Cui Qingtao, 17, was mixing mortar¹ at a construction site with his parents on Sunday when he received his admission letter from Peking University, which is regarded as the best university in China.

周日，当17岁的崔庆涛收到来自国内顶尖学府北京大学的录取通知书时，他正和父母在工地上拌砂浆。

On this year’s gaokao, or China’s college entrance examination, the young man from a low-income family scored 669 points and applied² to Peking University, where he was accepted as a student in the School of Journalism³ and Communication.

在今年的高考中，这位来自一个低收入家庭的年轻人考了669分，被北京大学新闻与传播学院录取。

Cui’s home is in a small village in the city of Qujing in Southwest China’s Yunnan province. He is the family’s oldest son, with a younger brother in high school and a sister in the fourth grade.

崔庆涛的家位于中国西南云南省曲靖市的一个小村庄里。他是家中老大，还有一个上高中的弟弟和一个上小学四年级的妹妹。

Cui is an obedient and thoughtful son. To help his family earn more money, he’d spend his school breaks getting up at 3 o’clock in the morning to fertilize⁴ and water plants in the family’s greenhouses with his brother.

崔庆涛是个孝顺体贴的儿子。为了帮家里多挣些钱，他假期里每天凌晨3点就起床了，和弟弟一起在大棚里施肥浇水。

On Sunday, Cui’s family was doing construction work at the site of a new home when Cui Qingtao saw a postal⁵ van come onto the property. Cui and his parents and sister were excited as they finally received the long-expected admission letter.

周日，一家人正在一户人家新建房屋的工地上做工，崔庆涛看见一辆邮政面包车驶入工地。他和父母妹妹终于收到了这封期待已久的录取通知书，一家人都感到十分激动。

Cui Qingtao made his parents, neither of whom went to university, very proud. When his mother read the admission letter to his father, who cannot read, a big smile broke out on his father’s face.

崔庆涛的父母都没有上过大学，他就是他们的骄傲。崔庆涛的父亲并不识字，当孩子的母亲为他念录取通知书上的内容时，他的脸上绽放出笑容。

"You reap what you sow. Now I’m leaving my home village for college, but I’ll return and someday change the poor conditions of our village," Cui said.

“一分耕耘毕竟会有一分收获，我今天走出了大山，将来也会回到大山，改变大山，”崔庆涛说道。

"His starting point is different from other students, but I hope his future will be bright," one internet user said on Chinese social media site Weibo.

“他的起点和其他学生不一样，但我祝愿他的前途一片光明，”一位网友在微博上评论道。