Chapter 1355: Chapter 1356: The Little Widow of the Courtyard 83 “Who could know about this?” The tech department head was aware of his two sons’ little schemes and felt quite disheartened. “But the agreement was signed back then, and the plant leaders witnessed it. Do you think she would give up this job?” “Even if both kids have prospects and can get into university, they’d be assigned jobs.” “That also belongs to their family. You, the third child, know how you got your job.” “Nowadays, how much is a job worth? You should weigh it yourselves.” The tech department head was very angry. As a father, he tried to be as fair and just as possible and always believed he was doing quite well. But now, looking back, he realized that his sons had turned out without his knowledge. “Moreover, you are fathers yourselves now. Your mother and I are getting old. Let’s divide the family assets.” Originally, the tech department head thought since he earned a lot, he could help out his kids a bit. But now he found that his two sons never appreciated his efforts; instead, they took it for granted. “What? Divide the family assets?” The brothers were in a panic. Although they contributed to living expenses, without the family assets, they couldn’t maintain such a good lifestyle. The old man was determined to stick to dividing the assets, even his favorite eldest grandson couldn’t change his mind. The younger son felt more and more disadvantaged, but the tech department head stepped in, “Your brother found his own job, while I helped you with yours.” “Before your brother got married, he handed over five years of wages, while you got married after working less than a year.” Initially, he didn’t want to argue with his kids; after all, they were his sons. Discussing openly might embarrass everyone. After the old man’s words, both the eldest and the youngest sons shut their mouths, knowing that if they continued speaking, they’d only make the old man angrier. Zhang Yu was shocked that Zhao Lei’s university entrance exams even led to the tech department head’s family dividing assets. Even if she knew, she would just laugh it off. None of them wanted to strive on their own but focused on what their parents had, typical of ungrateful children. Zhang Yu wanted to give Zhao Lei a good supplement because the college entrance exam isn’t just physically demanding. But Zhao Lei declined, “Mom, everyone’s face doesn’t look good now. As someone preparing for the college entrance exam, if I look too well-nourished…” For the past two years, they cautiously brewed special meals to avoid drawing attention to their family, just as they were about to see the light, they couldn’t let anything go wrong now. “Besides, I’m really better off than many others.” Zhao Lei knew the state of his senior classmates. “Only mom thinks I’m weak.” Zhao Lei insisted he was fine. Since Zhao Lei was so adamant, Zhang Yu had no choice but to spend more time fishing, going to the mountains on weekends. In the past, whenever she had catches, Zhang Yu would be discreet, but now she displayed them openly. From early in the year, the fish harvests increased, even in the mountains, where wild grass had gradually proliferated. The big-house courtyards’ grannies noticed that going to the mountains wasn’t what it used to be; often, there were no returns, but now they would not come back empty-handed. Everyone saw Zhang Yu’s fishing creel on the bike handle again, “Zhang Yu, you went fishing again?” The courtyard neighbors admired Zhang Yu, knowing she was skilled at fishing; seeing Zhao Lei riding a bicycle reminded them of her past achievements. Yet, Zhang Yu hadn’t cooked at home for ages; seeing her with the fishing creel made people a bit dazed. “Since Xiao Lei is about to take the college entrance exam, I can’t help with his studies; I can only do my best in logistics.” Initially, seeing Zhang Yu’s fishing creel, everyone felt tempted, wondering whether they could barter for some fish. They had tried fishing and mountain treks, but had little success. However, Zhang Yu said it was to nourish Zhao Lei, leaving them speechless. The college entrance exam consumes brainpower and energy, requiring good nutrition. Zhang Yu made a big pot of fish soup, serving a bowl to each household with elderly and kids. “There’s no fish meat; drink some fish soup, the nutrition is in the broth.” Zhang Yu knew that even with the pretext of nourishing Zhao Lei, and the fish being caught by herself, it was still a little too conspicuous. From that day onwards, whenever Zhang Yu caught fish and made fish soup for Zhao Lei, she brewed a big pot, serving it to the neighbors around. This way, everyone felt it was improper to grumble, instead expressing gratitude. Thus, time sped along to the entrance exam day. Initially, Zhang Yu considered taking leave to accompany Zhao Lei, but later realized it wasn’t customary. Zhang Yu had to work, so couldn’t send Zhao Lei to the exam hall; fortunately, Zhao Hong was there, and the little girl wasn’t going to class. Zhao Lei managed to gently reject Zhang Yu’s plan to send him to the exam hall, only to turn around and decide that Zhao Hong would take him instead. “Mom, if I bike to the exam hall, what will my sister do, standing outside in the sun?” “I’m really worried that by the time my exam ends, my dear sister will have sun-stroke-induced foolishness.” Zhao Lei couldn’t bear to let his delicate sister wait outside under the glaring sun. “Oh, big brother, how am I foolish?” Zhao Hong expressed indignation, “Although my grades aren’t as good as yours, saying that really annoys me.” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn ɴovelfire.net Comparing grades with her big brother, Zhao Hong felt she couldn’t measure up, but when comparing to Zhao Lei, she thought such a person was rare indeed. The three-day college entrance exam passed in the blink of an eye, and results soon came out. Zhang Yu wondered if there were top scorer declarations now; anyway, Zhao Lei’s results were good. The teacher hadn’t mentioned him being a top scorer, maybe this era had taboo around the term. But that’s not the point; the current issue was that Zhao Lei’s results made getting into Capital University really not a problem. “Congratulations, brother.” Zhao Hong knew his scores and was sure he’d get into Capital University. Recently, the family’s been memorizing Capital University’s admission scores, and Zhao Lei’s scores far exceeded the previous standard. In fact, after finishing his exams, Zhao Lei had an idea his scores were solid, but he hadn’t spoken about it. Now knowing the scores, he remained modest, “Let’s wait for the score threshold.” Zhang Yu’s family stayed calm without any surprised expressions, leaving neighbors unsure about whether Zhao Lei did well or not. If given the option, they hoped he didn’t do well; otherwise, Zhang Yu’s family would shine again, becoming a standout in the neighborhood. Those eyeing Zhao Jun’s job slot were actually hoping Zhao Yan would score well.