Chapter 121 A Life-Changing Journey When it was getting dark, Gu Xiaoxia went to Li's house. When she was about to reach the Li family, she happened to run into Li Long and his friends coming back from the small lake. Gu Xiaoxia simply did not enter the yard. She waited outside for Li Long and his friends to arrive at the door. She greeted Li Jianguo first, and then said to Li Long: "I'll go to the county town with you tomorrow morning." "Okay, you should go to bed early. We will set out from the team at around seven o'clock tomorrow." Li Long said. "Okay." Gu Xiaoxia responded and turned to leave. "Xiaoxia, wait a minute." Li Jianguo called to Gu Xiaoxia and took out a two or three kilograms black five-stripe dart from the sled and handed it to her: "Take it back and give it to your father to nourish his body." "Uncle Jianguo, this won't do..." "What's wrong with that? This is for your dad." Li Jianguo stuffed the fish into her hands. "Okay, go back quickly, have a rest early, and do well in the exam tomorrow." Gu Xiaoxia was a little touched and went home with the fish. Tao Daqiang also hurried home, carrying the fish with him, because he wanted to make fish soup for Tao Jianshe to nourish his body. Li Long carried a carp to the stable and told Lao Luo that he would use the car tomorrow. Lao Luo had no problem with that.
The next day, Li Long got up at about six o'clock. He first went to the stable to harness the carriage and pull it to Li's house, and then he and Li Jianguo loaded the fish. They caught more than 50 kilograms of fish yesterday, but only about 30 kilograms met the standards for sale. Li Long suggested selling all the frozen fish that had been stored previously. After a few days, they would thaw and they could then catch fresh fish to eat. So this time the carriage was loaded with three large bags of fish weighing more than 70 kilograms, and a fox skin. In order to make it easier for people to sit, Li Jianguo took a bundle of grass from the haystack and spread it on the back of the carriage, and then found a urea bag to cover it. As soon as Li Long drove the carriage out of the door, he saw Tao Daqiang standing outside the yard. "Daqiang, why don't you go in?" "I just arrived a while ago." Tao Daqiang said with a smile. "Then let's go pick up Xiaoxia and go to the county." "Brother Long, are we selling fish in the county?" Tao Daqiang asked as they walked. "Let's go to the morning market first." "Morning market?" "Well, it seems that no one is checking the black market anymore. It's considered the morning market now." The two drove the carriage to Gu's house. Seeing that the windows of Gu's house were lit, Li Long entered the yard and shouted: "Xiaoxia!" A minute later, Gu Xiaoxia came out wearing a cotton coat and a scarf on her head. "Get in the car," Li Long said, "let's go now." Gu Boyuan came out of the house and said to Li Long and Tao Daqiang: "Xiaolong, Daqiang, thank you for your help." "What's the trouble?" Li Long smiled. "It's just on the way. Uncle Gu, please go in." Gu Xiaoxia didn't take a car at first, she planned to walk for a while. It was still dark, and it was reassuring to walk a long distance with someone who knew her well. After walking two kilometers, seeing that Gu Xiaoxia was a little out of breath, Li Long asked her to get in the car to rest.
By the time we arrived at the county, more than an hour had passed. "Let's go to the big meat canteen to drink some porridge and eat some hot food. There is still more than an hour before your exam, and it will be just enough time to digest it." Li Long said. Gu Xiaoxia wanted to refuse, but Li Long had already led the carriage to the big meat canteen. When they got outside the canteen, Tao Daqiang insisted on watching the carriage outside, so Li Long didn't force him. After entering, he ordered three bowls of porridge and ten buns, and he and Gu Xiaoxia ate first. Li Long ate very quickly. He had already eaten three buns before Gu Xiaoxia finished one. Then he gulped down the porridge, wiped his mouth, stood up and said to Gu Xiaoxia: "You eat first, I'll let Daqiang come over." Although the three of them had already had breakfast, after being in the cold wind for over an hour, they really needed to replenish their energy, so Gu Xiaoxia also ate two buns and drank a bowl of porridge. Tao Daqiang ate three buns. Li Long originally wanted Gu Xiaoxia to take the remaining two, but she refused to take them, so Li Long took them out. "We'll take you to the Education Bureau. There's less than an hour left before the exam," Li Long said, "you can get familiar with the environment there." Gu Xiaoxia didn't know where the Education Bureau was and originally planned to come over to ask, but she didn't expect that Li Long had thought of everything. She felt warm in her heart. When they arrived at the Education Bureau, the door was already open and some people were already walking in. Li Long said to Gu Xiaoxia: "Go in. Get familiar with the environment first, then go to the bathroom. Don't be nervous during the exam. You will definitely get a good grade." Gu Xiaoxia waved at the two people with a red face and walked in with her bag slung over her shoulder. "Let's go to the morning market." When he arrived at the morning market, Li Long found that there were at least four stalls selling frozen fish, and he felt the pressure of competition. "Brother Long, are we still selling here?" Daqiang asked. "No, let's go to Shicheng." Li Long knew that the frozen fish business was indeed not easy to do, at least in this county. Of course, there is also good news. Seeing that there are more and more stalls in the morning market, it shows that the market may really be liberalized. Everyone has become bolder and not many people are intervening. It is foreseeable that when the snow melts in spring, when live fish are caught and sold, no one will care. By then, the money earned from selling fish in one day will be enough to earn a laborer more than a month's work points, so let others participate in collective labor. The two drove to Shicheng and shared the two buns when they were almost there. This time, they went to the old street first. Li Long was surprised to find that someone had already set up a fixed stall to sell things. The station’s joint defense personnel turned a blind eye! Li Long immediately found a place, spread out a plastic sheet, put the fish on the table and started shouting. Gu Xiaoxia had already started the exam at this time. Although she was still a little nervous when entering the Education Bureau, she found a toilet before entering, and after using it, she really didn't feel so nervous anymore. Looking at the contents of the paper now, Gu Xiaoxia's remaining nervousness has completely disappeared. At this moment, she was really grateful to Li Long. If it weren't for his "insiders", she wouldn't have reviewed those courses more than a month in advance, and now she wouldn't be able to face this paper so easily. She looked around and saw that some of the people taking the exam were about her age, and some were middle-aged people in their thirties or forties. Most of them frowned as they looked at the papers, which made Gu Xiaoxia more confident. However, she did not relax because of this. She began to carefully read the questions and answer them. When I came out of the Education Bureau after the exam, the sun was already shining brightly outside. Looking at the clear sky, Gu Xiaoxia's mood was just like the day, unusually clear. She felt that she could score more than 90 points in each of the two exams! Thinking about what my father said, this is really an opportunity to change my destiny.
She grasped it! From a distance, Gu Xiaoxia smiled as she saw a carriage coming towards her. (End of this chapter)