“Why don’t we each guard a bulletin board, and if we see anyone’s name, we’ll tell each other,” another educated youth who came with Xu Ning suggested.
“Okay.”
Soon, the few of them squeezed towards different bulletin boards.
The waiting time was long and agonizing, especially at a moment when answers were about to be revealed, making them uneasy as if awaiting a verdict.
Chen Lishu paced back and forth, her clasped hands trembling uncontrollably.
In her previous life, due to her lack of education, she struggled to find stable work for a long time after her divorce, often taking the dirtiest and most strenuous jobs. Having a degree became a deep yearning in her heart.
Although education was no longer as crucial to her in this life, she still hoped to fulfill her dream of attending university.
“Wang Tigang, I see your name!” Ding Chen’s voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
“Really? Where is it? Let me see,” Wang Tigang said, his face lighting up upon hearing his name. He eagerly went to Ding Chen’s side.
“It’s true, I passed!” he shouted excitedly.
When the policy required ambitious youth to go to the countryside, he was among them. His days were filled with farming, with no hope for his future. Suddenly, the country announced the restoration of the college entrance examination, and passing the exam was their only way forward.
“Ding Chen, Xu Ning, I see both your names!” Gu Xingping soon called out loudly.
Chen Lishu’s gaze was fixed on the scene, but after a long time, she didn’t hear any more announcements of names. Her eyes gradually dimmed.
“Lishu, Lishu, I see your name—”
Xu Ning carefully scanned the bulletin board in front of her and finally spotted Chen Lishu’s name in the last corner. She immediately shouted out excitedly.
When Chen Lishu heard her name, her mind buzzed, followed by a brief blankness.
“Where is it? Let me see.”
After regaining her senses, she impatiently squeezed into the crowd and went to Xu Ning’s side. She looked uncertainly at the bulletin board, and when she followed Xu Ning’s pointed finger to the name Chen Lishu, she couldn’t help but grin.
She, she actually passed! “Lishu, where are you going?” Xu Ning asked, chasing after her as she watched Chen Lishu stare blankly at the bulletin board, giggling, then suddenly turn and run.
“I’m going to call my husband.”
Upon learning she had passed, her first instinct was to share this joy with Gu Xingdong.
The phone rang for a long time with no answer. Just as Chen Lishu was about to hang up, the call was suddenly picked up: “Hello?”
It wasn’t Gu Xingdong’s voice.
“Please connect me to Battalion Commander Gu. I’m his wife.”
Upon hearing Chen Lishu’s voice, Wu Zheng immediately said happily, “Sister-in-law, it’s Old Wu.”
“Brother Wu, is Xingdong there?”
“He’s taken people out for training and won’t be in the camp for the next couple of days. Is there anything urgent? Or perhaps you can tell me first, and I’ll relay it to him when he returns.”
Hearing that Gu Xingdong was absent, Chen Lishu felt a slight disappointment but quickly smiled and said, “It’s nothing important. I won’t bother Brother Wu.”
After hanging up the phone and emerging from the phone booth, Gu Xingping and Xu Ning also caught up with her.
“Lishu, we’re going back to the village. Are you coming?” Xu Ning asked with a smile.
Since they had been accepted into university, they would surely return to the city to inform their families of the good news and to pack their belongings.
Chen Lishu nodded, “I’ll go back to the village with you.”
She also wanted to tell Li Xiulan and the others the good news of her university acceptance so they could be happy too.
Thus, after parting ways with Ding Chen, the sisters-in-law returned to Qingshan Village with Xu Ning and the others.
“Mom, my third sister-in-law got into university!”
As soon as she opened the door, Gu Xingping eagerly reported loudly.
“What? What did you say?”
Li Xiulan’s hand, which was sewing a shoe sole, trembled, and she pricked her finger, drawing blood. Ignoring it, she quickly put her finger in her mouth, sucked it, and threw down her work, leaping off the kang.
Seeing Chen Lishu entering behind Gu Xingping, Li Xiulan hurried over and grabbed her hand, “Lishu, is Xingping telling the truth? Did you really get into university?”
Chen Lishu smiled and nodded, “Mom, it’s true. We just checked our results in the city.”
“My heavens, that’s a university student! Our old Gu family’s ancestral grave must have emitted green smoke for us to have a university student!”
Li Xiulan happily spun around twice, then turned and rushed back into the house, calling out repeatedly, “Eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, both of you come out quickly. Lishu got into university.”
“Little Song, quickly go outside and find your fourth uncle, tell him to bring your grandpa and your dad back. Tell them there’s something urgent at home. Still collecting grain at this hour…”
Chen Lishu couldn’t help but smile watching her busy figure.
“Mom, I’m going back to my parents’ home first.”
This good news definitely needed to be shared with the in-laws. Li Xiulan said repeatedly, “Go, go. Remember to invite them over for dinner tonight.”
Chen Lishu left home and went to the Chen family. Chen Mantun and Wu Chunmei were initially stunned when they heard she had gotten into university, then they began to be happy for her.
Her younger sisters, upon hearing she had been accepted to university, were happy and full of longing.
“Eldest Sister, when I grow up, I want to go to university too, to study in Beijing,” Chen Lifie said.
“I want to go to school and study too, to earn money so Mom can buy meat to eat,” Chen Lijuan said, hugging Wu Chunmei’s leg and lifting her small face.
Wu Chunmei’s smile was so wide it stretched from ear to ear.
“Do you know where you got accepted? When will the acceptance letter arrive? What month does school start?” Chen Mantun asked with concern.
“We don’t know exactly where I got accepted yet. We’ll have to ask the scoring group during the physical examination. The acceptance letter will likely take some more time, and after submitting the political review materials, the school will also need to review them,” Chen Lishu patiently explained everything she knew to the couple.
…
News of a university student emerging from the village spread like wildfire, and almost the entire village soon heard about it.
If it were just an educated youth who got accepted, it would be one thing. After all, they were from the city and not much related to them. But it was different now. Chen Lishu had gotten into university, and she was a native of their village.
Regardless of what the future held or whether they could benefit from it, she was one of their own, and they felt a sense of honor.
Zhang Changhe and his wife stopped eating and quickly went to the Gu family to offer congratulations.
She was a genuine university student, which was equivalent to securing a “iron rice bowl” upon receiving the acceptance letter. Everything would be taken care of by the country. Especially since Chen Lishu was Zhang Xiaoju’s sister-in-law, she would surely be able to help out in the future.
In the evening, the Gu family prepared eight dishes. Besides the Gu and Chen families, Zhang Changhe and his wife, as well as Li Maocai and his wife from the front yard, were also present.
One table was not enough, so another table was moved from the Li family’s house.