Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 510 Check-in
Jiang Lili's school was very close to her home, less than two kilometers away. The three of them set off in two cars and soon arrived at... the police station.

It's common sense to register a car after buying it; Chen Fan wouldn't make the same mistake someone else did.

Before entering the police station, he specifically asked the two men, "You both have bicycle driver's licenses, right?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. "Originally, there wasn't one, but after you told us about Company Commander Zhang last time, we quickly went to take care of it."

As I said before, these days all bicycles need to be registered, but very few people actually take the driving test.

Chen Fan nodded with emotion, "Thank you, Brother Sanhu."

Otherwise, I would have to apply for a driver's license today, and I don't know if I would have made it to Fudan University to register.

The license plate bore the names of the two sisters. Neither of them exchanged any pleasantries, but Jiang Lili's gaze lingered a little longer, while Jiang Tiantian... kept her head down, out of sight.

After leaving the police station, with nothing else to do this time, Chen Fan glanced at the two raccoon dogs that flashed by on the roadside and continued riding his bike forward.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the school gate.

The school hasn't changed its name yet; it's still using the name Shanghai Textile Institute. It will be transferred back to the Ministry of Textile Industry next year, and then it will be another year before it reverts to its original name, "East China Textile Institute".

(Shanghai Textile Engineering Institute)

At this moment, a long banner was stretched across the school gate, reading "Warmly welcome new students."

Upon entering the campus, a long banner hangs atop the main gate of a teaching building, also bearing welcoming words. Below the banner, on the wall, is a large red paper with three large characters: "Welcome to New Students Office."

Chen Fan said that these characters were written with great skill and should be the work of a master calligrapher, almost on par with his own. It is no wonder that the university has a long history of several decades.

Below the large characters was a row of desks and chairs, where several teachers were greeting students, and a few students were helping to maintain order. Around the perimeter was a circle of people who had come to register.

At this point, it's easy to distinguish who is a local student and who is from out of town.

Local students are usually accompanied by relatives or friends, and they don't carry much. Some even come empty-handed, with only a canvas bag slung over their shoulder.

Students from other places carried large bags and small packages, and even those who arrived early and stayed in temporary dormitories arranged by the school came here with their luggage to complete the enrollment procedures and wait for dormitory assignments.

Of course, there are also local students carrying luggage, but their luggage is definitely not as heavy as that of students from other places.

At this moment, whether they were local students or students from other places, their faces were filled with joyful smiles, smiles brimming with boundless hope and imagination for the future.

The two cars stopped not far from the school gate. After Jiang Lili jumped out of the car, Chen Fan smiled at her and said, "Do you want me to go with you to complete the procedures?"

Jiang Lili smiled and immediately shook her head, "No, I can manage on my own."

She just likes to stick close to Chen Fan, but she's not some naive girl who can't do this or that.

In fact, during her four years in Lujiawan, she was more independent than most people, and even somewhat resistant to cooperating with others, preferring to do everything independently.

It wasn't until she lived with Chen Fan for a few days, and then Huang Ying and two others came and forced her to join them, that her mindset improved.

Therefore, there is no need for others to interfere with such a small matter as handling enrollment procedures.

Jiang Tiantian didn't go over to help her. She stood aside, holding the bicycle, watching her sister blend into the crowd at the registration area. She turned to look at Chen Fan and whispered, "How about I go to school to register by myself, and you wait for her here?"

Chen Fan looked at her and smiled, "I know you don't need help, but I'm sure Lili would also like to see your school."

After a two-second pause, he added, "Yeah, I'd like to see too."

A university from 78, and it's Fudan University, who wouldn't want to see that?

Jiang Tiantian smiled and said, "Okay, then let's wait for her."

Fortunately, they arrived early. Before the main group arrived and before many people registered, Jiang Lili quickly lined up at the desk and handed over her documents. "Hello teacher, this is my admission notice, as well as my grain and oil ration transfer certificate and household registration certificate..."

A pile of documents was placed on the table. The teacher in charge checked each document against the form, and after confirming that everything was correct, he looked up and asked, "Mr. Li, did you bring the five volumes of books?"

"Take it, take it."

Jiang Lili quickly put the canvas bag on the table and took out five books wrapped in newspaper.

The teacher carefully opened and inspected the book, finding no damage, stains, or other marks. Satisfied, she nodded and returned the book, saying, "Good."

Then she looked up and said, "First of all, congratulations, Jiang Lili, on being admitted to our Shanghai Textile Engineering Institute..."

Jiang Lili's dream was to become a fashion designer, and the first university in the country to offer a "fashion design" major was the "Central Academy of Arts and Crafts," the predecessor of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, which was two and a half years later, in September 1980.

Therefore, Jiang Lili did not enroll in a fashion design program, but rather in textile engineering, the same program as her father.

But that's okay. To become a top fashion designer, one must have a thorough understanding of fabric materials and structures. Her efforts will not be in vain; on the contrary, they will become the support for her future transformation.

With all the necessary documents complete, and the crucial political background check certificate clear as well, the benefits of Chen Fan helping Jiang Heng resolve the outstanding issues ahead of time became apparent.

Otherwise, they are very likely to be listed as "candidates", and even if they are eventually approved, they will have to wait until April or May to enroll.

By the way, besides these two batches of college students, there is another group of people who enrolled at the same time as the first batch of students this year, but their backgrounds are somewhat "special".

These people did not take the college entrance examination. Instead, like in previous years, they were selected as "outstanding students" from middle schools across the country and directly gained admission.

In other words, it's a recommendation for admission.

However, compared to previous years, the number of such students is extremely small this year, and only a few schools accept them.

The reason for retaining this part of the admission method is, supposedly... cough cough, supposedly, to compare the merits of the two admission methods.

Of course, the facts don't matter; everyone knows what's going on.

In addition to these students, another batch of supplementary students was added when the second batch of students reported for duty in March and April.

Then came the third batch of students, by which time half of the semester had already passed.

The reasons for the admission of these students are somewhat complicated.

First, like Jiang Lili before her, those with questionable backgrounds were listed as "candidates." Then, after their respective school leaders reviewed and approved their applications, they were admitted, making them truly lucky individuals.

Secondly, there are those who met the academic requirements but were unfortunately not admitted due to limited enrollment.

This kind of thing seems perfectly normal to later generations. There are only so many spots available, so isn't it normal for the best to be selected?

However, some leaders do not think so. They believe that these people are all talented young people who have just been excluded due to bad luck. Since the big money is in their hands, this convenient door must be opened!

So another batch was admitted later, with the number of students being about 35% of those admitted in the first batch.

That's quite a lot.

Of course, this is a good thing, but when it came to implementation, an unexpected problem arose.

There aren't enough universities!
At that time, there were only so many universities in the country, and teaching resources and enrollment quotas were limited. The existing teaching resources were already overwhelmed by the selection of outstanding students. The newly added students were simply too much to handle!
In particular, there are not enough dormitories.

then what should we do?

It's ok.

The trouble was caused by the leaders, so they naturally have ways to deal with it.

The simplest solution is this: if there aren't enough schools, then make do!
And so, a batch of ordinary vocational high schools were upgraded to junior colleges or universities. (Former students are laughing their heads off in the bathroom.)

On the one hand, the students admitted to undergraduate colleges in big cities will be enrolled as "day students," which means that the problem can be solved simply by adding a few more desks and extra bowls of rice when cooking in the cafeteria.

On the other hand, for those who enroll in regional cities, some long-established vocational schools will be upgraded to junior colleges.

Taking Shaoxing Teachers College as an example, before April 1978, it was called "Shaoxing Normal School". That year, it seized the opportunity to upgrade to a junior college and changed its name to Shaoxing Teachers College, which later became Shaoxing University of Arts and Sciences.

At that time, the students of their class of '77 were recruited under the name of "Shaoxing Branch of Zhejiang Normal College". By the time the name "Shaoxing Normal College" was approved by the higher authorities, it was already August 1980. By then, the students of the class of '77 had entered their graduation season.

I almost didn't know which school's name to use for graduation.

this is a problem.

Another issue is how to "address" this year's students.

In the past, the use of "grade" and "term" was quite confusing, and both were used interchangeably when referring to enrollment or graduation.

That same year, the higher authorities officially determined the usage of "level" and "term".

Enrollment is referred to as "grade" and graduation as "term".

Okay, here comes the question.

How should we define this year's college students?
The college entrance examination was in the winter of 1977, and students entered school in the spring of 1978. Graduation was in January 1982. ... But if we count the class of 1982, where do we place the students who took the college entrance examination in the summer of 1978 and graduated in the summer of 1982?

After discussion at higher levels, it was decided that since the college entrance examination was held in 1977, the class of 1977 should be designated as the 1977 cohort, and the graduation date should be set as the 1981 cohort, ignoring the month of 1982.

At the time, a senior professor at Zhejiang University jokingly said: "It is called the Class of '77, but we entered in '78; it is counted as the Class of '81, but we actually graduated in '82."

Jiang Lili was fortunate enough to be part of this year's "Tracing the Source and Removing the Tail".

The teacher in charge went through all the documents once to make sure there were no problems, and then quickly began the work.

In just a few minutes, Jiang Lili completed the enrollment procedures and left with an enrollment guide.

At this point, I haven't received my student ID yet. I have to wait until the school completes the student file and student registration before it will be issued.

The grain and oil rationing system also starts from March 1st, so students who have arrived in the past few days can only rely on the grain coupons they brought with them to survive.

However, these are all minor issues. Even students from impoverished families will have their food coupons exchanged by the local commune or street office when they leave. If the school is in the local area, they will exchange for local food coupons; if the school is in another place, they will exchange for national food coupons. There will never be a situation where someone is admitted but cannot come to school, let alone a situation where someone comes to school but has no food to eat.

At the very least, if you go to the school, they will help you resolve the issue and won't really block the distribution of food coupons on March 1st.

Otherwise, someone would die! Yes, it was a school clerk who died.

When her younger sister came over, Jiang Tiantian immediately asked, "How is it?"

Jiang Lili waved the paper in her hand and smiled, "Everything is done. There's still one day left to register tomorrow, and the semester officially starts the day after tomorrow. But you can move into the dormitory tonight."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Chen Fan, her pretty face slightly flushed, "But I think I'll move tomorrow."

Chen Fan nodded. "Okay."

He then said, "It's safer to live in the school dormitory during the week. On Sundays, you can go home to relax and have some special meals."

The two sisters smiled at each other; they both thought the same thing.

However, besides that, cleaning the house is also very important. Otherwise, such a nice house will become terrible if no one takes care of it.

Jiang Lili even planned to go back every day at noon. It's less than two kilometers away, and it only takes a few minutes to cycle there. She could clean up and take a nap without missing a beat in her afternoon studies.

Jiang Tiantian looked around. "Lili, how about we take a walk around the campus and get familiar with it first?"

Jiang Lili thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No need. Anyway, I live nearby and can come over anytime. Let me accompany you to register first."

Jiang Tiantian didn't say much. Compared to the Textile Institute, Fudan University was a full 15 or 6 kilometers away from her new home, which would take about an hour by bicycle. It was a huge difference.

Chen Fan raised his wrist to check the time; it was only a little past 9 o'clock. He couldn't help but marvel at how efficient they were.

He then waved his hand and said, "Comrades, let's go!"

Jiang Tiantian stepped on the pedal with her left foot, pushed twice with her right foot, and once the bike started to move, she crossed the crossbar with her right leg and sat steadily on the bike.

Chen Fan marveled at her flexibility, stretched his legs and straddled the seat. Once Jiang Lili was on the back, she gently tugged at his clothes, then suddenly pushed off the pedal and quickly caught up.

It was right after the morning rush hour, and there were hardly any cars or even bicycles on the road. Two bicycles were speeding along the wide road.

Jiang Lili, sitting in the back, unconsciously gripped her clothes tighter. When they turned a corner, the swaying motion startled her, and she quickly moved closer to the front.

Once the car was straight, she realized that her arms were already half-embracing Chen Fan, and her body was pressed tightly against his back.

I looked at it carefully, and well, it was just a nice-looking back of the head.

After a while, seeing that Chen Fan didn't make any other moves, she secretly smiled and maintained the same posture, but her face was already flushed.

But they didn't see that Chen Fan in front of them was grinning silently.

So this is the bicycle romance trope that's been overused in online novels. It's actually quite interesting.

It's just that I wear too many clothes in winter, so it's not very noticeable.

Hmm, I'll try it when the weather gets warmer.

Jiang Tiantian took the lead and "guided the way." She had studied the map atlas for a long time last night and knew the road by heart. Now, as the car drove on the road, the directions on the map quickly turned into a real physical impression, guiding her forward.

They didn't even notice when two raccoon dogs appeared in the back seat.

Half a catty and eight ounces stuck their tongues out at Jiang Lili, "Why is the journey so long this time? I almost ran out of breath."

Then, upon meeting their owner's gaze, they immediately snuggled together obediently and lay on the back seat.

About an hour later, before 11 a.m., she finally arrived at the university she had been looking forward to.

She squeezed the brakes, and the car slowed down quickly. She got out of the car and stood there gazing at the school gate.

Fudan University's gate is not large, not even as spacious as the gate of a cotton mill, but it is the ideal gate leading to the future.

(Group photo of new students from the Class of '78 at Fudan University)

Chen Fan stopped the car and waited for Jiang Lili to get out. He glanced back at her, smiled, and then turned around, pushing the car forward. He said with a smile, "Don't just stand at the door, come inside first."

Jiang Tiantian snapped out of her daze, smiled at the two of them, and said, "Okay, let's go in."

Walking into the campus, there were even more people here than at the Textile Institute.

That's true, it's almost noon now, so it's normal for it to be crowded.

This time, it was Chen Fan and Jiang Lili's turn to stay behind, while Jiang Tiantian took the documents to complete the formalities herself.

Chen Fan sat on the back of the bicycle, lit a cigarette, and looked around with his eyes.

So this is what universities looked like in the 70s? They're not much different from campuses in later years.

Jiang Lili, holding her canvas bag, looked around curiously.

Chen Fan turned to look at her and smiled, "Although they are both key universities, Fudan University has a much better reputation than the Textile Institute. Do you regret it?"

Jiang Lili turned around, shook her head and smiled, "Of course not. Although Fudan University has a great reputation, in the field of textiles and apparel, the School of Textile Engineering is the undisputed number one in the country. I went to university for my ideals, not for its reputation."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and gave her a thumbs up. "Hmm, you have ambition."

Jiang Lili blushed slightly and was about to speak when a figure ran over and shouted, "Little Jiang!"

Without even turning around, Jiang Lili knew who it was, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes as she turned her head away.

Chen Fan glanced at her, then turned to look at the person approaching. As expected, it was the same man he had met at the dock yesterday.

As the person approached, Chen Fan smiled and, instead of offering a cigarette as usual, said directly with a smile, "Hello, are you my wife's classmate in the same major?"

The man paused, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "No, no."

Chen Fan said "Oh," and then remained silent, looking at him with a half-smile.

The man gave an awkward laugh, but instead of leaving, he brazenly asked, "Um, are you here to see Jiang off to register?"

While they were talking, they had already turned their gaze toward the welcome area.

Unfortunately, there were too many people there, and you couldn't see anyone at all.

Chen Fan gritted his teeth. This kid has potential. He's so shameless. It seems he has to be dealt with severely.

He coughed lightly and said with a smile, "Yes, we're here to see your wife off to her new job."

The man froze, then turned sharply to look at him, "Sister-in-law?"

Jiang Lili's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but look at Chen Fan.

But she realized what was happening a second later and suppressed a laugh as she watched Chen Fan perform.

Chen Fan said in a serious tone, "That's right, I married my younger sister and my older brother married my older sister, so it's a perfect match."

He sighed as he spoke, "It's fate, really. Our families are in similar circumstances, with relatively high social standing. Every time we went on blind dates, people would pick and choose, and in the end, we were always left single."

He then turned to look at Jiang Lili, his eyes full of tenderness, "Fortunately, fate brought us together. There's no more coincidence than this."

Jiang Lili looked at him with sweet eyes and performed with him.

After Chen Fan finished speaking, he turned to look at the person and said, "What is your surname, classmate? It's rare to find someone willing to chat with us. Let's get to know each other."

The man's expression had already become somewhat unnatural, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but let out a dry laugh, "Is...is that so?"

He then looked around in a flustered manner, and suddenly pointed in one direction, "Ah, my classmate is calling me, let's talk next time."

After saying that, he ran away.

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash, looked at the man's back, and pouted regretfully. He thought the man was thick-skinned, but he didn't expect him to be so weak in combat. No good.

Jiang Lili pouted and spat in the direction of the person with a disdainful look, "Shameless."

This was the most hurtful thing she could say.

They fawn over anyone who is pretty, and run away as soon as they hear that someone's family has a high social class background. The most outrageous thing is that they don't even bother with polite conversation. It's disgusting.

Chen Fan patted her head and laughed, "You won't get away with this kind of person. Just wait and see."

Jiang Lili's eyes flickered, then suddenly lit up as she looked at him meaningfully, "What will happen to that person?"

The Eurasian Falcon, the Big Flower Snake, Duoduo, Qiuqiu, the Little Mare... they're all not here, so we need to send out Half a Catty and Eight Ounces?
Huh, where did the half catty and eight liang go?
Never mind, it will appear automatically when I leave later anyway.

Chen Fan smiled, took a drag of his cigarette, and exhaled a plume of smoke. "What will happen depends on his true nature. Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable."

Jiang Lili raised an eyebrow, not understanding his meaning, but she didn't press him for details.

If your man wants to say something, he should say it; if he doesn't want to say something, he must have his reasons.

Anyway, he's just an insignificant person, so who cares?

After waiting for quite a while, Chen Fan saw several couples walk past him... and asked how he could tell.

That's not simple yet.

Ordinary classmates of the opposite sex should keep a distance of two feet; those who are close should keep a distance of one and a half feet; and those whose physical distance exceeds one foot must be in a romantic relationship.

And although these days there are no intimate behaviors like holding hands or linking arms, the lingering gaze is impossible to hide.

Pure campus love, it's so damn beautiful.

Then I saw Jiang Tiantian running over, waving a piece of paper.

(End of this chapter)