Chapter 343 - 345: The Night Before the College Entrance Exam
Jiang Xia was driving with An Ning sitting beside him.
In the second row of the truck sat Yin Xuemei, Yang Jianguo, and An Guoping.
As for An Guoqing, who was originally driving, he had sensibly moved to the truck bed, sitting with Lin Cuihua and An Sancheng, who had come along for the college entrance exam.
The July weather was already starting to get hot.
The truck bed had a canvas cover, so it wasn’t exposed to the sun. The three of them weren’t too uncomfortable; in fact, the space was quite large, making it more comfortable than the seats up front.
Back at the An family home, only the eldest sister-in-law was left to watch the house with Hei Dan’er. The eldest aunt would go over to stay with her at night. Wei Qi would also be back in the evening, and with the hidden powerhouse Xiao Lang at home, An Ning was quite reassured.
Their neighbor, Grandpa Jiang, hadn’t come along. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but he was getting on in years, and making such a trip back and forth would be an ordeal. Besides, with Jiang Xia’s capabilities, there was really nothing to worry about.
As for food, drink, and lodging, Mr. Jiang Sr. was even more at ease knowing the An family was there.
If he had gone, it would have turned into Jiang Xia taking care of him instead.
The truck drove on. Along the way, they could see lush green fields, rice paddies just beginning to turn yellow, and rolling waves of wheat.
The journey from Sanhe Town to the county seat took about three hours. The truck drove smoothly into town, and Jiang Xia, knowing the area well, pulled over and parked in a spot not far from the examination site.
"We’re here."
"Finally! My butt, my legs..."
An Ning opened the car door, hopped out, and stretched a few times, twisting and turning to work out the kinks.
The others got out one after another. After Lin Cuihua jumped down, she urged An Ning to open the gate.
An Ning unlocked the iron gate of a house by the road, letting Lin Cuihua go in first to get busy.
This was the courtyard house An Guoming had bought earlier. When the examination sites were announced, he realized it was the closest one to the testing location. He had cleaned it up in advance for everyone to stay in during the exams, saving them a lot of commuting trouble.
Having stretched her legs, An Ning was about to grab some things to help tidy up.
"Put that down! You go rest. This little bit of work doesn’t need you."
Lin Cuihua swiftly stopped An Ning, then yelled at An Guoqing, who was rubbing his sore behind, "Guoqing! Hurry up! Are you blind? Don’t you know why you’re here?"
An Guoqing quickly went to get the luggage. As he passed An Ning, he whispered, "Little sis, the exam is just three days, right?"
"That’s right, big brother. We’ll be done in two and a half days."
"Good, that’s good."
An Guoqing entered the courtyard clutching the luggage with a look of relief, which made An Ning want to laugh. She understood exactly what he was getting at.
Since it was exam time, An Guoming wasn’t home. An Guoping and An Ning were taking the college entrance exam. And exam candidates, no matter the era, were like little ancestors who had to be waited on hand and foot.
Lin Cuihua was already sharp-tongued and loved to nag, so the only people left in the family for her to nag were An Guoqing and the less-than-one-year-old Hei Dan’er.
Nowadays, whenever Hei Dan’er saw Lin Cuihua, he would turn his back to her, his little posture radiating grievance.
The four people taking the exam were put under strict supervision by Lin Cuihua, who forbade them from doing anything.
An Ning obediently sat to one side, watching Jiang Xia walk over to Lin Cuihua.
She thought to herself, ’If I’m not allowed to help, he definitely won’t be either.’
"Alright—you go ahead. Take your time, there’s no rush."
After speaking to Jiang Xia with a beaming smile, Lin Cuihua watched him turn around. He gave An Ning a slight, smug lift of his chin—a look that was classic Jiang Xia.
An Ning huffed indignantly, but as for getting up to work, she didn’t want to try, nor did she dare to.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xia found the kitchen, took out the vegetables they had brought, and began washing them to prepare a meal.
Yang Jianguo felt too awkward to just watch, so he quietly started tending the fire.
Yin Xuemei was about to get up and help too, but An Ning stopped her, planning to go over some practice questions with her instead.
Yin Xuemei’s math was average—of course, that was just from An Ning’s perspective.
In any case, everyone was busy in their own way. By the time Lin Cuihua finished tidying up, Jiang Xia had also finished cooking.
A table was set up in the courtyard, and everyone gathered around to eat.
The meal consisted of easily digestible food, no heavy fish or meat. In Lin Cuihua’s words, eating greasy food makes your brain sluggish.
After the meal, Lin Cuihua took charge of clearing the table and washing the dishes, while she sent everyone else off to rest.
Lin Cuihua stood in the courtyard, directing An Sancheng and An Guoqing.
"Guoqing, you boil some water so they can all wash their faces and feet and get a comfortable night’s sleep."
"Old man, you use that small kettle to boil some water for them to drink after it cools. They can’t drink unboiled water these next few days. Master Tang said drinking it can make you get... what was it... anyway, just don’t drink it."
The two men were run ragged by Lin Cuihua’s orders, but neither complained in the slightest, serving the others with all their heart.
In the eyes of the villagers, the college entrance exam was just that important.
Even though the An family was doing well for themselves now, and An Ning herself was exceptionally capable, her family and the villagers didn’t have a tangible sense of this success.
Only the college entrance exam was a path to success they truly understood.
The courtyard was large, with many rooms.
Each person got their own room, and Lin Cuihua had smoked every room with mugwort to drive away the mosquitoes.
Not only did she smoke the rooms with mugwort, she also hung up mosquito nets to make sure the "children" could sleep well.
In the summer, the days were truly hot, but at night, if you found a cool, breezy spot, it didn’t feel so sweltering.
That evening, Lin Cuihua took care of the others, reminding them to sleep well and that she would wake them in the morning.
Lin Cuihua went to An Ning’s room last. She said the same things, but before leaving, she did a final sweep for mosquitoes, catching them with her bare hands.
They were small, gray mosquitoes, not very venomous. A bite was barely noticeable, and even if a bump formed, it would usually be gone by the next day.
An Ning sat inside the mosquito net, watching Lin Cuihua move back and forth through the white mesh. She didn’t say anything, just let her do it.
In An Ning’s eyes, Lin Cuihua was even more nervous than she, the one actually taking the exam, was.
"There, no more mosquitoes. Sleep well. I’ll wake you all tomorrow, so don’t worry about oversleeping."
"I know, Mom."
Lin Cuihua nodded, tiptoed out, and gently closed the door behind her for An Ning.
Following Lin Cuihua’s instructions, An Ning lay down very early. She wasn’t sleepy at first, so she just closed her eyes to rest.
But it wasn’t long before she fell asleep.
After leaving, Lin Cuihua returned to her room. She took out the alarm clocks An Guoming had bought from the south, set each one, and placed them by the bed.
"These three can’t all be broken, can they?"
Lin Cuihua looked at the three alarm clocks on the bedside table and said uneasily, "If I’d known, I would have just brought our big rooster from home."
"They can’t be. Don’t they all have new batteries?"
An Sancheng didn’t contradict Lin Cuihua; instead, he shared her worry.
Looking at the alarm clocks, he said, "How about this: you go to sleep now, and I’ll stay up a little later. I’ll wake you up, and then I’ll go to sleep."
"That’s a good idea!"