Chapter 358 Educated Youth Sent Down to the Countryside in the 1960s (20)
During this period of review, everyone studied very hard, and there were people studying everywhere, especially the educated youth here. Except for Jiang Yue, who graduated from primary school, most of them graduated from high school, and only a few graduated from junior high school. Nowadays, people even take a few sheets of toilet paper with them to study. I heard that some people forgot to wipe their butts after using the toilet.
Because the three girls were close to Jiang Yue and her friends, they would come to Yao Ling and Jiang Yue every night to ask them for help with their questions. Later, it developed into the four of them spending two hours every night to answer everyone's questions. To be honest, after ten years of working together in the countryside, apart from the first few years when they were not very familiar with each other, they really don't have any bad relationships with anyone now. Without affecting themselves, the four of them would help each other whenever they could.
From the announcement of the resumption of the college entrance examination to the start of the exam, there were less than two months in total. Everyone present did their best. Many people only slept a few hours a day. They started studying by firelight before dawn and didn't go to sleep until one or two o'clock at night.
During the exam days, the village's tractors took everyone to the exam venue. Villages with tractors also provided transportation. The exams were held on the 11th and 12th, and the subjects were Politics, Chinese, Mathematics, History and Geography (for humanities students), and Physics and Chemistry (for science students).
Because now students fill out their college applications first and then receive their scores, after the exams they can go home and wait for their admission results. There was actually an additional English test, but none of the students had a background in foreign languages, so they didn't take it.
After the exam, everyone seemed to have their energy drained. After relaxing, many people lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) unable to move. Every single one of them got sick. Very few people didn't get sick. This almost scared the brigade leader.
A few days later, when they had almost recovered from their illness, someone came to find Jiang Yue and the other three to compare answers, but Jiang Yue and Yao Ling declined, saying that comparing answers now was meaningless and would only cause unnecessary trouble.
After some time, someone from the commune came to notify us to participate in a political review and physical examination. Now, joining the Youth League requires a political review, joining the Party requires a political review, joining the army requires a political review, recruiting workers requires a political review, promoting cadres requires a political review, and even doing side jobs outside requires a political review. If you fail the political review, all of this is in vain.
Jiang Yue and her three friends all came from ordinary working-class families and had no enemies in the village. The village head was also quite fair, so passing the political background check was no problem. Even if someone was jealous and said something sarcastic, they couldn't say anything. After the political background check came the physical examination. None of them had any health problems, but they had to wait in line for a long time.
After the physical examination, we waited at home for the admission notice. The first one to receive the notice was none other than our classmate Zhang Wei. He was admitted to Beijing University of Technology. A few days later, another candidate received an admission notice from Seoul Shipping School.
Although it wasn't Yenching University, which he had chosen, the universities in Beijing were still decent. Wang Liang and Yao Ling were admitted to Peking University, while Jiang Yue was admitted to Beijing Normal University. It's a good university, but the prospect of becoming a teacher was a bit unexpected for Jiang Yue. She wished she hadn't applied there.
Because she hadn't considered this possibility, but since things were already like this, it would be difficult to change anything unless she stopped going to school. She could just make do for now. By the time she graduated, the reform and opening up would have begun. If things didn't work out then, she could quit her job and start her own business. It was a bit too early to think about things a few years from now.
After receiving the notice, the four prepared to leave for Beijing. They went to look at houses beforehand because they had already bought the newly built house. If they left now, they would have to deal with the house, as houses tend to fall into disrepair if left unoccupied for a long time.
I thought the house would be difficult to sell and I would have to wait a long time, but to my surprise, it was bought by Xiaohu's family the day after I planned to sell it. It just so happens that Xiaohu is almost old enough to get married.
The day before they left, Jiang Yue and her three friends treated everyone to a meal as a way of thanking them for their care over the past ten years. On the day they left, Jiang Yue and her friends planned to leave quietly, but when they arrived at the brigade, Xiao Hu's family, Grandpa Xu's family, the brigade leader's family, and other familiar educated youths all came to see them off.
After a tearful farewell, the four of them rode an oxcart to the commune. Grandpa Xu saw them off to the bus, and Jiang Yue saw him cry. When they arrived at the train station, the group was packed like sardines. After the train started moving, Jiang Yue sat with Yao Ling, while Wang Liang and Zhang Wei sat opposite them.
"Sigh, it reminds me of when we first came here. Back then, Xiaoyue was just a tiny little thing. She didn't dare tell anyone when she had a fever, and she would curl up like a quail."
Jiang Yue rolled her eyes. "You're the one who's like a quail. Strictly speaking, that's not me either." Jiang Yue turned her head to look out the window, not wanting to pay attention to her. "She's almost 30 years old and she's getting more and more unreliable."
These four bachelors are quite peculiar. It's really rare to see people their age still unmarried these days. At first, their families advised them not to get married, but later they stopped objecting and just told them to think it over carefully.
For the next two years, they kept pressuring her to get married. Yao Ling showed Jiang Yue a letter her mother had written, which was both overt and covert: Did she have a boyfriend in the countryside? They didn't object to her getting married, but it would be best if she brought him home to meet them.
Now that they've been admitted to university for another four years, Jiang Yue can already imagine how they'll be pressured to get married when they go home. After all, parents at home may not care about national affairs, but they will definitely worry about their children's lifelong happiness. After taking the train for several days, they finally arrived in Beijing. Yao Ling and Jiang Yue got off here. Wang Liang and Zhang Wei's home is in Shanghai, so they still have to travel for a while.
"Then we'll be going now. Call me when you arrive, or send a telegram in advance, and we'll come pick you up."
"Okay, see you when school starts."
After exiting the station, Jiang Yue and Yao Ling carried their bags and walked towards the bus stop. Along the way, Yao Ling introduced Beijing to Jiang Yue, as if she thought it was Jiang Yue's first time here. In fact, Jiang Yue had no idea how long she had lived here. She had walked all these roads before, and she was even somewhat familiar with Yao Ling's address. She might have even been there sometime before.
It was already past 7 p.m. when they got off the bus. Her home was still more than ten minutes away from the bus stop. Fortunately, Jiang Yue and Yao Ling were strong enough. The two of them carried their bags and set off home. There were four people in total, including Yao Ling. Yao Ling also had a younger brother who was seven or eight years younger than her. He got married two years ago and moved out after being allocated a house.
Now only Yao Ling's parents are at home, so Jiang Yue won't be without a place to stay if she goes to their house. After entering the community, more and more people gradually appeared. Seeing Yao Ling and Jiang Yue carrying large and small bags, everyone looked at them with curiosity. They could tell that the educated youth had returned, but they didn't know whose family they were.
Once inside the residential area, someone recognized Yao Ling, but didn't approach her. The two were whispering to each other: "Isn't this Old Yao's eldest daughter? We haven't seen her in years, we almost didn't recognize her!"
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