Chapter 421: Gaokao

July 20, 1978, before the sky was fully bright.

Outside the many exam venues in Beiping City, a dense crowd had already filled the place.

Examinees, parents, staff maintaining order, and onlookers from the neighborhood stood shoulder to shoulder, packed like a pot of boiling dumplings, steaming and noisy.

Li Ping'an and Lin Xueqing stood outside the Fourth Middle School exam hall, holding a water bottle, a towel, and a spare fountain pen.

Li Yaozong and Li Nuanqing were in the line, surrounded by young people. Some were so nervous their faces turned pale and lips trembled; some pretended to be calm, yet their fingers crumpled the admission tickets; others closed their eyes, muttering under their breath as if reciting something.

"Dad, Mom, you should go back," Li Yaozong said, turning his head, "I can manage on my own."

"Wait a bit longer," Lin Xueqing said, uneasy, "until you go in."

Sha Zhu and Ma Dongmei also arrived, bringing the brothers He Xiao and He Xiaodong.

He Xiao was so nervous he kept rubbing his hands, while He Xiaodong was indifferent, looking around, and was slapped by Ma Dongmei.

"What are you looking at! Focus!"

"Mom, even if I look I won't know," He Xiaodong pouted.

"Even if you don't know, you have to act like you do!" Sha Zhu glared, "Our old He family can't lose face!"

Chen Jianghe and Li Pingle also came, seeing off Chen Anbang and Li Anning. The two families stood together like a small escort group.

The bell rang.

"Examinees, please enter—"

The line began to shuffle forward.

Li Ping'an watched his son and daughter walk through the exam hall gate; their backs flickered in the crowd and then disappeared.

He suddenly recalled his first time on a battlefield over twenty years ago.

It had been just as nervous, just as uneasy, just as uncertain about the road ahead.

But back then it was for survival.

Now, the children are for their future.

Inside the exam hall it was so quiet one could hear the rustle of a fountain pen on paper.

Li Yaozong sat by the window, slanting sunlight spilling onto his test paper in a patch of light.

He took a deep breath and picked up his pen.

The first subject was Chinese language.

The essay prompt was "The Spring of Science".

Li Yaozong thought for a moment, recalling books on mechanical manufacturing, the old equipment in factories, and the daily broadcast of "Four Modernizations" on the radio.

He lowered his head and began to write.

The pen tip danced across the paper like a spring silkworm spinning endless thread.

In the adjacent classroom, Li Nuanqing was also writing.

In her essay, there were images of a mother on night duty at the hospital, hurried footsteps in the emergency room, and the hopeful eyes of patients' families.

She wanted to become a doctor.

That thought, like a seed, had been buried in her heart for many years.

Now, the time had come for it to break through the soil.

Outside the exam hall, the parents stayed.

In small groups they gathered, speaking softly, their eyes occasionally glancing toward the hall.

Lin Xueqing and Ma Dongmei sat at the edge of the flowerbed, clutching handkerchiefs to wipe sweat.

"This weather is really muggy," Ma Dongmei fanned the air, "the kids are inside; don't let them get heatstroke."

"We brought water, so they should be fine," Lin Xueqing said, but kept her eyes fixed on the exam hall gate.

Li Ping'an and Chen Jianghe crouched under a tree, smoking.

The smoke curled upward, dispersing in the morning light.

"Brother, do you think we can pass?" Chen Jianghe asked.

"Do what you can, leave the rest to fate," Li Ping'an exhaled a puff, "In the past ten years the kids have wasted too much time. Just being in the exam hall is progress."

Just then, Sha Zhu came over to share a cigarette.

"Brother Ping'an, Jianghe, have a smoke."

Li Ping'an and Jianghe took the cigarette.

Sha Zhu lit it, took a hard drag, and began coughing.

The three men sat in silence, watching the exam hall.

Inside, it was their next generation.

Outside, it was their hopes and worries.

The two-day exam felt as long as two years.

When the bell signaling the end of the final subject rang, cheers erupted outside the hall.

Examinees poured out, some beaming, some dejected, some with bewildered expressions.

Li Yaozong and Li Nuanqing walked out together, their faces weary yet their eyes sparkling.

"How was it?" Lin Xueqing hurried forward.

"It was okay," Li Yaozong said, "I finished all the questions."

"Was the essay smooth?" Li Ping'an asked.

Li Nuanqing nodded, "I wrote about wanting to become a doctor."

At Sha Zhu's side, He Xiao emerged with his head down, while He Xiaodong hopped about.

"Dad! Mom! I'm finally free!"

"How did you do on the exam?" Ma Dongmei asked anxiously.

He Xiaoxiao said softly, "I don't know the last two big math problems."

He Xiaodong laughed heartily, "I know them all! Because I didn't look at any!"

"You little bastard!" Sha Zhu raised his hand to strike, but Ma Dongmei held him back.

Chen Anbang and Li Anning also came out, the brother and sister both very calm.

"An Bang, how is it?" Li Pingle asked.

"Just normal performance." Chen Anbang pushed his glasses.

The days waiting for the results are harder to endure than the exam itself.

In the Siheyuan, the few families with examinees were all uneasy.

Li Ping'an's family was fine; Li Yaozong and Li Nuanqing read when they should, practiced fists when they should, as if nothing were wrong.

The Sa Zhu Family became lively.

He Xiao sighed at home every day, while He Xiaodong was carefree, went to learn fishing from others, and got tanned dark.

Ma Dongmei was so anxious her mouth started to blister.

"Zhuzi, do you think our Xiao'er can get in?"

"If he doesn't get in, he'll take over!" Sha Zhu waved his hand broadly, "Learn cooking from me! You won't starve!"

"All you ever think about is eating!" Ma Dongmei glared at him.

In late August, the admission letters arrived one after another.

When the mailman's bicycle bell rang through the Alley, several families felt their hearts rise to their throats.

The first one was delivered to Li Ping'an's home.

A kraft paper envelope, with a few red characters in the lower right corner reading "Tsinghua University Admissions Office."

Li Yaozong took the envelope, his hand trembling slightly.

He opened it and pulled out the admission notice.

Black text on white paper, plus a red seal.

"Student Li Yaozong, you have been admitted to our school's Mechanical Engineering Department…"

He didn't read the rest clearly.

His vision blurred.

Lin Xueqing took the notice, looked at it repeatedly, and tears fell down in a steady stream.

Li Ping'an patted his son's shoulder, saying nothing.

The second letter was for Li Nuanqing.

Beijing Medical University.

The little girl hugged the notice, laughing and jumping.

"I got in! I can become a doctor!"

In Xi Kua Yuan, there was a burst of joy.

Then He Xiao's notice also arrived.

Beijing Institute of Technology.

Sha Zhu held the paper, turning it over and over.

After reading it, he was stunned for a while.

Then he slapped his thigh hard.

"Good kid! Stronger than your father!"

He Xiaodong didn't get in.

He was carefree: "Dad, Mom, I'm not cut out for studying. I'll learn cooking from you, open a restaurant in the future, and make big money!"

Sha Zhu wanted to scold him, but seeing his son's carefree demeanor, he sighed.

"Fine, if you want to learn, learn. In the 360 trades, every trade can produce a champion."

Chen Anbang was admitted to Peking University, and Li Anning also to Beijing Medical University.

Both families were overjoyed.

On the weekend, the three families booked a private room at Donglaishun.

Steaming hot hot‑pot lamb, its aroma filled the air.

Li Ping'an lifted his glass.

"Today, we celebrate the children making the honor roll. These ten years have not been easy. The kids getting into university is their ability, and also the opportunity of the times."

Sha Zhu also raised his cup.

"Brother Ping'an is right! Come, cheers!"

The adults drank wine, the children drank soda.

He Xiaodong secretly took a sip of beer, grimacing at the bitterness.

At the table, they talked about future plans.

Li Yaozong said he wanted to study mechanical manufacturing, to improve the factory's equipment in the future.

Li Nuanqing said she wanted to become a surgeon.

He Xiao said he wanted to research automobiles.

Chen Anbang was interested in law.

Li Anning also wanted to become a doctor.

One by one, there was light in their eyes.

Like a star, just polished.

In the Siheyuan, reactions varied.

Jia Zhangshi was picking vegetables at his own doorstep, heard laughter coming from the Xi Kua Yuan, and curled his lip.

"Getting into school is impressive? If my Bang Geng had been able to go to school back then, he could have gotten in too!"

Bang Geng was smoking nearby, head down.

He had been back for two months, still without a job. The street office assigned a few temporary positions—either lugging heavy bags or sweeping the streets—but he refused to take them.

He went on several blind dates; when people heard he had just returned from Dongbei and was unemployed, they turned away.

Qin Huairu stepped out of the house, heard the mother‑in‑law's words, and stayed silent.

She felt envy inside.

Those two children of the Li Family really have prospects.

At Liu Haizhong's home, Er Da Ma was nagging the neighbor.

"The Li Family is really smoking the ancestral graves—one at Tsinghua, one at the Medical University. Tsk tsk, they'll both become pillars of the nation in the future."

Liu Guangtian, hearing this nearby, felt uneasy.

He had also returned, working as a laborer in the street office's construction team, earning eight mao a day.

Liu Guangfu fared even worse, unable to find work and staying at home every day.

Yan Bu Gui had been rehabilitated and returned to teach at the school,

and when he saw Li Ping'an, he would nod.

In his eyes were envy and blessings.

The returning city youth found life hard.

Employment was a big problem. The city was full of idle youths, factory hiring slots were limited, and priority went to well‑performing youth. People like Bang Geng, who had no connections, could only wait.

Bang Geng tried setting up a stall.

He bought some sunflower seeds, peanuts, and candied hawthorn from the wholesale market and sold them at the cinema entrance.

On the first day, he earned three yuan and two cents.

Better than a regular job.

He tasted the sweet profit and brought in more goods the next day.

Liu Guangtian saw this and learned it too. The two teamed up—one manning the stall, the other restocking.

Liu Guangfu, being shy, didn't feel comfortable hawking, so he stayed home and fried sunflower seeds for them.

Yan Jiefang saw Bang Geng and the other two making money, borrowed money from Yan Fugui, and also set up a stall to sell sunflower seeds on the street.

The four returning youths thus began a small business.

Although it was hard and they were looked down upon—neighbors whispered that they were "second‑rate vendors" and "unprincipled".

But at least they could support themselves.

Bang Geng counted the crumpled paper money in his hand, feeling a bit more grounded.

This money was earned by himself.

No stealing, no robbery, no reliance on anyone's charity.

September, the start of the school season.

Li Ping'an took leave to escort his son and daughter to school.

In the Tsinghua campus, green trees provided shade, and the red‑brick buildings were simple and elegant.

Li Yaozong, shouldering his luggage, walked along the tree‑lined path, his eyes strained.

"Dad, this is Tsinghua."

"Hmm." Li Ping'an nodded, "Study well. When you graduate, serve the country."

"I understand."

After seeing off his son, he went to the Medical University.

Li Nuanqing's dormitory was an eight‑person, bunk‑bed room. The young girl, leaving home for the first time, felt a bit nervous.

Lin Xueqing helped her make the bed, fold the blankets, and chattered with reminders.

"Cover yourself well at night, don't catch a chill."

"Eat on schedule, don't go hungry."

"Don't overwork yourself in study, take care of your health."

Li Nuanqing responded to each, her eyes a little red.

Li Ping'an stood at the doorway, watching his daughter.

Suddenly he felt the child had grown up.

Like a little bird whose wings have hardened, ready to fly.

Returning from school, it was already night.

In the Siheyuan, each household had its lights on.

Bang Geng's stall had just closed, and he was counting money.

Liu Guangtian was frying sunflower seeds, the pan clattering.

In Xu Damao's house, the lights were off—he had found a night‑shift job watching a warehouse.

Sha Zhu's family was eating, and He Xiaodong was reciting a recipe.

"Stir‑fried liver must be cooked on high heat quickly; if it gets old it becomes tough..."

Jia Zhangshi was scolding Qin Huairu, complaining her dish was too salty.

Yi Zhonghai sat at his doorstep, fanning himself with a Palm Leaf Fan, listening to Peking opera on the radio.

Everything is just as it was before.

And yet everything is different now.

Li Ping'an walked into Xi Kua Yuan.

Lin Xueqing was cooking, and Li Yaoyang was doing homework.

"Did you send it?"

"Sent it."

"The children... didn't they cry?"

"No," Li Ping'an smiled, "They're all grown‑ups now, it's not far, they can come back during holidays."

He walked into the courtyard and looked up at the sky.

The stars lit up one by one.

Like the children's eyes—bright, clear, full of hope.

This autumn, many people entered the campus and began new lives.

There were also many people hustling through streets and alleys for their livelihood.

But in any case, the times keep moving forward.

Everyone is searching for their own place.

Li Ping'an took a deep breath.

The air carried the scent of food, the roasted aroma of sunflower seeds, and the coolness of an autumn night.

There was also the taste of hope.

It was faint, but genuine.