On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, right after the Lantern Festival, it was time to start school again. They were in their final year of high school and had just a few months left before the college entrance examination, especially Xu Nianhua’s class, which consisted of repeaters. They were even more anxious and determined to bury their heads in their studies and perform well enough to get into college!
Getting into college would be a major turning point in their lives.
"Nianhua, thank you for teaching us your study methods. Our foreign language skills have improved a lot!" Zheng Jin said excitedly. In fact, she had wanted to thank Xu Nianhua right after last year’s exams, but unfortunately, once the exams were over, her parents were so happy that they took her to her grandmother’s house in South City.
It wasn’t just the foreign language scores that improved, but all their subjects had shown significant enhancement thanks to the study methods taught by Xu Nianhua.
"Exactly, fellow student Nianhua, whether we get into college or not, we all thank you."
Chen Hu said loudly, his voice echoed loudly by his classmates. For their repeater class, Xu Nianhua truly had helped boost their scores considerably.
"Then let’s push harder, strive harder, and aim to get all forty-two of us into college!" Xu Nianhua’s voice was strong and resolute as she looked at each familiar face before her. She didn’t know how many of the forty-two students could make it, but with half a year left, if they could all give it their best shot, there surely was a chance.
"We all need to get into college."
The students, one after another, excitedly expressed their opinions.
It was only the first day of school, but everyone was enthusiastically engaged, wasting no time in diving into their studies.
"Big brother, next time ask Pei Yicheng where he bought this cream; it’s really very effective."
After washing her face, Xu Nianhua applied the white cream from the glass jar to her hands, enjoying the faint herbal fragrance. Most importantly, it was particularly nourishing. The redness and swelling on her hands were nowhere to be seen, and her skin had become white and delicate again, feeling even better than before.
"I don’t know, maybe I’ll ask him next time?" Xu Nian’an replied casually as he soaked his feet in hot water, with the room lit by a lamp which, though not very bright, was still much brighter than candles.
He pondered, "Little sister, you think, I wonder how Yicheng and the others are doing in Xi Province?"
"I’m sure they can cure it," Xu Nianhua said with conviction.
"Speaking of which, we didn’t even see them off."
Xu Nianhua added, as they had planned to depart on the sixteenth of the first lunar month, but they had already set off for Xi Province early on the fifteenth without notice.
Doctor Du, Pei Yicheng, Ling Dong, and Cheng Hao were all no longer at home.
"Perhaps they didn’t want us to send them off. They must have quietly gone to Xi Province and will come back joyfully," Xu Nian’an earnestly said, "I really hope Yicheng’s leg can be cured."
"It definitely can be cured," Xu Nianhua asserted again, lifting her head to look at the light bulb and changing the subject, "Big brother, wouldn’t it be nice if our village also had electricity?"
There was no electricity at home, so when night fell, they could only light a kerosene lamp, which not only smelled bad but also provided poor light.
Xu Nianhua tried to recall which year their home got electricity.
"Maybe next year," Xu Nian’an said nonchalantly, "Little sister, you are now the celebrity at school. Everyone loves your teaching methods, and you generously share every test paper with everyone."