Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Leading Our Village to Prosperity Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Leading Our Village to Prosperity Lu Family’s elders wouldn’t provide the money, even as a loan.
The villagers all knew about the Lu Family’s situation and worried that lending them money would be like throwing it away; naturally, they weren’t willing to lend it either.
Liu Yushu’s paternal family was also strongly biased toward males and firmly believed in the idea that once a daughter is married, she belongs to another family.
In their eyes, Liu Yushu was already an outsider, so how could they possibly lend her money, let alone give it to her?
Lu Zhenguo was really out of options. He watched as Lu Youxi was about to head to the Imperial Capital and couldn’t let his child go without money for tuition.
That’s when he thought of selling his blood.
*
The next day, Lu Youxi and Zhou Shuyan were to set off for the Imperial Capital.
They had to first go to the town to take the long-distance bus to the nearest county town, then from there, take a minibus to Fengnan City, the closest city to the county, and finally take a train from Fengnan City to the Imperial Capital.
Lu Youxi didn’t have much luggage, just a backpack she used for school and a suitcase that Liu Yushu had dug out from home that had been used for years.
Lu Youxi packed some seasonal clothes and daily necessities; everything fit into one suitcase.
Her backpack carried her admission notice, ID, and other documents, along with some money.
Lu Zhenguo and Liu Yushu had scraped together all the money they had at home, amounting to two thousand yuan for Lu Youxi.
Lu Zhenguo and Liu Yushu, along with Lu Youxue, accompanied them.
As they had just left the house, they saw Aunt Liu and Aunt Lin already waiting at the door.
“We’ll come along to see off Youxi,” Aunt Liu said. “We don’t know how long it will be until she can come back.”
“Yes, especially since you’ll be following her to the Imperial Capital later, it might be even harder to return,” Aunt Lin added, somewhat sadly.
After all, they had been neighbors with Lu Zhenguo’s family for so long and were quite reluctant to see them go.
Although living in the Imperial Capital was expensive, they believed that it wouldn’t take many months before Lu Youxi could have Lu Zhenguo and the others join her.
Lu Youxi smiled and said, “How could I not come back? This place has you, the village chief, Grandma Xu. Even if my parents and Youxue move to the Imperial Capital, I’ll still come back to visit you.”
As for the other members of the Lu family, Lu Youxi didn’t even mention them.
“Come on, let’s walk you to the village entrance,” Aunt Liu said with a smile.
As the group reached the village entrance, they were surprised to find that most villagers were already there waiting.
Lu Youxi, though not the first in the village to be accepted to Jing University, was the first female and the first female college student from their village, which the villagers took very seriously.
Moreover, Lu Youxi’s circumstances were more difficult than many others’.
They admired her even more.
Grandma Xu handed her a small package, “This has tea eggs I cooked and some buns for you to eat on the road.”
The village chief gave her a packet of dried fruit, all sun-dried from his own trees, “Take these dried fruits too, snack on them during the journey. It’s inconvenient now being summer, otherwise in winter I’d also give you some sausages to share with your dorm mates.”
“You’re worrying about such trivial items,” the village chief said with a smile.
Grandma Xu secretly wiped tears; Lu Youxi, having suffered so much since she was young, thus felt unsure how to react to kindness.
Aunt Liu and Aunt Lin also had gifts, with Aunt Liu giving her a new backpack.
“Aunt Liu, this is too expensive!” Lu Youxi hurried to say.
“Not expensive at all, just a few dozen yuan from the market, don’t look down on it,” Aunt Liu said as she touched the backpack Lu Youxi was carrying. “You’ve been using this backpack for over a decade; I remember it was the one Lu Youbang discarded and passed it to you. It’s designed for boys, not suitable for a girl like you, and look how worn it is; the edges are frayed, and see these corners are torn and have holes.”
“The backpack I bought isn’t expensive, but it’s designed for girls and it’s new, I think it also looks quite good. You’re going to the city for college, we shouldn’t carry such worn-out stuff to be laughed at,” Aunt Liu added.
Lu Zhenguo and Liu Yushu, shamed by Aunt Liu’s words, bowed their heads in embarrassment.
Aunt Liu did not intend to embarrass them, but they had been so focused on pulling together the money that they neglected these details.
Aunt Lin gave Lu Youxi a thermos, “I didn’t buy this, I received it as a gift from the credit union when I deposited money there. I see your water bottle is plastic and it has discolored from use—use this thermos, it’s cold in the Imperial Capital during winter, you should drink hot water.”
Moved, Lu Youxi hardly knew what to say and thanked everyone, “I will definitely come back. Uncle Village Chief, Grandma Xu, Aunt Liu, Aunt Lin, I remember your kindness, I will surely return.”
Wiping her tears, Grandma Xu said, “What nonsense, the world out there is much bigger, don’t always think about this place.”
“Yes, I think you will be someone with great abilities,” the village chief added. “Don’t forget, if you have a chance, to look for opportunities for our village’s development and help lead our village to prosperity.”
Tearing up but smiling, Lu Youxi replied, “Okay.”
“Tsk!” Ge Guifen scoffed loudly from the crowd, “Really daring to promise, even leading the whole village to become rich. Let’s see if she can survive in the Imperial Capital first.”
Ge Guifen pursed her lips.
Those around glared at her in disdain, with one even teasing her deliberately, “Oh, Ge Guifen, what brings you out today? Planning to wait for the Hu Family at the village entrance?”
The Hu Family had been causing trouble daily without any rest.
“Pah!” Ge Guifen, provoked, was furious.
Unhappy herself, she didn’t want the Lu Family to enjoy their moment.
Raising her voice in the crowd, Ge Guifen challenged, “Big brother, have you gathered enough for your eldest daughter’s tuition? How dare you let her go to the Imperial Capital?”
Weren’t they reluctant to call Lu Youxi ‘eldest daughter’ outside?
She insisted on using the term.
Lu Zhenguo said nothing, his mouth clumsy, unable to speak.
It was only when she was cornered that Liu Yushu would stand up for herself, and now in front of so many people, she wilted.
Lu Youxue, fists clenched, loudly declared, “My sister has a scholarship, a full one! She doesn’t need to pay tuition from our family, hehe!”
“What?” Lu Youzhen, standing beside Ge Guifen, couldn’t help but express her surprise.
Lu Youxi’s grades were so good that she got a scholarship!
The villagers were also astonished.
“My goodness, how high must her scores be to get a scholarship!”
“And it’s a scholarship from Jing University, where only high-scoring students dare to apply. To be the best among them, that’s really impressive!”
“I remember, Lu Youbang didn’t have a scholarship, did he?”
“Psh! What could he possibly have! If he had a scholarship, would he still be asking his family for money?”