Women in Gumula Village like to gather at the small convenience store run by Old Yang to play cards and chat.
Men in Gumula Village prefer to gather in the village hall, holding cigarettes in their hands, shaking off the ash, and discussing national affairs. Of course, there aren't many national affairs to discuss, just a few repetitive phrases that are not very interesting. Most of the time, they end up gossiping about the people around them—someone making a fortune, someone having a secret lover, and so on.
When men gossip, they wear a righteous expression on their faces, laughing heartily, and their conversations are no less intriguing than those of women.
When Su Youfu hobbled over, the men in the village hall were already getting a bit tired of chatting.
It was around two or three in the afternoon, the perfect time when the sun was neither scorching nor too bright. There was a large television in the hall, and for once, the sound from the television drowned out the chatter of the people.
People in the village always started their work early in the morning. They would wake up around four in the morning and head into the mountains by five. They had plenty of time and energy in the morning.
If they went to work at eight or nine in the morning, they wouldn't get much done. Once the sun rose, the sunlight would become scorching, making it difficult to work.
Therefore, everyone preferred to start work early and finish early, except for a few slow workers who would take the whole day to complete their tasks, or those who were exceptionally hardworking.
Su Youfu was one of the exceptions. He was hardworking but slow. It was rare to see him coming to the village hall for a chat at this time, and when people saw him limping, they would tease him, thinking they had found a topic to talk about.
"Su Lame, why aren't you making your baskets?"
"Su Lame, we heard that you made a fortune and are sending your daughter to an elite school. The annual tuition fee is over ten thousand."
"Is your daughter made of gold?"
"I heard that the guy from the neighboring village's fourth son is willing to pay a hundred thousand yuan as a dowry to marry a college student. Su Lame, are you interested? You have a college student in your family."
Suddenly, the whole village hall became lively.
Su Youfu's face turned slightly red. These people usually made fun of him and called him Su Lame, and he didn't mind. He had gotten used to being called that, even his own mother would casually scold him like that.
But when these people started talking about his daughter, he felt uneasy.
The fourth son from the neighboring village was a scoundrel, a lazy thief. It was said that he had been imprisoned once. Who would marry their daughter to him?
"If my daughter gets into college, I'll support her. As for marrying the fourth son, it's up to you. You can marry him yourselves," Su Youfu said with a flushed face, standing there with his neck stiff.
He had initially wanted to show off, but he was not good at speaking and was defeated before he even opened his mouth.
Honest people get angry easily.
But there was nothing he could do.
Everyone seemed to be watching a show, enjoying the laughter.
At that moment, Su Lame, Su Youfu, suddenly opened his mouth wide, his eyes staring ahead as if he had been possessed. He pointed his trembling hand in front of him, startling everyone. They wondered if he was really upset and had some kind of reaction.
They all saw Su Lame trembling all over, as if he was about to drool and faint.
Following the direction of his finger, they saw that Su Lame was pointing at the television in the middle of the hall.
And on the television was the sports channel, Lv Shan Channel 5, I don't know who tuned it.
At this moment, the auditorium fell silent, startled by Su Lamezi's unusual actions, and the sound from the television came on.
A reporter held a microphone and interviewed a young girl.
The girl was wearing sportswear, very beautiful, slender and tall, but somehow familiar.
Reporter: How do you feel about your own condition? Do you have confidence in the competition?
Su Xiaoqi: I think I'm in pretty good shape and I have confidence.
Reporter: Who do you think is the most likely to win the championship?
Su Xiaoqi: I don't know.
Reporter: What are your plans for your future development?
Su Xiaoqi: Going to college.
Finally, someone pushed Su Youfu and exclaimed in surprise, "Su Lamezi, is this your daughter?"
Su Youfu also nodded incredulously.
He didn't expect his daughter to be like this on television—calm and poised. Even he, as her father, could hardly recognize her.
After a while, he finally found his voice, trembling a bit.
"My daughter said she participated in the competition and won an award, and she asked me to watch Lu Shan Channel 5. The Lu Shan News will also have coverage in the evening."
He thought it was just a scene, but he didn't expect there to be a dedicated interview.
At this moment, someone brought over a long bench for Su Youfu to sit on.
Obviously, the fact that someone from the village appeared on TV was a much bigger scandal than the usual gossip and even more significant than national news on TV.
Everyone fell silent and focused on watching the television.
Meanwhile, at the small grocery store run by Old Yang's wife, the people playing cards grew increasingly uninterested. Usually, they played with a crowd of people, chatting and laughing while playing. But now, there were only four people, and one of them kept looking up at the TV, afraid of missing anything.
Others also raised their heads. The TV in the grocery store was hung from the ceiling, so they had to look up to watch.
Just when they had mocked Sheng Juanhua for selling herself to the ancestors, she looked at the cards in her hand, found nothing good, and threw them down, saying, "Forget it, let's not play. Let's watch TV."
At that moment, Old Yang's wife took out a large bag of melon seeds and distributed them to everyone.
She was very good at pleasing people. The melon seeds were loose and not expensive. By giving them out, everyone remembered her kindness and would feel embarrassed not to buy things from her.
It was the first time Sheng Juanhua had been given a handful of melon seeds, and she was a little overwhelmed by the favor.
Then Old Yang's wife said, "That girl just now, she looks just like you. She's so well-raised."
Others complained that Old Yang's wife's chatter was blocking the sound from the TV. This was the prime scene for gossip, and it said "replay" on the screen. Who knew if they would show it again.
"Turn up the volume a bit, Old Yang's family. We can't hear it."
None of them had the habit of watching sports competitions. They usually liked to watch TV dramas and the like. The sports channel was usually only exciting during the national Olympics or when they wanted to know how many gold medals our country had won.
But they were actually engrossed in this swimming competition because, from time to time, they would see a familiar yet unfamiliar face and a huge banner on the venue saying, "Su Xiaoqi, go for it!"
Su Xiaoqi was from their Gumula Village, the only daughter of Su Lamezi and Sheng Juanhua.
There were some murmurs in the midst, criticizing the girl for dressing so scantily and going against societal norms, but the voices were faint and did not resonate.
Although Gumula Village was remote and impoverished, they did have television. This swimming competition was a global event, something even the Olympics featured. The young girl wore a one-piece swimsuit, exposing her arms and legs while keeping her chest firmly covered. Compared to the women in the village who wore revealing clothes in the summer, with transparent garments that revealed their bras and low necklines emphasizing their curves, the girl appeared rather underdeveloped, with a straight figure.
But as the show progressed and it was revealed that Su Xiaoqi was standing on the champion's podium, receiving the award from a high-ranking official from the province, and also receiving a prize of 15,000 yuan, everyone watching the television reached a climax of excitement.
It wasn't 150 or 1,500, it was 15,000 yuan!
The red envelope being handed over was thick.
The sign clearly stated "15,000."
Just a moment ago, people were mocking Su's daughter as being made of gold, but now it was true, as she could receive 15,000 yuan just by swimming a lap.
And on television, she spoke confidently with the leader.
She was completely different from them.
The people in the auditorium had just mocked Su's crippled daughter, but now their faces burned with pain.
And since there was no major event happening in the village, someone had shouted, and most of the villagers who were able to come had rushed to watch television. Old Yang's small shop and the village office were packed to the brim.
Even the village chief and secretary were alarmed.
The village chief was a native of the village, while the secretary was sent from the city, named Gong Shu.
Now, Gong Shu walked up to Su Youfu, shook his hand firmly, patted his shoulder, and said, "Comrade Youfu, you have raised a great daughter. Not only has she brought honor to Gumula Village, but also to Lv Shan City. Perhaps in the future, she will bring glory to our country as well."
