Chapter 362: Dorm Buddies

Chen Xianglan finally managed to smooth things over here, only to be made to cry again by Lu Cheng.

"You kid, why bring up one thing and not another, mentioning what university in front of your sister Gui Yun?"

Lu Cheng laughed and said, "The kettle's already opened, so I didn't mention it wrong. Listen, whoo—"

Gui Yun burst into laughter, snot bubbles spilling out, and Chen Xianglan could only be both amused and exasperated.

Lu Cheng counselled, "Sister Gui Yun, it's not a big deal. The country just reinstated the college entrance exam; it's normal to be unaccustomed the first time. Just treat this as experience for the exam."

No matter how flattering others said it, Gui Yun felt deflated; she thought she was too stupid, that no matter how many times she took the exam she would still do poorly.

However, after calming down, Wu Guiwen thought otherwise; he believed his daughter's poor performance was entirely due to her previous farm work in the countryside.

Having long been away from books, her usual conversation topics were about farming for work points; she had no environment for learning knowledge at all.

But now that she's back to Hui Cheng, the environment is completely different from the countryside, so Wu Guiwen still insists that his daughter continue applying to university.

Gui Yun somewhat doesn't want to take the exam; she wants to work for money, and Wu Guiwen scolded her.

Anyway, Wu Guiwen is adamant: this university must be gotten into; at worst he'll support his daughter.

The neighbors in Da Za Yuan heard this and couldn't understand at first; they said that Teacher Wu is usually stingy, yet when it comes to his daughter's university admission, he is willing to give everything.

Lu Cheng can understand; after the reinstatement of the college entrance exam, parents like Wu Guiwen are not an exception, but rather becoming more common.

Starting this year, the three characters "go to university" will become the deepest obsession of the nation.

Lu Cheng is lucky; he made it into the last cohort of the recommended Workers and Peasants University.

If he were to take the exam himself, not to mention that the knowledge he learned in his past life was already given to teachers, even if he relearned, he still couldn't get into top schools like Qingbei.

Therefore, during his school days, Lu Cheng cherishes them; he coordinates his work and study time well.

Otherwise, failing to graduate would be troublesome, since possessing a Qingbei university diploma would become his most confident credential for climbing up.

And regarding the Student Committee established by the school, Lu Cheng also wants to vie for it.

Although he is now a police chief and also bears the title of Research Institute director, who minds having many titles? Adding a president title isn't impossible.

It's just that the timing for establishing this Student Committee is a bit off; if it can be set up next year, Lu Cheng would be the last batch of third‑year students.

Currently he's only a sophomore; the school prefers a third‑year student to be the president.

Thus, the competition pressure still exists.

Fortunately it's not a direct school appointment; it's elected by student vote, so Lu Cheng decides to contend with the third‑years.

Counting the time, he's been in university for about two years; another year next year will lead to formal graduation.

Since entering sophomore year, the coursework intensified, and Borrowed Student Lu Cheng has had to devote most of his time to studies.

To graduate smoothly, Lu Cheng, while a sophomore, specifically applied for a dormitory; when work wasn't busy, he lived directly on campus.

Actually, because of housing, people in Da Za Yuan often envied Lu Cheng, their teeth itching with jealousy.

While most families of two or three generations can only squeeze into one house, Lu Cheng enjoys four residences.

The first is the West Wing Room in Da Za Yuan, the second is a Siheyuan located in Yu'er Hutong, the third is the school dormitory.

The fourth is a welfare unit in a tube‑shaped building that he was allocated recently.

Pick any of them, and it's a good house that countless people would fight over but can hardly obtain.

Big Aunt Wang in the courtyard, because she lives in a perpetually dark Daozuo House, inevitably feels uneasy.

She whispered to the residents of Hu Tong Li, claiming Lu Cheng should be overthrown; a person living in four houses is surely a bona fide landlord magnate.

She even incited everyone to go to the Street Office, demanding either the West Wing Room in Da Za Yuan be allocated, or that the Siheyuan over there be allocated.

Later, Mother Chen Xianglan heard it and had a heated argument with her on the spot.

"What business is it of yours how many houses my son lives in? He could live in a hundred, that's all Merit he earned; if you have the ability, earn Merit yourself."

"Dividing them out? On what right do we? He can't even stay all at once; my son rotates daily, and we won't cheapen you, you people, dreaming of some beautiful thing every day!"

Big Aunt Wang was originally jealous, ignored the matter, and after being rebuked by Chen Xianglan in person, she quieted down.

If you compare the four residences, Lu Cheng actually prefers the school dormitory.

The dormitory has two‑story Iron Bunk Beds, housing four people; it's already spacious, and with Lu Cheng sometimes absent, the remaining three have even more space.

The reason he likes staying in the dorm is that he can play cards and drink with others.

That day, just after arriving at school, he was caught by his three roommates.

"Third, tonight we stay in the dorm. A while ago I had my family send a bottle of white liquor, De Shan Da Qu, pure sorghum, you've never had before."

The one holding his shoulder while speaking is Zheng Guoping, who ranks Second in the dorm, while Lu Cheng ranks Third.

Zheng Guoping is short, but very flirtatious; in two years of university he's already dated four.

Lu Cheng told him to take it easy, lest one day he gets caught by someone as a rogue.

Zheng Guoping didn't take it seriously; these days, dating mostly means just holding hands; talking about getting pregnant is still rare.

Actually, in every relationship Zheng Guoping is sincere, but somehow they never last long.

In Zheng Guoping's words, divergent revolutionary thoughts make future marriage prone to conflict.

Zheng Guoping is twenty‑three this year, originally driving a tractor in the city, and has repeatedly earned the city's "Excellent Tractor Driver" title.

Once, during heavy rain the road was slippery, his tractor couldn't brake and was about to plunge into a river; the guy jumped down and used his body to block the tractor, timely saving collective property.

The price was a broken leg; now he walks with a slight limp.

Moreover, he enjoys tinkering with repairs, and was recommended by the city to attend university.

Lao Si is named Wei Shu; true to his name, he's a bookworm, wearing thick lenses, seldom speaking, yet knowledgeable in many fields, nicknamed "Little Encyclopedia".

Speaking of Boss, it's more interesting.

The dorm's top‑ranked, Boss Li Youfu, is thirty this year, essentially the big brother in the class, already married with two children.

The Workers and Peasants University is like this, with people of all ages.

Li Youfu is from the countryside; as for why he was recommended to university, he never said.

But after two years together, they've learned somewhat about his family situation.

I heard Li Youfu's elder brother is the Big Team secretary, so everyone can't help but suspect that this guy definitely got in through a back door, maybe even snatched someone else's slot.

Because, unlike most others who were recommended to university for a particular skill, Li Youfu's only specialties are farming and his age; in every other respect he is completely incompetent.

His grades in the class are also at the bottom, and for him, studying at university is literally like listening to a heavenly book.

However, this guy has a strength: he works extremely hard and doesn't fear hardship, perhaps because of years of farming.

But unfortunately, his academic results aren't like farming; when you laboriously turn the soil and weed, a good crop is guaranteed to grow the next year, yet after putting in so much effort at school he remains at the bottom and doesn't produce any good crops.

After spending two years together and living in the same dorm, the few of us have become as close as real brothers.

When Second Zheng Guoping suggested that he stay in the dormitory at night, Lu Cheng did not refuse.

"Sure, you bring the wine, I'll bring the dishes; it's perfect because I need to discuss with you tonight about gathering votes for me."