Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn
Chapter 80 - 64: Some Rejoice, Some Mourn (Part 2)

Chapter 80: Chapter 64: Some Rejoice, Some Mourn (Part 2)

The day’s lessons had just ended, and the children in the classroom were gathered together again. The children from the Miao family and the Han Clan had both seen Yezi and Xiao Xian’s parents find their way to the temple and, thinking that the two of them must have dared each other to spend the night there the previous evening, they came to ask who won or lost.

"There was no winner or loser, it was a draw," Yezi said nonchalantly. Strictly speaking, neither he nor Xiao Xian had stayed overnight behind the temple at the burial ground, so they both lost, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell them that.

"What do we do then? There can’t be two tigers on the same mountain; we can’t have two bosses," the children from the Miao family protested.

Xiao Xian didn’t say a word. After all, this mess was Yezi’s doing; it was only natural for him to deal with the aftermath.

"That’s easy, haven’t you heard of ’women manage the inside, men manage the outside’? From now on, listen to Zhu Xiaoxian for lessons inside the temple; outside, listen to me," Yezi had heard his Mama and father say that at home, and now he just parroted it.

Xiao Xian and Taohua, lying in the cradle, rolled their eyes at the same time, "Yezi is an idiot with no comprehension skills."

And so, the storm at the temple between Miao Han reached a temporary calm.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed. During these six months, time in Ge Village seemed to stand still. Meanwhile, Zhou Ziang’s family, now living in Shanghai, moved to Beijing due to Zhou Qiang’s job promotion.

Not long after arriving in Beijing, Zhou Ziang entered that year’s college entrance exam through his school and graduated as the top science student in Beijing of the year ’97. After high school, Zhou Ziang did not accept the invitations from domestic universities. He gave up the opportunity to study at a prestigious institution in China, took the TOEFL that summer, and, in the fall, received scholarship offers from several universities in the United States, eventually deciding to enroll at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.

During those months, Zhou Qiang went through extremes of joy and sorrow. First, he transferred from the Shanghai Agriculture Bureau, where he was barely scraping by, to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. His son, who had been underachieving, suddenly produced a score that shocked the entire educational community in Beijing. But Zhou Qiang’s happiness was short-lived as he was soon to be confronted with several unsettling events.

In July, at noontime, Zhou Qiang heard about his son’s latest decision from Xi Lijuan, "What? That boy has rejected the admission letter from QH University."

Xi Lijuan said annoyed: "It was you who told him to study abroad, so why the fuss now? Just when he’s started getting a bit closer to us, don’t nag at him and affect his mood for review."

In September, one night, there was an uproar in the living room of the Zhou Family.

"What? He’s not even considering Harvard and chooses Cornell University, which I haven’t even heard of," Zhou Qiang was known for his fiery temper just by the sound of his voice.

"I think you might be going through menopause early. I haven’t even talked about sending our son so far away yet. You’re a deputy minister of foreign trade and economics and you’ve never heard of Cornell University? It’s one of the Ivy League schools, and its agriculture program is the most famous in the entire United States," Xi Lijuan spoke with ease, as she had spent half a month gathering information to understand this with her son.

"Weren’t you opposed to sending him abroad at first? Now you’re excited about it. And you two went ahead and chose plant biology on your own. I was bafflingly appointed a vice minister of the agriculture department, and now, ironically, our son is actually studying agriculture. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at us?" Zhou Qiang sensed a hint of blame in his wife’s tone and guilt washed over him. Since coming to Beijing, he had been busy with official duties and managing personnel between departments, neglecting his son’s education. The school had been singing high praises for Zhou Ziang’s performance over the past year, and Zhou Qiang thought his son would choose a more popular major and follow in his footsteps into a government position. Yet in a blink of an eye, the rascal had chosen Cornell University.

"A son will not stay under his mother’s wings forever. And who says studying agriculture means he’ll become a farmer? Weren’t you a math major before becoming the head of the agriculture bureau?" Xi Lijuan was indeed a supportive wife and a good mother. When she first heard of her son’s choice, she did not immediately take a stand. To prevent Zhou Qiang from bringing his domineering office demeanor home, she kept Zhou Ziang’s desire to study agriculture a secret. Only after receiving the admissions notification from the United States did she confidently tell Zhou Qiang. She knew him well; despite his hot temper, he would respect Zhou Ziang’s decision regarding his future. However, it would take some effort to guide and navigate him through this process.

"It’s different. I need to have a word with that boy. Don’t follow me in, this is a man’s business," Zhou Qiang, full of confidence, proceeded to his son’s room, thinking that Cornell was fine but the major should be changed. Maybe he could persuade his son to study architecture and become a great architect like Ieoh Ming Pei.

Half an hour later, Zhou Qiang came out of his son’s room looking dejected.

Xi Lijuan was slicing some peaches, which she and her son had purchased that morning from a nearby supermarket after submitting visa documents at the American Embassy. The peaches chosen by her son were indeed as sweet as honey; perhaps letting him study agriculture was really the right decision.

"That wretched boy, when did he become such a smooth talker? Saying that going to the United States is to help scale up China’s agriculture, to make all of China’s farmers wealthy. He knows nothing. With eighty million farmers in China, is he thinking of becoming another Yuan Longping?" Zhou Qiang sat on the sofa in silence, his son’s words still ringing in his ears.

"How about that, can’t argue with him, can you? Old man, we’re getting old, we can’t keep up with the vision of the young," Xi Lijuan leaned on Zhou Qiang’s shoulder and began to whisper, her voice cracking with emotion, "When our son was born, he was only the size of two palms, and now he’s applying for visas and going abroad all by himself. We’re no longer of much help."

Zhou Qiang patted his wife, feeling a bit melancholic. Suddenly, two more hands rested on their shoulders—Zhou Ziang had emerged from his room without them noticing, and for the first time, he wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the Zhou couple.

"Mom and Dad, here will always be my root. No matter where I go, I will come back," the Zhou couple choked back tears. After comforting his parents, Zhou Ziang returned to his room, where the piles of material he had been organizing for months were neatly stacked on his desk.

**

Readers, truly, there are fewer of you compared to the previous two books. But dear friends, you can’t always be silent observers, stay silent too long and you might encounter monsters. I desperately need Fan Tickets, without them I don’t even have the chance to write more with excitement, I’m running tearfully. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)