A century of poverty

Chapter 125 The God of Literature

Winter goes and spring comes.

Once, Captain Wan of the Criminal Investigation Team and two officers passed by my shop and came in to inquire about Zhiqiang's recovery.

He said the suspect who harmed you has been caught; his name is Lou Li. He's from Tiecheng, a released convict who just got out of prison. He was sentenced to ten years for a serious crime with no reduction in sentence, and was released after serving his full term.

After he was released, his wife remarried, and his son, who was just over one year old at the time, was sold by his father and his whereabouts are unknown.

He went to find his ex-wife again, and after finding her, he went to her house to harass her. His current husband discovered this and got his brothers to beat him up and drive him away. He wandered to Jinhai penniless. He arrived at your house but found the door closed. He knocked, but no one answered. He knocked on the courtyard gate, but no one answered either, so he climbed over the wall. He pried open the shop door and only managed to get some loose change. Just as he was about to take something valuable, you came in and caught him.

Zhiqiang asked, "Where did you catch it?"

The officer next to him replied, "In Jinnan, he was already so thin he was unrecognizable when he was caught."

Captain Wan: "It's not easy for suspects to be on the run either; they have to hide all the time."

After saying that, he stood up and said, "Okay, you get back to work! We're leaving!"

As soon as I brought them back inside, I exclaimed happily, "This is wonderful! We should really set off firecrackers to celebrate!"

Zhiqiang: "We'll release a lot more during the Lunar New Year."

It's that time of year again—the dead of winter, a season when water freezes instantly.

Zhang Guozhi came to our supermarket to warm herself by the fire. After she warmed up, she straightened her plump body and tried to strike a pose with her chubby "orchid fingers".

In a pretentious tone: "Tell me, after the money was divided, why did you leave the account books at my house?"

They divided the money and threw the ledger at my house!

I asked, "How much did you get?"

Zhang Guozhi replied, "More than nine thousand."

I asked again, "What about the others?"

Zhang Guozhi: "There were over ten thousand yuan, but after dividing it up, there were still over two thousand left that couldn't be divided. So this group went to 'Atlantic' and had a feast, ordering whatever they wanted! Afterwards, they went to a karaoke bar, and then they all took taxis home!"

That makes sense now, so I won't ask any more questions.

She was merely a follower of the core group; the masterminds would pocket the money and then indulge in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, never mentioning it again once their desires were satisfied.

Regardless of whether Zhang Guozhi's revelation was intended as a test or a deliberate attack, I will pretend I didn't hear what she said today.

The children's books ranged from fairy tales and wisdom stories to five thousand years of Chinese history and the Four Great Classical Novels. Later, they got a reading card at Xinhua Bookstore to borrow and return books at any time.

He didn't understand why I made him study.

They asked me, "No other kids read these, only I do."

I told him, "We're a rural primary school, and the children don't go to school here. You know that? The children in the city all go to school. When they go to junior high, you'll all have to go to a city middle school and study with the kids from the city. If you don't go now, you might fall behind later."

You can start with *Journey to the West* and *Water Margin*, then *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and *Dream of the Red Chamber*. Look up any unfamiliar characters in the dictionary.

He listened to me, opened "Journey to the West," and was immediately captivated by the story. Without needing any prompting, he would sit down and read whenever he had time.

Once, while reading it, I burst out laughing, laughing so hard I almost fell over.

I asked, "What are you laughing at?"

He gestured with his hands, saying, "Pigsy, holding a rake and banging around, hahahaha..." He laughed again after saying that, and then continued watching.

While selling goods, I took three days to attend a writing "training course" by author Bai Jiwen. Although it was only three days, I learned a lot. I also met a reporter from the *Jinhai Daily* and Teacher Bian from the city's Children's Palace. During breaks, we got to know each other and chatted. Mu Ge, an editor and reporter for the local publication *Jinhai Times*, commissioned me to write an article, which I submitted to him titled "If Willow Trees Could Talk."

After the three-day training ended, Mu Ge came to my house to invite me to become a reporter for the Jinhai Times.

This was after the "New Year's Order Fair." Zhiqiang had ordered a lot of goods at the fair, which had already been delivered to his home, the boxes piled up to the ceiling. He was just waiting to sell them during the New Year and Spring Festival holidays.

I was deeply moved by Editor Mu's sincere invitation. Being a journalist is my dream, and this is a rare opportunity. Once missed, it's unlikely to come again. I pondered the decision repeatedly, unable to make up my mind.

Seeing my hesitation, Editor Mu said, "You don't have to agree immediately. Think about it for a few days."

Within a week, I received another phone call from Editor-in-Chief Qi Zhixue, inviting me to the editorial office for a face-to-face meeting. Editor-in-Chief Qi first mentioned that we were one of the major local publications, and that someone had worked there for several years before going on to become a reporter for the *Jinhai Daily*. He also mentioned that someone from the Municipal Children's Palace, surnamed Bian, had also come from there.

Then, the details of the compensation were discussed.

I said, "I am very grateful to the editorial department of Jinhai Times and Editor-in-Chief Qi for the invitation, which has given me a platform for personal advancement. But I also want to say what's on my mind: I value the job and the treatment you have given me, but when I compare my future with my family, I prioritize my family. It has been very difficult for my family supermarket to get to where it is today. If I go out now, Zhiqiang will have to take care of the business, the yard, and the house all by himself. He can't do it all by himself, and he will be neglecting one thing for another."

More importantly, it's about my child. He's in middle school now, a crucial period in his life, and his father escorts him to and from school every day. My care for them in their daily lives and studies is irreplaceable; if I were to abandon him, I fear it would hinder his development. I value this child highly and am determined to help him succeed through school and change his destiny!

Editor-in-Chief Qi: "Although I would love for you to join us, I respect your choice."

We welcome your continued submissions and look forward to continuing our collaboration!

From then on, I took even better care of the children, and while selling goods, I also studied and wrote, and some of my articles were published in local magazines.

The child graduated with excellent grades in elementary school and went on to attend Guangming Middle School for junior high.

This is a famous middle school.

A few years ago, the top science student in the LN province college entrance examination came from "Jinhai City Senior High School", and this junior high school student came from "Guangming Middle School".

This made "Guangming Middle School" famous overnight, attracting a flood of students seeking admission. Students found the classical Chinese texts in junior high school quite difficult to learn.

Su Zhangyuan found it difficult at all; during the pre-class preparation, he was able to read the text fluently.

Some students were surprised: "Are you from ancient times? Your classical Chinese is so good!"

Su Zhangyuan laughed loudly, "That's right! I've traveled through time to be your classmate!"

When I got home from school, Su Long called out to me, "Mom, you lied to me."

I asked, "What did I lie to you about?"

Su Long: "You said that all the children in the city go to school, but they don't—many of them don't go to school."

I said, "Is studying good?"

Su Long grabbed my shoulders from behind and shook me, laughing as he said, "Great! Li Qiqi from our class has read a lot of books, and she's also enrolled in the 'Journalist' class this time. She said her grandfather has a huge bookcase that covers an entire wall."

I said, "Exactly! If you hadn't laid a solid foundation early on, would you have been able to learn so easily? Could you have compared to someone like Li Qiqi?"

Teacher Bian from the city's Children's Palace held a "Junior Reporter" training class at Guangming Middle School, where he taught "News Writing." Su Zhangyuan and Li Qiqi signed up to participate.

During the summer vacation, the Municipal Children's Palace organized a summer camp to participate in a program on Hunan TV and interview a famous host. Teacher Bian led the team.

When he returned, I asked him what he had gained from the trip. He said, "The gains are beyond words."

When I got to junior high, I started training him to ride his bicycle alone to the Xinhua Bookstore in town. He would park his bicycle in the bike parking area, and after a while, the old man who looked after the bikes got to know this "kid" and would come up to him and say, "Hey kid, you're here again! Go read a book! It's free to leave your bike here, don't worry!"

The bookstore wasn't far from the wholesale street. Sometimes when I went to pick up goods, I'd stop by the bookstore to see if Su Long was there. I saw him twice: once he was sitting in a corner reading comics, and the other time he was discussing something with some children.

I'm relieved. It doesn't matter whether I'm here or not.

Throughout my three years of junior high school, I was awarded the titles of "Outstanding Student Leader" and "Three Good Student" every year.

I was admitted to Jinhai City Senior High School after the high school entrance exam. My studies were very demanding, so I stopped practicing calligraphy. I bought a book of Wei stele calligraphy to copy.

This is a key municipal high school, attracting a large number of high-achieving students; only a dozen or so students from each urban high school can enroll here. Very few students from rural high schools can get in.

Su Zhangyuan was now 1.8 meters tall and was no longer the "obedient" child he used to be. He had developed his own understanding of things.

After being reassigned to a class, he maintained his position as the top student in Class B for three consecutive years.

He excels in 1000-meter running, pull-ups, and standing jumps—all compulsory physical education subjects. He's also one of the few students in the class who doesn't wear glasses.

As he entered the examination hall in order of his college entrance examination ranking, he was still smiling and craning his neck to look for his playmates.

As I walked out of the exam hall, I went up to him and asked, "How did the exam go?"

He said casually, "Just play as usual."

After the college entrance examination scores came out, I was admitted to a famous university in Beijing with a score of 685.

This is something that has not happened in Qiaotou Village for nearly ten years, and it has not happened in Daliujia Village since the resumption of the college entrance examination; it has not happened in the Su family before, nor has it happened in the Zhang family before.