It has been two days since the tense and busy monthly exams, and the exam results of each subject have come out one after another. Today is Friday, and it is almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon after class, because of the three-day holiday, most of the students have gone home one after another.

Nishino's home is more than 90 miles away from the county seat, and it takes five or six hours to pedal a bicycle back, so he could have asked for leave to leave first, but when he thought that he hadn't gotten his report card yet, he could only go back tomorrow.

The campus was empty, and there were few people in sight, and He Yan and Xu Xiaoqiao also went back. In the dormitory, only Xiye and Yan Ling were left and did not leave, Yan Ling's home was farther away from the county seat, and there was no shuttle bus back at this time.

"How about we go out for a walk?" It's rare to have a day off, and Nishino doesn't want to read anymore.

"Okay, I'm also thinking about going out to relax, this time the exam is like this, I don't know how to go back to the errand." Yan Ling put down the things in his hand.

"You did well in the exam this time, you have improved a lot compared to when you entered the school." Nishino remembers that when he entered the cram school, Yan Ling was ranked in the 40s in the class, and this time the exam rose to 31.

"But I'm still in my thirties, how can I get into college with such a result? You also know that my home is so remote, it is not easy to come to the county seat. In that place where the mountains and rivers are exhausted, there is no way out without studying. I really don't want to go back to the countryside and become a farmer with his back to the loess. I'm not reconciled, really! Yan Ling replied dejectedly.

Nishino once went to Yanling's hometown, one of the poorest places in the county, a poor village with many mountains and few lands, and a very difficult life, where there was little arable land, the altitude was high, and the temperature difference between day and night was particularly large, even in summer, he wore short sleeves during the day and had to be covered with quilts at night. In such alpine climates, the yields of various crops are low.

Because of the constraints of these geographical factors, many people in Yanling's hometown are short of food at home, and whenever there is a shortage of food in May and June, many people's family rations are difficult to sustain, so they can only rely on government relief or go to work part-time jobs to earn money to buy rice.

"With each other, my family's situation is not much better. I'm highly myopic, so I don't wear glasses to go up the mountain to chop firewood and plow the land, right? There is no way out except for studying! Xiye originally wanted to comfort Yan Ling, but when he thought of his situation, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

Although Nishino's total score in the monthly exam has improved, and his scores are several points higher than those in the previous monthly exams, there are no particularly top-notch subjects, and he ranks more than a dozen in the class, and the school's liberal arts ranking is just 100, compared with those "top students", there is still a big gap.

The two walked and talked, and unconsciously came to the foot of a hill near the school, which is not high, but it is also one of the few famous peaks in the county. Standing on the top of the mountain overlooking, the whole county has a panoramic view, it is said that Zhuge Liang was still sitting on the top of this mountain, shaking a goose feather fan to train the Shu navy in the river under the mountain.

The two of them slowly climbed up the winding stone path, and the grass was miserable along the way, and from time to time some birds resting in the bushes were startled. There are not many trees on the mountain, except for the perennial green pine and camphor trees, most of the other trees are only a few bare branches. The stone pavement was covered with thick leaves, which were soft and rustling when stepped on, as if walking on a carpet.

It didn't take long for the two of them to climb to the top of the mountain, standing on the top of the mountain and looking south, the winding Wushui River came slowly from the southeast, and after a big C shape at the foot of the mountain in the south, they slowly went to the southwest in the canyon.

On the other side of the river, a rice paddy field has long been harvested, and several villages are scattered in between. Looking at other aspects, there are high and low houses nearby, although there are still many factories in between, but most of them have closed down in the past few years, leaving only old factories, which seem to be telling people the feeling that things are wrong and the world is desolate.

"Lao Yan, the scenery here is good, climb high and look far away, the field of vision is broad, and it is really a bit of a feeling of 'seeing all the mountains at a glance'!"

"Yes, no wonder the ancients were so fond of mountaineering and wrote so many masterpieces that have been passed down through the ages."

"The benevolent man enjoys the mountain, and the wise man enjoys the water. Lao Yan, do you like more mountains or more water? Nishino found a clean stone and sat down on it, looking at the mountains in the distance, without looking back at Yan Ling.

"I like all the mountains and rivers. As long as I can really get out of the mountains of my house, I can see the outside world, so that my parents can live a better life, and no longer work as hard as it is now, I will be satisfied. Perhaps infected by the scenery in front of him, Yan Ling's originally depressed mood was obviously much better.

"You know what? I have had a wish since I was a child, to be a traveler like Xu Xiake, to take the people I like, to see the vast prairie of Inner Mongolia, to see the steep Tiger Leaping Gorge of the Yangtze River, to see the magnificent sunrise of Mount Tai, to see the white and silver beach of Beihai, ......" The more Nishino said, the more excited he became, he actually stood up, stretched out his hands and waved in the air, quite a taste of pointing out the country.

Xiye was in high spirits, Yan Ling suddenly remembered something, and couldn't help laughing: "The 'she' in your heart refers to He Yan, right?" If that's the case, you two talented and beautiful, when you go to the mountains and rivers together, you really feel like a fairy companion. ”

"I don't know. He Yan is just a good friend, I don't know. I'm a farmer's son, and no one will look up to me. Looking at Yan Ling's half-joking and half-serious appearance, Nishino thought of his current situation, and his heart was at a loss.

"Don't be so unconfident, don't you have a good academic performance, when you are admitted to university in the future and find a good job, won't all problems be solved."

"But I don't have anything now!"

"It's not like you're going to marry her now, don't forget that we're still students. If you just want to, it's impossible. I mean, if you really like people, then be nice to them, don't be half-hearted, otherwise it won't be good for both of you in your studies. Work hard to get into a better university first, and she will naturally treat you better. Yan Ling enlightened and comforted.

"Well, I will. Even if it's for He Yan, for myself and my family, I will work hard. Nishino stared ahead, his gaze full of determination.

The cool mountain breeze blew, stirring the plackets of the two of them and ruffling their hair. The two young people looked at the undulating mountains in the distance together, and their thoughts were myriad, and a kind of passionate pride from youth could not help but rise from the bottom of their hearts.

"Ivory tower, wait for us! Half a year later, we will definitely come to you! The two of them faced the mountain wind and shouted loudly.

The mountain wind was silent, but it only brought this solemn oath to the distance; The earth is silent, but I remember this solemn oath in my heart. Please forgive their impulsiveness, which teenager is not affectionate, which youth has no dreams, this is the unyielding fate from the soul, this is the unhindered desire for a bright future, if in a young life, there is no blood, no passion, no desire, then what is the difference with a dead body.

The next morning, as soon as it was dawn, Nishino couldn't wait to pick up his schoolbag and pedal his bicycle on the way home.

I haven't been home for three months, and I don't know how my home is now, the familiar hills, the familiar river, the familiar fields...... Everything that is familiar should be a different look in this deep winter.

In the school days, studying intensely, and with the company of friends, Nishino didn't miss home much. But once it was really a holiday, Xiye's heart was like an arrow off the string, and he had already flown to the relatives who were connected to his blood.

The mountain roads are not easy to walk, and some places are full of cyclists! In the depths of winter, the morning in the mountains is particularly quiet, and there are hardly any pedestrians on the winding mountain paths, except for a few chickadees that are occasionally startled by Nishino's footsteps and fly into the sky.

The rising sun slowly climbed up from the brilliant morning glow, stretched out a gentle hand, and gently caressed the earth. The dewdrops on the leaves and grass tips on the roadside are like naughty children, refracting colorful brilliance in the sunlight, and occasionally jumping down from the leaves and grass tips with a "click" sound, leaving deep and shallow watermarks on Nishino's trousers or shoes.

I don't know how many ditches and bumps I have climbed, and I don't remember how many mountain beams I have climbed, but when it was close to two o'clock in the afternoon, Nishino finally saw the familiar valley, the small river behind the house sprinkled with childhood memories, and the sparse and scattered houses scattered along the river and at the foot of the mountain.

Finally about to arrive home, thinking of the warm feeling of home, thinking of the loving relatives at home, Xiye's heart was inexplicably excited, and he hurriedly quickened his pace.

Just when he was about to arrive at the door, Nishino suddenly heard a fierce quarrel, and he remembered that the New Year was almost over.

"Are you paying today? This is a tax stipulated by the state, you have to pay it, and you have to pay it if you don't pay it! The voice of a strange middle-aged man sounded in the house.

"Yes, farmland water conservancy fees and education surcharges are taxes prescribed by the state. If you resist taxes and don't pay them, we will have to file a lawsuit in court, and then the police station will arrest you and throw you in a prison cell, but it will be even more troublesome. Another middle-aged man chimed in.

"Leaders, we know that. But now we really can't come up with the more than 600 yuan. You see that I am so old, I am sick all the year round, I take injections and medicines, and my daughter-in-law is not in good health. The second grandson is still in college, and the third grandson is still reviewing in the county. It wasn't long before my son went to Guangdong to work, it was very difficult to make money, and the burden of the family was all on him alone, and it was too hard to live. Let's see if you can be accommodating and pay it in a few days, okay? "It was Grandpa's almost pleading voice.