Rebirth in the 1980s: Xiaoxiao's road to becoming a top student

Yan Xiaoxiao waited until her grandmother took the medicine before speaking, "Grandma, let me take your pulse!"

Sun Cuihua had heard from Yin Xiu a long time ago that Yan Xiaoxiao was learning things from Grandpa Wu Zu. She had seen that man's abilities with her own eyes and had never thought that her granddaughter could have such good fortune.

She was just an illiterate rural woman with little experience, but one advantage she had was that she never gave orders and she got along well with her four daughters-in-law.

But people’s hearts are biased. Sun Cuihua still likes her fourth daughter-in-law Yin Xiu the most, and her favorite grandchild is Yan Xiaoxiao.

She was always fair and never partial. Only occasionally did she reveal her affection for Xiaoxiao in her words.

"Xiaoxiao, you are really capable!"

Yan Xiaoxiao saw her grandmother's face was full of smiles, so she smiled too and carefully felt her pulse.

Sun Cuihua suffered too much when she was young, which damaged her health and caused her to suffer from illness. Later, she developed bronchitis but did not receive proper treatment, and the illness recurred over and over again and became a chronic problem.

After pondering for a while, Yan Xiaoxiao felt that she should listen to her master's advice before treating her grandmother. Although she had a treatment plan in mind, she was a little unsure. To put it bluntly, she lacked confidence.

"Grandma, I'll ask Master tomorrow and give you treatment!"

Sun Cuihua nodded. She had never thought of asking her granddaughter to really treat her. What could such a young child be treated for? It was just coaxing the child for fun!

The next day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yan Xiaoxiao did not go to practice in the morning. She changed into the new clothes that Yin Xiu bought for her.

The pants were fine, just an ordinary pair of blue and black pants, but the top was a little hard to describe, it was a pink lapel jacket with a big collar turned down, revealing the floral cotton jacket underneath.

Yan Xiaoxiao felt like she was back in her thirties when she put it on, and she looked very old. Yin Xiu kept saying beside her, "It looks good!"

Yan Xiaoxiao looked puzzled, "Mom, do you really think it looks good? Don't you think I look older like this?"

Yin Xiu: "Hey, I thought I was the only one who thought it didn't look good. But when I went to the market a few days ago, they all said it looked good and was popular, so I bought one for you."

Yan Xiaoxiao was really impressed by her mother, "It doesn't look good, not at all!"

"Yeah, I think so too. I don't know who designed this, it doesn't look like children's clothes at all." Yin Xiu thought for a moment, "If you don't like it, just wear the red one. I washed it for you. It's in the closet."

Then she realized, "No, the sun hasn't come out yet, so we can't open the closet door. You'll just have to wear what you want!"

Despite Yan Xiaoxiao's objections, he refused to let her change her clothes.

Soon after the gate was opened, someone came to pay New Year's greetings. It is a custom in Xiaohe Village to go to the elders' homes to pay New Year's greetings and kowtow on the morning of the first day of the New Year.

It was easier for those who were older than them, but those who were younger would be dizzy just from kowtowing in the morning. This custom was later abolished when Yan Xiaoxiao went to college.

It is still dark now, but the rare thing is that there is electricity today. All the lights in the house are on, and the yard is much brighter.

Yan Xiaoxiao's family has a very high generation rate, especially Sun Cuihua, who is one of the oldest elders in the village.

"Kowtow to grandma!" A group of people knelt on the ground in the yard without entering the house. Sun Cuihua, who came out to greet them, quickly helped the person in front of her up.

"Kowtow to grandpa and grandma." He stood up and knelt down again.

Yan Guoqing also hurried to help the person. Yin Xiu was holding a large plate with peanuts, melon seeds and candies on it. She would grab a handful of the candies and stuff them into the hands of anyone she saw, focusing on taking care of the children who followed them.

As soon as this group of people left, another group of people came into the yard, "Grandma, uncle, aunt, we kowtow to you!" Bang, bang, bang, three heads.

There were also one or two people who came in groups. Sometimes the two groups met in the yard, "Uncle, nanny, are you here? When we see each other, let's kowtow to you two elders. We won't be leaving home soon, as there are still many houses to visit!" The two heads kowtowed immediately.

Yan Xiaoxiao saw Yan Meng among the people who were kowtowing, and he made faces at her.

Yan Xiaoxiao took out a few candies from her pocket and stuffed them into his hand. Yan Meng took them happily and said, "Thank you, grandma!" A group of people burst into laughter.

"Xiaoxiao is getting prettier and prettier. Look at how handsome she is!"

"Xiaoxiao, please teach my child from now on. Why did he only get more than 20 points on the test?"

"Xiaoxiao, come over to my house and play later!"

Every year at this time, Yan Xiaoxiao would be thankful that her family had a long history. The excitement would not subside until daybreak.

Fewer people meant that Yan Guoqing and Yin Xiu could also go out to kowtow, together with their brothers and sisters-in-law, and they came back in more than ten minutes.

When I get home, I cook dumplings. I use firewood and a big iron pot is enough for one pot.

After eating dumplings, Yan Xiaoxiao was free to do whatever she wanted. Yan Guoqing also had to take firecrackers, tributes, and paper money to visit the grave.

Early in the morning, there were sounds of firecrackers outside the village, which were the sounds of families visiting their graves.

According to the custom of Xiaohe Village, women are not allowed to visit the graves, but in Xiaoxiao's later memory, for many years after her grandfather passed away, it was Yin Xiu who went to visit the grave on the first day of every year, and only handed the tomb over to her younger brothers after they got married.

Yan Xiaoxiao took her third-year math textbook and left home. There would be many people visiting in the morning, and it was quieter at her master's place. But when she arrived at her master's house, she saw Wu Jianmin and his family.

Wu Jianmin and Zhang Fengying came with their three sons, three daughters-in-law and four grandchildren, filling the main hall in the middle of the main house.

At Yan Xiaoxiao's suggestion, the teleportation array to the bamboo house had been moved to the bedroom next door. This was something Yan Xiaoxiao had suggested after Wu Jianmin came last time, just to prevent situations like today. We couldn't just sit in a row in the yard in such a cold weather!

Look, it’s being used now.

As soon as Yan Xiaoxiao entered the room, everyone looked at her. After her deliberate training, Yan Xiaoxiao had become accustomed to these looks.

She smiled at the people around her and knelt down in front of her master. "Master, Happy New Year!"

"Okay, okay!" Yan Qing was very happy, "Get up quickly!"

Yan Xiaoxiao smiled and said to Wu Jianmin and the others, "Uncle Wu, Grandma Zhang, uncles, aunts, and brothers, Happy New Year!"

"Okay, Happy New Year to you too!" Everyone in the room laughed.

Zhang Fengying pulled Yan Xiaoxiao to her side and said, "Xiaoxiao, do you miss grandma? Grandma misses you so much!"

Yan Xiaoxiao nodded, forgiving her for being too embarrassed to lie.

Yan Xiaoxiao saw a military couple in the crowd. They looked like they were cast from the same mold, not in appearance but in the way they sat. The couple sat on stools with their backs straight and their hands placed obediently on their knees, which was quite adorable.

Wu Baoguo and Zhou Rongrong were very alert, turned their heads to meet Yan Xiaoxiao's gaze, and nodded at her at the same time. Yan Xiaoxiao also smiled at the couple, she thought they were very interesting.

The other couple was more relaxed. Wu Jiaguo sat lazily, yawning from time to time, looking like he hadn't woken up yet. Zheng Lan, who was beside him, stared at Yan Xiaoxiao with curiosity.