Lin Hong hesitated: "I finally got pregnant after so much trouble, I'm worried I won't have the energy. We've been married for years, and it was so hard for me to conceive, I'm afraid something might happen—"
Lin's father was so angry that he pointed at Lin Hong and couldn't say a word for a long time.
After a long while, she said dejectedly, "You're all grown up now, you're married, and we can't control you anymore! Think it over carefully! I'll just tell you one thing: at any time, you are first and foremost yourself! Then you are our daughter, and only then someone else's wife and mother!"
"Go back and think it over carefully. How can you give up so easily? How can you face us? How can you face yourself? How can you face Comrade Xu's good intentions?"
It's unknown what Lin Hong thought after returning home, but all that's known is that the Zhou family caused another big scene. Fortunately, Zhou Zi'an still supports Lin Hong.
Finally, Xu Ningyan sent back four sets of materials to Jingshan County.
Lin Hong and her siblings each received one set, Li Jianguo received one set, and there were two more sets. One set was sent to Chen Fangfang of the Tuanjie Brigade, and the other set was sent to the brigade leader, so that he could share it with the people in the brigade who wanted to go to university.
Not long after, Xu Ningyan received four packages and four letters from Jingshan County.
The letters from Lin Hong and Li Jianguo were full of gratitude, and the packages they sent contained local specialties.
The letters from Chen Fangfang and the Tuanjie Brigade were the last to be received. In the letter, Chen Fangfang said that everyone was very excited after the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination spread, especially the educated youth who had been sent to the countryside.
They saw hope of returning to the city again.
They were all like they'd been injected with adrenaline, going everywhere to borrow books and buy materials from the commune and county town.
But by the time they arrived, all the documents had already been snatched up.
At this time, everyone used their own ingenuity. Some had their families send materials and their own old books, some went to scrap yards to find them, and some borrowed materials from relatives and friends to copy.
The materials Chen Fangfang received were more complete than anyone else's, especially the set of math, physics, and chemistry books, which were simply enviable.
After the people at the educated youth settlement learned that she had this set of books, they all came to her door asking to borrow them to copy.
As a former educated youth sent to the countryside, Chen Fangfang empathized with the situation and was not petty.
Books that they didn't need at the moment would be lent to people at the educated youth settlement to copy.
Of course, she was also careful; if anyone was going to copy, they had to do it in front of her and not take the book out of her sight.
Moreover, while copying, everyone can also discuss the questions they don't know, which is a way to make progress together.
However, she also revealed a slight worry in her heart, which was that her in-laws did not approve of her taking the college entrance examination. However, since her peers in the brigade were studying hard, her in-laws did not show it so obviously.
However, she also said in the letter that regardless of whether her in-laws agree or not, she will take the college entrance examination and seize this opportunity.
The letter from the Unity Brigade was dictated by the brigade leader and written down by the accountant.
First, he thanked Xu Ningyan for her kindness, saying that the whole brigade would remember Xu Ningyan's kindness! He also said that this set of materials was very good, and that the communes in the surrounding area were envious.
Nowadays, the children in the brigade who want to take the college entrance examination study together at the brigade headquarters every day after finishing their work.
However, he was already considering letting the educated youth study with the people in his brigade, since the educated youth generally had a higher level of education, which would create a stronger learning atmosphere and allow everyone to help each other.
Another piece of information was revealed: last month, someone came to take away a professor surnamed Xing from the cowshed, saying that he had been exonerated.
The brigade leader was very fortunate that he had listened to Xu Ningyan beforehand, and his attitude towards the people in the cowshed was considered quite good by the standards of the entire commune.
Otherwise, if all those people from the cowsheds were exonerated, it would be a blessing if they hadn't offended anyone, let alone become friends with them.
I heard that other production brigades treated those who had been sent down to the cowsheds badly, and the team leaders who had been tormenting them are now worried and anxious.
The letter concluded by saying that since everyone remembers Xu Ningyan's kindness, there's nothing else to thank her for except some local produce, and she hopes Xu Ningyan won't find it offensive.
If you have time to come back, you must visit the Unity Brigade; everyone misses her.
Xu Ningyan looked at the letter and finally felt relieved.
She did everything she could; as for whether those people could pass the exam, that was up to them.
December 7, 1977.
The college entrance examination in Beijing has officially begun.
Watched by their families, Xu Ningyan and Jiang Zhixing entered the examination hall with their admission tickets and examination tools.
Although the weather was cold, everyone's heart was burning with warmth.
After three days of exams, even Xu Ningyan and Jiang Zhixing looked somewhat haggard when they came out of the exam hall after finishing the last exam.
The main problem is the excessive psychological pressure.
Jiang Zhiyuan took a day off and waited outside the examination hall in his car.
After bringing the two out, he quickly handed the hand warmer he had been carrying to Xu Ningyan, telling her to hold it to warm her hands. He then took the things from her hands and helped her into the car.
Once she got in the car, he asked her how she was doing and if she was tired, and what she wanted to eat for dinner.
Jiang Zhixing, who didn't even get a glance from him, silently followed behind, but unfortunately couldn't keep up.
If he hadn't been quick enough to get on the bus, his older brother probably would have completely forgotten about him and just taken his sister-in-law home.
The car door slammed a little too loudly, earning Jiang Zhiyuan a glare.
Sitting timidly in the back seat, I heard my older brother ask my sister-in-law what she wanted to eat for dinner.
Xu Ningyan smiled and said, "Does that mean we can have whatever you want to eat?"
Jiang Zhiyuan laughed as well: "Yes, as long as I can get it!"
Jiang Zhixing's eyes lit up, and he seized the opportunity to say, "Brother, brother, I want to eat a braised pork knuckle! I've been taking exams for three days, and I feel like I'm about to collapse! I need to eat a braised pork knuckle to replenish myself—"
Jiang Zhiyuan sneered: "I think you look like a pork knuckle!"
Jiang Zhixing: ...
Turning her head, she spoke softly again: "Yan Yan, have you decided what you want to eat?"
Xu Ningyan smiled and glanced at Jiang Zhixing, who had a bitter face: "I also want to eat braised pork knuckle."
"Alright, alright, let's have braised pork knuckle for dinner! Should we make it with rock sugar or braised in soy sauce?" Jiang Zhiyuan asked.
Jiang Zhixing snorted coldly from behind, his eyes practically rolling to the sky. This really is his own brother!
Back home, Jiang Yuan was waiting for news.
Seeing the two return, he greeted them with a smile: "It's cold outside, are you freezing? Come inside and warm up!"
Jiang Zhixing stepped forward, feeling wronged, to complain: "Mom, my brother is so mean! After the exam, I wanted to eat a big braised pork knuckle, and he said I look like one! If my sister-in-law looks like a pork knuckle, he asks if she wants it with rock sugar or braised! Is he even my real brother?"
Jiang Yuan shoved Jiang Zhixing aside and grabbed Xu Ningyan's hand behind him. "Xiaoyan, you must have been working hard these past two days. Come on, come inside and have some hot tea, I just brewed it! You want some braised pork knuckle, right? Sister Mei bought one this morning, we'll stew it for you in a bit! Want anything else? Or should we ask the boss to go get a roast duck?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiyuan, who had just entered the house, nodded and turned to go out to buy some.
Jiang Zhixing jumped up and down behind him, shouting, "Brother, dear brother, bring me some braised beef!"
Jiang Yuan grabbed his ear and dragged him into the house: "A big pork knuckle and roast duck aren't enough to shut you up? You want braised beef too? Do I look like braised beef?"
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