National Day and Li Zhen had just finished their wedding. On the tenth day, they suddenly received a letter from their classmate, Bruce Lee. He said,"I heard from his father that the Longcheng County Revolutionary Committee has already issued a notice that the county will start recommending and selecting college students." It was necessary to recommend and select a group of good students with all-round development of morality, intelligence, and physique among the secondary school graduates since the Cultural Revolution and send them to various universities for further training. After graduating from university, he would still return to his original unit to work.
Hearing this news, Guo Qing and Li Zhen were so excited that they even forgot that they were on their honeymoon. The two of them sat at the table and talked excitedly about this sudden opportunity to go to university.
Guo Qing took out his diary and found a quote from Leader Mao: "We still have to set up a university. I'm mainly talking about the science and engineering universities, but the academic system should be shortened, education should be revolutionary, and the political class should be in charge. We should take the path of Shanghai Machine Tool Factory to train technical personnel from the workers. Students should be selected from among workers and peasants who have practical experience. After a few years in school, they should return to production practice.”The two of them deliberated over this sentence word by word. Guo Qing seemed to be asking himself and answering himself, as well as asking Li Zhen,"Could it be that this university is using this new method of running a school? These words were the highest order issued by Leader Mao on July 21st, 1968. It seemed that the university would have to follow this instruction in the future.”
Li Zhen was a little confused, but he still said,"No matter what kind of university it is, as long as it's run by the state, we'll definitely benefit as long as we can study there for a few more years. However, Leader Mao said that if a science and engineering university was still going to be established, then what about a liberal arts university? You're going to take the liberal arts exam, right?"
"Yes, literature, language, and history all belong to the liberal arts.”Guo Qing nodded, his heart churning.
When she was in the county no.1 middle school, she had always written well for the National Day essay and was praised by the language teacher. At that time, there were two essay classes every Friday. The Chinese teacher would seriously comment on the essays written by the students last week in class. She would always bring the well-written essays to the class and read them as model essays. Those model essays usually included National Day. Therefore, the National Day students who were encouraged loved the essay class even more. They always racked their brains and spent a lot of effort to write the essays assigned by the teachers before handing them in. Under the constant encouragement and ardent expectations of his teacher, the goal of becoming a writer in the future encouraged him. His idols had always been great writers like Qu Bo, Sun Li, and Liu Qing. According to his ideals, the major he wanted to take the exam for would definitely be liberal arts. However, Leader Mao said in the "7.21" instruction that a "science and engineering" university should be established. Should a liberal arts university be established? What major should he apply for?
After thinking for a long time, he couldn't help but find it funny. He didn't even know if he could be selected, and he was already in a hurry to think about this. It was too ridiculous! Forget it. No matter what major he majored in, he would think about it after he entered university. As long as he could enter university and concentrate on studying for a few years, he would strive to learn more cultural knowledge and master more theoretical knowledge. It would definitely be beneficial to both individuals and society. He asked Li Zhen,"If someone asks you to fill in your application, what do you apply for?"”
"If you want to apply, apply for a foreign language major. I think English is still unpopular now. In the future, the country will definitely need talents in this field. Besides, I think my English class is quite solid. Compared to other subjects, English is my forte, so I'm more confident.”
As Guo Qing spoke, he walked to the back of the cave and bent down to find a pile of books from a large wooden box in the corner. He piled them in front of Li Zhen and said,"Our high school textbooks are all here. We'll start revising tomorrow. If they want to take the cultural studies exam, we can also parry it!”
"Yes, I don't know how much of the score will be taken up by the cultural studies exam, but it's better to revise in advance so that we can be prepared.”
That night, Guoqing had a good dream. He dreamed that he and Li Zhen had both passed the cultural class exam and were selected. He went to the Chinese Department of Fudan University, and Li Zhen went to the Beijing Institute of Foreign Studies. The two of them wore big red flowers and were surrounded by the villagers. They got on Wang Xinniu's tractor and were ready to go to the railway station.
However, just as they were actively revising their lessons and preparing for the recommendation selection…An unexpected piece of news came. Their dream of going to college was immediately blown out like a huge soap bubble in the wind.
This news was brought back by Wen Xusheng, the secretary of the brigade. At first, Guo Qing and Li Zhen didn't believe it, but this news was the spirit that Wen Xusheng heard during the meeting of the community. It was official news from the righteous path.
That night, Wen Xusheng went straight to Guoqing's house after returning from the meeting. As soon as he sat down on the edge of the Kang on National Day, he said bluntly to National Day and Li Zhen,"I have bad news for you today. They are only recommending unmarried young people for the selection of college students. The two of you might not even be qualified to register.”
Seeing their disappointed expressions, Wen Xusheng was very sympathetic. He advised them with a regretful tone,""Hai, things in this world are often like this. There are things that you touch, but there are things that you don't think about. No one can see from front to back. If I had received this news half a month ago, I would have informed you early and asked you to postpone the wedding. That way, the two of you could have become university students, but now there's no hope.”
Guo Qing let out a long sigh, but he still had a glimmer of hope. He asked,"Didn't you ask if there's no chance for an exception or special treatment?”
"I asked, but I can't! The branch secretary of the Golden Pimples Brigade of our Commune is called Li Zhenxiang. He graduated from high school in 1966 and became a cadre when he returned to the village. He got married soon after. Today, he quarreled with Secretary Yang in the Commune and insisted that Secretary Yang go to the county to fight for a quota for him. Logically speaking, he had contributed greatly to the village in the past few years and had received the praise of the leaders and the masses. Now that the opportunity to recommend him to university had come, shouldn't the brigade and the community take care of him? However, Secretary Yang could only shake his head. There was nothing he could do!”
Guo Qing listened to Wen Xusheng's words and said angrily,""I know Li Zhenxiang. He's two grades higher than us and is on our school's basketball team. Not only is he good at basketball, but his academic results are always among the best. Hai, the person who made the policy in the county was too much of a jerk. Did marriage change people's character? Was his brain damaged? Can't I go to university? Were those scientists, writers, and engineers all monks and nuns?”
After he said a few words, he let out a long sigh. He said helplessly," On the other hand, one person can't take all the good things. He has to have some regrets. Although Li Zhenxiang returned to the countryside, he became the branch secretary and the head of the village. He is very arrogant and arrogant! The university had already enrolled students, but he still wanted to go to university. Wasn't this a good thing for him? Forget it, all roads lead to Rome. I'd better respond to the call of the old leader Mao and refine the red heart in the vast world!”
"Heh, you're still the one who thinks. Won't you feel better after thinking about it? Wasn't there a saying? Since you two can't go to university, you should calm down. Let's work hard together for a few more years. We must make the village look good and let the villagers live a rich life. In the future, even when we are old, we must let our descendants remember our names.”
"Aiya, Brother Xusheng, you're really far-sighted. After hearing what you said, the anger in my stomach lessened a lot. Alright, I'll go all out too. He had made the right move and succeeded in playing the deep well. I'll listen to you on what to do next!”
Wen Xusheng was also a little excited after listening to National Day's words. He smiled and nodded. At this moment, he suddenly turned around and asked Li Zhen,""Did you learn English or Russian at school?”
"Dragon City No.1 Middle School started learning English from our batch of students. Two classes of our batch of students learned English, and the other two classes learned Russian. From the first year of junior high school to the graduation of the third year of high school, we learned English for six years.”
" During the meeting at the Commune today, the joint principal announced something. He said that from the next semester onwards, all the seven-year schools in the villages will have English classes. He asked all the villages to find teachers who can teach English from now on. He asked all the middle school graduates in the villages to recommend those who can learn English well. Then, they will go to the Commune to take a unified examination. Those who pass the selection and examination will be sent to the county for unified training. Then, they will be appointed as English teachers in the various schools. Why don't we get Li Zhen to prepare and register for the exam?”He turned around to ask for Guo Qing's opinion.
"Such a good opportunity, what other questions do you have? Let her prepare. I don't think it's a problem. When we were in school, her English was better than mine.”Guo Qing immediately smiled happily.
When Li Zhen heard this news, his disappointment of not being able to go to university was immediately swept away. His heart was filled with surprise.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。