Chapter 28
When Jiang Jiang got home, Lin Youqing had already decorated her room.
"Do you like it?"
Jiang Jiang looked at the room in front of him and nodded excitedly, "I like it."
The bed is about one meter and two meters wide and is placed on the right side of the entrance. The quilt on it is neatly folded. Next to the bed is a desk specially used for studying, facing the window. Light shines in from outside. Lin Youqing also installed blackout curtains for her. There is a pot of green ivy on the desk, which is lush and vibrant.
On the left side of the entrance is a large wardrobe for clothes, which will now have a special place for Jiang Jiang’s clothes.
"Thank you, Dad."
Lin Youqing smiled and rubbed the child's head. "Try this table and chair to see if it's the right height."
After hearing what Lin Youqing said, Jiang Jiang sat down on the chair, reached out to try it, and found that the height was just right.
"suitable."
Jiang Jiang neatly placed the pencils, erasers and notebooks that He Guijuan bought for her on the table.
Seeing her serious look, Lin Youqing couldn't help but smile and patted her head. "Okay, Daddy still has things to do, you can play for a while."
"Can I read a story book?"
"Can."
Jiang Jiang went to their bedroom and got a storybook to read. Jiang Jiang didn't recognize many of the words, but the book had illustrations, so she could roughly understand what the content of the chapter meant by looking at the illustrations.
After Lin Youqing got the documents out of the kiln, he glanced at Jiang Jiang's room door as he passed by and found that she was reading intently. Seeing how focused she was, Lin Youqing closed the door for her quietly, then went out with the briefcase containing the documents.
Soon, time passed and it was March, and the spring semester of 1976 began.
He Guijuan took half a day off to take Jiang Jiang to the county primary school to register.
The school was built on the hillside and consisted of rows of stone cave dwellings of varying heights. He Guijuan held Jiang Jiang's hand and walked into the school gate. There were already many parents with their children inside.
After the Waking of Insects, it rained a few more times. Today was a rare sunny day, but it was windy and cold, making my cheeks hurt. The ground was still wet, with small puddles. When walking, you would step into a puddle if you were not careful, and not only would your shoes and socks get wet, but you would also get splashed with dirty water.
Jiang Jiang was carrying a military green crossbody canvas backpack, which is a popular style of student backpack nowadays. He Guijuan also braided her hair beautifully today. Although it was her first day at school, she didn't stand out too much. She still wore the maroon jacket and corduroy pants, which kept her warm, decent and not eye-catching.
At the door of the first cave house at the corner, the words "Reporting Office" were written on red paper and pasted on the door.
"Teacher Tian." Jiang Jiang saw the young woman sitting in the reporting office and recognized her at a glance. This was Teacher Tian whom she met at Aunt Huang's house that day.
"Is that Jiang Jiang? Are you here for school too?" Teacher Tian saw Jiang Jiang and asked her with a smile.
Jiang Jiang nodded.
"What's the scientific name?"
"Lin Jiangjiang."
He Guijuan and Lin Youqing discussed whether to change Jiang Jiang's name, but after two days of discussion, they couldn't come up with any particularly good ideas, so they decided not to change their daughter's name, but simply add the surname Lin in front of her name.
After all, the two words "Jiang Jiang" sound good, simple and catchy.
Teacher Tian wrote down Jiang Jiang's name in the registration book. "Okay, the first grade classroom is in the first cave on the right. Textbooks will be distributed in the afternoon, and there will be a class meeting around 2 pm. Parents can go home first after a while."
"Excuse me, Teacher Tian."
"No trouble."
He Guijuan took Jiang Jiang to the first grade classroom. The classroom was spacious and bright, with more than 20 desks and more than 20 double benches. The desks were long tables for two people without drawers, but the large hole under the desk could be used to store school bags. Above the lecture hall, there were four words written in black on red paper: "Study hard and make progress every day". In front of the blackboard was a desk called a podium, with chalk and rags placed messily.
There were already a dozen children sitting inside, all with curiosity in their dark eyes. From the way they were dressed, one could roughly tell their family situations.
The clothes on the boys basically looked the same, neither particularly good nor bad. The girls' clothes were very different. Except for one or two girls who looked like they came from wealthy families, wore fashionable clothes, had braids, and were fair-skinned, the rest of the girls looked very shabby, with their hair in clumps, but their eyes were all bright.
The first row was full, so Jiang Jiang chose a seat in the second row and sat down.
"Then mom will go back first. I'll pick you up after school this afternoon." He Guijuan touched Jiang Jiang's head. "Are you scared?"
"I'm not afraid." Although it was an unfamiliar environment, Jiang Jiang was still a little excited. Before she left Dongxi Village, Uncle Fugui told her: Study hard, only by studying can you have a future. Jiang Jiang has always remembered this sentence. Today is her first day of school. She must study hard in the future to repay her parents who have worked hard to raise her. "Mom, you go back first."
"Okay, after school, mom will take you to the state-owned canteen to eat shepherd's purse wontons."
"Okay!" Jiang Jiang looked excited.
He Guijuan smiled and scratched her cheek, "Then I'll go back now."
"Goodbye, Mom."
The girls around were watching the interaction between Jiang Jiang and He Guijuan and were filled with envy. Their mothers would never speak to them so gently.
After He Guijuan left, Jiang Jiang lowered his head to study the hole in the table, took off his schoolbag and put it in it.
When Jiang Jiang looked up, he saw a girl standing in front of him.
She was wearing small leather shoes, had single eyelids, and had her arms folded with her chin raised. It seemed as if someone was talking to her, but also as if no one was talking to her.
"May I have your name?"
"Me?" Jiang Jiang pointed at himself in confusion.
"What else?" The girl rolled her eyes.
"My name is Lin Jiangjiang."
The girl glanced at Jiang Jiang from head to toe and said, "My name is Chen Qiannan. From today on, I will be your deskmate."
After saying this, the girl sat down next to Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang seemed to hear her mutter, "She looks clean, so I don't think she has lice."
In this way, Jiang Jiang got a new deskmate.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Teacher Tian came in and held a class meeting for them, and asked them all to stand up and introduce themselves.
Most of the students were a little reserved. They hurriedly said "Hello, everyone. My name is ×××" and sat down quickly with their faces flushed. Although Jiang Jiang was not very nervous, she did not say much. Instead, Jiang Jiang's desk mate Chen Qiannan stood up and gave a long and eloquent speech when introducing herself.
After introducing himself, Teacher Tian randomly asked a few students to help distribute teaching materials.
There are four textbooks in total, "Arithmetic", "Chinese", "Music" and "Picture".
Jiang Jiang carefully opened the cover of the book, and a scent of ink hit her face. She couldn't help but lower her head to smell it again. Finally, she solemnly wrote the three words "Lin Jiang Jiang" in pencil on the title page of the book.
From today on, she is officially an elementary school student.
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