Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 402 Who will take over?

After Chen Fan finished speaking, the exciting moment he had imagined did not happen; instead, the office fell into a deathly silence.

The four leaders and Zhang Wenliang looked at each other for a moment, and then all looked at him together. What does that mean?
Chen Fan blinked and looked at them. "Don't understand?"

Haven't I explained it clearly enough?
Secretary Yang was the first to come to his senses, his brows furrowed tightly, and he asked in confusion, "You just said that the college entrance examination will be reinstated this year? Does that mean that in the future, in addition to recommendations, we will also need to take exams to get into university?"

Xiao Liewen immediately said indignantly, "I reckon that not many of the recommended students are really good; most of them are from disadvantaged backgrounds, while those with good grades don't get in. Although this recommendation spot won't go to us, I still hope that those who go to university are all good students."

Captain Zhang nodded slowly. "I heard from Anquan before that those recommended for university admission actually have to undergo a review at the university, which is an entrance exam. However, the university doesn't dare to offend anyone, so it all becomes a formality. There are a lot of fakes mixed in, and there are more fakes than real ones."

Ye Shubao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and laughed heartily, "It's good to reinstate the college entrance examination. Let those people be smug for a while. They're so damn arrogant, hogging the spots of so many good students and wasting so much public resources. With the reinstatement of the college entrance examination, those bastards will be shut down. Let's see if they can still be so arrogant."

Chen Fan looked around at them, opened his mouth wide and blinked wildly. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he said, "Reinstating the college entrance examination means that there will be no more recommendations. Everyone can take the exam from now on, and the best will be selected. It doesn't mean that the exam will be for those who are recommended."

After he finished speaking, the office fell silent once again.

All five people stared blankly at him.

What do you mean?
Chen Fan was no longer in a hurry. He took out a lighter, lit the cigarette Ye Shubao had handed him, exhaled a puff of smoke, glanced at everyone, and grinned, "That's right, just as you all thought. The recommendation system will be abolished. As long as students meet the requirements, they can all register for the exam, and those with good grades can go to university!"

Secretary Yang swallowed hard, swallowing a mouthful of smoke, but he looked at Chen Fan without realizing it. "You mean, the recommendation is invalid?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "It's invalid."

Captain Zhang's eyes widened as he looked at everyone, then at Chen Fan. "So, does that mean, it's still the same as before, high school graduates can take the exam?"

Ye Shubao looked left and right, his face full of frustration, "But there are no high school students in Lujiawan."

Let alone high school students, there are very few even in junior high school. The few who are in junior high school are only because they were influenced by Chen Fan's recruitment of veterinary students this year, which made the members realize that cultural knowledge is still useful. That's why they were able to continue to junior high school after graduating from elementary school this year. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a single one!

Xiao Liewen, however, was in high spirits and suddenly stood up and said, "If we don't have any this year, will we not have any in the future? As long as we put in a lot of effort to cultivate them, we can have junior high school students this year, high school students in two years, and in four years they will all have the opportunity to go to university. We've already waited ten years, so what's four years?

Secretary Yang also stood up and nodded repeatedly, saying, "That's right. Why didn't we let our children continue their studies before? Because it's useless! We scrimped and saved to send them to junior high and high school, but in the end, they still came back to farm."

Farming isn't even as good as those illiterate old men! The little they teach in junior and senior high school is barely enough to keep them from being complete novices at farm work. After so many years of schooling with no future in sight, who would want to continue sending their children to school?

He looked at Chen Fan as he spoke, “But if the recommendation system is abolished and the college entrance examination is reinstated, that would be a different story. Whether you’re from the city or the countryside, whether your father is a cadre or a farmer, it’s all about scores. If you lose, it’s because you’re not good enough. What’s scary is not even having a chance to compete.”

At this point, he slammed his hand on the table, pointed at Ye Shubao, and said, "Speed ​​up the expansion of the primary school. Even if we have to sell everything we own, we, Lujiawan, will produce a few college students!"

Looking at the emotionally charged Secretary Yang and the affected Captain Zhang and the others, Chen Fan's eyes twitched.

If you said this last year, it would have been quite touching, but saying it now?

Doesn't the brigade headquarters' bankbook look awkward?
Seeing Ye Shubao get up and walk out, Chen Fan quickly called out, "Slow down, slow down, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Ye Shubao turned to look at him, paused for two seconds, then pulled out a chair and sat down again. "Then you speak."

Chen Fan coughed lightly, gesturing for Secretary Yang and Captain Xiao to sit down, then took a puff of his cigarette, flicked off the ash, and said with a smile, "Rumor has it that this year's college entrance examination, in addition to current graduates, will also be open to previous graduates and others who have obtained the corresponding academic qualifications through self-study."

The office fell silent once again.

However, Chen Fan was already used to it this time. He smiled calmly and said to Captain Zhang, "That's right, it's the educational level, not the degree. In other words, it's enough to have the knowledge level of a high school graduate. If this news is true, Xiao'e can participate."

Then he looked at Secretary Yang and said, "Yang Ju, Huang Ying, and Liu Dan can attend."

Then, looking at Secretary Ye, he said, "12 veterinarians."

Finally, looking at Zhang Wenliang, he said, "And the seven female students in the study group, all of them have the opportunity to register and participate in the college entrance examination!"

Dead silence.

There was still a deathly silence, and five pairs of blank stares.

Chen Fan stubbed out his cigarette in the ceramic ashtray of a small dog that he had fired himself, and said softly, "It is said that this matter has been discussed for two months. The vice president personally presided over and inquired about it, setting the rules one by one, and finally finalizing it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Wenliang jumped up, overturning his chair to the ground. Without even helping himself up, he turned and ran out.

Chen Fan immediately gave a low shout, "Stop!"

Zhang Wenliang stopped and turned to look at him.

Chen Fan, "Want to tell someone else?"

Zhang Wenliang nodded and pointed outside, "Ah, I'll go tell Xiao'e, and Xingxiu too. She's really interested in the girls in the study group. She'll be very happy if she finds out about this."

Upon hearing this, the others couldn't help but look on with strange expressions.

So you still have feelings for someone else? Why can't you understand?

Chen Fan suppressed a laugh, one hand on his hip and the other pointing at the door, "If this could be shouted out loud, would I have asked you to close the door?"

Zhang Wenliang was taken aback. "Huh?"

He glanced back at the closed door, then turned back, his face full of confusion. "N-Can't I tell you?"

Secretary Yang and the others looked at Chen Fan with puzzlement.

Can't tell us? Then what are you telling us?

Chen Fan waved his hand, "It's not that we can't say it, it's that we can't say it in a big way, and we certainly can't let it spread everywhere. As I just said, these are just rumors. Although the institute has already forwarded the document, it hasn't been announced to the public yet. Who knows if it will be withdrawn or revised?"
What if the document that is announced at the end is different from what I am saying now? If you tell people in advance, what will those who thought there was hope but then had no hope think?
Will they take their anger out on you?

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Because they all know that it's not a question of whether they can or cannot, but how they should spread it!

Although they are not afraid, they naturally want to avoid trouble if possible.

After a two-second pause, Secretary Yang coughed, picked up a cigarette from the table, handed one to Chen Fan, filled his own pipe with tobacco as usual, lit it, and then smiled at Chen Fan, saying, "Tell me everything you have to say, and then we can discuss it."

Chen Fan twirled a cigarette between his fingers and said seriously, "Teacher Guo didn't explain things very clearly just now. I'll go to the prefectural committee today and find out more from him in person."

Secretary Yang nodded repeatedly, "Of course."

He then looked at Zhang Wenliang and said, "Arrange the boat, and we'll take Xiao Chen there later. This boat will be dedicated to him today."

Zhang Wenliang immediately nodded, "Okay."

Chen Fan didn't refuse and continued, "We'll discuss the specific application requirements after I return from the prefectural committee. What I want to say is that, if possible, this year might be the only 'exception' opportunity. After all, the higher-ups can't ignore the talent wasted in the previous ten years."

If we miss this year, everything will return to normal, just like it was more than ten years ago. Students will grow up in batches and take exams to enter university in batches. We won't put the old and the young, the good and the bad, together for the exams anymore.

As for us, I have two ideas. The first is to try our best to create better conditions for students who are studying, so that they can prepare for the college entrance examination in the best possible way.

Ye Shubao immediately approved, “Okay, starting today, everyone who is currently studying, including the team veterinarians, will be suspended from work except for necessary sanitation inspections and primary school classes.”

Zhang Wenliang weakly raised his hand, "The autumn harvest is just around the corner. If we make arrangements like this, I'm afraid it won't be easy to keep it from the other teams."

Nowadays, because of the purchase of live poultry and agricultural machinery, people from the other four brigades come here almost every day. In an era when even the smallest thing can spread far and wide, it's impossible to keep it from them!
Chen Fan waved his hand and said, "No need to hide it."

Everyone else stared at him blankly.

You were the one who said we should keep it a secret, and now you're the one saying we don't need to hide it. What do you mean?
Chen Fan said seriously, "Even if we can keep it a secret now, once the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination is announced, they will definitely be able to guess that we received the news in advance. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen?"
Even using the excuse of expanding the school and increasing the size of the sideline production team in Lujiawan doesn't make sense. After all, we have the control over building the school and the sideline production team. There's no need to rush for ten or fifteen days. Only something like the college entrance examination can make us race against time.

Furthermore, I remember both Captain Ye and Captain Xiao saying that the five brigades of Nanhu Commune have been closely connected for two hundred years, helping and supporting each other. It wouldn't be right for us to knowingly abandon them when there's something good to be done.

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang and the other three couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

This young Chen is a man of principle and righteousness!

Chen Fan continued, "The news of the resumption of the college entrance examination should not be concealed. On the contrary, it should be announced proactively."

However, let's not go into the enrollment scope and application requirements. Anyone who's really willing to take a chance will definitely prepare in advance upon hearing this news, because even a one in ten thousand chance is still a chance.

He doesn't take it seriously. Even if you tell him in advance, he'll find all sorts of excuses to delay. In the end, if he fails the exam, he'll blame us with all sorts of bizarre reasons.

Let's just ignore them and fight for our own destiny. We'll just talk about the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination, and no one can complain about that.

The expressions on Secretary Yang's and the others' faces did not change at all. This was because the kind of people Chen Fan was talking about not only existed, but were quite numerous, and even more egregious ones were not uncommon.

Chen Fan continued speaking, "So just tell us about the resumption of the college entrance examination. We don't know anything else. If they ask, just say we're waiting for the newspapers and radio to announce it. We're waiting too."

After he finished speaking, Secretary Yang slowly nodded, "I understand."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything else?"

Chen Fan lowered his head and thought for a moment, "There's one more."

Secretary Yang pointed at him and said, "Go on."

Chen Fan spread his hands, looking helpless, and said, "The only ones who have the opportunity to take the college entrance examination and are confident of getting into university are the 12 veterinarians and 7 girls in the study group, plus Xiao'e, and a few people in my courtyard."

But they were all there to prepare for the production team's veterinary system and school expansion. If they all leave, who will take over the work?

He paused for a moment, then looked at everyone with a serious expression and said solemnly, "As I just said, the opportunity to make an exception may only come once this year. If we miss this year, even if we can still take the college entrance exam, it will probably be something like National Cheng Kung University or a correspondence course."

Or they could go to high school and study for another year or two, but that would be a waste of time.

Therefore, my thought is that if there are other ways, it's best not to create obstacles for them to register for the college entrance examination.

After he finished speaking, Secretary Yang and the others felt a little uneasy.

After a few seconds of pause, Chen Fan smiled and said, "You guys think about it first and see if there's a better way. I'll go see if Xiao'e has any problems, and then I'll go to the prefectural committee."

He finished speaking and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Ye Shubao suddenly stopped him, picked up the desk calendar, and frowned deeply. "Today is October 13th. Has that Teacher Guo said when the college entrance examination will be held if it is reinstated?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "It took about two months to decide to reinstate the college entrance examination. I estimate that the official college entrance examination may be held in about two months."

Secretary Yang calculated the dates, "That would be mid-December."

He tapped the table while smoking, thought for a moment, then waved to Chen Fan, "Go ahead and do your thing, we'll discuss it some more."

Chen Fan smiled, opened the door, and walked out.

Zhang Wenliang quickly followed him out, closing the door behind him.

As soon as they stepped outside, Chen Fan turned back and glanced at him. "Why are you out here too?"

Zhang Wenliang waved his hand, "Giving advice isn't my forte."

He leaned forward and whispered, "Do you think Xiao'e really has a chance to go to university?"

Chen Fan put his hands behind his back and said with a light laugh, "To put it bluntly, her current level is far superior to yours."

Zhang Wenliang said dismissively, "What's the point of comparing yourself to me? If you're so capable, compare yourself to Brother An."

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "If you put it that way, if we only compare the college entrance exam, she should be better than An Ge now."

Although I studied math, physics, and chemistry back then, it's been ten years, so it's hard to say how much I can still remember.

Hearing this, Zhang Wenliang felt relieved and rubbed his hands together, laughing, "So, our Zhang family is going to produce a college student?! Haha!"

He chuckled a few times, then turned and walked forward, saying, "I'll go arrange a boat for you."

Chen Fan watched him walk towards Yang Xingxiu's office and couldn't help but feel speechless. The radio station and your sister are in the broadcasting room. Where are you running to?
Shaking his head, he walked forward and arrived at the broadcasting room, where Zhang Cuie was studying at the table, with a radio connected to the signal cable and a loudspeaker broadcasting.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Zhang Cuie immediately stood up, her face full of smiles, "Master."

He quickly moved a chair over, saying, "Master, please sit down."

"Ah."

Chen Fan nodded, pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at her with a smile, "How's your studying going?"

Zhang Cuie nodded repeatedly, "I remembered all the lessons you taught me yesterday, and I can do all the problems now."

Chen Fan smiled, paused for two seconds, and then said softly, "Work hard. The college entrance examination will be reinstated soon. Strive to get into a good university."

Zhang Cuie was stunned and stared at him blankly. "High-high college entrance exam? What college entrance exam?"

Chen Fan patted her head with a smile, but did not explain. He simply said, "I will talk to Secretary Yang and find someone to replace you in the next couple of days. You can take care of her for a few days. Once she is familiar with the work of the broadcasting station, she can focus on learning and not think about other things. Your master will arrange everything for you."

This student is absolutely of impeccable character and academic standing. As long as he doesn't underperform, getting into university is a sure thing, needless to say.

Zhang Cuie's eyes held a hint of confusion and bewilderment as she instinctively nodded, "Oh."

Seeing that she was studying normally, Chen Fan said a few words and then turned around and left.

He then rode his young mare up the embankment and headed towards the water transport company's repair shop.

He wanted to see how his little boat was coming along, since he might be going to the prefectural committee frequently in the future. He couldn't keep relying on the production team's big boat to deliver things; that would be such a waste of diesel fuel. It would be much more convenient to have a "dedicated boat."

When they arrived at the repair shop and found Cui Baozhang, he was leading a group of people around a small yacht.

Upon seeing Chen Fan approach, Cui Baozhang immediately stood up and called out, "You've come at the right time, come and see your ship."

The yacht was now basically completed, built entirely according to Chen Fan's design drawings. It had a teardrop-shaped hull, a bottom deeper than a riverboat, and an open cabin with tarpaulins neatly stacked on top.

All parts of the hull are made of logs, polished smooth, and the layout remains unchanged.

To Chen Fan's surprise, he actually saw a steering wheel on the dashboard.

So this yacht is equipped with a boat handling machine?!

Cui Baozhang pointed to the steering wheel on the dashboard and chuckled, "You have no idea how much effort we put into finding this boat handling machine. Secretary Tian even called the old leaders in the province and pulled a lot of strings to get this scrapped boat handling machine from the provincial military."

He paused for a moment, then immediately added, "But don't worry, we've checked it. All the scrapped parts have been replaced. We guarantee there won't be any problems. You know about machinery yourself; you'll see when you check it again."

Chen Fan grinned from ear to ear, "Thank you so much, today is a day of double celebration, this is just what I need."

Cui Baozhang was slightly taken aback. "One happy event after another? What other happy events are there?"

Chen Fan put his arm around his shoulder and whispered, "I was just about to tell you about this. Also, please pass on the message to Secretary Tian."

Cui Baozhang looked at him curiously, "What's the matter?"

Chen Fan: "According to confirmed information, starting this year, the recommendation system for school admission will be abolished, and the college entrance examination will be reinstated soon."

Cui Baozhang's eyes widened instantly. "Really?"

Chen Fan nodded vigorously. "The institute has officially approved it, and it's estimated that it will be published in the newspaper within this month. I came to see the speedboat because I wanted to inquire about the news from the prefectural committee."

Cui Baozhang immediately patted his arm hard and said excitedly, "You don't need to worry about the favor of the boat operator."

He paused for a moment, then said, "The boat license is in the drawer of the bridge. Your boat is exactly 5 meters long, so you don't need a driver's license. But for safety reasons, I'll give you some information later. You can come over and take the test casually, and I'll get you a small vessel driver's license."

Then he turned around and called out, "Are you done checking?"

"The inspection is complete, you can go into the water."

Cui Baozhang pulled Chen Fan toward the yacht, saying, "Come on, get on the boat with me, I'll teach you how to use it."

How to operate the boat handling machine, how to raise and lower the anchor at the bow using a small winch on the bridge, how to unfold and retract the tarpaulin, etc.

In just half an hour, Chen Fan had become very familiar with the small boat.

At this moment, Cui Baozhang ran down the ladder from the steel frame and then waved his hand, "Go into the water."

Soon, the steel frame carried the yacht into the water. Chen Fan sat on the helm, started the boat engine, and a spray of water immediately came out from behind the boat, which then shot forward with a whoosh.

Once the small boat had gone far away, Cui Baozhang turned and ran, saying, "Push out my bicycle, I'm going to find Secretary Tian."

(End of this chapter)