Two generations of military wives compete for time

Chapter 336: Junhua and Gao Weizhe, both passed the imperial examination.

Gao Weizhe looked at his father with admiration: "Dad, I will study martial arts well. Learning martial arts can not only protect myself and strengthen my body, but also defeat bad guys and uphold justice."

Gao Weizhe packed up the luggage scattered on the ground, took out two thousand yuan from the interlayer of his backpack, handed it to Gao Pan and said, "Dad, this is what Uncle Ming asked me to give you. He said that Grandpa needs money for his funeral."

Gao Pan took the money and said tearfully, "Your Uncle Ming is a very kind person. He always helps us when we are in the most difficult times. Gao Weizhe, we must never forget the great kindness that your Uncle Ming and Aunt Qian have shown us."

Gao Weizhe wiped away the tears from his father's eyes and said, "Dad, I know that Uncle Ming and Aunt Qian are my adopted parents. I will remember them forever and repay them with gratitude."

Gao Pan and Gao Weizhe talked as they walked, stopped from time to time, and arrived at the home of Grandpa Gao Weizhe in Gaojia Village at seven o'clock in the evening. A mourning hall was set up in the yard, and tributes were placed on the altar. The incense in the incense burner rose silently, and in front of the altar a pile of burning paper ashes danced in the wind, slowly drifting into the sky and emitting fragrance far away.

When Gao Pan's sister-in-law saw Gao Pan and his son come in, she hurried forward and took the packages from their hands. A middle-aged woman holding mourning clothes, mourning belts, and mourning hats came over and helped Gao Pan and Gao Weizhe put on their mourning clothes, mourning hats, and mourning belts.

After getting dressed, Gao Pan pulled Gao Weizhe's sleeve and said, "Come here, kneel down, and kowtow to grandpa. Later, go into the house to see grandpa. Before grandpa died, he kept talking about you."

Gao Weizhe imagined his father's appearance, kowtowed to his grandfather, and followed his father into the house, only to see his grandfather wearing funeral clothes, lying quietly on the wooden board in front of the square table in the main room.

Looking at his grandfather's remains, Gao Weizhe could not help but recall the brief time he spent with his grandparents when he was ten years old. Because of the unfamiliarity and fear, as well as the smelly and dirty environment of his grandparents' house, he also had the unforgettable experience of stumbling and climbing over mountains and rivers to run to the railway station in the northern provincial capital.

Gao Pan tugged at Gao Weizhe's sleeve, and Gao Weizhe followed his father to the kitchen without making a sound. His aunt handed Gao Weizhe a bowl of vegetable and tofu soup, and took out a big steamed bun and a pair of wooden chopsticks and said, "You must be hungry, have a meal, and after dinner, you and your father will keep vigil for Grandpa.

Gao Weizhe took the food silently, and imitated his father, squatting in the corner of the kitchen and starting to eat. He ate a large white flour bun and a bowl of hot vegetable.

Gao Pan filled his son Gao Weizhe's bowl with hot water and told him, "The conditions here are poor, not as good as the Chen Mansion. Even though the food is simple, you must eat enough. It's easy to get sick if you don't adapt to the local climate. Remember to drink more water. Tell me if you have anything to say, don't act alone."

Gao Weizhe nodded, stirred the soup in the bowl with chopsticks, and drank it quickly.

After dinner, night fell. Gao Pan and Gao Weizhe sat on straw mats, keeping vigil for grandfather. Gao Pan lit paper money and Gao Weizhe watched the flickering flames. In the firelight, he thought of his mother.

When my mother passed away, she was far away in Kunming and had no relatives around her. It was Uncle Ming Yuanhui, Brother Ming Zhigang, and Sister Li Hongmei who held her funeral. I was young at that time and don’t have many memories of her funeral.

Now that I have grown up and experienced it myself, I understand that the traditional funeral customs in the village have so many details and procedures.

The days passed by with wake, coffining, funeral procession, burial, funeral banquet and memorial service.

Ming Yuanhui called and said, "The college entrance examination results have been announced. Junhua and Gao Weizhe performed well in the college entrance examination. They both achieved better scores than all the previous mock exams."

Gao Pan was extremely happy, this was the best news he had received since he was released from prison. After Gao Weizhe knew his college entrance examination results, he was also very surprised. This was the test result he was most satisfied with since he was a child.

Gao Weizhe said to Gao Pan, "Dad, when are we going back to the Chen Mansion? After the college entrance examination results come out, we need to go back to school to fill in the college entrance examination application."

Gao Pan thought for a moment and said, "It will take a few days to complete Grandpa's funeral. You go back first. After I finish taking care of Grandpa's funeral, I will go to Chen's house to find you. Do you think this arrangement is okay?"

Gao Weizhe said, "Dad, you stay at home and take care of Grandpa's funeral. I will go back alone. Please take care of yourself."

Gao Pan said, "Okay, go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow morning I will send you to Aunt Qian's office at the Dream Come True Group and let her take you back to the Chen Mansion."

Gao Weizhe said, "Dad, you don't have to send me off. I will go find Aunt Qian by myself. I know the way back and I won't get lost."

Gao Pan said, "Dad must send you off. There are many forks in the road on the mountain and it is easy to get lost. If those hooligans come to trouble you again, I will be worried. In addition, I have prepared some wild specialties from our mountain area for you to take back to the Chen Mansion."

....

Since learning that Junhua and Gao Weizhe had achieved excellent results in the college entrance examination, everyone in the Chen family was overjoyed. Grandpa Lu Kaipu and grandmother Chen Yalu were the happiest. Junhua was the second grandchild of their third generation to pass the college entrance examination after Qian Baogui.

Ming Yuanhui and Qian Yizheng were even more delighted and actively participated in their daughter's application. However, Junhua only filled in one application, which was the Naval Medical University.

Junhua’s homeroom teacher suggested: “Junhua’s college entrance examination score is more than enough to apply to the Naval Medical University, so you can apply to a better university.” In the end, Junhua got the admission notice from the Naval Medical University as she wished.

Gao Weizhe also made up his mind early on when filling out his college entrance examination application, and he would not apply to any university other than China University of Geosciences. Before the college entrance examination, he was worried that his score would not be high enough, but luckily, he got good grades and it was a foregone conclusion that he would be admitted to China University of Geosciences. In the end, he luckily received the admission letter from China University of Geosciences.

After Wang Min and Yang Ruolan received the news, they took immediate action. Wang Min took Junhua and Gao Weizhe to visit major shopping malls in the northern provincial capital on weekends and equipped the two children with all the equipment for college, from luggage, clothes, shoes and hats, books to toiletries. It can be said that she took care of everything.

Not to be outdone, Yang Ruolan wanted to buy a state-of-the-art home computer for each of her two children. When Qian Yizhen learned about this, he quickly called to stop her and said:

"Yang Ruolan, I admit that you have money, but you can't spend it recklessly. A computer costs 10,000 yuan or even 20,000 or 30,000 yuan. This is too expensive and a waste of money. You must not buy it.

If you really want to spend money to show your sincerity, I suggest you put the money for buying the computer into a big red envelope and give it to Gao Weizhe, so that he can use it to pay for his university tuition. This would be more practical.

Just give Junhua a little thanks, and don’t let your child develop the habit of spending money lavishly.” Qian Yizhen said seriously.