fictionpage Chapter 5: Old Huang actually had some secret stash of money.
Chapter 5: Old Huang actually had some secret stash of money.
July 12th is the day students return to school to fill out their college application forms. In the 7s, the college entrance examination involved filling out the application forms first, followed by receiving scores, and then it was like opening a blind box to see if you were admitted. The main basis for filling out the application forms was the estimated score. It was extremely important for students to be able to estimate how many points they could score, as they could only rely on their estimated scores to fill out the application forms.
If you misjudge your score, the consequences are quite severe. Unlike the chance to retake the exam in later years when you miss your cut-off score, you will directly fail and have to wait until the following year to try again.
After five years of primary school, three years of junior high school, and three years of senior high school, a student who has studied diligently for eleven years may be discouraged by such a setback. Therefore, estimating scores is an essential skill for every student taking the college entrance examination.
(Note: In the 1980s, primary school was a five-year system, which was later changed to a six-year system.)
Ever since the whole family reached a consensus on the issue of college application choices, Huang Xiaochuan's treatment at home has improved dramatically. Zeng Lijuan, who always pinches pennies, gave Huang Xiaochuan 100 yuan as pocket money for the first time ever.
Upon receiving the blue 100-yuan bill printed with the image of the four great leaders, Huang Xiaochuan was momentarily dazed. Oh right! There were no smartphones or mobile payments during this period; everything had returned to its original state.
......
After breakfast, Huang Xiaochuan said to his parents, Lao Huang and Zeng Lijuan, "Mom and Dad, I'm going to school."
Old Huang repeatedly emphasized, "The characters must be written clearly and neatly."
Huang Xiaochuan nodded and replied, "Don't worry."
Zeng Lijuan also instructed, "Come back early after you fill out your college application. I'll cook you some good dishes for lunch and buy a roast chicken."
"Mom, you guys eat by yourselves at noon. Our whole class will treat the teachers to lunch, which will be both a thank-you dinner and a farewell meal."
"Then I'll give you some more money." Zeng Lijuan looked around for her bag.
Huang Xiaochuan quickly stopped her: "No need, no need, I have some here. Each person should give ten yuan as a gift. You just gave me a hundred!"
Zeng Lijuan then gave up the idea, but she added, "Drink less at noon, don't get drunk."
"I know, drink less alcohol and eat more vegetables." Huang Xiaochuan waved to his parents and prepared to leave.
At this moment, Lao Huang stood up, picked up his briefcase, and said, "I also need to go to work, let's go together."
The father and son went to the bike shed to get their bicycles. When they got there, Old Huang saw that no one was around, so he took out a small wad of cash from his briefcase and stuffed it into Huang Xiaochuan's hand.
"Take it!"
Huang Xiaochuan took the money and counted it quickly—three hundred-yuan bills. He asked his father, puzzled, "Dad, where did you get this money?"
Huang Xiaochuan remembers that in that year, Lao Huang was a senior professional with a salary of over 300 yuan a month. His elderly mother, Zeng Lijuan, was just an ordinary accountant in a unit under the Transportation Bureau, and her salary was even less, less than half of Lao Huang's.
Zeng Lijuan was the head of the Huang family. The elderly Zeng Lijuan was quite frugal, so Old Huang usually carried at most ten yuan on him, which was his allowance for half a month. So, if he was suddenly given so much, Huang Xiaochuan would definitely be suspicious.
Old Huang cautiously glanced outside the bike shed again before saying, "Your mother doesn't know about my business trip allowance. Just take it and don't tell her."
That's just how Lao Huang is. Although he usually treats his children like a strict father, he is actually a loving father at heart.
Huang Xiaochuan smiled knowingly. So this was Lao Huang's secret stash of money! He accepted it, considering it an investment from Lao Huang, and promised to repay him many times over in the future.
"Thank you, Dad. I'll be going now." Huang Xiaochuan put the money away, pushed his bike, and was about to leave when he saw Yu Wei already waiting for him in front of the building with his bicycle.
As Old Huang pushed his cart out of the shed, he added, "Be careful on the road."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Huang Xiaochuan had already sped off on his bike, waving goodbye without turning his head to indicate that he understood, and then rode away with Yu Wei.
Upon arriving at school, Huang Xiaochuan and Yu Wei parted ways, each going to their respective classes.
Quite a few people have already arrived in the class, and they're all gathered in small groups, discussing the universities they all dream of attending.
Huang Xiaochuan couldn't remember most of the people's names, so he didn't greet anyone, quietly found his seat, and waited patiently.
I glanced at the familiar campus through the window again. All the other grades were already on vacation, and the campus was deserted in the summer.
Around the playground, thirty or forty large trees, some decades old, are planted. Sunlight filters through the gaps in the leaves, casting a golden glow on the playground. Opening the window, the rich atmosphere of the campus rushes in, followed by a wave of heat entering the classroom.
As Huang Xiaochuan sat with his arms crossed, gazing out the window at the campus, someone stood beside his desk and asked, "Huang Xiaochuan, have you decided which university you want to apply to?"
Huang Xiaochuan turned around and saw a plump girl with a youthful face, wearing a white dress with red floral patterns and pigtails, looking at him expectantly.
There were nearly fifty students in the class, and Huang Xiaochuan couldn't remember the name of the female classmate in front of him for a moment, nor did he know how to address her.
Fortunately, Qin Yu, the class monitor who came to collect the money, came to his rescue: "Huang Xiaochuan plans to apply to a university in Shanghai."
Huang Xiaochuan took out a wad of cash from his pocket, casually picked out a bill, and handed it to Qin Yu.
"Class monitor, this is mine."
After Qin Yu took the money, she filled in Huang Xiaochuan's name in a notebook, which was already filled with many names. Then she gave Huang Xiaochuan ninety yuan in change.
After doing all this, Qin Yu jokingly teased Huang Xiaochuan, "Not bad, I didn't know you were such a tycoon!"
Huang Xiaochuan knew that Qin Yu was referring to the wad of cash he had just pulled out. He smiled, put the change back in his pocket, and made no attempt to explain.
Then the youthful-looking girl continued, "Huang Xiaochuan, tell me! Which university in Shanghai do you want to apply to?"
It wasn't some kind of secret, so Huang Xiaochuan blurted it out: "Shanghai University of Finance and Economics."
The girl covered her mouth with her hand and exclaimed, "Oh my god, I'm also planning to apply to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics!"
Qin Yu gently patted the baby-faced girl: "Ren Yangyang, what are you doing? Planning to play a prank on someone again, aren't you?"
Ren Yangyang said in a serious tone, "That's right, my first choice is East China Normal University, and my second choice is Shanghai University of Finance and Economics."
"Alright! Your second choice is just a safety net. Based on your own estimated score, it's a sure thing that you'll be admitted to your first choice." Qin Yu bluntly exposed Ren Yangyang's trick.
Ren Yangyang was still pretending to insist: "What if I don't get accepted by my first choice?"
Qin Yu looked at her speechlessly and simply remained silent.
"Hahaha! I was just kidding you guys, Qin Yu, are you angry?" It turned out that the baby-faced girl was teasing Qin Yu.
After listening to the conversation between the two girls, Huang Xiaochuan remembered who Ren Yangyang was. Her mother was the director of the teaching affairs office of this middle school. Influenced by her mother, she applied to East China Normal University and became a middle school math teacher after graduation.
Moreover, Ren Yangyang is also the best friend of class monitor Qin Yu. Their friendship started in the first year of high school and will last a lifetime.
Huang Xiaochuan found the conversation between the two girls a bit boring, so he opened his desk to see if there were any books or something to flip through to pass the time.
Unexpectedly, there was a letter in his desk. A string of red hearts was printed on one corner of the pink envelope, and the words "To Huang Xiaochuan" were written in the middle of the envelope. Huang Xiaochuan knew that it was probably another love letter from a girl. He quietly put the letter into his pocket without making a sound.
Zeng Lijuan knew that her very handsome son was popular with girls, and fearing that this would interfere with his studies, she kept a close eye on him. Therefore, any signs that might lead Huang Xiaochuan to have an early romance were nipped in the bud.
Moreover, the teachers in his class also paid special attention to Huang Xiaochuan. After all, in this key high school, studying is the top priority, and any factors that may affect studying must be eliminated in time. However, it is not Huang Xiaochuan's fault that he is good-looking, so they can't just kick him out of the school, can they?
So during his six years of junior and senior high school, many girls were secretly taken away by teachers to chat, and even so, Huang Xiaochuan would still receive love letters from time to time.
However, Zeng Lijuan later regretted that Huang Xiaochuan remained unmarried, wishing she had let him have a relationship earlier. But that's another story.
Unexpectedly, Ren Yangyang had good eyesight and saw the letter.
"Huang Xiaochuan, what's in your pocket? Take it out and let me see."
Huang Xiaochuan feigned ignorance: "No! I was just checking to see if I had left anything behind."
"I saw it, it's an envelope, take it out and let me see!" Ren Yangyang stared at Huang Xiaochuan.
Unexpectedly, Ren Yangyang's words were overheard by a girl sitting in front of Huang Xiaochuan. How could this be? Someone else wrote a love letter to Huang Xiaochuan? The fire of gossip began to burn fiercely.
She then turned around and leaned on Huang Xiaochuan's desk, her eyes shining as she loudly asked, "Really? Huang Xiaochuan, you received another love letter?"
Huang Xiaochuan was utterly speechless, thinking to himself, "Damn it, why did you have to shout like that when you were asking?"
Sure enough, his loud voice drew most of the class's attention to Huang Xiaochuan.
A boy who wasn't very tall scoffed, "Childish. These days, there are actually people who like to use love letters as a gimmick."
Someone next to him agreed, saying, "Exactly, it's too childish. Don't they have any new ideas?"
As the saying goes, "A man who is three feet short must be a ghost." The short boy's name is Bian Wo. Because his family had overseas connections, they obtained a sum of money from overseas relatives in the 1980s. His father then went into business and is now making a fortune in real estate on a southern island. He later became a well-known real estate developer in the province.
This guy is what people later call a "rich second generation." His dad used his wealth to get him into this key provincial high school. Still relying on his wealth, his family found several retired teachers to tutor him one-on-one, which barely allowed him to get into a junior college in Shanghai. He was one of the initiators of the 30-year class reunion, and he was stingy but loved to show off.
He liked flirting in school and didn't like studying, but he really liked female classmates who were good at studying and were pretty.
However, I later heard that his father, a real estate developer, had run a scheme involving internal guarantees for external loans that went bust and ended up in jail. After that, the guy disappeared and no one could contact him anymore.
Huang Xiaochuan couldn't remember the names of the students around him for a moment.
Huang Xiaochuan didn't even bother to pay attention to these idiots.
They are all just fleeting passersby in my life. After today, who will know whom again?
Ren Yangyang was angered by Bian Wo's words. She questioned him from afar, "Don't be a sour grapes. I've never heard of anyone writing you love letters. On the contrary, I've heard that you've written a lot of love letters and cast a wide net everywhere?"
Bian Wo jumped up as if he'd been stabbed in the back: "Who said that? That's slander!"
Ren Yangyang was just as fiery as her mother. She sneered, "So you've learned to turn the tables now? I'd like to hear you tell me exactly how I've slandered you. Should I get a few people to prove it to you in front of you?"
It might really be true, because Bian Wo was momentarily stunned by Ren Yangyang's words.
Fortunately, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhu, entered the classroom in time, which allowed Bian Wo to escape, and the dispute that had just begun was resolved without any further incident.
Teacher Zhu stood on the podium, holding the roster, and called out the names of the students one by one. After the roll call, not a single student was absent. He then said with deep emotion, "Students, time flies, and in the blink of an eye, we will have to say goodbye. Although I am reluctant to part, you will eventually embark on your bright futures. I wish you all the best in pursuing your studies at your desired universities."
"You are all my pride. You have paved a golden road for yourselves with your own strength..."
"But there's something very important to do today, and that's filling out college applications. I won't go into the importance of that today, as I've already explained it to you and your parents last time..."
"College application is a comprehensive reflection of each person's aspirations, wishes, interests, personality, and abilities. Please take it seriously and don't be careless. Pay attention to neat handwriting. If you make a mistake, come back here to get a new one..."
"Pass them out from the first row to the back, one for each person."
"Let's begin!"