Struggle Life in the 1970s

The yellow sweater was knitted for her by Sister Deng after winter came. She had originally planned to give it to her personally after it was finished so that she could see how it looked when she put it on. But now she can only mail it to her.

In the letter, Sister Deng also told her about various interesting things that happened after she returned home, which made Chu Ye cry and laugh when she read the letter.

At the end of the letter, Sister Deng earnestly advised that the current situation is much freer and more open than in previous years, especially for people in coastal areas like them, who have already vaguely sensed some trends of reform, and that future social development will definitely be in a better direction. She asked Chu Ye not to give up studying, but to work hard to enrich himself and become a new youth who can contribute to the motherland.

The signature was Sister Deng's. After Chu Ye read it, she couldn't calm down for a long time. She gently stroked the sweater, and felt the delicate and soft touch under her palm. Although she had several sweaters, they were all left over by her sisters. Until now, the only person who could sincerely make a piece of clothing just for her was Sister Deng.

Her heart was soft as a nut.

Winter turned into spring, and the time in school passed quickly. In a blink of an eye, Chu Ye had experienced three years of study in school. In a few days, she and her classmates would be assigned to a school and start their internship life.

A lot of things happened in these three years. For example, the year before last, just over a month after she started school, a notice came out on the radio in the streets and alleys that made countless people excited: the college entrance examination has been resumed!

People rushed to tell each other, and soon the news spread like wildfire, igniting the hearts of millions of students. Not to mention people outside, even many teachers in their schools were anxious to submit their registration forms, planning to fight hard in the examination hall again.

She also kept in touch with Mu Jiajun through letters. On the third day after learning about the exam, he and other educated youth from the village came to the town to sign up. That afternoon, he came to the school to see Chu Ye, but after a few words, the people traveling with him urged him to get on the bus and go back, fearing that the road would be difficult to travel if it was too late.

That day, Mu Jiajun looked back every few steps. After getting in the car, he opened the window and waved at Chu Ye with a smile.

When the spring of the following year came and all things came back to life, Mu Jiajun received an admission letter from the Translation Major of Huajing University of Foreign Languages.

Mu Jiajun also started his college life from then on. Although his school was in the neighboring province, he still sent letters to Chu Ye every now and then. The content of the letters also changed from his rural life when he was working in the past to what he saw and heard in school.

As time went by, Chu Ye got used to his letters and she would often reply. From the initial difficulties she encountered in learning, or the misunderstanding of English grammar, she gradually turned to the difficulties she encountered in life, or what interesting things happened on a certain day, and sometimes even when she saw the sunset, she wanted to record it and tell Mu Jiajun.

The people in the same dormitory also noticed this. They teased Chu Ye about her good relationship with her cousin. Chu Ye lowered her head and dared not say a word. Later, Qin Manwen was thoughtful and asked a few more questions. Only then did the three of them know that this distant cousin was actually an educated youth in the village. Under their smiling questioning, Chu Ye told them all the things that happened between her and Mu Jiajun, in which she saved his life and he taught me.

"He just likes you! Xiao Ye, can't you see that?" Zhao Yue shouted excitedly, but was silenced by Chu Ye the next second.

"Don't talk nonsense, he just treats me as a friend." Chu Ye explained, but he didn't know who he was trying to convince.

The three of them curled their lips in unison, as if to say, "I'm just going to listen to your nonsense." However, from then on, every time she received a letter, she had to endure the three people's waiting gazes, which made her feel quite pressured.

On the other hand, Chu Guangyao successfully entered the college entrance examination in July this year after going through junior high school and high school, and then failed as expected.

Now he has found a clerical job in a state-owned unit. His parents want him to settle down, find a girl in town, marry her and have children. However, he himself does not seem to want to make a lifelong decision so early. He plans to study on his own while working and take the college entrance examination again next year.

The atmosphere in the school these days is a bit tense, because next week is the day to assign internship schools, which also means that their school life is about to end. They will soon leave this cradle and dress up as adults to teach and educate.

After class that day, when Chu Ye was packing up to leave, Zhou Wenlong from the next class walked into the classroom and stopped her.

"Comrade Chu, did you agree with what I said to you a few days ago?" He looked at Chu Ye, and after he finished speaking, he lowered his head, looking a little embarrassed.

Chu Ye looked confused and had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh, that's what I said to you in the cafeteria that day, have you thought about it?" He twisted his body and looked up at her with a slightly resentful look.

Chu Ye felt a chill when he looked at her, and goose bumps appeared on her arms even in the hot summer. She began to think carefully. Her roommates gathered around her and were also quite curious about what the man was talking about.

After a moment, Chu Ye frowned under the man's expectant gaze and said, "Sorry, comrade, I still don't quite understand what you mean."

Her memory went back to four days ago. That day, she was kept after class by the teacher because of some things. Her roommates couldn't wait for her and left first. After she came out of the teaching building, she went to the cafeteria to eat alone. Unexpectedly, when she was about to leave after eating, she was stopped by Comrade Zhou. He said some inexplicable words and asked her to give her some time to think about it carefully.

At that time, Chu Ye thought he had met a fool who was talking nonsense, and did not take it seriously. Now it seems that this is not the case. The man thought Chu Ye was shy and embarrassed. There were not many people in the classroom at this time, and there were a few who wanted to watch the fun but did not say anything.

The man looked around, then moved closer and lowered his voice, "If you date me, I'll find you a good internship. If you perform well, you might even be able to stay there to teach."

He spoke with great confidence. Chu Ye frowned as he listened. Then he thought back to the nonsense he had said a few days ago and vaguely connected the two sentences.

She took a step back calmly and politely refused, "No, I will follow the school's arrangements and don't need your help."

After saying that, she turned around to leave. Zhou Wenlong became anxious and reached out to grab her arm, but was then thrown away.

Chu Ye turned his head and frowned, but this scene in Zhou Wenlong's eyes was another beautiful picture.

He came to Chu Ye to talk about this matter, of course, it was not a spur of the moment impulse. He had been observing Chu Ye for a long time. This girl from the countryside has always maintained the top grades in the whole grade since she entered school. Not only that, she has also become more and more dazzling.

Perhaps because of the good food in school for three years, Chu Ye actually grew five centimeters taller. The childishness on her face faded, and now she has more of a girl's brightness. A pair of black eyes are embedded in her delicate face like white porcelain, and her eyelashes tremble like a butterfly spreading its wings. However, her lips are full and slightly pink, like a ripe peach, which arouses people's imagination.

She was good-looking to begin with, and now she was even more outstanding, with good grades and no messy interpersonal relationships, so after observing her for a while, he was unable to extricate himself from her.

Zhou Wenlong's family background is ordinary, but he has a distant uncle who works in a school. Because of this, he is quite arrogant. His classmates know his character and don't pay much attention to him, but there are still some who don't want to offend him and often flatter him, making him mistakenly think that he is also a big shot.

He knew that at this time, most people were anxious about where they would be assigned by the school. He could use some connections because his uncle was a teacher, and because of this, he wanted to use this relationship to get a beautiful girlfriend.

After all, one of the reasons why he applied to this normal school was to find a girlfriend.

He looked at Chu Ye with an infatuated look that made people feel disgusted. Chu Ye's voice turned cold, "Comrade, what else do you want?"

"Think about it carefully. This is related to your future. I can arrange a place for you." Facing Chu Ye's cold eyes, he was not annoyed. After all, a beautiful woman looking good when angry, he was willing to coax her.

"I won't consider it, and you don't have to bother me anymore." After saying that, Chu Ye turned around and walked out. Zhou Wenlong still wanted to pester her, but Zhao Yue glared back at him. Seeing his sad face, the three of them left with peace of mind.

In the classroom, Qiao Mingzhu originally came back to get something, but she witnessed the whole thing. She sneered, "At least look at yourself. She's a good student, and she can find anything she wants. Why does she have to be with you?"

"What did you say?" He was extremely angry. In his eyes, Chu Ye was at most pretty and good at studying, but she came from a poor family. He was also considered a leader among men. How could they not be a match?
His eyes fell on Qiao Mingzhu. He had naturally heard of this young lady. He had originally set his sights on her, but she had such a bad temper. She was spoiled, willful and difficult to please.

"You're not saying such jealous words just because you're not as pretty as her, right?" Zhou Wenlong asked.

"Bah! You're talking nonsense! Why am I not as pretty as her? I think you are a blind toad!" Qiao Mingzhu, who was just trying to make others unhappy, was angered by his words.

She admitted that Chu Ye looked much better after she lost her rustic look at the beginning of school, but that didn't mean she was worse! She was very proud of her face!
Qiao Mingzhu was so angry that she pointed her finger at Zhou Wenlong's nose and said, "Don't waste your energy. She is so pretty that she would never fall for you. Her boyfriend is tall and good-looking, you can't compare to him."

She blurted out these words and was shocked herself after she said them. In fact, she didn't know whether that man was Chu Ye's boyfriend or not. Anyway, the information she got was that he was her cousin. But she had seen that man sending Chu Ye to school several times and the look in his eyes was not that of a relative at all.

However, she had kept this speculation in her heart, and today she blurted it out when she was angry.

In an instant, she realized that she seemed to have said something she shouldn't have said. She pursed her lips to hide her embarrassment, and before the person opposite her could react, she snorted coldly, picked up her things and walked out of the classroom.

Behind her, a pair of resentful eyes stared at her back.

(End of this chapter)