I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Qiaoqiao's new home is apartment 105 in Building 3 of the Huailin City Daily Family Area.

Having gotten used to living in a big house, in a two-bedroom apartment, you can hear the whole family if you fart.

Yang Zheng had been waiting in the new house for a long time. His workplace was only two bus routes away from Qiaoqiao's home, so he could come over after get off work to supervise her studies.

However, the house was too small, so Zhou Wenhui pointed to the back yard and said, "Yang Zheng, build a house here for you to live in."

The yard is large; we built a bedroom there, and half of it is used for drying clothes.

"Okay, I'll get some help from my coworkers. It'll be finished in two days. We'll open a door in the backyard, and then the yard will be my home."

Yang Zheng didn't mind living in the hospital, where he could see his mother every day; he was even willing to stay in the living room.

Qiaoqiao put her son in the cradle and tidied up a pile of odds and ends with her mother.

"Compared to that big courtyard, this house is as big as a birdcage. There's no place to grow vegetables anymore, and everything costs money," Qiaoqiao's mother muttered.

"Mom, isn't it great? Living in the city means my brother can come home every day, while living in the compound means he rarely comes home, maybe once a month. Besides, Wenhui only needs to turn right from the family quarters for a dozen meters to get to the newspaper office, making commuting so convenient."

Qiaoqiao also felt the house was too small, but she was very satisfied.

The big house in the military family compound belongs to her parents-in-law; this is her real home.

"We can't let your brother come back to stay every day. More people means more food, after all, he's the son-in-law."

"Mom, when did Wenhui start acting like a son-in-law? He calls me 'Mom' all the time, just like a son. I have money. Wenhui went out to give speeches and saved up almost ten thousand yuan. He can buy whatever he wants to eat. There's no need for him to be stingy," Qiaoqiao said in a low voice.

"No matter how much money it is, it belongs to your son-in-law. He works hard to earn it, so you have to be frugal."

"Okay, okay, I got it. We'll eat cabbage every day, no money needed."

Qiaoqiao laughed. Her mother was used to a hard life, and even if she had money, she couldn't bear to spend it extravagantly.

After cleaning the house all day, Yang Zheng was so exhausted that he felt completely paralyzed. He rushed back to his dormitory, and Qiao Qiao didn't want to cook either, so they ate at the cafeteria.

Now that he's settled into his new home, Yang Zheng specially switched shifts and asked his colleagues to help him build a bedroom in the yard.

Master Chen Yan also came.

"Master, how could we trouble you?" Qiaoqiao called out to her brother.

Chen Yan chuckled and said, "I don't trust these bastards to do the work. I'll handle the wiring here. I'm an electrician, after all."

Chen Yan had visited Qiaoqiao's house many times and was quite familiar with Zhou Wenhui. Seeing that he was moving around freely, he was very happy: "Wenhui, not bad, you're getting better and better."

"I have to thank my master; the prosthetic leg is very comfortable to use." Zhou Wenhui was truly grateful to Chen Yan.

"Why thank me? If Yang Zheng hadn't brought back the blueprints, I would never have imagined making prosthetics in my life. You married a good wife, the whole family works together, and we never back down when we encounter difficulties. Wenhui, that's the most precious thing."

"Yes, I will cherish this family bond."

"Your leg is injured, so go inside and stay there. We'll take care of the work outside."

"Thank you for your hard work, Master."

After Zhou Zhonghai's accident, Zhou Wenhui was able to quickly recover from his grief and bravely shoulder the responsibilities of his family. It was every member of this family who supported him in moving forward.

Yang Zheng is a man of few words, and he took on all the physical labor in the household.

He was responsible for buying bricks, sand, and cement.

The house was built, and Qiaoqiao set off a string of firecrackers to celebrate, as it was a new house.

Now that the house is ready, Yang Zheng comes home every night to stay and studies with Qiaoqiao.

Zhou Wenhui went to work. He was in charge of the daily newspaper's supplement editorship. He selected good articles from millions of submissions and published them in the supplement, which suited his interests.

Besides him as the editor-in-chief, there were several other editors in the supplement. The work was easy, and the salary was higher than in the military propaganda department, at 82 yuan a month.

The Daily News is a key municipal unit with excellent benefits. The family of three, Zhou Wenhui, receives three jin of meat coupons a month, Qiaoqiao and her son each receive two jin, and Yang Zheng receives one jin of meat coupon, for a total of eight jin of meat coupons a month.

After Yang Zheng was dismissed from his position as class monitor, his salary returned to 35 yuan a month. He kept five yuan for bus fare and gave the rest to Qiaoqiao. Qiaoqiao refused the money, but her mother kept it on her behalf.

Soon after, the official document to reinstate the college entrance examination was issued, and the first mock winter college entrance examination was scheduled to be held in early December.

The whole country was in an uproar. This was a college entrance examination with no age or educational restrictions.

The number of applicants reached 160 million, and in bookstores, you couldn't even buy a regular textbook for twenty yuan as a college entrance exam review material.

At Qiaoqiao's house, there were piles of review materials, and she and her brother studied until midnight every day.

The document clarifies that English will not be tested, the humanities subject score will be 400 points, and the subjects will be Chinese, Mathematics, Politics (History and Geography will be combined into one paper).

Qiaoqiao's confidence soared, and she could understand most of the other subjects, except for math.

The whole country was immersed in an atmosphere of excitement. Even intellectuals in their forties were eager to try and use culture to find a bright path for themselves.

Qiaoqiao's house also went into silent mode. Zhou Xiaowei wanted to yell a few times, but his grandmother immediately stopped him: "Don't cry. Mom and Uncle are taking college entrance exams. We can't let it affect their studies."

At an age when he was pampered and spoiled, Zhou Xiaowei had no choice but to rely on himself.

He woke up and peed on his own (in his pants), then played by himself, his hands and feet getting chewed all over.

Grandma does the laundry and cooks, and after she's done, she plays with Xiaowei for a while. The topic is always the college entrance exam: "When your uncle and mom get into university, our whole family will be college graduates. Xiaowei, what university do you want to go to when you grow up?"

Forget about going to university, Grandma! Can't I just go to my mom's arms and suckle a few times? I'm starving.

Most fathers play with their children the first thing they do when they get home from get off work, but Zhou Wenhui's first action upon arriving home is to go to the outbuilding in the yard and ask Qiaoqiao, "Is there anything you don't understand? Do you want me to explain it to you?"

"Those who don't understand will never understand." Qiaoqiao shrugged as she looked at the math problem.

"Qiaoqiao, don't focus on math. Don't bother with the difficult questions at the back. Just focus on understanding the easy ones at the front."

"An easy question? I think it's a death trap."

For Qiaoqiao, math is never easy.

Yang Zheng, on the other hand, specializes in difficult problems. He studies science, and every subject is important if he wants to get into a good university.

Another person striving for their ideals was Zhao Jintao from Dashui Village. His situation was much more difficult than Yang Zheng's; his study materials were limited to some that Yang Zheng had sent him and two books he had brought back from Qiaoqiao's house.

With the opportunity right in front of him, Zhao Jintao mustered up the courage to write a letter to Yang Zheng, hoping to send him some more materials.

After discussing it, Zhou Wenhui said, "Let him come to our house. Most of the documents only have one copy, which the three of you can share. Sending one or two copies won't make much difference. This concerns our future and destiny, so let's squeeze out as much as we can."

Yang Zheng sent a telegram to Zhao Jintao, who, disregarding his newlywed wife, braved the thick snow to seek refuge with Qiaoqiao.