After settling Xiao Jing and her son in, Cheng Baidong bought train tickets for the evening and returned to Beijing overnight.
As the first rays of sunlight touched the earth, Cheng Baidong stepped into his home. Despite his long journey, his spirit remained undiminished; his clothes were clean, and his eyes were bright and alert, as if he had only gone out for a short stroll, showing no signs of fatigue or exhaustion.
Fang Qiao welcomed him in, had breakfast with him, and chatted about Xiao Jing's situation.
Upon learning that Xiao Jing had successfully enrolled in the No. 1 Middle School as a temporary student and had also rented a house nearby to settle down, Fang Qiao was immediately relieved of her worries.
After dinner, Tian Tian and Chen Yan from next door went to school together, Cheng Baidong took the children to daycare, and Fang Qiao took her books to the college entrance exam preparation class.
The college entrance exam preparation class is a special class offered by a nearby night school, and the students are all employees of nearby factories and companies.
On the day Fang Qiao saw Xiao Jing off, she went to the logistics department of her unit to apply for a leave of absence without pay. The head of the logistics department approved it for her very quickly, saying: "The college entrance examination is the most important thing right now. Comrade Fang Qiao is also a comrade with aspirations. At present, all walks of life are in need of reconstruction. What the country lacks most is high-quality talents. As leaders, we should of course support our comrades to actively move forward."
The Minister of Logistics also lived up to his words, approving all the requests from colleagues in the Logistics Department who wanted to take the college entrance examination and applied for leave without pay.
Wang Yun also took the college entrance examination and even enrolled in a cram school with Fang Qiao.
Although her daughter is still young, her workplace has a daycare center and her mother-in-law is a wonderful person. Even if she were to abandon her daughter, she wouldn't feel worried.
The learning atmosphere in the college entrance examination preparation class was excellent because the vast majority of students were employees of nearby companies, and a small number were cadres with strong leadership and organizational skills. As a result, various study groups were quickly formed in the class, and the students learned from each other and made progress together with great enthusiasm.
Time flew by as the students studied intensively, and soon the day of the preliminary exam arrived.
On the day of the preliminary exam, the weather was not cooperating.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the whole world looked gloomy.
It was already quite cold by the end of November. Fang Qiao tucked her hands into her hand warmers, frowned, and looked up at the sky with some worry, saying, "It's cloudy and cold today. I wonder if it will snow."
Cheng Baidong comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, the snow won't fall anytime soon."
Fang Qiao glanced at him sideways: "Did you calculate it with your fingers?"
“Yes.” Cheng Bodong deliberately raised his chin and said arrogantly, “With my current skill level, I can still be quite accurate in predicting the weather.”
"Pfft." Fang Qiao was amused by his posture: "Then I'll take your good wishes."
"Don't worry, today will definitely go smoothly."
"I hope everything goes well for Xiaojing as it does here."
Yes, it will.
...
Xiaojing lives in the county town, but she needs to go to the city for the preliminary exam.
Principal Qiao of No. 1 Middle School personally led the team, paying out of his own pocket to rent a bus at the county bus station, and sent the candidates to the city early in the morning.
Although the bus was crammed with over fifty students in a small space, crowded and filled with the unpleasant smell of gasoline, the students' enthusiasm remained undiminished. Their faces were beaming with excited smiles, mixed with excitement and nervousness.
Xiaojing was both happy and nervous.
She was happy because she was about to embark on a bright future, not something vague and unattainable, but something she could grasp as long as she focused on her efforts.
The tension stemmed from fear; she was afraid of letting down her brother and sister-in-law's trust, and afraid that if she didn't perform well, she would miss out on this bright future that was within her reach.
Her heart pounded, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, fear lurking, yet she refused to back down.
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