Chapter 380 - 393: Where Are the People?
A university president from Beijing overheard Zhou Xiaoshan. He looked over and asked, "Are you Zhou Xiaoshan?"
"I am."
Zhou Xiaoshan was holding Hei Dan’er, who was currently poking at Zhou Xiaoshan’s eyes with his little hands.
His perceptive sister-in-law, Gao Guifen, tried to take the child, but not only was she stopped by a look from Zhou Xiaoshan, she was also rejected by her own son, Hei Dan’er.
Hei Dan’er squirmed in Zhou Xiaoshan’s arms, clinging tightly to his neck.
Before An Ning had left, she had made some arrangements, and the two had quickly established a bond of comradeship.
Gao Guifen returned empty-handed, wringing her hands anxiously off to the side.
"Hello, Student Zhou Xiaoshan. I’m the president of a university in Beijing. I’m here to confirm your college application choices."
"I’m following Teacher An Ning. Wherever she goes, I go."
Cradling the restless Hei Dan’er, Zhou Xiaoshan turned to head into the courtyard, leaving the president to question his life choices.
’Me, a university president... Am I really that unimportant?’
"Right, right! Come inside, come inside."
Gao Guifen unlocked the main gate, and An Ning’s aunt helped bustle about, inviting the visitors inside. A crowd of villagers followed behind them, and the village chief finally arrived as well.
Once the group was seated in the courtyard, the president was finally able to speak with the father of the main person of interest—An Sancheng.
"I was wondering, where is An Ning?"
"An Ning? She went out. Don’t know when she’ll be back. But before my daughter left, she said she’s sticking with her application choices. No changes."
The president nodded repeatedly. Sticking with her choices was good enough. He turned to the village chief and asked, "Do you know where Jiang Xia is?"
"That kid Jiang Xia went out too. He said he’ll head over on his own when school starts. His choices are not changing."
Master Tang, who was standing nearby, chimed in. The president turned again, let out an "Oh," and continued asking, "What about Yin Xuemei?"
The president already knew about Zhou Xiaoshan and An Guoping. One was calmly looking after a child, while the other had been jumping around excitedly for a good while. Both had left a very deep impression on him.
"Yin Xuemei said to just leave her acceptance letter at our house. An Ning will bring it to her later."
This time, it was the sister-in-law, Gao Guifen, who spoke.
After she finished, she remembered something and added, "Wherever An Ning goes, Yin Xuemei goes. She said so herself."
The president turned his body again to face Gao Guifen. He spoke once more, "I’m guessing Yang Jianguo isn’t here either?"
"Right, right, right, you’re correct, he’s not here. Before Yang Jianguo left, he said to call him after the acceptance letter is mailed to the village, and he’ll come over from his home."
This time, the village chief answered.
The president had asked about the whole group. Out of six students, four were absent.
And all six had the same answer: wherever An Ning was, that’s where they would be.
In the end, the president looked back at An Sancheng and asked sheepishly, "Any idea where Student An Ning went? Would it be possible to contact her?"
"I don’t know either. She might still be in Jin City, or she might not be. I have her number. You can ask her yourself."
The president could only nod, taking down An Ning’s contact information from An Sancheng.
The conversation more or less wrapped up, and the president and his two companions were invited to stay for a meal, getting a close-up experience of the warmth of Northeasterners.
If they hadn’t actually stopped short of physical force, the president would have thought he was about to get beaten up on several occasions.
However, after finishing a meal that was both simple and not-so-simple, the president’s group, feeling a bit embarrassed but unwilling to refuse, left with a large bag full of fresh vegetables—potatoes, eggplants, green beans, and the like.
As the black sedan drove away from the village, the people inside felt their heads spinning.
"President, I feel like I came here for nothing."
The eloquent teacher hadn’t managed to get a single word in.
"How can you say it was for nothing? We got all these vegetables."
After making a small joke, the president said, "Everything hinges on An Ning now. We have her number, so we’ll get to her sooner or later."
The others in the car agreed. The director of admissions asked, "President, why didn’t you contact An Ning while we were still in the village? They have a phone."
The president’s expression froze for a moment before he smoothly transitioned and said, "We can’t be doing things that are rushed and short-sighted, can we? Remaining composed is what demonstrates our university’s prestige."
The car fell silent. Aside from the sound of the wind whipping in through the open windows and the rumble of the engine, no one said a word.
’Rushed and short-sighted? Who was it that drove all night to get here?’
’Our university’s prestige? Who was it that drew up the student-snatching plan?’
The president, having said his piece, also realized his words and actions were completely at odds. But that wasn’t important. What was important was getting these students to attend their university.
"Drive faster. Find a place where we can make a call."
The president’s car picked up some speed. Just as they reached Sanhe Town, another sedan drove past them.
The windows of both cars were down, and upon seeing each other’s familiar faces, both drivers accelerated and sped past.
"President? We’re too late."
"It’s fine. As long as the students haven’t physically shown up at the school, nothing is set in stone."
In the other car, the president of Beijing University was frantically urging his driver to hurry and find a place to make a phone call.
He dialed the phone number with all the speed he could muster.
"BEEP... BEEP..."
The long beeps indicated the line was busy.
He hung up, waited for less than ten seconds, and dialed again.
BEEP... BEEP...
Still busy.
The president hung up again, a knot of anxiety tightening in his stomach. ’Could it be that another school got the number too?’
He dialed again. Busy. He tried again. Still busy.
The president grew more and more agitated, his eyes practically burning holes in the telephone.
Meanwhile, in Jin City, Lin Cuihua was on the phone with An Sancheng.
The two of them talked about everything from An Ning’s childhood to her growing up, and from her college entrance exams to her university acceptance banquet.
Their ideas were perfectly aligned: they had to throw a huge, extravagant celebration, even setting up a table for the family dog and rooster.
In Lin Cuihua’s words, the dog and the rooster had contributed a great deal.
An Ning didn’t stop Lin Cuihua. She even told her the phone calls from there were free, which was why Lin Cuihua was talking endlessly.
When Lin Cuihua finally hung up, she grabbed An Ning and said, "I never would’ve thought! The university president said they’ll even give you money to go study there."
"Several thousand!"
Just as Lin Cuihua was marveling at how useful and wonderful it was to get an education, the phone started ringing. RING RING RING.
She casually picked it up, said, "Hello?" and handed the phone to An Ning. "It’s for you."
An Ning took the phone.
"Hello, this is An Ning."
"I’ve finally found you."
CLICK!
An Ning hung up. She shrugged at Lin Cuihua and said, "A swindler."
The word "swindler" immediately sparked a sense of shared indignation in Lin Cuihua. She yelled at the phone, "Damn swindler!"
RING RING RING—
The phone rang again. Lin Cuihua furiously picked it up.
"You damn swindler! Call again and I’m reporting you to the police! I’ll have all of you thrown in jail!"
"Day in and day out! You have hands and feet, you could survive just by begging for a bite to eat, but you have to go and do this rotten-ass business!"
On the other end of the line, the president was getting an earful from Lin Cuihua, but he stubbornly refused to hang up. His voice tinged with desperation, he said, "I’m not a swindler! I’m the president of Beijing University!"
"Pah! President, my ass—I’m the—
Lin Cuihua froze, dumbfounded.