I felt tightness in my chest and I couldn't breathe.

When I opened my eyes, Xiao Wu was lying on the side of the bed, and when he saw me wake up, he asked me where I was uncomfortable.

I only felt unbearable in my heart, but I didn't know why this happened, I seemed to have forgotten a person, I couldn't remember his appearance, so I asked, "Are the college entrance examination results out?" ”

Xiao Wu said: "There are still two days left before I return to school. ”

I looked at the beams on the roof and whispered, "1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, eight years." ”

"What's eight years?" Xiao Wu asked with a puzzled expression.

Jiang Sheng was taken to Japan by Uncle Li for eight years.

I said, "I want to drink water." ”

Xiao Wu got up and poured me a cup of hot water, I got up after drinking the water and went out, walking towards the back of Sanlitun, at that time the wild flowers were all over the mountains, and the bees and butterflies were dancing everywhere.

Xiao Wu saw that I was okay and didn't follow, he cleaned up the housework at home, and at night his mother came home tired, Xiao Wu shouted twice and his mother didn't seem to hear, Xiao Wu said: "Mother, I'm good for today's rice, I'll cook it later, right?" ”

Seeing that there was no sound in the house, Xiao Wu entered the house in confusion and saw his mother lying on the ground unconscious.

Her mother's excessive grief, coupled with her long-term fatigue, finally overwhelmed her and fell ill in bed.

A woman has been doing the same dirty work as men for a long time, and her mother is already thin and weak, and she often has backache, plus she can't sleep well at night, and occasionally suffers from migraines.

In the middle of the night, the tall Xiao Wu carried his mother back to Sanlitun from the hospital, and the thin mother lay on Xiao Wu's back, like a girl.

After returning home, Xiao Wu put his mother on the kang and covered her with a blanket before going to the yard to take a bath.

Xiao Wu has always been shy about me before, and in the past few years, with the change of his body, he has avoided me every time he takes a bath, and when the water droplets on his body have dried up, he will wear obscene pants and enter the house.

I remember that Jiang Sheng used to be like this too.

I suddenly cried out quietly, crying very aggrieved, Xiao Wu saw me crying, comforted and said: "Mother is fine, it's just overworked, Jiang Rong, you don't have to worry." ”

I said, "I think brother, he must not be dead, otherwise why would there be no body and ashes." ”

Xiao Wu said: "Jiang Rong, will I be your brother in the future?" ”

I said, "It's not good, I only have one elder brother, named Jiang Sheng." ”

"Then will you be my wife?"

Xiao Wu's words came suddenly, I looked at his serious appearance, there was a flickering halo in his eyes, I nodded and said, "Okay." ”

The next day my mother woke up early, looking better, and was tidying up in the yard, occasionally sneaking in through the door.

Xiao Wu heard the faint movement in the yard, and got up from the bed a little shyly, I let him lie on the side of my bed last night, he didn't move his hands and feet, and I fell asleep quickly on his shoulder.

"Mother, why do you get up so early?" Xiao Wu said as he snatched the bucket from his mother's hand. "I'll just go fetch water, don't go to the construction site today, and I'll help you work on the construction site when the school informs you of the results tomorrow."

Xiao Wu went out, my mother hesitated, stood at the door and shouted my name, but when I didn't answer, she didn't speak again.

At that time, Xiao Wu had an excellent reputation in Sanlitun, had great strength, would help the family work, and when he saw people, he would take the initiative to greet him, and the villagers would go to Xiao Wu for help when they had anything.

The people in the nearby village knew that their mother had accepted Xiao Wu as their godson, so they asked a matchmaker to come to their mother and marry the daughter of the family to Xiao Wu.

Zhao Fugui and Shen A-Niang's daughter Yaya called her brother when she saw Xiao Wu, pestering Xiao Wu to let him hug, she often heard Shen A-Niang say that Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu were good at home, so she said that she would marry Jiang Sheng and Xiao Wu when she grew up.

Xiao Wu asked, "Yaya, who do you want to marry me and Brother Jiang Sheng?" ”

Yaya said: "Marry Brother Jiang Sheng first, and then marry Brother Xiaowu." ”

Xiao Wu asked, "Can I only choose one?" ”

Yaya thought for a while and said, "Then marry the fifth brother." ”

Yaya's intimacy with Xiao Wu was jealous even if Zhao Dahai saw it, at that time Zhao Dahai was already working as an accountant in a factory in Qiantang Town, and he was not busy at work, sometimes when Shen A-Niang went out with Zhao Fugui, Zhao Dahai would take Yaya to the factory to play.

That night, a major event occurred in Beiping City, and Qin Changcheng, the boss of Tangkou, died.

It is said that he was shot in the head.

The day after Qin Changcheng's death, Qin Changcheng's family also hanged themselves in their own halls.

The business of the Qin family in Beiping City is getting bigger and bigger, with the assistance of Qin Changqing and Qin Changde, the development of Qinjiatangkou is booming, at that time Qin Changcheng has been very famous in Beiping City, and Qin Changcheng is the most famous person in Beiping City in addition to the ancestor of Hongmen.

Hongmen ancestor is a white-bearded old man who stood behind Chairman Mao when he participated in the founding ceremony, known as Mr. Situ, he and Wu Qingyun of Beiping City are also old friends, because he visited Uncle Qin a few years ago, so he has always had a good relationship with Qin's family, and he also takes care of the business that Qin Changcheng is in charge of.

Therefore, Mr. Situ was furious at Qin Changcheng's death, and ordered a thorough investigation of the matter the next day.

The next day, Xiao Wu and I got up early to go to school, and a group of students at the school flocked to me when they saw me and Xiao Wu entering the school gate.

Underneath the school's flagpole there is a gold board written on red paper.

On the gold list is the results of this year's college entrance examination of Liyuan Middle School, and the second place I saw had his name written on it, Bangyan, Jiangrong.

And the champion of the first place is written with Ma Xiaowu's name.

When the principal read out the results at the teacher-student conference, the grades of Primary 5 were unexpectedly high, and he was even 20 points higher than me and reached the admission line of Tsinghua University and Peking University.

When he applied for the university and volunteered to write about Shanghai National Fudan University, the head teacher also talked to him, saying that he was too risky to apply for Fudan.

Xiao Wu wanted to go to school with me, so he also applied for the Fudan exam, and even he didn't expect that he would do so well in the exam and become the champion who came out of Sanlitun.

Eight years ago, when Wu Qingyun went to Qiantang Town Primary School to show the students, he pointed to Xiao Wu and said to everyone that Xiao Wu was the champion of our group.

Everyone laughed, the teachers scoffed, Mr. Zhang was angry, I was jealous, and even Xiao Wu himself didn't believe it.

But now Xiao Wu has really become the champion.

I watched Xiao Wu was called to the stage by the principal to speak, he looked at me in the audience, and said: "I didn't expect that I would get such a good score, I didn't learn before, and I brought trouble to the school and family all day long, and then because of the plague, there were changes in the family, and to this day, I am very grateful for my mother's upbringing." ”

Xiao Wu said on the stage, his eyes were red, and the audience cried, and at the end he said: "Three years ago, if Jiang Sheng hadn't joined the army, today's champion must have been him, some people say that he died, but I don't believe it, I believe that God will definitely let good people have good rewards, and Jiang Sheng will come back one day." There is also Jiang Rong, who took the second exam this time, she is a female champion, she promised to be my girlfriend yesterday, and I will protect her for the rest of my life. ”

The teachers and students didn't expect Xiao Wu to say such things in public, they all turned their heads to look at me in the audience, I blushed, and after Xiao Wu got off the stage, the principal asked me to speak on stage.

Perhaps it was because I was immersed in an atmosphere of joy that I was admitted to the university of my dreams, so I forgot all my sadness and embarrassment for a while, and I couldn't help myself with happiness.

After we returned to Sanlitun, we told my mother the news, and my mother was also surprised, he never expected that Xiao Wu would be the first in the school, and his score was even higher than the score line of Tsinghua University and Peking University.

One door and two champions, so that the mother couldn't help crying with joy, if Jiang Sheng is also there, then the Jiang family is a three-champion.

The mother muttered to herself, ran to the hall and said to the portrait of her father: "Zhengyang, have you heard, our Jiangrong is the female champion, and Xiao Wu has also become the champion, I didn't embarrass you." ”

That day, my mother led me and Xiao Wu to the ancestral grave to kowtow to our relatives, and the news of a double champion soon spread throughout Sanlitun and the entire Qiantang Town.

Mother went to the street to buy a lot of vegetables, Zhang Luo invited the people of Sanlitun to eat at the champion banquet, at that time Xiao Wu held a bowl of wine and said: "Folks, my Ma Xiaowu can have today, it all depends on my mother Zhang Xiumei, I will definitely let her live a good life in the future." ”

After Xiao Wu finished speaking, he drank it all, and the villagers applauded, praising Xiao Wu's filial piety, Xiao Wu said: "Another thing to tell the villagers, Jiang Rong will be my girlfriend in the future, my surname is Ma, I am the godson of my mother, I have liked Jiang Rong since I was a child, but I have not even pulled hands with her until now, you folks think I can't chase Jiang Rong too much, right?" ”

Xiao Wu was afraid that he would be gossiped by the people of Sanlitun when he was with me, so he made it clear first, so how could anyone say that it was not, and they coaxed us to get married as soon as possible, although my mother was shocked, she was also immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Xiao Wu drank a lot of wine that day, he was drunk like mud, and was helped back to the house by Zhao Dahai.

Two days later, Xiao Wu and I were holding the admission letter in my mother's hands, but my mother's face was ugly, and all of us thought about whether we could be admitted to university, but we forgot to ask if we could afford to go to university.

At that time, there was no public scholarship for studying, and even if the school had a scholarship, it would be a hundred yuan at most.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the currency of the Republic of China was banned, the new version of the renminbi was issued, two cents can buy a cage of steamed buns, we only need to pay 50 yuan per semester when we go to primary school, at that time my father has 60 yuan a month, enough for us to pay tuition, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, my mother worked on the construction site, the normal small worker is two yuan a day, my mother's work is dirty and tired, I can get two yuan and five cents a day, and there is an extra few yuan bonus for a month without rest. The tuition fee of Liyuan Middle School is thirty-five yuan per semester, and the living expenses of Xiao Wu and I are less than thirty per month, so that my mother can save dozens of yuan every month in addition to expenses, and she saves all this money, saying that it will be used for me and Xiao Wu to go to college in the future, and when I study in a big city and find a city man to marry, I can save a sum of expenses, she will give me a dowry, and Xiao Wu is also her son, and the money he earns will build a house for Xiao Wu and marry a daughter-in-law.

My mother had worked hard for many years to save 1,200 yuan, and he never expected that Xiao Wu and I would be admitted to university at the same time, and the admission letter clearly stated that the tuition fee was 1,000 yuan.

How many families smashed pots and sold iron for their children to go to college, and my mother tried her best to make money for us to study, but finally encountered a hurdle.

With my mother's current ability, even if she borrowed money for me and Xiao Wu to go to school, she would not be able to provide for the next tuition fees.

At that time, Xiao Wu and I were still immersed in the joy of high school champions, my mother had been running around the village to borrow money, and the villagers were proud of our admission to university, saying that the two ancestral graves were smoking, but they did not have much money, even if they had money, everyone had to shrink their clothes and eat these years, and now only the mother was left in the family, a weak woman, and no one dared to borrow.

Zhao Fugui is no longer a landlord now, in addition to the house is bigger, he has also begun to wear patched clothes, the family's shop has long been closed, and the phone has been stopped for more than a year.

When I learned that my mother had borrowed money, Zhao Shugen came to our house in the evening and returned the 70 yuan he had asked my father to borrow, and Carpenter Wang also sent 100 yuan that night.

Other than that, the mother could no longer borrow money.

Mother secretly went to find Xiao Wu's second and third uncles once without Xiao Wu's knowledge, and she naturally ate the closed door.

At dinner, my mother was stunned, and she muttered to herself, "Why is the tuition fee of this university so expensive?" ”

From the fact that Zhao Shugen and Carpenter Wang came to my house to send money, Xiao Wu and I both saw that my mother must have borrowed money from door to door after getting the admission letter, but even this was not enough.

Xiao Wu and I have our own worries.

In the early hours of the evening, my mother quietly pushed open the door of the side room and asked Xiao Wu to go out with her, Xiao Wu never fell asleep, she glanced at my bed, and then followed my mother to the hall.

The lamp of the mutton oil lamp flickered, and the mother said: "Little Wu, my mother is sick, I am afraid that I will not have so much strength to work in the future, the tuition fee of this university is too expensive, and I can only provide for one person to go to school." ”