Chapter 19

The Village Party Secretary pressed his ear to the receiver, frowning. “How much? I didn’t catch that. Hurry and have it play again.”

Aunt Zhao sneered, “Don’t tell me it’s not even four hundred.”

Mom had finished work too. Barefoot, she stood at the door holding a pair of worn-out sandals.

She seemed to want to come in, but was afraid it wouldn’t be the answer she hoped for.

Her expression was conflicted.

I pressed replay, then put it on speaker.

“Your total score is 552.”

Mom threw down her shoes and hoe and rushed in, nearly throwing herself onto the phone.

She asked, “How much?”

“Did I hear that right? Have it play again.”

No matter how many times it replayed, it was still 552.

That year, the First-tier Cutoff was 536. I was 16 points above the First-tier Cutoff.

Compared to most smart people, this really wasn’t a great score.

But it was my only time in three years of high school that I performed beyond expectations.

In all those previous exams, big and small, Old Liu said that if I kept steady, Second Tier was no problem, and the best I could hope for was just scraping past the First-tier Cutoff.

But this 552 was the third highest in the grade at No. 2 Middle School that year.

Xiaoan was first in the grade, twenty points higher than me.

Mom’s tears welled up, and she murmured, “552, 552.”

She gripped my hand tightly, lowered her head, and her tears fell in big drops to the ground. “Xiaoxia, you scored 552.”

I snapped out of my excitement and immediately dialed Shasha’s Xiaolingtong.

“I got 552, sixteen points above the First-tier Cutoff.”

The other end of the line was silent. After a long while, I heard her choking up:

“That’s wonderful.

“Congratulations, Xiaoxia.

“You did it, you did it. I’m really proud of you.”

…

After I hung up, Aunt Zhao was still standing there with a sour face. “There must be some mistake. How could she possibly score that high?”

I stared at her, my gaze sharp. “Aunt Zhang, should I go with you to the police station tomorrow to change my surname?”

Mom had already come back to herself.

She wiped away her tears, straightened her clothes, and said to the crowd that had gathered to watch, “Xiaoxia scoring over 550 is a great event. I’m going home right now to slaughter a chicken and a duck.”

“If you don’t mind, come to my house for lunch.”

Someone immediately chimed in, “Of course we don’t mind! We have to go eat the top scorer’s meal.”

“Let my boy get a bit of that top scorer’s luck too.”

The village was small, and educational resources were lacking.

I was the best scorer in years.

Mom went to the little shop at the village entrance and bought two strings of firecrackers. Dad brought out the good wine his sister had given him years ago, which he’d never been willing to drink.

Later, his tongue got thick from drinking, and he mumbled, “We spent over ten years raising Ze En, but in the end, it’s Xiaoxia who made something of herself.”

“Fate, it’s all fate!”

…

The Village Party Secretary said, “So boys and girls are the same. As long as they’re willing to study, they should all be supported.”

Mom was busy running around and didn’t even sit down to eat.

When I went to the kitchen to find her, she was hiding by the stove, sobbing.

She choked out:

“All these years, it’s because your mom is useless. I’m sorry to you.

“I’ve made you suffer so much, go through so much hardship.

“I’m really not a good person.”

My heart had already softened.

But then she added, “When you succeed in the future, remember to help your brother too.”

“You two are the closest people in the world. Don’t ever look down on your dad and me like your two aunts do.”