76: Chapter 76: Going Home 76: Chapter 76: Going Home After about ten minutes, Chen Zhonghua, who had been chatting away, finally saw Chen Hai on the outskirts of the crowd, with a couple of cigarettes tucked away and carrying a box of fast food in his hand.
“Disperse, disperse, my son is back, we’re knocking off early today, heading home first!”
“Anyone who wants to watch TV, you can come to my house tonight, I’ve got sunflower seeds, peanuts and the like all ready for everyone!”
Full of joy, Chen Zhonghua, not quite done celebrating, waved his hands at the neighbors gathered around.
Having his children achieve something was already the greatest joy for a father like him.
“Would never have guessed it, our Hai, who usually doesn’t talk much, turned out to be so impressive!”
“Our kid went off to learn welding, has been at it for a year or two, and still has to ask for living expenses every month, can’t compare to your Hai at all!”
“Zhonghua, congratulations to you, you’ve raised a good son!”
Handing the fast-food box to his father, Chen Hai pulled out a pack of cigarettes and distributed them in a circle to the people around.
The villagers, upon receiving the cigarettes, naturally didn’t miss the chance to compliment Chen Hai.
In the past, because of Chen Hai’s lagging academic performance, Chen Zhonghua always felt somewhat embarrassed.
But now, the once stooped man was standing tall and proud, feeling quite uplifted and elated.
As the onlookers began to disperse, Chen Zhonghua squatted beside the cart and began to eat directly from the box of fast food.
His work was physical labor, so naturally, he got hungry quickly.
He had only had a bowl of runny rice porridge at home in the morning, and by now, he was truly famished.
As for appearances, in their line of work, who would even bother with such concerns?
“Dad, no need to roll your own smokes anymore, take these two packs for now, I’ll buy more when you run out!”
Chen Hai casually placed the two packs of Big Red Flower cigarettes beside Chen Zhonghua.
“You kid, you can’t just squander money even if you have some!”
“The cigarettes I roll are strong; the ones you buy are as light as plain water, not satisfying at all!”
Chen Zhonghua grumbled.
A box of fast food was polished off in no time by him.
He unwrapped the cigarettes Chen Hai had bought him, took out a pack, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a gratifying drag.
Watching his contented expression, if no outsiders were present, he certainly would have boasted smugly, “See, Big Red Flower, top-quality stuff, my son’s gift to me…”
Around two or three in the afternoon, the father and son, pulling the cart, finally arrived home.
Mother Jiang Meixian naturally needed a good explanation from Chen Hai.
Upon learning that Chen Hai had spent several hundred to buy her a gold necklace, Jiang Meixian inevitably lectured him a bit.
But the scolding aside, the joy in her heart was unmistakable.
After receiving the gold necklace, she only stayed at home for less than half an hour before she put it on and went out for a visit!
Of course, whether she was just visiting or wanted to show off, only Jiang Meixian herself would know.
As for father Chen Zhonghua, he stayed at home and fiddled with the newly purchased TV.
In the mountains, the signal was poor.
Father and son tinkered with it for quite a while and were only able to find two channels.
“One Central Station, one Xiangnan TV, the TV’s built-in antenna, twisting and turning, searching for the two channels, but they still weren’t very clear, full of snow spots.”
“For this situation, an outdoor antenna had to be installed to barely solve the problem.”
“Chen Hai watched TV just for the novelty of it.”
“But Chen Zhonghua was different, he could watch the advertisements broadcast on TV with great interest.”
“In the following days, the family was full of joy and harmony.”
“Under the repeated requests of his parents, Chen Hai took out two thousand from the money he had and handed it over to them for safekeeping.”
“The remaining money, about four thousand, was not known by Chen Zhonghua and his spouse; naturally, Chen Hai kept it for himself.”
“It was not that he didn’t trust his parents; he simply felt that having money in hand made it more convenient for him to do anything he wanted.”
“After all, Chen Zhonghua or Jiang Meixian, they both would immediately suggest he save the money for taking a wife.”
“Once the money was in their hands, although it was still there, if Chen Hai really needed to use it, he would inevitably have to explain for a long time and come up with a bunch of excuses.”
“He didn’t dare to tell his parents about the pager, for Chen Hai was worried that they would scold him for wasting money.”
“To be honest, after buying the pager, it hadn’t served any purpose at all.”
“The only people who knew his pager number were two: one Sun Jinzhong, the other Li Dajiang.”
“On Sun Jinzhong’s part, he obviously hadn’t developed the habit of paging him.”
“As for Boss Li Dajiang, he had probably been so busy lately that if there was nothing important, he wouldn’t page him randomly.”
“The various bottles and jars he had brought back, Chen Hai placed them cautiously under his bed.”
“To sell any of those items, he still had to wait for news from Li Dajiang.”
“The nearly one thousand he spent on the pager was temporarily useless, but it would certainly be much more convenient to contact Boss Li.”
“In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and the time came to June 25th.”
“”Hai, Hai, I just ran into Chen Shengli.
He said that your high school exam results are out!””
“”His daughter, Chen Fang, is in a different class but the same grade as you.
That girl, Chen Fang, scored just under four hundred.
She didn’t get into university and is already preparing to go down south in a few days!””
Don’t you want to go to school and check your high school exam scores?””
“Carrying a hoe, going to tend the small patch of vegetable garden by the paddy fields, Jiang Meixian had been out for less than half an hour and had already hurried back home.”
“Although she didn’t have high hopes for her son Chen Hai’s academic performance, she still really wanted to know what kind of score Chen Hai, who had studied for over ten years, would ultimately achieve!”
“A few days ago, when she found out that her son had made several thousand, she was indeed excited for quite a while.”
“But upon further thought, the money her son had made from this deal was just a one-off with no promising future!”
“What if this rascal had a burst of brilliance during the high school exams and actually got a good score and succeeded in getting into university?”
“”Mom, are the results really out?
Alright then, I’ll go to school later to see how many points I scored in the exams this time!””
“Hearing Jiang Meixian say this, Chen Hai quickly nodded and agreed.”
“Ever since estimating his score after answering the questions, he had been full of anticipation, waiting for the high school exam scores.”
“Now he really wanted to sprout wings and fly straight to the school.”
“”My high school exam score will definitely dazzle a lot of people’s titanium alloy dog eyes!””
“”After checking the score and returning from school, both of my parents will definitely feel honored and proud to have such an outstanding son like me!””
“Muttering to himself, after greeting his mother, Chen Hai stepped out of the house and hurried towards the town.”