1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 19: Let's give the sixth and seventh brothers a pep talk too.
Before we knew it, the Mid-Autumn Festival had arrived.

On this day, the daughters and sons-in-law of Qiaojiawan sent mooncakes and pastries to their parents-in-law. This is a custom in Cenhe area called "sending Mid-Autumn Festival gifts".

Qiao Erhe's family has no married daughters. When his grandparents were still alive, his aunt would return to her parents' home every year to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, since his grandparents passed away, his aunt has returned to her parents' home much less often.

The tradition of sending Mid-Autumn Festival gifts naturally ended.

This was Qiao Erhe's first Mid-Autumn Festival since his rebirth. When he went to learn brewing techniques from Master Xiao, he also bought a lot of mooncakes.

In the evening, the round moon hung high in the sky. The seven members of the Qiao family sat on small stools at their doorstep, eating mooncakes, admiring the moon, and chatting about everyday life.

As for Qiao Wuhu, he was naturally studying at school and did not come back.

In this day and age, there is no holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Today is Tuesday, so Qiao Wuhu naturally couldn't come back to enjoy the moon and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with his family.

The moon was round and bright tonight. Under its light, even without the lights on, one could clearly see everyone's face. Qiao Erhe looked at his elder brother sitting opposite him and asked, "Brother, have you planted the seeds in the fields at home?"

Qiao Dajiang nodded and said, "The seeds have all been sown."

Sitting next to him, Qiao Sihai chimed in, "Second Brother, I heard from Eldest Brother that you've been learning winemaking these past few days. I wonder how it's going? Are you able to brew any wine yet?"

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "I have already learned how to brew rice wine. I am currently learning the brewing techniques for baijiu (Chinese liquor). I have a pretty good grasp of the brewing process. What I lack now is practical experience."

Huang Hongmei swatted mosquitoes with her fan: "Second brother, all you do is make a fuss. If you want to drink, just buy it. Why spend so much time learning how to brew wine? Do you want to brew wine and sell it in the future?"

Qiao Erhe said, "It's not impossible to brew wine and sell it. Now that the land has been distributed to individual households, our family has so much land. We definitely can't eat all the wheat and rice we grow every year. It's perfect to use this surplus grain to brew wine."

Huang Hongmei scoffed, "How much money can you make from brewing wine?"

Qiao Erhe smiled without saying a word. If he didn't have the magic spring water as a powerful weapon, his wine might not have a big market. After all, there was no shortage of wine on the market, and his winemaking skills were no better than others. Why would people want to buy his wine?

Moreover, even if someone buys his wine, how much money can he make from this ordinary rice wine?
But with the blessing of the spiritual spring water, things are different.

Although Qiao Erhe hasn't actually started brewing wine yet, he believes that with the help of the spiritual spring water, he will definitely be able to brew an unparalleled wine. At that time, no matter how high the price is, he estimates that countless people will be waving their money and scrambling to buy it.

When……

Qiao Erhe couldn't help but feel excited when he thought of that scene.

He decided that once the wheat harvest is next year, he will start trying to brew wine.

Seeing that the second brother remained silent, Qiao Dajiang took over and said, "Brewing wine is also a skill. As the saying goes, it's always good to have more skills and a way to make a living."

Huang Hongmei didn't say much after hearing this, because what the eldest brother said made sense. No matter what the second brother thought, learning another skill was ultimately a good thing.

While the family was chatting, Qiao Erhe looked at Qiao Liuduo and said, "Liuduo, you're in fifth grade now, and you'll be going to junior high next year. How are your grades?"

Currently, primary school is still a five-year system, while junior high and senior high school are two-year systems. It wasn't until 1984 that education reform began, at which time textbooks were changed starting from the first grade of primary school, and primary school became a six-year system.

Hearing this, Qiao Liuduo said somewhat guiltily, "Second brother, my grades aren't very good."

Qiao Erhe then looked at Qiao Qitan and asked, "Seventh Brother, how are your grades?" Qiao Qitan chuckled and replied, "I'm about the same as Sixth Sister."

Qiao Erhe didn't need to ask; he already knew their academic performance was poor, a fact proven in his previous life. Originally, he didn't plan to intervene, but he had already encouraged Lao Wu before, and it seemed to be working well. After hearing his words, Lao Wu was like he'd been injected with adrenaline, and he'd been burying himself in his studies lately.

As the older brother, he naturally couldn't show favoritism.

Therefore, Qiao Erhe also planned to give Lao Liu and Lao Qi a pep talk to see if he could change their fate in their studies.

Thinking of this, Qiao Erhe asked, "Sixth brother, seventh brother, when you two grow up, do you want to stay at home and work hard farming, or do you want to work in the city, sit in an office, drink tea and read newspapers all day, and have a fixed income every month?"

Qiao Liuduo blurted out, "Is that even a question? Of course, I want to go to the city and sit in an office!"

Qiao Qitan nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice: "I also want to go to the city and sit in an office."

Qiao Erhe said, "It seems that you all know that it is more comfortable to work in an office in the city, and you don't want to stay at home and work hard under the scorching sun. Do you know how to get a chance to work in an office in the city?"

Qiao Liuduo shook her head and said, "I don't know."

Qiao Qihe also shook his head and said, "I don't know either."

Qiao Erhe said, "Our family is just an ordinary rural family. We don't have any social connections to help you. The only way for you to get a job in the city is to start studying hard now. Studying hard is your only way out."

"As long as you can get into a vocational high school, the government will guarantee you jobs after graduation. Then you'll have the opportunity to become leaders and sit in offices in the city."

Qiao Liuduo asked, "Second Brother, what is a vocational high school?"

Qiao Erhe said, "Vocational school is a school you can take after graduating from junior high school. It's similar to high school, but it's better. The country is short of talent for development. Graduating from vocational school is considered a high level of education. After graduation, you will have the opportunity to become a leader. This is an opportunity given to you by the times. As long as you seize it, you won't have to worry about anything for the rest of your life."

Qiao Liuduo and Qiao Qitan were both excited when they heard this. Although they were still young and didn't quite understand what their second brother meant, they understood one thing: the vocational school their second brother mentioned was very important to them.

Qiao Liuduo scratched her head and asked, "Second brother, with such poor grades, do I still have a chance to get into a vocational school?"

Qiao Erhe said bluntly, "With your current grades, it's a pipe dream to get into a vocational school. But as the saying goes, hard work pays off. If you start studying hard now and try to improve your grades, you still have a chance to get into a vocational school."

Anyway, the hardship will only last for a few years. Once you get into a vocational high school, you can just wait to enjoy life for the next few decades!
If you don't work hard now and fail to get into a vocational school, then prepare to live a life of toiling in the fields for the next few decades!

I've told you everything I needed to say. The choice you make now is up to you. I hope that ten years from now, you'll be able to face the consequences of your choices today.

Qiao Liuduo felt a surge of excitement and clenched her fists, saying, "Second Brother, I will study hard from now on."

Qiao Qitan said, "I will also study hard."

Huang Hongmei, Qiao Dajiang, Qiao Sanduo, and Qiao Sihai all looked at Qiao Erhe with surprise, clearly not expecting him to be so eloquent.

Qiao Erhe remained noncommittal. As someone who had been through it, he naturally understood that the key to learning was perseverance, and that momentary enthusiasm was useless. He hoped that the fifth, sixth, and seventh children could continue to work hard, get into a vocational school, and completely change their fate.

(End of this chapter)