Zeng Hongjie was also excited. “Lin Lin, you need to work hard too! Let’s go to the provincial university together!”

She wanted to study Chinese because it was her strength.

A few days later, they received a notice that they could go to the commune to register.

At first, the registration conditions were strict, requiring leadership approval and setting age limits, which disqualified many people.

Soon after, another notice came, changing the rules to allow voluntary registration without considering background or family status, and raising the age limit to 30.

This meant that high school graduates from 1966 and 1967 could participate in the exams.

Many older students, now in their thirties with families, thought they had no hope of participating, but the government gave them a chance.

However, having the qualifications didn’t guarantee opportunities.

After ten years, many had forgotten their knowledge, lost their textbooks, and had heavy family responsibilities, leaving little time or energy for studying.

Many people, after initially feeling excited, had to accept reality and give up on their dreams.

Cheng Rushan accompanied Jiang Lin to register.

The registration fee was fifty cents, and filling out the school choice would allow them to receive their exam permits.

At that time, they could choose three preferences for their major and school.

The most popular choice was science and engineering, and Jiang Lin preferred science, so she applied to the provincial university’s science program.

When Cheng Rushan saw that all three of her choices were for the provincial university, he paused for a moment and said, “Your first choice is the provincial university, but you could write other schools for the other two.” The system prioritized admission for top universities.

Jiang Lin smiled and replied, “Your wife is very loyal!”

She winked at him, making her feelings clear.

Cheng Rushan smiled, understanding her loyalty but still insisted she fill out three different schools.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Brother Shan.” She filled in two schools that were not as good as the provincial university.

Nearby, some rural students were discussing their school choices, looking worried.

One said, “What schools should we apply to? I only know Peking University and Tsinghua University. Should I apply to those?”

Another replied, “Those are the best in the country. Do you think you can get in? You should apply to schools within the province.”

Traveling far away was not practical, so staying local was better.

“Honestly, I don’t even know the names of any universities in the province. There’s no guidance at the registration site, and we’re completely in the dark.”

Most of the rural students had only been to the county before and had never needed to think about college, so they had no idea about university names.

Hearing their worries, Jiang Lin decided to share her list of universities with them.

“Thank you so much!”

The rural students were very grateful, with one even offering her a boiled egg he didn’t eat.

Jiang Lin politely declined, and she and Cheng Rushan went home.

Next, Jiang Lin and her friends entered the final review phase, with just over a month until the exams, and they had to push hard.

Fortunately, Jiang Lin had started studying last year and had already mastered many basic concepts.

She wasn’t worried about memorization; she could recite anything without trouble.

Instead, she focused on practicing questions, creating her own problems since there weren’t many review materials available.

Half a month later, Jiang Xinglei and the others sent her a set of study materials.

This was something Lu Hang had gone to great lengths to buy from a teacher at the provincial university.

The teacher had students preparing for the college entrance examination, so several teachers collaborated to prepare a set of review materials, highlighting key exam points, and created several sets of mock questions.

They printed these using oil paper and ink and distributed them to their own students.

As a result, when someone heard the news, they came to ask for it, and those without connections had to buy it.

As soon as Lu Hang got his hands on it, he asked Jiang Xinglei to send a telegram to Jiang Lin, telling her to go to the province to study.

Jiang Lin thought about it and decided against it; she couldn’t bear to leave Da Bao and Xiao Bao, and going to the province to study would be troublesome since she’d still have to return to the county for the exam.

Seeing that she was unwilling to go back to the city for revision, Lu Hang wanted to send the materials to her, but fortunately, Jiang Xinglei suggested they copy the materials together first; otherwise, if they sent it to Jiang Lin, they’d be left with nothing.

When Jiang Lin received the review materials, she found that a large part of it matched her own guesses, which gave her more confidence.

She didn’t keep it to herself, calling Sun Qinghui and others to study together, even summarizing the key points and sending a copy to Zeng Hongjie.

Amidst the intense studying, time passed quickly, and soon it was December 3rd.

In the morning, Jiang Lin habitually checked her college entrance exam countdown: only 7 days left until the exam.

Thinking about it, she suddenly felt excited.

These days, immersed in her studies, she hadn’t really felt much pressure, especially since she had started preparing last year and had always been calm, without the urgency or panic others felt.

But for some reason, just thinking about the exam in 7 days made her a bit scared.

What if she didn’t do well? No, things weren’t like before; she was very happy now, surrounded by a big family who loved her.

She couldn’t express how joyful and confident she felt!

She was sure she would pass, especially since she had applied to three schools.

She wanted to talk to Cheng Rushan, Wen Sheng, and Da Bao and Xiao Bao, but found the place unusually quiet—not a single sound.

She got up and checked; it was only eight o’clock, and they had already eaten and left? How could there be no noise at all?

When she heard her come downstairs, Yan Runzhi immediately came out from the west room and smiled, “Bao’er’s mother, did you sleep well last night? Come have breakfast!”

Jiang Lin replied, “I slept very well! Have my dad and the others gone out?”

Yan Runzhi brought out breakfast, “Yes, Dabao and Xiaobao went to school. Wensheng is with your dad, and Dongsheng is busy with something.”

Cheng Rushan returned the day before yesterday and is waiting for her to finish her exam before going out.

Jiang Lin noticed how carefully she spoke and asked with concern, “Mom, isn’t your throat uncomfortable?”

Yan Runzhi cleared her throat, “I’m fine.”

“Is my dad’s cold better now?”

Yan Runzhi became nervous, “Did you hear him coughing last night?”

Jiang Lin asked, “My dad is coughing? Coughing means there’s inflammation; we can’t delay. Let Shan Ge take him to the county hospital for a check-up and get some medicine.”

Yan Runzhi replied, “It’s fine, no need for a hospital.”

A few days ago, Cheng Yunzhi had a bit of a cold, and although it seemed better, he was coughing more at night.

Yan Runzhi was worried it would disturb Jiang Lin’s rest, as not sleeping well would affect her studying during the day.

So, she and Cheng Yunzhi would dress warmly and go out for a walk until he stopped coughing.

Cheng Rushan thought she was too anxious, but Jiang Lin didn’t mind at all and couldn’t hear it.

However, Yan Runzhi warned him not to let Jiang Lin know, so she wouldn’t be distracted.

Jiang Lin, who was preparing for the college entrance exam, was managing her time well, but it was Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi who were the most nervous.

Since the registration day, Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi have been planning meals every day—what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and what snacks to give Bao’er’s mother in the morning and afternoon.

They wanted everything to be nutritious and delicious so that Bao’er’s mother would be in a good mood and full of energy for studying.

Yan Runzhi believed that as long as Bao’er’s mother ate well, her mood would be good, and studying would naturally go well.

She reminded Wensheng, Daba, and Xiaobao to be quiet at home and not to make loud noises so they wouldn’t disturb their mother’s studying.

But kids often forget and get noisy.

So, she had Cheng Yunzhi take Wensheng, Daba, and Xiaobao out early and bring them home late, even if there were no classes, just to keep them from making a fuss at home.

In the evenings, they would eat dinner, relax for a bit, and then sleep early because Jiang Lin would still be studying and doing exercises until after 10 PM.

Things were quite tense.

Everyone says it takes ten years of hard study to take the exam, and Bao’er’s mother is facing her exam in just one month, which isn’t easy at all.

For breakfast, there were boiled eggs, millet porridge, red date and walnut cake, and various side dishes.

Jiang Lin was very satisfied with her meal.

“Mom, where did Shan Ge go?” Normally, he would stick around her for the first couple of days after returning, but today he sneaked out early.

Cheng Rushan had come back the day before yesterday and was supposed to leave again in a couple of days.

He asked Dai Guohua to take Zhu Junjie and Duan Chang’an with him while he stayed home to help his wife study for the exam.

Yan Runzhi even reminded him, “Why don’t you sleep in the west room at night? We don’t want to disturb Bao’er’s studying or her sleep.”

This scared Cheng Rushan into being very quiet.

He would only cuddle and play with her during meals.

In the evenings, while she studied, he would sit quietly next to her or lie down properly.

When they slept, he would just hold her tightly under the blanket, careful not to move too much to avoid being sent to the west room.

Yan Runzhi had no idea that Jiang Lin hadn’t been doing any labor for over a month and was only taking leisurely walks in the yard, so she wasn’t tired at all.

Even by 8 or 9 PM, she wasn’t sleepy. With Cheng Rushan not home, she had nothing else to do but study.

So, it was quite surprising that Cheng Rushan had been so well-behaved these past few days.

Even though he was clearly struggling, he still cuddled with her while they slept.

She found it confusing—did he run out of raincoats? But there were still some in the cabinet.

Or maybe he was avoiding meat for a few days? Whenever she teased him, he was eager to respond, yet very disciplined about not going overboard after 11 PM.

It felt like a T. rex suddenly deciding to eat grass—when offered meat, he would shyly refuse, creating a similar atmosphere.

Why was she growing fonder of him?

Yan Runzhi didn’t really know what her son was up to, just that her job was to keep him out of the house so he wouldn’t disturb Bao’er’s studying.

Jiang Lin went out to the yard for a stroll.

Yan Runzhi said, “Bao’er’s mother, are you tired from studying? If you are, take a break. Studying can be exhausting, so don’t overdo it.”

Jiang Lin felt warm inside from her words, just like her classmates in a previous life who had parents caring for them as they prepared for exams, unlike her own situation where no one seemed to notice.

“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll definitely pass the exam,” she reassured her.

Yan Runzhi was very confident, saying, “I’m not nervous! I’m not the one taking the exam, so why should I be nervous? You’ll definitely pass!”

But saying this made her realize that she was actually quite nervous.

It was strange; she wasn’t the one taking the exam, so why was she feeling this way?

After wandering around for a bit, Jiang Lin went back to studying.

Two hours later, she took another stroll in the yard.

Before long, she saw Yan Runzhi coming in from outside, carrying a food basket covered with a cloth, steaming hot.

“Mom, where did you go?” Jiang Lin asked.

Yan Runzhi replied, “I went to make you something to eat. Studying is exhausting, and you need something good to replenish your energy.”

She placed the basket on the table, uncovering it to reveal some red date cake and a bowl of sheep’s milk.

Jiang Lin was surprised, “Where did the milk come from?”

Yan Runzhi beamed, “Last time I mentioned getting you some cow or sheep milk for nourishment, Dongsheng remembered! He found out that there are dairy sheep up north and drove the tractor to buy one this morning. With your upcoming exams, your brain needs nourishment, so drink some sheep’s milk!”

Jiang Lin wasn’t sure if sheep’s milk was good for the brain, but Yan Runzhi’s effort warmed her heart.

She said, “Mom, you don’t have to go through so much trouble. You already put so much thought into cooking every day; that’s enough!”

Winter days were already short, and Yan Runzhi was giving her five meals a day, including snacks in the morning and supper at night.

Now that Cheng Rushan was back, he often held her and said she was finally gaining some weight.

He used to ignore her body shape, always saying she was too thin, but now he noticed she felt nice to touch, meaning she had filled out a bit!

Jiang Lin poured out half of the sheep’s milk, drinking half a bowl and leaving the other half for Yan Runzhi.

Yan Runzhi smiled, “You drink it all, and we’ll have ours later. Wensheng, Daba, Xiaobao, your dad, Dongsheng, and I have all had some!”

Jiang Lin didn’t believe that at all!

Yan Runzhi was the type who would make sure her children ate any good food.

If the kids didn’t eat, she would save it for the next meal.

There was no way she’d drink it all herself!