Chapter 154 Educated Youth in the 1970s (18) I Want to Build! I Want to Learn...
The wait after the exam felt like an eternity. Just after New Year's Day, Song Ce didn't receive his admission notice; instead, he received a medical examination notice from the Agricultural Machinery Institute. Professor Wei even spoke with Song Ce privately twice about this, subtly advising him to relax and that he could retake the exam next year.
Song Ce wasn't nervous about his own results, but the entire agricultural machinery institute was paying close attention. Not only him, but Cao Baiquan and Xie Guoliang also took the college entrance examination. The director and secretary were hoping that one of their students would become a college student and bring honor to the institute.
January arrived in a leisurely manner, and on the day of Laba Festival, Professor Wei's office phone suddenly rang.
"There's a letter? Good, good, I'll have Xiao Song go and get it right away."
Zhou Gong vaguely overheard two sentences from the phone call and winked at Song Ce. Professor Wei laughed heartily and said kindly, "Little Song, did you hear that? There's a letter for you at the gate. Go get it quickly!"
Song Ce nodded and walked out of the office at a leisurely pace.
The gatekeeper was already waiting outside. As soon as he saw Song Ce come over, the gatekeeper greeted him with a smile: "Are you Comrade Song? There's a letter from Tsinghua University for you."
Song Ce thanked the gatekeeper and took the manila envelope from him. The envelope clearly had the words "Tsinghua University No. 001" printed on it.
Since this was the first year of the resumption of the college entrance examination, the exam results were not published in a national ranking like in later years. Therefore, Song Ce only glanced at number 001 before opening the envelope.
Sure enough, there was an admission letter lying quietly inside, stating that he had been admitted to the Department of Mechanical Automation at Tsinghua University with the highest score in Beijing.
He returned to the office with the admission notice. Professor Wei adjusted his glasses and waved to him, saying, "Xiao Song, I just made a bet with Xiao Zhou about which university you'll get into."
Zhou Gong laughed heartily, resting his chin on his hand: "Our Professor Wei has a lot of confidence in you. He guessed Tsinghua University! I guessed USTC." Both of these are top-tier universities in China. Song Ce laughed too, it seemed they were quite confident in him.
"Zhou, what's the prize for you?" Song Ce asked.
"Professor Wei said the prize is a big meal at a state-run restaurant. Tell me quickly, which university's acceptance letter did you receive?"
Song Ce shrugged, placed the brown paper envelope on the table in front of the two men, and said with a smile, "Then I'll thank Engineer Zhou for the feast in advance."
Engineer Zhou slapped his thigh and laughed loudly, "Good lad! You've really made our agricultural machinery institute proud! Tsinghua University is the best university in China! After get off work, let's go to the state-run restaurant for a good celebratory meal! It's on me!"
Professor Wei smiled too. He carefully picked up the envelope, touched the large number 001 in the middle, and exclaimed, "It's actually Tsinghua University's number 001! Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older!"
Somewhat puzzled, Zhou asked, "Professor Wei, is there any explanation for '001'?"
Professor Wei leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "It means that our little Song got first place at Tsinghua University this time."
"Good heavens! I read in the newspaper that nearly six million people in China applied! Little Song actually got first place! And he's from Tsinghua University!" Engineer Zhou exclaimed in disbelief.
Professor Wei nodded and chuckled, "Yes, if nothing goes wrong, Xiao Song will be the undisputed top science student in China!"
"Alright! Then we should definitely have a good time!"
Before long, everyone at the agricultural machinery institute knew that Song Ce had been admitted to Tsinghua University. Upon hearing this, the institute's director and secretary immediately awarded Song Ce 500 yuan out of their own pockets.
Five hundred yuan in 1977 was a real fortune for everyone. Five hundred yuan was equivalent to almost half a year's salary at the agricultural machinery institute for Song Ce. He immediately decided to write a letter to his family in Beijing to tell them the good news that he had been admitted to university. He also mentioned Jian Fangning's situation in the letter and said that he would take her home to meet his family during the Spring Festival.
When Song Ce was about to seal the letter with glue, he put three hundred yuan in the envelope, hoping that his family could share in his good fortune.
The next morning, Song Ce asked Professor Wei for leave and returned to Xinhe Village with his bags. Coincidentally, the postman arrived in the village that day, dropped off two admission notices at the brigade office, and hurriedly left.
"Comrade Zeng sent two letters, implying that two college students have come from our village?"
"That's right! Look, there are only four educated youths left in the village now, and half of them have passed the exam! They've really made Xinhe Village proud!"
"Uncle, do you know whose notice this is?"
"How would I know? Comrade Zeng was put in charge of the brigade headquarters and he was in a hurry to go to Xiangyang Village to deliver the good news!"
Hearing the villagers' discussions, Qin Guangde quickly went to the brigade headquarters to retrieve the two admission notices. The envelopes were addressed to Renmin University and Beijing Medical University, respectively.
These are all good schools!
Qin Guangde glanced at the recipients' signatures below. The one from Renmin University was Qi Ziling, an educated youth, and the one from Beijing Medical University was Jian Fangning, an educated youth.
Good heavens! And two of them are women! Qin Guangde couldn't help but grin. It seemed that he was going to receive special praise from his superiors again when he went to the county commune meeting.
It's important to know that these days, not only is tuition free for university students, but the government also provides them with monthly food and meat subsidies. A first-class stipend at an average university is around fifteen yuan, while top universities receive even more. Not only are stipends covered, but even the costs of graduation internships are fully covered by the university.
Thinking of this, Qin Guangde was overjoyed and immediately decided to personally deliver the admission notices to the educated youth settlement. When he met villagers along the way, he proudly announced, "Two of our village's educated youth who were sent to the countryside have been admitted to university!"
The villagers felt proud to hear this and all expressed their intention to go to the educated youth settlement to congratulate the two women. Just then, Qin Guangde heard a villager shouting, "Educated Youth Song, you're back!"
Qin Guangde immediately slapped his thigh, his face crinkling into a wide grin: "How could I have forgotten about Comrade Xiao Song! With his abilities, he's definitely got into university too!"
"Do we even need to say that!"
"Captain, you'll really make a name for yourself this time when you go into town!"
"If you ask me, Xinhe Village is a blessed place! Otherwise, how could so many college students have come from here all of a sudden!"
Qin Guangde smiled as he listened to everyone chatting. When he saw Song Ce waving at him from afar, his face became even more smug. He simply stopped and waited for Song Ce to come over.
"Captain, where are you going? How's Tiezhu doing lately?"
Qin Guangde raised the two letters in his hand and laughed heartily: "Two college students have come out of our village, and I was just about to deliver their admission notices to them! That kid Tiezhu is really something else; he talks about you every day at home, and today we've finally got you back!"
Upon hearing this, Song Ce smiled, took the notices from Qin Guangde, and saw that they were for Qi Ziling and Jian Fangning.
Before he could continue speaking, Qin Guangde stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and asked with a smile, "Comrade Xiao Song, I haven't asked you yet! You took the college entrance examination too, right?"
Seeing Qin Guangde's excited expression, Song Ce smiled shyly and said, "Yes, I'm participating."
"and you……"
"I just received the admission notice yesterday; it's from Tsinghua University."
"What?!"
As the head of Xinhe Village, Qin Guangde was naturally knowledgeable. He subconsciously rubbed his hands together in his trouser seam before extending his right hand to Song Ce.
"Congratulations, Comrade Song! This is the best university in China!"
"Thank you, Captain."
When three college students came from Xinhe Village, Qin Guangde couldn't sit still any longer. He hurriedly delivered the admission notices to the educated youth settlement with Song Ce, then rushed to turn on the village loudspeaker and announced at lightning speed that a celebration ceremony would be held for the prospective college students.
After the admission notice was delivered to the educated youth settlement, Qi Ziling was so excited that she hugged Jian Fangning and spun her around several times. Although Jiang Zhangjun was disappointed that he hadn't passed the exam, he knew that he only had a junior high school education, so it was normal that he hadn't passed. He could always try again next year.
Wu Wangliu looked at the two admission notices again and again, her eyes reddening with envy. She felt a little disappointed; after all, out of the three women at the educated youth settlement, she was the only one who hadn't passed the exam, and she felt rather ashamed.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhangjun comforted her in time and tried various ways to cheer her up. Wu Wangliu was gradually infected by Jiang Zhangjun's optimism, and she gradually realized that Song Ce's image in her heart was fading, and being replaced by this sincere and clumsy young man in front of her.
The villagers held a lively banquet for the educated youth. When Qin Guangde loudly announced that Song Ce had been admitted to Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in China, the whole village was in an uproar.
Even an old farmer who has spent his whole life farming knows how amazing Tsinghua University is!
Some unsuspecting villagers, thinking it best to keep the good fortune within the family, crowded around to offer to introduce them to potential partners. However, when they saw Song Ce take Jian Fangning's hand and announce that the two had just registered their marriage and would visit each other's parents during the Spring Festival to choose an auspicious date for their wedding, everyone had no choice but to give up with regret. They even reminded the couple to hold a small banquet in Xinhe Village after their wedding, to which Song Ce smiled and agreed.
Meanwhile, in the capital city, at the Song family residence.
Mr. Song clutched the thin letter, quickly asked his team leader for leave, and returned home beaming. Mrs. Song happened to be on a different shift that day, and the two entered the house one after the other.
"Xiao Feng! Guess whose letter this is?" Song's father asked excitedly.
Song's mother rolled her eyes at him and snorted, "Who else could it be? It must be Xiao Ce's letter! Tell me quickly, what did Xiao Ce say in his letter?"
Mr. Song looked like he was dreaming. He took out three hundred yuan from the envelope and stuffed it into Mrs. Song's hand, excitedly saying, "Our Xiao Ce got into Tsinghua University!"
"What?"
Song's mother pinched the soft flesh on her arm and felt it didn't hurt much, so she grabbed Song's father's hand and said, "Qiyuan, quick! Pinch me!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Song did as instructed and gently pinched Mrs. Song.
"No, it doesn't hurt enough, pinch me again!"
"..."
"Alright, alright!" Mr. Song said, somewhat amused and exasperated, as he pulled Mrs. Song to sit down on the sofa. "Look for yourself, it's true! Xiao Ce even said he's going to bring us a wife home for Chinese New Year this year!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Fei, panting heavily, flung open the door and asked in a trembling voice, "Dad, Xiao Ce really got married, didn't he!"
Song's mother: "..."
Song's father: "..."
Seeing that her eldest son cared more about Song Ce's marriage than she, his mother, Song's mother couldn't help but smile: "Xiaofei, why do you keep talking about your brother's marriage? If you're interested, Mom will arrange it for you..."
Before Song's mother could finish speaking, Song Fei quickly waved his hand, his heart filled with unspeakable bitterness.
He had initially thought that since Song Ce hadn't married Qi Ziling yet, he might as well go to the village to find her and marry her sooner. But then he remembered that Qi Ziling was already his younger brother's wife in their previous life; the die was cast. Did he really want to steal his own brother's girlfriend?
Amidst this daily struggle, Song Fei could only correspond with Qi Ziling, never daring to meet her in person.
-----------------------
Author's Note: [Laughs out loud]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
