The pressure on Su Xiao Liu and Su Xiao Qi was immense, as their older brothers had all achieved excellent academic results.
After all, their brothers had only studied in the county town, while they were now attending key middle schools in the capital. If they didn't perform as well as their brothers in these prestigious schools, they would be too ashamed to face anyone.
With Director Li confirming that Grandpa Su had no high expectations for this matter, he decided to get straight to the point.
"Old Mr. Su, your two grandsons have indeed performed very well, ranking fifth and seventh respectively."
Including Chi Yi Yuan, the Seventh Middle School had secured three spots in the top ten this time, an unprecedented achievement. In fact, even in recent years, the capital had seen a diverse range of top performers. It was considered exceptional for a single school to have two students in the top ten, marking them as the pride of their respective institutions. However, this year, the Seventh Middle School had managed to get three. Although they didn't clinch the first place, such results were still outstanding.
Grandpa Su was a bit surprised to hear these results. After all, his other grandsons had taken their exams in the northwest, so good scores were not unexpected. But Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi were in the capital.
At this moment, Su Xiao Liu and Su Xiao Qi also breathed a sigh of relief. They were content with their rankings, which were even better than they had anticipated. The two exchanged glances, their eyes filled with elation.
Grandpa Su smiled at his grandsons, thinking, "Excellent, they've brought honor to the Su family."
Director Li couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Grandpa Su remaining so calm upon hearing his grandsons' scores. What was going on? Did the old gentleman have such confidence in his grandsons, knowing they would achieve good results all along?
"Old Mr. Su, congratulations! It's truly remarkable that two children from your family have made it into the top ten city-wide!" Director Li seemed even more excited than Grandpa Su.
Grandpa Su replied politely, "It's all thanks to the excellent guidance of the teachers at the school. Without their dedicated teaching, these two rascals wouldn't be where they are today." Grandpa Su thought to himself, while these two rascals performed well, they still didn't get first place. Perhaps next year, his precious little darling might bring home a first place for the Su family.
Miles away, Su Xiao Tian sneezed but didn't think much of it.
Grandpa Su then invited Director Li to sit and inquired further, "Director Li, how did Yi Yuan do on his exam?" Thinking of Chi Yi Yuan, Grandpa Su felt that the boy's results should be very good.
Director Li's face lit up even more. "Old Mr. Su, I almost forgot to tell you. Chi Yi Yuan did exceptionally well, ranking second in the entire city. It's a shame, he was just shy of first place, missing it by a mere 0.5 points." Director Li was quite satisfied with this result. He knew Chi Yi Yuan had spent many years with Old Master Chi in the countryside and had only returned two years ago. To achieve such good results in such a short time was truly commendable.
However, Grandpa Su felt a pang of regret. Missing it by just 0.5 points, why couldn't he have scored a little higher? Even one more point would have made him the top scholar. He wondered if the boy would be disappointed when he returned.
As Grandpa Su was pondering this, Chi Ge, Du Tong He, and his wife arrived. They were somewhat surprised to see Director Li there.
"Old Mr. Chi, I was just about to come and share the good news with you, and here you are," Director Li said warmly as he approached Old Mr. Chi.
Chi Ge was taken aback. "Have the college entrance exam results been released?" Du Tong He guessed.
Yu Rui Yuan smiled, "If Director Li has personally come all this way, it must mean the three children have done quite well!"
"Naturally, our children wouldn't be subpar!" said Grandma Su, emerging from the kitchen, having overheard the conversation. Hearing Grandma Su's confident tone, everyone chuckled. Indeed, as it turned out, the Su family's children were never subpar; they were all excellent!
"You are absolutely right, Old Mrs. Su, your children are indeed outstanding!" Director Li laughed heartily, as if he were part of the Su family himself.
Grandma Su beamed, "Everyone is invited to our home for dinner tonight. I'll be making a feast! Coincidentally, the children wanted braised pork ribs, so I've already prepared a large pot!" Grandma Su was delighted by the children's good exam results. Over the years, influenced by Su Xiao Tian, Grandma Su had placed great importance on her grandsons' studies. Although she knew that no matter how hard they studied, they wouldn't be as brilliant as Su Xiao Tian, she was always happy to hear about their good performance.
Director Li had personally come all this way precisely to have a taste of Grandma Su's home-cooked meal. Upon hearing that Grandma Su was making braised pork ribs, Director Li felt his visit was indeed worthwhile.
As Grandma Su happily went to prepare the meal, the others sat down to chat, occasionally attending to their guests. Many of the patrons at Yi Ming Ge were familiar faces. Upon hearing about the excellent results of the two Su children, they congratulated the Su family with smiles. The Yi Ming Ge was filled with a lively atmosphere.
"I think we should have a proper gathering. I'm just not sure how Xiao Gang did on his exam!" Grandpa Su remembered Shen Xiao Gang. While this child's academic performance wasn't as strong as his own grandsons', he should still be able to get into a decent university, shouldn't he?
Although Director Li was the Director of the Education Bureau, he only concerned himself with the children he was responsible for. For someone like Shen Xiao Gang, he hadn't paid much attention and was now quietly sipping his tea.
"We'll know once we ask Zi Zhen later!" Chi Ge said, taking a sip of tea. "Zi Zhen has invested a lot of effort in Xiao Gang."
"I'll make the call!" Su Lao San said impatiently.
When the call was made, no one answered, which made Su Lao San even more anxious.
"He's probably gone to the experimental fields. They've been very busy lately," Chi Ge said. "Zi Zhen mentioned that if this experiment is successful, it could increase yields by thirty to forty percent." Grandpa Su was also astonished by this news. If corn and rice could increase yields by so much, how many people's food problems could be solved?
"Zi Zhen has truly put in a lot of effort and dedication!" Du Tong He said. "Back when we were in Hongxin Brigade, Zi Zhen had already found his direction. In the past two years, to achieve his goal, he looks quite haggard!" If Zi Zhen hadn't gone to Hongxin Brigade back then, perhaps his initial goal would have already been achieved. But where were there so many "ifs" in life?
Everyone fell silent. Du Tong He added, "Zi Zhen always regrets that Xiao Tian didn't join him in this endeavor. He even said that if Xiao Tian had participated, they would have succeeded long ago!" Grandpa Su chuckled. This child, Xiao Tian, knew so much, and he wondered what she would end up doing in the future.