My era, 1979!

Chapter 94 Random Musings (1010 First Subscription Request)
His father was the secretary of the commune, and he also became a clerk. Although he wasn't particularly generous, he was very kind to Xu Chengjun, Qian Ming, and the other educated youth.

"Cheng Jun?" Li Sanlin stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and his eyes lit up. "Just got back from Shanghai? Director Zhu asked me to bring some agricultural policy documents to your team. We were just worried about not having anyone to lend a hand!"

“The team is going to conduct a contracting pilot program, and the county has issued a new policy. You’re to deliver it to Xu Laoshi. You can hitch a ride with him, saving you from walking five miles. This late summer heat can really scorch you.”

Just as Xu Cheng was about to express his gratitude, Li Shanlin grinned again: "Besides, your article 'The Scales Shining in the Spring Breeze' has spread throughout the county. Officer Liu specifically instructed that we should be polite to you when we see you. It's not easy for our commune to produce a cultured person who can be reported, so we can't treat him rudely."

This man has always been like this. Although he doesn't exactly bully or dominate the market in the village, he doesn't treat ordinary farmers well either. He has always held intellectuals in the highest esteem.

"Brother Sanlin, you're joking. I'm just an educated youth who writes." Xu Chengjun waved his hand with a smile and helped Li Sanlin move the fertilizer into the truck bed.

Don't be modest!

"I spotted your poem! It's about mountains and seas!"

"This is fucking well written!"

But if you ask him how good it is, he'll tell you about mountains, seas, and so on.
Li Sanlin started the tractor, the sputtering engine startling the sparrows at the base of the wall. "Old Xu, tell me honestly, are you taking the college entrance exam in Shanghai? If you really get into Fudan University, our commune's honor roll will be on the front page! I'll make you a big red flower and send you off to Shanghai with gongs and drums."

Xu Chengjun said helplessly, "It's not decided yet, don't flatter me."

"Whether it's official or not, we have to celebrate!"

The tractor rolled over the dirt road, kicking up dust that covered Xu Chengjun's trouser leg and made him cough.

From a distance, I could vaguely see several young people from the village leaving one after another.

The camera zoomed in, revealing Qian Ming, Zhao Gang, Li Erwa, and Erzhuzi.
The tractor's sputtering engine had barely reached the old locust tree at the village entrance when Zhao Gang's booming voice rang out: "Chengjun! Over here!"

Xu Chengjun peeked out and saw Zhao Gang, who was tanned dark, waving on tiptoe.

Qian Ming, standing next to him, pushed up his glasses and grinned foolishly.

"You're finally back!" Zhao Gang snatched the canvas from Xu Chengjun. "You must be exhausted! You brought back a lot of stuff!"

"I only brought some odds and ends." Xu Chengjun laughed as he jumped off the car, dust clinging to his trouser legs and falling off in clumps.

A group of people instantly gathered at the village entrance.

The old men who had been squatting under the locust tree smoking straightened their backs, the women who had been sewing shoe soles stopped, and even the children who had been chasing iron hoops gathered in a group, their eyes fixed on Xu Chengjun's bag.

"Did Chengjun, one of the educated youth, pass the college entrance exam?" Old Wang asked, tapping his pipe. The copper bowl on his pipe was polished to a shine.

"It's not finalized yet." Xu Chengjun was about to explain when Zhao Gang patted his chest and shouted, "Fudan! Fudan University in Shanghai! The first one in our commune!"

Qian Ming pulled him aside, somewhat annoyed.

Zhao Gang immediately fell silent.

An uproar erupted in the crowd. Women's sewing baskets clattered to the ground, and children jumped up and down shouting "College student!" Only the leper mother spat on the ground with a sneer: "No matter how much you study, you still have to go back to the countryside, right?"

Lai Zi's mother was a widow in the village, raising Lai Zi all by herself. Although the people of Xujiatun disliked her sharp tongue, they knew how difficult it was for a widow to raise a child alone in the village these days. If she wasn't sharp-tongued, she would suffer. So, they were too lazy to argue with her about many things. Lai Zi's mother was unfortunate to have lost her husband, but fortunately, Xu Laoshi, the team leader, was discerning and knew how to handle matters in the brigade. Although there were arguments and disputes in the village, dirty deeds were rare.

In other words, when Lai Zi's mother talked about the young men in the village, Xinghua's mother and Zhu Zi's mother, with their sharp tongues, would outdo Lai Zi's mother.

Xu Chengjun pretended not to hear and took out a tin box from his bag: "Here, kids, share the candy."

The oil paper on the White Rabbit milk candy gleamed in the sunlight, and the children immediately formed a circle, stretching out their dirty little hands. Sanya stood on tiptoe but couldn't reach it, and stamped her feet in frustration. Xu Chengjun bent down and stuffed the candy into her pocket, his fingertips touching her patched-up jacket.

"Brother Chengjun is biased!" Erzhu shouted, holding up a piece of candy, the wrapper fluttering in the wind like a little flag.

The village children only get to eat candy during the Lunar New Year; otherwise, they get rare treats. Xu Chengjun grabbed two large handfuls of White Rabbit milk candy from his pocket and stuffed them into Sanya's hands, telling her to take the children and share them.

As soon as they came out of the group of children, Zhao Gang grabbed Xu Chengjun and headed towards the educated youth settlement.

Qian Ming followed behind, muttering, "Was the interview difficult? Was Professor Zhang very strict?"

"Let's go home first." Xu Chengjun looked back and saw the women pointing and whispering around the tin box. The woman with the leprosy voice was especially shrill: "Shanghai sugar is so precious, how could we country kids deserve to eat it?"

The fence of the educated youth settlement was covered with morning glories, Qian Ming's bed was neatly made, but Zhao Gang's mattress was rolled up in a ball.

Xu Chengjun had just put his things down when Zhao Gang pulled out a chipped enamel mug: "I'll go boil some water!"

"Wait a minute." Xu Chengjun took out a pack of Shanghai brand cigarettes from his bag. "These are for you and the captain."

Zhao Gang's eyes lit up, then he hesitated, "This must be a lot of money, right?"

"It's not much money. I made a little from writing articles, it's nothing."

Xu Chengjun smiled and forced the cigarette into Zhao Gang's hand.

During his time at the educated youth settlement, he, Qian Ming, and Zhao Gang were the three closest to him. Xu Chengjun's health wasn't very good before, and he had reservations about coming to the countryside to work. Zhao Gang, the eldest of the three and a very honest man, helped Xu Chengjun with many things and did a lot more work.

"Keep it safe. No one will say anything, but what kind of relationship do we have?"

Zhao Gang hesitated for a moment: "That's too much. I'll just take two boxes. You can take the rest back to your uncle."

"Don't worry about my dad, he's got everything he needs!"

Xu Chengjun then took out an English textbook edited by Xu Guozhang and handed it to Qian Ming, saying, "Take this and study it carefully."

This thing is a rare item.

"Xu Guozhang English" (four volumes) was written by Professor Xu Guozhang of Beijing Foreign Languages ​​Institute. It was first published in 1963, but its use was interrupted during the censorship period. It was reprinted and promoted on a large scale starting in 1978. By 1979, it had become the designated textbook for the vast majority of undergraduate students majoring in English and non-English majors in universities across the country, becoming a generation's "English enlightenment memory".

Small local bookstores often face disadvantages in sourcing and logistics, resulting in a shortage of copies. Factory workers, government officials, and unemployed youth all obtain these textbooks by hand-copying, borrowing, or snapping them up, highlighting their rarity.

However, Xu Chengjun was curious about how well Qian Ming had done on the exam.
(End of this chapter)