After staying at home for a few days, Qu Sen was about to face a new challenge. During the weekend, his parents were going to invite a group of relatives and friends to their house for a meal.
He was not sure about the customs in the south, but there was a custom in the north. When their children went to college or found a good job, they would treat them to a meal and set up a few tables.
When Qu Sen was admitted to college, his father was very unhappy and did not treat him to a meal. Before the soldier left, he only invited a few relatives to his home for a simple meal.
However, it was different this time. Originally, they only planned to set up two tables, but after some calculations, they realized that two tables were far from enough. Moreover, some distant relatives who did not plan to invite also called to say that they wanted to come. Thus, they could only book a restaurant.
When Qu Sen's second uncle found out, he immediately contacted a restaurant owned by a friend. Thus, the venue was successfully booked.
Although the invitation list was repeatedly reduced, there were still six tables full when the banquet started.
It was the end of August. It was the peak time for families with children who were about to go to college to treat. When Qu Sen's family was treating, there were two other families in the restaurant who were treating relatives and friends at the same time.
Because they were treating for the same thing, the parents of the three families even toasted each other. While congratulating them, they also asked which school their children were going to so that they could compare in their hearts.
The other two families who were treating had children who were admitted to Zhejiang University and children who were going to Shanghai Jiaotong University. Both of them were famous schools in the country. However, when they heard that Qu Sen was going to the famous military information engineering university, they could not help but show an envious expression.
Although it was hard to say which of the three universities was good or bad, after graduating from the military academy, one would immediately become an officer. As for the other two universities, no matter how good the school was, the children would have to find a job by themselves after graduation.
Although the children had good grades and might enter the top 500 companies in the world or Asia, it was still unknown. In comparison, the difference was obvious.
After the two families at the same table finished congratulating each other and left, the congratulations of relatives and friends followed. Qu Sen could not avoid being forced to drink two glasses of wine while receiving congratulations.
In the past, Qu Sen's mother would never allow her son to drink so much. But at this time, his mother was just watching with a smile. While everyone was toasting, she picked up a few mouthfuls of food for her son to suppress the alcohol.
Northerners were all very strong drinkers. Not long after the banquet started, the relatives and friends present were already a little tipsy, and their voices unconsciously became louder. At this moment, one of Qu Sen's uncles, the wife of his fourth uncle, quietly sat down beside Qu Sen.
She asked softly, "Xiao Sen, tell Auntie, how did you get a spot in the army? Your cousin is still studying in college. If it doesn't work, he'll be sent to the army. We're all relatives. Help him think of a way. "
This fourth uncle's son was studying at a sports school in the city. There were many excellent students in the country in various sports events, but it was rare for a school to produce results. So when this auntie found out that Qu Sen had gotten a spot in the army, she began to think about it.
She originally planned to secretly ask about it in the future, but she saw that Qu Sen had drunk a lot and his face was red. He thought for a moment and decided to take advantage of this opportunity of "speaking the truth after drinking" to make some inquiries.
Qu Sen's uncle and aunt did not speak loudly, but Qu Sen was the center of attention. Therefore, as soon as she spoke, all the relatives and friends around her subconsciously lowered their voices and listened attentively, no matter what their thoughts were.
Qu Sen was originally quite happy, but when he heard this auntie's words, he did not know why, but an inexplicable anger rose in his heart. He subconsciously expressed his dissatisfaction with this kind of "human society."
You have to take advantage of the cracks in everything. Don't you know that you earned it through hard work and strength?
Actually, when the unknown uncle on the train asked about his relationship and how much money he spent, this kind of grievance turned into anger. But after all, he was a stranger, so there was no need to say anything.
But when he saw this auntie's "eager" gaze, then looked at the surrounding relatives and friends who were secretly paying attention to him. Qu Sen suppressed the anger in his heart and gently put down the wine glass in his hand. With the help of the alcohol, he said faintly, "Auntie, the army has a lot of rigid requirements for the recommendation. To be honest, I'm not qualified at all."
After Qu Sen finished speaking, the relatives and friends who were paying attention to this topic could not help but pay more attention. They even stopped talking to each other.
The uncles and auntie stared at Qu Sen without blinking, afraid that they would miss a word. They wanted to carefully distinguish how much of Qu Sen's following words were "real" and "fake".
"But in May, I won first place in the military region's martial arts competition and earned a second-class merit. Last month, during the monthly military exercise, in order to gather intelligence, he ran 50 kilometers in the mountains in half a night. He was so tired that he fainted for three days. After that, he was hospitalized for a week before he recovered and received a third-class merit.
With these two points, I was able to gain the attention of the regiment commander. From there, I was recommended by the regiment commander and noted by the division and military leaders. In the end, the military region gave me a special quota. "
After Qu Sen calmly finished speaking, he drained the wine in his glass. After putting down the glass, he looked at the disappointed uncle and auntie and said, "Auntie, my cousin studies sports. If he enters the army, his grades will definitely be better than mine. As long as he has the right opportunity, it will definitely be easier for him to get a recommendation. "
Although Qu Sen's words were modest, everyone could hear the pride in his tone.
Normal people might not have much of a concept of 50 kilometers, but Qu Sen's uncle and auntie's son studied sports. Naturally, he knew more about it. He remembered that his son had participated in a marathon organized by the city last year. He remembered that the marathon wasn't even 50 kilometers, but after his son finished the marathon, he had to rest at home for a few days before he recovered from the fatigue.
When she heard Qu Sen's words, she couldn't help but tremble when she thought of her son running 50 kilometers in the mountains in the middle of the night. She thought that even if her son didn't die from exhaustion, as his mother, she would be heartbroken.
When she thought of this, the auntie's expression became awkward. She sat there and smiled brightly. She seemed to want to praise Qu Sen, but after trying a few times, she didn't say anything.
The lively atmosphere of the banquet instantly fell after Qu Sen finished speaking. The smiles on Qu Sen's parents' faces also became very forced. Under the joint efforts of many relatives and friends, although the atmosphere quickly rose again, it didn't last long before the banquet ended.
On the way home, the atmosphere in the taxi was very gloomy. Dad and Mom didn't say a word. When they reached home, Mom directly went into the bedroom. Not long after, faint crying sounds came from the bedroom.
Dad gently patted Qu Sen's shoulder twice and went into the room to comfort his wife. Qu Sen stood in the living room regretting. He regretted that he had impulsively said those words when he was drunk. He wasn't afraid that his relatives and friends would know how he got the recommendation.
But it was very obvious that those words would make his parents worried and distressed for him.
Which parents would want their son to suffer? Which parents wouldn't feel pain if they knew that their son had to walk 50 kilometers in the middle of the night?
Parents could work tirelessly for their children, but they couldn't bear for their children to suffer even a little bit.
Qu Sen's eyes were moist. He stared at his parents' bedroom and listened to the faint sobbing sound. He vowed to make good use of this recommendation. When he grew up, at least he could let his parents enjoy a good life.
People can get sick, but they can't be poor; people can fail, but they can't lose their will!
— —
Half a month passed much faster than he had imagined. During this period, although his mother had advised Qu Sen several times not to stay at home all the time and to go out to play with his classmates, Qu Sen still seized the rare time to accompany his mother at home.
The school registration time was before 10 AM on the 6th of September. Although Dad and Mom wanted to accompany Qu Sen to register, they were stopped by Qu Sen in the end. Qu Sen stayed at home until the 4th of September. Then he reluctantly boarded the train.
The train originally took more than a day to travel. Qu Sen planned to leave on the 4th and find a random hotel to rest for the night on the 5th. Then he would register the next day. However, as soon as he boarded the train, it began to rain heavily.
This rain wasn't a small area of rain. It was a heavy rain that covered almost half of China. In a few cities that the train passed by, the rain level even increased to a rainstorm. This directly caused Qu Sen's train to stop again and again midway.
It didn't matter if it stopped once or twice, but if it stopped again and again, the delay quickly accumulated. Halfway through the journey, the train was already five hours late.
Qu Sen looked at the pouring rain outside. He knew that if this continued, the delay would continue to increase. At this time, he began to regret not listening to Mom and leaving three days earlier.
Military academies and local universities were different. It wasn't a joke to say that he had to register before 10 AM. Although he wouldn't be expelled, being punished or warned as soon as he started school wasn't something to be happy about.
While Qu Sen was worried, in a private room three carriages away from him, a girl with short hair was also looking at the dense rain outside the window. Her face was full of annoyance.
Zhou Li's family originally planned to drive her to the school, so they weren't in a hurry to leave. However, the heavy rain was coming and the weather forecast said that it wouldn't stop for a day or two. Her parents thought that the road conditions must be bad, so they had to quickly book a train ticket for her.
Also because of the heavy rain, train tickets were particularly scarce. Her parents, who originally planned to accompany Zhou Li, couldn't buy a ticket and let Zhou Li board the train alone.
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