Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 406 Substitute
For the next period of time, the entire Nanhu Commune seemed to have been swept by a tornado.

The epicenter of the storm was naturally the Lujiawan Production Brigade.

But it only caused a stir and did not have an explosive effect.

As Chen Fan had predicted, after the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination spread, the situation was basically contained within the commune, and most people were just watching the spectacle.

The reason is very simple: those who pay attention to the college entrance examination are families with high school graduating students, people who have attended high school but are not yet working, and of course, educated youth from other places. Among them, educated youth from other places are the group that cares the most.

Apart from them, everyone else basically just watched it for fun.

The previous recommendations were out of their reach, and the current college entrance examination is irrelevant to them. They will only get excited when their own children go to high school. As a result, their mindset is naturally different.

Those who are uninvolved tend to stay out of it, while those whose lives are at stake hope to change their lives through this major transformation.

In particular, the educated youth from other places who were stranded in Nanhu Commune regarded this news as a lifeline.

Even if they don't get any more information here, just the confirmation that the college entrance examination has been reinstated is enough to excite them.

Especially when they heard that "Big Brother" and his wife had moved into Teacher Chen's house in Lujiawan and were studying diligently every day, almost everyone was restless.

Normally he wouldn't spend a penny, but now he's frantically running around the county town and Yunhu, searching everywhere for review materials.

However, there were very few self-study books for mathematics, physics, and chemistry to begin with. Chen Fan had already collected almost half of the few sets available, and the rest were bought by well-informed people a few days ago.

Aside from the current textbooks, there are no other review materials available on the market these days!
But what good are textbooks anyway?!

Leaving aside Chinese and Politics, for anything related to math, physics, and chemistry, even if you master all the knowledge points in the textbooks, can you pass the exam?

These study materials from ten years ago are not as useful!

But where can we find learning materials from ten years ago now?
In order to find review materials, they wrote letters to family and friends for help, while also making alternative preparations.

The bookstore doesn't have any review materials, but Lujiawan does!
So one by one they flocked to the public library in Lujiawan, vying to copy the self-study books on mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Regardless of whether it's useful or not, and no matter how much I can copy, I'll just copy it first!
There's another interesting point.

That is, the commune barely reacted!
This is not to say that Nanhu Commune was slow to react. Later data shows that after the media released the information, apart from many places continuing to focus on the birth certificate qualification, most communes adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards the incident itself.

He neither approves nor opposes, nor actively helps, but he doesn't passively deal with things either; he's almost as bad as a scumbag.

Only a very small number of production teams would help educated youth find study materials, but this was also used as a reward to encourage them to work more.

There was only one educated youth from out of town in Lujiawan, and Chen Fan protected him like a chick. Besides, even the study materials were bought by him from the prefectural committee. What could the brigade headquarters say?
Besides, Lujiawan doesn't lack labor.

On the contrary, Secretary Yang and his team opened the public library, allowing educated youth from other teams to copy books inside. As long as they didn't take the books out of the library, they didn't care.

During this time, we invited several agricultural technicians from the commune and the county agricultural technology station to help guide us in making silage.

At the same time, Secretary Yang personally presided over the selection of 20 people from various teams as replacements for the original trainees after they left. They were to take the place of the original trainees once they were admitted to university.

……

At the Lujiawan Brigade Headquarters, Chen Fan walked past the public library, glancing at the densely packed group of older young people engrossed in copying books, before heading straight into the brigade headquarters office.

As soon as he entered, Zhang Wenliang tossed him a cigarette and said with emotion, "Originally, Brother An was a cadre who came here to stay and was on a heavy mission, but now he's stuck in your house and won't come out, even his wife has come with him. Is the college entrance exam really that important?"

Chen Fan sat down next to him, lit a cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and turned to look at Captain Zhang. "Uncle Zhang, I strongly suggest you talk to Uncle Zhang about registering Brother Sanhu as well. Once he gets into university, he'll know how important the college entrance exam is."

As soon as he said that, the office erupted in laughter. Only Zhang Wenliang's face turned red and then pale, and he looked at Chen Fan with eyes that seemed to want to devour him whole.

So what if you're cultured?
Does being cultured give you the right to mock others?

Secretary Yang knocked the ash out of his pipe, stood up, and said, "Everyone's here. Go over and say a few words."

Chen Fan said with a bitter face, "Uncle Yang, wasn't this all agreed upon? They're supposed to mentor one student at a time. Even if the exam is in December, they won't be able to register at school until at least February next year. That's at least four or five months. They should be able to learn by then."

Secretary Yang ignored him and walked straight out, saying, "I don't need you to lead the way, just say a few words."

Xiao Liewen also got up and walked over, patting Chen Fan on the shoulder, "These young guys only admire you. If you don't show your face, they'll think they were just brought in to make up the numbers."

Chen Fan reluctantly raised his hand, "Fine, I'll go."

Turn left after leaving the office, and after a few steps, you'll enter the classroom that was converted from the large conference room.

At this moment, there were 21 people sitting in the classroom. In addition to the 20 selected, there was also Zhang Wenliang's other cousin, Zhang Xiuyue, who was slightly older than Zhang Cuie.

It seems the Zhang family is going to monopolize this broadcasting position.

The major families in Lujiawan are all related by blood, but their ancestors were all farm laborers, so they naturally didn't have any family genealogy or anything like that. Therefore, although there were many "family members," they didn't have any generational names when they were named. They just named whatever came to mind, so outsiders would think that they were just people with the same surname.

However, in terms of blood relations, Zhang Xiuyue is Zhang Cuie's cousin. It's just that her grades were slightly lower than her cousin's, so she missed the last opportunity and only took over now.

As soon as Secretary Yang walked in first, they immediately sat up straight, as if they weren't the ones who had been whispering just moments before.

Secretary Yang glanced at them and gave a soft hum, "You all know in your hearts that if the previous batch of people hadn't all been taking the college entrance exam, you wouldn't have had the chance to come here as substitutes."

I don't expect you to be better than them, but at least show some attitude. Look at the way you were just now, whispering among yourselves when the teacher wasn't around. It was completely disorganized and undisciplined. Anyone who doesn't want to work here, stand up now and get out of here immediately.

The 21 young men, all around 18 years old, dared not look around, their bodies stiff and unable to move.

Among their peers in various teams, these people were in the middle, neither outstanding nor particularly bad in terms of academic performance. Last year, when Chen Fan opened a veterinary class to select people, they all took the exam and even "ranked among the top".

However, given his age and limited foundation, he is the type who, no matter how hard he tries, will find it difficult to get into university or vocational school.

Since the original staff were going to take the college entrance examination, and the production team needed a veterinarian and a future teacher for the village primary school, they brought in these replacements and trained them using a mentorship system.

what?
Are all the original students willing to take the college entrance examination?
Chen Fan forgot to ask their opinions on this matter, and Secretary Yang and the others were even less aware of it, so they tacitly agreed.

The key point is that they were sent to the public library to study, and not a single person objected, so there must be no problem!
Secretary Yang stood at the front, scrutinizing everyone. Seeing that everyone was silent and trembling with fear, he gave a satisfied hum, turned to Chen Fan, and grinned, "Teacher Chen, say a few words."

Since he was already there, Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony. He walked straight onto the stage, looked at them, and said, "The fact that you are sitting here means that you are cultured and have potential."

In just a few words, many people's eyes welled up with tears.

too difficult!
Before today, they had been complained about by their parents and elders at home for more than half a year. All kinds of offensive language were poured on them, such as "useless", "good-for-nothing", "stupid", "all you do is eat and don't use your brain".

It's just that I wasn't good enough in that exam and didn't get into the veterinary training program.

Even after being selected this time, the elders said, "If you can't pass the exam, so be it. But if you can't even pick up something that others don't want, I'll beat you to death..."

Just thinking about it is incredibly brutal!
Even today, I still hear praise for myself from Teacher Chen.

"A kindred spirit finds a kindred spirit in the mountains and flowing water!" Chen Fan thought to himself, seeing that almost everyone had been ignited with fighting spirit by his words. He couldn't help but feel a little strange. "I don't think I said anything, did I?"

However, that's not the point. He coughed and continued, "But your tasks are also very heavy. Those selected to serve as veterinarians must ensure the safety of the breeding in their respective teams. In particular, the veterinarians of the brigade must pay close attention to the condition of the farms at all times and cannot make the slightest mistake."

Those of you chosen to be teachers, the responsibility on your shoulders is not light. Lujiawan's development certainly cannot do without people with cultural knowledge, and you are the first stop in cultivating talent. Don't underestimate teaching primary school; you are laying the foundation. Anyone who has built a house knows that without a stable foundation, the house cannot be built tall. Therefore, you must give it your all…

Just as he was getting into the conversation, Chen Fan glanced outside and saw two figures tiptoeing towards the window.

He immediately waved his hand and said, "That's it, dismissed. Now go find your own masters."

It's just a matter of passing on knowledge and skills; calling someone "master" is enough. There's no need for such a formal ceremony as kowtowing and formally becoming an apprentice.

After saying that, he strode out and called out to the two people by the window, "Teacher Guo, Teacher He, you're here."

The visitors were Teacher Guo and Teacher He. Last time, Chen Fan told them that there were 24 students in Lujiawan who could get into university, so they wanted to come and see for themselves. They handed over their work to their colleagues who were temporarily assigned to Yunhu today and rushed to Lujiawan without stopping.

Upon seeing Chen Fan, Teacher Guo pointed to the group of people walking out and asked, "Are these the students you were talking about?"

Chen Fan immediately shook his head, "No, they were re-elected to replace those students."

At this moment, Secretary Yang and the others came over. "Xiao Chen, who are these two?"

Chen Fan quickly introduced them, "Secretary, this is Teacher Guo, and this is Teacher He. They are the teachers from the Jiangnan University correspondence center in Yunhu."

Upon hearing that the teachers were from Jiangnan University, Secretary Yang's expression changed drastically. He became even more attentive than when he saw Secretary Qian, immediately extending both hands to shake hands, saying, "Hello, Professor Guo! Hello, Professor He!"

As Chen Fan introduced them, the others stepped forward to shake hands, as if shaking hands would bring them some benefit.

This is a university professor! If any production team could produce a university student, they would celebrate for three days and three nights with red ribbons and colorful decorations, let alone a university professor.

That must be the God of Literature descended to earth!
Faced with their enthusiasm, Teacher Guo and Teacher He felt somewhat apprehensive.

A decade or two ago, countless people would have dealt with them this way, but these days…

Not to mention.

The leaders of the Lujiawan Brigade today made them feel like they had found their old selves again.

After exchanging pleasantries, Teacher Guo got straight to the point, saying, "To be honest, we heard from Xiao Chen that your brigade has many promising students who are good at getting into university, so we came here specifically to take a look."

Teacher He also said with a smile, "Nowadays, many places don't pay much attention to cultural education, but your production team has so many studious students, which is very rare."

At this point, they had not yet suggested that these students apply to Jiangnan University.

What if, after the evaluation, these individuals do not meet Jiangnan University's admission requirements?
To be on the safe side, let's wait until after we've met the person before making any decisions.

Chen Fan had already informed Secretary Yang and the others about this matter beforehand. Upon hearing the two teachers' words, Secretary Yang said without hesitation, "They are all studying in the library. I will take you there."

As he spoke, he led the way, saying with a proud expression, "Our library is not like other production teams that just set up a small room with a couple of bookshelves and call it a library."

In May, Xiao Chen bought several thousand old books from the prefectural committee and donated over a thousand of them to the production team. At that time, we were building a breeding farm, and we built a classroom next to the woods next to the production team, and put all the books there as the brigade's library.

They're all studying in the library now. Besides them, there are a dozen or so other educated youths from other places who came to Nanhu to work in the countryside years ago but never got to go back. Hearing that the college entrance exam was going to be reinstated, they all came to borrow study materials to study as well.

Teacher Guo followed beside him, listening and nodding. When he spoke, she paused for two seconds before whispering, "Secretary Yang, I have a small request."

Without hesitation, Secretary Yang said, "Go ahead."

Teacher Guo, "Just don't reveal Teacher He's and my identities later. We're here to investigate the situation of students in various places. If people know we're university teachers, it might cause unnecessary trouble."

They were targeting young students with good grades. They had also heard about the situation of the older educated youth. Although they sympathized with their plight from a personal standpoint, they didn't want to cause any accidents when it came to the enrollment plan.

If these people were to plead with them, whether for documents or something else, wouldn't that just create more trouble?

Secretary Yang immediately understood his meaning and nodded, saying, "No problem, no problem."

Teacher Guo chuckled and walked out of the courtyard. Soon he arrived at a large house with earthen walls and a tiled roof, which was similar to a livestock shed but several times larger.

At that time, Chen Fan had not yet taught them how to make bricks and tiles. All the houses, including those in the breeding farm, were mud-walled houses, but they did have brick and tile roofs, which was already quite good.

Teacher Guo didn't go inside at first, but instead went to the window to look inside.

Inside the library, there are more than a dozen bookshelves against the wall, filled to the brim with books.

In the middle are rows of long tables, the layout of which is somewhat similar to that of a university library, but much simpler.

At this time, almost every position was occupied.

The people I had just seen in the study room were also inside, sitting next to another group of people, intently learning something.

Chen Fan walked up to Teacher Guo and whispered, "As I said before, the students in our team are basically veterinarians and teachers prepared for the school. They have been studying hard for almost a year for the development of the production team."

That's why I said that as long as they take the college entrance examination, they will have a very good chance of getting into a top university.

But with their departure, the production team was left completely empty of talent. In order to fill the gap and not affect the development of the production team, we found 21 more people, the group you just saw in the study room.

They are now following the 'old man' closely, learning skills one-on-one, hoping to one day take his place.

After saying that, he looked at the dozen or so older people sitting in the corner and said, “Those are the old educated youth. They didn’t have the opportunity to return to the city, so most of them settled down in Nanhu. When they heard that the college entrance examination was going to be reinstated, they wanted to give it a shot.”

Teacher Guo nodded slightly, but his eyes were fixed on the 40 people in Lujiawan. After he counted them, he couldn't help but say, "21 newcomers and 24 veterans, but I only saw 40 people. Where are the other 5?"

Chen Fan immediately grinned and said, "I already told those five that you shouldn't even think about them. I'm going to arrange for them to go to other schools."

At this moment, Teacher He said from the side, "Besides Tsinghua and Peking University, which other schools are better than Jiangnan University?"

Teacher Guo chuckled softly, "Little Chen, that's not right of you. Jiangnan University is a university in our province, after all. If they go to Jiangnan University, do you think they'll be at a disadvantage?"

Teacher He immediately added, "Besides, given our relationship, if they really get into Jiangnan University, we'll definitely take special care of them!"

The more Chen Fan tried to hide it, the more interested they became.

Putting everything else aside, the library alone, filled with the fragrance of books, was enough to give them 80% confidence in the group Chen Fan had mentioned. Naturally, the top 5 people were the first choice!
Chen Fan shook his head and smiled, "I plan to have four of them apply to Tsinghua and Peking Universities. As for the last one..."

He paused, his smile fading, and said softly, "Her situation is a bit complicated. It might be better for her to study further away."

Upon hearing this, Teacher Guo and Teacher He exchanged glances and remained silent.

(End of this chapter)