Yang Yonghong had always viewed her younger siblings as a responsibility on her shoulders, which was common in families with multiple children.
Xia Xiaolan never said Yang Yonghong was wrong about this.
How could it be wrong?
Yang Yonghong’s siblings were born in compliance with national policies, not secretly conceived after the one-child policy was implemented, nor were they born out of gender preference until a son was produced. That wasn’t the Yang family’s situation.
Moreover, none of them were parasites trying to live off Yang Yonghong’s blood and sweat.
Xia Xiaolan had met the Yang family; they weren’t troublemakers. Yang’s parents were honest and straightforward people, and Yang Yonghong’s siblings were well-behaved and diligent in their studies.
The Yang family’s poverty wasn’t due to her parents being lazy or wasteful; it was a reflection of the broader circumstances of that era.
Why wouldn’t Yang Yonghong support her family? When she spent three years retaking exams to get into Huaqing, her family never told her to quit studying. Since she got in, as the eldest, she naturally had to shoulder the family’s burden. After carrying it for two years, her brother Yang Jie could take over, and with everyone working together, their lives would gradually improve.
If not for Xia Xiaolan’s influence, Yang Yonghong would likely have become what others called a “phoenix woman” (a successful woman from a humble background). But with her personality, even as a phoenix woman, she wouldn’t have been disliked – at most, she would have been hard on herself. The Yang family would have endured more years of hardship, but their future would still have been better than most rural families.
Yang Yonghong was grateful to Xia Xiaolan, not just for providing part-time work for her and her brother Yang Jie, but because this work broadened her horizons.
Without the experience of working in the South to earn betrothal money, her brother Yang Jie wouldn’t have been able to return to school. What a painful regret it would have been for someone with such academic potential to remain farming in their hometown due to family burdens!
Then there was the suggestion for the Yang family to start animal husbandry…
The Yang family’s financial situation, which would have taken years after Yang Yonghong started working to improve, had changed dramatically because of Xia Xiaolan. How could Yang Yonghong not be happy?
She was as cheerful as a goose!
Nodding and swaying, her heart was content and full of energy.
Getting sunburned didn’t matter – this was the life she wanted.
Zhou Limin wanted to follow the museum project. After working at Qihang firm for over a month, she finally caught Kong Yongquan’s attention. She was allowed to go to Shangdu for the last half month but only stayed for a week before having to return to Beijing for the start of Huaqing’s semester – hence her glumness on the journey back.
How did Xia Xiaolan do so well?
How did she gain the recognition of GMP firm’s partners in America and get to lead projects independently?
Zhou Limin didn’t think foreign standards would be lower than Qihang firm’s. At Qihang, she was at least the founder’s roommate, while at GMP, Xia Xiaolan was nobody…
Lü Yan and Chen Yiying probably came from well-off families; they were more composed. The internship just added another experience for them.
Overall, the five roommates hadn’t wasted their two-month summer vacation and were satisfied with their internships.
On September 2nd, Xia Xiaolan returned to school for her graduation defense.
In the classroom sat not only the professors from Huaqing’s Architecture Department but also Mao Kangshan.
Mao Kangshan had even dragged Ning Yanfan along.
Outside the classroom, Xia Xiaolan’s family waited.
Though it wasn’t a weekend, Tang Hongen had taken leave to come. While Xia Xiaolan was defending inside, he and Liu Fen waited outside.
Guan Huie also knew about her future daughter-in-law’s graduation defense. Grandmother Zhou, hearing that Xia Xiaolan would graduate early and then proceed with marriage plans with Zhou Cheng, was overjoyed and came along with Guan Huie.
“While Xiaolan’s parents are here, we should all sit down and have a good discussion,” Grandmother Zhou said, eager to drink her eldest grandson’s wedding wine.
Guan Huie shook her head, “We can’t make decisions for them. The young couple needs to discuss it first. It’s not fashionable anymore to let elders arrange everything.”
Grandmother Zhou was anxious – how long would they have to wait then?
Well, if her daughter-in-law wouldn’t bring it up, she, as the old grandmother, would have to ask herself, even if it meant losing face.
But today’s focus was on Xia Xiaolan’s defense.
Grandmother Zhou recalled watching Xia Xiaolan’s English competition – the girl excelled in her studies, so she was just waiting to hear good news.
The defense lasted exactly two hours.
When the classroom door opened again, Xia Xiaolan emerged with Mao Kangshan and others. She made an “OK” gesture, clearly indicating the defense had gone very well!
Tang Hongen immediately went over, shaking hands with Mao Kangshan and others:
“Thank you all for nurturing my daughter. Without your dedication, there wouldn’t be Xiaolan’s success today!”
For Tang Hongen, it wasn’t about bragging about how much money his stepdaughter made – he deliberately avoided discussing that aspect.
But for achievements like Xia Xiaolan’s early graduation and rising fame from China to the international architectural field – that was worth bragging about for a hundred years without pause!
Guan Huie congratulated Xia Xiaolan:
“Time flies – three years have passed in a flash!”
She still remembers when Xia Xiaolan first started school, she had come to have a very unpleasant conversation with her.
Back then, she thought Xia Xiaolan was too strong-willed and unsuitable for Zhou Cheng, wanting to persuade the young couple to break up – three years had passed, and Xia Xiaolan’s personality hadn’t changed. That strong will had become her driving force for success. Now, who could make her break up with Zhou Cheng?
No one.
Unless Xia Xiaolan herself fell out of love with Zhou Cheng, only then would Zhou’s team be asked to step aside.
Guan Huie could guess with her toes that the moment Xia Xiaolan broke up with her son Zhou Cheng, a swarm of suitors would rush in from all directions.
Zhou Cheng was performing very well at his workplace, an excellent talent and a young cadre the unit wanted to cultivate.
But nationally, or even internationally, Xia Xiaolan could now meet many outstanding men from various fields – all types!
But Xia Xiaolan wasn’t thinking as much as Guan Huie.
After the defense, she was busy.
Taking graduation photos with classmates, attending the appreciation dinner for teachers, and the department head wanting to persuade her to pursue a master’s degree – by the time Xia Xiaolan handled everything and received her diploma, it was three days later.
While the Class of ’87 freshmen had just started school a few days ago, the Class of ’84’s academic star senior sister had already graduated.
Ha!
The five-year architecture program – Xia Xiaolan completed it in three years.
Liu Fen touched Xia Xiaolan’s diploma, very happy:
“Will you continue studying?”
Liu Fen felt she should visit her parents’ graves back home. Going back three generations, she didn’t know what the Liu family did. Her parents had fled to Qijing Village to settle down.
From her parents’ generation to her and her siblings Big Brother Liu Yong and Little Sister Liu Fang, then to Xia Xiaolan, Liu Zitao, and Liang Huan’s generation – it added up to exactly three generations.
Three whole generations! Originally all farmers, now they had produced an educated person. Liu Fen felt her parents would be happy if they knew from their resting place!
Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Learning never ends, so I’ll continue studying, but it depends on future arrangements.”
Liu Fen suddenly remembered something else:
“Your aunt contacted me again a few days ago. Liang Huan still didn’t reach the undergraduate admission score in this year’s college entrance exam.”