Chapter 038: The upcoming exam

Chapter 038: The upcoming exam

The spring rains give birth to many lives.

The newly planted seedlings in the fields stretch out their fragile bodies, and after being irrigated by the spring rain, they are even more eager to welcome the arrival of the sun.

The trees on the roadside were lush and green, and a large number of wild vegetables sprouted on the hillside. Common wild vegetables such as wild onions and amaranth were everywhere, making Wen Jiajia's hands itch just by looking at them.

The most delightful thing is that there are spots of red hidden on the green hillside.

This is wild strawberry, the favorite wild fruit of rural children. Even the peaches on the mountain are not as popular as it.

My hometown is rich in it, I didn’t expect it to be available here as well.

But there were not many of them, so it was not worth the climb. Wen Jiajia gave up after taking a look.

The bus finally arrived. Before Wen Jiajia could identify whether the tree on the hillside was a mulberry tree, Wei Dai pulled her onto the bus.

"Is this the time for mulberries?" she asked quietly.

There were not many people going to the market today, so the couple both had seats and sat together.

Wei Dai nodded, a little surprised: "It happened at this time, don't you know?"

"Of course I don't know!" Wen Jiajia said confidently. She thought it was normal for her not to know. The original owner had lived in a county town since she was a child, and there were no mulberries in a county town.

Wei Dai did not doubt it and just said, "Mulberries are not sweet at all. They are so sour that they make your teeth fall out." When he was a child, he went up mountains and down rivers and had eaten almost all wild fruits, but the one he disliked the most was mulberries.

This thing looks sweet, but it's actually very sour.

Wen Jiajia leaned against him and tilted her head to look out the window: "I didn't say I was going to eat it. I just heard that mulberries can be used to make wine."

Wei Dai was helpless.

Well, he had discovered a long time ago that most people would not eat wild fruits if they didn't taste good. But his wife was different. She wanted to process them to see if they were edible.

For one cent, people would buy five kilograms of mulberries. How could it be worth pairing them with a bottle of wine?

"We don't have any wine tickets at home. Don't you want to use the two bottles of wine at home to make Chinese waxberries?" Wei Dai secretly held her hand tightly. "It will be the season of Chinese waxberries soon. The Chinese waxberries here are better than those in our hometown."

Otherwise, why do they say that looking at the plum blossoms can quench thirst? When talking about red plum blossoms, Wen Jiajia could only feel her saliva being secreted continuously.

"Then I'd rather eat Chinese bayberry." Wen Jiajia said, "I like eating Chinese bayberry more."

Wei Dai smiled and said, "Don't worry, you will have enough to eat in a while. There are several villages near our unit that grow red bayberries, which have a lot of flesh and small cores, and are extremely sweet."

Wen Jiajia covered his mouth: "Don't say anything."

Besides, my saliva is about to flow.

The couple didn't dare to quarrel outside. After saying this, they just looked at the scenery outside the window quietly.

The local scenery is beautiful. Early spring is one kind of scenery, and now late spring is another kind of scenery. You can never get tired of looking at it.

I was used to this route and it didn't take long for us to get into the city. Maybe it was because there weren't many people around today and I didn't feel the road was that uncomfortable.

The city was no different from usual, even the posters on the streets were still the same.

After getting off the bus, they ran straight to the department store and the first thing they did was to buy bicycles.

At this time, there are several brands of bicycles to choose from.

The most famous are Phoenix bicycles, followed by Forever and Feido.

Wei Dai asked her, "What card do you want?"

Wen Jiajia looked at the bicycles and pointed at the one at the back: "Compared to the others, this one seems to be smaller."

The salesperson said, "Comrade, that's a women's bicycle, and it's most suitable for us lesbians. There's only one Phoenix brand women's bicycle in the store right now, and no other brands."

Wei Dai tilted his head and asked, "Why don't you buy this one? You ride a lot, so you must feel comfortable riding it. The others are too heavy for you. It's fine if you only ride for half an hour, but you'll get tired if you ride for more than half an hour."

Wen Jiajia hesitated: "But this one is small and can't carry much."

The transport capacity of other 28-ton bicycles is enough to be used as a small cart.

It can also carry people, and it can easily carry three or four children.

Wei Dai said to her: "You are confused. Do we usually have things that need to be transported?" It is only used when commuting to and from get off work, and does not require high transportation capabilities.

That being said, there is a problem.

The price of a Phoenix 28-inch bicycle is now 180 yuan, while that of a women's bicycle is 160 yuan.

The price is not much different, but the materials used are very different. Nowadays, bicycles are not used for a few years, at least ten years or more.

In other words, we should not only consider the present, but also look to the long term.

However, Wen Jiajia slapped his head and said to the salesperson: "Comrade, then we want this one."

Ten years have passed, and it has been several years since the reform and opening up. I am probably not here anymore, so why would I care about bicycles?

As he said this, he handed the money over.

The salesperson took it, handed it to a colleague to deposit, and then went inside to get the bike. He pushed the bike out and carefully checked it in front of the couple before handing it to Wen Jiajia.

At the same time, her colleague also prepared the invoice.

"Keep it, you'll need it for license registration," said the salesperson.

Wen Jiajia was a little surprised when she heard this. It was the first time she knew that bicycles also needed to be registered these days.

But after thinking about it carefully and getting the answer from the original owner's memory, it is indeed necessary.

Not only do you need a license plate, you also need a driver's license.

Where can I get the license plate? Wei Dai said, "You have to go to the police station. In addition to getting the license plate, you also need to stamp it with a steel stamp."

This is to prevent the bicycle from being lost.

Nowadays, bicycles are definitely luxury goods. The value of the money in the banknotes can even build two houses in the countryside, so the steel stamp is to prevent it from being stolen. Even if it is stolen, it is possible to find it back according to the steel stamp.

However, the couple did not go there immediately because they had to buy other things first.

Wen Jiajia walked around the first and second floors and tore off two pieces of fine cotton cloth, preparing to make summer pajamas.

Wei Dai sometimes couldn't understand his wife's living habits. Is there really someone who makes clothes for sleeping?

But he didn't say anything, because he knew that if he dared to say anything more, he would not get the pajamas this time.

Wen Jiajia did plan to do it for him, and planned to do two sets for him.

There's nothing I can do. This guy really sweats.

People who sweat easily will throw away their clothes. Even their pajamas have to be washed every day. The more they wash, the thinner the clothes become. One set is not enough for them to wear for the whole summer.

Then Wen Chun and Wen Xuan each had a set, and she also had a set, but she had to add a nightgown.

When the weather is really hot, she always wears a nightgown. Anyway, she only wears it at home, so it doesn't matter if no one else sees it.

Then they bought some food. Seeing loquats and plums, Wen Jiajia bought two kilograms of each.

Leaving the department store, Wen Jiajia sat on the back seat of her bicycle and said, "Chun'er is obsessed with the radio, but it's a pity that the chicken hasn't laid eggs yet."

Wei Dai was confused and said, "What does a radio have to do with a chicken? Do I have to wait for the chicken to lay eggs before I can buy it?"

Wen Jiajia: "Eggs can be sold for money. She may be small but she has great ambitions. She decided to save the eggs to buy a radio. Didn't you notice that she is the one feeding all the chickens at home?"

Wen Chun is a very persistent child. He said he could feed the chickens by himself, and he really fed them by himself.

When I have free time, I will look for insects to feed the chickens.

When she heard Jiajia say that small fish and shrimps were good for chickens, she ran to the shallow river to catch small fish.

Just because of going to the river, I was almost spanked by Wen Jiajia.

Fortunately, the deep water section has been cordoned off by the logistics department, and the only area open is the shallow water area where the river water is not yet as deep as Wen Chun's calf. When the weather gets hot, many children go there to play. The logistics department is still there, so Wen Jiajia doesn't care.

Wei Dai laughed: "It will take a long time to complete this."

Of course, but even if the child is ambitious, we can’t hold him back.

While talking, the two arrived at the police station.

It costs a few yuan to stamp the license plate on a bicycle, but once you pay the money, the stamping is done quickly.

From then on, the family had a bicycle.

Wen Jiajia chased Wei Dai to the back and was eager to try: "You sit in the back seat and I'll ride."

Wei Dai followed her and sat in the back seat, his long legs a little stiff.

Wen Jiajia used all her strength to get the bike started. After crossing a street, she stopped and turned around and said indifferently, "Forget it, you should ride it."

Wei Dai: “…”

I want to laugh but I dare not.

"Ride on. I don't know the road." Wen Jiajia urged him.

Wei Dai: "Okay, please stand up and change seats."

Wen Jiajia: “…” Who are you showing off your weird tone to?

The couple switched positions, and when the car started again, the speed was much faster.

Nearly 15 minutes later, they arrived at the pharmaceutical factory.

Wei Dai has made some new friends in the pharmaceutical factory through various connections.

The Rule of Six applies particularly thoroughly to him.

He first got to know a friend from the city's Public Security Bureau through his comrades, because this friend's brother-in-law worked in the Health Bureau, which had close ties with the pharmaceutical factory and could be considered a superior department.

Wei Dai had two meals with the man and became good friends with him.

From him, I got to know a director of the pharmaceutical factory. Although he was not in charge of personnel, he definitely knew when the recruitment was held.

Sure enough, they knew it clearly.

Come to the pharmaceutical factory and enter through the gate.

The pharmaceutical factory is very large. Wen Jiajia has learned about it and it is the largest pharmaceutical factory in the province.

It can be said that the entire province, from the provincial capital hospital to the county hospitals, has medicines produced by pharmaceutical factories.

Even several neighboring provinces and cities are using it.

Otherwise, why do people say that business in state-owned enterprises is good? At that time, the market belongs to them. Not only can they eat as much as they want, but some even eat until they burp.

The director's surname was Song Jiacheng. He looked to be in his forties, but he was very familiar with Wei Dai.

He smiled and said, "Brother, I was thinking of inviting you to dinner. I found the badger you mentioned last time some time ago. Oh, I wanted to invite you at that time, but I thought you were in the army and probably couldn't come. Next time I'll arrange it again, and we can invite Director Chen and his brother-in-law to have dinner together."

Wei Dai stepped forward and said, "Okay, I'll definitely come when I'm free. But you know me, Brother Song. If I say I'm not free, then I'm not free."

"This is my wife Wen Jia," he introduced, and then said, "I passed by this time and thought I hadn't seen you for a long time, so I came to see you."

Song Jiacheng hurriedly greeted Wen Jiajia. He understood in his heart that they were not just passing by.

The next moment, Wei Dai said, "Brother Song, I want to ask you something. Our factory's recruitment will be in May this year, right?"

Song Jiacheng poured tea for the two of them: "Yes, May 25th, the date was just set, what's the matter?"

"My wife is also going to take the exam." Wei Dai said with a smile, "She is a high school graduate, and she fell behind because she came here to work with me. But after all, she just graduated not long ago, and she also wants to take the exam with this class of students. I just don't know if the pharmaceutical factory will allow it."

Will you give it up? Of course I will.

When Song Jiacheng first listened, he was wondering whether Wei Dai wanted him to recruit his wife.

Well, he can recruit. As a director, it is very easy for him to recruit people.

But the friendship between the two of them was not that deep.

But after hearing the rest, I realized that Wei Dai wanted to say that his wife was also preparing to take the exam.

What does this mean? This means that you have to rely on yourself to come in.

Song Jiacheng heaved a sigh of relief, with a genuine smile on his face: "Don't worry, I can take the exam, I have done it before. It's just that most of the students who take the exam are freshmen."

He said softly, "Brother Bu Mian, the factory will only hire five people this year. No more, no less. It will definitely not exceed five."

Wen Jiajia was a little worried that there were only five people. But she was sure that there would be hundreds of people taking the exam.

Wei Dai has always had confidence in Wen Jiajia. He thinks his wife is an intellectual among intellectuals. She reads books quickly and practices exercises even faster. In any case, exams should be a piece of cake for her.

But when he heard there were only five people, his brows couldn't help but frown.

"Why are you recruiting so few this time?" he asked.

Song Jiacheng replied: "The majority of them are being assigned there. The higher-ups said that about 20 people will be assigned this year, which is actually a lot."

After all, today's work is "inherited".

This means that no matter they are technical staff in the factory, leaders in the office, or even cleaners and logistics staff, as long as they have a formal job, they can pass it on to their children at home.

This has resulted in the number of people in the factory only increasing year by year and never decreasing.

The factory manager has actually noticed the redundancy in the factory, but he doesn't know where to start.

The people in the factory cannot be fired even if they want to.

It was assigned by me from above, so I couldn't refuse it.

The only thing he decides is the number of people to be recruited each year, and he has set it at five and no one can change it.

After getting the accurate information, Wei Dai did not stay any longer. Before leaving, he asked Song Jiacheng to help him register. After all, he only knew when the exam would start, but did not know when the registration would end.

This is a small matter, Song Jiacheng agreed immediately.

After leaving the pharmaceutical factory, Wen Jiajia still felt a little heavy in her heart.

"Alas!" she sighed.

Wei Dai was riding his bike to a nearby vegetable market. "Why are you so angry? We don't have to worry about food or clothing. If it doesn't work out this year, we'll try again next year. We'll definitely be able to hire again next year anyway."

Wen Jiajia slapped him and said, "You have to do this kind of thing in one go, don't you? Otherwise, you will get tired of it."

"Don't say such sad words. I believe you can do it."

Wen Jiajia was speechless. She didn't even believe that she could do it.

Arriving at the vegetable market, Wen Jiajia's mood gradually improved.

After all, this place is like more than ten stores. Looking around, it is full of supplies and people coming and going. It makes people feel lively.

"It's almost noon, and there are still so many people here!" Wen Jiajia took out the bag and rushed in impatiently.

We arrived late and the dishes were a little wilted. You have to come in the morning to buy fresh ones.

But it doesn’t matter, she doesn’t buy groceries either.

But there wasn't much meat in the butcher shop, and after walking around, Wen Jiajia only bought a pair of pig lungs.

Wei Dai came over with a fish in his hand and asked, "Do we have any pickled vegetables at home?"

Wen Jiajia understood that this person wanted to eat sauerkraut fish.

It was almost noon when the two arrived home.

The sky is clear and cloudless. Perhaps that is why the sun is so bright today.

Wen Jiajia only felt that the top of her head was hot, and sweat was pouring down her temples.

When I got home, I couldn't wait to take off my coat.

He rolled up his sleeves and sorted out the things he bought, then asked Wei Dai, "Are the two empty plots next to the family building going to be used to build a building?"

Wei Dainian wiped his sweat with a towel and said, "It seems so. The last time we divided the houses, there was a big commotion and many people didn't get one."

Wen Jiajia actually didn’t understand: “What are they thinking? I think our place is much better than the building.”

Wei Dai glanced at his wife helplessly: "Do you really think so?"

"Of course not! I've been to Sister Hong's house before, and there's barely enough room for one knee. If you live alone or as a couple, it's fine, but once you have kids, the house becomes extremely cramped."

Wen Jiajia had only one opinion about Sister Hong at that time: this woman was definitely a master of space and she simply utilized space to the extreme.

The house is less than 50 square meters, and according to Sister Hong herself, it is only 45 square meters.

The couple and their young daughter live in a 12-square-meter bedroom, and the other four children share a 20-square-meter bedroom.

The remaining space is the living room.

The walls of the living room are lined with storage cabinets and shelves, which are built as high as possible and are densely packed with things.

As for the kitchen, there was none. It was not just her house that didn't have one. All the families on that floor didn't have a kitchen at home. Instead, they placed the kitchen in the corridor to save space to the maximum extent.

Even so, Sister Hong said, "After my parents-in-law left, things at home became much better. Otherwise, we would have nowhere to stay."

Wei Dai wiped his own sweat, changed the towel and the basin of water, and then wiped Wen Jiajia's sweat: "But the building is not afraid of wind and rain, and it is clean."

Wen Jiajia curled her lips and said, "How many days of extreme weather are there in a year? Like the hail that day, it was gone in one night. I didn't plan on living in this building. As for cleanliness, I think our house is pretty clean."

Yes, there is chicken poop in the yard, but how dirty can it get if we sweep it every day?

And the house is cleaner than the apartment.

There are more people in high-rise buildings and more rats than in bungalows.

Wei Dai laughed: "Hey, most of the soldiers in the army come from the countryside. The most simple wish is to eat meat every day and live in a building every day. You don't understand, this is a kind of obsession."

"You wanted to live here originally, right?" she asked.

Wei Dai nodded: "Yes, I had already thought about how to decorate it at that time." He never expected that his wife would choose a bungalow.

Wen Jiajia was speechless.

She raised her head, and Wei Dai wiped her face with a towel. After wiping, he put the towel in water to rinse it, and then wiped it again.

A gust of wind blew, and I felt refreshed immediately.

Wen Jiajia patted Wei Dai on the shoulder and encouraged him, "It's okay. Just serve me like this. If you can make me feel comfortable, I will buy you a house to live in in the future."

Wei Dai: “…”

He threw the towel into the basin and went to the yard to kill fish.

Wen Jiajia shouted, "It's true. I'll buy you a huge apartment with a kitchen and a toilet. It's so clean that you can roll around on the floor. You can live there however you want."

Oh, why don’t you believe it?

Because it was already past 12 o'clock, the two of them didn't cook, but just had a few bites.

There is still some porridge left from the morning, so I warm it up and eat it with steamed buns.

I bought the buns at a state-owned hotel when I was about to leave the city. They were filled with leeks, eggs, and three-diced garlic.

Needless to say, leeks and eggs are very popular, and Wen Jiajia is very interested in the three-spice filling.

Which three Dings are they?

The diced pork, chicken and shrimp are tender and juicy, and the taste is very different from the buns at home.

There were only two left when I bought them, and I didn't leave any for the two children. Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai each ate one and enjoyed them very much.

In the evening, start making pickled fish.

Wei Dai had to do the job of killing and filleting fish. He had great knife skills and the fish he sliced ​​were as thin as paper.

When Wen Chun and Wen Xuan came back, the pickled fish was ready, and the two sisters exclaimed in delight.

Wen Xuan even went to find Wei Dai and asked, "Uncle-in-law, can you stay at home every day?"

Wei Dai: “Why?”

"Because you are at home, there are lots of delicious food at home." Wen Xuan doesn't know whether to make money or not. She only knows that when her uncle-in-law is at home, there is always a lot of food to eat.

Wen Jiajia gently kicked her butt: "You wishful thinking, go eat the pig lung soup."

Wen Xuan pouted.

Even foodies have foods they don’t like, such as pig lungs.

Wen Xuan hates pig lungs very much, but pig lungs are nutritious. When Wen Jiajia couldn't buy meat in her hometown, she would usually buy pig lungs.

"I don't like it." Wen Xuan said, "Give it to my sister. She likes it."

Wen Jiajia said with a fierce look on her face: "If you don't eat it, you won't be able to eat the pickled fish later."

Wen Xuan's lips were pouted as if a bottle of oil could be hung on them. After some hesitation, she finally picked up the bowl and ate.

Fortunately, the pig lungs were prepared properly today, Wen Jiajia controlled the heat well, the pig lungs were tender, and the egg drops were slippery. It was rare for Wen Xuan to finish this bowl of pig lung and egg drop soup within ten minutes.

After eating and writing the soup, I can no longer eat the pickled fish.

I only ate a few slices of fish, some tofu puffs, and half a bowl of rice noodles, then ran out to the yard to play with my friends.

They wanted to catch snails, but Wen Jiajia couldn't understand how there could be snails in the river.

——

As the exam day approached, Wen Jiajia became increasingly nervous, and the nervousness was no less than that of the final exams in college.

Because she was busy starting her own business in college, she had to cram for lessons and worship Confucius before every exam, just to get a low score and pass.

Wei Dai took over the housework at home. Not only did he steam a bowl of egg custard for her every day, he also secretly bought goat milk from nearby villagers.

She didn't know whether she had gained brain power or not, but she had definitely gained weight. After more than ten days, Wen Jiajia clearly felt that she had gained a little weight.

During this period, Wei Dai also went to the city. He needed to make sure that Wen Jiajia had registered.

He also brought back a message: "138 people signed up this time."

When she heard Jiajia's shoulders slump, she knew all this would happen.

It is not easy to select 5 people out of 138.

Wei Dai comforted: "It's okay, it won't work this time..."

Wen Jiajia covered his mouth: "Stop talking, there is no way! There is no next year!"

Wei Dai immediately shut up: "Okay."

Wen Jiajia lay on the bed, frowning and thinking, actually, it's almost the same as it will be a few decades later.

In a few decades, if you want to get a job in a state-owned enterprise, the acceptance rate will be even lower than it is now.

Thinking of this, I feel much better.

Soon, the exam day arrived.

Wen Jiajia went to bed at nine o'clock the night before and was woken up by Wei Dai at six o'clock the next morning.

"The exam starts at nine o'clock." Wei Dai said, "I've already prepared dinner. I'll take you there after dinner."

Wen Jiajia woke up immediately, got up quickly, and changed into the clothes she had prepared before going to bed last night.

Wei Dai was particularly considerate at this time and prepared fried dough sticks and eggs for Wen Jiajia.

For good luck, Wen Jiajia ate it.

The two sisters were also forced to wake up early and send them to the Xie family next door after dinner.

Wen Jiajia warned: "Be good and listen, I will buy you some delicious food when I come back in the evening."

The two children nodded heavily after saying "hmm" twice. They couldn't wait to go to Xie's house, as there was a radio to listen to in the morning.

Wen Jiajia waved at them, carried her small bag, and sat in the back seat.

The morning breeze was damp and when it blew against my face I felt like a piece of gauze blowing past.

The morning sun in the east was like fire, breaking through the clouds and covering everything with a rosy glow.

Wen Jiajia thought it was a good sign. The nervousness in her heart gradually dissipated, and she felt calm when she entered the examination room.

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