At the end of summer, the climate in the Qiuchuan area is humid and muggy.

Ning Zhiyuan picked up two bundles of bud leaves from the opposite hillside and came to the fish pond and threw them into the water one by one. After a while, the fish pond sounded the sound of puff fish gnawing.

He took off his clothes, plunged into the water with a snap, and a fierce man did not emerge until ten meters away, took a long breath, wiped the water stains from his eyes with his hands, and then turned over and lay on his back, his limbs stretched out freely, like a big white fish floating on the water.

Third brother, third brother, someone is looking for you. Suddenly, hearing someone shouting hurriedly, Ning Zhiyuan turned over, stepped on the water with his feet, and turned his head to see that it was his cousin Xiaohui. Xiaohui, who is looking for me? He asked, turning his head to look. My aunt asked me to call you back, saying that your teacher is here! Xiaohui craned her neck and shouted. Got it! Ning Zhiyuan turned over and swam on his back, slowly moving closer to the shore.

Walking back to the courtyard, Ning Zhiyuan saw his father Ning Jiaxun talking with a middle-aged man, who turned out to be the homeroom teacher Lu Guo. Mr. Lu, why are you here? Ning Zhiyuan shouted in surprise, and ran over wet without caring about it. Ning Jiaxun raised his head, said with a smile on his face, and didn't change his clothes yet. Ning Zhiyuan touched his shirtless upper body, laughed embarrassedly, turned around and ran into the house.

When he came out, he heard Mr. Lu say, this year, our school has turned around, and we have been admitted to three at one time, and Principal Wang is very happy, saying that he wants to squeeze some funds to reward him. Ning Jiaxun beckoned and said, I didn't come to thank Mr. Lu for personally sending you the admission letter. Ning Zhiyuan cried out in surprise and took an envelope handed over by his father. On the envelope, the three small block brush words of "Ning Zhiyuan" are strong and powerful, and the signature is "Yuezhou Normal School of Qiuchuan Province". His hands trembled a little, and when he opened the envelope, the five words of the admission notice came into view, and he felt that his nose was a little sour, and he turned around and ran to the stove room, shouting as he ran, Mom, Mom, I was admitted to Yuezhou Normal School. Behind him, a burst of laughter from Ning Jiaxun and Lu Guo sounded.

After dinner, Ning Jiaxun took Ning Zhiyuan to send Lu Guo out of the door, and walked to the main road by the pond, Lu Guo extinguished the flashlight, turned around and said to Ning Zhiyuan, Zhiyuan, you will be a normal student in the future, remember that you are going to study, not to play. Ning Zhiyuan nodded again and again and said, "Teacher, I remember." Lu Guo said, you two go back. Ning Jiaxun said, Zhiyuan, you send the teacher back to school, it's not safe to walk at night. Lu Guo smiled and said, I'm an old man in my forties, what don't I worry about. Ning Zhiyuan said sincerely, Teacher, let me send you. Lu Guo waved his hand, turned on the flashlight and said, stay here, I'm leaving. Ning Zhiyuan knew the personality of the head teacher, so he had to stop.

Yuezhou County is located in the eastern part of Qiuchuan Province, is a large county with a population of 1.3 million, although it is only 200 kilometers away from the provincial capital, but there is no railway, no highway, only a transit national highway, the traffic is very inconvenient, and the economy is relatively backward. Wolong Township, where Ning Zhiyuan is located, is 48 kilometers away from the county seat and is a small remote township with less than 10,000 people. Wolong School is admitted to Yuezhou Normal School once or twice, and in some years, it also submits blank papers. This year, he was admitted to three at one time, and all of them were in Ning Zhiyuan's class. On the way back, Ning Jiaxun put his hands behind his back and said slowly, Teacher Lu should be promoted.

Back in the yard, Ning Zhiyuan sat down next to his mother, peeled a pear and handed it over, saying, Mom, eat it. Zhiyuan's mother took it and handed it to Ning Jiaxun, Ning Jiaxun said, you just eat, filial piety to you. Zhiyuan's mother smiled, took a bite and said, San'er, if you go to study as a teacher, you won't have so many pigs at home. Ning Zhiyuan looked at the gray hair on his mother's head and said, "If you want it, Mom, you have worked too hard, and I will give you all my wages when I work in the future." Zhiyuan's mother said happily, yes. Ning Zhiyuan turned his head and said, Dad, you should do less work, you and your mother are not in good health.

Ning Jiaxun smiled and said, read your books well, don't worry about things at home, give you 100 yuan a month for living expenses, and the school will give you a living allowance of more than 40 yuan, is it enough? Ning Zhiyuan hurriedly said, enough is enough. Zhiyuan's mother said, San'er, you have been thin since you were a child, so you should eat more in school to grow your body. The corners of Ning Zhiyuan's eyes began to moisten, he had never left home or his mother since he was a child, and now that he has grown up, his parents are also old.

Looking at his parents' stiff bodies, Ning Zhiyuan said softly, Dad, I will come back after finishing normal school, and I will also come to the village to teach and provide for you and your mother. Before the words fell, Ning Jiaxun slapped the teacup on the bench with a "snap". The two of them were startled, only to hear him yell, you are a useless thing, is Lao Tzu asking you to come back, don't you know what Tongjiawan looks like, although I am also teaching and receiving national wages, in fact, it is not that I have not gotten rid of facing the loess with my back to the sky, you are really angry with me.

Ning Zhiyuan's tears came out all of a sudden, and he hurriedly said, Dad, I, I didn't mean that, I listened to you. Zhiyuan's mother said, Dad, don't roar, San'er is also a piece of filial piety. Ning Jiaxun snorted, then kicked and got up and went back to the house. Ning Zhiyuan whispered, Mom, go cook a towel for Dad, he has a stomachache and feels better. Zhiyuan's mother stood up and said, then you can rest for a while and go to bed early, and you will have to go uphill to pick buds tomorrow.

It was late at night, Ning Zhiyuan lay on a bamboo chair, silently looking at the dark hillside opposite. For him, he actually wants to go to high school and go to college. At that time, college was an unattainable and tempting dream. Faced with dreams and reality, Ning Zhiyuan chose the most realistic normal school, just to jump out of the farm gate and reduce the pressure burden of his parents. Ning Zhiyuan was shrouded in sadness. Studying at Yuezhou Normal means that you have to come back after three years, even if you receive a salary and eat the national meal, you still have not left the countryside, and continue to repeat the life path of your parents in this barren land. He felt that his future was like a huge bubble, making it difficult to breathe, difficult to struggle, like drowning, no matter how much he struggled, he still watched himself slowly sink.

The dew gradually wet his hair, and this young man who had just entered the world fell into a deep sleep.