Starting a new chapter in life

"One staple food ticket represents one steamed bun or two ounces of rice. For noodles, vegetarian noodles cost two staple food tickets, and meat noodles cost three staple food tickets. Vegetable tickets range from one to six tickets. A large ticket has thirty tickets. You tear off the number of tickets you want to spend as much as you want," the teacher explained.

Everyone was doing the math, but He Zhijun was quick at it, saying, "Ten yuan a month is enough, no need for extra food coupons, not bad."

Jing Yan had just finished calculating and shook her head: "Ten yuan is too tight. We can't always eat vegetarian food. It's not enough to improve our meals. Seventeen yuan is about right. It's a good thing I came with you, otherwise you wouldn't have enough pocket money." After saying that, she took out twenty yuan from her backpack and handed it to him: "Take this and buy meal tickets. I'll clean up here for you."

He Zhijun smiled and accepted the money without being polite, then followed the others out of the dormitory.

On the way, Zheng Jingke teased, "Your wife treats you well, she's quite generous with your food allowance."

"Yeah, she's never stingy when it comes to spending money on me," He Zhijun subtly boasted.

Zheng Jingke... "Tch, so what if you have a wife? I can find someone who will love me even more in the future."

Qu Zitao smiled as he watched the two of them joking around, then frowned again: "Our scholarships are barely enough to cover our meals. How are we going to support our families while we're at school?"

Zheng Jingke asked with some doubt: "Does your family have no other income? Don't your parents help you either?"

Qu Zitao shook his head: "My parents are farmers at home, and they don't have much left over after a year. This time, my wife was worried about me studying in another city alone, so she came with my brother to see me off. She also thought that we could stay here closer to me and bring the child to live with us after we settled down. I originally thought that the scholarship would be enough for us to live on, but now it seems that it won't be enough."

He Zhijun thought for a moment: "Does your wife have any special skills? For example, is she good at cooking? If not, we can see if anyone around here needs a cook. If all else fails, we can inquire about the current policies. If possible, we can set up a stall to earn some living expenses."

"She can only cook some simple home-style dishes. Besides being good at housework and farming, she doesn't have much else to offer. It probably won't be easy for her to find work here. Oh well, let her go back. Fortunately, my older brother is here this time, so I feel more at ease taking her back." Qu Zitao gritted his teeth and made the decision.

Once someone else has made a decision, He Zhijun won't say anything more. The three of them followed the teacher to the cafeteria. The teacher pointed to a room next door and said, "Look, that's the hot water room. You can get hot water when you come to eat. The hot water supply hours are posted on the door. Just pay attention and don't miss it."

After saying that, he led them into the cafeteria, knocked on the door of a room on the side of the cafeteria, pushed the door open and said to the person inside, "Old Xu, these three are from the mechanical industry, they've come to buy meal tickets."

The teacher surnamed Xu had gray hair and rough skin. Although he was wearing a relatively new Zhongshan suit, he still didn't look very energetic. You could tell that he was one of those people who had experienced the hardships of society.

The three of them respectfully greeted, "Hello, Teacher Xu."

Teacher Xu smiled and said, "Hello, how much do you want to buy? Come and register."

The three of them had already planned ahead, so paying for the tickets went smoothly. After buying the meal tickets, the teacher said to He Zhijun, "Come with me, I'll take you to the logistics department to find out how to apply for your salary subsidy."

He Zhijun quickly followed, and the remaining two exchanged a glance before returning to their dormitory together.

He Zhijun followed the teacher to the logistics office, found a staff member there, and had He Zhijun state his work hours, address, and position. The logistics staff member checked the record book in his hand, flipped through it for a while, and smiled:

"Found you. He Zhijun, right? Your unit contacted us before the New Year. After that, your food rations and everything were transferred to the Haishi Military Region and affiliated with the school. From now on, you will receive your subsidies from the school's logistics department. You can collect them at the beginning of each month. I'll give you your February subsidy now. Come on, sign here."

He Zhijun stepped forward, took the notebook, glanced at it, signed at the end of the line, received his fifty-six yuan salary, thanked the teacher, and left the administration building for his dormitory. The logistics teacher, looking at his documents, remarked:

"Most people who reach the rank of deputy platoon leader at his age, even as a technical soldier, are considered very accomplished at a young age. There aren't many who are still willing to settle down and take the college entrance exam. Based on his rank, he probably won't be assigned a job that starts from the bottom after graduation."

The teacher who brought him smiled and said, "As long as he is good enough, he will definitely be promoted one level after graduation. If he is an exceptionally talented person, it is not impossible for him to be promoted two levels. It all depends on his own ability. But how many students with their own salary subsidies did we take in this year?"

The logistics teacher flipped through the notebook in his hand. "There are only thirteen or fourteen, not many but not few either, but this one has the highest salary."

When He Zhijun returned to the dormitory with a smile, Jing Yan had already cleaned the bed and made the quilt and sheets. Except for the quilt being folded like bread instead of tofu, everything else was fine. The cabinet he had chosen earlier was also cleaned inside and out, and there were neatly folded changes of clothes inside. She was still cleaning the dormitory with the others.

The dormitory, which was originally dark and dusty, has been completely transformed. While it may not be spotless, it is at least much cleaner and more refreshing. Apart from the room being a bit damp, everything else is fine. When she saw He Zhijun return, Jingyan put down the rag in her hand. "You're back. Our room is a bit damp. Why don't you bring a small coal stove with you next time you come back for vacation? It'll be convenient for you to boil water in the dormitory and also dry out the room."

Zheng Jingke laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, the school dormitories probably won't allow the use of coal stoves. It's not safe. If something goes wrong and causes a fire, no one can afford to take the responsibility."

Jingyan frowned: "Then I'll make two more quilts when we get back. If you feel that the quilts here are damp, take them home and we'll change to dry ones. You can't be careless about your bedding; if you're not comfortable sleeping, it will affect your studies."

He Zhijun held her hand and smiled, "Okay, don't worry, I can take care of myself. Don't forget, I grew up here, and I'm very used to the climate. Here, this is my allowance for February, it's all for you." After saying that, he stuffed the money into Jingyan's hand.

Jingyan looked at the money in her hand: "Fifty-six yuan? Then I'll take this. Here's six yuan for your pocket money. You'll need to buy daily necessities while living away from home, and you'll also need money for school activities. It's good to have some money on you in case of emergencies." After saying that, she stuffed the six yuan back into her hand.

He Zhijun happily put the money into his pocket: "Okay, I'll save it and give it to you when I've collected a whole number."

Jingyan looked around and said, "The cabinet needs another lock. Let's go see if there's a store on campus and buy what we need."

He Zhijun naturally had no objection, and the two of them went out together. The other two families had also finished packing up. They went out to eat when it was time to eat, and left the school when it was time to leave. Qu Zitao said to his wife and older brother, "My monthly stipend is just enough for my own expenses. Honey, you go back to our hometown with my older brother first. I'll pick you and the kids up after I graduate and get a job."

His older brother nodded, but still asked, "Taozi, why does your classmate have such a high salary? Doesn't he receive a scholarship?"

Qu Zitao shook his head: "He had a formal job before, and he had been working for more than five years. It seems that his job was good and his rank was not low. Although I am older than him, my job at home is not a formal job and does not count towards my seniority, so I can't get the salary I used to get. You, don't think too much. Wait for me for a few more years. After I graduate and get a job, I will have a salary of at least forty or fifty yuan."

His wife finally spoke: "You should focus on your studies. Don't worry about things at home. It's only five years, we can wait. You're out there without anyone to take care of you, so take good care of yourself. When I get back, I'll send you some local specialties to improve your meals. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Qu Zitao and his wife didn't say anything sentimental. Couples in this era tend to be very reserved in their feelings and are embarrassed to express their emotions openly. It's rare to find a couple like Jing Yan and her husband who can get along like this.

Jingyan and her husband strolled around the campus, asking around until they found a store. The man didn't need much; he bought a small padlock and two rolls of toilet paper. That was about it. Jingyan paid, and the two returned to their dormitory.

"Keep these three bottles of meat sauce for you, eat them as soon as possible. Sigh, it would be great if we could get a coal stove or something, so we could cook some noodles or bake some buns if we get hungry at night." Jingyan said with some regret.

After helping He Zhijun settle in, Jingyan was about to go home. He Zhijun was worried about her and insisted on taking her to the bus station. As the bus drove away and got further and further away, Jingyan felt a warmth in her heart. It turned out that it felt good to be loved. I don't have to rely on anyone, but when I want to rely on someone, there will be someone for me to lean on. Hmm, not bad. Jingyan smiled, sat up straight, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes to calm herself down.

More than half a month later, on a weekend, He Zhijun returned home. When Jing Yan saw him come back, she added two more dishes to the stir-fry she had originally planned to make. However, he came back a little late, and there was no meat at home, so they could only eat vegetables.

After dinner, He Zhijun told her some funny stories from school recently, one of which was quite interesting: the school organized a "youth dance" in Dongfanghong Square, with boys standing in the outer circle and girls in the inner circle, or vice versa, changing partners after a short dance. "Some boys and girls were too shy to touch hands and wore white gloves while dancing. Later, the host shouted into the microphone, 'Don't wear white gloves!'"

Jing Yan listened with great interest: "You were wearing white gloves too?"

He Zhijun nodded: "I don't want to hold hands with other women casually, even if it's just dancing."

"Did you take off your gloves in the end?" Jingyan was really curious.

"I didn't take them off. Some male students said that wearing gloves is a sign of respect for female students and also makes one feel very gentlemanly. I insisted on not backing down, so the host didn't ask me to do it again. We just jumped around once and then dispersed." He Zhijun pouted.

"The activities organized by your school are quite interesting."

"All this formalism... After this event, the students are very opposed to these kinds of activities organized by the school. They wrote a letter of suggestion to the principal, saying that nowadays we should focus on studying and contributing to society, and we don't even have enough time for studying, so these things are completely unnecessary."

"If we really want to have some fun during holidays, it would be better to submit articles for recitations or participate in sports meets. The school responded very quickly and promised that we could focus on our studies and that they wouldn't do these things anymore," He Zhijun said, referring to the school's decision.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The bathroom was all set up nicely. After a long night of fussing, He Zhijun got up to boil water in the kitchen, and the two of them took a hot bath in the tub. It was very relaxing, and when they woke up, the sun was high in the sky.

"The house is all cleaned up. Shall we go pick up Grandma?" Jingyan asked him.

"Let's go straight to the nursing home and ask Grandma for her opinion." He Zhijun sometimes has a very delicate way of thinking, but sometimes he is very unwilling to use his brain and is straightforward and simple, but Jingyan likes it very much.

The couple traveled for more than an hour before finally arriving at the sanatorium. He Zhijun wasn't very familiar with the area, so he asked around as he walked. After some effort, he finally found his grandmother's room. When they arrived, his grandmother was dancing in the courtyard with several other grandmothers and grandfathers. It wasn't the kind of square dancing that we see in later years, but rather... a ballroom dance.

Jingyan can't dance, but it looks really good to watch them dance. They're a couple, holding hands for a while and then letting go. Since there's no music, they're using a loudspeaker to play records, which is quite loud. The two of them stand aside for a while and find it quite captivating.

Jingyan leaned closer to He Zhijun and said, "Grandma's nursing home is really nice. It would be great if I could find a place like this to live in when I get old. If I want to be alone, I can stay in my room, and if I want to be lively, I can come out and join in the fun. I won't be lonely at all."

He Zhijun pulled her hand and held it in his palm: "You still have me with you. We'll keep each other company. If you want to dance, I'll dance with you. If you want to stay still, I'll keep you company. It's much better than all these noisy people."

"Then you'd better live longer than me," Jing Yan said with a smile, but her eyes were filled with sadness. In her previous life, she died of heart disease at the age of fifty-one. She had worked hard back then, but the lingering effects of heart disease had always been a knot in her heart.

After all, she fell ill after giving birth back then, and in this life, it depends on the situation after pregnancy and childbirth. However, she never worries about things that haven't happened yet. Having another chance is already a bonus, so why ask for too much?

When the music ended, Grandma saw them coming and stepped out of the dance group, smiling and saying, "What brings you two here?"