Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 529 - 412: Preparing for the College Entrance Examination

As May arrived, Zhang Guoqing started his leave from work.

Before returning to school, the couple took time to explain to Ping’an why they could not be with him every day from now on, hoping he would get along well with his grandparents.

Ping’an learned that they could come back at night and didn’t make a fuss. His obedience made them feel heartbroken.

To help the child adapt early, Mr. and Mother Zhang moved again to their eldest son’s house.

After storing food and supplies in the basement, with his parents taking care of life, the couple plunged into the sea of books, starting to review lessons and returning to student life.

Apart from occasionally taking the child for a stroll in the street or telling him a few stories, the couple had no time to care about the arrival of early spring or attend to their harvest in the backyard of their village house.

Similarly, all external disturbances were tacitly avoided by Mr. Zhang and his wife, even when the Old Captain invited Zhang Guoqing over, Mr. Zhang deflected by saying the child was going to school.

The future of his youngest son depended on this flame — Mr. Zhang understood his son’s ambitions too well. Although he didn’t understand why Zhang Guoqing refused the chance to be recommended for admission, he knew that since Zhou Xiaozheng didn’t oppose, the decision was correct.

Mother Zhang took care of the family’s meals every day, glad that nothing was missing at home. She bustled around the kitchen and her grandson with a smile.

Everything was in order, and soon Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao received the notice from the old principal about returning to school.

Zhao Yuanyuan rushed over, worried about them wasting time. This year, only over sixty students in the graduating class passed the review in their entire school. Except for those with excellent grades who might be admitted to university, the rest would go to work in various places. Now she was confused whether to fight for it or not.

For Zhao Yuanyuan’s question, Zhou Jiao couldn’t give her an answer. She didn’t dare to give an opinion on someone else’s life. She only knew that if Zhao Yuanyuan didn’t take the exam this year, it would be impossible to straightforwardly enter university in the future except through recommendation.

Last year in Beijing, she got the news when visiting an elder with her father. The number of high school students had sharply declined, and with the expansion of university enrollment, the admission rate had reached its peak.

Zhou Jiao felt sorry for Zhao Yuanyuan. Unable to make a promise, she could only advise her to try her best for now and decide whether to attend school after getting admitted. Many things don’t matter until you face them directly.

This time, Zhang Guoqing managed to get his leave so quickly, he sincerely appreciated Zhao Dashan. One evening, he went to explain his analysis to him and suggested that Zhao Hongbing take this year’s college entrance exam.

If Zhao Hongbing continued to stay home year after year, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was soon urged to support agriculture. By then, as cadres, what would Zhao Dashan and Cheng Hongli do? Could they remain inactive?

He was a child of the poor, Zhou Jiao was a soldier’s daughter, and their reviews passed smoothly; not everyone was as fortunate. Some classmates failed to pass and now could only return to the village to farm. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Zhao Hongbing was eventually sent back to campus by his father. This lucky guy was fortunate to meet Zhang Guoqing and had a father who deeply loved him.

The First County High School, the only high school in the county, had a long history. It had withstood many historical tides and cultivated many students. However, it was rare to have so many outstanding students like this year.

Every day the old principal thought of the names on the list, he couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Seeing that he was about to retire, he hoped this batch of students would bring him a huge surprise.

On May 10th, the most remote classroom in the school was allocated to the sixty-two students soon heading to the exam. What followed was rapid cramming-style teaching. Last year, a lot of time was taken up by steelmaking and supporting agriculture, and many courses hadn’t completed the teaching plan; now everyone had to desperately use all available time.

By the end of May, the courses ended, and what followed was a round of review. Review materials were scarce, and paper and pens were even scarcer. In the end, many students calculated first on the dirt with bamboo tips, then repeatedly used one sheet of paper. For subjects like literature and geography, they drew directly on the ground.

Facing such students, Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao also felt great pressure. Everyone’s hard work and diligence had made the atmosphere increasingly tense, but outside the classroom, compared to the younger students, it felt like entering two different worlds.

Leaving early and returning late every day, the couple had barely spent quality time with their child except at night. Finally, by early June, they decided they couldn’t continue like this. The school meals at noon had become unbearable. Outside regular school hours, they needed to go back.

With this arrangement, they indeed felt much more relieved. When classmates had questions, they limited it to within school. Life had to go on; truly making it like them would be unworthy.

In early June, the old principal came to announce the unified enrollment notice for the summer and some important reminders.

The first about the enrollment notice: The school would collectively report their registration list and physical examination to the province. Exam dates were July 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Each subject was 1:40 minutes. In the morning of the 21st: Mathematics and Political Science; in the afternoon, Biology. On the 22nd: Literature and Physics; in the afternoon, Foreign Language. On the 23rd: Chemistry, History and Geography; in the afternoon, an elective from Drama, Sports, Fine Arts, and Music. The notice also stipulated that each student must register for 8 subjects.

The second about filling in aspirations: Three department choices and five school choices for each department choice. There’s also a guided aspiration column, used if all three department choices are unaccepted, to be allocated to appropriate departments by the admissions committee.

The third is a reminder: Each person has a registration fee of fifty cents, to be submitted to the class teacher next Monday. On exam days, the school would organize free accommodation for students in the provincial city’s school dormitories. Meal costs are self-paid and self-prepared.

When the old principal finished speaking, everyone was dumbfounded for a moment.

Many classmates looked at each other, wondering how to fill in their aspirations, discussing animatedly for a while.

The old principal gestured at the blackboard, "In a moment, Mr. Huang will register information about schools on the blackboard. Remember to copy it down and discuss it with your parents. There’s no rush; the school will have you fill in aspirations by the end of this month."

Upon hearing about the elective subject, Zhang Guoqing glanced at Zhou Jiao with a headache. His wife was skilled in everything with no problem, but he only had sports and barely music.

Zhou Jiao covered her mouth with a stifled laugh. Truly beyond expectations, the past two years hadn’t required an elective, and last year only one was optional; many people didn’t even take it without any effect. Truly, circumstances compelled them.

Zhao Yuanyuan saw the old principal smiling above and gathered her courage to shout, "Can we not take the elective?"

"In music, knowing the sheet music will do; it doesn’t matter if you can’t sing well. Just choose sports. The elective is very simple. I’ve consulted about these issues, there’s no big issue. They mainly focus on some university art students."

Seeing this, everyone finally felt at ease. Having reached the ninety-ninth step, it would be too regretful to fall short. Those who persisted to this point weren’t shortsighted. They were students taught by the old principal, looking into the distance, toward a far-off future.