Registration for the college entrance examination has begun. The registration office is crowded with people. Several people waited in line for a whole morning before they were finally able to register.
At that time, students filled out their college entrance exams before taking them. Su Qingmeng and Lin Xiuyao's first choice was Peking University—Su Qingmeng in the Chinese Department and Lin Xiuyao in the Economics Department. Their second choice was Tsinghua University, and the rest were all universities in Beijing, with Beijing Normal University as their backup.
Su Qingmeng felt herself getting inflated. She still had the luxury of choosing between Tsinghua and Peking University. Both of their political reviews were flawless, and their admission tickets were quickly issued.
There were so many applicants that a preliminary exam was required. The village tractor took them to the commune to take the exam. When the preliminary exam results came out, more than half of the applicants had already been eliminated.
Among the educated youth, Ye Siyuan, Guo Wei, Gu Shuyuan, Wang Aiguo, Tian Ke, and Gao Xiaohuan all passed. The village heroine, Lin Xiaoyuan, also passed, as did Lin Xiutong and a recent graduate, Zheng Jiahe.
The study groups of the educated youths have been disbanded, and now everyone studies on their own.
When Tian Ke came over to ask questions, he complained, "The atmosphere in the educated youth center is so weird nowadays." The few who didn't pass were quite depressed, making some noise from time to time, while those who passed the exam were busy reviewing and ignored them.
Su Qingmeng said, "They might as well continue studying. Since the college entrance examination has been resumed, it won't be just this once."
When Tian Ke returned, he relayed Su Qingmeng's words, and those who had not passed the exam picked up their books to study again.
The day of the college entrance examination soon arrived. The weather was cold, so they went to live in a small courtyard in the commune in advance.
Tian Ke and Lin Xiutong also joined them. Beds were scarce at the guesthouse, so Zheng Jiahe, a fellow villager, had also come. He was a rather shy young man, and he and Lin Xiutong had a good relationship.
The men slept in one room, the women in another. Each person brought some food and vegetables. They had to cook their own meals for the next two days, keeping their meals light.
The college entrance examination, which had been suspended for 10 years, was finally resumed. A total of 12 graduates from the 1966th to 1977th classes participated, with ages ranging from teenagers to people in their thirties.
The examination room was packed with people, with passersby stopping to watch, as if it were a grand celebration. If Su Qingmeng hadn't been taking an exam, she would have definitely taken photos to commemorate this unforgettable scene. Unfortunately, it was inconvenient, so she found her own examination room and waited quietly for the exam to begin.
Su Qingmeng was surprisingly calm, not nervous at all. Ever since she'd crossed over, she'd been working hard for this day. She'd finished all the questions, and since she had time to review them, she went through them carefully.
After finishing the main subject exams, Tian Ke and the others returned to the village, and Su Qingmeng stayed to take the English exam. English was an elective subject, and she was the only one who took it.
After the exam, Lin Xiuyao was waiting at the door. She asked, "Are we going back to the village directly?"
Lin Xiuyao "went to see my second sister, so that he wouldn't have to come to the commune again." The weather was cold, and he didn't want to make Su Qingmeng suffer.
They returned to the courtyard first. Lin Xiuyao pointed at a pile of things and said, "Tian Ke and Zheng Jiahe bought these. I guess they felt embarrassed to stay here for free these two days. I took a look and they're all food. Let's take them directly to see Second Sister."
Lin Erlan was in confinement after giving birth, and Su Qingmeng went in to visit her. She looked haggard and pale. Seeing Su Qingmeng smile, she asked, "Have you finished your exams? How did you do?"
Su Qingmeng: "It's okay. I've done everything I can. Second sister, how are you? You don't look well." The child is almost one month old, and she hasn't recovered yet.
Lin Erlan: "My second child was crying all the time last night. I didn't sleep well. It's okay."
Su Qingmeng: "Just rest well during your confinement period, and leave the baby to your brother-in-law."
Lin Erlan laughed. "He's a grown man with rough hands and feet, how can he take care of a child? Besides, he has to work during the day and needs to rest well at night."
Her mother-in-law helped take care of her eldest child, and she should have helped with the second child, but when she saw it was a girl, she returned the child after only ten days. She had to take care of the children while she was in confinement, and she didn't get enough rest.
Su Qingmeng shook her head. This child wasn't her second sister's alone. If she had given birth to a child herself and Lin Xiuyao had left her alone like this, she would have kicked her husband out. If a person's role was dispensable, then it was better not to have one.
Su Qingmeng knew that there was a generation gap between herself and people of this generation, and she didn't want to interfere in other people's family affairs, so she didn't say anything more.
Lin Erlan didn't want to complain to her family, so she brought up the college entrance exam again, "You and Xiuyao are both high school students. If you study well, you will definitely pass."
"I hope so." They said a few more words, and Su Qingmeng said goodbye, "Second sister, you have a good rest."
They rode back to the village, and Lin Xiuyao asked, "How is my second sister?"
"She doesn't look well, and looks quite haggard." And her mother-in-law's attitude was not as good as last time.
"Alas," Lin Xiuyao sighed, "My second sister gave birth to another girl. Their family favors boys over girls." Su Qingmeng asked him, "So do you prefer boys or girls?"
Lin Xiuyao said, "I like all the children you give birth to." "Humph, you'd better be like this." She raised the corners of her mouth.
The exam was finally over, and both Lin Xiuyao and Su Qingmeng relaxed. They didn't even bother checking their answers, just waiting for the results. Su Qingmeng slept soundly for two days, and then stayed in bed.
Half a month later, someone came to ask them to take a physical examination. Those who could take the physical examination basically passed the exam. She looked at the people who came. There were eight people in total. Wang Aiguo and Gao Xiaohuan were not included. There were more people than in the original book.
The days of waiting for the admission letter were a bit torturous. Although Su Qingmeng was sure that her grades were good enough to get her admitted, she was still afraid of something unexpected happening.
In the second half of January, the admission letters started arriving. The first to arrive were from Lin Xiutong and Zheng Jiahe, who had applied to Jilin University of Technology in the province, both for undergraduate programs.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
