This is to prevent theft. Gu Ping'an lowered his head and saw a piece of fish suddenly appear in the bowl. His eyes lit up, and just as he was about to speak, he noticed Gu An'an stretching out her index finger, "Shh".

  Gu Ping'an curved his eyes, turned around, poked Zhao Junyan, and pointed at Gu Anan. Although he didn't say anything, Zhao Junyan knew what was going on. She smiled gratefully at Gu Anan, touched her own forehead, and said "Eat."

  Zhou Aiju's eyes were bright and clear. Gu An'an's small movements couldn't escape the old lady's sharp eyes. She looked at An'an's expression and shook her head, "This child..."

  It's not that she didn't treat Gu Ping'an well, but this child has been quiet since childhood and is afraid of her. When there's food, although she won't let Gu Ping'an go hungry, after all, a ten-year-old child is growing up and the little bit they get will be gone in three or two mouthfuls, it's not enough!

  After finishing dinner, Gu An'an would normally take the initiative to do the dishes, but today after eating, she wiped her mouth and said, "Mom, I'm going back to my room. I need to prepare for the entrance exam."

  Zhou Aiju nodded and pointed to Gu Shu, "Go ask your brother to get the study materials, it will save a lot of trouble." Gu Shu had been in high school in the county town for a year. Because of the new policy this year, he could take the college entrance exam, so he came back home and begged his grandfather to let him read for another year, saying that he would have a good chance of getting into a good university. The family was excited about the possibility of having a university graduate. Moreover, Gu Shu was the eldest grandson of the old man's generation, obedient, studied well, and looked the most like his grandfather when he was young, which pleased the old man. The old man patted his hand, "Go read." Who would pay for the tuition? Of course, it would be taken care of by the fourth and third elders.

  "Brother, I'm going to your room to get some books. Lend me all the ones you're not using now."

  Gu Shu hesitated, but was interrupted by the old lady, so he could only take Gu An'an to the south kang. Because Gu Shu was going to take the college entrance exam, his family specially arranged a separate room for him, unlike the other grandsons who were crowded together. Although Gu Shu's room was only over 10 square meters, the desk and wardrobe were neatly arranged, no need to look, all done by Gu Dan.

  Gu Shu pulled out a book from the bookcase with a sullen face, "An An, these are all old and valuable books, you have to be careful." In Gu Shu's eyes, having one college student at home was enough, there was no need for Gu An An to come and show off, especially since she was just a girl. However, it had to be said that Gu Shu had some reservations about Gu An An, unlike An An's solid foundation, Gu Shu could only attend high school with the help of private tutors, barely passing the entrance exam to the county high school.

  An An looked at the math textbook in front of her and smiled meaningfully, "Isn't this a book issued by the school?" It was clearly free, yet he still said it was valuable. If it were the old Gu An An, she would have really returned the valuable book and not dared to borrow it.

  But An now can't.

  "Isn't tuition money?" Gu Shu's face turned red with anger and embarrassment.

  Gu Anan gave Gu Shu a strange look, whispered "Brother's tuition is also paid by my dad", and then slammed the door shut, running away in a flash.

  Qi's anger left Gu Shu breathless for a long time.

  Gu An'an, who had just received the book, was about to go to the old lady's house to ask where her father had gone. As she passed by the kitchen, she heard Wang Da Ying muttering, "An'an that dead girl, usually it's her washing dishes, today she ran away quickly. Sister-in-law, you say, what's the point of a girl reading books? It's better for her to help with household chores and get married early, so her husband's family can support our family and her younger brothers, instead of wasting money on sending her to school."

  Zhao Junyan was collecting the stove, and she also took out the pickled vegetables that they would eat for dinner to soak in water, to thaw the ice. When she heard Wang Da Ying's words, she originally didn't plan on speaking up, but thinking about the half piece of fish on the table, she said softly, "An An used to do less work? Moreover, An An is going to school, that's Old Fourth spending his own money, what's the waste in that? It seems like sending the nephew from next door to study isn't considered a waste, but sending their own daughter to study is a waste? What kind of logic is this?"

  Zhao Junyan rarely speaks, but when she does, her words are sharp and to the point. After all, she comes from a wealthy family and has different ideas. Moreover, they have a peaceful life, can read books in the village, and every year's worth of school supplies, pens, and other expenses are all paid by Lao Si alone. Just for this, Zhao Junyan should thank her younger brother-in-law.

  Wang Da Ying wanted to retort but thought that if this got out, wouldn't it be troublesome when the time came for his younger brother-in-law to take care of his eldest son's tuition?

  In the end, he swallowed the rest of his words.

  Gu An'an listened for a moment, snorted with laughter, and turned into Zhou Aijiu's room.

  I asked my old dad, and then took a pen and a notebook from the old lady's box. These kinds of expenses at home were all bought by Gu Weiqiang when he was running outside, and were kept by the old lady. After all, there are many children in the family, and they are not given out, just in case the children lose them.

  After all, brushes and pens are precious things.

  These days, families that can read books are not many.

  The old Gu family suddenly had two high school students, which is also a great honor for the village.

  Gu Anan muttered, "Not even milk knows where Dad went, he doesn't even come home for meals." She turned around and returned to the west wing.

  The Gu Wei Qiang who was being nagged by Gu An An, this would be in the deepest part of Gu Jia Village, in a household that could be described as a hut made of thatched grass. To say it's a household is an exaggeration, but rather a nest-like structure cobbled together with straw. The pigpens outside were all built with cobblestones, and if one were to compare the craftsmanship, the pigpens would seem more sturdy than the thatched hut by several degrees.

  Those who were allocated to live in thatched cottages were none other than the city dwellers who had committed errors and been criticized and struggled against, and then banished to Gujia Village.

  Because of the remote location, people in the village have been spreading rumors that the people living here are black five categories, bad elements, and everyone regards the thatched cottage as a plague god, no one dares to interact with the people on this side, for fear of getting into trouble.

  To say, this grass hut was inhabited by three people, a father and son duo, and an old man.

  The old man's name is Lang Yongling, 63 years old this year. He is a native of the Imperial City in Beijing and is a member of the Manchu nobility, also known as the Nara clan. If we count three generations up, his family was a prominent one during the Qing dynasty. The famous Heshen of the Qing court was from this same clan, but after the founding of the new country, they changed their surname to Lang.

  While Lang Yongling is actually a member of the He Shen family, even if their house was confiscated in those years, they were still considered wealthy and had many valuable antiques, porcelain, and famous paintings. These treasures would have been enviable in the past, but now they are poisonous. Lang Yongling will be labeled as a bad element and exiled to Gujia Village because of these antiques. In his early years, Lang Yongling was also known as "Lang One Eye", and it was said that any cultural relics he had appraised were guaranteed to be genuine.