Gao Ziyuan stroked his head and averted his gaze. It would take 40 minutes to walk there, and more than an hour to go there and back. Why bother running so far?

After he had made his bed and packed his luggage, he thought about going out to buy some daily necessities. However, he would be given an eye roll by the other party as soon as he arrived at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative.

When I was choosing things, the lady with a red hair flower looked down on me, “Why are you looking through them? If they get dirty, are you going to buy them all?”

Gao Ziyuan stared at the sealed biscuits wrapped in a plastic bag. Isn't this how you pick things when you buy them? How could they get dirty if they were wrapped in a bag?

He was arrogant and proud, so he simply grabbed a handful of packaged biscuits and asked the salesperson to weigh them. When he finally collected the money, the salesperson used his fingers to hold the banknotes, as if he was afraid to touch something dirty.

The next time Gao Ziyuan went to buy something, he went to another supply and marketing cooperative on purpose. However, the attitude of the other party was similar to the previous one, and they just disliked him.

Inside the office of Jinshan Island Primary School.

Wang Shuning held his chin with both hands and stared at the homework book on the table that had just been corrected. It was full of red crosses.

Let's take a look at the other two books. In Chinese extracurricular reading comprehension, everyone has a different understanding of the emotions of sentences, and there are more than a dozen alternative descriptive vocabulary words. They are written exactly the same, even the punctuation marks are not changed. They are 100% copied.

She teaches math to third and fourth graders, so even if some students copied homework, it wouldn't be so obvious.

Gao Ziyuan taught Chinese, and these students left a deep impression on Wang Shuning. They whispered and slept in class, were arranged by the teacher to sit at the back, and played like crazy after class.

Their learning attitude is not completely negative. At least they are willing to cheat instead of just not handing it in.

If it were fifty years later, I could still become a sports student or take other paths, but the conditions are not there now, not to mention that I am still on the island.

Teacher Zhao saw that Wang Shuning was frowning and sighing. He glanced at him as he passed by and touched his forehead embarrassedly.

She knew the character of the students in her class very well. Wang Shuning was substituting for Gao Ziyuan, which brought shame to the third and fourth grade teachers, and she, as a math teacher, was also embarrassed.

"Teacher Wang, Li Yi and his friends have had poor grades since first grade. They often go fishing with their parents on weekends. They won't go to middle school after getting their elementary school diplomas, so you don't have to worry so much."

And you will only teach for one month, so just fulfill your duties as a substitute teacher. You don't have to worry too much about their grades. After all, one month can't change anything.

When Wang Shuning heard Teacher Zhao say that they did not plan to go to middle school, he frowned even more. "There is a middle school on the island, and the tuition is not high. Why not go?"

Judging from the way Li Yi and the others are dressed, it doesn’t look like their family can’t afford it.

Teacher Zhao saw Wang Shuning insisted on asking, so he pulled the chair over and looked at her face to face. "The people on the island make a living by fishing, and they don't pay much attention to their children's studies. If there weren't troops stationed on Jinshan Island, there wouldn't even be a school here. In their eyes, learning a skill and supporting yourself is the most important thing. What's more, if the children at home don't have good academic performance, they will never think of becoming successful through studying."

Wang Shuning: "Primary school grades are not accurate, especially for boys. Many of them only start to make progress in middle school and high school."

Teacher Zhao sighed, "It doesn't matter how good your grades are. There is no college entrance examination now. You need a recommendation to go to university. There is not even a high school on the island. How can you have a chance?"

Wang Shuning bit her lip. "But if the college entrance examination is resumed in the future, and they didn't go to high school, how can they have a chance?"

Teacher Zhao smiled and shook his head. "Who knows whether the college entrance examination can be resumed? The parents of these students are not against their study. If they are willing to go to middle school, they will also support them. But Li Yi and his friends don't want to."

Wang Shuning was annoyed: "Children aged 12 or 13 don't have a clear understanding of their future, and the island is closed to information, so they have to rely on their parents' guidance."

Teacher Zhao: "But their parents have never been educated, and they put the continuation of the family line first. There are nearly 100 students in the school. When they graduate from elementary school, 70% of the children of the island residents will return home. Most of those who go to middle school are children of soldiers. Half of them stop studying after middle school, and the other half go to Dashan City to live in the school to attend high school. The promising boys join the army, and most of the girls find a stable job in Dashan City, find a partner, get married, and start a family, and live a stable life."

Wang Shuning blinked, feeling a tightness in his chest. How depressing it would be to live his whole life like this, with a foreseeable end at a glance.

Teacher Zhao saw that Wang Shuning was in a low mood and patted her on the shoulder. "You are just substituting for Teacher Gao. You should focus on the third and fourth grade students. After all, you still have to teach them for two or three years."

Wang Shuning sat in the chair in silence. After listening to what Teacher Zhao said, he wondered if there was something wrong with his idea. After all, in this era, having enough food is the most important thing. The future often goes with the flow and dreams are just illusions.

On weekends, Ding Hui took Feng Guoqiang and his sister, as well as Wang Shuning, to go fishing.

Feng Yunhao is the battalion commander. As long as Feng Guoqiang has no problem with his physical fitness and passes the assessment, he still has hope of becoming an air force officer. But I haven't heard Feng Lili say what she wants to do when she grows up?

Seeing several crabs at the bottom of the puddle, Wang Shuning immediately waved to Feng Lili, who was closest to her, to come over.

"Teacher Wang, you are so lucky to find five crabs at once." Feng Lili used an iron clamp to force the crabs out of the cracks in the rocks.

The crab was very strong and it took Feng Lili a long time to get it into the bucket.

When the two were looking side by side, Wang Shuning asked, "Your brother wants to be an air force officer when he grows up. What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Feng Lili bent down to pick up the clams in the sand and put them in the bucket. "Well, I haven't thought about it. My father said that when I grow up, he would let me join the army on the island. It will be close to home."

Wang Shuning opened his lips slightly and nodded, "Oh...that's good too."

Wang Shuning felt heavy-hearted for the whole afternoon. He returned home, sat on a chair, picked up a notebook and started scribbling on it.

This year is 1972, and there are still five years before the college entrance examination was resumed in 1977.

I am twenty years old now, and I will be twenty-five in five years. When I finish college, I will be twenty-nine years old, which seems a bit old.

If you go to college, what major will you choose?

What kind of job do you want to do in the future?

Do you want to start a business by taking advantage of the policy?

She hadn't thought about any of this carefully.

As for not having to worry about food and drink for the rest of my life, I have already achieved my goal.

I have more than 20,000 yuan in cash and all kinds of tickets. Being a teacher on the island is a stable job, and with various subsidies, the salary is not small.

In the 20th century, this was definitely the ideal state for 80 percent of college graduates.

So what is the next goal?

Just live like this?

Wait until the college entrance examination is resumed and then become a teacher?

Or do something else?

Wang Shuning is a little confused. Now that he has enough food and clothing, should he pursue spiritual nourishment?