Struggle Life in the 1970s

Chu Ye scratched his head and told him what happened before. The three people in the dormitory were amazed and sighed that it was a good thing they didn’t share a dormitory with this person.

At noon, the four of them took their bowls and chopsticks to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was a large flat with rows of square tables. Many people were already eating there.

Chu Ye and the other three walked forward to the place where they got their meals and saw two lines of people queuing up. There were small blackboards hanging on two windows with today's meals written on them.

On the left is rice, with side dishes including eggplant, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried vegetables, and a dish of braised pork. On the right is noodles with toppings, with prices marked on them.

Originally, there was no tuition fee for attending technical secondary school, and the school would provide students with a living allowance every semester. However, now that school has just started, the subsidy will not be paid for a few days, so now students have to pay for their own meals.

Chu Ye looked around. She didn't want to eat noodles in such a hot day, so she took her bowl and lined up for rice.

When the four of them sat back at the dining table, Chu Ye's bowl was filled with eggplant and greens, while the other three had different dishes, but all had braised pork.

Chu Ye didn't look uncomfortable at all. If she felt inferior because others could eat meat but she had no money to buy meat, she would have been too inferior to even raise her head in front of Mu Jiajun.

The other three people didn't show any expression. When they first saw Chu Ye yesterday, they knew that she didn't come from a wealthy family.

At this time, Zhao Yue took out a glass jar from her bag with a smile. Inside was silvery-white radish strips cut into finger-thick pieces, dotted with red chili rings.

As soon as it was opened, a sour and spicy smell rushed to the noses of the four people, making them drool. Suddenly, they felt that the original braised pork was not so fragrant anymore.

Zhao Yue had a sincere smile on her round face. She held up the glass jar and passed it to the people one by one, vowing to let them all have a taste. "My mother is an excellent pickler. You should try it. It's delicious. My mother made this for me because she was afraid that I would miss home at school!"

Chu Ye took a piece, put it in his mouth and chewed it. At first, a sour taste rushed into his tongue, followed by the spicy taste of chopped pepper. When he gently bit off the radish strips, the crisp taste mixed with the bursting water vapor rushed into his mouth, and then the sweet taste neutralized the sour and spicy taste, and he felt his appetite open.

Chu Ye finished it in one bite, then quickly ate a few mouthfuls of rice. He looked up and saw that the other two had surprise in their eyes.

Zhao Yue laughed heartily at this reaction, "I was right, my mother's pickles are delicious, come on, eat more."

Zhao Yue simply put the jar in the middle of the table. The three of them didn't want to take any more, but they were really attracted by the delicious food. After expressing their gratitude, they exchanged the food in their bowls. In the end, even Chu Ye's bowl had a few more pieces of meat.

After dinner, they returned to the dormitory together. Chu Ye changed his clothes and planned to wash the clothes he was wearing, so he went to the bathroom with a basin.

At the end of each floor of their dormitory are the toilet and washroom, two rooms facing each other with painted markings on the wooden doors.

On the right hand side of the bathroom is a row of washbasins with more than a dozen faucets above them. There is another door on the left, which leads to a public bathroom with two newly installed shower heads and a large bathtub.

After washing the clothes, Chu Ye took a short rest in the dormitory. The sun outside moved westward, and the scorching heat gradually penetrated into the ground. Melodious music came from the school's loudspeakers, striking everyone's heart.

Chu Ye packed up her things and let Zhao Yue take her, Qin Manwen, and Leng Zhuojun following behind to the east side of the teaching building.

There was originally a flag-raising platform here, a square surrounded by steel, with an opening on the front for two people to pass through. At this time, a silver-white rectangular curtain was mounted in front, and four long thick ropes were pulled up from the four corners of the curtain, pulling the cloth to stretch it.

Some students have already arrived early, reserved seats in advance, sat together with those who are familiar with each other, or gathered together with food and chatting, waiting for the wonderful scene to be performed on the screen after nightfall.

Zhao Yue had already asked the classmate she had just met about the title of the film to be screened, which was the famous anti-Japanese drama - "The Yellow River Boy".

Chu Ye and Zhao Yue had not seen it. Although the other two had seen it, they thought that there was nothing to do in the dormitory, so they might as well stay here and have fun. So the four of them went back to the classroom to move the benches. When they got back to their original place, Chu Ye thought of something again, told the other three, and turned to go to the dormitory building.

When she came back, she had a handkerchief in her hand, which contained the pickled plums that Brother Jianwen had given her. After she sat down, he kindly shared them with the other three people.

Qin Manwen and Leng Zhuojun felt a little embarrassed. They didn't bring any food with them when school started. They felt bad when they reached out to take it.

However, Zhao Yue, who was standing by, was completely unaware of the two people's thoughts. She thanked them carelessly, then took a bite of the dried plum and immediately widened her eyes, "Hmm! This is delicious, sour and sweet, and chewy."

Then she turned her head and looked at Qin Manwen and Leng Zhuojun, "You should try it too, it tastes really good!"

The two men saw Zhao Yue eating happily and Chu Ye's eager eyes urging them to accept the dried plums, so they simply stopped refusing and took them after thanking them. After tasting them, they couldn't help but praise the taste.

"Did you do this yourself?" Zhao Yue pulled Chu Ye to sit on the bench. Now the four of them sat in a row. The sun was setting in the west, and the orange-red sunset glow was evenly sprinkled on the earth and on everyone's face.

Chu Ye answered Zhao Yue's question with a smile, and the other two leaned closer, nodding and interjecting from time to time. After finishing one topic, they naturally talked about the next one, and the atmosphere between the four people became more and more harmonious. When the sun set in the west, the stars gradually appeared through the clouds. At some point, a bright moon quietly unveiled its veil, and a milky white halo sprinkled down.

The street lights in the campus also lit up at this time, and countless white moths circled around the lights. The wind suddenly blew, making the surrounding leaves rustle.

The curtain lit up at this moment, and the crowd that was originally chatting noisily fell silent at the same time, opened their eyes wide and stretched their necks to watch the colorful lights and shadows projected on the curtain.

Chu Ye straightened his back and stared straight ahead, as if he wanted to imprint everything he saw into his mind.

As far as she could remember, there had only been two such open-air movie watching scenes, and both times the movie was shown in each village in the town in turn. When it was their village's turn, a screen would be set up in the open space at the entrance of the village, and people would rush to grab seats. For several days after the movie was finished, the villagers would still be eagerly discussing it and recalling the plot they had seen.

The screen was showing the protagonist's fight with the enemy, there was a deafening sound in her ears, and Zhao Yue was whispering in surprise. She was already immersed in it, worrying anxiously whether the protagonist could escape.

The moon is high in the sky and the stars are twinkling, indicating that tomorrow will be a good day.

-

The next morning, after lunch, the four of them went to the classroom and sat in their seats from yesterday. The bell rang at eight o'clock and the head teacher came in. He first gave the students some words of encouragement for the new semester, and then reminded them of the importance of the teaching position. He hoped that everyone would study hard while in school and contribute to the country's education after graduation.

These words made the students very excited. Then the head teacher asked everyone to come to the stage one by one to introduce themselves and talk about their dreams.

The head teacher pointed and asked the boy sitting near the door to stand on the podium first. Immediately, everyone in the classroom looked at him.

The boy looked honest and shy. It was probably his first time facing such a spotlight. His face and neck turned red instantly. He lowered his head in embarrassment and walked slowly to the podium.

The head teacher had a kind look on his face, with an encouraging smile on his face. He stood next to the boy and put his hand on his shoulder, as if to give him strength.

The head teacher looked at the audience with gentle eyes, as if looking at the new green shoots in spring, "You have now embarked on the road of education. Generations of students will thrive under your guidance."

"As teachers, you must not only have sufficient knowledge reserves, but also be able to resolve various conflicts encountered during teaching. Most importantly, you must adapt to the podium and not be afraid of the many eyes in the audience. The podium is your battlefield."

The head teacher's words were like a spring breeze, blowing into everyone's hearts and sweeping away the timidity in many people's hearts. The boy clenched his fists and mustered up the courage to introduce himself.

When he finished speaking, there was applause from the audience. The boy bowed deeply and returned to his seat. Then the girl sitting behind him stood up, walked to the stage, and confidently introduced her name, hobbies, and dreams.

The students in the class went up to the stage one by one in an "S" shape according to their seating order. Chu Ye and the other three were seated near the window, and when it was their turn, there were only a handful of students in the class who had not yet gone up to the stage.

As the first one in the dormitory to go on stage, Chu Ye was not very nervous at the moment. Instead, Zhao Yue gently said "Come on" to her when she stood up. Chu Ye walked up to the stage and subconsciously looked in the direction of the three people in the dormitory. She saw that the three of them were encouraging her with bright eyes. Even Leng Zhuojun, who was not so enthusiastic, clenched his fist and gave a cheering gesture.

Chu Ye felt warm in his heart, stood on the podium, smiled generously, and began to briefly introduce himself.

The class ended quickly. After a break, other teachers came. They introduced themselves first and then began to briefly explain the course content. The morning passed quickly like this.

At noon, the group went to the cafeteria to eat. When they sat down with their bowls, they saw that people from Qiao Mingzhu's dormitory were sitting near them and they could hear them talking while eating.

I don't know who was flattering Qiao Mingzhu, praising her for her grace and elegance on the stage and the great dreams she expressed.

But she sneered after listening. Qiao Mingzhu's eyes, which were originally raised, were now filled with disdain. "Do you believe what I said? My dream is not to become an excellent teacher. That's just a joke."

Seeing Qiao Mingzhu put down the chopsticks in her hand, her tone was full of pride, "Only you would think like this. I am a teacher because I want to rely on this status to marry a rich man and live a good life, unlike you."

She glanced around and said proudly, "I am so beautiful, of course I can't be the same as you."

The people around her all looked like their families were not as well off as Qiao Mingzhu's. When they heard such words, although they felt unhappy, they did not say anything more in order to avoid conflict.

Chu Ye's table heard all these words clearly. The four of them looked at each other briefly and then buried their heads in their food. However, Zhao Yue leaned over the bowl and said in a voice that only a few people could hear, "I think that girl is not as pretty as Man Wen. Besides, with her personality, most people can't stand it. How blind must a rich man be to like her?"

She curled her lips, and the three of them chuckled slightly after hearing it.

(End of this chapter)