“Teacher Sun…”
The office was full of people coming and going... how could this count as an exam?
Chen Qing was about to argue, but Xia Xiaolan stopped him.
“Go back to class. I’ll work on the papers here. If I’m fast, I might still catch lunch at the canteen.”
Teacher Sun glanced at her. It was 9 a.m.
The canteen opened at 12 and closed by 1.
Four hours at most. How many subjects could she finish?
“You’re not allowed to leave midway. All the papers stay on the desk.”
She was clearly worried Xia Xiaolan might memorize questions and sneak out for answers. Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind.
Lunch was probably out of the question anyway. No one could finish seven subjects in four hours.
“I’ll bring you food at noon.” Chen Qing said quickly, afraid she’d refuse.
“I’ll pass it through the window.”
Then he ran off.
“Sorry for the trouble, Teacher Sun.” Xia Xiaolan said politely.
Teacher Sun would have to proctor the entire time. She softened a little.
“If you need the restroom, tell me. There’s clean cups there, you can get water yourself.”
Xia Xiaolan nodded and sat down.
The desk was cleared. Only seven test papers remained.
She took out her pen and ink, and pulled out the English test first.
It was… ridiculously easy.
First question: Identify the word with a different vowel sound.
For
Ord
Born
Torn
Xia Xiaolan almost wanted to cry. Being sent back to 1983 really might be fate giving her a second chance.
If she’d come back even earlier, she could’ve taken that year’s gaokao directly. Then none of that mess where Xia Ziyu rose high while “Xia Xiaolan” was dragged into the mud would happened.
She underlined Ord.
Twenty minutes later, she finished the entire English paper.
Next—Math.
The office stayed busy, but Xia Xiaolan kept her head down, writing nonstop. Even Teacher Sun was surprised.
A Middle School graduate tackling Senior High exam papers?
When Xia Xiaolan asked to use the restroom, Teacher Sun accompanied her, and locked all the papers in a drawer before leaving.
Xia Xiaolan had been working on the Chinese paper. Many memorization questions were left blank. Teacher Sun shook her head inwardly.
With this level, she still wanted to transfer into County No. 1 High School and take next year’s gaokao?
Even enrolling in senior year one now and passing three years later would be an achievement.
By noon, Xia Xiaolan had finished English, Math, and Chinese.
Math wasn’t easy. She couldn’t just glance and know the answers. Many formulas had slipped her mind, and she needed plenty of scratch work.
She struggled with Chinese memorization, but comprehension and writing were manageable. The essay took time.
“Xiao Sun, not going to lunch? Want me to watch things for you?”
A male teacher walked in, smiling.
“Teacher Zhao, you go ahead. I’ll eat later.”
Whether Xia Xiaolan got the answers right was one thing, but she had been focused the entire time. Her attitude, at least, was solid.
Teacher Sun planned to let her write a bit longer, then take her to the canteen. Even if money was tight, she could still afford a couple of steamed buns.
As for the papers, she’d lock them up and take the key.
No chance of cheating.
Teacher Zhao tried to persuade her otherwise, but she stood firm.
Just then, Chen Qing called from the window.
“Teacher Sun! Oh, Teacher Zhao...”
He had brought food from the canteen. Thoughtful as always, he even brought a portion for Teacher Sun.
Since Xia Xiaolan was still working, he chose dry buns, nothing that could spill.
“Teacher Sun, you’ve worked hard. This is for you too.”
Teacher Sun insisted on giving him meal coupons in return before accepting.
“Xia Xiaolan, come eat first, then continue.”
Only then did Xia Xiaolan put down her pen.
She had been facing away from the door the whole time. When she turned around, Teacher Zhao froze.
He had never seen a girl this beautiful.
He had been pursuing the young Teacher Sun for a while, but standing next to Xia Xiaolan, she simply couldn’t compare.
His breathing grew uneven.
Xia Xiaolan went to wash her hands.
His gaze followed her.
Teacher Sun cleared her throat lightly, snapping him back to his senses. Flustered, he left without another word.
After eating, Xia Xiaolan returned to her papers. Chen Qing didn’t stay long, afraid of disturbing her. She looked calm... almost too calm.
Were the questions really that easy?
He left with doubts.
By 2:30 p.m., Xia Xiaolan had finished all the papers and handed them in.
“Teacher Sun, when will I know the results?”
Teacher Sun thought of the blank sections in her Chinese test. Passing seemed unlikely. Still, Xia Xiaolan had shown good discipline.
No trouble, no shortcuts.
“Leave your home address. Chen Qing knows you, right? If you pass, he’ll let you know.”
After all, in 1983, not even the village head’s house in Qijing Village had a telephone.
Xia Xiaolan nodded. “Thank you, Teacher Sun. Goodbye.”
She wanted to say goodbye to Chen Qing, but his class was in a test.
She waved from a distance and headed home.
If she passed County No. 1 High School’s exam, there would be plenty of chances to thank him later.
Over the next few days, Xia Xiaolan settled into a rhythm.
Delivering eels to Shangdu City every other day and bringing back oil residue on the return trip.
She didn’t have to worry about anything else. Liu Fen even took over selling the oil residue in nearby villages.
The divorce and Xia Xiaolan’s plan to return to school had forced her to grow quickly. She wasn’t as persuasive as Xia Xiaolan, but oil residue sold at a fixed price, and pig farmers always needed. There's demand, so business came easily enough.
Selling eels was even simpler.
Zhu Fang, the procurement officer at the Yellow River Hotel, turned out to be incredibly helpful. When Xia Xiaolan casually mentioned needing more buyers, he introduced her to two other well-known hotels in Shangdu.
Orders quickly stabilized:
Municipal Guesthouse: 20 jin
Yellow River Hotel: 50 jin
Two other hotels: 20 jin each
That meant 110 jin of eels every two days.
At a profit of at least 0.4 yuan per jin, that was about 45 yuan per trip. On the return, she hauled 300 jin of oil residue, earning another 18 yuan.
After setting aside money for a couple packs of cigarettes for the oil factory gatekeeper, her cost dropped to 0.02 yuan per jin, and she could load as much as she could carry.
If she had the strength, she could take even more.
She was making around 65 yuan every two days, close to 900 yuan a month, it was an impressive income.
The oil factory was easy to manage, her uncle or anyone else could sub in. The gatekeeper only need to recognized the bicycle. But the hotel deliveries were different.
Those relationships weren’t solid enough yet to casually switch people.
Take Zhu Fang.
Every time Xia Xiaolan showed up, he was noticeably enthusiastic. She might be a bit slow in romance, but she wasn’t socially clueless. She had once been a corporate executive, after all.
Zhu Fang was still polite, but he clearly put effort into impressing her. He wore different outfits each time, changing hairstyles, even subtly showing off a new watch and polished leather shoes.
A man trying to attract someone will always highlight his advantages.
Clearly, Zhu Fang believed his advantage was his family background. He wasn’t foolish, he knew Xia Xiaolan worked hard flipping eels, so her circumstances likely weren’t great.
Unfortunately, his efforts were wasted.
Xia Xiaolan’s mind was filled with formulas and study plans. She had no time to notice his intentions.
It wasn’t that she looked down on him. If she were to choose a partner in the 1980s, it wouldn’t be because he could afford nice shoes.
Itwould be because she actually liked him.
Still, she couldn’t afford to reject him outright. Business came first.
For the first time, she understood those pretty salesgirls she used to dismiss, everyone was just trying to survive.
“Xiaolan, come earlier the day after tomorrow. A friend gave me two movie tickets, I was thinking—”
“Sorry, I won’t be coming. My uncle will handle deliveries that day. I’ve got something to do.”
Zhu Fang barely had time to feel disappointed before catching the key point.
“Your uncle’s coming?”
That worked too. If he made a good impression on her uncle, wouldn’t that bring him closer to Xia Xiaolan? He had only met her four times, but he was already completely taken.
He had never seen a girl this beautiful. No matter how many times he saw her, her striking, almost dazzling looks hit him just as strongly.
Bright eyes, slender waist, full figure, and yet she carried herself with complete composure.
She wasn’t flirting. That was just her natural voice.
If she did flirt, he might lose his head and order 100 jin of eels a day just to see her.
Even as he tried to impress her like a peacock showing off its feathers, it was precisely her composure that kept him respectful.
People respond to the respect you give them.
Zhu Fang might be proud, but he was still reasonable. Xia Xiaolan, reborn as she was, had no intention of tolerating disrespect just to make money.
“My uncle will deliver. That’s still okay, right?”
“Of course, of course.”
She smiled goodbye and rode off.
Zhu Fang stood there, watching her disappear down Zhongyuan Road, only then realizing he forgot something.
“I forgot to ask what she’s busy with…”
---
Xia Xiaolan spent a week skimming through all the high school textbooks.
She temporarily gave up on Chinese and politics.
English required no review.
Her focus was Math, Physics, and Chemistry.
Biology carried less weight.
As she studied, she was surprised at how much she still remembered.
The infamous 1984 gaokao Math paper came back to her in fragments. Like buried memories waiting to be unlocked, the knowledge slowly resurfaced as she reviewed.
She felt confident.
But Chen Qing wasn’t.
To Xia Xiaolan, this was review. To him, it was her first time learning.
High school material was far harder than middle school, and without a teacher, he worried she wouldn’t understand, and might give up before even taking the test.
So when she finally showed up at County No. 1 High School on the agreed day, riding her bicycle, he let out a breath of relief
The scar on her forehead had faded to a faint mark. With bangs covering it, paired with her naturally striking features, she looked fresh and delicate, almost effortlessly beautiful.
What could she do? She couldn’t help how she looked. She was trying to be a serious person.
“Xiaolan, you made it.”
Only after Chen Qing vouched for her did the gatekeeper let her in. She hadn’t brought any family along.
Liu Fen had insisted she wear new clothes. Fabric bought by Liu Yong, sewn by Li Fengmei on a borrowed machine.
The style wasn’t fashionable, but her family didn’t want her showing up in worn clothes and being looked down on.
It was a kind of care she had never experienced in her previous life.
Today, Xia Xiaolan was completely confident. Even standing before the teacher, she didn’t feel nervous.
The young female teacher, however, didn’t seem to take the exam seriously.
She casually pointed to a desk in the office.
“The test papers are there. Do it yourself.”
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