Xia Wan quickly shook her head. “I want to study medicine to cure my mother’s illness.”
The factory director looked at her with firm confidence. “With how smart you are, you’ll definitely succeed!”
The technician chimed in as well. “In the future, you’ll surely be a top expert in the medical field!”
Everyone chuckled warmly.
Only Lu Hongmei and Su Lijuan wore unhappy expressions.
Lu Hongmei muttered under her breath, “Is the college entrance exam really that easy? An expert? Xia Wan only knows how to fix a machine and she wants to study medicine? Does she think people are like cold machines that can just be repaired? How naive.”
Su Lijuan cast a jealous glance at the radiant Xia Wan, then looked at Lu Hongmei. “Hongmei, don’t you also have a high school education? Why don’t you take the exam too? If you get into college and come back to the factory, you’d at least be a technician.”
Even though Su Lijuan didn’t truly trust Lu Hongmei’s abilities, she didn’t want Xia Wan to be the only one in the spotlight.
Lu Hongmei’s eyes flickered. “I could?”
“Of course! You’re a high school graduate too, aren’t you? There aren’t that many people taking the exam now—who knows, you might even get into a good university. Xia Wan only knows a bit of foreign language anyway. The exam doesn’t test speaking, and it doesn’t involve fixing machines. You’d definitely beat her!
“Could it be that Xia Wan can learn machine repair from her father and still master Chinese, math, and foreign languages?”
“The college entrance exam wasn’t just reinstated this year. If she really had that ability, she’d have passed it long ago!”
Lu Hongmei’s face lit up. “That’s true. No one can be good at everything—everyone has weaknesses. Xia Wan is good at speaking, which means her written work must be worse than mine!”
“Fine! I’ll sign up for the college entrance exam this year! Xia Wan hasn’t touched her books for a year or two, but I’ve been reviewing recently. I’ll definitely score better than her!”
Seeing Lu Hongmei’s confident expression, Su Lijuan also showed a self-assured smile.
But when her gaze met Xia Wan’s and she saw the provocative look in Xia Wan’s eyes her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Only then did she realize she’d celebrated too early.
Her own job still hadn’t been secured yet!
She hurried forward and affectionately grabbed Xia Wan’s hand. “Xia Wan, about what we agreed on before… You promised Auntie Yang you can’t lie to your mother-in-law!”
Xia Wan calmly withdrew her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ve already told the director. I’ve decided to take the college entrance exam, so I won’t be taking the office job.”
The director also cast an unhappy glance at Su Lijuan. Though there was a trace of reluctance in his eyes, he still announced loudly, “That’s right. The person taking over Comrade Xiao Xia’s position has already been decided.”
Zhang Wei’s mother, Aunt Wang, exclaimed anxiously, “Director, how can you change the position so casually? This job was earned through an exam! If you want to replace someone, shouldn’t there be another test?”
The director firmly rejected her. “No need. I’ve already made my decision.”
With the director’s word final, everyone knew there was no room for change.
Aunt Wang glared resentfully at Su Lijuan.
The other female workers beside her could only pat her shoulder and quietly comfort her.
Su Lijuan lifted her chin proudly and said cheerfully, “Thank you for your recognition, Director!”
The director didn’t even look at her. Instead, he turned to Xia Wan. “Comrade Xiao Xia, come with me. I have something else to discuss with you.”
Xia Wan followed the director back to the office.
The director took a thick envelope out of a drawer and handed it to her.
“Regarding your mother, I’d actually prepared this a long time ago. The factory’s been busy, so it got delayed. I’ll give it to you now.”
Xia Wan took it and could tell by the feel that it was money.
“Uncle Liu, this is too much. And the factory already compensated us back then. I can’t accept this.”
“This is just a small personal gesture from me. It’s separate from the factory.”
“Alright, then I won’t be polite. In the future, if the factory needs anything, Uncle Liu, just let me know.”
The director was delighted. “If you say that, then I won’t hold back either. I promise it won’t interfere with your studies, and you won’t be shortchanged on payment. The translation and repair fees will be paid once the finance department processes them.”
“Okay! Thank you, Uncle.”
The director said with a slightly smug grin, “So my acting today wasn’t bad, was it?”
He was referring to how he’d put on a show in front of Su Lijuan.
Xia Wan gave him a thumbs-up. “Even I thought you were really going to give her the job!”
“Haha, good. I’ll notify Zhang Wei later and tell them to keep it quiet for now. We’ll make sure you can focus properly on the college entrance exam.”
“Mhm! I’ll have to take a preliminary selection exam first I may need your help with that.”
“No problem. I’ll keep an eye out. Once the report comes in, I’ll approve it directly.”
“Alright, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’m heading to my uncle’s place now to check on my mother.”
“Go ahead.”
After leaving the factory, Xia Wan went straight to her uncle’s home.
Her uncle lived in a village not far from their town.
She bought some cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and candy, then walked to the village.
Back then, there were no buses. If you were lucky, you might catch a tractor heading into town from the same village and hitch a ride.
Her luck was good she happened to meet a villager who knew her uncle and rode back to the village on his tractor.
Following the original owner’s memories and the villager’s directions, she finally found her uncle’s house.
The moment she stepped inside, the lively courtyard suddenly fell silent. Seven pairs of eyes stared at her for a long moment before someone spoke.
“Wanwan?”
Xia Wan looked at the elderly woman in front of her and called out, “Grandma.”
Then she turned to the old man smoking in the courtyard. “Grandpa.”
“Uncle, Aunt, Eldest Cousin, Second Cousin, Third Cousin I came to see you all.”
The Chen family courtyard immediately came alive again.
Grandma’s eyes grew moist. “It’s been a whole year why do you look so much thinner?”
Her uncle asked sharply, “Did the Lu family bully you?”
Her aunt shoved him and shot him a glare, then smiled warmly as she pulled Xia Wan closer. “Wanwan, don’t listen to your uncle. Are you hungry? Sit for a bit first. You came at just the right time we stewed a chicken today. You must have a few bowls before you leave.”
Grandma quickly added, “You don’t have to leave at all! Stay here you can live with your third cousin! Stay as long as you like!”
Seeing how warmly the Chen family treated her, without a hint of distance.
Especially considering that they were the ones taking care of her mother, yet the original Xia Wan hadn’t visited even once in a whole year, and they were still this welcoming.
The Chen family was truly kind.
Xia Wan handed the gifts to her aunt, but her aunt clicked her tongue unhappily. “Why are you treating us like outsiders? Just coming is enough why bring things?”
Her uncle glanced at them too. “And so many things! That must’ve cost a lot. You’re not well off you should save your money!”
Xia Wan gave them a bright, open smile. “Uncle, Aunt, don’t worry. I didn’t waste money. I earned this myself today doing translation work and machine repairs. Since I earned money, of course I had to come and show filial respect to Grandpa and Grandma and to you all. Let’s celebrate together. Please accept it!”