Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Exam Turmoil

Based on the conversion rate of 500,000 yuan per bottle, these two bottles of Maotai could be listed at 5,000 yuan each—10,000 yuan for both.

You have to know, she used to sell regular Maotai for just 500 yuan a bottle.

But this Da Ye Sunflower Maotai? The price jumped tenfold!

This is a huge profit—way better than selling bicycles or watches.

No, she had to go find Lu Jianye for a few more bottles another day. Rumor had it that this batch of Da Ye Sunflower Maotai was extremely rare. Whether she kept them or sold them, it would be a great deal.

After Gu Qinghuan got home, she hung the two bottles of Da Ye Sunflower Maotai on her vending machine and then devoted herself to studying without any distractions.

While studying, she also tutored the two little ones, giving them some basic lessons.

She had no idea that her little shop had already exploded in popularity.

As soon as the Da Ye Sunflower Maotai hit the shelves, everyone had learned their lesson—after being proven wrong so many times, they had started blindly trusting Gu Qinghuan.

At first glance—what? Maotai for 500,000 yuan a bottle? What kind of Maotai could be worth that much?

Who cared? The key was to act fast.

As soon as the Maotai was listed, it was snatched up in an instant. Those who rushed over after hearing the news didn’t see anything left.

Some of the big shots who didn’t manage to buy any also made a point of announcing in the group chat just how rare and precious this Da Ye Sunflower Maotai was.

If it was real, it really was worth that price.

After all, there were so few left in existence.

In short, this liquor made Gu Qinghuan’s little shop go viral again, shooting straight to the front page headlines that day.

In no time, crowds surrounded the shop, layer upon layer, almost crashing the internet.

Gu Qinghuan was completely unaware. At that moment, she was working hard, burning the midnight oil to review for the exam.

This time, everyone in Xujia Village with any education had signed up for the exam. Even though there were many applicants and few spots, you never knew—you might get lucky.

Xu Mingshan not only signed up his son, but also his daughter and son-in-law.

He didn’t know that Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng had also signed up until he saw the two of them walk into the exam room.

Only then did he find out, and his mood instantly soured.

Why did his daughter-in-law sign up for the exam without telling him? He felt his authority as the father-in-law was being challenged.

But all he could do was grit his teeth in frustration—there was no way he could drag them back now.

Meanwhile, Gu Qinghuan had been diligently reviewing for a long time, finally reaching a state of flow. Her pen flew across the paper as she answered question after question.

The exam questions were mostly at the junior and senior high school level, nothing beyond the syllabus—mainly textbook material.

They covered Chinese, math, foreign languages, and other subjects, fairly balanced overall.

There were even a few psychology questions—the teacher who wrote the exam clearly knew their stuff.

After finishing, Gu Qinghuan carefully checked her answers again, especially the open-ended questions. With over ten years of test-taking experience, she was confident she could get a near-perfect score, so she handed in her paper early.

Some people had barely finished part of the exam and were scratching their heads in frustration. Seeing her leave made them even more anxious.

Lin Xiaomeng was the second to finish.

She hadn’t been slacking off lately either, studying hard with Dacheng. Thanks to her memories from her previous life, she knew the college entrance exam would be reinstated soon.

After the Lucky Spring Water, this was the most important opportunity to change her fate—she had to seize it.

Yes, she was determined to study hard, get into college, and leave this small mountain village. She didn’t want to be stuck here for life.

Since the first half of her life was already set, she wanted to live the second half more freely.

After the two of them came out, they exchanged a glance and saw the same determination in each other’s eyes.

These two were both tough competitors.

Xu Huaiyu and the heavily pregnant Xu Meiling also took the exam, but came out looking clearly unhappy. They had always been mediocre students, barely scraping by, so naturally, they’d forgotten everything by now.

Liu Guifang always thought her children were the best.

“Huaiyu, Meiling, how did it go? Do you think you have a chance?”

Xu Huaiyu shook his head. “Mom, can you stop asking? It’s so annoying!”

Liu Guifang’s heart sank.

What did that mean? Did they do badly?

“Jianghe, how about you?”

Chen Jianghe also shook his head, though he didn’t say anything harsh.

He hadn’t read a book in ages. After learning about the exam, he’d only had a little over half a month to prepare, and every day he was busy with this and that, plus Xu Meiling kept pestering him—he barely had time to review.

He was in the same exam room as Gu Qinghuan. She seemed to do quite well, not only finishing early but also filling the answer sheet neatly and completely.

When he left, he deliberately glanced at her paper.

After the exam, everyone was whispering and discussing.

Xu Mingshan walked over to Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng and questioned them bluntly, “When did you two sign up?”

“Of course we signed up within the official registration period!” Gu Qinghuan replied, leaving Xu Mingshan speechless.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’d make things difficult for you as your father-in-law?” So that’s why they signed up behind his back!

“Of course not! We just didn’t want to trouble you, that’s all. Isn’t everyone happy this way?” Lin Xiaomeng replied with a fake smile.

“Hmph! You two better get in!” Xu Mingshan said angrily, face dark.

“I’ll definitely work hard and get in, on my own ability!

By the way, you’ve dangled that teaching job in front of me so many times—refusing to let us split the family, insisting I forgive Xu Huaiyu. So, is this what you meant by ‘getting me in’?

Have you forgotten all those things you said?”

Lin Xiaomeng stared straight at Xu Mingshan, holding back her anger.

Gu Qinghuan had no idea about this. She looked at Lin Xiaomeng like she was a fool—she actually believed that?

Xu Mingshan, that old fox, would never give the best to anyone but his own kids! Why would he give it to her?

Xu Mingshan felt a bit embarrassed by Lin Xiaomeng’s accusations and turned his head away, not daring to meet her eyes.

He really had used the teaching job as bait several times to make Lin Xiaomeng compromise.

Actually, he’d only heard about the school looking for teachers while drinking with others.

He had absolutely no connections at the commune elementary school—if he did, he would’ve gotten Xu Huaiyu and Xu Meiling in long ago. Why would he let anyone else have the spot?

“Well, aren’t you living separately now? As your father-in-law, I don’t owe you anything!” Xu Mingshan retorted, a bit unreasonably.

“You know perfectly well why we split up! It’s because Xu Huaiyu—” Lin Xiaomeng started, but Liu Guifang rushed over and clapped a hand over her mouth, glaring fiercely.

This little wretch! Didn’t they agree not to spread this around? If people found out, how could her third son hold his head up?

Gu Qinghuan also knew the inside story—everything Xu Huaizhi said, Xu Huaian had repeated to her word for word.

So when she saw Liu Guifang’s nervous reaction, she couldn’t help but find it funny. So she knew it was shameful too! Why didn’t she think of that earlier?"

"Chapter 238: Number One

Lin Xiaomeng ultimately chose not to bring the matter out into the open. After all, if she wanted to keep living in Xujiatun, she couldn’t afford to completely offend Xu Mingshan and his wife.

But even though she didn’t say anything, a lot of people had already guessed the truth in private, so whether she spoke up or not didn’t really matter.

The written exam ended, and the results would be announced three days later.

Although Gu Qinghuan was confident, she still felt a bit anxious, worried she might not make the cut. After all, her test paper was in someone else’s hands, and so was her fate.

It wasn’t that she was desperate to become a teacher; she just really didn’t want to do manual labor.

Before he left, Xu Huaian had actually told her not to force herself to earn work points, and not to worry about the villagers’ gossip. As for the grain ration, if she didn’t want it, she could just let it go.

But sometimes, it’s better to avoid trouble when you can. Having a job to keep busy wouldn’t be so bad.

Early in the morning, Gu Qinghuan made three-flavor dumplings. She and the kids ate their fill, then she rode her bike to the commune.

Both children sat on the back seat. She had specially fixed a board there, reinforced so it could hold both kids at once.

“Mama, are you nervous?” Beibei asked curiously.

“Of course Mama isn’t nervous,” Gu Qinghuan replied, pretending to be relaxed.

Dabao said with a grown-up air, “Beibei, you think everyone’s like you? Always goofing off and only cramming at the last minute when Mama checks your homework. Of course you get nervous. Mama’s so amazing, she’ll be fine.”

Dabao had a kind of blind admiration for Gu Qinghuan, always feeling that no matter how big the problem, it was nothing in her hands.

“That’s right! Mama’s the best—better than any mom in the whole village. She’ll definitely be fine,” Beibei agreed.

Listening to their conversation, Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

She herself didn’t have that much confidence, but these two kids sure did.

Of course, she was confident in her test scores, just worried that if there was any behind-the-scenes manipulation, there were things she couldn’t control.

Today, lots of people from Xujiatun and nearby villages were heading to the commune to see the results. The road was packed, almost like New Year’s.

Gu Qinghuan even ran into Chen Jianghe, who was riding his bike with Zhu Chunlin on the back.

Both their wives were pregnant and couldn’t go out, so the men went to check the results.

Zhu Chunlin and his wife Lin Shengnan had both taken the exam too.

After all, it was a rare opportunity—no one wanted to miss out.

Lin Shengnan was three months pregnant. Gu Qinghuan only found out on exam day, seeing how she kept protecting her belly, with Zhu Chunlin watching her anxiously.

Among the couples at the educated youth spot, they were one of the better ones.

Gu Qinghuan made a mental note to bring a gift and visit her when she had time.

Jiang Xue had also taken the exam. Word was, she’d gone back to the city for New Year’s, and her family had tried to find a way to get her to return to the city.

But this year, she was back again, looking much thinner, without the arrogance and pride she used to have.

Since Qiu Shuxia got married, Jiang Xue had lost her little sidekick and was now all alone, looking rather pitiful.

But pitiful people often have their own faults.

When she saw Gu Qinghuan’s bike, she quickly avoided her, afraid Gu Qinghuan would see her current state.

The two brushed past each other, and soon Gu Qinghuan arrived at the commune primary school.

A crowd had already gathered at the school gate.

Gu Qinghuan parked her bike, took the kids by the hand, and walked toward the bulletin board.

She didn’t bother squeezing through the crowd, just waited on the outskirts. She’d see the results eventually.

At nine o’clock sharp, several teachers came out with the results and began posting them on the board.

One teacher held a bowl of paste in his left hand and a brush in his right, slapping it onto the wall.

Two other teachers picked up the sheets and stuck them up.

The people waiting behind, though anxious, didn’t dare rush them. They could only suppress their excitement and wait quietly.

Soon, the results were posted. The lead teacher announced loudly, “The top twenty in the written exam will enter the second round. After you check your scores, remember to stay and draw lots. The second round is tomorrow.”

As soon as the teachers left, everyone surged forward to check the scores.

The top twenty names were written in red ink, making them stand out at a glance.

Each name had a corresponding score next to it—fair and transparent.

Gu Qinghuan, worried about the kids getting jostled, waited patiently outside, planning to check the scores after the crowd thinned out.

Zhu Chunlin, being tall, squeezed to the front and took a look.

First Place

Gu Qinghuan

100 points!

Whoa, that was impressive—not a single point lost.

Since they were from the same brigade, he shouted proudly in Gu Qinghuan’s direction, “Gu Qinghuan, you’re first place! Full marks!”

Well, now there was no need to check. Everyone’s eyes turned to her.

Wow, who was this? So amazing!

Gu Qinghuan suddenly felt like she wanted to dig a hole and hide.

Mainly, the way everyone was looking at her was too intense—mostly admiration and envy.

She wanted to leave but couldn’t, since she still had to draw lots. She could only stand there, bracing herself under everyone’s gaze.

And received a bunch of greetings in the process.

“Comrade, are you from Xujiatun? I’m from Xiangyanggou. You’re incredible!”

“Comrade Gu, are you married?”

“Comrade, you’re amazing. I want to learn from you!”

…

Luckily, Zhu Chunlin soon shouted again, diverting everyone’s attention.

“Lin Xiaomeng, third place, eighty-nine points!”

Lin Xiaomeng, who was also standing outside with her child, let out a sigh of relief.

Third place—not bad at all. At least she still had a shot.

When Dacheng heard his mom got third place, he lifted his head, even happier than if he’d gotten third himself.

Dabao and Beibei were even more excited.

If their mom became a teacher, they could go to and from school together, and see her every day at school.

Plus, out of more than two hundred people, their mom got first place! Amazing!

Dabao felt not just proud, but as if a seed had been planted in his heart—a seed called striving for excellence.

After he started school, he held himself to high standards, always pushing to be the best, working hard without needing Gu Qinghuan to supervise him.

It’s true—parents are a child’s first teachers. If you want your child to become a certain kind of person, you have to become that person first.

Often, a child’s internal motivation comes from their admiration for their parents.

While some were happy, others were not.

Xu Huaiyu and Chen Jianghe also checked their scores—neither made the top twenty.

Chen Jianghe did a bit better, at least in the top fifty, with a passable score.

But Xu Huaiyu was embarrassed. Out of over two hundred people, he scanned page after page from the top down, not finding his name. At first, he thought the teachers had missed him.

In the end, he found his name on the last page—fifth from the bottom.

His sister, Xu Meiling, was in the same boat—she was fourth from the bottom, right above him."

"Chapter 239: Treating Everyone to a Meal