New Century Anime Warrior

"This year we went to Guangnan Prefecture to celebrate the Spring Festival with my grandparents and younger sister."

Si Hong, with a toothpick in his mouth, sat at the dining table in the first-floor restaurant, leisurely reading today's morning paper.

For the past month, his work has been going very smoothly. Because he was featured on CCTV, his superiors now take him along when they go out to attract investment. It is said that the Organization Department of Zhongnan City plans to have a talk with him after the New Year.

Those who frequently work as civil servants know that when the organization department of a higher level talks to you, it means you are eligible for promotion.

So Si Hong was in a very good mood recently, and casually told Si Hua in the kitchen about his plans for this year's Spring Festival.

Of course, he still doesn't really want to hear about his son's grades right now.

While washing the dishes, Si Hua turned her head and asked, "Huh? Going to Guangnan Prefecture? I thought we were spending the holiday at our hometown. Didn't we say we were going to properly pay respects to our ancestors this year?"

Although the Si family was not wealthy, their ancestors had produced individuals who were recorded in the county annals, thus establishing a fairly strict family tradition.

For example, one rule was that the Si family members should be united and friendly, regardless of gender or age, and should share the burden of the family as long as they are able. As for the exact words, they are no longer known.

Now, it has evolved to the point that when Si Hua was still under the height of the stove, she had already taken care of all the household chores before and after meals for the whole family.

This includes, but is not limited to, serving rice and setting out bowls before meals, washing dishes and mopping the floor after meals, tidying the kitchen, and disposing of kitchen waste.

In a few years, my younger sister Si Tingting will be going back to Dongliu City to attend junior high school, so this job will be done by the two siblings in turns.

Therefore, the neighbors always used Si Hua as an example of someone else's child to educate their own children, and even praised Si's parents for raising their son to be more obedient than their daughter...

Huh? This is what you call praising?

"No, the Organization Department of Zhongnan City wants to talk to me after the New Year, so I'll keep a low profile this Spring Festival and avoid all the traditional tricks, so as not to give people something to talk about."

"Oh, I see." Si Hua understood; it was a conversation with the Organization Department of Zhongnan City, and then there was no further explanation.

Si Hong put down his newspaper.

Huh? This cocky son understood again?

In fact, in the past six months, Si's parents have noticed a huge change in their son, not to mention the strange skills they didn't know about.

In terms of personality, to put it nicely, he's become more generous; to put it bluntly, he's... a bit like those old hands who just coast along in the bureau.

However, I didn't think much of it. It's quite common for boys to have drastic personality changes when they're sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen. In Guangnan, we call it "shengxing," which actually means that they've matured.

Our ancestors, we absolutely must hire someone to repair the ancestral graves in our hometown next year; they're practically smoking.

"Well, you're an adult now, and you've even been on TV. Your parents aren't highly educated, so we can't really give you any guidance on what you want to do in the future."

Si Hong couldn't help but nag, "Anyway, you should get into university first. The last university student in our village was your eleventh grandfather in Beijing. Don't slack off for the remaining six months."

"Put your ideas about anime and games aside for now. Stick with it for the next six months, and once you get into university, things will be much easier, and nobody will bother you anymore."

Appeared!

It is one of the four classic lies told by Chinese parents, alongside "I'll save your New Year's money and give it to you when you grow up," "We are your parents, would we harm you?" and "You were picked up from a trash can!"

Si Hua was truly speechless.

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"Happy Lunar New Year's Eve, Si Hua!" Lin Lin's infectious voice came through the phone, as melodious as ever.

Hearing this sound makes me want to eat two more bowls of rice.

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve! And wishing your parents a Happy New Year in advance!

"Thank you! Please also pass on my greetings to Uncle and Auntie, wishing them a Happy New Year in advance... Oh, and Aunt Lei is here too."

"Then let's bring Aunt Lei along in the early years, hahaha."

Si Hua was squatting on a small stool, picking and washing the vegetables for tonight's New Year's Eve dinner. Since her hands were full, she had to ask her seven-year-old sister to hold up her phone for her.

When Si Tingting heard the very pleasant voice coming from her brother's phone, she thought it must be a beautiful older sister!

The little girl's eyes lit up. She pursed her lips tightly, not uttering a sound, and held up the phone with one hand while frantically tugging at Si Hua's clothes with the other.

You can only say that a brother is a brother; he guessed what she was up to right away.

"My sister heard your voice and wants to say hello to you too... Tingting, call her Sister Linlin."

With a whoosh, the little girl actually grabbed Si Hua's phone and ran away.

She ran while laughing happily, saying, "Sister, sister, hello! My name is Xiaotingting..."

what?

Si Hua stared at his phone, which had somehow run away, looking a little confused. What had just happened?

Behind her, Tang Huijuan whispered to her mother-in-law about her son's gossip: "Mom, the one who just called Ahua is Lin Lin, the girl I told you about, who sang the theme song for his animation."

"Is that girl pretty?" Grandma Sihua's spirits immediately lifted.

"She's not just beautiful, she's also very tall!" Tang Huijuan became extremely excited when talking about Lin Lin.

"Tall? Good, good, the taller the better." Grandma Si Hua had a strong obsession with her children's height, but in fact, the entire Si family was not short, and she herself was 170 cm tall when she was young.

It is said that when Tang Huijuan first married into the family, her height of 165 cm was disliked by Si Hua's grandmother for more than a year. It was not until Si Hua was born that the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law improved.

It's not just good, it's exceptionally good.

In the living room, Si Hong and his father were leisurely brewing tea.

"How are Ahua's final exam results?" Grandpa Sihua was very concerned about his eldest grandson's grades, especially since he knew that as long as he reached 60% to 70% of the undergraduate admission line, he would have a chance to get into a 211 university.

This is quite something. Back then, he only had a junior college degree, while the only real college graduate in his generation was his eleventh brother... By Si Hong's generation, there wasn't a single college graduate in the village; the highest level of education was high school.

Now the third generation is finally going to have college students? And not just any college, but a top-tier 211 university! Oh my god, ancestors above!

"Old Chen's son said his son has made great progress, and for the past month or so, his classmates have been supervising his revision every day."

Si Hong became happy when he thought about this: "I heard that according to the 05 college entrance examination scores, his score has exceeded the junior college admission line by a lot, and he is not far from reaching the undergraduate admission line. In short, the chances are very high."

My son has really become a man of strong character.

"Good, good, I knew Ahua was a smart kid, he's got the makings of a good student."

-----------------

January 29, 2006, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Si Hua didn't get up until after midnight. After midnight on New Year's Eve, he kept sending New Year's greetings to his close friends and family, and he stayed up until 3 a.m.

There were also fireworks and firecrackers going off all night.

After reaching for my phone, I saw a series of messages in a small group called "Instant Noodle Legion Three Pillars".

Zhou Zhe: "Comrades, a new year brings new beginnings, and I have an announcement to make!"

Chen Yu: "Farting is allowed here."

Lin Lin: "There are girls here!"

Chen Yu: "Okay, sister-in-law."

Lin Lin: "Ahhh!"

Zhou Zhe: "...Please pay attention to me."

Lin Lin: "Let it go."

Zhou Zhe: "???"

Zhou Zhe: "I've decided to register for this year's entrance exam for students recommended for admission outside Beijing!"

Chen & Lin: "!!!"

Zhou Zhe: "I just saw last year's exam questions, and they were so damn easy! Brothers and sisters, I'm going to get into university before you all!"

You have banned "South China's Number One Handsome Fat Guy".

Has Zhou Zhe finally embarked on the path to university admission through the guaranteed admission program?

It seems the wheels of history have begun to turn faster, and we truly now have a bright future ahead of us.

Si Hua: "Good morning, brothers and sisters. I also have something to announce."

Chen & Lin: "?"

Si Hua: "I want to make a short film about the college entrance exam!"

Chen & Lin: "???"

In an instant, Didi (a type of bee) started appearing everywhere.