After An Ning told him to listen to her, the vendor’s young helpers all nodded in agreement. He had to obey.

"Sister An is telling you to take it, so just take it."

An Guoping clutched a dozen or so comic books, trailing beside An Ning, but he didn’t dare reach out for anything else.

He looked around as he walked, and An Ning, who was watching him closely, stepped forward and pointed at some candies being sold on the left. "Two pounds of those."

"Sis—"

"What is it?"

An Ning turned back, her expression calm, as if she didn’t understand why he had called out to her.

An Guoping’s originally high-pitched voice instantly dropped several octaves. "Sis, I can’t eat that much. Just buying two pieces is enough."

’Two pieces?’

An Ning said disapprovingly, "Little brother, you can’t be selfish. There are a lot of people at home."

An Ning bought the two pounds anyway. Trailing behind her, An Guoping momentarily thought he had been mistaken. ’Maybe Sis is just buying things for the family. It probably has nothing to do with me.’

But then, just as An Guoping was starting to relax, his heart leaped back into his throat when he glanced at a fountain pen with interest and An Ning unhesitatingly bought it.

"Sis, why buy two fountain pens?"

"To write with."

An Ning’s answer left An Guoping with no room for rebuttal. But his heart ached for the money; it was the first time he’d ever seen someone spend like this.

An Guoping didn’t dare to look at anything anymore. But he discovered that even if he didn’t look, An Ning could still unerringly buy the things he liked, not missing a single one.

"Sis, please stop buying things."

"Sis, I’m begging you."

"I’m scared, Sis."

"Sis, Mom and Dad are going to kill me when they get home."

An Guoping was truly on the verge of tears.

"You’re a man. Don’t cry over something so small. It’s not that you can’t cry, but you should save your tears for truly important occasions."

An Ning gathered the things she’d bought and shoved them all into An Guoping’s arms.

"Feeling any better?"

"?"

With his arms stuffed to the brim, An Guoping nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! I feel great! Fantastic! Absolutely thrilled!"

An Guoping forced a huge smile, so wide the corners of his mouth began to ache, but he kept smiling.

’I have to be in a good mood. If I’m not, I’m afraid my legs will get broken when I get home.’

An Ning nodded and turned to walk ahead.

"Keep up. We’re going home."

"Yes, ma’am!"

An Guoping was hugging a pile of things. It was only after Fatty found him a basket that carrying everything became a little easier.

On the way back, it was An Ning riding the bike again, with An Guoping sitting on the back.

They got home in less than half an hour; An Ning rode very fast.

"So, how did it go?"

Lin Cuihua had been on edge all morning. She’d tried weeding the vegetable patch but ended up pulling out the vegetables. She’d thought about making a meal, but ended up cutting her hand.

Eventually, she gave up on doing anything at all and just paced around the courtyard, her heart burning with anxiety, praying to all the immortals for their blessing in a last-minute appeal to a higher power.

"There’s a specialized nursing school in the city. I got in."

After An Guoping finished speaking, Lin Cuihua slapped her thighs with both hands, overjoyed.

She didn’t understand the difference between a specialized school and a university; all she knew was that her son had been accepted.

"Good, good! I’ll go make you a meal... No, I have to go to the fields and tell your dad... No, no, I should first..."

Lin Cuihua was completely flustered, her hands and feet fumbling, not knowing what to do.

Finally, she slapped An Guoping on the shoulder. There were tears in her eyes, but she couldn’t stop smiling.

An Guoming was also in the courtyard, and he was happy for him too.

If there was one thing An Guoming had learned from his last beating, it was that a person needed knowledge. You could get by without a degree, but not without knowledge and perspective.

Brains might be naturally sharp or dull, but even the sharpest brain is useless if it stays in a single village, never encountering anything new.

"Little brother, you’ve brought honor to our family."

An Guoping’s face grew warm from the praise. He rubbed the back of his head, glancing shyly at An Ning.

’This isn’t quite what I expected, huh?’

An Ning was also a bit confused. ’Did I misunderstand? Maybe not getting into a university isn’t actually so bad. Was the money I spent wasted?’

Acting on her big-sisterly instinct to take care of her little brother, and remembering how happy she had felt on her last shopping trip, An Ning had taken An Guoping to experience the joy of spending money.

Now that the joyful experience was over, it seemed her efforts had been pointless.

"Mom, Second Brother, don’t celebrate just yet. I didn’t do that well."

An Guoping finally managed to quiet Lin Cuihua and An Guoming down and explained the difference between a specialized school and a university.

"Is that all?"

Lin Cuihua waved her hand dismissively. "Don’t we know our own situation? What were you daydreaming about?"

"Yeah, Mom’s right. Just getting accepted is great."

An Guoping, who had barely scraped by the cutoff score, had been feeling very regretful. But hearing them now, he thought maybe they had a point.

His grades had always been average; getting into a specialized school was already quite an achievement.

In the courtyard, only An Ning remained, her silence making her stand out.

"Daughter, what’s wrong?"

At Lin Cuihua’s words, the other three people in the courtyard all looked at An Ning.

An Ning chose her words carefully. "What if I told you that if little brother studies for one more year, I can get him into a top university in next year’s entrance exam? Would you be willing to spend that extra year?"

The courtyard fell silent.

It seemed as if even the wind had gone still.

"Sis, what did you say?"

An Guoping was the first to react, unable to stop himself from taking a step forward.

The allure of a top university was truly immense.

An Ning took a folded test paper from her pocket. "This science exam paper is very simple. I can get a perfect score on it. I can tutor you and help you get the best possible score next year."

An Guoming was the second to react. He stepped forward, took the test paper, and glanced at it.

After one look, he regretted it.

He couldn’t understand a single thing!

"Second Brother, why did you take the test paper?"

An Ning didn’t understand An Guoming’s action either. Just as she asked, she saw him give an awkward smile. "I just wanted to see how many questions there were."

An Guoming handed the paper back to An Ning.

"Daughter, are you serious?" Lin Cuihua had just asked when she waved her hand again. "Let’s just wait for your father to get back before we talk about it."

Lin Cuihua took a deep breath and once again stared absently at the doorway, muttering, "Why isn’t he back yet?"

An Guoming understood Lin Cuihua’s anxiety and started winking and making faces at An Ning.

Unfortunately, An Ning didn’t understand at all.

"Second Brother, what’s wrong with your eyes?"

"It’s nothing, nothing."

Not long after An Guoming spoke, An Guoqing appeared at the main gate.

"Little brother’s back! How’d it go?"

An Guoqing asked anxiously as well. But once he reached the doorway, he first glanced inside the house. Seeing his wife resting comfortably, he gave a simple, honest smile before coming back out to wait for An Guoping to speak.

Just then, An Sancheng, who had been walking behind them, also returned. Lin Cuihua anxiously called everyone into the house and repeated what An Ning had said, as well as the news about An Guoping getting into the specialized school.

An Sancheng sat on the kang, his brow deeply furrowed.

"An Ning, are you telling the truth?"

"Yes."

An Ning affirmed, "There’s still over a month before he has to leave for school. I can start by explaining problems to little brother and have him do a couple of practice tests to see."

As soon as An Sancheng heard this, he slapped the edge of the kang. "Then that’s what we’ll do!"