Chapter 111 - 109: The Acceptance Letter
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was August. Neither Li Xiu nor Zhou Lian ever brought up the university exams—what would happen if she got in, or if she didn’t. It was as if the matter didn’t exist, and they carried on with their lives just as they always had.
On a hot summer afternoon, the scorching sun beat down upon the earth, and cicadas droned tirelessly from the trees. Most of the villagers had gathered to cool off in the shade of the large trees in front of the village headquarters when the ring of a bicycle bell drew everyone’s gaze. A smiling postman was asking for directions to Zhou Lian’s house.
The village chief, Ge Dayu, stood up and asked with a puzzled look, "You’re looking for Zhou Lian? Delivering a letter?"
Seeing the postman’s confused expression, one of the onlookers chimed in, "This is our village chief."
"Yes, that’s right," the postman said, producing a letter stamped with a large red seal. "I’m here to deliver Zhou Lian’s university acceptance letter."
The postman’s words caused an immediate stir. The crowd fell silent for a beat, then erupted into a flurry of discussion. "A university acceptance letter? So Zhou Lian got into university!" "The Li family’s ancestors must really be smiling down on them!" "Marrying a wife who gets into college... Wow, this Zhou Lian is really amazing..."
A large crowd of people led the postman in a great procession toward Li Xiu’s house. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. How on earth did Zhou Lian get into university? No one had even heard she was planning to take the exam! People’s curiosity knows no bounds, and so, nearly everyone who had been cooling off under the trees tagged along to see the spectacle.
Ge Dayu gave the door a push, but it didn’t budge. He then knocked hard, muttering, "Why is the door shut in the middle of the day?"
Inside, the family of three, who had been napping, were all startled awake by the knocking. Li Xiu looked at his little daughter, who was on the verge of tears, and then at his groggy wife. "Bao’er," he said softly, "you get some more sleep. I’ll go see who it is."
As he spoke, he picked up his daughter from her small bed and headed for the door. ’Who in the world is it, knocking on our door in the middle of the day instead of resting?’ he thought. ’They almost scared my wife and daughter.’
When Li Xiu, scowling, opened the door while holding his child, he froze. ’What’s going on?’ he thought. Half the village seemed to be there. His eyes landed on Ge Dayu, whose hand was raised to knock again. Li Xiu said irritably, "Brother-in-law, instead of napping at home in the middle of the day, what are you doing here?"
Ge Dayu ignored his snide tone and said bluntly, "This comrade is here to deliver Zhou Lian’s university acceptance letter."
At these words, Li Xiu’s gaze shifted to the man in the green postal uniform. His scowl vanished, replaced by a smile. He nodded and asked, "Does she have to sign for it herself? Zhou Lian is my wife. She’s resting right now. Should I go get her?"
When the postman nodded, Li Xiu glanced speechlessly at the crowd of people packing the lane outside his door. He turned and went back inside, still holding the baby. He gently woke Zhou Lian. Noticing she was only in a thin undershirt because of the heat, he went to the wardrobe, pulled out a long-sleeved white blouse, and helped her put it on himself.
Still not fully awake, Zhou Lian let him take charge. Li Xiu gave her a once-over to make sure she was presentable, then, holding his daughter in one arm and taking Zhou Lian’s hand with the other, he led her outside. "They’re here with your university acceptance letter," he explained softly. "You have to sign for it yourself."
The crowd watched as Li Xiu led Zhou Lian outside. They saw her groggily sign her name, accept the envelope from the postman, and watch him leave. The moment he was gone, the quiet crowd instantly came to a boil, erupting in a fresh wave of chatter.
Li Xiu took the letter from Zhou Lian, passed their daughter to her, and immediately tore open the envelope. He pulled out the acceptance letter and read it, a wide grin instantly spreading across his face. "Bao’er!" he said joyfully. "It’s Beijing University, the Chinese Literature Department! Your favorite!"
He handed the letter to Zhou Lian and took their daughter back from her arms. Little Nono, just over eight months old, looked at her father with a bewildered expression, gurgling and cooing as if to ask what was going on. Was she just a big toy to be passed back and forth?
Zhou Lian stared at the acceptance letter in her hands. Beijing University’s Chinese Literature Department. It was one of the best universities in the country. She looked up at Li Xiu. ’I really got in,’ she thought. ’After only three months of studying, I got into one of the best universities.’
He smiled and nodded at his wife, feeling a surge of pride. ’I knew it,’ he thought smugly. ’I never had a single doubt she’d get in!’
"Li Xiu! Zhou Lian! What’s all this? Zhou Lian got into university?" Ge Dayu asked, astonished. He’d never even heard Zhou Lian had gone to school!
"That’s right, Brother-in-law. My wife got into the best university—Beijing University," Li Xiu boasted to Ge Dayu.
"But... I never heard she’d even been to school. When did she take the exam?" Ge Dayu was utterly shocked. As the village chief, he was more informed than most. The college entrance exams had only been brought back the year before last. In all the surrounding villages, only a handful of the "sent-down youth" had managed to pass. He’d never heard of a true local getting accepted!
Li Xiu glanced at the crowd packing the lane and said with a grin, "Brother-in-law, my wife attended a literacy program back in the day. Besides, she’s incredibly smart. She just studied on her own at home. I figured, why not let her give it a shot? And just like that, she got into the best university."
The members of the Li family’s first and third households, who had hurried over, heard his bragging and the corners of their mouths twitched. ’Does he have to show off his wife that much?’ they thought. ’And anyway, she’s the one who got in, not him!’
It was only when she saw Grandma Li, his eldest uncle’s family, and his third uncle’s family arrive in a hurry that Zhou Lian belatedly realized they had all been standing out in the sun. She shot a helpless glance at her gloating husband, then smiled and said, "Grandma, everyone, you’re here! Please, come inside and have a seat. You too, Brother-in-law!"
Before long, Li Xiu’s house and courtyard were filled to the brim with people. Seeing the crowd, Li Xiu dispatched Li Bao, Li Guo, and Ge Yulian to buy watermelons. He told them to buy plenty. He was in high spirits today and decided he would treat all the villagers, young and old, to watermelon.
The three of them exchanged a helpless glance. ’Big Brother has lost his mind,’ they thought. ’How many watermelons is that going to be?’ But they didn’t dare question his orders. As long as he was happy, that was all that mattered.
Grandma Li took Nuonuo from Li Xiu’s arms. Cuddling the baby, she asked, "So what’s this I hear? My granddaughter-in-law got into university?"
"Grandma, my wife got into Beijing University! Pretty amazing, right? Isn’t she smart?" Li Xiu replied to Grandma Li’s question, seizing another chance to boast about his wife. ’A university degree means so much these days,’ he thought. ’This isn’t like later generations when degrees are everywhere. And she got into one of the most prestigious schools in the country.’
Zhou Lian wanted to cover her face. ’Does he really have to be so over-the-top?’ she thought. ’It’s a wonderful thing, of course, but there’s no need to show off this much!’
"Explain everything. I heard she got in, but how come we didn’t hear a single word about it before? You two never mentioned a thing? This is wonderful news. Why keep it a secret for so long?"
"Well, Grandma, you know how much my wife loves to read, so I figured I’d encourage her to give it a shot. She’s shy, you know? She would never say a word about it until it was a sure thing. So we were just waiting for the official letter. Now that she’s in, of course we were going to tell you!" Li Xiu said, trying to suppress his excitement and sound calm. ’Could we have really said anything earlier?’ he thought. ’If we had, the news would’ve spread through every village around here, and my wife would’ve been drowned in gossip.’