Reborn in 1977

As he was leaving, Zhou-jie asked Chen Fan a question.

"You're running around, worrying about everything and expecting the worst. Is it really necessary? Some people are indeed stubborn, but there are also many who are happy to help.

Besides, the admission brochure clearly states, 'Based on individual performance, the best will be selected.' Otherwise, your Zuo-jie wouldn't have agreed to help so easily. What are you still worried about?"

Chen Fan had already stood up. Hearing this, he lowered his head and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "The world has no shortage of two types of people: those who make things difficult for others as much as possible, and those who help others succeed as much as possible.

The college entrance exam is a lifelong matter, and I don't dare gamble that everyone I encounter will be the latter. If I sit at home and do nothing, what if I encounter the former? Wouldn't that be pathetic?

They are already like frightened birds, afraid to do anything. Even if they want to do something, they lack the ability.

Since I've encountered them and can do something, I should do as much as I can."

Zhou-jie nodded thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, she raised her head, looked at Chen Fan meaningfully, and smiled, "So, you belong to the latter?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "I'm the kind of person who repays kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance."

After saying that, he waved his hand and left freely.

Zhou-jie looked at the empty doorway, paused for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled and gently shook her head, muttering, "That brat, always pretending to be so mature. Now he's acting like a young man."

…

The college entrance exam lasted two days, or two and a half days including the additional subjects.

The students from Lujiawan all signed up for the additional exams. Most chose English, and a few chose biology. Those who chose biology all wanted to apply for medical-related majors.

Including veterinary medicine.

Now Lujiawan was not short of money. To help them achieve better results, the brigade specially funded them to stay in the county town's guest house. Although several people had to squeeze into one room, it was still much better than most people.

The candidates from the communes below who came to the county town for the exam, even if they were very poor, would not bother to travel back and forth to stay at home, but the accommodation arrangements varied greatly.

Those who had relatives in the county town would go to stay with them. Not only was the environment better, but they could also get a few free meals.

Those with better family conditions, or those who had their own jobs, would stay at the guest house. Although they slept in shared rooms, the conditions were still acceptable. Including food expenses, the daily cost was about two yuan, which would be more than four yuan for two days. Including the round-trip fare, it would be five yuan.

This amount of money was nothing to urban families with jobs, but it was half a life for ordinary production team families.

Currently, a kilogram of rice only cost 0.12 yuan. Five yuan could buy more than 40 kilograms of rice, enough for a strong laborer's ration for more than a month. Except for Lujiawan, this was not a small amount for most production team families, so they could only try to save money in every possible way.

So, some people pooled money to "share a bed", and some shamelessly followed familiar classmates to their relatives' homes to sleep on the floor. Everyone was trying their best.

They saved as much as possible on meals. Either they brought a few rice balls from home when they came out, and asked for some hot water to last for two days, or they brought pickles and only bought rice. Anyway, they tried to save as much as possible.

After enduring for two days, on the third day, the candidates from Nanhut Commune had basically finished.

Only the people from Lujiawan who were participating in the additional exams remained.

For the final exam, Secretary Yang, Team Leader Zhang, and Ye Shubao also made a special trip to come over today, leaving only Xiao Liewen on duty in the team.

Chen Fan brought them over.

Unlike the others who stayed in the county town, Chen Fan relied on having a boat and traveled between Lujiawan, the prefectural committee, and the county town every day. Today, Secretary Yang and the others came over on his small yacht.

Across from the entrance of Gufeng County No. 1 High School, several people sat in a row on small stools. Anquan, who had not signed up for the additional exam, was also there.

He silently smoked, looked at the school gate with blurred eyes, and said softly, "I have a classmate who is an educated youth in Inner Mongolia. They fill out their college applications before taking the exam. When they sign up for the college entrance exam, they also fill out their applications. He originally wanted to apply for a chemistry major, but after listening to the cadres in the admissions office, he heard that not many people were applying for English, so he switched to English."

Zhang Wenliang immediately asked curiously, "Did he get in?"

Anquan turned to look at him, "Brother, their exam time is from the 13th to the 15th. It hasn't started yet."

Zhang Wenliang waved his head, "Then why are you saying this? He hasn't even gotten in yet."

Then he said curiously, "Then why do we take the exam first and then fill out the applications?"

Chen Fan flicked the ash from his cigarette, wondering if he should move to the windward side to avoid being smoked by their smoke, but when he thought that the windward side was blocking the wind, he silently gave up.

Actually, he was just too lazy to move.

Just then, he heard Zhang Wenliang's words and said, "Even the college entrance exam time is different. What's the problem with different procedures?

Besides, Inner Mongolia is so big. I heard that it takes one or two days to get to the county town from remote pastoral areas. Some places don't even have buses. Do you want them to run once to sign up, run once to take the exam, and then run once to fill out their applications? Isn't that tiring? I think it's better to fill out the applications when signing up. You can do two things at once."

Actually, it's better to fill out the applications later, at least you can estimate how many points you scored. Filling out the applications before the exam is just blindly guessing, and it's even more exciting than opening a blind box.

Secretary Yang heard their words, turned his head, and asked curiously, "Does filling out the applications mean that you can fill in whichever university you want?"

Anquan was closest to him and immediately nodded, "You can apply to any university that has enrollment plans in Jiangnan Province."

Team Leader Zhang immediately bent down and looked at him, "Then how do I know which universities are enrolling in Jiangnan Province?"

Zhang Wenliang had been here for two or three days and had already figured out the situation. He immediately smiled and said, "Uncle, you can think of this question. Can't the cadres think of it? There's a list at the Education Bureau where you fill out your applications. You can see which universities, which majors, and how many people they are recruiting at a glance. Just fill it out on the application form."

Team Leader Zhang pondered for two seconds, then suddenly pulled out his tobacco pipe, "Just say it directly. Why do you dare to laugh at my ignorance? No manners!"

After being knocked on the head, Zhang Wenliang didn't dare to say anything and silently smoked with his head lowered.

Secretary Yang squinted his eyes thoughtfully, "Then can we go take a look at that list in advance and study it carefully at home?"

Chen Fan immediately shook his head, "No need. There are only a few universities. I've already arranged everything for the people in our team. I'll give them a list of key universities later, and they can choose from it according to the majors they want to apply for."

Hearing this, Secretary Yang and the others were relieved.

Little Chen is reliable and will definitely handle things well!

Anquan was immediately stunned and turned to look at him, "Apply to all key universities?"

Chen Fan glanced at him, "Do you think their scores are not enough to get into key universities?"

Anquan hesitated for a moment, "With their scores, they should be able to get into key universities, but…"

After a two-second pause, he seemed uneasy. "What if a lot of people sign up? My friend I mentioned earlier signed up for English because no one else did. Less competition, you know? Should we play it safe?"

Chen Fan glanced at him. "Only those without ability or confidence need to play it safe. Do you think you need to? Can't you be a little more confident like me? Stop being so anxious about everything."

An Quan's eyes widened. "You haven't even taken the college entrance exam. How can you call that confidence?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, Zhang Wenliang couldn't help butting in, "Didn't I tell you? He directly applied for postgraduate studies!"

An Quan: "… …!!!"

He hadn't remembered.

Time always flies when you're chatting. Before they knew it, the school loudspeaker blared, signaling the end of the last exam. The once-silent campus quickly became noisy.

The iron gates opened, and the dozens of examinees who had taken the additional test walked out one after another. Students from Lujiawan and educated youth from Nanhu accounted for half of them.

As always, Zhang Cuie took the lead, rushing towards Chen Fan. Closely following behind were Huang Ying and her two friends, then the other students from Lujiawan and the educated youth, in orderly ranks, corresponding perfectly with their overall scores.

Before long, all the examinees had left the campus.

Chen Fan briefly looked at the test paper Zhang Cuie had copied out. Instead of grading it like the previous exams, he handed it back to her and said loudly, "Secretary Yang has something to announce. Let's hear from Secretary Yang."

The crowd paused for a moment, then turned to look at Secretary Yang. A delayed burst of applause erupted.

Secretary Yang, his face flushed, held up his rough hands and grinned from ear to ear. "No, no, I just thought everyone has been working hard these past few days taking the exams. Our team has prepared a banquet to show our appreciation."

He paused and waved specifically to the educated youth from other places. "You come too, all of you come, let's have a good celebration."

As for the examinees from Nanhu Commune, none of them had signed up for the additional test and had already returned yesterday. So, those who remained here today could be considered 'our own people,' which was why Secretary Yang was so generous.

Hearing his words, the crowd cheered and raised their hands, and applause erupted again, attracting countless gazes from those around them.

Afterward, surrounded by the crowd, Secretary Yang led the way towards the wharf by the river.

The large wooden boat that had delivered goods in the morning hadn't returned yet, waiting to take them back.

Chen Fan lagged behind, slowly handing the small stool to the staff of the cooked food workshop who were waiting nearby, and walked forward with his hands behind his back.

Zhang Cuie, Huang Ying, and the others still surrounded him, their faces beaming, waiting to ride on his small yacht later.

On such a cold day, with so many people, riding the large wooden boat would mean squeezing on the deck. It wouldn't be as warm as the small wooden boat covered with tarpaulin.

Just then, a burst of loud crying came from not far away.

Chen Fan turned his head to look and saw a girl sitting on the ground, covering her face with a scarf, crying her heart out.

Zhang Cuie was stunned and stared blankly at her, muttering, "Could it be that she got a zero?"

Huang Ying said, "Or maybe she handed in a blank paper."

Yang Ju and Liu Dan also looked at the girl with sympathetic eyes.

Chen Fan pursed his lips, turned to look at them, and said softly, "Think back to a year ago, when you were being selected for the veterinary class, you all got high scores, but your spots were taken by others."

Then he turned to look at the girl who was still crying, "Before the restoration of the college entrance examination, she should have been a hundred times more desperate than you were back then, right?"

Hearing these words, the four girls' faces instantly changed color. Looking at that girl again, they immediately understood what it meant to empathize.

And she was just one of the countless candidates seeking to change their fate.

… …

Back in Lujiawan, the brigade headquarters had already prepared a banquet.

Five large round tables were set up. The people from the veterinary class sat at one table, the girls at another, the educated youth from other places who had stayed to take the additional test sat at two tables, and finally, Secretary Yang, Chen Fan, and An Quan sat together at one table.

After everyone was seated, Chen Fan said to Secretary Yang, "Uncle Yang, would you like to say a few words to everyone?"

Secretary Yang quickly waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it. I don't know how to give speeches."

He looked at Captain Zhang. "Why don't you, Lao Zhang, give a speech?"

Upon hearing this, Captain Zhang shook his head so vigorously it could have powered a fan. "Spare me, I'm not cut out for that."

Then he looked at Ye Shubao. "If I can't do it, does that mean you can?"

Seeing him turn his gaze towards himself, Xiao Liewen immediately pointed at Secretary Yang. "Lao Yang, don't decline. You're the leader of the organization, so you definitely have to speak. It wouldn't be appropriate for any of us to speak."

Secretary Yang smacked his lips and looked at everyone with a flushed face. "Then, I'll say a few words?"

Without saying a word, Chen Fan clapped his hands and applauded. "Welcome Secretary Yang to give a speech to everyone."

In the small courtyard, applause immediately rang out.

Even the educated youth from other places were clapping vigorously.

They had been reviewing here for more than a month, and they had received a lot of help from Lujiawan. In any case, they should thank Lujiawan. There was no reason not to give them face.

Seeing so many candidates who were "about to become cadres" applauding him, Secretary Yang's mouth was crooked with a smile.

Of course, what he treasured most were the 23 people from his production team, all of whom were young people in their teens. When they graduated from college, they would be in their prime, with many years to develop in the future.

Youth was capital. With such a long time, they could even cultivate a few senior cadres!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Chen Fan, his heart filled with emotion.

At first, including himself, many people were speculating whether Chen Fan came from a high-ranking cadre's family. If so, they might be able to take advantage of it.

But he didn't expect that without any high-ranking cadre family, Chen Fan alone had allowed Lujiawan to take full advantage.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt enlightened and stood up and said loudly, "Comrades of Lujiawan, you have participated in the college entrance examination. Teacher Chen has confidence in you and believes that you will achieve good results.

When you go to college, study hard. After graduation, you will be assigned to different units. Some may become engineers, some may become technicians, some may become teachers, cadres, or leaders… …

I'm not very good at speaking, but I know one thing. What allows you to become cadres and leaders is your ability. Therefore, in the days to come, don't be blinded by those messy things. You must remember your roots, which is the ability you have learned.

Ability is the foundation of your life."

After a brief silence, applause thundered again.