When Gu Baozhu took hold of that thin admission letter, her eyes instantly reddened.
Though the letter seemed light and almost weightless, in Gu Baozhu’s eyes, it carried the weight of a mountain.
Because this letter represented her hope for the future.
“Mom, I got accepted. I’m a college student now.”
“Once I graduate and make something of myself, I’ll take you to live a good life.” This had always been Gu Baozhu’s dream.
In this family, aside from her children, her mother was the most important person to her.
Wu Meili was momentarily stunned, deeply moved. She knew this daughter of hers had always been one to remember kindness.
Now, equally happy for her daughter and with her own eyes reddening, she reached out and stroked Gu Baozhu’s hair, saying, “Alright, Mom will remember that.”
Silly child, Mom doesn’t really care about living a good life—what Mom wants most is for you to be well.
Ah, children—they’re always their parents’ debt!
“Comrade Li, are you sure there are no other admission letters?”
“No, there are only these three today. Don’t worry, there will definitely be more later. As soon as any admission letters for Huaihua Village arrive, I’ll deliver them right away.”
Though Comrade Li’s answer disappointed others still waiting for their own admission letters, there was nothing else they could do.
Besides, Comrade Li was right—today’s three letters were a good start, and there would surely be more later.
All they could do was wait patiently.
Of course, compared to those who had to keep waiting, the three who had received their admission letters—and their families—were naturally overjoyed.
As it turned out, those three letters truly were a promising beginning.
The next day, Comrade Li delivered a few more admission letters.
However, Gu Yunzhou’s was not among them.
“Third Brother, don’t worry. Your grades were much better than Manman’s, and you started reviewing early. You’ll definitely get accepted,” Gu Yunting reassured his younger brother.
Gu Yunzhou wasn’t actually all that worried. “I’m not anxious. I have confidence in myself.”
This was the truth—Gu Yunzhou was confident in his abilities. He felt he had performed well on the exam.
On the third day, Comrade Li returned, but this time, he was accompanied by leaders from Qingshan County.
The leading figure, Comrade Xie, was someone the Gu family knew well.
The leaders’ arrival drew out the entire village of Huaihua, their eyes filled with curiosity as they wondered about the reason for the visit.
The leaders headed straight for the Gu family.
At the doorstep, they met the Gu family members.
“Oh my, isn’t this Comrade Xie? What brings you here?” Yao Chunhua asked.
Comrade Xie laughed heartily. “Why else? To congratulate your family!”
“Your third son, Gu Yunzhou, has been admitted to Capital University as the provincial top scorer!”
With that, he clapped his hands, and a banner was unfurled.
Written in bold black characters on a red background were the words: Congratulations to our county’s examinee, Gu Yunzhou, for being admitted to Capital University as the provincial top scorer!
“Really?” Yao Chunhua exclaimed in shock.
“Heavens, the Gu family’s third son is the provincial top scorer!”
“Capital University! He got into Capital University!”
“I always knew the Gu family’s third son was extraordinary.”
“The Gu family’s ancestral tombs must be emitting green smoke—not only is their daughter-in-law Yang Manman a college student, but now their third son is going to Capital University!”
The villagers’ eyes were filled with envy and awe.
As for the educated youths, some were envious, some astonished, and others resentful.
Shocked that the third son of the Gu family, a mere country bumpkin, had actually been admitted to Capital University.
That was Capital University (Beijing University)—a place even they, self-proclaimed cultured city folk, found extremely difficult to get into.
No, to put it more accurately, very few people across the entire country could gain admission.
Yet this Gu family’s third son had done it!
And not just that—he was the provincial top scorer.
How could they not feel jealousy and envy?
Though Gu Yunzhou had been confident in his admission, now that he was actually holding the acceptance letter from the leaders, his emotions surged.
At this moment, the person he most wanted to share his joy with was his little sister.
She was the one who truly understood his love for learning and had always supported him.
Soon, the leaders had the banner hung at the entrance of Huaihua Village. Of course, this wasn’t the only one made.
Identical banners were also displayed at the entrance of Qingshan County’s town center, the government compound, and the gates of Gu Yunzhou’s school.
There was even a chance that his former elementary school would soon hang one as well.
But Comrade Xie hadn’t come just to hang banners—he was also there to deliver a cash reward.
When the 500-yuan prize was publicly handed to Gu Yunzhou by the leaders, the crowd’s envy deepened.
That was 500 yuan!
For many rural families, saving up even a hundred yuan in a year was a struggle.
Yet Gu Yunzhou, by getting into Capital University as the provincial top scorer, had earned 500 yuan in one go.
Envy—such overwhelming envy!
Today, Comrade Li also delivered admission letters for a few others, but none were as astonishing as Gu Yunzhou’s.
From this day forward, Gu Yunzhou’s story wouldn’t just be the talk of Huaihua Village—it would spread throughout all of Qingshan County.
As for Yao Chunhua and Old Man Gu, they became the objects of even greater admiration.
Wherever they went, people praised them for raising such outstanding children.
Truly, every one of their children—whether daughters or sons—had achieved remarkable success.
Yao Chunhua and Old Man Gu beamed with pride, their joy making them look years younger.
When asked about their secret to raising such accomplished children, they waved it off.
“What secret could there be?”
“In those days, just keeping them alive was hard enough.”
“But one thing’s for sure—daughters and sons should be treated equally.”
“You can’t treat sons like treasures and daughters like weeds.”
The villagers thought about it and realized it was true.
The Gu family had always treated their only daughter, Gu Jianing, exceptionally well.
And after Gu Jianing succeeded, she in turn lifted up the rest of the Gu family.
Little did Yao Chunhua and Old Man Gu know that their words would reshape the fate of countless girls.
Many daughters who would have been neglected or mistreated now had a glimmer of hope and opportunity in their lives.
Naturally, Gu Yunzhou and Yang Manman’s admissions were immediately shared with Gu Jianing.
Over on Huansha Island, Gu Jianing was overjoyed at the news.
“That’s wonderful! I always knew Third Brother and Sister-in-law could do it.”
After hanging up the phone, Gu Jianing sighed with emotion.
Memories of her past life surfaced, and her eyes reddened.
In her previous life, her sister-in-law Yang Manman had been too obsessed with conceiving a child to even think about the college entrance exam. She and Eldest Brother had constantly argued because of her, the troublesome little sister.
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