Chapter 266: Prosperity 266: Resuming the College Entrance Examination
October 21, 1977.
The People's Daily published a headline titled "Major Reforms in College Admissions," announcing that the college entrance examination, which had been suspended for more than a decade, would resume in the winter.
The radio kept broadcasting——
"Worker comrades, farmer brothers, educated young people who went to the countryside, and demobilized soldiers can all take the college entrance examination. The questions for this college entrance examination will be set independently by each province..." The impassioned voice made people's blood boil. Gu Qingqing, who was taking off the quilt on the third floor, was stunned for a long time.
"Bang——" was the sound of the desk lamp hitting the floor.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jiaojiao, who had climbed onto the chair at some point, now half-lying on the desk, with his messy little hands stretched out in the air, and he hadn't had time to retract them.
"Chu Shuyue!" Veins popped out on her forehead, her head was buzzing, and she walked over with gritted teeth: "Aren't you afraid of falling when you climb so high?!" She directly picked up the kid and put him on the bed, then bent down to pick up the desk lamp and placed it against the wall next to the desk.
"You like to touch your uncle's things so much, aren't you afraid that he will come back and beat you up?" After checking, the lamp was not broken and there was no mark left on the floor.
Jiaojiao lay on the soft quilt, tilted his head back, and looked at her with his big, clear, dark eyes. "Yes, don't be afraid! Don't be afraid, it will hurt."
The little guy will be two years old in a few months and can speak clearly. Gu Qingqing quickly understood what she meant.
I want my uncle to come back, not afraid of being beaten or hurt.
She also missed Shen Sui very much. Over the past six months, he had been sending letters home constantly, telling her about his life over there.
My handwriting is getting better and better. It used to be just elegant and graceful, but now it gradually has its own style.
With my godfather's guidance, I won't be far behind.
She moved the kid out of the way, hugged the quilt and went outside to the balcony to sunbathe, leaving a few words to coax her daughter: "It won't be long before we, too, go to the capital."
Jiaojiao lay on the bed sheet for a long time without reacting, looking at the door with her head tilted. When her mother disappeared, she crawled down the bed, kicked her legs and ran to the study.
Little Star was sitting on the floor playing with the Luban lock. Beside him were scattered disassembled wooden strips and some small toys made by Gu Yin.
"Brother~" Jiaojiao squatted down beside him and patted his arm with her chubby little hands: "Mother, see you~"
Xiao Xingxing pulled a blanket down from the chair next to her and stuffed it under her butt. In front of her sister's expectant eyes, she said "oh" neither lightly nor loudly.
She was so angry that she sat down on the blanket, snatched the Luban lock from his hand, and looked at her brother in disbelief: "I don't see Jiujiu?"
Don't you want to see your uncle?
Shen Sui went to the capital when they were almost one year old. Logically, the brother and sister should not have had much impression of him, but Tuantuan had a deeper impression of him.
But there are many photos at home, and Jiaojiao often holds the photos tightly and asks his second uncle who this and who that is.
As time went by, he learned that he had an uncle and a grandfather waiting for them in the capital.
Little Star glanced at her casually without saying anything.
Jiaojiao angrily stuffed Luban into his hand, and used his small hands to pull his shoulders to get up: "Look for Tuantuan! Humph~"
Little Star watched her run away but didn't chase her. He just picked up a wooden stick beside him and pulled a blanket over his legs.
The sun was shining brightly today, so Gu Qingqing took out the quilt from Shen Sui's room to dry it in the sun, planning to put it back in the closet at night.
She came in from the balcony again and took a look, then went to Qinglie's room and took out his quilt.
Don't worry about Gu Canyang. He has been very busy recently and has no time to come and stay here. The balcony can't provide so much sun.
"Little Star?" The study door was not closed. She casually glanced at her son as she passed by. Seeing her son sitting on the floor, she paused and said, "The floor is cold. Go play on the bed. Where's your sister?"
"Looking for my brother." He obediently stood up, tiptoed to hang the blanket back on the back of the chair, and picked up the toys one by one and put them into the cardboard box next to him.
"Go play in your uncle's room first, and mom will go down with you later." Gu Qingqing reminded him.
You don't have to worry too much about Jiaojiao going downstairs, he is very stable and has rarely fallen.
She went on to the balcony to dry the quilt.
After a while, Gu Qingqing saw her little son sitting on Shen Sui's bed waiting for her. She picked him up and kissed him: "What do you want to eat for lunch? Uncle Jianguo should have brought some food."
She hasn't gone out to buy groceries much recently because the men are all busy and it's not convenient for her to go out with four children, so Gu Jianguo and Gu Weidong are the ones who deliver the groceries.
"Red dates and meat pie soup." Little Star spoke neither fast nor slow, and his pronunciation was clear.
"Okay, I'll make you some steamed red date meat cake soup," Gu Qingqing carried him downstairs, "Let's go ask my brother what he wants to eat."
Tuantuan, Niannian and Jiaojiao have exactly the same tastes as their siblings, but Xiao Xingxing is a little different from them.
If he encounters something he doesn’t like to eat, Little Star won’t say it, but he won’t pick up his chopsticks either.
When we got to the first floor, the brothers and sisters were lying, sitting or leaning on the armrests watching TV. Most of them had the same expression and were eating mangoes in their hands.
"Uncle Jianguo sent it to me," Niannian immediately got up from the sofa before she could ask, and shamelessly took a mango from the coffee table and put it in front of her: "It's fragrant and sweet, mother, have a try."
Gu Qingqing put Little Star on the sofa, reached out and took a mango and stuffed it into her brother's arms, and said incoherently: "Xingxing peels it herself~"
Gu Qingqing took the mango and rubbed her son's head. "Okay, what do you want to eat for lunch? Mother has to cook. You guys look after your brothers and sisters."
"Shrimp wontons!" Tuantuan always says it in unison without hesitation.
Jiaojiao's face was covered with mango juice, and she also grinned: "Shrimp!"
"See if your uncle Jianguo has sent some shrimps. If he has, we'll have shrimp and seaweed wontons. If not, we'll have shrimp skin wontons." Gu Qingqing walked slowly to the kitchen while peeling a mango.
The basket on the stove was filled with ingredients. Before she could take it out to see what was inside, she heard someone outside shouting, "Qingqing!"
"Hey! I'm here." Gu Qingqing withdrew her hand and walked out to the living room.
Chang Yue's face was full of joy: "Did you listen to the radio today? The college entrance examination has been resumed!" After hearing this, she hurried over without even bringing her son.
Gu Qingqing also smiled and nodded: "It's a great thing. I was thinking of having something delicious at noon to celebrate. Have you eaten yet? How about joining us?"
"No, my mother-in-law is cooking bone soup at home." Chang Yue pushed her into the kitchen. "Don't worry about me. Just do what you need to do. I just wanted to ask you if you want to go to Xinhua Bookstore together to buy some books and send them back."
Gu Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then slapped her head and said, "Oh, how could I have forgotten about this."
She didn't care about cooking anymore, she just pulled Chang Yue out and said to Tuan Tuan and Niannian, "Da Bao and Xiao Bao, stop watching TV. Hurry up and take your brothers and sisters to the cafeteria to eat."
"Okay!" Niannian rolled her eyes and asked her brother, "Are you going to the field army or the naval command?"
Tuantuan took the wet towel beside him and wiped his sister's mouth: "Go to the flight attendant's stove."
Gu Qingqing is very confident about these little guys. Tuantuan has become very familiar with eating there from year to year, and now if he goes to the cafeteria, he might even run into his father and uncles.
She pushed her bicycle out of the yard and said, "There must be a lot of people in Xinhua Bookstore today. I don't know if we can get any books."
She was thinking of buying some books and sending them back to her brothers at home. After receiving the hint from her godfather last time, everyone in the family had been secretly making preparations.
"There shouldn't be too many people, right?" Chang Yue followed her and said, "Maybe some people haven't come to their senses yet and are still checking the news everywhere."
"You'll have to go and see to find out."
Xinhua Bookstore is quite far from here. It takes half an hour to get there by bike. It is located in the department store.
After leaving the military district gate, she pedaled her bicycle: "Hold on tight, hold on to me, let's try to come back as soon as possible, otherwise Aunt Xue will be waiting anxiously for dinner."
"It's okay," Chang Yue hugged her waist, wondering how she could be so thin after giving birth to four children. "I told her to come and see you. You don't have to wait for me to eat."
When Aunt Xue heard that her daughter-in-law was coming to see Gu Qingqing, she immediately had no objection.
Because of the recipe, she became extra friendly to Gu Qingqing, and now her aunt, who was on good terms with her, also frequently interacted with Gu Qingqing.
Gu Qingqing nodded: "That's fine."
There were many more people on the street than usual. Looking in their direction, Gu Qingqing pedaled her bike faster: "Are you all going to Xinhua Bookstore?!"
"Yes, yes, this is most likely the direction." Chang Yue also became anxious: "Qingqing, pedal faster, you are so soft and fuzzy, haven't you eaten yet?"
Gu Qingqing: "...It's not too late yet."
Chang Yue thought about it and realized it was true. She smiled awkwardly and said nothing.
The entrance of Xinhua Bookstore was already crowded with people, but fortunately they arrived early enough and were able to squeeze in.
Gu Qingqing looked at the various books on the bookshelf and took one of each type regardless of what they were. Especially when there were only a few left, she closed her eyes and read them all.
Chang Yue also went to sweep the bookshelves. Gu Qingqing didn't care what she took. She just kept walking around the bookshelf with a thick stack of books in her arms.
Seeing the "Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry Self-Study Series", she picked up all the remaining five books without hesitation.
The bookstore clerk was sweating as he pushed a cart full of books around: "Don't rush, don't rush, we have them all and will be restocked soon."
As he spoke, he laboriously carried the books onto the bookshelf.
Gu Qingqing originally wanted to lend a hand, but the book in her arms was about to fall down, so she quickly held it with her arms, and was too busy to do anything else.
When checking out, I saw that Chang Yue also bought a lot, and we smiled at each other.
We waited in line for half an hour just to check out. The salesperson was using his abacus to click away, and there was someone beside him tying up books with red ropes.
Gu Qingqing has four or five bundles of books, and Chang Yue also has three bundles.
You don't have to worry about how to take it back. The post office is right in front. Just fill in your home address and send it back.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, they returned to the Military Family Courtyard.
Chang Yue hurried home to eat, said hello to her and left in a hurry, leaving her alone pushing her bicycle back to the Chu family's yard.
What she didn't expect was that the man was also at home.
Chu Dai's military cap and military jacket were hung on the coat rack in the corner, and he was only wearing a shirt.
Niannian sat in his arms, while Tuantuan took Xiaoxingxing and Jiaojiao to take a nap upstairs.
"Why are you back? Don't you have to work in the afternoon?" She went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, feeling hot and thirsty.
"I took a leave." The man smiled as he watched her gulp down water.
His cheeks are round and plump, like a squirrel, so cute.
"Why do you want to ask for leave?" She handed the enamel cup to the man and sat next to him on the sofa.
"Send the kids back." Chu Dai took a sip of water, moistened his throat and put the tea on the table. "You know about the resumption of the college entrance examination, right? I sent a telegram to my father and asked my brothers to go to the county first to take photos and fill out forms to apply."
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