"Only in times of crisis can one's true heroic character be revealed" - Guo Moruo.

Life was almost peaceful during those two years.

Wei Qian entered his last year of high school with the best grades in his class. Every day when he saw himself in the mirror wearing his school uniform, the words "looks like a dog" would involuntarily appear in his mind.

The heavy workload squeezed his spare time, but it could not squeeze his greed for money that burned like a star. He devoted his winter and summer vacations and all his weekends to the great job career - the best paying one was the short-term job in Lao Xiong's drug store.

Old Xiong's name was very shameless, "Xiong Yingjun". Every time people called him by his name, they couldn't help but want to add a "呸" at the end, so over time no one called him that anymore.

When he was young, people called him Little Bear. Unfortunately, he didn't live up to the name "Little Bear" for many years. Although he was actually only thirty years old, his appearance was ten years ahead of his time, so he naturally became "Old Bear".

Lao Xiong is a very unreliable rich second generation, he is everywhere, he wants to get involved in everything. Unfortunately, he is unable to do everything, so he is often missing, the pharmacy is often unattended, and he often needs to find someone to help him run it. During the summer vacation, Lao Xiong hired Wei Qian as a temporary worker by chance, and left the pharmacy to him, and he didn't know where he went. Wei Qian was the store manager, waiter, accountant, and cleaner, and he worked like this for two months before Lao Xiong came back.

As soon as they met, Wei Qian was paid 5,000 yuan.

The one thousand yuan a month that was agreed upon before was forgotten by Lao Xiong, this idiot!

Wei Qian was shocked at first and almost didn't dare to accept the offer - this shabby pharmacy was on the verge of bankruptcy, and it was hard to say whether the profit in two months was 4,000 yuan - but he finally accepted the offer. Wei Qian figured it out. Aren't there creatures like suckers who live in the world just waiting to be cheated?

There is no need to waste any guilt on such rich people who deserve to be burned to death.

After studying diligently for a year, Wei Zhiyuan skipped a grade and entered the graduating class. It seemed that he wanted to fulfill the promises he made to his elder brother while holding back tears late at night in a foreign land. After returning from the south, he had been carefully preparing for this.

Wei Zhiyuan's mind and body are eager to grow.

The kid went to the teacher on his own to apply for skipping a grade, without even informing his family. It was a matter of doing things without their permission. However, Wei Qian knew about it but didn't say anything. Although he didn't mention it verbally, Wei Qian knew it in his heart. With Wei Zhiyuan's IQ, and the fact that he was studying the same school as Xiaobao, it was really unfair to the other kid.

While Xiaobao was struggling in the fifth grade, Wei Zhiyuan had already entered the graduating class.

Normally, girls grow taller than boys, but it's the opposite in their family.

When Xiaobao was still a little girl, it only took Wei Zhiyuan more than half a year to jump from a height just above Wei Qian's chest to a height barely touching his big brother's nose.

Matching his inhuman growth rate was his increasingly appalling appetite. The whole family used normal bowls, except for Wei Zhiyuan, who had a large bowl.

The big bowl was bigger than his face. When Sanpang came to his house for dinner one day, he really broadened his horizons - he witnessed with his own eyes Wei Zhiyuan eating two full bowls of rice with that face-sized bowl. In the end, there was no more vegetables, so Wei Zhiyuan made a bowl of vegetable soup with hot water and drank it in two gulps, which was like filling a gap in his stomach.

Sanpang asked timidly: "Brother, are you full?"

Wei Zhiyuan finished drinking the soup, wiped his mouth, and replied reservedly: "Almost, 70% to 80%. I'm going out for a run tonight, so let's just eat this for today."

Sanpang complained to Wei Qian with tears in his eyes: "Why does this kid eat as much as I do in two meals in one meal, but he's not even half as fat as me!"

Without even looking up, Wei Qian said, "Because you are old and your metabolism is slow, Third Uncle."

After hearing the stark truth, the "old and fat" uncle felt completely hopeless and left silently.

Wei Qian was no longer surprised by the glutton Wei Zhiyuan. He knew that when Wei Zhiyuan came back from running, he could still eat a dry steamed bun with boiled water.

This kid's fighting power can kill all human beings in seconds, and he can crush all the leftovers into slag.

In comparison, Xiaobao is really worrying. She starts school late to begin with, and when standing next to the little girls in her class, she looks like she is one or two years younger than them.

Song Xiaobao's growth and development process was extremely strange. From adolescence to her twenties, she maintained a uniform growth rate of two centimeters per year, neither hurried nor slow.

Twelve or thirteen years old, Song Xiaobao was like a malnourished cabbage. Wei Qian once suspected that this would be how her life would be, and she would be a female "square root of two" when she grew up. But when she was fifteen or sixteen years old, when most girls stopped growing taller, she caught up little by little like a snail, and when she grew up, she was not shorter than anyone else.

When Wei Qian was about to take the college entrance examination, Old Lady Song treated him like the Emperor. Whenever she got the chance, she would ask him about his well-being and pay her respects to the Emperor in her unique and chattering way.

This annoyed Emperor Wei so much that he wanted to hit her with a bamboo stick and execute her immediately.

But every weekend when the chicken soup was served on the table, Wei Qian lost his temper with the old lady as she urged him to eat more bites, just like she was taking care of a woman in confinement.

For a period of time, Old Lady Song didn't know who deceived her, but she got involved with a small pyramid scheme group that had moved around the local area. Every day, she went around to listen to other people's information about the types and prices of health products.

She seemed to be planning to grit her teeth and stomp her feet to make Wei Qian's brain into two big ones.

...Fortunately, when they were about to pay the money, Sanpang's mother saw it. Sanpang ran over in time to inform Wei Qian, who rushed to the health products seminar and brought Old Lady Song back.

When they came out, the gangster nature of the pyramid scheme group was fully revealed. Seeing that they didn't buy anything, a man with glasses jumped out and stopped them from leaving. Old Mrs. Song, who had hydrocephalus, was still very happy to introduce them to others: "This is my eldest grandson. He is about to take the college entrance examination. His grades are very good. I want to buy him some 'brain power' to eat..."

Wei Qian: "Shut up and eat your mother."

The salesman was a scoundrel, but he was probably not very smart. Before he could figure out what was going on, he hurriedly pulled Wei Qian to brainwash him. His lips moved up and down as he said, "Student, our product is patented by the relevant US authorities. After taking it for a course of treatment, your memory can be improved by 80%..."

Wei Qian looked at him coldly: "I don't need a course of treatment, I can make you live forever in the memory of the people with just one brick."

He was a complete bandit. The man with glasses had been busy cheating people all the way and had never dealt with this kind of people before. He couldn't help swallowing his saliva and took a half step back. However, Wei Qian still thought he was blocking the way, so he raised his hand and pushed him to squat, then carried the increasingly crazy old woman back home.

Old Lady Song's disturbance made the whole family in a state of panic. Wei Qian felt that if he had not been a child of a poor family and had grown up early, had experienced many hardships in his youth, and had a strong will, he would have been tortured by her and turned into a lunatic.

At the beginning of April of that year, Wei Qian was studying in the classroom when Teacher Li pushed the door open and called him out.

Wei Qian slept less than four or five hours a day, and he was in a hurry to eat. Sometimes he even ate while walking and finished his meal on the way. He had lost a lot of weight. He was tall and strong, and when he stood in front of the teacher, his school uniform looked empty.

Starting from the second half of the second year of high school, Teacher Li made him the class monitor. I don't know if it was because of his experience in society, but he seemed steady and was particularly good at handling those naughty little boys. All of them listened to him.

Teacher Li’s own child is about the same age as Wei Qian. When comparing the two, he always feels distressed.

Teacher Li called him to the corridor and said to him, "We are a key class - you know, every year our school has a quota for an outstanding student cadre to be recommended for admission to the key class. This year, the quota is for A University. A University is of course a good school, and it is a local university. I think your family situation is special, and staying in the local school will be convenient for you to take care of your family. Would you consider it? Do you want to go?"

Wei Qian was stunned for half a minute before he asked uncertainly, "No, no, teacher... do you mean to recommend me to go?"

Teacher Li was amused by him and asked in a good-natured way, "Why else would I ask you this?"

Wei Qian was stunned by the news. He never thought that such a thing would happen to him.

The eclectic society he was exposed to too early cultivated his gloomy and cynical spiritual world. Although the extremism of his youth has become less sharp with the increase of age and experience, Wei Qian still agrees with this truth from the bottom of his heart - if a person with his background wants to stand out, he must be more brutal and work harder than others, and he can't count on anyone except himself.

Isn’t it a privilege for children from official families, wealthy families, and families with connections to be admitted to university without taking the recommendation?

He never thought that a walk-on spot would fall on him.

"I..." Wei Qian was rarely able to find words. His mind was a mess, so he had to pretend to be calm and ask Teacher Li, "Then, can you give it to me? Do other people have any objections? Other students, or students from other classes..."

Teacher Li said, "Why not? The decision on recommendation is not mine. It is decided by the grade group, reviewed by the dean, and finally signed by the principal. The principal's signature has just been sent to my office. Do you want to see it?"

Wei Qian was silent for a long time. All the words in his heart were stuck in his throat. He lowered his head in front of the head teacher who was a whole head shorter than him, clenched his hands, and after a long while, he gritted his teeth and said in a suppressed hoarse voice: "Thank you, teacher."

Teacher Li looked at him and sighed. She knew that she had never left school in her life and had experienced fewer ups and downs than this child, so she was not sure what she should say to him or what she could say to him.

After a while, Teacher Li considered it and said softly, "You are talented, and what is more valuable is that you are willing to work harder than others. I have high expectations for you, so I hope you can become a good person. Do you understand me?"

Wei Qian nodded and whispered, "I see. You mean it's harder to take the right path than the wrong one."

Because it is harder to walk the right path than the wrong path, those who walk the right path are stronger than those who walk the wrong path.

This is a personal experience shared by everyone who has ever survived between two roads.

Isn’t it that people are always pursuing a stronger self?

Teacher Li pushed up his glasses and said, "You know it in your heart, so I won't say much. Go back and come to my office during evening self-study and fill out a few forms. After that, you can go back and discuss with your family about what major to choose."

Wei Qian ended his high school career of just over a year and a half in such a bad way. The ending was both inexplicable and ecstatic.

He quickly submitted the form, sought the advice of Teacher Li, and chose the then popular major of life sciences - in fact, the most popular major at the time was computer science, but unfortunately the tuition for computer science was higher than other majors, and one had to bring one's own computer, so Wei Qian was somewhat reluctant to spend the money.

He thus officially became a prospective college student. When Wei Qian left the school, the large cherry tree in front of the teaching building was in full bloom. He stood there for a while, and his feet were actually buried by the fallen petals.

Wei Qian wandered around the house doing nothing for two days. After dealing with Old Lady Song who was nearly having a heart attack from excitement, he finally remembered to care for the two little cubs he had let loose.

He accidentally discovered that the little movements his little sister made when doing homework had changed. She used to like picking her fingers when she couldn't solve a problem, but now she uses the pen to wrap around her hair, and then pinches it with her hand to fix it. A strand of hair in front of her eyes will temporarily form a small wavy curl. She will admire herself for a while, and then continue to do her homework.

Wei Qian paid attention and found that this girl was vain.

When Xiaobao was little, she loved to sleep in and didn't like to get up early, so he would pick her up and force her into the sink, and then he would splash cold water on her face like a cat. Now she doesn't need her eldest brother to remind her to wash her face. On weekends at home, she washes her face several times a day, and each time she spends a long time looking at herself in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

The changes in girls are simply another level of "abnormal development" in biology. They can really change beyond recognition as they grow up.

Song Xiaobao, who was black when she was a child, began to turn white as if she was reborn. Her eyes also began to lengthen and she grew long and thick eyelashes. Although her nose bridge was still not high, it at least did not look collapsed as the cartilage took shape. A small chin appeared under her lips. Wei Qian was surprised to find that she was like a caterpillar, growing towards the direction of a butterfly in the blink of an eye, and he could actually see the outline of a little beauty.

However, this initial step meant nothing to her warlord-like elder brother.

In Wei Qian's opinion, Song Xiaobao is still "half a person". Before these little guys grow up, they all look neither male nor female and have no gender at all.

She had no breasts and no butt, and was as small as a bean sprout. Wei Qian couldn't understand what was so beautiful about her.

He firmly believed that Xiaobao's vanity had no benefits other than wasting time and affecting his studies.

So when he caught sight of Xiaobao curling her hair with a pen again, he walked into Xiaobao's room and had a very serious talk with her in the way Jia Zheng treated Jia Baoyu... No, he scolded the little girl unilaterally, and also searched out a small bottle of nail polish from Song Xiaobao's desk and confiscated it.

Finally, he tyrannically stipulated that Song Xiaobao should not look in the mirror for more than one minute every day.

Xiaobao felt very aggrieved, and for the first time, he developed a rebellious mentality towards his elder brother. But Wei Qian was not satisfied. Before he walked out, he put one hand on the door frame of the hut and turned back to say righteously, "Oh, by the way, I see that other girls in your school have cut their hair. Why don't you cut your hair too? You don't have to spend so much time combing your hair in the morning. Besides, I heard that long hair absorbs nutrients and affects the brain."

Song Xiaobao resisted fiercely. She jumped up and shouted at her elder brother boldly, "I won't cut my hair! I won't cut my hair! If you cut my hair, you'll cut my head off too!"

Wei Qian was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that hair was so important to her. But before he could open his mouth to scold her, Xiaobao was frightened by his own rebelliousness and started crying.

Wei Qian sighed. He had no choice but to put on a stern face and said, "Why are you crying? If you cry again, I'll spank you."

He came up with a compromise plan and sentenced Song Xiaobao to probation: "Okay, depending on your grades and performance, if you decline at the end of the semester, don't talk nonsense to me and cut your broken hair quickly. Do you hear me?"

Song Xiaobao sobbed and asked, "Cut... cut like what?"

Wei Qian said without thinking: "Let's do both the front and back to the ear level, it will be cooler."

Song Xiaobao imagined what it would look like to have hair that reached her ears in front and back, and was scared to death. From then on, she began the hardest period of her life in studying. She was determined to defend the little piece of land in her head and would never fall into the clutches of her elder brother.

Wei Qian was backing out of Song Xiaobao's room and was bumped by Wei Zhiyuan who was backing out of the kitchen. Wei Zhiyuan's forehead almost hit his nose, so he quickly supported himself on the wall beside Wei Qian with one hand and dodged sideways.

Wei Zhiyuan called out "Brother" in a muffled voice - his voice began to change, his throat was uncomfortable, so when he spoke he had to lower his voice an octave, and it actually sounded as deep as a grown man.

Wei Qian was a little dazed for a moment, remembering that when he was first picked up, he was not even as tall as a dog standing up, but now he has grown into a grown man.

Although the two brothers still live together, Wei Zhiyuan no longer snuggles into his arms since some time ago...even if he wants to, he can't.

It’s true...if you have seedlings, you don’t have to worry about them growing.

Wei Qian remembered that Old Lady Song had asked him to go to the suburbs to wholesale some eggs, so he dragged out his bicycle and rode to the chicken farm in the suburbs. When he came back, he happened to pass by Lao Xiong's shop, and saw Lao Xiong directing several young people to load luggage on the bike, as if they were going on a long journey.

Wei Qian stopped and greeted him: "Old Bear, where are you going to send yourself to help alleviate poverty?"

Boss Xiong glanced at him and said slowly, "You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth."

Wei Qian jumped down and parked the car aside: "Okay, where are we going to make money this time?"

Lao Xiong said, "The time around the summer solstice is when we harvest Cordyceps sinensis. I plan to go to Tibet to trade some Tibetan medicine. Oh, by the way, I was thinking of looking for you. Are you looking for a part-time worker on the weekend? Can you come and help me look after the store when you are free?"

Wei Qian's heart moved. Two years ago, he brought back 30,000 yuan. Thanks to Mrs. Song's thrifty housekeeping and the two of them seizing every opportunity to find work to supplement the family income, there were still 22,000 yuan left... and most of it was spent on Ma Zi's mother.

Eighteen thousand yuan... Is it enough for him to take advantage of Lao Xiong and do some small business?