing you a Happy New Year."

On the other end, Tong Yan automatically imagined: "Dad, your phone, it's your son-in-law wishing you a Happy New Year."

[PS: Thank you to Lu Han Tianhe, Xiao Xiao Shu Tong, 一世浮华, Zifeng Jushi, Reader Tianhuang, Yi Xiao Jiduochou, Tian Shu S, and Wei Xiaoliu for your support. I sincerely request a few more recommendation votes. The editor's attention to a book depends on various data, and our collection numbers are already quite low. I hope the recommendation votes can help. Thank you all!]