Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 460 Still coming?

All 23 students from Lujiawan were admitted to key universities, which was an unprecedented and joyous occasion, and naturally deserved a grand celebration.

A parent of a test-taker walked up to Chen Fan, his face full of excitement, and said, "Teacher Chen, thanks to you, my child was able to get into university. I don't know how to express my gratitude. I'd like to invite you to my home for a simple meal tomorrow. Would that be convenient for you?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, the other parents swarmed over, all wanting to host a thank-you banquet for their teacher.

In addition to these parents, the team leaders also helped to hire people.

Not to be outdone, Yang Chuanfu squeezed in front of Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Although you are also from Team 6 and are not an outsider, this teacher appreciation banquet is still essential, otherwise outsiders will say that we do not know etiquette."

Chen Fan was immediately at a loss, and said with a wry smile, "It's not that I'm being polite, nor that I'm trying to disrespect everyone."

He gestured with his hand, "Look, there are 23 people here. Even if I eat at two different banquets a day, it would still take me 12 days. There's really not that much time."

As he spoke, he pulled Secretary Yang over and said, "Secretary, you can testify that I've been working at the machinery factory for the past few days. I haven't even had time to attend to the health department's work, and I haven't been able to take care of the production team's sideline businesses for quite some time. With so many things piling up, I really didn't have the time!"

Although Secretary Yang didn't know what Teacher Chen was busy with, he couldn't expose him at this time, so he laughed it off and said, "Well, it's a great joy that your child has been admitted to university. Everyone wants to hold a thank-you banquet and invite Teacher Chen to dinner. I understand that feeling."

However, Teacher Chen doesn't just work in our team. His current job is in the health department. Ah, health work is very busy, it's a matter of life and death, right?
In addition, he also worked part-time as a consultant at the machine factory, helping with production, which was also a contribution to the country. Not to mention, our production team's sideline businesses relied heavily on him.”

Secretary Yang listed Chen Fan's work item by item, and he almost believed it himself. "Teacher Chen is indeed extremely busy!"

As for what he was busy with specifically, he decided to ask Xiao Chen later, so that he could be more specific next time something like this happened, and that would be more convincing.

Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure out what else Chen Fan might be busy with, Yang Chuanfu said, "Even if you're busy, you still need to eat. If inviting each family individually isn't possible, how about we invite a few families together, and each small team goes once? How about that?"

Chen Fan's eyes darted around, and he turned to look at Secretary Yang, saying in a low voice, "How about we hold a special celebration for the brigade, regardless of whether each family holds their own celebration or not, and invite those educated youth from other places over to celebrate together?"

Secretary Yang nodded in deep agreement, "That would be acceptable."

Since we've already held two banquets like this, we might as well hold one more to deepen our relationship.

Then, with one hand on his hip and the other raised high, he said, "Quiet down and listen to me. The brigade doesn't care how you celebrate, as long as it's not too extravagant. The brigade headquarters will organize the graduation banquet and the teacher appreciation banquet. We'll all have a good time then. If you want to thank Teacher Chen, you can do so at this time, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the parents felt that as long as it expressed their feelings, it was enough, so they all nodded in agreement.

After discussing the timing, Secretary Yang finally made the decision and set it for the day after tomorrow.

We'll have a day to prepare tomorrow and invite those educated youth from other places over. We'll hold a banquet the day after tomorrow, so we can finish eating early and not delay our work.

After the crowd dispersed, the leaders of the brigade headquarters began assigning tasks and busied themselves with preparations for the banquet the day after tomorrow.

Zhang Wenliang had successfully proposed marriage today, but he didn't even get to eat a hot meal before he had to get busy again.

There was also the matter of safety. He was thinking of buying a ticket home as soon as he received the admission notice, but Secretary Yang had entrusted him with contacting those educated youth from other places, so he could only leave two days later.

Chen Fan sat in the brigade office, quietly smoking, watching them leave one by one, before slowly opening Secretary Yang's drawer, unlocking the telephone box, and dialing the education department's number.

Education Department Office.

Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian were holding their admission notices, beaming with joy, when a woman in her early twenties walked to the door, knocked, and said with a smile, "Sister Tiantian, you have a phone call."

Two weeks ago, very few people in the workplace would have spoken to them in this manner. Even though the Jiang sisters were brought in by Deputy Director Zuo, everyone simply kept their distance and remained polite.

On New Year's Day, Chen Fan's article was published simultaneously in Yunhu Daily and Jiangnan Daily, letting everyone know that there were other details in the case of Deputy Director Jiang from back then. Immediately afterwards, the Light Industry Department issued a notice. Two days before the article was published, the department had already issued a notice requiring all light industry units in the region to conduct a thorough self-examination and to overturn the case for comrades who had been treated unfairly.

At that time, the first case to be overturned at the cotton mill was that of Deputy Director Jiang and his wife.

From that time on, everyone knew that the Jiang family had completely turned their lives around.

As a result, everyone's attitude towards the Jiang sisters was naturally very different. While it wasn't exactly flattery, they were certainly friendly towards them.

Some people even had designs on the two sisters, wanting to propose marriage to the Jiang family. Everyone in the education department knew that the younger sister must have caught the eye of writer Chen, and maybe the two were dating. Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to help their family?
But doesn't she also have an older sister?!

Unfortunately, no matter who proposed marriage, Jiang Tiantian remained firm in her stance, saying that her studies were her priority and she wouldn't consider family matters until she got into university.

As for what happens after going to university?

Then I definitely won't consider it!
Jiang Tiantian snapped out of her daze, quickly stood up, and smiled, "Thank you. Did they say who called?"

The caller smiled meaningfully, glanced at Jiang Lili who was craning her neck, and said, "It's Teacher Chen calling."

When she saw Jiang Lili stand up with her eyes shining and walk out impatiently, she became even more certain of the rumors circulating at work.

Judging from this situation, do you still dare to say they're not dating?

Before the case was overturned, the younger sister concealed it quite well. She was either working or studying with her head down every day. Even when Teacher Chen came, she consciously kept her distance, making it almost impossible for outsiders to see anything. Some people even wondered if Teacher Chen had taken a liking to the older sister.
After all, my younger sister had spent nearly four years in the countryside, often exposed to the wind and sun, working in the fields, and hadn't eaten anything good. Her hands were noticeably rough.

This was before they saw what Jiang Lili looked like a year ago; back then, she really looked no different from a village girl.

Regardless of the era, there are significant differences in temperament and appearance between children raised in the countryside and those raised in the city. Rural children are easily distinguishable, especially those from this era; they are naturally simple and honest, but their complexion is relatively poor, and their clothing is far inferior to that of urban children.

The children in the city, apart from their clothes and demeanor which are typical of the era, are almost no different from young people in later generations. They also love beauty and fashion. The boys wear side-parted hair and the girls tie their hair up. Those from well-off families often go to department stores to buy clothes.

Clothes in department stores are much more expensive than those you make yourself. A good piece of clothing can easily cost more than ten yuan, while if you buy the fabric and make it yourself, the cost of the fabric plus the labor fee is only five or six yuan.

So the difference is really big.

On New Year's Eve, Jiang Tiantian went to visit her younger sister. The two of them standing together presented a stark contrast. Although Jiang Tiantian hadn't had an easy time in recent years, she still earned a salary of over 30 yuan, ate rationed food, and her monthly allowance for sugar, meat, oil, and other non-staple foods hadn't decreased. Although it still didn't meet her daily needs, it was much better than the rural areas where people rarely ate such food throughout the year.

Moreover, she works at the supply and marketing cooperative's store, where she often has to move things around, but she is protected from the wind and rain, so her complexion is much better than Jiang Lili's, and her skin is fair and delicate, befitting her age.

In other words, Jiang Lili followed Chen Fan's supplements for nearly a year, consuming a lot of oily and greasy foods, which made her a little plumper and improved her complexion.

Nowadays, apart from the fact that it's been too short a time, there are still some calluses on her hands that haven't been shed yet, and she habitually keeps her head down and doesn't dare to talk to people, she is almost the same as Jiang Tiantian in other aspects.

Otherwise, if you put the two of them together a year ago, anyone would think that Teacher Chen liked the older sister, not the younger sister.

Now that the case has been overturned, well, they're not even putting on an act anymore. Teacher Chen clearly called for the older sister, but the younger sister ran out first.

The young comrade sighed inwardly with regret, thinking to himself, "Why wasn't it me who went to Lujiawan to work in the countryside back then?"
The two sisters walked to the office with a telephone. Jiang Tiantian picked up the phone and put it to her younger sister's ear.

Jiang Lili was immediately startled and instinctively looked to the side, her meaning clear: there were so many outsiders present!
But Jiang Tiantian pressed the phone to her ear, winked at her, and said again, "You answer."

Jiang Lili then realized that everything was alright at home, and she could openly answer Xiao Fan's call.

He then smiled at his sister, his hands trembling as he held the microphone, and instinctively turned his back to the others, whispering, "Hello, is this Xiao Fan?"

Chen Fan sat imposingly in Secretary Yang's chair. After finally hearing a voice on the microphone, he immediately smiled and said, "It's me."

He then coughed lightly, "The post office came to deliver mail today. Xiaoying and the others' acceptance letters have all been delivered. Did you receive yours?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili's eyes immediately curved into two crescent moons. "My sister and I both received them this morning."

She glanced at her older sister who was hugging her and continued, "We were both admitted to our first choice university. My sister is studying Chinese Literature at Fudan University, and I am studying Textile Engineering at East China Textile Institute."

She paused for a moment, then whispered, "Today, only the two of us from the Education Department received our admission notices. Sister Zuo told me that of the other candidates in our unit, two didn't pass the exam, and three passed, but none of them were in the first batch. Only we were in the first batch."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then took out a lighter, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and laughed, "Congratulations to you guys."

Jiang Lili smiled and said, "I still want to thank you. Sister Zuo said that when we submitted our files, both schools sent letters of inquiry to investigate our family background. Even though Sister Zuo personally called them to explain, they still put our files aside and did not admit us directly."

"It was only after your article was published that Sister Zuo promptly relayed the cotton mill's investigation results to them, and only then did they take our files back and put them on the admission list."

She said with some relief, "I heard that a candidate used connections to submit his application to Fudan University. If my sister hadn't been admitted, that spot would have been his. Luckily, the investigation results came out in time, and the admissions officer returned the person's application. It was really a close call."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. Someone actually managed to get a bargain from him?

However, the other party failed, and he didn't know who it was, so he had to give up.

He then chuckled while holding the phone, "This time, we really owe Sister Zuo a lot of help. You guys should treat her to a meal later to thank her properly."

Jiang Tiantian, who had been "eavesdropping" while hugging her younger sister's shoulders, immediately leaned closer to the microphone and whispered, "Of course we should thank you, but Sister Zuo only helped because of you."

The implication is that it might not be enough for the two of them to express their gratitude.

Without hesitation, Chen Fan said, "They're having a graduation banquet the day after tomorrow, and I'll be attending. The day after that, I'll come to the prefectural committee again and we'll have dinner together to invite Sister Zuo."

Jiang Tiantian smiled broadly, "Okay, I'll make the arrangements."

Chen Fan: "Yes, and also, let's call Sister Zhou. She helped a lot too, otherwise things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

He had heard about similar things quite often these days.

Some educated youth were prevented from entering the examination hall due to written accusations or deliberate obstruction. Others entered the examination hall but then disappeared without a trace, not knowing their scores or even being listed for the physical examination, leaving them completely bewildered.

If it weren't for his strong sense of crisis and his willingness to prepare for the worst, and his efforts to get the Jiang sisters into the Education Department in advance so that someone could help cover for them, no one could guarantee that such a thing wouldn't have happened to them.

After Jiang Tiantian readily agreed, she handed the microphone to her younger sister.

Jiang Lili covered the microphone, wanting to say something to Chen Fan, but feeling embarrassed, she started talking about other people instead, "Xiao Fan, how did Xiao Ying and the others do on their exams?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Of course you did very well on the exam since you're about to have a graduation banquet."

He paused for a moment, then explained in more detail, “Including Xiao’e, the other four of them were admitted to their first choice, just like you. The other students from Lujiawan were in similar situations. Only two of them were assigned to other universities, but they are still good universities, so they didn’t suffer any losses.”

Even among the educated youth from other places, I heard that more than a dozen were admitted in the first batch. This time, Nanhu Commune has really made a name for itself!

Hearing this, Jiang Lili was happy for them. In any case, she had not been bullied by the villagers in Lujiawan in the past few years. On the contrary, she had received a lot of help. She would remember all of this.

However, Jiang Tiantian, who was standing next to Chen Fan, suddenly remembered something after hearing what Chen Fan said. She took the microphone back, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered, "Xiao Fan, I heard something and I want to tell you about it."

Chen Fan was slightly taken aback. Was it really that mysterious? He immediately asked, "What is it?"

Jiang Tiantian: "I heard from Sister Zuo that another batch of educated youth will be sent to the countryside this year. They were supposed to be assigned to nearby places, but I heard that some people want to go to Lujiawan to work in the countryside. I don't know if this will affect you?"

Were we sent to Lujiawan to work in the countryside?

Chen Fan was stunned. He's already 78, and he's still coming?

Little did he know that, let alone 78, the last batch of educated youth sent to the countryside did not arrive until 79.

(End of this chapter)