Xia Xiaolan had already prepared herself, so she was not especially shocked.
Still, she was happy.
Old Wang introduced himself first, then introduced Teacher Qi.
Chen Qing was already repeating a year, so the teachers didn’t want to keep him away too long and didn’t ask him to come to Shangdu City.
Zhu Fang’s mother and son exchanged looks. She still did not understand what was going on. She didn’t think Xia Xiaolan could really get into college at all—the girl didn’t look like someone who could focus on studying.
With a face like that, so many boys would be trying to curry favor with her. How could her mind stay on her books?
“Which county No. 1 High School?”
Old Wang replied happily, “Anqing County No. 1 High School!”
Zhu Fang’s mother curled her lip. She looked down on all this fuss. She knew Anqing County. It was not even in Shangdu City’s jurisdiction.
It belonged to Fengxian City.
People from the provincial capital naturally had a sense of superiority. And Zhu Fang’s mother already disliked Xia Xiaolan, so her words came out rude.
“Anqing County No. 1 High School? Your school can produce college students? A small place like that…”
Old Wang thought she was Xia Xiaolan’s elder and was just worrying about her future, so he didn’t take offense.
“This year they got eight students into undergraduate programs. Xia Xiaolan is a very promising candidate. Do you know how many points she got on the school’s test?“
“446.
Chinese: 67.
English: 100.
Math: 89.
Politics: 32.
Physics: 56.
Chemistry: 76.
Biology: 28.”
Old Wang remembered every score clearly.
How could he not?
The school accepted repeat students and transfer students who could score over 350 points.
350 was this year’s admission cutoff for Henan Province’s technical college / normal college level schools.
In the 1980s, there were two kinds of Secondary technical schools: the kind taken after Junior High, which required four years of study and were called xiaozhongzhuan (Junior High Vocational School) ;
And the kind taken by High School graduates through the national entrance exam, which required two years and were called dazhongzhuan .
Graduating from a *dazhongzhuan* still led to a state-assigned job.
College admissions were divided into four levels: key universities, regular universities, junior college, and *dazhongzhuan*. The fourth was the weakest outcome, but it still meant having a place to study.
But Xia Xiaolan had not scored 350.
She had scored 446.
Old Wang felt he should explain things clearly to the family:
“This year’s science-track undergraduate cutoff in Henan was 441. This test Xia Xiaolan took may not be exactly the same as the college entrance exam, but the difficulty wasn’t far off. She can still improve in many subjects. If she studies seriously now, she might get into a key university next year.”
The gap between a key university and a regular university was only about twenty points.
Of course, above key universities were the elite schools. The cutoff was only the minimum. For example, this year in Henan, the key university line was 465, and schools like Tsinghua and Peking University needed around another hundred points above that. Old Wang was not expecting Xia Xiaolan to get into one of those elite schools, but if her Chinese and politics improved, she had a real shot at a top university.
He was not just explaining this to Zhu Fang’s mother. More importantly, he was explaining it to Liu Yong.
On the way to Shangdu, Old Wang and Teacher Qi had already learned enough about Xia Xiaolan’s situation. They knew she was currently depending on her uncle Liu Yong to live, and they were worried he might refuse to support her education.
Don’t be foolish. This was a seedling with the potential to enter a top university.
Zhu Fang’s mother stared, speechless.
Her eyes moved back and forth between the people there, suspecting Xia Xiaolan had hired them to put on an act.
But Xia Xiaolan did not care what outsiders thought. She also wanted to ask more about County No. 1 High School.
The three of them surrounded her as they left, and Zhu Fang opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Was she really going to college?
And her scores sounded pretty good too?
Zhu Fang liked Xia Xiaolan’s looks. He didn’t mind that she was from the countryside or that she only had a junior high diploma.
But if Xia Xiaolan really got into college?
He was not saying he felt inferior—he just thought the possibility between them had suddenly shrunk to almost nothing.
The teachers said she might get into a key university. If she graduated from there, what kind of job would the state assign her? Xia Xiaolan would not look twice at a restaurant purchaser like him. She might even be assigned somewhere outside the city and never come back to Shangdu.
The news hit Zhu Fang hard. His usual little pride disappeared, and his head lowered.
His mother still insisted:
“Is college that easy to get into? We’ll see.”
But if Xia Xiaolan really did get into college, then even if she was from the countryside, she would at least barely qualify to be the Zhu family’s daughter-in-law.
But could she really get in?
Anqing County was a remote little place. In their county high school, the number of people who got into college each year could be counted on one hand.
---
After delivering the eels, Xia Xiaolan still had to haul the oil dregs back.
Old Wang and Teacher Qi brought such good news that they couldn’t let her go home empty-handed. When they heard she usually carried three to four hundred jin of oil dregs back to the countryside to sell, Teacher Qi looked at Liu Yong disapprovingly.
“College doesn’t charge tuition, and there’s a monthly living allowance. She only needs support for one year. Xia Xiaolan will definitely get into college next year!”
The countryside was hard.
Liu Yong was only her uncle, not her father. Teacher Qi was worried he would refuse to keep supporting her schooling.
A seedling this promising—if the school could waive tuition and fees, the family would still need to cover living expenses. That was a lot of money for rural people.
But if they bit the bullet and supported her for one year, it could change Xia Xiaolan’s whole life.
“Teacher Qi, I treat Xiaolan like my own daughter. With results like this, of course she has to keep studying.”
Liu Yong thought the teacher was underestimating him. Not just for one year—if Xia Xiaolan wanted to keep taking exams, he could support her as long as needed.
He was still overwhelmed with joy.
When Xia Xiaolan said she wanted to take next year’s *gaokao*, the family had thought she should start from first year of high school. That was why Liu Yong had rushed to transfer Xia Xiaolan and Liu Fen’s *hukou* out of Dahe Village.
But Xia Xiaolan had given him a huge surprise.
She didn’t need to start from first year.
The County No. 1 High School teachers said her level was already enough to sit for next year’s college entrance exam.
She might even get into a key university.
A key university would be best, of course. Even a regular university would still make her a real college student. Liu Yong was so excited he did not know what to say. The fact that two teachers had rushed all the way from Qijing Village to Shangdu City showed how much they valued Xia Xiaolan.
While Xia Xiaolan went to the oil press to load her goods, Liu Yong and the other two waited outside.
Old Wang also felt that the girl had it rough.
“She goes to Shangdu by herself every day?”
A *getihu*—a private individual operator.
In those days, workers were the most honorable, cadres were the most respectable, and private businesspeople were looked down on. Small traders were considered shameful.
If Xia Xiaolan had a choice, why would she do this? All she dealt with was stinking eels and greasy oil dregs. Such a pitiful child.
What was even more impressive was that, in such a situation, she had still kept studying on her own after junior high.
Old Wang and Teacher Qi were moved by the image they had built up in their own minds.
When Xia Xiaolan came out with the oil dregs loaded, Old Wang encouraged her:
“Tomorrow, come register at school. Senior year does not have a break. The sooner you enter school, the sooner you can focus on reviewing.”
What a promising seedling. She could not be delayed any longer.
After thinking it over, Old Wang added:
“Don’t worry about tuition. I’ll help you handle it.”
Xia Xiaolan could feel how seriously they took her. Passing the County No. 1 High School transfer exam was expected. But going there and becoming a proper student? That was not part of her plan.
“Teacher Wang, Teacher Qi, I originally wanted to talk about this after arriving at school. But since both of you care about me this much, I’ll tell you my thoughts now. You’ve seen my family situation. I will take the college entrance exam, but I may not be attending classes at school in the near future.”
Old Wang was shocked. Liu Yong’s face twisted in alarm.
“What nonsense are you saying? Just go to school properly. Leave the rest to me, your uncle. What are you worrying about?”
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