The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 457 This is Kyoto University

On February 1978, 2, Capital University opened.

Liu Shuxian waved goodbye to her father Liu Zhiye who drove her there, and stood outside the south gate of Peking University, staring at the words "Beijing University" on the gate in a daze.

Liu Shuxian really wanted to pinch herself. She felt like she was still playing the day before, but how come she became a college student the next day, and a student at Peking University at that!

She laughed heartily and walked towards the "Ruixin Station".

The red banner had three Song-style characters "迊新站" printed on it, a font that was very familiar to the freshmen taking photos under the banner.

After entering the school, the freshmen quickly explored the garden and measured its boundaries with their footsteps.

The South Gate is the main school gate; outside the East Gate is a residential area with a complex network of bungalows and alleys but no main roads; the West Gate is far away from the dormitory area and teaching buildings, and students rarely go in and out.

Liu Shuxian and her classmates from the class of 77 lived in dormitory room 20 on the 510th floor, and she slept on the upper bunk.

The bunk below her was occupied by an extraordinary person - Liu Xuehong, the top scorer in liberal arts in Beijing this year.

Liu Xuehong is also from Beijing, three years older than Liu Shuxian. His every move reveals a sense of calmness and confidence.

When they first met, they both felt that the other looked familiar.

Liu Shuxian couldn't hold back her curiosity, so she asked, "Student Liu, have we met somewhere before?"

Hearing this, Liu Xuehong's lips curled up into a gentle smile. She nodded gently and responded, "Yeah! I think so too. Let me think about it. By the way, we should have been in the same examination room and took the college entrance examination together, right?"

After hearing her words, Liu Shuxian suddenly understood and couldn't help but sigh: "Oh! This is really a wonderful fate! I didn't expect that we not only took the same examination room, but also got admitted to the same university. What's more, we were assigned to the same dormitory. It's unbelievable..."

Liu Xuehong was also very happy. She finally stepped into the university campus of her dreams and met such a congenial friend here. This made her feel as if it was a clever arrangement of fate.

After a conversation, the two found out that they both came from military families and had similar backgrounds, which made them feel even closer.

What’s more coincidental is that Liu Shuxian also learned that Liu Xuehong, like herself, was a freshman in the Chinese Department in 77, which gave them more common topics.

Liu Shuxian had not joined the party yet because she was young - later, Liu Xuehong became her introducer to the party.

Liu Shuxian asked Liu Xuehong again, "Why didn't I see you on the opening ceremony?"

"That's because I came late..." Liu Xuehong said with a blush.

It turned out that Liu Xuehong missed the opening ceremony from the very beginning.

After the Spring Festival, she was surrounded by good news one after another.

On February 2, a classmate told Liu Xuehong that her college entrance examination essay was published in full in Renren Daily and the news was also on the radio station's "News and Newspaper Summary."

Liu Xuehong was skeptical.

After returning home and having dinner, her father handed her a newspaper from behind: "Take a look, is this what you wrote?"

Liu Xuehong quickly reached out to take it, and saw on the left half of the page the title "My Year of Fighting" and the signature "Liu Xuehong, an educated youth candidate from MY County, Jingcheng City";
The first paragraph of the text is: "Once a year the autumn wind is strong."

Liu Xuehong tried hard to control her excitement: "I wrote it."

Soon, the news that "the political commissar's daughter was admitted to university" spread like wildfire in the military compound, making Liu Xuehong feel under great pressure. He repeatedly explained that "the results have not been announced yet."

The continuous congratulations made Liu Xuehong unprecedentedly anxious.

A few days later, she saw her classmates in the city receiving their admission letters one after another, and only then did she realize that the admission results had already been announced.

Liu Xuehong rushed back to MY immediately.

The next day, the candidates arrived at the commune and were gathered together. The notices were distributed one by one as the names of the people and schools were called out.

Most of the others only received an ordinary white envelope; the envelope Liu Xuehong received was exceptionally large, made of kraft paper, with four Mao-style characters printed on it: Beijing University.

For several days thereafter, Liu Xuehong was busy selling the grain she earned from work points to the grain station, exchanging it for grain coupons, and transferring her household registration. By the time everything was done, she arrived at Peking University to report on March 3.

For some reason, Yanyuan seemed particularly deserted that day.

Liu Xuehong asked all the way to the Chinese Department, and the teacher looked up and asked, "Oh, you're still here? We thought you weren't coming."

…………

After freshmen enter school.

One day, Liu Shuxian sat up on the upper bunk, and several fragments of the revelry last night flashed through her mind:

They crowded into an empty room on the second floor of Building 32, staring at the small black and white TV with bated breath.

Shortly after the score was tied, the satellite signal was suddenly interrupted, leaving everyone in the room looking at each other in confusion.

Liu Shuxian had no choice but to get up and go to the bathroom. As she was washing her face, she heard someone shouting, "The radio said that our Xia country won."

"Oh! We won! We won! Long live Xia Country!"

"Hurray!" Liu Shuxian knocked over the basin in excitement, but she didn't care and ran out to party with her classmates.

Afterwards, Liu Shuxian was still immersed in irrepressible excitement.

She opened her diary and wrote down "March 1978, 3", and then wrote: "This is the spirit of Peking University students!"

Shortly after the lights were turned off last night, Liu Shuxian heard a flurry of hurried footsteps, followed by faint cheers of "Xia Guo Table Tennis won."

She didn't know that at this time Liu Xuehong and others had already rushed down from Building 32 shouting various slogans and joined a group with students from the surrounding buildings.

Someone brought some musical instruments over, and at a command, trumpets, drums, and horns started to sound in a disorderly manner.

Liu Shuxian couldn't lie down anymore.

She got out of bed, put on her cotton coat, put on her slippers, and joined the surging crowd. As soon as she left the dormitory building, the scene in front of her instantly ignited her emotions -

In the absence of a flag, they used a branch tied with a piece of rag as a substitute, and one person even held up his own underwear.

In the front and middle of the team, many people were beating drums, buckets, and basins, and they brought out everything that could make a sound.

Those without basins clapped and shouted slogans. 'Long live Xiaguo! Long live Xiaguo!'

As the symphony sounded, the team grew larger and larger, with more and more people gathering, and they marched along the cement road towards the International Students Building in a mighty procession.

In front of the International Students Building, the slogans were unusually loud.

The torches lit with brooms, the newspapers and straw curtains scattered from the windows, the sea of ​​fire, the passion of the collective dance in the sea of ​​fire, the blood boiling in the fire.

Looking around the fire scene, Liu Shuxian was standing on a bicycle, waving her hands and directing the singing: "Sing the national anthem!" Who knew that in her excitement, she actually started singing the beginning of "The Internationale"!
Liu Shuxian, Liu Xuehong and students from various buildings gathered together. A long dragon rushed out of the school gate amid shouts and symphonies, circled around HD and ZhongG Village, and finally returned to school in a mighty procession.

The time was a quarter to one. It was already this morning.

Soon, a more formal celebration was held at the May Fourth Sports Stadium.

This time, Liu Xuehong made a mask by herself, and cheered and jumped while wearing it, letting the camera lens scan it repeatedly.

At the end of her diary entry on March 3, Liu Shuxian wrote: “Sports! This is the amazing effect of ‘sports’!”

In their freshman year, Liu Shuxian and Liu Xuehong were spotted by the school's track and field team teachers and assigned to the 400-meter group for physical training.

Apart from this, almost all time is devoted to books and professional knowledge.

When he first entered Yanyuan, Liu Xuehong, who grew up in a military environment, quickly discovered that Class 77 was indeed a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers were everywhere.

The repressed resentment, talent, heroism and arrogance of the ten years of being unable to pursue education all burst out, making Yanyuan the eye of the academic world in the post-... era.

The descendants of scholarly families met their equals in the Chinese Department of Class of 77, and they admired each other so much that composing poems together became a popular trend.

There are many senior freshmen in their thirties in the Class of 77. Having been drenched in social reality when they went to the countryside to work in the production team, they are always talking about politics and praising or criticizing the world.

In front of them, Liu Shuxian "was just like an elementary school student."

She realized two things: one regrets not having enough knowledge when he needs it, and time waits for no one.

In the eyes of Liu Shuxian, who is under 18 years old, university life is very simple - "basically it's just studying."

The class of 77 at Peking University was full of strong students, and the age range was extremely wide. There were even classmates who were more than ten years older than her.

Just like that, the learning atmosphere is seriously involuted!!!

Liu Shuxian has a male classmate in the Economics Department named Zhong Xingwang, who is a genius. He is only 16 years old this year and studies even harder.

Zhong Xingwang, who graduated from a village middle school, felt a lot of pressure after coming to Peking University and had to review after class.

After daily drills, he would study if he didn’t have classes; he would go home with the crowd when the library closed at 10 p.m.; on weekends, he would climb in through the window before the study room opened. Liu Shuxian, who came from a wealthy family, had never experienced the hardships of life since childhood, and had always been easy-going in his studies without being overly demanding.

If her family had not given her some intensive tutoring as the college entrance examination approached, it would have been an unknown whether she could successfully be admitted to this institution.

Because of this, Liu Shuxian always has great respect for those who work hard, especially geniuses like Zhong Xingwang, who obviously possess extraordinary talents but still work tirelessly, which makes her admire him even more.

As time went by, Liu Shuxian's affection for Zhong Xingwang deepened. But this affection was not a romantic one, she just wanted to be ordinary friends with this talented classmate.

However, Zhong Xingwang, who was devoted to his studies, kept a certain distance from this Beijing girl who had outstanding looks, fashionable clothes, and a wealthy family. He seemed to keep his distance from her.

This made Liu Shuxian feel a little frustrated.

However, this girl has an extremely stubborn character, and she has a spirit of never giving up.

The more you ignore her, the stronger her desire to conquer you becomes, as if she won't stop until she has completely conquered you.

At this time, her best friend Liu Xuehong joked, "Shuxian, are you really attracted to her? Why do you look so distracted?"

Liu Shuxian raised her lips in a joking manner when she heard this, and retorted with disdain: "What nonsense are you talking about! How could I possibly like a country bumpkin like him?"

Liu Xuehong said sternly: "Don't look down on the poor young man. I think Zhong Xingwang will be successful sooner or later if he works so hard!"

When Liu Shuxian heard this, she rolled her eyes and said to Liu Xuehong in a somewhat joking tone: "Since you think so highly of him, why don't you pursue him!"

Liu Xuehong would not be easily fooled. She quickly waved her hand and refused: "No, I have always been a gentleman and I will not take away what others like. He is your type!"

Seeing her say this, Liu Shuxian teased her deliberately and stretched out her hand to tickle her armpit: "You are a gentleman! Confucius said that you are a villain!"

“Hahahaha… stop it… it’s so itchy… hahaha…” Liu Xuehong was tickled so hard that she couldn’t stop laughing and begged for mercy repeatedly.

Liu Xuehong and Liu Shuxian don’t know yet, what Liu Xuehong said is correct.

The college entrance examination in 77 was an unforgettable experience for them and a turning point in their destiny.

They never imagined that decades later, among their classmates there would be government committee members, national bank governors, university presidents, and many leading figures in academia, politics, and business.

The Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University is most famous for two majors: literature and journalism.

Liu Xuehong said with a smile that students majoring in literature and journalism are the center of attention on campus.

Students majoring in literature are all writers and poets. They are arrogant and look up to the sky when they walk out.

Everyone in the journalism major looks like a big reporter from the world's major news agencies and has a strong aura!
Liu Shuxian has been a restless person since she was a child. She is agile and courageous, and has a grand dream in her heart - when she grows up, she will travel around the world and experience the customs and cultures of different places.

So, when it came to choosing a major, she chose journalism without hesitation, because this field could best satisfy her curiosity and desire to explore the world.

When Liu Shuxian arrived at the Journalism Department, she found that most of her classmates were from Beijing, and they quickly became familiar with each other.

Yes, these days, only children of cadres can apply for the journalism department. Children of ordinary families don’t know much about this major, and first of all, they can’t pass the foreign language test.

But there are exceptions, such as Liu Shuxian’s classmate Yang Yingming.

Speaking of Yang Yingming's admission to Peking University, his experience was much more tortuous.

Because he had worked as a clerk and propaganda officer while in the army, he applied for the journalism major in the Chinese Department of Peking University.

After the first batch of admissions ended, Yang Yingming did not receive any notification.

Yang Yingming thought that this was how life was. He was married and had children. If he didn't pass the exam, he didn't pass. He would just continue living his life.

After a few days, news suddenly came that the journalism major in the Chinese Department of Peking University was going to expand its enrollment.

My originally peaceful life became turbulent again. One day, I actually received an acceptance letter. I then got busy settling my wife and children and completing the resignation procedures.

Only after entering the school did he learn the whole story.

There have been few new recruits in various news organizations in China in the past 10 years. After the first round of enrollment, they strongly demanded that the school expand enrollment.

When I arrived at the school, I found out that Mr. Qin, who was in charge of the admissions for the journalism major that year, received a call from Vice President Zhang, asking him to enroll 40 more people. Yang Yingming, who had originally failed the entrance exam, was lucky enough to be admitted.

Vice Principal Zhang is very open-minded and particularly emphasizes not to... and not to let normal enrollment be affected by some so-called... of some students' parents.

Having the same experience as Yang Yingming is 28-year-old female candidate Li Hong, whose child is 5 years old. Although her scores passed the admission line, she was not admitted in the first batch.

When she learned that Teacher Qin was checking files in a small hotel in Chongwenmen for the second batch of admissions, she rode her bike from her workplace to find Teacher Qin and said, "This is my last chance in life, please give me this opportunity."

Teacher Qin felt that if a 28-year-old female student with a child was not admitted this year, it would be more difficult for her to take the exam next year.

In this way, Li Hong became the eldest sister of the 77 journalism major at Peking University.

Ye Jun, the oldest student in the journalism major, is 14 years older than Liu Shuxian. He was 31 years old when he took the exam and was 32 years old when he entered the school the following year.

Liu Shuxian and the others all respected him very much and called him Lao Ye.

This is how college life began.

When I first entered the school, the textbooks had not been updated yet, and the previous materials and the materials learned by the workers, peasants and soldiers during that period were intertwined together.

Although the teaching content has not been completely rectified, the free spirit of Peking University classrooms has been restored.

The teacher even allowed older students, including Yang Yingming, to bring teacups to class and "sit in the back and smoke during class."

Students majoring in literature and journalism take basic and public courses together.

Among the 77 class of literature, there were a group of "amateur authors" who had already gained some fame before entering the school, such as Chen Jiangong, Huang Beijia, and Wang Xiaoping.

They are not only role models in the eyes of their classmates, but also campus stars for students majoring in journalism and even classical literature.

There are 49 students majoring in literature, 70 students majoring in journalism, and only 14 boys and 5 girls in the classical literature major. It is a truly small major.

People who majored in classical literature were later jokingly called "excavated cultural relics" by Liu Shuxian and others.

In Yang Yingming's words, "It's very quiet. Male students from three majors live in the same building, and there is never any sound in the dormitories of their majors."

This major is quite strange as it only recruits students once every four years.

With no seniors above them and no junior brothers or sisters below them, students of classical literature have truly become a marginalized group.

The most interesting thing is their journalism major.

The library is a place that attracts them more than the classroom.

The journalism major was still a confidential major in those days. Students were allowed to read some foreign publications with special permission and were even allowed to go to the auditorium of the Third Department of the General Staff to watch the so-called "internal films" at that time.

The foreign novel reading room that had been closed during the period was opened, and students of ordinary majors were allowed to read in the room, but they were not allowed to borrow books.

It's often crowded here.

Liu Shuxian and her good friend Liu Xuehong hang out there almost every day, and read many world classics there.

They were all big books, and often the library would close at a critical moment. I would go back to the dormitory and think about it so much that I would go back the next day.

Liu Shuxian was particularly envious of Liu Xuehong's fast reading speed, as she could finish a book in a short while.

She is so slow, I am very anxious.

That is, starting from this year, literary societies of Peking University have sprung up everywhere, and universities across the country have seen a surge in the craze for publishing newspapers and magazines.

Liu Shuxian and her colleagues in the journalism department published a newspaper called "Shibao", which was named after the idea that news reporting should be "seeking truth from facts" and mainly focused on news commentary.

From the title to the layout, everything is handwritten, and the handwriting of all the classmates can be found on it.

The chief editor Gao Bingshan is known as the "hot pepper editor". There is no international or domestic event that he and his classmates dare not comment on.

Liu Shuxian, who could not sit still, participated in the editing of "Wenming Lake", the journal of the Peking University May Fourth Literary Society, with Yang Yingming and others in her spare time.

Several people from their journalism department are responsible for the school news and current affairs section.

Liu Xuehong and two other students majoring in literature participated in the editing of the literary part of "Weiming Lake".

Nowadays, college students are full of enthusiasm for national, social, and people's livelihood affairs, and are extremely proud of their identity as college students.

No matter who goes out, they all wear the school badge.

People from Kyoto University wear school badges, and people from other schools wear them too, but when they walk down the street, people look at them differently.

(End of this chapter)