Tian Fang wasn't as excited as the other two. School wouldn't start until mid-March. The village was distributing grain, money, and meat at the end of the year. She didn't want the grain, but only the money and meat. So she could eat the leftover rice, flour, and meat for half a month. She would rest comfortably here for a few days before going back.
Village Chief Ma quickly issued them certificates, and the two went back to pack their things. They sold all their grain to the villagers at the price when the grain was distributed. Although they were at a slight loss, it was overshadowed by the joy of returning to the city.
The next morning, Liu Limin and Wang Yan left with their luggage. Before leaving, Wang Yan hugged Tian Fang and told her that it was better to leave sooner rather than later. Besides Zhang Dali, there were two other people at the educated youth settlement who were difficult to deal with. She told Tian Fang not to suffer at their hands since she was leaving. Tian Fang also hugged Wang Yan and thanked her for the reminder.
Actually, Tian Fang also wanted to leave. She had prepared all the necessary documents, along with her admission notice and money, all sewn inside her clothes. However, she wanted to wait until Zhang Dali's admission notice arrived before leaving. Zhang Dali seemed to be from the south, so she guessed he had applied to a university in the south, and the notice would probably arrive a day or two later.
Sure enough, the afternoon after Wang Yan left, Zhang Dali's admission notice arrived. It was indeed from a university in the south. Zhang Dali was actually exhausted from waiting, but the feeling of having nowhere to turn for justice made him extremely silent.
Tian Fang was anxious as she watched, but when the postman called Zhang Dali's name, her worries completely subsided. Tian Fang began to pack her things, packing up everything she needed. She sold the remaining food and daily necessities to the villagers at a low price, and made an agreement with them that she would leave her things in her house when she left, and they could come and pick them up.
Seeing that it was still early, she hurried to town to check the train schedule. There was a train every two days, and there would be one leaving tomorrow morning. Tian Fang was glad that she had kept a few days' worth of food. She would cook it tonight and take it with her on the road tomorrow.
The youth settlement was deserted, but Tian Fang didn't mind. She took out all her food and started cooking. It wasn't until dark that Li Xiangyang and the others returned. It turned out they had gone to the post office to check on their admission notices, but found nothing.
After finishing dinner and packing up her food, Tian Fang took out the clothes she had prepared earlier. She needed to take a good shower tonight so she could go home tomorrow. She carefully locked the doors and windows and blocked the door with a table before taking a hot shower and going to bed for a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Tian Fang extinguished the fire in the kang (heated brick bed), poured out the bathwater that hadn't been emptied the day before, picked up her bag, and went out. Outside the educated youth settlement, Zhang Dali was standing at the door. Tian Fang quickly put on a smile and said, "Congratulations, Zhang Dali, on becoming an educated youth! I've already bought my train ticket back today. Goodbye for now."
Zhang Dali nodded and tried to take Tian Fang's bag, but Tian Fang quickly refused, waved to Zhang Dali, and turned to leave. Zhang Dali called out and mustered his courage to ask, "Tian Fang, would you like to be my girlfriend?"
Tian Fang stopped in her tracks. She had hoped a thousand times that Zhang Dali would ask her this question, and she had hoped for it for many years. When the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination came, she and Zhang Dali both registered.
Zhang Dali had no study materials. Although Liu Limin was helpful, time was too tight. At the critical moment, she took out her study materials to share with him. In the midst of her busy schedule, she still hoped that Zhang Dali would ask her if they could date.
But she never got to hear it. Tian Fang set a bottom line for herself: if Zhang Dali hadn't asked her by the end of the college entrance exam, she should forget about him completely. She wasn't waiting for him to ask her, but rather to find out if the person she was helping had succeeded.
Now that she knows he got into university, all her worries can be put to rest. Tian Fang looked at Zhang Dali with a smile and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Zhang Dali. My hometown has already introduced me to someone, and I'll get married when I get back. Goodbye, no, we won't see each other again."
Zhang Dali felt somewhat helpless. He had wanted to ask for a long time, but he was worried that Tian Fang would dislike him, so he never dared to ask. Now that he had been admitted to university, he finally dared to ask, but it was already too late.
Two days later, Ye Chen'er and Yan Xiaonan's admission notices arrived. Ye Chen'er scored 300 points and Yan Xiaonan scored 318 points, which were already high scores at the time. It was normal for them to be admitted to the best university in Beijing.
Yan Xiaoqiang started setting off firecrackers to celebrate his daughter's excellent grades, which were more than a hundred points higher than the village chief's son's. How could he not be proud? The firecrackers went off for a full ten minutes without stopping, scaring Duoduo into crying loudly. But at that moment, everyone was extremely happy, and no one paid any attention to the little brat.
After setting off the firecrackers, Yan Xiaoqiang took his daughter to the village committee to get a letter of introduction and a file transfer form. They needed to leave as soon as possible, as the capital was too far away. Tang Xiaoling and Cuihua went into the kitchen to make more food to take on the road. As for the crying Duoduo, she could only be left with her grandmother.
Because he carried the certificate and three hundred yuan with him, Southwest successfully bought a ticket to Beijing for three days later. He then returned to the post office and made a phone call to Southeast, telling him that his grandmother and the others were leaving in three days and asking him to come back as soon as possible to see them off.
Ye Chen'er also went to the village committee to complete the formalities. She was a little worried about her older brother. Why hadn't the admission notice arrived yet? Could it have been lost on the way or intercepted? All sorts of thoughts popped into her mind, making Ye Chenming chuckle to himself.
He helped Chen'er tidy up the bedding and some clothes that were still wearable. He discarded the patched clothes to avoid causing trouble for Yan Ai Party in the capital. Although no one would laugh at you for dressing poorly in this era, Yan Ai Party members were definitely a hot commodity in the capital, and he couldn't afford to lose face.
Ye Chenming set aside a week's worth of food for himself and Chen'er, and had Ye Chen'er cook all the extra food into cooked food. Anyway, the weather was cold now, and it wouldn't spoil if it was cooked. Ye Chen'er glanced at the water tank and firewood; there was enough food in them for another half month.
Ye Chen'er went into the kitchen, not only to make food for herself on the road, but also for Ye Chenming. She followed Cuihua's example and fermented all the flour, preparing to make steamed buns and flatbreads.
They cooked the rice, cut it into pieces similar to today's glutinous rice cakes, fried the pieces in the remaining oil, cooled them, wrapped them in oil paper, and froze them in the snow.
She then took out the money, tickets, and savings book belonging to Ye Chen'er from the kangqin, and had Ye Chen'er sew them inside her padded jacket, except for the money for the train ticket and the money needed for the journey.
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