A moment later, Lin Li saw Lin Laosan run out, "Mom, why are you back!"
Lin Li stood up, looking at him covered in sweat from running. She stood up, wiped the sweat off his face, and said with a smile, "I knew you were about to take the college entrance exam. It's a big deal for you, so I had to come back to be with you!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Laosan laughed so hard his eyes disappeared.
"Alright, I just came to tell you that I'm back! Go home after get off work, and I'll treat the village chief and the villagers to dinner tonight!"
"Okay, Mom!"
Lin Li glanced at her son, who was grinning like a silly goose, and couldn't suppress her own smile either!
"Go back to work! I'll go back and get ready!"
"Um!"
Lin Laosan stood in the guard room until he could no longer see Lin Li's back before skipping back to his post.
His mother came all the way back from Shenzhen to be with him during his college entrance exam!
He was so happy!
...
In July 1984, the sun seemed to be roasting the treetops, and the cicadas' chirping, along with the rising heat from the asphalt road, turned the whole world into a boiling steamer.
Lin Li stood at the entrance of the county middle school, the strap of her crossbody bag leaving red marks on her shoulder, and a tin thermos filled with mung bean soup to cool her down.
"Don't panic, take your time, and believe in your abilities!"
"Um!"
After taking the mung bean soup from Lin Li and drinking it all in one gulp, Lin Laosan lowered his head and began to tie the laces of his canvas sneakers.
The 22-year-old seemed to have grown taller than last year. His navy blue shirt was almost faded from washing, and part of the collar was tucked in at the back because he had been in a hurry.
Lin Li stepped forward, pulled his collar out, and straightened it carefully.
"Mom, don't worry!"
Lin Laosan stood up with a smile and walked confidently toward the entrance of the county middle school.
As he approached the school gate, he turned around, gave Lin Li a confident smile, and even made a "sure win" gesture before disappearing into the crowd.
As the exam bell rang, the area under the sycamore trees outside the exam hall was quickly filled by parents who had come to accompany their children.
Lin Li found a broken brick against the wall and sat down, idly counting the enamel basins stacked in a tower shape in the glass window of the supply and marketing cooperative across the street, and checking the brass buckles on the thermos for the seventh time.
Finally, he took out a copy of "The Younger Generation" magazine from his bag and began to read it carefully.
The exam bell finally rang when the sun had climbed to its zenith.
Lin Li immediately put the magazine into her bag, picked up the thermos, and followed the crowd.
On the playground of the county middle school, candidates began to run out one after another. Lin Li stood on tiptoe and kept looking around, searching for Lin Laosan's figure.
"Mom, Mom, I'm here!"
Lin Laosan felt a sweet warmth in his heart when he saw Lin Li looking around in the crowd.
"Hey!"
Upon seeing Lin Laosan, Lin Li hurriedly opened the safe, poured out mung bean soup, and handed it to him to drink.
"You must be tired. Have some mung bean soup to cool down."
The mung bean soup was made with spiritual spring water from her spatial dimension, making it even more refreshing and invigorating!
After drinking three bowls of wine, Lin Laosan reluctantly put down his bowl. "Mom," he said, "the last two math problems were quite difficult this time. Luckily, I've done similar problems before, so it shouldn't be a big problem!"
"Okay, okay!" Lin Li patted his hand and followed him back to the dormitory at his workplace.
During the exam period, they stayed in the company dormitory.
The county middle school is not far from the dormitory of the power department, so at noon, Lin Laosan can get a good rest in his room!
After lunch, Lin Li told Lin Laosan to rest, and she picked up a magazine to continue reading. She only woke him up when the afternoon exam was approaching.
In the afternoon, Lin Laosan took the Chinese exam, which was his most difficult subject. Fortunately, the essay topic was one he had reviewed, so he managed to complete the exam smoothly.
The next day, they took the physics and chemistry exams. Science subjects were relatively easy for Lin Laosan, and unsurprisingly, he came out feeling even more relaxed and confident.
The third day consisted of exams in politics and English. Fortunately, Lin Li had been helping him organize the key points for the English exam, so he did quite well, even though English was the most difficult subject for him.
The three-day college entrance examination finally came to an end. After the last subject was finished, the mother and son walked home, chatting as they went.
Since the end of the college entrance examination, time has become particularly slow.
Lin Li still gets up early every day to make breakfast for Lin Laosan, exercise, and stroll around the village.
Lin Laosan became much quieter, spending his days helping Lin Li with housework outside of work.
Days passed, but the summer heat in the air grew even stronger, and the cicadas' chirping became increasingly noisy.
Finally, news came from the town that the 1984 college entrance examination results would be released around the end of July or the beginning of August.
This news was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattering the tranquility of the home.
"Don't worry, I've asked around, and many people say that this exam was very difficult and that no one did well!"
Lin Li looked at Lin Laosan's pale face, smiled, patted his shoulder, and comforted him.
"Um!"
After hearing Lin Li's words, Lin Laosan felt a little relieved and let out a long breath.
He felt he did well on the exam and hoped to get into his dream university.
As the day for the results announcement drew closer, Lin Li and Lin Laosan both knew that to check the results, they would have to go to the county admissions office or wait for the school to post the list of results.
"Mom, I'll go see it myself then. You don't need to squeeze in with me; it's too hot!"
Lin Laosan was counting down the days; the results should be out in the next few days, but the temperature was already almost 40 degrees Celsius, it was just too hot!
"I know, don't worry about me!"
Lin Li washed the clothes and hung them to dry in the courtyard. She had already made up her mind that she would definitely go and see them when the time came.
Finally, on a morning when the cicadas were chirping so loudly they were almost frantic, the village chief's voice could be heard coming from afar.
"Lin Laosan, the results are out! Hurry up and go to the school gate to see them!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Li hurriedly put down the clothes she was washing and ran to the door to look at the village chief.
"Thank you, Village Chief. Third Brother has gone to work. I'll go see him now!"
"Great! Come back and tell us if you have any good news!"
"must!"
As Lin Li spoke, she closed the iron gate and strode towards the town.
When they arrived at the school, a large crowd had already gathered at the school gate. Lin Li spotted Lin Laosan in the crowd at a glance.
"Third brother, you're here too?"
"Mom! I came running as soon as I heard the news!"
"Then let's look together!"
Lin Laosan nodded, and the mother and son squeezed their way to the front of the red wall, their eyes scanning the list eagerly.
Lin Laosan's fingers moved along the names, one by one, his breathing rapid as if he had just finished a long-distance run.
Lin Li stood on tiptoe, her eyes fixed on the ground, her heart pounding in her ears.
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