Chapter Twelve Fifteen Years Old Taking the University Entrance Examination

  "How could you agree to it? I don't approve!"

  Old mother learned that old father replied to return to Hongqi Commune to serve as deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee, and immediately clearly expressed opposition.

  Seeing my old mother's resolute attitude, my head went "buzz" and became all muddled, and I secretly sighed. What deviation? Perhaps it was just my illusion after all, history would still proceed along its fixed trajectory as before.

  For such important matters, Dad has always attached great importance to Mom's opinions.

  "There's nothing wrong with going back to work in the commune, revolution is needed everywhere."

  Dad didn't rush either, and said slowly and calmly.

  Hearing Father say that, I feel at ease. The more unhurried and calm he is, the more it shows that Father's mind is firmer. The experience of decades of father-son relationship in his past life won't be wrong.

  "Go, go, go! Don't talk big principles with me. I'm more familiar with this than you are."

  Mom looked disdainful.

  This is actually true. Although my mother's working time was not as long as my father's, she had always been working at the grassroots commune, attending meetings every day, listening to and speaking to superiors and subordinates, all of which were textbook-like declarations that I was so familiar with that I didn't need to think about them, and I could recite them in one go.

  "Alright, let's calculate the details. My current salary is 36 yuan and 50 cents. If I go to work at the commune, my administrative level will be raised by half a level, so my salary should also increase by a few yuan. Plus some miscellaneous subsidies, which would add up to over 10 yuan more per month."

  At that time, ten yuan was a huge amount of money. Equivalent to over 1,000 yuan in later generations. I remember when I went to elementary school in the county town, one semester cost five yuan for miscellaneous fees, and at the end of the term, you could even get back a few cents. These few cents were completely mine to spend, it was the happiest time.

  "Hum, ten yuan is ten yuan, but it's not worth it... Others are all trying to get into the city, you're the opposite, now that you've finally made it to the city, you want to run back to the countryside..."

  Mom is still unhappy, but her tone has obviously softened a lot. This is not surprising, as the expenses of a big family's food, drink and waste are all spinning in her head, can the pressure be small? With this guy coming out with an extra ten bucks every month, his hands will immediately become more active.

  I was secretly smiling and didn't expect to be caught red-handed by my mom.

  "Xiao Jun, what are you laughing at? What does a little kid like you know?"

  My mom has never been truly angry with me my whole life, and I've never been afraid of her. Now she smiled and said: "Mom, a high salary is good. With a high salary, I can eat meat a few more times every month!"

  As soon as I spoke, I strongly despised myself in my heart! How despicable, after finally crossing over, all day long thinking about is just a piece of meat!

  Who would have thought that such a casual remark almost brought tears to her mother's eyes.

  My mother hugged me tightly and said apologetically: "I've suffered my dear, Mom will buy meat to eat tomorrow."

  I was startled. Where is there a son who forces his mother to eat meat? This is also too unreasonable.

  "Mom, I was just kidding. Dad bought some meat a few days ago and we ate it. I had five or six pieces and my stomach got bloated!"

  "Good boy, Xiao Jun is really a sensible and obedient child."

  But as I did so, the originally tense atmosphere immediately eased up.

  Dad smiled and said: "I know what you're worried about, it's about kids studying, right?"

  "It's enough that you know."

  Mom is actually starting to agree with Dad's choice, but she still can't swallow her pride.

  "I've thought about this carefully too. In two years, Hua will be going to high school; if we still haven't been transferred back to the county town by then, I'll let her board at school. Yezi will start junior high next year and can attend Hongqi Middle School, which is close enough for me to take care of her..."

  Dad is still calm and composed, unhurried.

  Hehe, this deputy director hasn't even taken office yet, but has already put on a leadership air.

  "What about Xiaoyan and Xiao Jun?"

  "Xiao Yan is still in third grade, it's early. As for Xiao Jun, there's no need to worry, Mr. Zhou said that according to Xiao Jun's learning ability, he can teach him to the elementary school graduation level in at most half a year."

  "What? Finished primary school grade 5 in half a year?"

  Mom's eyes widened suddenly.

  "What's so strange about it? In my opinion, Mr. Zhou's estimate is still quite conservative..."

  Mom curled her lip: "Go ahead and brag..."

  "I'm not bragging. Let me tell you, Little Jun learned the entire 'Principles of Electricity' in just one night, over a hundred pages! Now he can even converse with Mr. Zhou in English..."

  "Really?"

  Mom was surprised and delighted.

  "Really!"

  Dad cracked a proud smile.

  "Little Jun is really a genius."

  Mom hugged me again and gave me a big kiss.

  I could only slightly tilt my head, dodging the rain-like kisses from my mom, feeling both happy and helpless in my heart. Alas... this old mom of mine is really lovable to the extreme. She doesn't care where her son's talent comes from, as long as this talented guy is her son Ruan Bixiu, that's all that matters.

  "Xiao Jun, tell Mom, what are your plans?"

  Mom kissed me fiercely and asked with a smile.

  I thought for a moment and said seriously: "Three years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, two years of senior high school, and take the university entrance exam at 15!"

  After finishing speaking, I struggled free from mom's arms and retreated two steps back, to avoid being hugged by mom again.

  "Take college entrance exams? The country stopped holding them many years ago. Going to university is all based on recommendations."

  The little brother-in-law who had been quietly listening on the side suddenly spoke up.

  Mom has six siblings, three boys and three girls. The youngest is my uncle, who is seventeen or eighteen years younger than mom and thirty years younger than the eldest uncle. The sons of the eldest uncle and aunt, that is, my two cousins, are all several years older than my uncle. For this reason, in the eyes of my parents, my uncle is almost like a child. When discussing something at home, my uncle has always been the one who only listens but never speaks.

  Mom was taken aback for a moment.

  My younger uncle was telling the truth. At that time, it was recommended to go to university, known as the Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' University. Only those with a good family background and excellent performance could receive such special favor.

  Dad waved his hand and said firmly, "The Gang of Four has fallen, and the central policy will definitely change. A country or a nation wants to be rich and strong, after all, it depends on knowledge."

  I nodded immediately in agreement, and in my heart I deeply admired my old man.

  It's indeed true that a scholar can know the affairs of the world without leaving his door. Director Yan assigned my father to be in charge of propaganda and cultural education at the commune, which was truly the right person for the job. Because in 1977, that is, next year, when that veteran party member made a comeback, the top priority on the educational front was to restore the college entrance examination. Although my father didn't have the foresight of a time-traveler, he made an extremely accurate judgment based on his analysis of the country's overall situation.

  "You know what, I've never done grassroots administrative work before, and to be honest, I'm not confident at all. Director Yan said that the Organization Department will talk to me in the next few days, and the transfer order will come down soon."

  Dad said.

  Haha, look at how well Dad has mastered this kind of conversation trick. He's subtle and doesn't reveal his hand, effortlessly steering the topic to his own point.

  Looks like Dad has a promising future in politics. Who knows, maybe we'll become the Liu family of the inner court in the future!

  As soon as I thought of this, I started to despise myself. Everyone else is hoping their children will become dragons, but in my case, it's the other way around - I've become a dragon because of my father. It's just like that guy in "The Book of Laughter" who asked "Which one is more enjoyable, being a 'fēng jūn' or a 'gōng zǐ'"? (A "fēng jūn" refers to when the son becomes an official and the father gets a title from the imperial court because of it. A "gōng zǐ", on the other hand, is when the father is an official and the son enjoys the benefits. In "The Book of Laughter", someone asked which one was more enjoyable, and someone replied that while being a "fēng jūn" is great, you're already old by then, so it's not as good as being a "gōng zǐ". The guy immediately went out and bought a bunch of books and told his dad to go take the imperial exam.)

  The old mother was immediately deceived, and with a big wave of her hand, she said: "What's difficult about this? Doing grassroots work is mainly about understanding the spirit of superiors and grasping the party's policies. Especially since you're in charge of propaganda work, you must understand it thoroughly, and absolutely cannot make any mistakes. As long as the overall policy direction isn't wrong, the rest of the work is easy to do. How many things need to be done by you, the deputy director, personally?"

  "Yes, summarize experiences, establish typical examples, and promote positive publicity."

  "Isn't this the Tao, one principle after another?"

  The old mother patted her palm and looked into the eyes of the old father, filled with deep love.

  Dad and mom have a deep affection for each other all their lives, loving each other, is the foundation of our big family's harmony and happiness.

  Dad smiled and didn't say anything.

  This "three many" experience summary is not just a casual remark. Since accepting Yan Yucheng's invitation to prepare for the position of Deputy Director of the Red Flag Commune Revolutionary Committee, my father has indeed put in a lot of effort. Despite the scarcity of reference materials, he still made every effort to find all kinds of newspapers and documents to study carefully, striving to grasp the key points of propaganda work.

  "The chairman teaches us, never fight an unprepared war."

  This sentence has always been on Dad's lips.

  Now that the overall situation has been settled, I will no longer speak out of turn. Regarding the Party's propaganda and public opinion guidance, for more than a decade, there have been conflicts between conservative and reform-minded ideologies, sometimes urgent, sometimes slow, but never stopping. Many cadres, not just those in charge of propaganda, including many important party and government leaders, have paid a heavy price in this ideological conflict. It wasn't until the leader's southern tour and his famous "take another step forward" speech that the ideological conflicts gradually subsided.

  At this point, I must be able to help my old man. Because every time there is a more intense conflict, from the cause to the debate process to the final conclusion, I am very clear about the time and method. If my old man is always in charge of propaganda work, he will absolutely not make big directional mistakes.

  Of course, I also don't want Dad to be in charge of ideological work for the rest of his life. After all, this aspect can't produce tangible political achievements. However, this is not something that I can control.

  I had thought about it earlier, the precognition of a traverser, when applied in official circles, would be subject to many constraints.

  Finally, Xiao Shu said a word, and Father's transfer to Hongqi Commune was settled.

  "My brother-in-law said excitedly: 'Brother-in-law, you come work at our commune, and all of us relatives will benefit from it.'"