My era, 1979!

Chapter 97 sounds even better than "Harvest" (Basic Update 13)

As soon as Xu Chengjun arrived at the entrance of the Dongfeng County Middle School staff quarters, he saw the bedding drying under the wall fluttering in the wind.

In 1979, during the early stages of reform and opening up, the commercial housing system had not yet been implemented, and housing allocation was still mainly based on "unit welfare housing allocation".

Among teachers in public high schools and key high schools in urban areas, family housing is a common form of welfare housing. This type of housing usually exists in the form of "family housing" or "staff dormitory" and is used for staff and their families to live in, with very low or even symbolic rent.

The position of high school principal is definitely achievable.
The slogan "Education serves proletarian politics" on the blue brick wall has faded, but the rain has washed out patterns of varying depths.

"Chengjun?" His mother, Lu Xiulan, came out from around the corner carrying a laundry basin. The cuffs of her blue cloth jacket were frayed. The moment she saw him, the wooden basin in her hand crashed onto the stone pavement with a "bang," splashing soapy water all over half of her trousers. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand!"

Xu Chengjun quickly took the basin of water: "I wanted to give you a surprise. Where's Dad?"

"He's grading papers inside. With the senior high school students resuming classes, he's been busy until the wee hours every night."

Lu Xiulan pulled him home, her steps light as if she had never had bronchitis. "You wrote in the last letter saying you published an article in Shanghai? And you got into Fudan University?"

"Your article was published in Harvest, and you got into Fudan University for graduate studies. Isn't that amazing!"

His tone was flippant and a bit irritating, quite unlike his usual demeanor in public.

Xu Chengjun did it on purpose.

He inherited not only the body of his predecessor, but also the memories and emotions of his predecessor. The more he looked at it from an outsider's perspective, the more he could feel the greatness of parents who cared for their children. So why should he pretend in front of his parents in this life?

"You little rascal, you've really gotten cocky!"

After saying that, he laughed at himself. What parent doesn't want their children to be successful?

Lu Xiulan still had some doubts. Didn't she know her son's abilities? How could someone who cut in line have grown up?

Although she was also a high school graduate, she knew exactly how many of the high school graduates from Dongfeng High School could get into university each year.

Not to mention that it's Fudan University!
He knew Fudan's status all the time he was exposed to!
"You really passed the exam?" Lu Xiulan asked with some doubt.

"That's absolutely true! It's a done deal!"

"Hmm?" Empress Dowager Lu's face was full of suspicion.

"Really, really, really!"

"Then how come he can directly get into graduate school?"

"Professor, you think your son is very knowledgeable!"

She subconsciously ignored Harvest. Lu Xiulan wasn't highly educated and instinctively felt that getting into university was a real skill. As for writing articles and publishing manuscripts, Xu Zhiguo submitted a bunch of them all the time, didn't he?

The article was submitted to the Chuzhou Daily, and only two of them were published.

But so what? The Chuzhou Daily sounds superior to the Harvest!
The key point is that my son is so knowledgeable?

"Xiulan, why aren't you coming inside yet!"

The wooden door creaked open, and Xu Chengjun bumped into his father, Xu Zhiguo.

He held a red fountain pen in his hand, and the second button of his blue cloth Zhongshan suit was loose. He had obviously rushed out as soon as he heard the commotion in the yard. When he saw Xu Chengjun, his eyes behind his glasses lit up, but he kept a straight face and tucked the fountain pen behind his ear: "Why didn't you send a telegram before you came back?"

"Dad, I was just worried that if I missed the deadline, you would have worried for nothing!"

"You should have said so."

Xu Chengjun knew the old man was going to lecture him, so why did he change the subject?

"I brought you some nice things from Shanghai~"

Xu Chengjun placed the canvas bag on the octagonal table, and Shanghai brand cigarettes, Butterfly brand face cream, and polyester fabric rolled out. "These are the filter cigarettes I brought for you, Shanghai brand, how about it! Not bad, right?"

Seeing his behavior, Xu Zhiguo's lips twitched: "How old are you? You still have no sense of propriety."

Old Xu has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He usually has a stern face, but he spoils Xu Chengjun more than anyone else.

On the surface, she was strict, partly due to her personality, and partly because she was afraid of spoiling the children. Xu Zhiguo was born in 28, and Lu Xiulan was born in 29. Both of them were elderly people who had lived through a special period. They had their first child, Xu Jianjun, in 48, Xu Chengjun in 59, and Xu Xiaomei in 61.

There was originally a boy born between Xu Chengjun and his elder brother, but he died young. His elder brother, Xu Jianjun, was no longer at home when he was 18 years old. This youngest son was all that was left with him, so Old Xu and Lu Xiulan treated Xu Chengjun more preciously than his elder brother from a young age.

"The emperor loves his eldest son, the common people love their youngest son."

This was very common in those days.

This was also a last resort for the Xu family.

"Hey, it's exhausting to have a stern face outside and then have to keep it up at home!"

Xu Chengjun winked at Lu Xiulan.

Lu Xiulan laughed and scolded, "You're always making fun of your dad!"

"How could that be? I was talking about myself." Xu Chengjun couldn't possibly admit it.

"Alright, Lao Xu, your son has finally come back, and he looks quite happy."

"That's right, that's right, come on, Lao Xu, try some Shanghai brand cigarettes!"

"What, you're also called Old Xu?"

"My mom took care of it~"

Xu Chengjun opened a pack of "Shanghai Brand" cigarettes, took one out, and handed it over "respectfully." His sycophantic manner made Lu Xiulan laugh out loud, and even Old Xu couldn't help but chuckle at his antics.

Xu Zhiguo lit one, smacked his lips, and said, "This isn't much better than Jinsong! It's just so-so! How much is a pack?"

Xu Chengjun: "Less than 5 cents a pack."

"How many!?"

"48 cents a pack, 4.8 yuan a carton!"

Dongfeng County is adjacent to Bengbu Cigarette Factory (formerly Donghai Cigarette Factory). "Jinsong" cigarettes, with the welcoming pine tree of Huangshan Mountain as their logo, are the core product of Bengbu Cigarette Factory and are priced at 2 mao per pack. Other brands that I often smoke include "Donghai" and "Dujiang".

In those days, it was equivalent to one-third of the daily wage of an ordinary worker, making it a "light luxury" option that the cadre class could afford.

This comparison reveals the "luxury" of the Shanghai brand!

"You're really willing to spend money!"

Xu Zhiguo took a deep drag and exhaled forcefully: "That's true, there's a reason why cigarettes are expensive."

As he spoke, he secretly stuffed a whole carton of "Shanghai Brand" cigarettes into the cabinet, and glanced at Empress Dowager Lu with a guilty look.

"Why are you looking at me like that? There are only a few people in our family. Who stole the cigarettes your son bought for you?"

"Hey, good cigarettes need a good spot!"

As he spoke, he took out a pack of "Shanghai Brand" cigarettes and put it in his left pocket, while he put a pack of "Jinsong" cigarettes in his usual cigarette pocket.

As he bent over, Old Xu suddenly felt that his image was a bit damaged, so he quickly tried to salvage the situation: "You little rascal, you finally remembered to bring me something, I have to keep it safe!"

"Yes, yes, please accept it!"

"The letter says your article was published by Harvest, is that true?"

"How could it be fake! There's a sample copy!" Xu Chengjun was displeased. "You two are questioning my abilities?"

Unlike Lu Xiulan, Xu Zhiguo genuinely knew that Harvest was significantly better than the Chuzhou Daily, which he had submitted to.
So the two elders pulled Xu Chengjun to sit down, and the couple began to interrogate him together. Although Xu Chengjun had already briefly mentioned what he had done recently in his letter, such as being admitted to Fudan University for graduate studies, being published in "The Fitting Mirror" and "The Granary", these things were indeed a bit like magical realism to the two elders.

Our son is that awesome?

He's no longer the little kid who followed his older brother around chasing after circles?
I was even more stunned after hearing about Xu Chengjun's debate with professors at Fudan University.

(End of this chapter)