The news that Su Ting bought a bicycle spread throughout the profession within half a day.

A bicycle is a big item for a wedding these days. Not only is it expensive, but tickets are also hard to get. It is rare in dual-working families, not to mention that they are both students.

Although there are students who study in their major with pay, the number is really small. There are more than a hundred people in the whole major, and the number of new students can be counted on one hand.

And even if they go to school with pay, their salary is generally not high, the highest is 30 or 40 yuan, and the lowest may be just over 20 yuan. Moreover, many of them have a heavy family burden. In addition to using their salary to cover their own expenses, they also have to save the money and send it back home, so they do not live a rich life.

They didn’t even dare to think about the three major items.

Not to mention students, there are not many faculty and staff who have bicycles. There are so many teachers in the school, and the number of them who have bicycles can be counted on two hands.

But on just one Sunday, Su Ting actually bought a bicycle. How could this not be surprising?

It would be fine if Su Ting was very high-profile and showed off her wealth everywhere, but she doesn't!

Yes, her clothes were very fashionable and the materials looked very good. At first, many classmates were dazzled by them.

But after staying in Shanghai for a long time, they realized that it was not because Su Ting's family was particularly well-off, but because the locals were very particular about dressing up. In this season, if you walk on the street without a woolen coat and a pair of small leather shoes, you will be embarrassed to look people in the eye. Many people also permed their hair this year. In the eyes of the locals, these outsiders are just bumpkins!

In addition, she bought her breakfast from the breakfast shop every day, but they still had breakfast in the cafeteria.

Well, because of government subsidies, the cafeteria is cheaper than breakfast shops outside, but no matter how expensive breakfast is, it will not cost more than two yuan a month, so they didn’t think Su Ting was wasting money.

Apart from these two points, Su Ting looks no different from an ordinary student.

Ding Mei would often show off the snacks her family bought with overseas Chinese coupons, but Su Ting never showed off, and the snacks she brought were also common ones in the supply and marketing cooperative.

If it was Ding Mei who bought the bike, the class wouldn't be so surprised. But when it was Su Ting who bought the bike, everyone was shocked.

This morning, during every break, a group of people would gather in front of Su Ting.

Some asked her why she suddenly wanted to buy a bicycle, some asked where she got the ticket, and some asked if the salary for military service was high? They just bought a bicycle.

Su Ting was not going to answer at first, but she straightened her face after hearing this and explained one by one, "I bought a car because I have to pick up and drop off the kids every day. As you know, we have classes all day from Monday to Saturday. The schedule is very tight. If you don't manage your time well, you will be late. You can ask Ma Yan and you will know. For half a month, I had to rush to eat breakfast during the break."

In fact, there is no need to ask Ma Yan. She did not hide from others when she ate breakfast. The classmates with eyes could see that she had been very hard in the past half month. They all nodded and said, "Having a bicycle can really save a lot of time."

"Yes, although the bicycle is expensive, I thought that running like this all the time would be too much of a drain on my body, and if I was late and the teacher called on me, I might have to retake the course, so I gritted my teeth and bought a bicycle," Su Ting mentioned the income issue and continued, "The ticket was given to me as a reward from my husband's unit when they won a competition a while ago."

After listening to Su Ting's explanation, her classmates' envy of her faded a lot, and some even consoled her by saying, "It's not easy for you either."

"It's all for the children." Su Ting said with a smile, "In fact, I am lucky. My husband has always supported me in going to college. Although we have been separated since the start of the school year, he would come to see us every time he had a break. During this period, we also encountered some difficulties, but we overcame them together."

Most girls are emotional. After listening to Su Ting's words, the female classmates in the class were all very moved, and their focus naturally shifted from the value of the bicycle to her family.

Listening to everyone's discussion, Su Ting breathed a sigh of relief.

She has always adhered to the principle of not showing off her wealth, especially now. If someone knew that she was rich and had bad intentions and robbed her, she and Man Man, one small and the other weak, would probably not be able to escape.

It’s not that she doesn’t trust her classmates, it’s just that they may not have other ideas. However, rumors can spread widely. If they spread outside the school, who knows if those street urchins will be interested?

In order to avoid future trouble, she had to be careful.

Fortunately, her classmates were very supportive. After the news of her buying a bicycle spread throughout the major, in less than half a day, the news that she bought the bicycle by tightening her belt in order to pick up and drop off her children and do her studies quickly spread throughout the Chinese Department.

In the evening, when Su Ting took Manman to evening self-study, although everyone still thought the bicycle was rare and couldn't help but take a few more glances when passing by, no one thought it was easy for her to buy this bicycle and they all gave her encouraging looks.

Su Ting: “…”

Well, although it was a bit embarrassing, she was still very touched.

…

College students these days are very busy and don’t have much time to pay attention to gossip. The discussion about Su Ting buying a bicycle was only a hot topic for less than two days, and then the discussion quickly dissipated.

The situation was different in the nursery, because the bicycle had been the talk of the town for several days. Every time Su Ting went to pick up her children, parents would stop her and ask about the bicycle.

Faced with the curiosity of other parents, Su Ting hurriedly repeated what she had said before three, four, five, and six times, until everyone believed that her family had no money and that she had bought the bicycle by tightening her belt.

Although buying a bicycle caused many problems, Su Ting did have a lot more time after having a bicycle. At least now she can have a hot breakfast on weekdays.

Besides, running around so much every day can easily make people feel tired. Once tired, she doesn't want to use her brain. So even though she draws every night after school starts, the progress of the new story is really not very good.

With more free time, Su Ting had more time to prepare for exams. She would think about it during the day, and by the time she studied in the evening, the picture was already in her mind, so she could just start writing.

But Su Ting still has little time to paint, because as time goes by, the homework assigned by the teacher gradually increases.

She has six evening study sessions a week, and she needs to use at least three of them to catch up on her homework. On Sundays, she has to spend time with her family, so she is thankful if she can spare four hours to paint.

Therefore, although Su Ting started conceiving the fourth story of the Three Fires series years ago, it was already summer when she finished it.

When Wang Jingfang received her manuscript, she almost cried. She had been waiting impatiently for the past six months. If she didn't receive the manuscript again, she would really go to Shanghai at public expense.

Not only Wang Jingfang was crying, but also the editor-in-chief of "Comic Pictorial". Their sales could finally be saved!

In fact, the sales of "Lianhuan Pictorial" in the past six months did not decline sharply as the Sanhuo series came to an end like last year, but maintained a good figure.

However good the data is, it is still not as good as the average sales of "The Adventures of Three Fires" during its serialization period. Moreover, after seeing the curve of rapidly rising sales, who would want to see this flat line?

Not to mention that the editor-in-chief of the pictorial was dissatisfied, even the superiors would frown when they saw the sales reports every quarter.

After receiving the manuscript, the editor-in-chief immediately called a meeting of all employees and asked all departments to work overtime to serialize the fourth story of the Three Fires series from the latest issue of the pictorial.

When this was said, employees at all levels were about to cry. Someone reminded them, "Well, it's already June 25th. The typesetting work for the next issue of the Comic Book has already been completed and printing has begun. Isn't it too late to adjust the typesetting now?"

The editor-in-chief responded, but his expression was not at all panicked, and he said earnestly: "If early July is not possible, then just jump the queue and wait until late July. You have to be flexible and use your brain more, understand?"

Everyone: "...I know."

…

After submitting the manuscript, Su Ting relaxed for a few days. Her state somewhat recovered to that after the college entrance examination. Every day during evening self-study, she didn't want to do anything and sat in the back of the classroom in a daze.

But before she could recover, exam week arrived and the whole class was immersed in intensive review for the final exam.

Although Su Ting had no ambitions after entering university and did not join the student union, radio station or class committee, she did not want to fall behind in her studies and was always serious in class. She completed all the homework assigned by the teacher and got high marks.

The articles she wrote were read aloud by the teacher as model essays several times. The teacher also submitted her articles, and three of them were accepted. Although the number may not seem large, it was enough to beat a lot of students in the class.

However, because she was a newcomer, the magazine did not pay her much for her manuscripts. The total of three articles was less than 100 yuan, not as much as the salary for one issue of her comic book series. But it was enough to make her classmates envy her.

You have to know that school starts in March, and final exams are in early July, so a semester is only four months in total.

One month before school started, they were basically in the adaptation period. In April, students who were more confident in their writing skills began to submit their works.

Su Ting's first paper was accepted in April, and she was accepted for another paper in May and June. In total, it took only three months, and she earned 100 yuan, which is an average of 33.3 yuan a month. Her salary is enough to catch up with that of a regular employee in a state-owned factory!

Money makes people motivated. Originally, only a few people in the class who were confident in their writing skills submitted their papers. And because they were not accepted, they became a little discouraged and began to hesitate whether to continue submitting papers. After all, stamps and envelopes cost money.

Once Su Ting's article was accepted and the royalties came, they no longer hesitated and decided to submit it!

Not only them, but also those who were not so confident in their writing skills began to get excited. They all studied Chinese, and if Su Ting could write, why couldn't they?

For a time, the trend of submitting papers to the Chinese Department of Fudan University was prevalent.

When the professors saw this scene, they were very happy. As young people, you should practice more. It would be best if you can make a name for yourself, but it doesn't matter if you can't. It is better to experience setbacks now than to get hurt after entering the society.

In short, because there are articles accepted every month, Su Ting is now not only well-known by the professors, but the whole department and even the whole school knows that the Chinese Department has produced a talented woman.

For this final exam, regardless of other colleges, the professors and students in their department all had high hopes for Su Ting.

Although Su Ting is not interested in being called a talented girl, she doesn't want to do too badly in the final exam. She is also a person who cares about her reputation. She can't even think about being the first in the grade, but she has to at least work hard to be in the top three.

Moreover, He Yan will also take the entrance examination from primary school to junior high school this semester, and her goal is to be the first in the county. As an elder, she must set a good example for her children.

So Su Ting gritted her teeth and stomped her feet, and tried her best.

…

This year, Fudan University's examinations were held in late June and early July. Basically, as soon as Su Ting finished her final exams, He Yan would start his entrance exams for junior high school.

Therefore, after finishing the exam, Su Ting did not delay any longer and went straight to Ma Yan. After making sure that there was nothing else, she hurried home to pack her luggage and slowly returned to the Naval Compound.

They set out at around 2:00 p.m. and arrived at the compound just after 4:00 p.m. Because it was a weekday, the men were still in the barracks, the children were still in school, the wives of the soldiers who had jobs had not yet gotten off work, and those who did not have jobs were also busy with housework, so there were few people in the compound and the basketball court was empty.

It was not until they entered the corridor of the tenth building and were about to go upstairs that Su Ting was stopped from behind. She stopped and turned to look downstairs, and saw Meng Xiuzhen with fashionable curly hair standing at the door, looking at them in surprise.

"Did you perm your hair?"

"You guys are back?"

They both spoke in unison and smiled at each other. Meng Xiuzhen touched her hair and said, "I just had it permed last month. What do you think of it?" As she spoke, she turned around so that Su Ting could see it more closely.

Most married women in the 1970s had short hair, some longer reaching the shoulders and some shorter just past the ears. Meng Xiuzhen's hair was between the two lengths.

However, after curling, her hair looked much shorter than before, a bit like a bob, but the top of her head was much fluffier, making her look taller.

Su Ting praised: "Not bad, very fashionable."

Meng Xiuzhen smiled and said, "Right, this hair perm cost me a lot of money. Do you want to get your hair done? I'll take you there. I know which barbershop in the county has the best haircuts."

"No, I don't need it. We just entered college this year and have a lot of courses. I also want to cut my hair short."

Meng Xiuzhen followed Su Ting's words and looked at her hair. She couldn't help but say, "Such beautiful hair, it would be a pity to cut it off!"

Su Ting's hair is really good. Not only is she thick and thick, but it is also very black and grows very fast. It has grown to waist level in just one year without being cut. It looks long and straight.

Su Ting smiled bitterly and said, "I really don't have time to take care of it. It takes me half an hour to wash my hair every time. It's hard to dry after washing it, and my neck gets sore easily if I bend it for too long."

Su Ting has been thinking about cutting her hair for almost a month, but she had no time to do it during the recent exam week, so she kept putting it off until now. She said helplessly, "I only have one requirement for my hair now: short and easy to manage, so I'll forget about the perm."

"You're going to school, which is really different from the rest of us," Meng Xiuzhen said, and then she thought, "Are you here for the holidays this time?"

"Yes, I just finished my exam today."

Meng Xiuzhen thought of her own daughter and said, "Ya Ya wrote back before, saying that she would take an exam in July, and she didn't know when she would be able to reply."

"It should be just these few days. The exams should be finished in early July."

"I hope so," Meng Xiuzhen said with emotion, "This child has never left my side since she was little. I haven't seen her for a few months. I wonder how she is doing."

"It's only been a few months, how much can change happen?" Su Ting asked back, "Do you think I've changed?"

"That's true," Meng Xiuzhen smiled, and then she slapped her forehead and said, "Look at me, you just came back and haven't even entered the house yet, but I've already pulled you to talk so much. You must be tired after the ride back. Go back and have a rest, and we'll talk another day."

Su Ting nodded: "Okay." Then she slowly said goodbye to everyone.

He waved slowly and obediently, said goodbye, and then followed his mother upstairs.

She took out her key, opened the door and walked into the house. Looking at the furnishings inside, Su Ting felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

It felt familiar because this was her home and the furniture was arranged just as it was when she left. It felt strange because she hadn't been back for several months and during that time she had gotten used to renting houses in the city.

If Su Ting felt more familiar than unfamiliar in her heart, then slowly the scene in front of her became more unfamiliar than familiar. Children don't remember much, and three or four months was enough for her to forget every detail of her life in this house.

So after entering the house, I slowly asked a very silly question: "Mom, is this our home?"

"Yes."

Su Ting carried her luggage into the house, put it on the sofa in the living room and asked, "Did you forget?"

He walked slowly to the tea table, looked around the room, shook his head and said, "I seem to remember it, but I don't seem to remember it very well."

As he said that, he ran to the cupboard with his short legs, looked around for a while, turned his head, and said with sparkling eyes: "I remember this cupboard, there are so many delicious foods in it!"

Su Ting: "...Are you sure you remembered the cabinet, not the food?"

"I remember everything," he blinked slowly and called out in a long voice, "Mom——"

"What?"

Slowly and shyly said, "I want to take a look."

"I think you are greedy." Su Ting said this, but she stood up from the sofa, walked to the cabinet and opened the drawer, "I wonder if there is any food in it, oh, no."

"How come there isn't one?"

Not giving up, she stood on tiptoe and stretched her neck to look into the drawer, only to find it was completely empty. She asked in confusion, "There were so many foods before." And there were also delicious foods in the house next to their school.

"It's probably because your father and brother didn't bring back any food."

Although Su Ting is not the only one in the family who loves to eat fruit snacks, she is the only one who buys fruit snacks every now and then.

However, Su Ting spent the entire first semester of her freshman year busy, so since she registered to move to the city in March, she has never returned home. Only He Dongchuan and his son were at home.

But He Dongchuan is the kind of person who eats if he has food and doesn't eat if he doesn't. He Yan also doesn't have the habit of hoarding snacks. After a few months, it would be strange if the drawers in his cupboard were not empty.

At the critical moment, we still have to look at her. Su Ting turned around and took out a bag of biscuits from her luggage, took out two and handed them to Man Man: "You sit in the living room for a while, and mom will go to pack the luggage."

The one who got the biscuit slowly said, "Hmm!"

Su Ting carried her luggage and walked into the master bedroom. Compared to when she left, the house had not changed much, except that it didn't look as clean, and there was a layer of dust on the furniture.

This is not to say that He Dongchuan is not diligent enough, but in the past few months, whenever he has a day off on Sunday, he will take He Yan to the city to see Su Ting and Man Man, and he spends very little time at home.

So he usually just sweeps the floor, and he may not do a major cleanup once a month.

If you don't wipe the furniture for a long time, dust will naturally accumulate on it.

The thin blanket on the bed was folded neatly, like authentic tofu blocks.

Su Ting thought about it, opened the closet and stuffed the clothes she brought back into the closet one by one, and then went to the second bedroom. After sorting out the clothes, she went to the bathroom to get a basin of water, and went to the balcony to find a rag for cleaning, and started to clean.

By this time, I slowly finished my biscuits, and when I saw my mother was working, I offered to help.

So Su Ting went to the balcony to get a smaller rag, wet it, and then passed it to Manman, repeatedly instructing him: "When wiping the table, stand on the ground and don't climb up. The same goes for the sofa."

When there was a big cleanup in the city, she often volunteered to help, but her way of wiping tables was different from that of other people. She just wanted to wipe them, not to make them clean.

For example, the desk she uses for work is placed against the corner of the wall and is quite large. With her small height, she cannot reach the innermost part even if she stands on a stool. So when she wipes it, she will directly climb onto the desk and wipe it without taking off her shoes.

The desk in the house in the city is different from the one at home. The desk at home was made by someone they hired, painted, and the surface is very smooth. No matter what kind of dirt it gets, it can be wiped clean with a rag. But the desk in the city is natural wood color, and the surface still has the texture of the tree. It is not smooth enough, and there are marks when you step on it and wipe it.

After slowly wiping the table, the desk was already covered with footprints. Su Ting had no choice but to spread two old newspapers on the table to avoid having to see them.

From then on, whenever he took the initiative to do work, Su Ting would specifically tell him to stand on the ground and not climb up.

Man Man had memorized it by heart. When she heard her mother repeat it again, she felt that her mother didn't believe her, so she pouted and said unhappily, "I know!"

…

During the Great Movement, people did not pay much attention to learning. Many schools only had classes half a day a day, and the remaining half of the day was either spent learning about work or farming.

The military district primary school is considered good, with only one labor class every day. Because of this, the average score of the military district primary school has always ranked first among all primary schools in the county, and its admission rate has always been among the best.

However, after the great movement ended, the county began to focus on education, especially after the college entrance examination was reinstated last year. All schools, from principals to students, swept away their past laxity and began to rise up.

It can be imagined that this year, the competition will be more intense than in previous years, whether it is the quizzes, the high school entrance exams or the college entrance exams.

In order to get good grades in the upcoming quizzes, after the midterm exams, the principal announced the cancellation of the fifth grade afternoon study sessions, added an extra class for them, and delayed the school dismissal time.

So that evening, He Yan and He Dongchuan arrived home one after another.

However, after entering the room, the father and son had similar reactions. They were both stunned for a moment, and when they reacted, they were already smiling.

But He Yan's emotions were more exposed. He laughed louder and louder, and became more and more excited. He asked his mother and sister many questions. When he learned that his mother had returned in a hurry because of his quiz, he was so proud that his tail was about to fly up to the sky.

After He Dongchuan started laughing, his emotions became a little more reserved. He asked as many questions as his son, but they were all answered by He Yan and he already knew the answers, so he didn't give Su Ting any chance to speak and answered his father's questions first.

Why does He Dongchuan ask so many questions?

Isn’t it because I just want to talk more with my wife?

After He Yan's answer, He Dongchuan didn't hear his wife speak except for a greeting when she just came in. He couldn't help but rubbed his eyebrows and asked, "Have you finished your homework today?"

He Yan's vitals were precisely pinched, and he began to stammer.

Su Ting came to his rescue and said, "Go have dinner first, and then do your homework."

He Yan reacted and nodded quickly: "That's right! I'll do my homework after I finish eating!"

"I want to eat too!" Huan Man was afraid that he would be left behind, so he jumped down from the sofa quickly. "I did a lot of work today, and now I'm super hungry!"

He Dongchuan raised his eyebrows: "Oh? You did a lot of work?"

"Yes," he slowly pointed at the coffee table, then at the sofa, and said proudly, "Here, here, I wiped it all!"

The father and son both lowered their heads to look at the sofa and coffee table, and seeing no footprints, they all praised, "Man Man is really well behaved."

Slowly raise your chin and hum twice.

Su Ting went into the house, took out the money and tickets, and asked the three people to go out.

When I went downstairs, I ran into Zhao Meihong, who had just finished get off work at the Women's Federation. She was holding a bag of vegetables, and it was obvious that she had just returned from the vegetable market. Seeing Su Ting and Man Man, Zhao Meihong showed a little surprise in her expression: "You are back? When did you get home?"

"Just arrived this afternoon, did you go to the vegetable market?" Su Ting also asked in greeting.

"I bought some food." Zhao Meihong asked, "Have you finished your exams? Are you coming back for the summer vacation?"

"right."

"That's great. When you, the wives of soldiers who are away at school, come back and wait for your children to have their summer vacation, the compound will be lively again," Zhao Meihong said. She noticed the lunch box in He Dongchuan's hand and asked, "Are you going to the cafeteria?"

Su Ting nodded again, and Zhao Meihong said, "Then you guys hurry up, I'll go home and cook, and we'll talk another day."

"good."

Su Ting agreed with a smile, and the family continued to walk downstairs.

At this time, the family compound is much busier than in the afternoon. The children are all back from school and are playing games in groups of three or five. Those who are not working have already prepared meals and are going out to call their children home. Those who have jobs, like Zhao Meihong, have just got off work and are rushing home with vegetables. Some people who don't want to cook are carrying a pile of lunch boxes in their hands, which are all filled with vegetables from the canteen.

When they saw Su Ting, everyone greeted her warmly and asked her when she came back.

Because they met so many people on the way, it took them more than ten minutes to walk the several hundred meters from Building 10 to the cafeteria.

What happened was even more amazing after entering the cafeteria. As soon as Su Ting found a seat and sat down, she was surrounded by military wives, who came over and asked her about going to college.

When He Dongchuan and He Yan came over after buying their meal, they found that there was no seat for them at the table where Su Ting and Manman were sitting.

Moreover, the military wives who had already sat down had no intention of making room for them when they saw them. One of them even said with a smile, "We haven't seen Xiao Su for a long time. We want to chat with her for a while. We may need to occupy her for a while. Comrade He, do you mind?"

Before He Dongchuan could answer, another military wife spoke up: "We are not men, Comrade He, why should you mind? Anyway, they want to talk, and there is plenty of time in the evening, so it won't delay them."

A military wife joked: "How do you know there won't be any delays? Maybe they have other things to do in the evening?"

"What can I do tonight?"

Seeing that the topic was about to turn to something inappropriate for children, Su Ting immediately started coughing: "Well... Dongchuan, why don't you and Xiaoyan sit together at the next table?"

He Dongchuan wanted to talk to his wife but was always interrupted: "...Okay."