Jiang Lin went to the village brigade and used the loudspeaker to shout several times.

Her voice carried through the autumn breeze, spreading across Shuihuai Village.

Even those who couldn’t hear clearly would come out and ask what was going on when they heard the broadcast.

At that time, the brigade was busy plowing and planting wheat.

Sun Qinghui and about twenty other educated youth were helping in the fields behind the village.

They heard the loudspeaker’s voice in the wind, repeating something.

They didn’t think much of it, as the brigade’s broadcasts were usually for the members, either calling for meetings or announcing work schedules.

After a while, they saw Wensheng riding a bicycle with Dabao and Xiaobao rushing over.

When they reached the field, the three of them shouted together, “Sun Zhiqing, my mom told you all, there will be college entrance exams!”

Sun Qinghui and the others heard but couldn’t believe it. “What? What did they say? College entrance exams?”

Jin Lei exclaimed, “Is it true? Really? They’re reinstating the college entrance exams? Oh my god! Is it really happening?”

He had written to Meng Yiyi, expressing concern for her, and she had once mentioned in a letter that the college entrance exams might be reinstated.

He hadn’t taken it seriously, thinking she was just speculating.

Ever since the exams were canceled, everyone had been guessing when they would be reinstated.

In ’68 and ’69, the speculation was at its peak, but it led to disappointment time and again.

Every year people guessed, and every year they were disappointed.

Unexpectedly, this year… it was really happening!

They all became excited and asked, “When will the exams be held?”

“Probably next year, right? If they’re reinstating the exams this year, they have to give us time to review, don’t they?”

Everyone was talking like this.

With this news, they couldn’t concentrate on their work anymore.

Sun Qinghui said, “You guys finish up here. I’ll go find out more details and come back to inform you.”

He quickly ran towards Wensheng and the others, following them to Jiang Lin’s house.

When the college entrance exams were restored, the most excited were the educated youth and students from the countryside, while the other villagers felt indifferent.

For the villagers, besides the satellite launch in the 1950s, most movements didn’t really affect them.

They didn’t pay much attention to cultural movements.

At most, some educated youth from the city would come to the village, but they couldn’t carry heavy loads and often caused trouble.

Some would even steal chickens and dogs from the villagers.

Now that the exams were announced, the educated youth were eager to return.

Sun Qinghui asked Jiang Lin about the exam dates.

Jiang Lin replied, “From what I heard on the radio, the exams might be in a little over a month.”

“Wow! So soon?” Sun Qinghui was surprised. “They just announced it, and we have no time to study!”

Jiang Lin reassured him, “The central government must have its reasons. With a tight schedule, the exam questions might be easier. Plus, there will be more chances to take the exam next year. It’s better to have the exams back; at least there’s hope.”

Sun Qinghui grew anxious again, “But… we don’t have any books, no exam guidelines, and no study materials. How can we prepare?”

Jiang Lin quickly comforted him, “Don’t worry. We can organize a study group for the educated youth in our village and use the commune’s courtyard to study together. We can also write home and ask them to send us some materials.”

“Yes, we can’t panic,” Sun Qinghui said with a shy smile. “I just got a little flustered.”

Jiang Lin said, “You’re just too anxious. After waiting for so many years, anyone would feel nervous.”

Sun Qinghui felt grateful to Jiang Lin and left to find other educated youth in the fields.

---

Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi were cooking to host Dai Guohua.

Dai Guohua said to Cheng Rushan, “Rushan, do you have any connections to get a household registration in the provincial city? Otherwise, should we contact someone from the military district logistics?”

Cheng Rushan laughed, “Do you know someone who can help us?”

Dai Guohua replied, “Yes, our friend Li Hongjun knows a cadre named Bian. I overheard him helping someone with a household registration before.”

Cheng Rushan turned to look at Jiang Lin upon hearing this.

Jiang Lin pretended not to hear anything about the surname Bian, saying, “Is it really that hard to do? If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just study hard and get into college. Then it should be easier to get connections for Dabo and Xiaobao to go to school.”

Cheng Rushan had a job, so the location of their household registration didn’t matter much, as they were often apart.

The key concern was Dabao and Xiaobao.

Cheng Rushan looked at her seriously and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to get a household registration in the provincial city.”

Dai Guohua asked, “Sister-in-law, have you thought about which school to apply to?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Not yet, but I think going to the provincial city would be good since my family is there.”

She didn’t feel the need to aim for the best university in the capital.

Getting into a good provincial university would still be a great opportunity.

A provincial university was also very well-known nationally.

If she could attend the provincial university and bring Dabao and Xiaobao with her, her family could help take care of them.

If she went to another province, she wouldn’t be able to bring them, and she would miss them a lot.

Moreover, there was also Wensheng.

Wensheng was different from Dabo and Xiaobao.

They would grow up and become less attached to their mother, but Wensheng’s dependence on “Mom” would only grow deeper.

If he didn’t see her for a long time, he would get anxious, worried that something might happen to her, and he needed to see her to feel at ease.

Cheng Rushan nodded, “The provincial city sounds good.”

First, he would arrange to get a household registration, then find a place to live so his family could reunite there.

After his wife entered university and eventually found work, they wouldn’t stay in the countryside.

He needed to plan ahead to avoid being caught off guard.

Dai Guohua agreed, “Let’s all give it a try, use our connections wherever possible, and see who can help.”

“Thank you, big brother,” Cheng Rushan replied gratefully.

Dai Guohua chuckled, “Calling me ‘big brother’ like that, helping you is the least I can do.”

Although he said this, Cheng Rushan was genuinely happy.

Dai Guohua hadn’t even thought about moving to the provincial city himself, yet he was willing to help him out, and Cheng Rushan appreciated this bond.

Later, after Dai Guohua left, in the evening when work ended around ten o’clock, Sun Qinghui and other educated youth came to Jiang Lin for information.

Since Jiang Lin and Meng Yiyi’s falling-out, with Meng Yiyi sent to prison, the educated youth had come to see Jiang Lin as the spokesperson for the Yanghong Brigade educated youth.

They would inform her of important matters or seek her advice.

Jiang Lin said, “Time is tight. Let’s request to reduce our work hours with the brigade, to have more time for studying.”

“But if we don’t work, we won’t have enough to eat,” someone pointed out.

While some could take leave and go back to the city to study, they couldn’t easily return to sort out food supplies.

At home, food was allocated according to quotas, with nothing extra for them.

In the countryside, if they didn’t work, the brigade wouldn’t provide them with food either, leaving them in the same situation.

They started work no later than eight in the morning and finished around six in the evening, sometimes with evening commitments.

Where would they find the time and energy to study?

If they didn’t study, registering for the exams would be pointless.

But if they didn’t register, they would feel reluctant!

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Lin suggested, “Here’s an idea: I’ll request from the brigade to borrow some food supplies and write an IOU. After the exams, we can figure out how to repay it. What do you think?”

Sun Qinghui and the others were pleased and thanked her, promising to accompany her to make the request so she wouldn’t be burdened alone.

However, some educated youth were unhappy, feeling Jiang Lin wasn’t fully committed.

After all, she owned a brick kiln and earned a good income.

Why couldn’t she support them a bit more?

Back when she was going through her family split, the educated youth had supported her.

Despite their mixed feelings, Sun Qinghui and the others appreciated Jiang Lin’s help and didn’t dare voice their discontent, fearing backlash.

Jiang Lin then went with Sun Qinghui and Wang Xiao to the brigade to find Cheng Fujun and Cheng Fulian.

Jiang Lin and a few others, including Sun Qinghui and Wang Xiao, went to the production team to find Cheng Fujun and Cheng Fulian.

They were in a meeting with several team leaders, discussing what to do after finishing the wheat harvest—whether to do something else or go work at the brick factory.

When Jiang Lin and the others arrived, they exchanged a few pleasantries and got straight to the point.

They wanted to borrow grain but didn’t want to work while studying for exams.

The team leaders all disagreed, saying, “If everyone skips work, what about the thirty-some people? It will delay things.”

Jiang Lin smiled and said, “We’re just borrowing grain. We’ll figure out how to repay it after the exams. If we pass, there will be government support for college, so we won’t have to spend our own money. Plus, after graduation, we’ll have guaranteed jobs as officials with decent salaries, making it easy to repay.”

Some people were skeptical, saying it sounded like they would definitely pass.

In the Yanghong production team, with its two large villages, not a single student had gone to a bachelor’s degree program before the college entrance exam was canceled.

There was only one student who went to a vocational college and two others who attended secondary schools.

But Cheng Fujun said, “Jiang’s suggestion makes sense. Let’s have the youth work in the morning and study in the afternoon. In the last ten days before the exams, they can study all day. How does that sound?”

Some team leaders weren’t happy, and some youth wanted to study all day.

Sun Qinghui replied, “Thank you, Secretary! This is great. Let’s do it this way.” He glanced at the dissenting leaders, silently warning them that if they weren’t satisfied, they could negotiate separately without affecting everyone else.

It was already difficult for Cheng Fujun to make such a concession.

In other more authoritarian teams, they wouldn’t give any time for studying—not even an hour of absence from work.

Everyone discussed the details, then prepared written documents, promissory notes, and signatures.

This time, Jiang Lin acted as the middle person.

Jiang Lin looked at the other youth and joked, “We’ve all been together for these years, so it’s great we could get this agreement. Let’s cherish it, study hard, and find a way to repay the team for the grain after the exams.”

They all nodded in agreement.

After finalizing everything, they said their goodbyes, and Jiang Lin went home.

Cheng Rushan was waiting for her outside with Wen Sheng and Da Bao and Xiao Bao, playing games.

When he saw her return, he put the kids down and put his arm around her shoulder. “Did you strike a deal?”

Jiang Lin replied with a bit of pride, “Of course! With you backing me up, who wouldn’t agree?”

Cheng Rushan playfully pinched her chin. Since receiving that letter, she started calling him “Brother Shan” for fun, and he knew it wasn’t just a friendly nickname.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao posed dramatically and punched their little fists together, shouting, “Mom, we did it!”

Jiang Lin smiled, “…Thank you, you two.”

The next day, Jiang Lin received a telegram from the provincial capital, sent by Lu Hang, Qian Bo, and Jiang Xinglei.

They informed her that the college entrance exams would be held on December 10 and 11, and she needed to register soon.

They encouraged her not to miss it, as they would also participate.

The telegram was expensive to send by word count, so it was typical of Lu Hang to send such a long message.

Zeng Hongjie heard the news and even brought Jiang Lin a set of books, as she was also preparing to take the college entrance exam.

She could have recommended herself for a worker-peasant-soldier university, but she didn’t want people to think she was using her parents’ privilege to get in, so she refused and stayed working at the county cultural center.

Now that the exams were back, she wanted to participate.

She took leave to go back to her parents’ home in the city to study and said goodbye to Jiang Lin.

“Xiaojie, good luck! Getting into college will be your own achievement, and no one can say anything against you.”