My era, 1979!

Chapter 103 Good lad, you've really brought honor to the Xu family! (13)

"You're such a worrywart!"

Lu Xiulan smiled as she put chicken legs into her bowl, not caring that oil splattered on her apron. "Your dad and I are only in our early fifties. Last year when we harvested wheat, I bundled two more bundles than your Aunt Wang! Last time your third aunt came to see me, she said I look five years younger than I actually am!"

Xu Jianjun nodded in agreement. Although his left hand was wrapped in gauze, he deftly peeled eggs for Xiaomei: "Yesterday, Mom chased our speckled chicken across half an acre of land. She didn't catch the chicken, but she picked up half a basket of wild eggs. She was even more efficient than you, Xiaomei."

Xu Zhiguo deliberately put on a serious face and said, "If it really doesn't work out... if it really doesn't work out, your mother and I will go to Shanghai to stay with you and Chengjun. We'll do your laundry, cook for you, and be your housekeeper. We'll just enjoy our retirement ahead of time!"

"Dad!" Xu Xiaomei blushed, clutching the hem of her clothes as she laughed, "Then I'll go! Once I learn design, I'll make Mom a floral-patterned polyester blouse; and I'll make Dad a new pair of pants with flared cuffs, more fashionable than the ones sold at the supply and marketing cooperative!"

She suddenly remembered something, turned to Xu Chengjun and asked, "Brother, can I really get into Fudan University?"

"When have I, your second brother, ever lied to you!"

"It's not a formal job, so the salary is lower, but I can spend all my time in the library, which is much more free than working three shifts in a textile factory."

He glanced at the calendar on the wall.

"When I start school in September, I'll take you to Shanghai with me."

Lu Xiulan added food to the three siblings' bowls: "You must study hard when you get to Shanghai, and don't worry about home. I'll bring you some of our homemade pickled radish, which is even better than Shanghai's pickles when eaten with steamed buns."

Xu Zhiguo nodded: "If you need money, just write a letter. Your mother and I have saved up some money, enough for you to buy drawing paper and paints."

After Xu Zhiguo recovered, the Xu family could be considered a low-level "Brahmin" in the county town at that time. Xu Zhiguo was a high school principal, and Lu Xiulan used to be the head of the business department of a textile factory. Later, due to poor health, she was transferred to a sinecure position in logistics. The combined monthly salary of the two of them was very considerable in Dongfeng County, otherwise they would not have been able to support three high school students.

“No need, I’ll take my sister out and you’ll still have to spend money, right, Xiaomei!” Xu Chengjun winked at Xu Xiaomei.

"Thank you, second brother!"

“Over the years, I haven’t used much of my military allowance. I’ll use a portion of it to help Chengjun and Xiaomei with their schooling.”

"Thank you, brother!"

"Brother, save your money to get married! I make money more easily from writing books. When are you going to bring your sister-in-law back?" Xu Chengjun started teasing him right away.

"What are you bringing? Eat your food!" Xu Jianjun tried to intimidate Xu Chengjun with his elder brother's authority, but the red marks on his dark face could not be hidden from his family.

The whole family smiled knowingly.

Empress Dowager Lu couldn't hold back any longer: "Jianjun, tell your mother what happened, what's going on?"

Xu Zhiguo, Xu Chengjun, and Xu Xiaomei turned their heads to the side and pricked up their ears.

A tough guy with a soft heart?

"Just one nurse on the front lines."

"Hahaha, I'm going to have a sister-in-law!"

"Hey, big brother, don't hit me!"

The laughter at the dinner table startled the sparrows outside the courtyard, who fluttered down and landed on the old locust tree.

As Xu Jianjun watched his younger siblings bickering and saw the smile lines around his parents' eyes, he suddenly felt that the wound on his left arm didn't hurt so much anymore.

He had another nightmare last night, dreaming that Huang Siyuan was calling his name in the fog. When he woke up, he saw his mother tucking him in and his father squatting by the bed smoking, the cigarette butt flickering in the darkness.

After dinner, Xiaomei hummed "Our Life is Full of Sunshine" as she went to wash the dishes. Amid the clattering of the enamel bowls, Xu Chengjun stuffed the face cream he had brought back from Shanghai into his mother's hand: "Mom, this stuff won't make your face chapped. It's better than clam oil. I noticed you haven't used it for the past few days."

"Shanghai has plenty of girls like Xiaomei after her!"

Lu Xiulan feigned annoyance at Jianjun for "wasting money," but secretly applied some makeup in front of the mirror, her lips curling into a wide smile. Xu Chengjun and Jianjun strolled on the playground, the sunlight casting long shadows of the two.

"What do you think of Xiaomei going to Shanghai?"

He kicked at the pebbles on the roadside and asked.

Jianjun gazed at the distant cornfield, his voice softening: "That's good. She's skillful; she even embroidered little flowers into the patches she mended for you last time. She should go to the big city and broaden her horizons." He paused, "Just like in your poem, 'The flowers of the world will bloom one after another,' she deserves her own spring too."

Xu Chengjun was somewhat surprised: "You've read my poems?"

“Your poem has an uplifting spirit. After it was reprinted in Guangming Daily, it spread throughout the front lines. The soldiers couldn’t understand it, but they felt that it contained a force of hope.”

Jianjun smiled, the scars on his face glowing lightly red in the sunlight. “The line ‘Two shadows are planted under the moonlight’ is written like my mother’s pickled vegetables. It looks bland, but the aftertaste is quite strong.”

"I like."

The two brothers laughed, and their laughter startled the sparrows in the tree.

Xu Chengjun suddenly noticed that the redness in his elder brother's eyes had faded a bit, and although his left shoulder was still slightly slumped, there was a bit more light in his eyes.

As dawn broke, smoke began to rise from the Xu family's chimney once again.

The wind swept through the wheat field, carrying the family's laughter far away, mingling with the smoke and warmth of the kitchen.

On this day, something happened that Empress Dowager Lu would later boast about for two and a half years—

Xu Chengjun's admission notice has arrived!
In 1979, postgraduate admission notices were mainly sent via registered mail.

In the days before the internet and EMS, admissions officers would carry blank, printed admission notices, fill in their names and departments at provincial admissions offices, and then mail them by registered mail. Postmen relied entirely on the address on the envelope to deliver the notices, and students could only confirm their acceptance to their desired university by reading the notice itself.

"Sister Lu! Sister Lu! A registered letter from Fudan University! Your son Chengjun's admission notice has arrived!"

Postman Wang Taili's loud voice pierced through the morning mist, creating a buzzing sound in the family compound.

Knowing that Lu Xiulan cared a lot about her image, he deliberately shouted "Fudan" loudly, jingled his bicycle bell, and swayed the green parcel on the handlebars.

The letter had Fudan University's address on it, and postmen could usually tell it was a notification letter just by looking at the size, thickness, and appearance of the envelope.

Sure enough, Lu Xiulan rushed out of the kitchen wearing an apron, her blue blouse still covered in flour, and she hadn't even put down the spatula in her hand: "Really? Let me see!"

Her voice trembled, her hand shaking as she snatched the envelope, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears when she saw the red seal of "Fudan University Graduate School".

Xu Zhiguo threw down the bamboo strips and rushed over: "That's right, that's right, it's Fudan University! The graduate school! Cheng Jun really got in!"

He suddenly wiped his face, turned and ran into the house, "I'm going to get the scissors! I have to take it apart carefully, it's going to be framed!"

His biggest regret in life was not having the opportunity to go to university, but his son fulfilled that dream, so his emotional breakdown was understandable.

It's only natural for Chinese parents to hope their children will succeed.

Xu Jianjun stood leaning against the door frame, looking at the gold lettering on the envelope. Suddenly, he raised his hand and patted Xu Chengjun's shoulder, the force being stronger than usual: "Good lad, you've really brought honor to our Xu family."

But the corners of his mouth were turned up really high.

This rascal has finally made something of himself!
Xu Xiaomei jumped out of the house, the red ribbon on her braid fluttering like a little flag: "Let me see! Let me see!"

She snatched the opened notification letter and read it aloud word by word. After she finished, she jumped up and hugged Xu Chengjun's arm. "Second brother, you're amazing! You're even more amazing than the top scorer on the radio!"

The neighbors heard the commotion and came over.

(End of this chapter)