"Then I'm relieved. There will always be times when I can't take care of everything."
"Really, don't worry about me. I won't suffer any losses. Don't focus too much energy on me; I adapt very well."
Liu Jingze did not answer Zhang Hongmei, but he felt that this girl's independence also had its downsides.
Liu Jingze lit the stove again, and Zhang Hongmei cut the pancakes into strips and chopped the cabbage, waiting for the soup to boil so they could add the tofu.
After finishing dinner, the two sat in the dining room. "Hongmei, did you go to the post office?"
"Yes, he went. He left a note for Huang Zhong. He'll probably come over on Monday afternoon, report in the morning, and shouldn't have any classes in the afternoon so he can come back early."
"There are no classes, but usually the homeroom teacher and counselor hold meetings for everyone to introduce themselves. However, school usually ends at 3:30 pm, and the rest of the time is for students to get to know each other."
Last time Huang Zhong arrived around 4 PM, you can come out at 3:40 PM. After all, it wouldn't be good if you didn't join the gathering on the first day.
"We'll see how things go. I won't keep Huang Zhong waiting too long."
"Should I come back with you too?"
"No need. It's the first day of school, and your major will probably have more time for gatherings. Besides, I'm not planning to leave any food for him. I'll just make some pancakes in advance so he can take them to the car to eat."
"Okay, you can decide for yourself. Shall we go to school tomorrow?"
"It's nothing, let's go tomorrow. It's just to take a look beforehand. We can't fill out the application for our major tomorrow."
"Okay, then we don't need to go too early. Libraries and similar places are closed during holidays, and there's not much scenery to see in the middle of winter."
"Okay, how about I go buy groceries first in the morning and then go back?"
"Okay, let's do it together."
Zhang Hongmei still went into the space to take a shower. Now she is looking forward to the start of school so that she can use an electric blanket at night, even if it costs more electricity.
The next morning, Zhang Hongmei saw that the dough hadn't risen yet, so she decided to cook noodles. But then she remembered she hadn't brought any noodles, so she decided to have porridge instead.
Zhang Hongmei's biggest regret is not bringing a basket or a carrying case. Shopping is so inconvenient. She'll try to go to the rural market sometime; she doesn't know where to buy them in the city.
After finishing their meal, the two went to the food supply station. They arrived too early, and there were too many people, so they split up to queue.
It took almost two hours to buy two blocks of tofu, which weighed two jin (approximately 1 kg). They also bought four cabbages, two jin of eggs, and two jin of vermicelli. They didn't buy anything else; Liu Jingze paid for everything.
After putting their things at home, the two rode their bikes to school.
Capital University covers an area of over 3,000 acres, has a long history, has five libraries, and its male and female dormitories are divided into several locations according to academic departments.
The teaching buildings were also divided according to the departments. The teaching building for Liu Jingze's political science department was particularly charming, probably dating back to the previous dynasty or even earlier.
"Hongmei is the teaching building of the Economics Department. It's right next to ours. Last year, the Economics Department had more than 400 students, and this year's class should have even more."
"So many people?"
"Yes, but more than half of them are staff members from government economic departments; they were all recommended."
So that means they're all different ages?
"Yes, our department has many elderly people with gray hair. There are many middle-aged people in the economics department, and more boys than girls."
Almost 80% of the Chinese literature majors are female, while the archaeology and history majors have very few students. I wonder if those departments will still exist this year; perhaps they will still offer a mathematics major.
"Actually, mathematics should be the easiest major, at least in terms of interpersonal relationships. But I don't want to do research all day."
I think a math department can't just be about math; it probably includes physics and chemistry too. Maybe I should apply to history and archaeology? Fewer people would be better.
"I doubt the school will allow you to apply to the history and archaeology department. If they do offer you a place, it will probably be in the mathematics department."
"Then I'll just stick to economics. There are more working people there, they're more mature, and they have more social experience, so there won't be any trivial matters."
"Then why didn't you choose Chinese literature?"
"I hate memorizing, and I know absolutely nothing about poetry."
"Come on, I'll take you to see the cafeteria. The political science and economics departments share one cafeteria, which is the largest and has much better food than the other three. Professors usually eat here too. So you can't be late for lunch, or you'll have to eat at another cafeteria."
"Is it because political science majors can become leaders in the future, and economics majors' futures are also related to money, so the food is good?"
"Many people say that."
The two left the cafeteria and prepared to go home.
"Brother Jingze, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go back by myself if I have nothing else to do."
I want to take you to get some snacks.
"I'm not going, I'm going home."
"I'm fine too, I'll go back with you."
"How come you're alright? You really don't need to do this. It's making me feel burdened. We can get together in our free time, but we should always prioritize business. Go ahead."
Liu Jingze actually had a lot on his plate, but he didn't want Zhang Hongmei to feel lonely, so he put aside what he was doing and stayed with her.
"Alright, I'll be leaving now."
When Zhang Hongmei returned home, the dough hadn't risen yet, so she put it in her spatial storage. She then cut off a piece of meat, wanting to make pork and cabbage buns.
Because the pot was small, I used two steamers to make sixteen vegetable buns and ten steamed breads.
After finishing my meal, I felt I needed to go for a walk, both for my own convenience and my own.
The first place I went to was the grain station. I actually had quite a few nationally valid grain coupons. I wanted to see what kind of coupons I had so that it would be easier to get grain out in the future.
The small blackboard at the entrance of the grain station listed the types of grain supplied. Of course, due to the drought, the supply to the capital was also affected, although there were refined grains, namely cornmeal and millet.
Zhang Hongmei went in and said, "Comrade, I want ten catties of millet and ten catties of red beans."
Where is your ration book?
"They haven't been issued yet. Can't we buy them with grain coupons if we don't have a grain ration book?"
"cannot."
Zhang Hongmei slunk away. What a terrible era!
After wandering around for a while, we arrived at the antique market, which was a great place.
There weren't many people on the street, but every shop was open.
Zhang Hongmei entered the first shop, which was filled with a dazzling array of goods, but she didn't find anything she liked at first glance. She went into the second shop, but still nothing. Disheartened, she noticed that the shop owners didn't greet her and were busy drinking tea and playing with their birds.
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. She decided to turn back, and suddenly smelled a peculiar aroma. Following the scent, Zhang Hongmei arrived at a steamed bun shop; it turned out the buns were cooked and the pot was being opened.
The little buns, costing two cents each, were about the same size as today's xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). I was already full, but the aroma was irresistible, so I bought five. They were a bit pricey, but at least they didn't require food coupons.
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