Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

Qi Tongwei nodded: "It's been much better lately."

Little Grape turned around from the front and asked, "Dad, where are you planning to take us for the May Day holiday?"

Qi Tongwei smiled and said, "First, I'll take you to visit the various scenic spots and historical sites in Handong, and finally, I'll take you to visit Daokou County, where your father first took office."

Chapter 175 May Day Holiday (Part 2)

On the second day of the May Day holiday, Qi Tongwei and his family of four embarked on a road trip, with Qi Tongwei acting as the driver.

"Dad, where are you taking us to play?" Qi Huaiyin asked, tilting her head as she sat in the back seat.

"Let's go to Handong University first." Qi Tongwei gripped the steering wheel and started the car steadily.

"Handong University?" Qi Huaiyin scoffed. "What's so interesting about it?"

Qi Tongwei laughed: "The scenery there is quite nice, and your great-grandfather and I both graduated from there."

Qi Huaiyin said "Oh," and her attitude immediately changed.

As the car entered the old campus of Handong University, the sun shone brightly. The plane trees on campus were bare, their branches intertwined, drawing sparse lines against the blue sky.

Qi Tongwei parked the car in a parking space in front of the library and walked slowly with his family.

“This is the school building where your father used to study.” He pointed to an old red brick building and said, “I sat in the easternmost classroom on the third floor for four years.”

"The fourth floor is the Department of Political Science and Law," Qi Huaiyuan corrected seriously, looking at the sign in front of him.

Qi Tongwei was stunned for a moment, then walked forward to check in disbelief: "Wait a minute, the third floor is the Chinese Literature Department?"

"Dad, you can't even remember your own classroom?" Qi Huaiyin seized the opportunity to tease her father.

"Twenty years have passed," Qi Tongwei said softly. "Twenty years, and many things have changed."

Those years have faded and drifted away like old photographs.

They walked around the campus for about half an hour. Qi Huaiyuan followed quietly the whole time, occasionally taking out his phone to take a few photos. When they reached the edge of the playground, he suddenly stopped and stared at the track, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Qi Tongwei asked.

"It's nothing," Qi Huaiyuan said. "I just thought it must be quite interesting to see you running here before, Dad."

Qi Tongwei paused for a moment, then laughed: "Your dad was a really fast runner back then. He came in second in the 3,000 meters at the school sports meet."

"What's so great about getting second place?" Qi Huaiyin seized the opportunity to complain again.

"The first place goes to a student with athletic talent," Qi Tongwei said confidently.

The whole family laughed. The laughter echoed across the empty playground.

He didn't go to many places. Some sights are enough to see once; some people are too few to meet again after one visit.

I visited some attractions near Jingzhou, but didn't go too far.

At his level, even on holidays when he doesn't need to be on duty, there are always many unavoidable matters and people who come to him on their own initiative.

On the second-to-last day, which was also the last day for He Xuan and his two children in Handong, he decided to go to Daokou.

The drive from Jingzhou to Daokou took two and a half hours. He Xian sat in the passenger seat, while the two sixteen-year-olds sat in the back. Little Grape had earphones in her ears, tilting her head to look at the scenery outside the window, occasionally humming along to the melody, and soon fell asleep, her head tilted to one side, a slight smile still on her lips. Tie Dan was engrossed in reading a copy of "Feynman Lectures on Physics."

As the car exited the tollbooth, Qi Tongwei subconsciously slowed down.

It's been more than ten years.

Seventeen years have passed since that summer when he served as the county magistrate's assistant; fourteen years have passed since he returned to Daokou as the county party secretary. In these past ten years, he has returned to Beijing, traveled abroad, and visited many places, but he has never returned to Daokou.

One reason is that he is too busy. Over the years, he has held important positions in various places and has not been able to take care of his family. He simply does not have the time. The other reason is that Liao Qingyuan would report on the situation at the crossroads to him every year during his New Year's visit. Knowing that the area is developing well, he felt at ease.

The car exited the highway and entered the designated area.

The view outside the window made him feel somewhat dazed.

In my memory, Daokou was a drab little county town. A main street lined two rows of buildings, mostly frequented by tractors and three-wheeled vehicles, kicking up clouds of dust. Opposite the county government compound were several rows of low-rise houses, where county officials and their families lived. The outskirts were vast fields and wastelands, desolate in winter and somewhat green in summer, but it looked like just another ordinary southern county town.

But now—

A wide asphalt road stretches from the highway exit all the way to the county town, lined with newly planted ginkgo trees. Although they haven't sprouted leaves yet, their branches stand tall and straight, as neat as soldiers in formation. Along the roadside are rows of newly built residential buildings and commercial shops, their brightly painted facades gleaming in the setting sun. In the distance, the outline of Maling Mountain is clearly visible, with what appears to be a new building atop it, and flags faintly visible fluttering in the breeze.

"Dad, is this a crossing?" Qi Huaiyin woke up at some point and peered out the car window, her eyes wide open.

“It’s a crossroads,” Qi Tongwei said, his voice carrying a hint of pride that he himself didn’t realize.

"My God, it's so much better than I imagined," Qi Huaiyin exclaimed. "I thought it would be very dilapidated."

“It really was very run-down before.” Qi Tongwei smiled. “When your father was working here, the best restaurant in the county was called ‘Yingbinlou,’ but it was actually just a roadside food stall. The county party secretary’s car was a beat-up Santana that often broke down when he went to the countryside for research.”

"That was a long time ago, wasn't it? Last century?" Little Grape thought for a moment. "How old were you back then?"

"I was twenty-nine years old when I first came here."

"Wasn't that only slightly older than us?" Little Grape asked, intrigued. "What was your official position back then?"

Teenagers always try to pretend to be mature.

"He's more than ten years older! He's the assistant to the county magistrate," Qi Tongwei said. "A very low-ranking official."

How small?

"So insignificant that nobody takes me seriously." Qi Tongwei's tone was very calm, as if he were talking about someone else's business.

Little Grape blinked and didn't ask any more questions. Tie Dan looked up from his book, glanced at his father, and then lowered his head again.

The car entered Daokou County.

Qi Tongwei parked his car on the side of the road opposite the county government compound, without turning off the engine.

He looked through the car window at the six-story building across the street. It was still the same building, but the exterior had been repainted, the color changing from grayish-white to beige. The old locust tree in the yard was still there, but it had grown taller, its canopy almost covering half the yard. The signs hanging at the entrance had been changed several times, now bearing the words "Government Service Hall" and "Grid Management Center".

"What a big change." He Xuan also woke up and looked out the window with a sigh. "I remember that the streetlights on this street used to be broken, and it was pitch black at night."

“The streetlights were installed in 2002,” Qi Tongwei said. “That year, the county’s finances improved slightly, and the first thing we did was to repair the roads and install streetlights.”

The car turned into a small alley and stopped in front of a three-story building. The exterior walls were painted light yellow, and several cars were parked in front of it, making it look like a staff quarters for some organization.

“This is…” He Xuan was somewhat uncertain.

“This is where I used to live,” Qi Tongwei said. “It was the county committee’s residential compound. Later, the county built a new building, and this place was converted into a youth apartment for newly arrived young teachers and doctors.”

They didn't go inside; they just stood downstairs for a while. They didn't want to catch up with old colleagues, nor did they visit the county government compound. He simply stood there, like looking at an old friend, watching quietly from afar.

"Dad, aren't you going in to take a look?" Qi Huaiyuan suddenly spoke, his voice not loud.

Qi Tongwei was silent for a moment, then said, "No need. One look is enough."

What he didn't say was that some places, once seen, are enough. All the nights he spent there, the reports he wrote, the meetings he attended, the arguments he had, the drinks he drank, the sweat he shed—all of it was behind that window. He didn't need to go in and relive those memories, because they were already etched into his very being.

The car continued driving forward, leaving the county town and heading towards Maling Mountain.

On both sides of the road stretched vast fields of farmland, the wheat seedlings just turning green, lush and verdant, like a velvety carpet laid out in the setting sun. In the distance, villages dotted the landscape, wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, and the occasional bark of a dog echoed through the air.

"Dad, what's that area?" Qi Huaiyin asked, pointing to a row of neat buildings outside the window.

That's the visitor center at the foot of Maling Mountain. With its gray tiles, white walls, and upturned eaves, it has a distinctly Jiangnan garden feel. In front of the center is a large square, where dozens of tour buses and private cars are parked. In the center of the square stands a large stone with the words "Maling Mountain Scenic Area" engraved on it.

“This is the tourism project your dad started back then,” He Xuan answered for Qi Tongwei. “The development of Daokou was all thanks to this.”

Qi Huaiyin exclaimed, "Wow! Dad, you were already thinking about getting into tourism back then?"

"It wasn't my idea," Qi Tongwei said. "It's the people's demand that's driving this trend. Daokou has mountains and rivers, hot springs and ancient towns, and it's not far from big cities. It would be a shame not to develop tourism there."

Private vehicles are not allowed to go up the mountain during holidays, so they took a scenic area bus to Maling Mountain. The mountain road was winding, with dense pine forests on both sides, and the air was filled with a refreshing scent of grass and trees. When they reached a viewing platform halfway up the mountain, Qi Tongwei told his family to get out of the car.

From here, you can overlook the entire Daokou County.

As the sun sets, it bathes the county town in a golden glow. There aren't many tall buildings, but the streets are neat and tidy, shaded by lush trees, giving it the appearance of a peaceful little town. In the distance, Lake Roman shimmers with golden light, and the buildings of a hot spring resort can be vaguely seen along its shore. Further still, rolling mountains rise in layers, their colors shifting from deep green in the foreground to pale blue in the distance, finally disappearing into the twilight.

"So beautiful." Qi Huaiyin leaned against the railing and exclaimed sincerely.

Qi Tongwei stood beside her, looking down at the county town below, and remained silent for a long time.

“Do you know,” he suddenly said, his voice very soft, “that when your grandfather was young, he also thought about going out and making his own way in the world.”

Both children turned to look at him.

“He was a farmer who never left Qijia Village in his entire life,” Qi Tongwei said. “But when he was young, he went to the county town market with some young people from the village. When he saw the buildings and cars in the city, he came back and told your grandmother that he wanted to go out and work.”

He Xuan walked over and stood beside him without saying a word.

"And then?" Qi Huaiyin asked.

“He didn’t go after that,” Qi Tongwei said. “Your grandmother was pregnant at the time and couldn’t leave home. Later, I was born, and then your great-grandparents got old, so he didn’t dare to go out and take risks. He was trapped in that village his whole life, staying with his family, farming, raising pigs, and taking care of his children.”

He paused, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

“When I was little, I thought he was amazing. He could do everything and knew everything. He built our house, farmed the land, raised the pigs, and could make toys out of wood in all sorts of shapes. I thought he was the most amazing person in the world.”

"And then?" This time it was Qi Huaiyuan who asked.

"Later, I went to university and went to Jingzhou, where I broadened my horizons." Qi Tongwei's voice became somewhat hoarse as he recounted his thoughts from his previous life. "When I came back, I suddenly realized that he didn't understand anything. He didn't understand the city, the policies, my job, or the things I had experienced outside. I had to explain a lot to him before he could understand even a little bit."

"At that time, I thought, how could he be so stupid?"

The two children fell silent.

"And then," Qi Tongwei's voice became very soft, "I had you all."

He turned around and looked at the two children.

“When you were little, I was busy with work and could only come home a few times a year. Every time I went back, you had all grown up. Little Grape could call me Dad, Tiedan could walk, Little Grape could recite poems, Tiedan could do math... Every time, I felt like I had missed something.”

“Once, Little Grape had a high fever, and your mother took you to the hospital by herself and stayed with you at the hospital all night. I was in a meeting that day and couldn’t leave. When I called back after the meeting, your fever had already broken, and you called out ‘Daddy’ on the phone.”

Qi Huaiyin's eyes reddened.

“At that time, I suddenly realized something,” Qi Tongwei said. “A person’s attitude toward their father always goes through three stages.”

"When I was a child, I admired him and thought he was omnipotent; when I grew up, I questioned him and thought he didn't know anything and didn't understand himself; when I had my own children, I began to understand him—understand his difficulties, understand his limitations, and also understand his greatness."

Qi Huaiyin said, "But Dad, we still admire you very much!"

She then turned to look at her younger brother: "Isn't it, little brother?"

Qi Huaiyuan nodded vigorously.

Qi Tongwei laughed: "In a few years, you'll think your dad is just an old fogey!"

The two children shook their heads in denial, and He Xian just looked at them and smiled.