Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Yan Jiecheng left, and Zhang Dabiao ate with the three girls. The three of them now cook for themselves in different ways every day, but they only have so many ingredients, so they can't change the dishes too much.

The rain has been targeting Mu Wanqing lately. If it were before, Mu Wanqing probably would have left if she thought you didn't welcome her.

But now they're shamelessly staying to eat with us...

Even the rain couldn't stop it; after all, this was Da Biao's house.

Qin Jingru didn't care. She was only 12 and a half years old. Watching her two older sisters fight over Zhang Dabiao, she just found it very amusing.

During dinner, Yushui brought up the college entrance exam. Huzi, who was in the same grade as her, went to the school to inquire and found out that high schools do not allow skipping grades, so there was no way for him to go directly from the second year of high school to the third year to take the college entrance exam.

So Tiger plans to drop out of high school and go straight to work.

Zhang Dabiao thought to himself, "Isn't this a pity? But if Yushui takes the college entrance exam next year, what will the admission rate be?"

I have no recollection of it.

This year's 60-year growth rate is 96.8%, the highest in history. Next year, we will definitely have to hit the brakes.

Will He Yushui pass the exam next year?

Forget about her. It would be best if she passed the exam, but it wouldn't matter if she didn't. In the original drama, He Yushui was assigned to work in a textile factory after graduating from high school, which means that her grades were okay, but not quite at the level of a top student.

It's a bit of a pity, but these days, as long as you can get a job in a factory and secure a stable income, that's already considered pretty good.

After clearing away the dishes, Zhang Dabiao prepared to take a look at the junior high school textbooks, as he also planned to skip a grade in junior high.

But then a question suddenly occurred to me...

It's 1960 now. If you start junior high in the second half of the year, and assume you skip a grade and finish in one year, you'd start senior high in the second half of 1961. But skipping grades isn't allowed in senior high...

That means I graduated from high school in 1964 and took the college entrance exam, but there was a strong wind in 66, so classes were suspended. Classes gradually resumed in the 70s, and the college entrance exam was reinstated in 77, with students starting university in the spring of 78…

In other words, taking the college entrance exam in 64 was somewhat risky.

In 64, nine out of ten college students would be involved in something, and college students would probably have to go to the countryside.

Wait, will my situation lead to me being sent to the countryside?

If I hadn't skipped a grade in junior high, I would have graduated from high school in July 1966, which would have been right around the same time.

……

Zhang Dabiao became nervous.

When he gets nervous, he takes out a cigarette to light one, but—

"Where the hell are my matches?"

"Yan Jiecheng, you bastard, you stole my matches again?!"

----------

The next day, when Zhang Dabiao went to school, he specifically asked Principal Feng about it.

The reason he was able to skip a grade in elementary school was primarily because he was too old, having already spent 10 years in elementary school. Coupled with the negative impact of the Yan Bugui incident, the Education Bureau made an exception and wanted to send him away early, which was fundamentally against regulations. However, the Education Bureau agreed, so the impact was minimal.

However, later, due to the usury incident, Zhang Dabiao received commendation from the municipal bureau, his invention was adopted by higher authorities to build a factory, he was commended by the ministry, featured in a daily newspaper interview, and was awarded a banner by the police station for his "Heroic Act" after being stabbed while saving someone.

Considering the impact of these events, and Zhang Dabiao's excellent grades in the grade-skipping exams, no one objected to the fact that he skipped three grades in elementary school. This was because Zhang Dabiao was truly "excellent," excelling in both academics and character, and even earning foreign exchange for the country.

However, if you want to skip a grade in junior high or high school, unless you participate in the preparatory course of the "Junior Class" founded by the University of Science and Technology of China in 1958, or win a top prize in a national subject competition, or apply to a vocational school or university as a self-taught student with "equivalent academic ability", it is completely impossible to skip a grade.

The core selection mechanism for skipping grades is: competition/selection – certification review – special approval. Unsatisfactory family background and documentation are a veto factor.

It's even harder than changing your rural household registration to an urban one, don't even think about it.

Zhang Dabiao wore a bitter face, filled with despair.

Forget it, I just want to graduate high school safely.

I graduated from high school in 66, took the college entrance exam in 77, went to university in 78, and graduated from university in 82...

How old was I at that time?

39岁？

Is it possible to complete another master's degree at 42?

……

Zhang Dabiao was somewhat obsessed with taking the college entrance exam, especially getting into a good university.

In his later life, he graduated from a third-rate, unaccredited university. Some of his classmates in high school got into 211 or 985 universities, and those were the "other people's children" in the eyes of parents and teachers.

Although graduating from a 211 or 985 university doesn't guarantee a great job, it's still a kind of prestige.

If you traveled back to this era, getting into university would be incredibly easy, so why not give it a try?

Especially these days, you can even get a direct recommendation to university based on your academic performance.

But now his hopes are dashed. Oh well, he'll just have to get through high school and see what happens.

However, you can also take the entrance exam for a vocational high school after graduating from junior high school. Are there any vocational high schools for arts these days? I think there are.

------------

The courtyard has been relatively quiet lately. Yan Bugui has completely stopped working because he's exhausted from farming at the school's farm every day. He also swept the streets every morning for a month straight. His skinny body really couldn't take it anymore, and he just lay around at home groaning after get off work every day.

As for going back to being a doorman or leaving early to go fishing, that's completely impossible.

However, the third auntie took over the gatekeeping job, but she didn't gain much advantage; she just kept strangers out of the yard. The Yan family still managed to get a little something from the gatekeeping and opening the gate at night.

Yi Zhonghai had already returned to work and his leg was healed. However, the past few months of sweeping the streets, attending training sessions at the neighborhood committee, and cleaning toilets at the factory had really taken a toll on him. With Jia Zhangshi gone and Uncle Yi removed from his position, he had no reason to cause trouble and was quite well-behaved.

It is said that he was highly regarded in the factory because he was very honest and often helped with high-level workpieces.

Aside from some confidential documents that he couldn't handle, he was often asked to help other senior workers when they were too busy, and his popularity gradually improved.

The Jia family is still the same old scumbag. Because Jia Zhangshi went to a labor camp, they lost a big eater, but they are doing alright. Zhang Dabiao even wondered if sending Jia Zhangshi to the labor camp was a mistake.

However, it is true that the courtyard is quieter since Madam Jia is not here.

The deaf old woman in the backyard no longer acts like an ancestor; she only interacts more with Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu. Liu Cuilan still brings her food every day; whatever Yi Zhonghai buys, she cooks, and the old deaf woman eats. Occasionally, Sha Zhu cooks something nice for her to improve her diet.

Uncle Sha is still the same silly guy. Qin Huairu would steal his lunchbox as soon as it arrived in the yard. After receiving her salary, Qin Huairu would always pretend to be poor and borrow about ten yuan. He still owed Zhang Dabiao meat and seasonings, as well as He Yushui about two hundred yuan, which he had never paid back.

Xu Damao and Shazhu still act like Tom and Jerry every day, bickering and joking around. Recently, Xu Fugui introduced Xu Damao to several blind dates, but he didn't like any of them. Moreover, he went to the "Nanluoguxiang Food Processing Shop" every day, buying some snacks and commissioning the processing shop to pickle some vegetables and fish, etc. In fact, he just wanted to see Lou Xiao'e. This guy still hadn't given up his wicked intentions.

Everyone else was fine, except for Liu Gen, whose decision to continue taking the college entrance exam drew ridicule because his grades weren't much better than Hu Zi's, who was at the bottom of the class. Yan Bugui gave them a good dressing down, arguing that Liu Gen was wasting his job by not going to work—wasting several months' salary! That's almost a hundred yuan!

If Liu Gen can get into university, then any high school student could get in.

Therefore, Tian Liugen was simply overestimating his own abilities!