Who wouldn’t talk bad about Sun Guihua, back then she despised this foolish son, but look at him now, he’s a university student.

Both of them are university students now.

Sun Guihua offered ten yuan to Dong Liangcheng, but he refused.

She ran to kneel before Shen Jinju, slapping her own face, "Jinju, I know Liangcheng only listens to you, please talk to him kindly, I am his mother after all, he was in my womb for ten months before I gave birth to him, how could he forget his roots after getting into university?"

"Ah, pfft!" Zhou Guizhi said, "It’s shameless to say Liangcheng forgot his roots, back then even your daughter bullied the couple. Liangcheng might have been foolish, but did that give you the right to treat him like an ox or a horse?

The educated youth got pregnant, and your daughter even pushed her to have a miscarriage. If it weren’t for Huanhuan, you would have claimed the educated youth’s life. Now you’re talking about forgetting one’s roots, do you have no shame?"

Ever since the fallout between the two families last time, Zhou Guizhi and Sun Guihua would always argue whenever they met.

This was now a perfect opportunity to strike when someone is down; how could Zhou Guizhi let it slip?

Sun Guihua was fuming, "Zhou Guizhi, you bastard, what business do you have meddling in my family’s affairs, get out of here and stop stirring the pot."

Zhou Guizhi retorted with a laugh, "Oh, so you know you’re a piece of crap in a cesspool, no wonder it smells so bad!"

Unable to bear it, Sun Guihua lunged at Zhou Guizhi, "I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, you damn scoundrel!"

"Oh dear, someone’s going to be killed, Sun Guihua’s going to kill someone!"

With such cries, Zhou Guizhi fought back without mercy, and the two were locked in a fierce brawl.

This farce also provided a distraction for Shen Jinju and her husband.

Afterward, Shen Jinju specially took a pound of sugar and a can of preserves to thank Zhou Guizhi.

Zhou Guizhi didn’t want to accept them, but Shen Jinju was very earnest, "When I came to the Shangjiang Team, everything was unfamiliar, and you were the one who taught me how to plant seedlings for the first time.

I married Dong Liangcheng and couldn’t resolve things, I wanted to jump into the river. It was you who told me there are many capable but uncaring men here at Shangjiang Team, but Dong Liangcheng is a good-hearted person. If I treat him well, he will know how to repay kindness."

She covered her face crying, "I’ve come through hardship, but without you, and without Xu Qinghuan, I wouldn’t be where I am today."

Zhou Guizhi advised her, "Whatever university you got into, don’t go around telling people, otherwise your wicked mother-in-law will cling to you again."

Shen Jinju expressed her deep gratitude, "We haven’t told anyone."

Very few people knew.

Sun Guihua hadn’t intended for Shen Jinju and Dong Liangcheng to attend university. She thought such an opportunity should go to Dong Jincheng, and when she went to reason with Dong Liangcheng, she found the house empty.

Early this morning, around four o’clock, the couple had taken the child and left the Shangjiang Team.

Sun Guihua hurried to find Dong Tiejun, the newly elected captain of the Shangjiang Team. His wife was Ye Qiugui, a senior worker at the Four Sisters Clothing Factory.

"They must have needed you to issue a reference letter to go far away, do you know which university they went to?" Sun Guihua demanded angrily.

Though Dong Tiejun was honest, he wasn’t foolish, "The reference letters for this batch of new university students were stamped together. It was Baohua and Xingye who checked them. I’m new to this, still not familiar with the process, so I’m not sure."

How could he not know? He had gone over each reference letter multiple times, and he knew clearly who got into which university, because he was too envious.

Dong Jincheng said, "The reference letter records should be left at the production team, check them for me."

Dong Tiejun replied, "I’ve already said, this is Baohua’s responsibility, and he took the records to the commune, I have none here."

He spread his hands with an expression that didn’t look fake.

Sun Guihua didn’t dare to find Jiang Baohua, and even if she tried, Zhou Guizhi wouldn’t let her succeed.

"You ungrateful wretches, Liangcheng is my son. Now that he’s going to university, he disowns me, and none of you speak a just word, you only know how to help them, just because they’re university students?" Sun Guihua wailed, sitting at the entrance of the team office.

Xu Qinghuan and the two others were also about to leave home.

In the past few days, Zhou Guizhi with her two daughters-in-law were extremely busy, packing luggage for the three, and preparing dry food for the journey.

Xu Qinghuan said, "Auntie, don’t prepare so much, there are dining cars on the train, if we’re hungry, we’ll buy something hot there. In this cold weather, dry food turns hard as a rock, and it’s bad for the stomach."

"I’ll make a little less, in case you get hungry and the dining car hasn’t reached a meal time, you might go hungry."

The elderly lady called Xu Qinghuan to discuss, "You two are going off for school, with two kids, and me and your grandpa are old, even if we wanted to take care of the kids, we might not do well, and it’d end up needing you to look after us instead.

I figure once you’re in the city, you’ll definitely need help from someone familiar. After all, it’s about the children, if anything goes wrong, no one would live in peace for the rest of their life."

That’s been running through Xu Qinghuan’s mind too, "We’ll follow Grandma’s advice, even if you didn’t say anything, I’d have come to you for your opinion."

The old lady said, "I’ve spoken with your eldest sister, for the next couple of years, she can go with you to help look after the kids, once they’re a bit older, she’ll come back. Whatever she earns at the factory, I and your grandpa will cover this amount."

Xu Qinghuan wouldn’t miss a few hundred yuan, "Grandma, there’s no need for you to cover the expense."

The old lady said, "Firstly, your grandpa and I have some savings, and we don’t spend much regularly. Secondly, it’s our duty to care for our grandchildren. Xiaowu didn’t get fortunate with his parents, that’s his loss; we can’t let that drag you down."

"Grandma, talking about financial matters between us would seem strange. This isn’t what Ah Ye wants either. My dad is still young and can’t help us with the kids!"

The old man chimed in, "If we can assist, we will lend a hand. We know you’re a good kid and wouldn’t worry about these things, but such matters should weigh on the hearts of us elders too."

Xu Qinghuan said, "If my big sister goes with us, I couldn’t be happier. We have a house in Yan City, very close to the school. Ah Ye and I won’t stay on campus; we’ll be home mornings and nights, but I’m worried my sister won’t be able to look after two kids all by herself; 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Grandpa, Grandma, since we’re on this subject, I’ll be frank, could you both come live with us for a few years? Once the kids are older, whether you come back or continue staying with us, it’ll be up to you!"

The old lady was somewhat moved by the idea, because the two great-grandchildren grew up with her when she was in her best health, helping frequently and developing deep emotional ties. She couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing them all year.

The old man pondered for a moment, "So many people living in Yan City, the expenses will be significant too."

Xu Qinghuan reassured, "Don’t worry about that. Our house is a spacious courtyard, when the gate is closed, the two kids can play at home, you two just need to keep an eye on them. My sister can also be free to help with some chores. I’ll pay her forty yuan a month and let her bring Yinzi there to go to school."

The old lady looked at the old man.

Xu Qinghuan continued, "Grandpa, I’m not one to disparage the countryside, but in terms of open-mindedness, Yan City is certainly more accepting than here. My sister has been divorced, but she’s still young; she can’t spend her life alone with a child, and if she meets someone good in the future, I think she should take a step forward. With you two there, you can also help with these matters."

Currently, the two elders were most concerned about Jiang Xingye and Jiang Xinglan. After some thought, the old man nodded.