First, the beloved Premier Zhou Enlai passed away, leaving the whole nation in grief.

The entire Chu family was plunged into an indescribable depression, and Chu Xingbang even fell ill.

Then a series of major events occurred.

Various regions began to be on high alert, but disturbances frequently occurred in the black market, all of which were suppressed by Lu Feng's forceful methods.

The situation became extremely dire, but like the darkness before the people, as long as we persevere, we will see the dawn.

Li Xiyue donated a large sum of money in the name of Li Shadan to her compatriots who suffered from natural disasters, hoping to help them overcome their difficulties.

Because of the bad situation, Li Xiyue couldn't go to Huang Xinrui's place to give birth. She only asked Lu Feng to bring her some gifts through the black market transportation chain.

Chu Xingbang's illness was recurring, sometimes better and sometimes worse. Fortunately, Xie Mingying gave birth to a son in early summer, which gradually improved the old man's condition.

In early winter, Zhuang Le also gave birth to a son. Chu Xingbang's illness was completely cured when he saw his great-grandson.

After 1976, a period of low pressure, 1977 marked a turning point.

With various policies being relaxed, many people have begun to return to the city.

Those who had been wronged were gradually exonerated and returned to the city.

Among them were four elderly people from the first team of the Red Sun Production Team.

The first thing the four elderly people did after returning to the city was to go to Beijing to thank their benefactor.

The state returned their property to them and provided them with a large sum of compensation.

They set aside two-thirds of their money to repay the benefactors who had helped them when they were down on their luck.

As a result, Li Xiyue received two more houses as a thank-you gift. Chu Xingbang and Lu Feng also received thank-you gifts, but they didn't know the specifics.

After the policy was relaxed, Li Xiyue received more letters, mostly from the countryside. Zhou Yunxia and the other two asked her about her current situation and whether she needed to use connections to return to the city.

Li Xiyue told them to hold back and study more whenever they had time. The college entrance examination would resume soon, and returning to the city as college students would be much better than trying to get back through connections and then having to find a job through connections.

The three of them always listened to her, so they put their minds at ease and studied with all their might.

Huang Xinrui kept asking her about the future situation. Li Xiyue asked her if she still wanted to go to university. Since having a child, she no longer longed for university and decided to focus on getting her son into university in the future.

The important thing is that she is pregnant again and is vomiting terribly at home. How can she concentrate on studying?

After understanding her thoughts, Li Xiyue also advised her to hold back and not go to the black market for the time being. The more chaotic the situation, the more cautious she should be.

In late October, the college entrance examination was indeed reinstated.

All the educated youth were filled with hope, finally able to change their situation and be reborn through the college entrance examination.

When Zhou Yunxia and the other two heard the news, they were so impressed with Li Xiyue that they almost worshipped her like a goddess. She was just too amazing. The college entrance examination was indeed restored just as she had predicted. All their hard work over the past few years had finally paid off.

Compared to the other unprepared educated youth, the three of them had been secretly studying, so their chances of success were still greater.

Even so, we cannot let our guard down, as the competition is fierce. I've heard that there are over ten million qualified applicants, and even those who pass the final review and selection process will number in the millions.

The acceptance rate was extremely low, and despite such fierce competition, the three of them were not arrogant enough to think they were 100% guaranteed to get in.

They managed to acquire a lot of books and exam papers, and continued to study with others, studying whenever they had free time.