In the autumn of 1977, a significant announcement suddenly came through the radio:

The college entrance examination, which had been suspended for many years, would be reinstated this year, and the exams would begin in December.

Upon hearing this, my mother immediately asked me to register.

At that time, my father disagreed, worried that there would be no one to earn work points in the fields.

My mother became anxious:

"It's already this late, why do you still care about those work points of yours?"

Before the liberation, my father worked as a laborer in the city, hoping to change his fate. In a moment of impulse, he joined the national army in 1948.

Because of my father's decision, he later lost the power to make family decisions, and no one believed in any ideas he put forward.

My mother said again, now the situation has changed, and the country will focus on development in the future, needing college students.

After attending college, graduating, and entering factories, schools, or government offices, that would make us city dwellers with a promising future.

This was our chance as farmers to change our destiny.

Finally, my father reluctantly agreed.

After registering, we couldn't find any review materials anywhere.

That year, the college entrance examination was urgent. From the announcement to the exams, there were only two months. Over five million people nationwide registered, and many people stayed up all night queuing at bookstore entrances but couldn't buy reference books.

My mother inquired everywhere and finally borrowed a horse carriage to take me to a distant relative's house in the city. We gave them two bags of rice and copied a set of "Self-Study Manuals for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry" overnight.

After returning, I made eight copies and gave them to several examinees in our extended family.

When the results came out, I was the only one in the entire village who passed, and I ranked first in the county in the science stream.

My name was recorded in the county chronicles.

The village celebrated this for me, saying, "Leaving a mark in history, a golden phoenix flies out of the mountain valley."

Many people in my extended family sent me food, drinks, and clothing.

Only then did my father realize and praised my mother for having foresight.

My mother also sighed:

"Fate, with just a slight difference in thought, can make a world of difference."

My father then said:

"The ancestral grave is emitting smoke, and it is responding to our family's matter!"

Our whole family paid a proper visit to the ancestral grave.

We expressed gratitude to our ancestors for their blessings.

But later, we discovered that things weren't that simple.

You can never imagine the lengths people would go to in order to change their destiny.