Chapter 79

Qian Xiaohe said with embarrassment, “Teacher, I want to continue high school… but I’m worried that if I don’t finish high school, they’ll make me go to work.”

When Qian Xiaohe referred to “they,” she meant her parents, and Su Ye understood her predicament very well.

Su Ye asked her seriously, “Xiaohe, even if you attend vocational school, you’ll still study hard and learn skills, right?”

Qian Xiaohe nodded earnestly, “I definitely will! But I’m afraid they’ll tear up my vocational school admission notice. Teacher, please don’t give it to my parents. If anyone asks, don’t give it to them. Teacher, please hide it for me.”

Su Ye patted her head and smiled, “Don’t worry. When the admission notice arrives, I’ll keep it safe for you. How about this, you wait a few days for me, and once I’m done with what I’m handling, I’ll personally take you to school.”

Qian Xiaohe’s eyes sparkled with surprise, and she stared at Su Ye intently.

—

Not long after the junior high school exams ended, the college entrance exam came quickly.

It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but Su Ye was one of the examinees. Fortunately, she had a thick skin, and taking the exam alongside her students didn’t faze her at all, she didn’t feel ashamed in the least.

Yang Chenxing and the others laughed playfully and teasingly shouted at Su Ye, “Teacher Su, give it your all!”

“Go, Teacher Su!”

Su Ye calmly waved at them and smiled back at each of them.

Until Lu Siyuan said, “Teacher Su, focus on your exam. Don’t fail, or you’ll be beaten by your own students.”

Dozens of surprised eyes from the class turned to Su Ye, and a sudden urge to grab these mischievous kids and give them a good scolding arose in her heart.

Other unfamiliar exam takers looked toward Su Ye with astonishment. Seeing her young appearance, they had originally thought she was a student, but were surprised to learn she was a teacher. Nowadays, people weren’t like in the ’70s, still taking exams after getting married and having children. With the current economic difficulties, every student wanted to work as soon as possible, and it was rare to find someone still taking university exams after getting a job.

When the bell rang, Su Ye carefully examined the exam paper. Her pen moved swiftly as she answered the questions. She finished the exam in one hour, becoming the first person to turn in their paper.

The college entrance exam in 1960 was a nationwide joint exam held by several major universities. It mainly tested basic knowledge, with a small number of questions and not much difficulty.

Three days later.

A few days before the results of the college entrance exam were announced, Su Ye successfully received her high school diploma. It was a thin piece of paper, stamped with the big red seal of No. 1 Middle School in C City.

The principal smiled and said to others, “Little Su is a decisive person, when she said she would get the diploma, she went ahead and got it.”

She then said to Su Ye, “You’ve finally got your high school diploma! Now that you have it, next year you can become a main subject teacher. I have high hopes for you. I heard from Little Zhou that you teach math well. How about teaching in the high school department next semester?”

Other teachers in the office joked, “The principal may not be able to keep her, little Su applied to Tsinghua University!”

The principal laughed out loud, “Stop joking about Su Ye. Su Ye, did you really apply to Tsinghua University?”

Su Ye nodded.

The principal didn’t take it seriously. If Su Ye had applied to a local university, it would have shown some determination, but applying directly to Tsinghua University? Was Tsinghua University really that easy to get into?

Each year, only a few exceptional students in the city were admitted to Tsinghua University. If a student from No. 1 Middle School was accepted into Tsinghua University, it would be considered a huge achievement.

The principal didn’t understand Su Ye’s situation, but that didn’t stop the teachers in the office from knowing her well. They had been colleagues for nearly half a year, and everything Su Ye did was impressive.

Even the older, more experienced teachers like Fang Zhou and Liu Qiu, who had been around for years, respected her from the bottom of their hearts.

Su Ye had the ability to create summary and review materials with great accuracy, making sure every question was key. If even she couldn’t pass, how could the others succeed?

Now, all the parents in the city were frantically looking for No. 1 Middle School’s review materials. If the teachers in the senior class hadn’t collected all the review materials to save for the next year’s students, it was likely that the materials Su Ye had organized would have spread throughout the city by now.

Aside from that, before the exam, Su Ye had taught the students for two months of review classes. Any teacher who had attended her class couldn’t help but praise her. If she didn’t have the ability, would they have allowed her to give extra lessons to the students?

Zhou Yi smiled and said, “That’s no joke. The principal is still trying to bribe Teacher Su while she can. After the results come out, it’ll be too late.”

After saying that, all the teachers in the office laughed aloud.

After the college entrance exam, the other grades at the school began their final exams one after another. Once the exams were finished, No. 1 High School officially started its summer vacation.

Su Ye hadn’t forgotten about the more than a thousand pounds of tea she had stored in the hotel warehouse. As soon as the holiday began, she contacted the factory to sell the tea. Because she had helped Changyou repair machinery, Su Ye brought up the tea business to Factory Director Lu, who readily ordered 600 pounds of tea.

“Su Ye should have told me about this earlier. It’s a small matter, if you had told me sooner, the workers would already be drinking such good tea.”

In the hot July weather, workers were working in high temperatures and needed to replenish a lot of fluids. Tea was refreshing and thirst-quenching, making it an ideal remedy for the summer heat.

Mechanical factories and steel factories, which had business relations with Changyou Oil Factory, also received Su Ye’s tea promotion. In consideration of Factory Director Lu, they happily bought up the remaining tea. The remaining tea was sold at 15 yuan per pound, and the total sale of 1,500 pounds of tea brought in 2,250 yuan.

Su Ye informed Ma Gensheng to come to the city, and once Ma Gensheng received the letter, he quickly rushed to the city.

In the letter, Su Ye mentioned that she would share the remaining tea money with him, and he thought it would only be a few hundred yuan. To his surprise, when he opened the bankbook, he found a large sum of money.

He looked at the amount on the bankbook and was so stunned he could barely speak, “I… I didn’t expect the tea could sell for so much money!”

Ma Gensheng stared at the numbers on the thin bankbook, his gaze intense as if he were trying to burn a hole through it.

He counted the bankbook several times in disbelief and said, “This is too much… really too much… The money you gave us last time was enough to buy enough grain to last us through the winter. This money… we need to think carefully about how to use it. On behalf of the whole village, I thank Teacher Su. This year, everyone will have a good year.”

Ma Gensheng excitedly shared another piece of good news with Su Ye, “A few city youth volunteers have come to our village. The village officials have repainted the old houses and set up an elementary school. Now that we have some ready money, I’ll talk to everyone about using some of it for the children’s education.”

“Teacher Su, you’re a city teacher, so your level must be very high. Our village has good mountains, good water, and delicious food. If you have time, come visit us in the countryside and teach the children. They all want to meet Teacher Su.”

Su Ye was very happy to hear this. This was a great thing, and perhaps the money Ma Gensheng spent on the children could bring her a grain profit.

She smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll definitely go when I have summer vacation!”

After putting the bankbook away, Ma Gensheng took out some dried mountain goods from a snake skin bag, including mushrooms, bamboo fungus, goji berries, and dates. He rummaged through it and even took out a few thin wild ginseng roots.

“These little ginseng roots were dug by the children in the mountains. They’re not worth much. Teacher Su, you work hard teaching, so drink some wild ginseng tea to nourish your body.”

Su Ye repeatedly declined the wild ginseng, but Chief Ma insisted on leaving it with her.