Chapter 95
The two girls' actions of touching each other's lower abdomen did not escape Chen Ying's eyes.
She asked the only male student present to go outside to help, then sat across from the three girls and asked, "Are you three married?"
The three nodded.
Ye Manzhi was worried. From what Teacher Chen said, it seemed that students who were found to be pregnant during the follow-up examination would also be disqualified from admission?
She wasn't sure if she was pregnant. Just as she was about to ask about the latest school regulations, she heard Bian Queqiao chuckle from the other side, "I'm 26, and my child is five. How many transferred students don't have families? Teacher Chen, you look quite young. You haven't been working for long, have you?"
"I'm a junior in our department, and this year I'm also serving as the political counselor for both of your classes."
Bian Queqiao exclaimed, "You're already a political counselor in your third year? Teacher Chen, you must be an excellent student!"
Chen Ying picked up the thermos and added water to the three people's teacups or kettles. She smiled affably and said, "The Department of Industrial Economics was established not long ago. We, the Class of 1956, were the first batch of students. We were either transferred from other majors or, like me, were recommended by our employers. Our department is limited in staff, and any students with even a little ability have been drafted by the department head."
Listening to the conversation between the two, Ye Manzhi suddenly found a bit of the same kind of breath and smelled a familiar scent.
She seemed to have not left the street office yet. Now it was not the new student registration, but a tea party for the basic staff.
Ye Manzhi was dazed for a moment, then pulled out four fruit candies from her bag, gave one to each of them, and said with a smile, "These are wedding candies given to newlyweds when they come to our neighborhood office to get their marriage certificates. Let's all share in the good fortune."
Then, continuing the previous topic, he said, "Teacher Chen, you were able to be recommended by your company for admission to the provincial university. You must have worked there for at least three years, right? I applied for a place in our district where I was exempt from the entrance exam for two consecutive years, but was not selected. That's why I took the college entrance exam this year."
Chen Ying said, "I had five years of work experience when I came to school. It's rare for someone like you to be admitted on your first try."
The two sides exchanged information and gradually became familiar with each other.
As he was refilling everyone's water for the second time, Ye Manzhi tentatively asked, "Teacher Chen, when are the new student physical exams scheduled? Why haven't I heard of a follow-up exam before?"
"Once all the students in the class are present, we can organize the physical examination. We used to have a political review, but this year we've added a health review. It's said that this is because someone previously falsified their college entrance exam physical and had someone else do it on their behalf. Those who fail this admission review will be disqualified and will be required to leave the school within a certain period of time."
Kong Lin asked with a tense expression, "If I report my pregnancy in advance, will I be disqualified from admission?"
"Yes. Except for those transferred to cadre training programs, pregnant students will be disqualified from admission." Chen Ying observed her expression and asked, "Are you pregnant? If so, tell me."
Kong Lin nodded: "About a month."
Chen Ying made a few notes in her notebook. "Then don't get a chest X-ray during your physical. It's not good for the fetus. Submit your pregnancy test results later."
"???" Ye Manzhi asked quickly, "Teacher Chen, I'm not sure if I'm pregnant. What should I do in this situation?"
"Then don't do the chest X-ray for now. Wait two months and make sure you're not pregnant. Then have a physical examination with the new students for next spring's class."
Ye Manzhi put his hanging heart back into his stomach.
She said that if there were any changes to the relevant regulations, Grandpa Wu should have reminded her in advance!
*
Ye Manzhi and Bian Queqiao became temporary class leaders and assisted Chen Ying in the reception of new students.
There were 30 students in Class 1 of the Industrial Economics Department, Grade 58, but only 22 of them reported to school on time.
Many students were transferred from other majors, and the notification letters were sent relatively late. New students from other provinces and cities are still on their way to Binjiang.
"Chen Teye is from Binjiang, right? Why hasn't he come to report yet?" Bian Queqiao asked while checking the list.
"I guess his work hasn't been handed over yet. I heard he asked for leave from school."
There are three transferred students in their class. Except Ye Manzhi who passed the exam on his own, the other two were recommended by their units.
Bian Queqiao is the women's director of a people's commune under Rongcheng.
Chen Teye is the deputy director of the office of an industrial bureau in a district in Binjiang.
Logically speaking, Chen Teye should be one of the first group to report to the school, and the work on the boys' side needs his help to advance.
But I don’t know what’s going on with him. All the students from other places have come to report, but he, a local, has not made any move.
"I think we should not wait for him," Ye Manzhi counted the book fees again and said quietly, "Jiang Nan likes to take care of things, so let Jiang Nan be in charge of the contact with the boys."
Bian Queqiao helped her tie up the wad of money and said helplessly, "Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and only two-thirds of the class have registered. Our roommates haven't gathered yet!"
She and Ye Manzhi were assigned to dormitory 201, building 12. There were only three people in the five-person room, and the other two beds were still empty.
"Haha, look at that 'Economics, Organization, and Planning for Mechanical Manufacturing Enterprises' class next door. There are only ten people here. We're not as good as the best, but we're better than the worst. This is already pretty good!"
Bian Queqiao laughed when he heard this. "These major names make me dizzy. I still don't know what our Industrial Economics Department is all about. I don't know what I can do after graduation. I have to pay attention to the lecture tomorrow."
The opening ceremony in the morning was attended by all the freshmen in the school. Ye Manyi was unable to grab a seat in the first row to listen to the principal's speech.
So, when listening to the department head's speech in the afternoon, she grabbed a front row seat for her classmates early on.
When Jiang Nan walked into the classroom with a group of boys, he asked with a smile, "Class monitor, why did you take such a front seat for our class?"
"Of course you have to sit in the front row when listening to the leader's speech!" Ye Manzhi said solemnly, "Hurry up and sit down. Since I started working, I have always sat in the front row of every meeting I attended!"
Bian Queqiao said to the male students, "Our class monitor is so young and can become the deputy director of the street. There are traces of this. Please sit down quickly."
"Who is the deputy director of the street?" The gray-haired department head walked up to the podium and asked with a smile.
"Director Miao, this is Ye Manzhi from our class."
"Well, I know Ye Manzhi. Among this year's freshmen, only eight filled out our Industrial Economics Department on their application forms. Ye Manzhi is the only female student. It seems that this street director is not in vain and has good vision!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
It's not that she has good taste.
The last two choices were filled in simply because the new majors were unpopular and she was trying her luck.
The freshmen of the two classes of Grade 58 took their seats in the classroom one after another.
Director Miao looked around and asked, "Some of you may have heard that most of the new students in our Department of Industrial Economics are transferred from other colleges and departments. Some of you just thought to yourself, right? How can applying to the Department of Industrial Economics be considered visionary?"
The freshmen didn't say anything, but some of the students who were transferred here did think so.
"Our Department of Industrial Economics was established two years ago, in 1956, as a separate department from the Department of Economics. The establishment of the Department of Industrial Economics received strong support from university leaders and even provincial leaders," Dean Miao asked. "Does anyone know why the provincial government wanted to separate the Department of Industrial Economics?"
The air was silent for three seconds and no one answered.
Ye Manzhi, who was sitting in the first row, actively raised her hand to speak.
"Student Ye Manzhi, please speak." Director Miao likes students who raise their hands to answer questions.
"To cooperate with the country's first five-year plan and develop large-scale industry?" Ye Manzhi guessed.
She started working in 1956. She still remembers that in order to concentrate on industrial development, the city’s finances even stopped allocating funds for primary school construction.
"Student Ye Manzhi is right. In the early stages of my country's socialist industrialization, as industry grew and expanded, many major industrial economic issues emerged, requiring comprehensive research by industrial economics professionals. For example, the development speed and proportional relationship between light and heavy industry, the distribution of industry inland and coastal areas, and factory wages..."
"As long as the country continues to strive for industrialization, the importance of our industrial economics talents will become increasingly apparent," Director Miao said with a smile. "Students here are actually very lucky! Why do I say that? Because the admission scores for the Department of Industrial Economics will increase dramatically in two years."
"I'd like to ask, how many students here had their school teachers help them fill out their application forms? If you consulted a teacher, please raise your hands."
Ye Manzhi looked back and saw that except for a few transferred students, almost everyone raised their hands.
Director Miao nodded and said, "Why don't the teachers at school recommend you apply to the Department of Industrial Economics? Because the Department of Industrial Economics is newly established and no graduates have yet entered the workforce. Your high school teachers don't know the development prospects of this major, nor do they understand what jobs you can pursue after graduation. Naturally, they wouldn't recommend you apply."
A student at the back of the classroom asked, "Teacher, what can we do after graduation?"
"The government hasn't assigned jobs to graduates from the provincial university's industrial economics department yet, so I can't guarantee it. But the placements of this year's Renmin University industrial economics graduates can serve as a reference for us."
"Where do Renmin University students go? The State Planning Commission, local planning commissions, the Academy of Sciences, the Central Ministry of Industry, provincial and municipal industrial bureaus, and local administrative bureaus. When you graduate, you might be assigned to some large industrial enterprises, but generally you won't go beyond this range."
The students were successfully tempted by the big promises made by Director Miao.
Lian Bian Queqiao even secretly said to Ye Manzhi, "I didn't expect our major to be so impressive. We can get a job in such a great company after graduation!"
Ye Manzhi calmly analyzed, "They are the first graduating class, and all major organizations are in urgent need of such talent. When we graduated, we were the third class from the provincial university. Our placement results may not be as good as the first two classes, but they shouldn't be too bad either."
Seeing his speech had an effect, Director Miao continued, "That's why I said that our Department of Industrial Economics isn't just an unpopular major; it's a popular one! This shows the importance of industrial economics talent in socialist economic development."
"Even if we need to make additional admissions and transfers, we won't accept just anyone. Most of the students who are transferred here have applied to the Department of Economics, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Political Science, or the Department of Mathematics. Only those with outstanding grades in one or two subjects, meeting the requirements of our Department of Industrial Economics, will be transferred here! We want to cultivate versatile, comprehensive talents for socialist industrial development!"
Most of the students in this classroom are transferred from other majors.
There is no such thing as changing majors in the study tasks arranged by the state, but some people will inevitably feel regretful for missing out on their favorite majors.
After hearing the grand blueprint painted by Director Miao and the bright development prospects of the Industrial Economics Department, almost all the students were excited and eager to start studying immediately and contribute to the socialist industrial development.
*
Director Miao struck while the iron was hot and asked the class monitors to bring people to the office to collect handouts and teaching materials, and to copy the class schedule at the same time.
Ye Manzhi had just listened to the speech of the department head and was very excited. He felt that after he finished his studies, he could go to a big government office to work as a senior official, or go to the Academy of Sciences to work as a researcher, where he could make full use of his strengths and be respectable.
However, when she got the textbooks and saw the course schedule, she was completely dumbfounded.
Cultural subjects include advanced mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Technical courses include drawing making and recognition, and technical studies.
Economic courses include economic geography, national economic history, and industrial enterprise organization and planning.
Political theory courses have a Marxist-Leninist foundation.
There are also Russian language classes and physical education classes.
There are not many classes scheduled, with a maximum of three classes per day, and sometimes only one class.
But the course content really gave her a headache.
She held the newly received textbooks and ran home by bus without even returning to the dormitory.
"Wu Zhengrong!"
As she entered the yard, she shouted.
Wu Zhengrong, who had been called out, opened the study window and asked in surprise, "Squad Leader Ye, weren't you supposed to live in the dormitory? Why are you back so suddenly?"
Ye Lai Ya became the class monitor and claimed that he would serve his classmates well at school and also build relationships with his roommates.
So, I only go home to stay overnight on Saturdays and Sundays, and have to stay in school the rest of the time.
Wu Zhengrong was an experienced person and understood her curiosity and novelty about college, and fully supported Squad Leader Ye's decision.
Although I have to stay alone in an empty room on weekdays, everything has its pros and cons.
The military representative comrade who has resumed his bachelor life, has a regular schedule of early bedtime and early rise, and the progress of his research projects at the Military Academy is advancing by leaps and bounds.
Ye Manzhi ran into the study and handed him her schedule. "Look! Why do we have to study math, physics, and chemistry in the Department of Industrial Economics?"
"Everyone in the economics department needs to take math, right? Didn't you know that before you applied?"
Ye Manzhi had decent grades in math in middle school, so she dared to apply for so many economics-related majors when filling out her college application.
"I knew I had to study math, but I didn't know there were physics and chemistry!" Ye Manzhi sighed. "Do you know why I chose the liberal arts major? It's because I wasn't good at physics!"
She couldn't even understand high school physics, so university physics would be even more difficult for her.
Wu Zhengrong flipped through her textbooks and handouts, then sighed and said, "I only got a perfect score in physics. If you don't understand something in class, just come home and stay. It won't cause you to fail in physics."
Ye Manzhi lay on the table, shuffling through her textbooks, mumbling, "My roommates know I'm married, and I keep coming home. What do they think of me?"
"Just tell me the truth. You want to go home and study physics." Wu Zhengrong paused for a moment and then changed the subject, "You can also say you want to go home and teach me a foreign language."
"Who would believe that?" Ye Manzhi glared at him, then leaned over and asked, "How are your foreign language studies going? Have you made any progress in the past two days?"
“I can understand some of the conversations between the instructor and the translator, but I’m not very good at communicating verbally yet.”
Wu Zhengrong was wearing the same shirt he wore at the wedding. Because of its fitted tailoring, it always made Ye Manzhi feel a little lustful.
While the two of them were talking, she had turned the distance between them, which was separated by a desk, into zero distance face to face.
"Let me check your Russian learning progress." Ye Manzhi smacked his chin.
Wu Zhengrong asked with a smile, "Do you want to check in the study? The window is not closed."
Ye Manzhi subconsciously looked out the window and found Lihua and Kuihua, one standing on the doghouse and the other lying in the doghouse, both staring at this place with round eyes.
She closed the nearest window and argued, "I didn't mean to do anything. I just kissed you. Oh, it's my first time living in the dormitory and I'm not used to it. I miss you so much!"
"I don't think I've seen you come back to live here."
"The political counselor won't let us leave school. We have to live in the dormitory for the first period of the semester." Ye Manzhi leaned in his arms, tugging at the buttons on his shirt and said, "I can't go home on weekdays. What if I can't understand physics class?"
"Then go find Dean Wu and ask the Dean of the School of Engineering to personally tutor you in physics. Even a piece of rotten wood can be carved into something beautiful."
"I'm a piece of rotten wood, and you're no better!" Ye Manzhi pouted and kissed him, "Your tongue is almost rotten, and you still can't speak Russian!"
This sentence touched Wu Zhengrong's funny spot, and he hugged her and laughed for a long time.
*
Ye Manzhi didn't want to admit that he was a loser, so he paid special attention to his weak subjects.
Every week, she would preview the physics class before class and review it after class.
Fortunately, there is only one class a week, and she can use a week to study the content of the class, so she will not completely understand it.
After two classes, she gradually relaxed.
The dormitory was a five-person room with five desks in the open space in the middle. Bian Queqiao glanced at her textbook and asked, "Are you studying physics again?"
"Well, my college entrance exam was in the humanities and history field, so my foundation in physics and chemistry is not strong."
Bian Queqiao whispered, "Don't look anymore. I want to tell you something."
"Um?"
"Chen Teye contacted the counselor and suggested that we re-elect the Youth League Committee and the Class Committee."
"Did Chen Ying agree?"
"No, she let our class make its own arrangements," Bian Queqiao whispered. "Chen Teye is canvassing for votes with the boys. From the looks of it, he seems to want to be class monitor. We're both girls, so it's inconvenient to organize activities for the boys. He thinks we should do like other classes, with one boy as the League Secretary and one girl as the class monitor."
Ye Manzhi asked, "Since he wanted to be a class leader, why didn't he come earlier when he registered? If he had come earlier, maybe the teacher would have made him the monitor."
Now that she has finished the most difficult and complicated work, Chen Teye wants to jump out and reap the benefits.
Bian Queqiao said, "He was transferred by the city to work in a small blast furnace to make steel. I heard he was even appointed furnace supervisor. When we reported for duty, they were at a critical juncture in the steelmaking process and couldn't do without him."
Ye Manzhi snorted and laughed. "What's so great about steelmaking? We have a small blast furnace on our street too. Although it needs to be guarded 24 hours a day, everyone takes turns. He's just the deputy director of the office, not an important technician. He doesn't need to be on duty 24 hours a day, right? Can't he spare two hours to report to the university?"
Ye Manzhi didn't care whether he was the squad leader or not.
But Chen Teye's little actions in private made her feel unhappy.
Chen Teye was no ordinary student; he had been deputy director of the District Industrial Bureau's office. Anyone who could hold such a position couldn't possibly be ignorant of the ways of the world.
There are only three transferred students in the class. It's fine for him to be the class monitor, but since she is still acting as the class monitor, he should at least express his intention to her openly.
Whether the teacher appoints or the classmates vote, everyone can compete fairly.
Instead of colluding privately and looking for an opportunity to force her out of office.
Ye Manzhi felt that Chen Teye was either too conceited or thought that people from the District Industrial Bureau were superior, and did not take young people like her seriously.
Either way, it's very disrespectful to her.
So, when Chen Teye personally found her and wanted her, the acting class monitor, to organize a class meeting, Ye Manzhi politely declined.
"Student Chen Tie, everyone is very busy in class, and some students have to participate in club activities. If there is nothing important, it would be better not to take up everyone's time, okay?"
Chen Teye corrected him, "My name is Chen Teye."
"Chen Tie."
“…”
Chen Teye is not tall, is a bit fat, and has a mole on his eyebrow. He is the same age as Bian Queqiao, but his dress is much more mature than Bian Queqiao.
At first glance, you can tell that he works in an office.
Some people would believe that he is a teacher.
Seeing that he was troubled by the name, Ye Manzhi laughed out loud in her heart.
"Forget it, your Mandarin is not good enough," Chen Teye said, getting back to the point. "I've already told Teacher Chen Ying that the boys' group lacks class leaders, so a lot of work can't be done. The current Youth League Committee and Class Committee are temporary, so we should find time to elect official class committee members. In addition to the class monitor, we should also elect study committee members, sports committee members, life committee members, and so on."
Ye Manzhi thought for a moment and said, "Okay, how about we hold a class meeting tomorrow afternoon after physics class? Can you help me convey this to the male students?"
It is indeed not a good idea for her to be the only one in the class committee, and other members still need to be elected.
After the physics class the next day, all the students in Class 1 stayed.
Ye Manzhi walked up to the podium and introduced the purpose of today's class meeting.
"My classmates should have heard a long time ago that my position and that of Party Secretary Bian were temporarily assigned by the counselor when we first reported to school."
"Why did Teacher Chen choose me to be the monitor of our class? First, because I registered at school early, so she drafted me in. Second, because I was a transferred cadre student. I previously worked as the deputy director of the street office under the jurisdiction of our Binjiang City."
"Everyone knows that street work is grassroots work, involving direct contact with the masses and interacting with residents every day. Serving both students and residents is, at its core, serving the people. I consider myself quite experienced in this area," Ye Manzhi asked with a smile, "Are you satisfied with my recent service work?"
One boy shouted, "I'm satisfied, but can you please not sit in the first row next time?"
"Yeah, I don't want to sit in the front row anymore!"
"Haha, seating arrangements are freely chosen, we don't force it!" Ye Manzhi returned to the point. "Some classmates have reported that since Party Secretary Bian and I are both female, our connection with the male students isn't close enough, and they've suggested we elect a male monitor. I think this is very necessary, and everyone's suggestions make sense, so I've already suggested to Teacher Chen that we add a deputy monitor position to our class, and try to have one male and one female monitor."
Someone asked, “Can everyone run for election?”
"Of course! Let me reiterate, not only transferred students can be class leaders! If you have a favorite class monitor or vice-class monitor, you can nominate them, or you can recommend yourself!" Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "I'll first recommend two candidates. Chen Teye is a transferred student, so I won't go into details. Jiang Nan from our class has also done a lot of service work for everyone since the start of the school year. His hard work is obvious to all classmates. Let me nominate a name for Jiang Nan!"
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