Chapter 1816 - 326

Yingzi's parents wanted to host the college entrance banquet at their home, so that they could collect the monetary gifts.

Li Sanjiang found out and went to their yard, pointing at the couple and giving them a thorough scolding.

Quite a few villagers came to watch the drama, and three pairs of aunts and uncles joined in for a bit of verbal sparring, kicking them when they were down.

In the end, the college entrance banquet was hosted by Li Weihan and his wife, and the collected gifts were given to Yingzi, minus the cost of the banquet, for her university expenses.

Li Sanjiang had no respect for the four ingrates beneath Li Weihan, but he was impartial towards the younger generation of offspring.

After all, he was the highest-ranked elder among the Li family in the village.

Therefore, Li Sanjiang first expressed his stance by giving a rather large monetary gift.

The three pairs of aunts and uncles couldn't escape either; under Li Sanjiang's demands, they had to agree to give a gift of equal amount.

As Li Sanjiang put it, at the very least, it's about close relatives, and giving gifts equivalent to what the other villagers gave wouldn't be laughed at!

The expressions of the three pairs of aunts and uncles were unpleasant because this money would only return to them if their children also went to college in the future.

Li Lan called.

She said she would cover Yingzi's annual college tuition.

Obviously, the caller wasn't Li Lan herself, but her secretary of Nantong background, whom Li Weihan and Cui Guiying already regard as their daughter's voice.

Even Li Zhiyuan had to admit that Li Lan's image was absolutely luminous in the village; having such a daughter is truly a blessing.

Yingzi regards her aunt Li Lan as her role model, and her parents allowed her to finish high school normally due to Li Lan's influence.

On the day of the banquet, the dishes were impressive.

Just recovered from illness, Yingzi clenched her admission notice, expressing her gratitude to Li Weihan and Cui Guiying in front of guests. Her emotions overflowed, and she hugged her grandparents, crying.

From a young age till now, she spent the most time living with her grandparents. During her final year in high school, her parents went to work on construction sites in the city to earn money, and Li Weihan managed to gather items to supplement her nutrition. Every night, Cui Guiying would sit by the side, working on shoe soles while accompanying her in studying till late at night, and when she fell ill, it was her grandparents who used a cart to bring her back from school.

As for her biological parents, they assumed that after thanking her grandparents, it would be their turn, even preening their clothes to look appropriate. However, Yingzi directly skipped them.

Kids aren't blind; inside they have a scale of justice. Previously, Yingzi stayed quiet because she wasn't strong enough, but now she is beginning to clearly express her attitude.

Yingzi specially looked for Li Zhiyuan to ask about Zhao Yi from the circus, when he would return to Nantong.

Zhao Yi did indeed make significant efforts for Yingzi regarding her college entrance examination, though it made her quite ill afterward, at least he resolved her psychological insecurities, ensuring she could perform normally.

However, there were still lingering effects.

Yingzi had favorable feelings toward Zhao Yi.

After the uncertainty of the future faded, Yingzi gradually lived up to her name, exuding a heroic spirit.

Li Zhiyuan's response was that Zhao Yi was at home accompanying his wife in childbirth, and wouldn't return to Nantong for now.

Yingzi sighed and then broke into a smile; some fleeting moments in life are destined to be mere passersby.

Afterwards, Yingzi began to seek advice from Li Zhiyuan about university life.

Actually, Li Zhiyuan himself didn't experience much university life.

Most of the time, he wasn't at school. Even when at school, as a youth he would check the entire course schedule, choosing the classes he was interested in.

The young man suggested his cousin engage more in club activities and join the student council for training, though he himself didn't participate in any of the above.

Having contributed such a large sum, Li Sanjiang even brought the family mule to dine at the banquet.

After the evening banquet, Run Sheng, Tan Wenbin, and Lin Shuyou left the table early to go home for construction work.

As usual, Li Sanjiang would drink heavily at the banquet, later carried home by Xiong Shan.

Li Zhiyuan packed several crabs, pastries, and fried food to take home from the banquet.

The village chef's skills definitely couldn't compare to Aunt Liu, but Aunt Liu couldn't cook banquets every day, lacking the variety. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Moreover, this kind of food wrapped in torn table paper from the banquet seemed to have a unique flavor.

Li Zhiyuan didn't initially plan to take it, but he was the youngest at the table, and several dishes were directly given to him by Li Sanjiang. The other elders at the table, who didn't have young children, all gave their portions to Little Yuanhou as a customary understanding.

Bringing home the packaged food, Li Zhiyuan shared it with Alii.

Feeling embarrassed to eat at home, the youth took the girl's hand to a haystack beside the field ridge.

A small dog, Xiao Hei, who slept later and woke earlier than everyone at home, was brought along by Li Zhiyuan.

This area was close to the river, where snakes were frequently spotted in the haystacks. With Xiao Hei around, even if it couldn't catch the snakes, at least they would bite it first.

The two shared the food, eating with their fingers oily as they shared it under the moonlight.

The leftover scraps were ignored by Xiao Hei, crawling beside them without any interest.

Heading to the riverbank to crouch down and wash their hands.

A thread of irregular ripples emerged on the river surface ahead.

Li Zhiyuan was helping Alii wash her hands, heard it, but didn't hurry to manage it; they were not close anyways.