After the two-day college entrance examination, the first thing Su Ting did when she got home was to go to sleep.

In fact, she slept well these two days, sleeping for more than eight hours a day, and taking a nap during lunch. The test paper was not difficult for her, and the two-day exam did not overdraw her energy too much.

But after the test, she felt extremely tired and didn't want to do anything but sleep. This state was similar to the one she felt after taking the college entrance examination in her previous life.

In fact, the time spent on reviewing in the two lives is almost the same. She went to high school for three years in her previous life, and prepared for the college entrance examination for two years in this life. It seems that she has studied one year less in this life, but for her, this is a complete life experience, and the degree of mental fatigue is superimposed.

Moreover, when she was in high school in her previous life, she at least had winter and summer vacations, but in this life, she only had a few days off during the Chinese New Year. She usually had to balance work and study, and was always in a tense state.

While the spring is stretched, you don't feel anything, but when it loosens, all the fatigue of the past two years comes rushing back.

So, while others were busy checking their answers, Su Ting lay at home for three days. Every day she just wanted to lie there and didn't even want to leave her room.

During this time, Meng Xiuzhen brought her daughter to Su Ting to discuss the answers. However, when she knocked on the door, she saw Su Ting looking listless and was speechless.

Her daughter didn't think as much as she did. When she saw Su Ting, she wanted to tell her purpose, but as soon as she said it, she was pinched by her. Her daughter screamed in pain: "Mom——"

"I heard you. I'm right beside you. Why are you shouting so loudly?" Meng Xiuzhen turned the tables and looked at Su Ting gently. Her voice was so gentle that it gave her goosebumps. "Have you eaten?"

Su Ting was stunned: "Are you asking about lunch or dinner?" It was already past four in the afternoon.

"Lunch."

"have eaten."

"What did you eat? How's your appetite?"

Su Ting reported the name of the dish: "My appetite is okay."

Meng Xiuzhen let out a long sigh and said, "That's good, that's good."

Su Ting was puzzled: "You came up here just to ask me if I had eaten?"

"We are..."

Miss Meng Xiuzhen tried to speak again, but was pinched by her mother again. She turned to her mother angrily and saw Meng Xiuzhen blinking non-stop. She asked in confusion, "Mom, what's wrong with you? Are your eyes uncomfortable?"

Meng Xiuzhen was immediately furious, rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, my eyes are uncomfortable, go back to the house and find some eye drops, and give me a drop."

"Do we have eye drops at home?"

"Yes!" Meng Xiuzhen said with certainty, "It's in the closet. If you can't find it, it's because your eyesight is poor. Look for it more and go back quickly!"

Her daughter believed her words, said "oh" and handed the paper in her hand to Meng Xiuzhen, then turned around and went downstairs.

Su Ting noticed their actions and asked, "What are you holding in your hand?"

"Nothing. Nothing important."

When Miss Meng Xiuzhen heard this, she quickly looked up and said, "It's the test paper. My mother brought me to see you, Sister Su, to check the answers."

Meng Xiuzhen didn't expect that the lady would still be unable to control her mouth even after she had come downstairs. She was so angry that she bent over and shouted downstairs: "Hurry up and find the test paper! You stupid kid, you don't even have the tact to show any respect!"

After cursing, he stood up and smiled dryly at Su Ting: "The child is ignorant, don't pay attention to her."

"She's fine, but you, why are you so weird today?" Su Ting said, then turned back to the house and asked, "Do you want water or tea?"

Meng Xiuzhen chased after him and said, "What do you mean by talking nonsense? I am just being considerate of you, do you know that? I want to drink tea."

Su Ting walked to the chest of drawers, took out a tea can, and then took out three empty cups, put tea in them, and poured hot water. She asked Meng Xiuzhen to bring one cup over, and she took two cups to the tea table, put them down, and stretched out her hand and said, "Bring it here."

"What do you want?" Meng Xiuzhen asked.

Su Ting sat on the sofa and said, "Test paper."

Meng Xiuzhen uttered "oh" twice, took the test paper, unfolded it, and saw that it was densely covered with two colored pens with words written on it. It was obvious that after the test, she wrote down the words from memory and then did the questions again.

Su Ting opened the math test paper first and read each question one by one. Before she finished reading, she said, "Yaya did well in the test." Meng Xiuzhen's daughter is called Jiang Ya.

"Really?" Meng Xiuzhen looked delighted.

"Well, the math is pretty accurate."

Meng Xiuzhen clapped her hands and said, "I knew this girl did well in the exam. In fact, she has compared her answers with many military wives in the compound, and they all said that she did well. Hey? How did you do this time?"

When she first saw Su Ting's expression upon entering the room, Meng Xiuzhen thought that she might not have done well in the exam, but now after hearing her comments, Meng Xiuzhen felt that it didn't look like she had not done well in the exam.

"Me?" Su Ting raised her eyes and saw Meng Xiuzhen nod, then lowered her eyes and said, "I feel pretty good about myself."

Meng Xiuzhen asked in confusion, "You did well on the test, why are you like this?"

"What do I look like?"

"You are talking like this now, listlessly and weakly. You don't know that when I first walked in and saw you like this, I thought you didn't do well in the exam. I thought that the answer must be wrong, and I was afraid that the more correct the answer was, the more upset you would feel."

Su Ting couldn't help laughing: "You think too much, I did okay in the exam, but I was so tense for so long that I suddenly relaxed and felt a little lazy."

"You are really different from the others. The wives of the soldiers who did well in the exams have been so excited these days. Although they all say that they may not pass the exams because of their average performance, you can tell from their expressions that they are happy in their hearts!"

“Everyone has a different personality.”

As they were talking, Jiang Ya came up. She didn't know what was going on yet, so she asked as soon as she entered the room, "Mom, did you remember it wrong? I searched the cupboard over and over again, but I didn't see any eye drops."

Meng Xiuzhen almost forgot about it, and lied with her eyes half closed: "Oh, maybe I remembered it wrong?"

Jiang Ya: "...You are amazing. You said so confidently before that it must be in the fighting cabinet. If I can't find it, it's because my eyesight is bad. Now that you can't find it, you change your words and say that you remembered it wrong."

"Come on, I'm your mother. I've provided for you for so many years. What's wrong with asking you to run errands?" Meng Xiuzhen knew she was just making excuses, so she pointed to the empty seat next to Su Ting and changed the subject before the girl could speak. "Hurry up and sit down and check the answers with your sister Su. She said that your math accuracy is very high."

This trick was very effective. Jiang Ya's attention was instantly diverted. She smiled and asked, "Really?"

"The questions you wrote in red were basically all correct. Are these the ones you did again after the test? The black ones are from dictation □□?"

"Yes, there are a few questions that I found wrong when I redid them." Jiang Ya sat down next to Su Ting, lowered her head and leaned over to look at the test paper and asked, "Sister Su, you just said that the previous questions were all correct, did I get the last question wrong? This is the question that we had the most inconsistent answers to when we compared them."

Su Ting had already seen that on the test paper that Jiang Ya brought, there were two ways of solving the problem, and the answers were also different.

"Sister Su, what's your answer?"

"I am one half."

Su Ting's answer was different from their existing answers, so Jiang Ya quickly asked, "How did you get this answer?"

"I'll go get a pen." Su Ting put down the test paper, stood up and walked into the study, took out a pen and a stapled draft book, and turned the pages as she walked.

The draft book finally stopped at a blank page and she placed it on the coffee table. She bent down and began to write her own problem-solving process.

As she was writing, Jiang Ya watched from the side. Her expression changed several times, with excitement, regret, sudden enlightenment, and disappointment. Finally, she said, "It seems that we all got this question wrong."

"Although the answer is wrong, your solution is correct, so you can still get some points." Su Ting concluded, "From the test paper, your math score should be between 85 and 90."

“That’s the score I estimated too.”

After finishing the math paper, Su Ting took a quick look at the test papers of her other subjects.

Jiang Ya also chose liberal arts in the college entrance examination, but whether it was Chinese, politics, or history and geography, the scoring variables were too large and the scores were difficult to estimate, but it can be seen that she did well.

Not surprisingly, she was admitted to her first choice.

In fact, when Jiang Ya was comparing the answers before, she already had an idea in her mind, but the newspaper did not publish the exact number. And to be honest, these military wives in the compound were not as good as her in terms of basic knowledge.

So although she had some idea in her mind, she was not sure. To put it bluntly, she was not confident. But after talking with Su Ting, she felt more relieved. She went back with a smile on her face. Now she just had to wait for the acceptance letter.

…

After being listless at home for five or six days, after breakfast that day, Su Ting took the initiative to suggest going shopping for groceries with He Dongchuan.

After hearing this, not only did the two children raise their heads in surprise, but He Dongchuan couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure?"

"It's just buying some food, what's there to be uncertain about?"

Seeing that she was more energetic than before, He Dongchuan smiled and said, "I thought you still didn't want to move today."

"That can't be possible. We finally finished the exam and are able to relax. It's just right for you to rest. We must have a good meal today," Su Ting said. "I'll find all the meat and fish coupons at home and bring them with me."

He Dongchuan was an adult, so he didn't have a big mouth. He just smiled and said yes. However, the two children's eyes lit up when they heard this. He Yan asked, "Mom, can we go shopping with you?"

Manman quickly nodded in agreement: "Yeah, Manman wants to go too."

"Okay, let's go. When you see something you want to eat, just tell me. Mom will be happy and buy it for you."

With Su Ting's words, the two children ate more enthusiastically. After eating, they did not rush out to have fun as usual, but stayed at home obediently, waiting to buy delicious food.

After He Dongchuan finished washing the dishes, Su Ting took the tickets at home, put some money in her pocket, and went out with the children.

The news that Su Ting stayed indoors after the college entrance examination had already spread throughout the compound. Although Meng Xiuzhen spoke up for her, most people thought that she stayed at home because she didn't perform well.

Just look at other military wives who took the college entrance examination and you will know that those who did well in the exam are full of energy during this period, while those who did not do well look listless when they go out.

Su Ting's condition seemed to be much worse than those who did not do well in the exam. At least she was still going out. Recently, even her three meals a day were packed up from the cafeteria by Mr. He Dongchuan and his wife.

It's not just that she didn't perform well, she did very badly in the exam. She hasn't gone out during this period and must be hiding at home crying. All the military wives in the compound think so.

Therefore, when they went downstairs, the military wives they met were surprised at first when they saw Su Ting, and then they thought of something and comforted her: "One exam is nothing, just let it go."

Su Ting: “?!!” What happened?

She didn't know what happened, but He Dongchuan knew it clearly. During this period, many people asked him about Su Ting's mood. Although he repeatedly explained that she was fine, few people believed him.

After learning the reason from He Dongchuan, Su Ting was embarrassed, but when she met people who comforted her again, she did not explain out loud, but vaguely responded to everyone's comfort.

There was no way. Everyone had already decided that she had failed the test. Explaining was useless and would only make people think she was putting on a smile.

Wait until the notice comes, then she won't need to explain, the misunderstanding will be resolved naturally. If she doesn't receive the notice, then she really needs comfort, it doesn't matter whether she accepts it early or late.

Perhaps because they knew she hadn't done well in the exam, the staff at the vegetable and meat stations spoke to Su Ting in a particularly gentle voice. Even the big sister at the meat station sold them the pork ribs she had hidden away and was going to take home, saying, "Eat more good food, and you'll have fewer worries."

I bought a pound of pork belly, two pounds of pork ribs, and a piece of pork liver. When I went back, Su Ting asked, "When the notice comes out, will my elder sister think that I cheated on her feelings?"

"Aren't you my wife? When did you cheat on her feelings?"

Su Ting pushed him and said, "I mean the shin bone."

He Dongchuan smiled slightly and finally said seriously, "Probably not. When the notice comes out, she will definitely be happy for you."

They not only bought meat, but also weighed a fish and bought a piece of tofu. Su Ting decided to have crucian carp and tofu hotpot for lunch, and drink pork bone soup and a plate of braised pork in brown sauce in the evening.

It’s a pity that they went too late and there were no chickens or ducks for sale, otherwise they would have had a more sumptuous meal today.

Su Ting was still not satisfied. The people upstairs and downstairs could smell the delicious food coming from their house. Lin Weiyong, who lived in Room 201, said, "Hasn't the neighbor next door been in a bad mood these days? Why did he cook so many dishes today?"

Shen Xuan asked, "Who told you that Su Ting was in a bad mood?" She had delayed a lot of work in order to prepare for the college entrance examination. She was so busy this week that she fell asleep as soon as she came home. She had no idea what was going on in the compound.

"Isn't that what everyone in the compound says? Su Ting didn't seem to have performed well this time," Lin Weiyong thought about the wording and said tactfully, "I guess it's not going to work out."

"No way." Shen Xuan didn't quite believe it. During the period of preparing for the college entrance examination, she also borrowed notes from Su Ting. She shook her head and said, "She has a solid foundation, and the questions this time are not difficult, so she shouldn't fail."

When it comes to academic performance, Lin Weiyong is not very clear, he only said: "Anyway, Su Ting seems to have not left the house during this period, and she seems to have applied for a high-level major."

When applying for volunteers, the wives of soldiers in the compound all referred to each other. Although Shen Xuan didn't pay much attention to others because she was busy reviewing, she still knew clearly what volunteers Su Ting and Jiang Ya had applied for.

Firstly, they live in the same building and are close to each other, so they interact more often. Secondly, these two people are the most volunteered among the military wives.

In fact, Shen Xuan also applied for high aspirations. Her first, second and third choices were all universities. But that was because she already had a technical secondary school degree, and it was unnecessary for her to study so hard for the college entrance examination and then go to a technical college.

But even so, in order to seek stability, except for a well-known university in the city as her first choice, the schools she applied for as her second and third choices were not very famous. According to common sense, the passing score would be much lower.

When she was applying for college, she heard that Su Ting and Jiang Ya had both applied to famous universities. She wondered if she was being too conservative and whether she should apply to a better school. But after leaving the examination room, she was filled with only relief.

Although the college entrance examination questions were not difficult, her foundation was not as solid as Su Ting's. The estimated score after the test was good compared with others, but it was far from her first choice. The probability of being admitted to her second and third choices was quite high.

Shen Xuan felt that if she had intended to compare herself with Su Ting and Jiang Ya when she applied for the university, she would probably just fail the exam.

Although Lin Weiyong did not oppose her going to college, he did not really support her in his heart. If she could pass the exam this time, he would not oppose her going. But if she failed this time, she would not have the same attitude when she wanted to take the college entrance examination next year.

On the other hand, Su Ting's aspirations were too high, so it was possible that she would fail. However, judging from He Dongchuan's attitude, he would support her to continue taking the exam even if she failed.

Shen Xuan said: "Even if I didn't do well in the exam, I should be in a better mood after staying at home for a few days."

"That's true," Lin Weiyong said, and then he felt something growling in his stomach. He sighed, "This is unbearable."

A neighbor of mine poisons the food every now and then, and even the most delicious food becomes tasteless.

well.

…

The college entrance examination in the 1970s had many regulations that were very different from those of later generations. The first was that candidates had to fill in their applications before the exam. The second was that the standard answers were not announced after the exam. The third was that the test scores were not notified to the candidates themselves. The fourth was that the admission score was not announced.

Therefore, after the exam this year, everyone could only compare answers with each other. Even after comparing, they still felt uneasy, afraid that they had remembered the answers they wrote during the exam incorrectly, and also afraid that the answers they got were wrong.

But the uneasiness did not last long, because at the end of December, the primary list was released.

The preliminary list is determined by the admissions committee based on test scores and the admissions plan[1]. Only those who make it to the preliminary list and pass the physical examination have a chance of being admitted by the school. Otherwise, if you are not on the list, it is equivalent to announcing your failure in advance.

After the list was released, some of the military wives in the compound who had signed up for the college entrance examination were happy while others were worried.

All the students who took the college entrance examination in Building 10 passed the preliminary selection. After receiving the medical examination notice, they went to the county together for the examination. The examination items were not many and the process was smooth. They received the notice that they had passed the medical examination within a few days.

At this point, you can basically put your mind at ease, especially for those military wives who did not apply for high positions. As long as nothing unexpected happens, they will get the acceptance letter.

As for people like Su Ting and Jiang Ya who have applied for particularly high admissions, it is hard to say; it depends on the school's enrollment situation. Shen Xuan is similar. Her admissions are conservative compared to Su Ting and Jiang Ya, but high compared to other military wives in the compound, so they still have to wait anxiously for the admission letter.

But the notice will not come out so quickly. If it is early, it may be the end of January, and if it is late, it may be after the New Year.

For fear of missing out on the admission notice, all the wives of soldiers who had passed the preliminary selection in the compound chose to stay where they were stationed to celebrate the New Year. Su Ting was no exception. After discussing with He Dongchuan, they did not return to the capital this year.

He's parents knew two months ago that Su Ting was going to take the college entrance examination. They were not surprised when they heard the news. He's mother said, "You can go home anytime. Getting the admission letter is more important."

…

A lot happened in January 1978.

First of all, the third story of the Three Fires series is finally on the market. The publisher originally planned to release it in late December, but due to the printing progress, the release time of the comic book was postponed for half a month and was scheduled for New Year's Day.

After the release of "The Adventures of Three Fires", the city women's federation purchased a comic book and donated it to various primary and secondary schools and nurseries in the city. After Su Ting learned about this, she also bought 200 sets of comic books and donated them to show her support.

Of course, the impressive sales figures of "The Adventures of Three Fires" have little to do with their purchases. No matter how large the purchase volume of the Municipal Women's Federation is, the total purchase volume together with Su Ting's is less than one thousand sets.

The sales of "The Adventures of Three Fires" reached tens of thousands within less than a week after its release. In comparison, this purchase volume is nothing.

After receiving the sales report, the editor-in-chief of "Comic Book" couldn't stop smiling, because these were all the achievements he made when he was in this position!

After being happy, he called Wang Jingfang to the office and asked Su Ting when she would start a new series.

Wang Jingfang replied: "I wrote to Su Ting after the college entrance examination, but she said she had no inspiration recently and didn't want to write, so she might have to wait until after the New Year."

When the serialization of "The Adventures of Three Fires" was in the middle, Wang Jingfang asked Su Ting about her plan to write a new novel. At first, Su Ting just said that she was busy this year and had no plans. When the notice of the resumption of the college entrance examination came down, she directly said that she would take the college entrance examination.

Knowing that Su Ting was a junior high school student in her third year, Wang Jingfang expressed understanding for her choice and did not urge her to start a new story. It was not until the end of the college entrance examination in December that she wrote to inquire again.

As a result, this time Su Ting did not say that she was busy, but instead said that she had no inspiration, and with just one sentence, she postponed the matter of starting a new story until after the New Year.

The editor was puzzled: "How could she not have any inspiration? The college entrance examination has been resumed, there are many stories to draw. Didn't she draw a story about Dad not being home? Isn't it good that the new story is about Mom taking the college entrance examination?"

Wang Jingfang asked sincerely, "How about you write a letter and I'll mail it to her for you?"

The editor-in-chief was silent for a moment, and then he said earnestly, "Xiao Wang, you know that our publishing house is going to change its leader. To be honest with you, I really want to make further progress, you know that, right?"

Wang Jingfang had heard some rumors about the change of leadership in the publishing house, but it had not been announced publicly, so the people under them could only guess in their hearts.

The rumor was confirmed, and Wang Jingfang's expression immediately became serious: "I understand."

"If I can get promoted, the deputy editor-in-chief will most likely take my current position. As for the new deputy editor-in-chief, it must be promoted from among you editors. I personally have high hopes for you, don't you understand?"

"Understand."

"Can you go and urge Su Ting again?"

So throughout January, Su Ting received a package from Wang Jingfang every three days. The package contained a variety of things, including special products from the capital, paper and pens for painting, or toys for children. The prices were not expensive, and she was in a dilemma whether to return the items or not.

In addition to gifts, letters are also a must in every package. The letters are not long. The first few paragraphs are basically greetings and telling Su Ting about interesting things happening around her, but the last paragraph will definitely ask her when she will start a new life.

After seeing the editor's various methods of urging her to submit her manuscripts, Su Ting was very thankful that there were no mobile phones and transportation was not convenient at that time. Otherwise, she was really worried that Wang Jingfang would call her three times a day and fly to her once every three days to urge her to submit her manuscripts.

But even without a cell phone and a plane, Su Ting could not resist the editor's sweet talk. When she wrote to Wang Jingfang for the last time at the end of January, she surrendered and said that she would take advantage of the time before the New Year to think carefully and start something new as soon as possible.

Secondly, after entering the second half of the month, the acceptance letters arrived one after another.

The wives of soldiers in the compound have families and their husbands have stable jobs that cannot be easily transferred, so most of them fill in local colleges when applying for admission. Therefore, after being admitted, they receive the admission notice very quickly.

Before the end of January, six people received their acceptance letters, but during this time, there was no movement in Building 10.

You should know that there were only about forty or less than fifty people taking the college entrance examination in their college, and only about half of them passed the preliminary selection, less than twenty-five people. Six people received admission letters, and the admission ratio was about four to one, which was already very high.

As January was coming to an end, the three students in Building 10 had not received any acceptance letters, and everyone thought they had definitely failed.

For a while, every time the three of them went out, they would receive many sympathetic looks. Some people even told them that they had a good foundation, but they just applied for a high school. They encouraged them to lower their goals and take the exam again next year, saying, "A technical secondary school is also an academic qualification."

Jiang Ya is young and has had a smooth life without any setbacks. After hearing these words, she secretly cried several times.

The atmosphere in Shen Xuan's home also became tense because Lin Weiyong saw that she had not received an acceptance letter. One day during dinner, he comforted her, "If you didn't pass the exam, then you didn't pass. Anyway, you have enough education and it won't affect your promotion. Just treat it as a trip for fun. In the future, work hard and you will have a chance to succeed."

Shen Xuan was already in a bad mood, and she became even more depressed after hearing this. She couldn't help but ask, "What if I want to take the exam again next year?"

Lin Weiyong, who was eating, slowed down his chewing and raised his eyebrows: "That's not necessary."

Although they didn't want to argue and tried to control their emotions when speaking, the tension between them kept growing. In the end, Shui was unable to convince the other party and they fell into a cold war.

Although Su Ting felt good about herself, she had not received an acceptance letter. She began to wonder if she had overestimated herself and actually did not have the ability.

Fortunately, He Dongchuan always supported her in taking the college entrance examination. He did not pour cold water on his wife like Lin Weiyong did. Instead, he found ways to comfort Su Ting every day.

Today, she said that Fudan University is a famous university, so there must be a lot of applicants, and the admission process must be slower than that of technical secondary schools; tomorrow, she said that Fudan University must have a lot of letters to send out, and the post office staff must make more trips, so the mail collection is slower than that of other universities; the day after tomorrow, it became that Fudan University might have sent out the admission notice a long time ago, but because it was too early and there were too many mail parcels during the Chinese New Year, her letter was pressed down at the bottom, so it was delivered slower than others...

So Su Ting's uneasy heart gradually calmed down, but his various ways of comforting her were still her daily pleasure.

When the notice was delivered, not only He Dongchuan, but also He Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they no longer had to worry every day about their wife/mother not receiving the notice.

Well, after He Dongchuan had been thinking of excuses for a few days, the older He Yan was arrested and given a conscription. Gradually, because of his unconventional ideas, he was not promoted to become one of his father's think tanks.

He Yan: Alas, it’s all because of being smart.

Patting his chest slowly: Fortunately~