The day’s lessons had just ended, and the children in the classroom gathered around once more. The Miao family and the Han Clan kids had both seen Yezi and Xiao Xian’s parents heading to the temple this morning, guessing that the two must have dared each other to stay overnight at the temple last night. They came to ask who won or lost.
"No loss, no win, call it a draw," Yezi said nonchalantly. Strictly speaking, neither he nor Xiao Xian had spent the night behind the temple at the burial ground, so both had lost. But of course, he wasn’t about to share that with them.
"But what should we do? They say there can’t be two tigers on the same mountain; surely we can’t have two bosses," the Miao family children protested.
Xiao Xian remained silent. After all, the mess was made by Yezi, so it was only natural for him to handle it.
"That’s easy, haven’t you heard of ’women manage inside, men manage outside’? From now on, you listen to Zhu Xiaoxian in the temple classroom, and to me outside," Yezi parroted what his Mama and father used to say at home.
Xiao Xian and Taohua, lying in the cradle, both rolled their eyes simultaneously. "Yezi is an idiot, such a lack of comprehension."
And so, the drama within the Miao Han temple was temporarily settled.
Time flew by and half a year passed. During this period, life in Ge Village seemed to have frozen in time, except for the growing rice paddies and the sonorous reading voices in the temple, everything else remained as usual.
Meanwhile, the Zhou Ziang family who lived in Shanghai had moved to Beijing due to Zhou Qiang’s job promotion.
Not long after arriving in Beijing, Zhou Ziang enrolled for that year’s college entrance examination through his school and graduated as the top science student in Beijing of 1997. After graduating from high school, Zhou Ziang did not accept the invitation of domestic universities. He gave up the opportunity to study in renowned local institutions, took the TOEFL during that summer, and by the fall, he had successfully received scholarship offers from several universities in the United States, eventually deciding to enroll in Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
During those months, Zhou Qiang truly experienced extreme highs and lows. First, he transitioned from a modest role in Shanghai’s Agricultural Bureau to becoming the deputy director of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce. Then, his once underachieving son achieved a sensational high score that shook Beijing’s educational circles. However, Zhou Qiang’s joy did not last long before he faced consecutive shocks.
In July, one afternoon, Zhou Qiang heard Xi Lijuan mention their son’s latest decision, "What, that kid turned down the acceptance letter from Tsinghua University?"
Xi Lijuan said irritably, "It was you who suggested that our son study abroad. Why are you making a fuss now? Recently our son has been warming up to us. You better not nag him and affect his revision mood."
In September, one evening, another roar erupted in the Zhou Family living room.
"What, he even looks down on Harvard, going to what Cornell University, which I’ve never even heard of," Zhou Qiang’s voice revealed that he was angry once more.
"Why, are you entering menopause too early? I haven’t even said anything about our son going so far away, yet you, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade, have never heard of Cornell University, which is one of the Ivy League Universities with the most renowned agriculture program in the whole United States," Xi Lijuan spoke casually. She had spent half a month researching with her son to find this information.
"Weren’t you the one who opposed sending him abroad? Now you’re all gung-ho about it, and you two even presumptuously chose plant biology for him. I got the offer from the Ministry of Agriculture somehow, and now our son is actually going to study agriculture. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh," Zhou Qiang sensed a hint of resentment in his wife’s tone and felt guilty. After he took office in Beijing, he had been preoccupied with handling his official duties and neglected his son’s education. The school had nothing but praise for their son’s change and overall performance the past year. Zhou Qiang assumed Zhou Ziang would choose a more popular major for a future in government, perhaps follow in his footsteps. But in the blink of an eye, the kid had chosen Cornell University.
"A son is not a puppet of his mother. Besides, who says studying agriculture means becoming a farmer? You also came from a math background but ended up as the director of the Agricultural Bureau," Xi Lijuan was truly a wise and supportive spouse and a good mother. When she first learned of her son’s choice, she didn’t react immediately. To prevent Zhou Qiang from bringing his authoritative office demeanor home, she kept Zhou Ziang’s interest in agriculture a secret. Only after the acceptance letters arrived from the States did she reveal the news to Zhou Qiang, knowing that he would respect their son’s decision, but it would take some effort to guide him through the process.
"It’s different. I need to talk to that kid. Don’t interfere. Men’s business." Zhou Qiang confidently walked into his son’s room, resigning to the fact that it was Cornell, though he considered convincing his son to switch majors, perhaps study architecture and become as renowned as Ieoh Ming Pei.
Half an hour later, Zhou Qiang came out of his son’s room with his tail between his legs. Xi Lijuan was slicing several peaches; they had bought them from a supermarket near the American Embassy that morning when delivering visa materials. The peaches chosen by her son were indeed as sweet as honey, making her think that maybe his choice to study agriculture was right.
"That kid really knows how to talk now. Claims he wants to go to the United States so China’s agriculture can be as large-scale as abroad, to make all Chinese farmers wealthy. He knows nothing—China has eight hundred million farmers. Just with him alone, does he think he will become Yuan Longping?" Zhou Qiang sat silently on the sofa, his son’s words still echoing in his ears. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian [qidian.com]. Your support is my greatest motivation.)