The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 71 The Anti-Zhang Alliance is Established

The thin morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the entire city was already drenched in the smell of ink.

There were people buying newspapers everywhere.

All the copies of People's Daily at newsstands and book kiosks were sold out.

Some people were so anxious that they cried on the streets because they couldn't buy newspapers.

Some units urgently updated their slogans: Bid farewell to the autumn in cities and towns, and welcome the cultural spring.

A long gray-blue dragon winds outside the iron fence of Xinhua Bookstore, and floral headscarves, blue liberation caps, and green military caps together emit white steam in the cold dew.

Someone had turned an enamel pot upside down on the steps to reserve space, and the red words "Labor is Glorious" on the bottom of the pot were bleeding through the thin frost.

The bookstore opens at eight o'clock.

The old salesperson in a four-pocket Zhongshan suit leaned out halfway and was startled when he saw so many people. "Wow, why are there so many people?"

The team broke up.

Many young people pushed forward and said, "Master, I saw a collection of books on self-study in mathematics, physics and chemistry last month. Give me one!"

"Leave me a dictionary. I want to buy a dictionary!"

"Comrade, do you have any textbooks here?"

Voices roared, the glass of the door shattered amidst the shoving, and a slipper rolled out on the ground...

The blackboard under the eaves of the post office was erased, and the four words "College Entrance Examination is Coming" written in red chalk were left in a strong color.

Some units routinely post the day's newspapers and magazines, but the young workers don't go to work and huddle together to look out, like pike in the spring flood.

People from the neighborhood committee also showed up. They tore down the slogan "Broad Heaven and Earth, Refining Red Hearts" and put up a new one:

We must learn knowledge!

Zhang Hongbo, who was reading a newspaper, was dragged out: "Director Zhang, go out and take a look, this is a mess!"

"Yes, Director Zhang, please take charge of the situation!"

Zhang Hongbo looked at his colleagues blankly.

The shouts from outside could already be heard: "We want school! We want to review! We want to take the college entrance exam!"

Zhang Hongbo lowered his head and read the newspaper carefully.

People's Daily front page headline:
Major reforms in college admissions!

Second edition headline:
Doing a good job in university admissions is the hope of the people of the whole country!

He looked up in the direction of the police station and muttered, "The world has changed! How could it suddenly change?"

"That damn bastard Qian Jin, does he have any connections at the central government? How did he know we should build a classroom now? Is God helping him?"

The street radio speaker broke down, and the excited voice of the female announcer, mixed with the sound of electricity, resonated among the tube-shaped buildings:

"This year, college admissions policies have undergone significant reforms. Voluntary registration, a unified examination, preliminary selection by prefecture-level cities, admission by schools, and approval by provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions will be adopted..."

"Any workers, farmers, educated youth who went to the countryside or returned home, demobilized soldiers, cadres, and recent high school graduates who meet the enrollment requirements can voluntarily apply and can choose several schools and subject categories based on their interests and specialties, allowing the motherland to select talents..."

The young people gathered outside jumped up and down and cheered, "Oh!"

"Long live the motherland!"

Many labor commandos were also mixed in.

After cheering, Zhao Bo suddenly remembered Qian Jin’s prediction at the meeting two days ago.

He was shaking with excitement, pulling the team members around him and shouting, "Captain Qian had foreseen this day a long time ago!"

"He watched the news every day and asked around for information. He said at the time that the country was about to resume the college entrance examination, so he prepared a classroom for the study team in advance!"

A party member attending the meeting nodded: "Yes, he did foresee it."

Zhao Bo roared, "Then what's wrong with him preparing a commando classroom for us?"

"Why are you arresting him? Comrades, follow me! Go and bring Captain Qian back!"

The crowd left in a mighty procession.

Someone started singing "The Internationale," and the whole team joined in, singing loudly:

"Arise, you starving slaves, arise, you suffering people of the world..."

At the public security station, Pang Lai Fu called his superiors early in the morning.

After hearing this, the supervisor said, "Who arrested this person? He's just playing the piano!"

"There's nothing wrong with learning at any time! The leader said, 'Socialist construction requires educated workers!'"

"Of course we release them. We must! The captain of our security team is organizing young people in the area to learn cultural knowledge. This is a good thing and should be encouraged!"

After Pang Lai Fu hung up the phone, he immediately woke up Qian Jin who was still sleeping.

He was somewhat impressed: "You are really a brave boy. Many thieves have been frightened to death when they entered our room, but you can still sleep!"

Qian Jin rubbed his eyes and said casually, "They are frightened because they made a mistake. They are not cowards, but they know that they will be punished by law."

"I can sleep because I have a clear conscience. I went to the countryside to support agriculture to serve the farmers, I joined the labor commando to serve the citizens, and I set up the study commando to serve the educated youth!"

Pang Laifu couldn't help but nodded: "That's right."

"Come on, just consider this a visit to our unit to familiarize yourself with the internal structure. It's time for you to go home!"

Qian Jin pretended to be surprised: "Did the leaders make a decision so quickly?"

"Oh, is it because Zhang Hongbo was convicted of corruption and I, as the victim of his false accusation, am now innocent?"

Pang Laifu couldn't help laughing: "He's fine, hey, he's your leader after all, just respect him."

Qian Jin asked him, "Captain Pang, if someone wanted to put you in jail, would you respect him?"

Pang Laifu glared and said, "I'll kill him!"

Qian Jin sneered and said through gritted teeth, "I will kill him too!"

Pang Laifu wanted to persuade him, but after thinking about it, he had nothing to say, so he took Qian Jin out and stuffed the company newspaper into his hand:
"Please leave two seats for me in your classroom. My nephew and niece will be taking the college entrance exam soon. Let them study hard in your class then!"

There's no need to read this newspaper.

He had already seen it yesterday.

Yesterday he bought all the remaining daily newspapers for this year. Because time was tight, he bought them in sets, which were very expensive. He spent a total of two thousand eight hundred.

The second one I bought was the news about the resumption of the college entrance examination...

He walked out.

Xu Weidong was sleeping on the recliner.

Old Xu is very loyal.

Last night he said he would stay here with him to overcome the difficulties, and he kept his word. While Qian Jin was sleeping inside, he grabbed the recliner that Cheng Hua used for the night shift and fell asleep outside.

Cheng Hua was rummaging through boxes and drawers looking for books.

Qian Jin asked in surprise: "Are you planning to go to college too?"

Cheng Hua shook his head: "We caught a book thief before, but some of the books were never found and were dumped in our company."

"The college entrance examination will be resumed this year, and these books should come in handy. I want to find a time to give them to comrades who need them."

Qian Jin admired: "Officer Cheng is a good comrade who truly serves the people."

Cheng Hua admired him even more: "You can set up a study room in advance, that's what makes you a good comrade."

There were a lot of people coming outside.

Qian Jin thought it was a celebratory parade held by excited young people.

Look closely. The labor commando team is coming!
Wang Dong rushed to the front.

As Qian entered the door, dozens of people raised their arms and shouted, "Captain Qian, comrades are here to take you home!"

On the spot, Qian Jin's blood boiled.

No wonder men like to lead troops!

He went up to Wang Dong and hugged him. Wang Dong said excitedly, "God is merciful and will not wrongly accuse a good person!"

Zhao Bo hurried forward to make his presence felt: "We materialists don't talk about God. Captain Qian relies on himself!"

"The leader said, 'It's better to have something yourself than to have it from your parents.' What does this mean? It means it's better to rely on yourself than on your parents!"

"Yesterday I saw that Captain Qian was absolutely confident. He said during the meeting that the country would reinstate the college entrance examination. His foresight was amazing!"

He looked left and right, the corners of his mouth turned down, and his thumb pointed up.

Zhu Tao: "I thought so too!"

They surrounded Qian Jin and walked back.

The seaside city is really lively today, comparable to the National Day.

As they passed by the department store, Qian Jin noticed a new queue forming at the rag counter inside.

Women in khaki work clothes clutched their cloth coupons, their eyes fixed on the stiffest Dacron fabric.

The educated youth loved to wear Dacron shirts.

Today, the labor commandos have no intention of working.

All of them are former educated youth, and many of them have attended high school. They meet the requirements for the college entrance examination and are also interested in taking it.

Qian Jin took them back to the neighborhood committee door and lined up.

Then I saw the four little ones standing in the corner.

He was very surprised: "Hey, why are you four here?"

Wei Xiangmi gestured towards the director's office with her eyes.

The curtains were drawn on the windows of the director's office.

Several panes of glass were broken.

Qian Jin asked, "Did you four do this?"

The four brothers nodded.

Liu Sanbing said angrily, "We agreed that each of us would smash one window to vent your anger, but Second Brother showed no respect for martial ethics and smashed two windows!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong picked up a stone and threw it up.

The glass shattered with a loud bang.

Wang Dong shouted, "Don't run! Catch that kid! He actually dared to come to the neighborhood committee and smash the windows. This is outrageous!"

Several neighborhood committee staff members came out to arrest people.

But Zhang Hongbo never showed up from beginning to end.

Wei Xiangmi said helplessly, "Captain Qian, that's enough, please restrain your men."

"These kids who broke the glass should just pay compensation. If the commandos broke the glass, it would be a serious case of vandalism!"

Qian Jin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Director Wei, our commando team has discipline, they won't do that."

He then said to Sixiao, "How dare you smash the windows of the neighborhood committee? This is extremely wrong. I want to severely criticize you!"

"Alright, get out of here now. Go back and fry two eggs each. You must eat them all. This is your punishment!"

The four little ones ran away immediately.

Qian Jin wanted to deal with the accountability of the neighborhood committee staff.

In the end, no one held him accountable, and everyone else looked at him with strange eyes...

It’s better if no one is held accountable.

After completing the demonstration against Zhang Hongbo, Qian Jin prepared to take the assembled commandos to the study room.

As a result, Wei Xiangmi smiled and waved at him, indicating that he should stay.

Qian Jin didn't understand.

But Wei Xiangmi was very nice to him, so he asked Wang Dong to lead the team to the study room first and he stayed behind.

Wei Xiangmi took him to an empty meeting room, looked outside and closed the door.

Qian Jin's heart began to beat fast.

He admitted that Director Wei was quite charming.

But now he only has the more charming Wei Qinghuan in his heart.

Thinking of this, he slapped his head.

What are you thinking about? This is 1977, not 2027. No matter how coquettish Wei Xiangmi is, she doesn't have the courage to seek excitement at work.

But after Wei Xiangmi sat down, her first words were really off: "Captain Qian, please take a seat. You don't know me well enough, do you? Let me briefly tell you about my situation."

Qian Jin scratched his chin fiercely.

He had a blind date in 27 years!

The kiss just didn't happen.

Wei Xiangmi continued, "You know, besides being the Women's Director of our neighborhood, I also work at the district housing management office..."

As she introduced it, Qian Jin understood:

Wei Xiangmi wanted a promotion, but what kind of organization was the Housing Management Office? A large temple harbors strong demonic winds, and a deep pond harbors many turtles.

She was already a section chief, but because she had no background, no connections, and no extraordinary abilities, her career at the Housing Management Office came to an end.

If she wants to go further, she has to make an effort at the neighborhood committee.

And she went a step further and became the director of the neighborhood committee.

Zhang Hongbo refused to leave.

She can't take the director's seat.

So her repeated displays of goodwill towards Qian Jin had a purpose: to deal with Zhang Hongbo together, to get Zhang Hongbo off Taishan Road, so that she could take over!

It will be easier if you explain it clearly.

Qian Jin said, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Director Wei. We were friends before, and now we are even better friends."

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to deal with Director Zhang, and then our labor commando will definitely support you in taking the position!"

"But I have a request."

Wei Xiangmi smiled: "Do you think it has something to do with prioritizing work?"

Qian Jin said, "It's half related. After you become the director of the neighborhood committee, you must support our labor assault team in setting up a small collective enterprise."

Wei Xiangmi asked doubtfully, "How do you run your business? What projects do you have? What's your direction?"

Qian Jin said, "We will take care of this and will definitely not break the law, so all you have to do is support us."

Wei Xiangmi agreed: "No problem!"

Comrades shake hands.

The Anti-Zhang Alliance was established.

PS: I’d like to give you a heads-up in advance, my dear readers: this book will be on the shelves at noon on the 26th of next Wednesday, and it will explode from then on, a wild explosion!
(End of this chapter)