We've already agreed, he's just borrowing it to help out, and you have to return it when we start school in the fall."

In the end, Principal Wang compromised.

So, Principal Wang and Chairman Zhao went to find Chen Weimin and told him about helping out at the trade union.

Chen Weimin doesn't care what he does; he just wants recognition and a platform where he can showcase his talents.

So when he learned that Chairman Zhao wanted him to help out at the trade union, he nodded in agreement.

At that time, there was a lot of propaganda work to be done at the forest farm. When Chen Weimin joined the trade union, he helped write materials, cut steel plates, and print publications. He was busy and fulfilled every day.

The materials he wrote were submitted and received praise from higher-level leaders, while the publications he printed also received unanimous praise from the trade union and forestry farm leaders.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed secretary of the Youth League branch of the forest farm also kept talking to Chen Weimin, giving him advice and encouragement, and recommending him to join the Youth League organization.

With so much encouragement and affirmation, Chen Weimin's life has undergone different changes. He has become more and more confident, more and more positive, and full of expectations for the future.

In his spare time, Chen Weimin began to write.

Everyone in the forest farm witnessed Chen Weimin's transformation, and Sheng Xiping naturally noticed it as well. He was quite gratified by it.

Of course, at this time, the Sheng family had something more important to do: Sheng Xikang was going to take the exam.

In 1978, the college entrance examination was moved back to July, on the 7th and 8th. If you were taking the exam for a foreign language-related major, you would have an additional foreign language test on the 9th.

Sheng Xikang had studied for more than half a year longer than Sheng Xi'an, and both Zhou Qinglan and Sheng Xi'an had collected a lot of review materials at their respective universities.

Zhou Qinglan, in particular, was at Northeast Normal University and had more exposure to these things, so she specially copied a lot of review materials and exercises for Sheng Xi'an.

With the help of his sister-in-law and second brother, and with Sheng Xikang's hard work, he consistently ranked among the top in the bureau's mock exams, achieving excellent results.

The school teachers had high hopes for Sheng Xikang, and often encouraged and comforted him, telling him to stay focused and do well on the exam.

Sheng Xikang taking the college entrance examination was a major event for the Sheng family. After discussing it, the family decided that Sheng Xiping would accompany Sheng Xikang to Songjianghe to take the exam.

On the morning of the 5th, the forest farm arranged a vehicle to take the college entrance examination candidates to Songjianghe.

This year, many students from the forest farm took the college entrance examination. In addition to current high school graduates, some were former educated youth who failed the exam last year.

Many people who failed the exam did not give up and studied for another year to try again. Among them was Wang Tianqing, the eldest son of Wang Jiachuan.

Last year, Wang Tianqing didn't have enough time to prepare and failed the exam. Undeterred, he asked for leave from the educated youth team and stayed home to study. He took the exam again this year.

With so many people taking the exam, the forest farm used a shuttle bus to take everyone to the exam venue, embarking on an unknown journey through life.

When the candidates arrived in Songjianghe, most of them stayed with relatives and friends, while a few stayed in hotels.

Zhou Mingyuan had already said that Sheng Xikang should stay at the Zhou family home, and Sheng Xiping didn't hesitate and took his younger brother to stay at his father-in-law's house.

Wang Chunxiu took a special day off and prepared a feast to welcome Sheng Xikang.

I checked the exam venue on the 6th, and the exam started on the 7th.

Sheng Xiping couldn't do anything else, but after sending Sheng Xikang into the examination hall, he carried his belongings to the town's purchasing station and sold all the hides and medicinal herbs he had accumulated over the past few days.

Sheng Xikang did not apply for a foreign language major, so he did not need to take an additional foreign language test, and the test only lasted for two days.

Only after the last exam was over did Sheng Xiping and Zhou Mingyuan dare to ask how it went.

"It should be alright. I feel like I've done all those questions before. Many of the question types are from the materials my sister-in-law sent me, just slightly modified. They're very simple, and I can do them all."

"The essay was alright, I know all of them, and I wrote it quite smoothly." Sheng Xikang felt pretty good about it and was quite confident.