"There are too many people in this supply and marketing cooperative. It's like a scramble to buy things. Let me see how much I just bought. More than 40 yuan is gone."
Before she even entered the door, Jiang Yilu heard her mother's voice.
"Hey, Xiaobao, you and Sanni come and give me a hand."
Jiang Dahai's hands were full of things. Fortunately, the fashionable woman did not close the door when she left with her husband and son. Jiang Dahai pushed the door open with the instep of his foot. Gu Xiashi and Gu Dongmei who followed behind him also had their hands full of things.
"I see the supply and marketing cooperative has started selling cool mats, but the price is quite high. It's not worth buying now, as you won't need them for several months. When you go back, ask your grandfather to weave one for you. It's comfortable and free. And thermoses. The only ones sold in school are iron ones, which are expensive and heavy. When you go out, buy two rattan ones, which are half the price."
Gu Dongmei put the things at the foot of her son's bed and counted the money on her fingers. This time, the old lady gave them two hundred yuan, and all the expenses for the children were included in it. This was the first time that Gu Dongmei had such a huge sum of money in her hands. Because of her own little thoughts, she naturally calculated again and again for the things she bought for the children.
"You must be Jiang's parents, right? This is my son. Your child was admitted to university at the age of fourteen. He is so promising." Jiang Wencheng's parents came forward and greeted them politely.
Jiang Wencheng's father even stepped forward and shook Gu Xiashi's hand enthusiastically: "Student Jiang is smart and sensible. You as parents will enjoy happiness in the future."
They obviously mistook Gu Xiashi, who looked 60% like Jiang Yilu, for Jiang Yilu's father. This was not the first time that outsiders had mistaken someone for someone else.
Gu Xiashi was secretly delighted, while Jiang Dahai, who was left out, felt a little aggrieved. He was Xiaobao's father. Looking at Xiaobao's delicate and fair appearance, Jiang Dahai couldn't say against his will that the child looked like him.
Having a brother-in-law like Gu Xiashi was indeed the old man's greatest malice towards him.
"Uncle Jiang, Aunt Jiang, this is my dad, this is my mom, and the one in front of me." Jiang Yilu pointed at Gu Xiashi, whose hand was held by Uncle Jiang: "This is my second uncle."
Jiang Yilu held back his laughter and introduced his elders to the couple and several roommates in front of him.
"This is my third sister, she is also a college student this year, she is a student of Huaguo Business University. The one who just came is my second sister, she is a student of Huaguo Medical University."
A family of college students! Everyone present was a little shocked. College students these days were not as common as in later generations. Almost every student who passed the exam was a gifted child selected from thousands of people.
Jiang Dahai and Gu Dongmei wore their best clothes because they were sending their children to the capital. Even so, their dark skin and the simple and timid look in front of the well-dressed and elegant couple could tell their origins. This couple was probably just farmers or workers in a small county town, but it was such a couple who raised several talented children, and all three of them were admitted to university. This was really amazing.
"Brother, how do you teach your children? My brother has several other children, and they are all naughty like monkeys. They just don't listen to the discipline of their elders." Jiang Wencheng's father said admiringly, and felt fortunate that his own Chengcheng was such a well-behaved, smart, sensible and filial child...
"I don't have any tricks."
Jiang Dahai's face flushed, and he felt excited and proud: "Children in our countryside are all raised in a free-range manner. They are sensible on their own. We as parents have never taught them anything at all."
After a few humble remarks, Jiang Dahai couldn't help but start praising how smart his son was and how sensible his daughter was. When talking about children, all parents have endless topics to talk about.
Seeing this, Jiang Wencheng's parents couldn't help but praise their own child.
However, they kept chatting and working, and after they finished everything, it was time for lunch.
"Da Hai, have you finished packing? Let's all have lunch in Huaqing's cafeteria this afternoon." Not long after, Bai Fangqiu, who was hiding in the dormitory opposite, knocked on the door. He looked at Jiang Yilu's roommates and Jiang Wencheng's parents and said, "As parents, let's check out the food in the cafeteria for our children."
The emotions of the Chinese people are sublimated at the dinner table, and Bai Fangqiu's proposal was agreed by the majority.
"I, I won't go. I brought some dry food."
Mao Dashuang, who had been hiding in the corner with little sense of presence, spoke in a low voice, clenching a cloth bag in his hand.
"I won't go either. I have to go see my wife."
Wang Nan was a little conflicted, but remembering the agreement with his wife, he could only refuse the first meal with his new roommate.
Everyone has their own freedom and no one forces them. After making sure that everything is packed up, the Jiang family and Jiang Wencheng's family leave together.
The cafeteria was already crowded with parents who sent their children to school, and there were long queues in front of each window.
"The food in this cafeteria is quite rich." Jiang Wencheng's father Jiang Ruqing looked at the big sign hanging on the window and nodded. The food in the cafeteria takes into account the different eating habits of students from the north and south. There are steamed buns and noodles that northerners like, and white porridge and rice that southerners like. The side dishes are also rich, including fish, meat and vegetables.
"The prices of food in the cafeteria are quite reasonable." After a group of people decided on the meals they wanted to eat, they lined up separately, took the meals they got, and gathered at a table again.
A full serving of pork stewed with vermicelli costs only 30 cents, green vegetables 6 cents, 3 taels of rice 6 cents, and shepherd's purse and tofu soup is free. Such a generous serving of one meat, one vegetable and one soup costs only 40 to 50 cents. If you want noodles, vegetarian noodles cost 30 cents, and meat noodles cost between 50 and 60 cents.
And looking at the ample portions of food in the cafeteria, two people can order two or three dishes together, which is cost-effective and saves money.
The reason why the cafeteria at Huaqing University is cheaper than outside is because the state provides part of the subsidy, so only students of the school can enjoy this preferential price.
Jiang Dahai calculated the 25 yuan monthly living expenses he had set for his son, and it was barely acceptable. But if he wanted to enjoy anything, that was not possible.
After all, the Jiang family is not a wealthy family, and they have to support three children to go to college. The monthly living expenses of three children are a considerable expense. If they had not saved a lot of money in the past few years, I am afraid that the two girls, Erni and Sanni, would not be able to go to college.
In fact, if it weren't for the high salary and the rich husband that would come with college graduation, I'm afraid the old lady would not be willing to spend so much money on two "money-losing goods". Despite this, the old lady Miao still deducted the living expenses of Erni and Sanni on the grounds that they were girls and ate less than boys. They only had 18 yuan a month, which was much less than their younger brother.
“It tastes good.”
Jiang Yilu tasted the school food. Huaqing University's cafeteria was indeed the best among all the university cafeterias. It turned out that at that time, the chef in the cafeteria was very good at cooking.
The two families chatted while eating. Jiang Dahai was a very honest person, and during the meal, he had dug up all the details of his family. Jiang Yiliu noticed that the amicable couple seemed to talk about a lot of their family affairs, but up to now, he knew nothing about what they did or how many people were in their family, except that they were from Haicheng.
He is not a simple person. Jiang Yilu sighed in his heart after his attempt failed.
******
In the evening, it was the day for roll call for freshmen at Huaqing University, and Jiang Yilu had to stay in the dormitory tonight.
There were only fifteen people in Jiang Yiliu's class. He and his roommates were from different majors and separated after entering the teaching building. At this time, there were already six or seven students in the classroom, talking loudly and spitting.
He noticed that there was a handsome young man sitting in the corner of the classroom. He had cool eyes and brows, and wore a neatly ironed shirt and trousers. His hair was parted in the middle and was jet-black and shiny. He looked like the cool and handsome boy on campus in novels who was very popular among girls.
The man did not join in the conversation of the people in the center of the classroom. Coincidentally, he was not the kind of person who would make friends easily, so he simply walked to the row in front of the man, picked up the book in his hand and started reading.
When almost everyone had arrived, the Finance Department's class teacher walked up to the podium holding a thick stack of rosters.
The whole process is very old-fashioned. After the class teacher introduces himself, he asks each freshman to introduce himself in turn.
"My name is Xia Ai, and I'm from Su City."
The quiet young man's introduction was brief and to the point. Jiang Yilu was surprised for a moment. It turned out that the other party was his roommate who had not shown up today.
This concise and clear introduction was obviously different from the previous men's long speeches. In addition, he was a handsome man. The only three golden flowers in the Finance Department were in the audience, pointing at Xia Ai and whispering, laughing from time to time.
If the dagger in the eyes could kill, Xia Ai would have been riddled with wounds by now. Although boys and girls were relatively conservative at this time, it was always the instinct of males to compete for females. Besides, apart from a few who got married and had children, the vast majority of boys were still single and were preparing to settle down during their four years at university.
Now that the limelight has been stolen by Xia Ai, it naturally caused dissatisfaction among some male students in the class.
"It turns out that you can be so handsome even if you don't talk much. If I had known this, I would have said less just now." The fat white young man sitting in front of Jiang Yilu sighed.
His desk mate and Jiang Yilu, who heard his words, paused for a moment, wanting to tell the upset fat man that, in fact, all of this depends on the face.
As a handsome boy as well, Jiang Yilu received much less hostility. After all, he was only fourteen years old and would not compete with them for the lively and pretty female classmates in college.
When Jiang Yiluo stepped down, he simply sat next to Xia Ai and greeted him with his hand. They still had to get along well with each other for the next four years, so it was necessary to maintain a good relationship.
Compared to Jiang Yilu's enthusiasm, Xia Ai seemed a little cold. After shaking hands with him, she never paid any attention to Jiang Yilu again. The two of them sat together in dullness, living in peace.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the roll call was over, and Xia Ai returned to the dormitory with Jiang Yiluo. The other roommates returned earlier than them.
"Ichiru, let's go take a bath together."
Jiang Wencheng took off his shirt, picked up the washbasin, towel and soap, and said to Jiang Yilu.
After a day of tidying up the dormitory, everyone was sweating, and the bathhouse on the first floor was still open.
Jiang Yilu agreed, opened his own cabinet, and wanted to take out his clothes.
wrong.
Jiang Yilu frowned, his cabinet had been rummaged through.
Maybe because he had a secret, Jiang Yilu was particularly sensitive to some details. He remembered that he had placed the vanishing cream head portrait facing inwards, but now it was turned to the outside. And the clothes, although they looked basically the same, there was a wrinkle on one of the shirts. As a person with mild obsessive-compulsive disorder, he was used to folding all his clothes neatly, especially shirts, and would not let go until they were as neatly folded as when he bought them from the store.
Who moved his cabinet?
Jiang Yiluo couldn't figure out whether it was intentional or accidental. Besides Xia Ai who appeared for the first time, there were four other people in the dormitory, and they all could be suspected.
These thoughts flashed through Jiang Yilu's mind without any pause. After taking out the clothes to change, he closed the cabinet very naturally and locked the lock that had been abandoned.
I originally thought there was nothing valuable so I left it unlocked, but now it seems that’s not a good idea.
When he and Jiang Wencheng left with the washbasin, someone in the dormitory breathed a sigh of relief.
******
There were still two days left before the official classes started. Jiang Yi stayed in the dormitory during these two days. He was busy with the reports of his second and third sisters, and accompanied his parents and uncle to visit the capital.
The day after their daughter reported to the National Defense University, Jiang Dashan and his wife left. After all, one day's delay in working in the fields meant one day's less work points. Mo Dashuan and his wife also left the capital after their daughter reported. Now, only Jiang Dahai's family stayed in the capital.
"Shi Tou, didn't you say you wanted to buy a courtyard house? I do have someone who wants to sell it, and I wanted to ask what you think."
After lunch, while Gu Dongmei went to wash the dishes, Bai Fangqiu spoke while drinking tea.
"Uncle Bai, you found the right house."
Gu Xiashi has been wandering around the area for several days, but he is unfamiliar with the place and has not found a suitable house yet.
"It's the yard next to my house. The owner of the yard plans to sell the house and go to the United States to live with his son. As long as the price is right, he will sell it."
This friend of Bai Fangqiu suffered a lot during those years because he had a son studying abroad. His wife, with whom he depended on, couldn't bear it anymore and hanged herself in the cowshed before the catastrophe was over, leaving him all alone who has managed to hold on until now.
Now he was afraid of being fought against. Although the situation had stabilized, he could not stay any longer. After contacting his son, he planned to emigrate and leave. He probably would not want to come back in his lifetime. He naturally did not want to keep the ancestral house in his hands.
"Okay, Uncle Bai, let's go and take a look now."
Gu Xiashi couldn't wait any longer, so he stood up and wanted to run next door.
It just so happened that Bai Fangqiu's old friend was also at home, so Bai Fangqiu simply took Gu Xiashi and the curious Jiang Yilu to the next door.
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