Everyone still wanted to keep chatting, but by then the mood had grown somewhat heavy, and the conversation turned a little sad.
Xie Xiaochun told them how she had gotten into college back then, but her family had been so poor they couldn't afford to send her. She couldn't bear to make her mother keep struggling, either. After all, it hadn't been easy for her mother to raise Xiaoxia and her on her own. So she decided not to apply for a student loan and go to college. Instead, she wanted to stay home, ease her mother's burden, and help raise her younger brother.
But her mother knew her daughter wasn't ready to give up, and knew she couldn't talk her out of it. So she got in touch with Xie Zhiyao, who had left the village, and asked him to help persuade her daughter.
When Xie Zhiyao heard about it, he didn't hesitate. He made a special trip back from out of town, dusty from the journey, and convinced Xie Xiaochun to go to college.
Xie Xiaochun told Xie Zhiyuan that Xie Zhiyao had once said something she thought was absolutely right. She repeated it for him: "There's no such thing as wasted study. Knowledge is a bridge to the world."
After hearing Xie Xiaochun's heartfelt story, Xie Zhiyuan thought about how hard it had been for him working at the hotpot restaurant. At last, he took their words to heart. He also realized that everyone had teased him about his embarrassing story that evening to comfort him. He felt grateful, and thought that what his older brothers and sisters had said made a lot of sense.
Chen Nanxing had originally only wanted to lure Xie Zhiyao away from Xu Hongdou, but after hearing these stories, she found herself