Two days after Su Ting received the admission letter from Fudan University, Shen Xuan also received it.

She was accepted as her third choice, and probably because her first two choices were rejected, she received the admission letter later than others. But even if it was her third choice, the school she applied for was better than most military wives, so after receiving the admission letter, she was visibly relieved, and the relationship between her and her husband also eased.

Meng Xiuzhen, on the other hand, spent the whole New Year in a gloomy mood because her daughter had not received the admission letter. Before the New Year was over, she came to Su Ting to borrow review materials, as she wanted her daughter to repeat a year.

When she came to borrow the materials, she sighed repeatedly. Su Ting saw it and wanted to tell her not to worry so much, maybe the acceptance letter had not been sent yet. In her previous life, she had seen relevant materials and knew that some people received the acceptance letter in late February or even early March.

But thinking about his previous state, even though he knew about this intellectually, he was becoming increasingly anxious emotionally. So he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and gave all his notes and test papers to Meng Xiuzhen.

Seeing how generous she was, Meng Xiuzhen couldn't help but reveal her real thoughts: "If we take the exam again, should I let Yaya set a lower goal?" Jiang Ya's first choice was also Fudan University, and her second and third choices were all famous universities in other provinces.

Su Ting felt that with Jiang Ya's grades, although her chances of getting into Fudan University were uncertain, her second and third choices were certain.

The college entrance examination in 1977 and 1978 was held in the summer. If she had failed the exam, given her foundation, she could have seized the time to review now. As long as she did well in the exam, she might have been able to get into Fudan University if she took the exam again in July. There was no need to set the goal too low.

But seeing Meng Xiuzhen's panic, she didn't say it out loud. She considered and said tactfully, "I don't think you need to consider college so early. If you want to take the exam again, wait a few months to see how she is doing in her review, and then consider which university is better for her to apply to."

"What you said makes sense. I just..." Meng Xiuzhen didn't say what it was, but just sighed heavily, "Alas."

Su Ting advised: "If you are really worried, you can follow her in applying for the first and second majors, and apply for a lower major for the third major. In fact, with her grades, as long as she can perform steadily this year and control her majors a little better, she should be fine."

"That's all I can do. I'll ask you again when I'm ready to apply." Although she was worried, Meng Xiuzhen knew that Su Ting's words made sense. She picked up her notes and test papers and prepared to leave. But before she walked out, she remembered to ask, "By the way, when are you going to apply?"

"At the beginning of next month." The 1977 class of college students all entered school in the spring of 1978.

"That's still some time. Have you found a house?"

The fact that Su Ting was going to take Man Man to live in the city was no secret in the compound. When the news first got out, many people gossiped about it, thinking that after four years of living in two places, the family's relationship would fade.

Someone was meddling in other people's business and went to He Dongchuan to murmur this. He then asked back, "Do you want to divorce your wife?"

The nosy person frowned when he heard this: "How do you talk?"

"You said that you couldn't live apart. Your wife lived in your hometown with the children for so many years before she joined the army. Do you still have feelings for her? If not, wouldn't you get a divorce?"

The other party was left speechless by his question and had to shut up in disappointment.

Having said that, if Su Ting was alone, she could just move into the dormitory, but it would become difficult to live in the dormitory with her children. Even if she was willing, her roommates would not agree.

Su Ting didn't want to have any unpleasant experiences with others because of these things, so she didn't plan to live in the school dormitory after school started. Instead, she planned to rent a house near the school. For this reason, she went to the city many times before the New Year.

In fact, Su Ting prefers to buy a house rather than renting one. However, this is not the era where you can search for large amounts of real estate sales information with just the movement of your fingers. There are only two channels to buy a house. One is to find someone you know who wants to sell it, and then pay the money and the property is transferred. The other is to go to the Housing Authority, where there is real estate sales information.

But in the 1970s, every household had only one house, and even a family of more than ten people had one house, so there was no house to sell. In the past two years, people who were sent down to the countryside have gradually returned to the city, and their original houses have been returned one after another. The situation may be slightly better, but these people are scared and dare not make a big fuss even if they want to sell their houses. They all look for buyers privately, and the transaction method has returned to the first one.

But with the first method, there was a problem. Neither she nor He Dongchuan were locals. They had been in Shanghai for more than a year, and their circle of friends had not gone beyond the base. The number of people they knew whose homes were in the urban area of ​​Shanghai could be counted on one hand.

Among these people, who number less than a handful, there are friends who want to sell their houses... Although Su Ting did not ask, it can be imagined that there will not be many, maybe even zero.

The main reason why she didn't ask them was that Su Ting wanted to keep a low profile on the matter of buying a house. There were many gossipy people in the compound and she didn't know what would be spread.

After the house is bought, they will report what needs to be reported, and she won't be afraid of how the news spreads outside. But before the house is bought, it's better not to let everyone know about it.

After weighing the above considerations, Su Ting finally decided to rent a house first, and to buy a house after she has a clear understanding of the surrounding area of ​​the school.

Compared to buying a house, renting a house is much easier. First, decide where to rent. When you get there, go directly to the street office. They have all the information. They know who has a house to rent and who doesn't have enough to live in. Moreover, the street office is an administrative unit with a good reputation. You don't have to worry about being cheated when you ask them to help you rent a house.

Although Su Ting had many requirements, she wanted a house with two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen, and she also wanted the house to have a good environment, good neighbors and be close to the school.

But she was willing to spend money, and the first time she asked for help, she brought a box of muffins and a box of chestnut cakes. As the saying goes, a man who has eaten a meal should be grateful to his friend, so even if her requirements were high, everyone was willing to help her with all their heart.

What's more, the rent she asked for was high. Rents are generally not high these days. Even a house with two bedrooms, a living room and a separate bathroom would not rent for more than ten yuan, but she was willing to ask for fifteen yuan, so it was not surprising that she asked for a higher price.

So in less than three days, Su Ting found a suitable house.

The house is just outside Fudan University, less than ten minutes' walk away. It is a three-story western-style building. The owner was originally a professor at Fudan University. He was sent down to the countryside at the beginning of the Great Movement, and his house was taken away and converted into a family house for state-owned factory employees to live in.

The homeowner had his delisting removed at the end of last year, and upon returning, he immediately went through the relevant procedures to get his house back. The state-owned factory employees who had previously lived there were gradually relocated.

Although the person has left, it is difficult to restore the renovated house to its original state in a short period of time. The owner has a family house allocated by the school on campus, and does not want to spend money on redecorating it, so he wants to rent out the house.

The house is a good one and the owner is also nice, an old professor who speaks very politely.

There is one thing, because the house has been vacant for a short time, the empty houses have not been rented out, in other words, the character of the neighbors cannot be guaranteed. But the landlord said that when renting a house, the character of the tenant will be checked. If the tenant who has already moved in feels that the tenant is not good, they can also give him suggestions and ask him to leave.

In addition, the landlord did not give Su Ting a random rent just because she said he could give her 15%. Instead, he gave her the market price.

Su Ting and He Dongchuan did not agree immediately. They waited until they had looked at all the houses that the street office had helped find and were sure that there was no better one before they went back to discuss the matter with the owner.

After that, when she went to the city again, she was not looking for a house, but to clean and decorate her new residence.

Su Ting replied, "I've found it. It's just outside the school. The house has been cleaned. I'll just move in with you when school starts."

"That's good."

…

A few days after Meng Xiuzhen borrowed the review notes from Su Ting, Jiang Ya received the acceptance letter.

She was admitted as her second choice, probably because of slip-of-application admission and the fact that the school was out of town, so the admission notice arrived later than that of other students in the compound.

Jiang Ya was about to give up hope, but she listened to Meng Xiuzhen's advice and threw herself back into her review. However, she received the notice after only finishing a few pages of questions.

When Jiang Ya first received the letter, she was a little bit unconvinced, worried that the letter was sent to the wrong address, and also worried that this was not actually an acceptance letter. It was not until Meng Xiuzhen urged her that she opened the envelope with trembling hands.

When she saw the content of the letter clearly and realized that it was indeed written to her and was indeed a letter of acceptance, she finally couldn't help but burst into tears.

Seeing her crying uncontrollably, Meng Xiuzhen's expression changed immediately. She thought that this was not a notice to the young lady, so she quickly took the letter from her hand and read it quickly.

After reading it, she asked, "You've already received the acceptance letter, why are you crying like this?"

"I, I'm just afraid..." Jiang Ya said while choking. She had been under too much pressure during this period.

Although her parents didn't say anything and her brothers and sisters didn't dare to provoke her easily, she regretted it in her heart. Many nights, she wondered if her aspirations were too high.

fortunately……

Fortunately, she finally received the acceptance letter.

Jiang Ya couldn't control herself and cried for joy.

Meng Xiuzhen's eyes also turned red, and she said angrily: "Child, if you don't pass the exam, you can just take it again next year. Besides, didn't you do very well in the exam?" As she said that, she unfolded the letter of admission and read it carefully again.

From now on, her daughter is a serious college student.

He is a student from a prestigious university, better than those in the college who received admission letters early.

The more Meng Xiuzhen thought about it, the happier she felt. She could no longer sit still, so she carefully folded the notice and handed it to her daughter, then took the envelope out to show off.

She had heard enough of the sarcasm and ridicule during this period, and she had to make up for it.

After showing off to her heart's content, Meng Xiuzhen went to find Su Ting and told her about her daughter's acceptance letter. She then repeated her great achievements: "You didn't see the expressions on their faces. It was wonderful, really wonderful."

"Happy?" Su Ting asked with a smile.

"I'm happy. How can I not be happy? My daughter is now a college student, and she's studying at a prestigious university." Meng Xiuzhen hugged her legs and said, "If you ask me, the feng shui of our ten buildings is good. Three of them took the college entrance examination, and all three passed. They all went to good schools. The other buildings can't catch up."

It has been seven or eight years, and it is no longer the time of the early years when there were many rumors and rumours. It doesn't matter if there is a bit of feudal superstition in the words. However, Su Ting deliberately found fault: "Your words have overshadowed all our efforts so far."

Meng Xiuzhen immediately changed her words: "Of course, the main reason for your admission is that you work hard and are smart. If time wasn't too tight, I would have planned to set up a few tables of wine and invite those who say my daughter is too ambitious to come and see if my daughter's ambition is right."

Su Ting said helplessly: "Why would you spend money to hire a bunch of people you don't like and make them unhappy?"

"I have the nerve to invite people to my daughter's graduation party, but how can they come empty-handed?"

Su Ting: "...That's right, are you planning to host a party?"

"Forget it. You, the top scholar in the compound, didn't even have a banquet, so how can we do that?" Meng Xiuzhen muttered, "Besides, it's not worth it to invite a bunch of people you don't like to dinner on such a good day."

Su Ting was embarrassed: "Why are you shouting along with others?"

"What nonsense are you shouting? The school you got into is the best in our school, so your score must be the highest. Isn't the first place the top scholar?"

Although the scores are not announced at this time, there are only so many people who can pass the entrance exam to a large institution. After the admission letters come out, everyone can guess who has a high score and who has a low score.

Su Ting: "...Okay."

…

After the Lantern Festival, He Yan will go back to school.

Fudan University does not start until March, so Su Ting has time to register He Yan.

Because Li Yuezhen also took the college entrance examination and was admitted to a normal college, she submitted her resignation to the principal after the end of the last semester, so in the new semester, He Yan's class's head teacher was replaced by a mathematics teacher.

In addition to Li Yuezhen, two other teachers from the military primary school were admitted to universities, so there were not enough teachers for the new semester. The mathematics teacher had to be the head teacher of Class 1 in addition to Class 2 where He Yan was. So on the day of registration, she had to run back and forth between the two classes and was very busy.

Many parents looked worried when they saw this scene.

In the past, main subject teachers basically only taught two classes and taught four or five classes a day. Now, due to a shortage of teachers, several teachers have to teach three classes and at least six classes a day. After each class, they are exhausted, so how can they have the energy to correct children’s homework?

It’s okay for kids in lower grades, but their children are already in fifth grade.

The school system has not been reformed yet. This summer, this batch of fifth-grade students will take the entrance examination from primary school to junior high school. This semester is crucial for them.

But at this critical moment, the school’s teacher resources are tight, so how can parents feel at ease?

So when registering, parents kept asking the new class teacher about the school's plans for the coming year. The class teacher had no choice but to repeat over and over again: "Don't worry, the principal has made arrangements. The new teacher will be in place as soon as possible and will not delay the children's studies."

"How soon is as soon as possible? It's already late February. It won't take until March or April for the teachers to be in place, right? Also, will the new teachers be recruited from military wives, or will they be arranged by the higher authorities? If they are recruited from military wives, will the new teachers have experience? Can they guide the graduating class well? If they are arranged by the higher authorities, what will happen to the new teachers?"

The class teacher was left with no choice but to say, "After today's registration, I will report the situation to the principal and tell her about everyone's concerns. I'll see if I can give everyone a definite answer in the next few days. What do you think?"

The parents were just worried about their children and did not want to embarrass the teacher. Seeing her sincere attitude, they agreed to this solution.

He Yan and his classmates' class teacher kept his word and reported the parents' concerns to the principal that day. After considering it, the principal quickly adjusted the school's teachers' teaching arrangements.

The original Chinese teacher for He Yan's class remained unchanged, but the number of classes taught by the Chinese teacher was reduced from three to two. This way, parents of fifth graders no longer had to worry.

Although parents of lower grade students have some complaints, people at this age pay limited attention to their children's education. It is not a critical time, so delaying learning for two or three months is nothing. What's more, the principal has promised that he will recruit people to fill the vacancies as soon as possible.

Therefore, the parents all expressed their acceptance.

He Yan worked harder than ever in the new semester, because Su Ting said that junior high school admissions are based on grades, and if you don't do well in the exams, you can basically only go to the junior high school near your home. There is no junior high school around the place where they are stationed, so the children in the compound go to school in the county.

Junior high school is different from elementary school. Students have to attend morning self-study classes at around 6:00 in the morning and evening self-study classes at night. If your home is not in the county, you cannot go back and forth on the same day, so children in the compound will live in the school after entering junior high school.

The accommodation conditions in the county are poor. A dormitory is about 20 square meters and can accommodate 20 to 30 students. If any one of them does not pay attention to hygiene, the room will be filled with the smell of stinky feet when entering.

The second child of the Jiang family has been smelling stinky feet for almost two years. The third child is a concubine and her dormitory situation is slightly better, but after entering junior high school, she also felt many inconveniences, such as difficult bathing, unpalatable food, etc.

On the other hand, if he could get good grades in the midterm exams, he could choose a junior high school in the city that was closer to Fudan University and live with his mother and sister.

Between living in the dormitory and at home, He Yan of course chose the latter, so in the new semester, he must study hard and strive to be admitted to a junior high school in the city!

In the thick learning atmosphere, March of 1978 came quietly, and Su Ting was also going to school.

In order to send Su Ting to register, He Dongchuan and He Yan both took two days off.

In fact, this leave was unnecessary, because Fudan University is not far from where I am based. It only takes more than an hour to get there by bus, even if I have to change buses.

Su Ting moved to live near Fudan University mainly because she was worried that the schedule would be tight after school started and she would not be able to cope with the three-hour commute every day.

Moreover, this era is not like a few decades later, when even in the early morning, the streets are lit everywhere. At this time, even in Shanghai, the street lights are not always on at night. After 9:00 pm, there are basically no people on the streets. If there are more classes on a certain day, you may not even be able to catch the car when you come back.

They could buy bicycles, but the journey would take more than an hour by car, or at least two and a half hours by bike. The road in the city was not so bad, but after passing the suburbs, there was a long way to the center of the station. There were no houses on either side, and it was dark everywhere.

This year the government will relax the policy on returning to cities, but cities cannot create a large number of jobs in a short period of time, so seven or eight years later until the early 1980s, there will be a large number of unemployed young people and even migrant workers in cities.

The more ambitious of these people will go into business, while the more evil ones are capable of many other things, such as fighting, trafficking women, and even murder and rape.

During this period, the country was in chaos. In order to curb the situation, the authorities even had to use heavy force, which was the origin of the severe crackdown.

Su Ting values ​​her life, so she would rather spend more money and rent a house near Fudan University.

Although this meant that they didn't have as much time to see each other as a family, seeing each other once a week was better than being separated from each other. Moreover, if she didn't have classes in the afternoon, or she got off early and could catch the bus to work, she could bring her daughter back with her.

It's only been four years, time has passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Ting was very open-minded, but He Dongchuan, as a man, was clingy and reluctant to be separated from his wife, so he took two days off without much thought.

After receiving his leave application, his supervisor was puzzled and called him over to ask, "Your wife is going to school to register, why are you taking so much leave?"

"I'm sending my wife to register." He Dongchuan answered confidently.

The leader asked: "Will it take two days?"

"I am also thinking about the stability of my family, right?" Seeing the leader's face of disbelief, He Dongchuan explained, "Look, my wife is not only beautiful, but also the most beautiful girl in the compound, right? She goes to school to register alone. What if a male classmate thinks she is single and falls in love with her?"

The leader's lips twitched when he heard this. He had heard the saying "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" a long time ago, but had never seen it in real life. Today he finally saw it.

Don't think that he couldn't hear He Dongchuan's hidden words. This guy said that his wife was so ugly that she would change her country for a city. Maybe he believed it in his heart.

He is the most beautiful girl in the compound. Is this guy self-proclaimed as such?

He still thinks his wife is the most beautiful girl in the compound.

The leader complained in his heart, but he was very restrained on the surface, saying: "It's not like your wife doesn't have a mouth. If others think she is single, won't she explain it?"

"She explained, but what if no one listened? Besides, words are not enough. No matter how much she explained, it would not be as good as me going to her school more often, right?"

no.

The leader answered in his mind and asked with a wooden face: "How many laps do you plan to walk?"

"It depends on how much leave you approve for me. If you only approve two days, I will go to her school for two days. If you approve three to five days, I will take my child to attend classes with her for a few days to experience the atmosphere of college." At this point, He Dongchuan specifically explained, "I mainly want to go to a prestigious school to receive the baptism of knowledge, not to swear sovereignty."

The leader laughed and scolded: "Get lost! Three or five days are enough to approve you two days off!"

"At least two days, no less." He Dongchuan said seriously, "You know, my daughter is still young and needs someone to take care of her. My wife was worried, so she took the child with her and rented a house outside the school."

"Yes, I know that."

"Look at my wife, she's so thin and weak, and my daughter is only three years old. If I don't stay here for one night, and let the neighbors know what I do, they might think they are orphans and widows, and they will bully them, right?"

The leader thought about it and said, “What you said is indeed a problem.”

"Then how do you think of my vacation?" He Dongchuan asked, rubbing his hands.

"Okay, I'll approve it for you." If he didn't approve the leave, he was worried that He Dongchuan would shamelessly move into his house.

After getting the leave, He Dongchuan immediately applied to borrow a military jeep. Although they had gradually added some furniture to the rented house before, if they wanted to officially move in, the mother and daughter would need to bring a lot of luggage, so it would be more convenient to drive.

…

Because she had a lot of things to bring, Su Ting started packing her luggage a few days ago. However, she had nothing to do the day before registration, so she chatted with Meng Xiuzhen and others for the whole day.

Among the military wives who passed the exam in the compound, Su Ting was not the first to sign up. Several of them packed their bags and left right after the Lantern Festival.

But in Building 10, she was the first to register. Shen Xuan and Jiang Ya's schools both started in mid-March.

However, neither of them was in the compound at the moment. Shen Xuan did not resign and was studying with pay, so she had to go to work as usual before school started.

Jiang Ya went to attend a class reunion. She graduated from high school in late June or early July. At that time, no one could have imagined that the college entrance examination would be resumed at the end of the year, so many of her classmates went to work in the countryside as educated youth.

But even if they went to the countryside, as fresh graduates, they had more advantages in taking the college entrance examination than the educated youth who went to the countryside a few years earlier, so many students in the class passed the exam.

Those who passed the exam returned one after another after receiving the admission letter. The educated youth were not like workers, they had iron rice bowls, and they could go to university with salary after passing the exam. So after passing the university, they really didn’t need to stay in the place where they were sent to work in the countryside. They were miserable, and the local people also thought they were annoying.

You know, those days the country folks weren't very welcoming to the educated youth.

After six months, we were all very excited to return home. When we saw the familiar scenery at school, we were filled with emotion. This emotion reminded us of our old classmates, so we organized a reunion.

It was just before the peak school term, and many students were at home, so we gathered together to have dinner and watch a movie.

Ever since the young lady received the acceptance letter, Meng Xiuzhen has been walking with a breeze whenever she goes out. She is cheerful every day and treats the young lady like her treasure.

When Jiang Ya said she was going to attend a classmate party, she agreed without hesitation. Not only that, she also gave the girl five dollars and a lot of tickets, and told her not to be stingy when she went out and to buy whatever she wanted to eat.

It was Sunday, and the two younger Jiangs were at home. When they saw Meng Xiuzhen giving pocket money to their elder sister, they wanted some too. They thought they didn't want much, just one dollar each, but as soon as they said that, Meng Xiuzhen retorted: "One dollar isn't enough? Why don't you go to heaven?"

"You've already given your elder sister five dollars!" Meng Xiuzhen's son felt so aggrieved that he was about to cry.

But his mother didn't feel bad at all. She sneered and said, "If you can be as promising as your sister, no, I don't even want you to go to a famous university. You can just get an average score and I will give you five dollars. But can you do that?"

“…”

The above is the silence of a poor student.

After chatting about nothing all day, I became busy at night. I had to cook, eat, take a bath and do laundry. The time was very tight and it was almost ten o'clock when I went to bed.

Thinking that she had to register tomorrow and clean up after moving into her new home, she probably wouldn't be idle all day, so Su Ting lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

But she wanted to sleep, but someone refused to let her. He used his hands to play tricks on her. After she stopped him, he said righteously: "You are moving to the city tomorrow. I don't know when you will stay overnight at home next time. It's your last night. What a waste if you don't do something?"

Su Ting: “…”

It's outrageous.

She had seen people who wanted to have sex before breaking up, but she had never seen anyone who lived in two houses in turn and wanted to have sex in the old house for the last time before moving to the other one.

I don’t know when she will stay overnight at home next time. Even if she doesn’t come back during the holidays, she will definitely come back to stay during the summer vacation. It’s only three or four months. Is that a long time?

For a moment, Su Ting didn't know whether she should congratulate Dongchuan for his fulfilling ceremony, or praise him for his improved ability in talking nonsense.