Era: Rise from the Wilderness

Back in the classroom, Li Yunjing directed the boys to distribute the new textbooks they had brought back.

The fresh scent of ink filled the classroom, and the students touched their brand-new textbooks, their faces filled with excitement and anticipation.

There were no formal classes on the first day of school. After the pregnant woman collected the tuition and fees, she announced that everyone was free to move around, but should not stray too far from the campus.

At lunchtime, the scene in the classroom split into two groups.

Students who live far away usually take out aluminum lunchboxes from their schoolbags, containing the food they brought from home in the morning. They take the food to the large steamer in the school's boiler room to heat it up, and then sit in the classroom in groups of three or five to eat lunch.

Students like Li Yunjing, whose homes are in the town, rode their bicycles back home for lunch.

Li Yunjing left the teaching building and went straight to his family's small shop.

Even from some distance away, you can see that there are still quite a few students gathered in front of the store.

Squeezing into the store, I saw about a dozen people huddled in front of the glass counter, pointing at the snacks and chattering amongst themselves.

Li Yunjing squeezed his way to the counter, approached his mother who was busy at work, and whispered, "Mom, how was business this morning?"

"Not bad, I'm so busy I barely have time to breathe!"

He Ling didn't even bother to look up, quickly taking the money and giving change while saying, "Are you hungry?"

"Just grab some snacks to tide you over; Mom doesn't have time to make you anything to eat right now!"

Her voice was tired, but it was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Seeing her mother's busy yet fulfilling appearance, Li Yunjing couldn't help but smile.

It seems the first day of school was more popular than expected, keeping Mom extremely busy.

He was thinking to himself that he would definitely take stock of the day's sales after closing the shop that night.

The income from this small shop is crucial to his future plans!

This first pot of gold will largely depend on the accumulation of wealth from this small shop!

He took a few packets of biscuits, two sausages, and a bottle of soda from the counter, put them in a plastic bag, said goodbye to his mother, and returned to the classroom.

Inside the classroom, many students who brought their own lunches were still eating and chatting.

Li Yunjing found an empty seat and sat down. While eating a simple lunch, he chatted with the students around him and quickly became familiar with several outgoing classmates.

After eating, I was overcome with drowsiness.

Li Yunjing lay down on the hard wooden desk, preparing to take a short nap.

My cheeks were pressed against the cold, rough tabletop, which felt very uncomfortable.

He hadn't experienced this familiar napping posture from his student days for over thirty years. He felt a sharp pain on one side of his cheek, far less comfortable than the soft pillows of later generations.

I spent the entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing.

Several teachers took turns coming to the classroom, gave brief self-introductions, met with the students, explained the subject requirements, and then quickly left.

With no classes and no homework, everyone got to know each other in the classroom or secretly peeked at their favorite classmates, and the air was filled with the vibrant energy of youth.

It wasn't until around 4:30 p.m. that the pregnant homeroom teacher returned to the classroom.

She emphasized the rules for classes starting tomorrow, asked everyone to prepare their school supplies, and then announced: "Registration is now over. School is dismissed! Please be careful on your way home and be on time for school tomorrow!"

"Oh! School's out!"

"Finally free! Let's go play football!"

"Go home, go home!"

Cheers erupted in the classroom, instantly enlivening the dull afternoon.

Li Yunjing, Fu Chao, and Ding Dong, swaying slightly, were the first to emerge from the teaching building.

As soon as Fu Chao stepped out, his true colors were revealed. He skillfully pulled a crumpled pack of "Daqianmen" cigarettes from his jeans pocket, flicked it with his finger, put one in his mouth, and then lit the cigarette with a "click" of a gas lighter. He took a deep drag and exhaled a not-so-round smoke ring.

Ding Dong, who was standing to the side, immediately looked on expectantly, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Fu Chao smiled and handed over the cigarette pack. Ding Dong quickly took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked it with slightly awkward movements.

Seeing these two troubled teenagers openly smoking at the school gate on their very first day of school, Li Yunjing was truly impressed.

These two kids really have no intention of turning over a new leaf!

"Would you like one too?"

Fu Chao handed the cigarette pack to Li Yunjing, with a hint of probing.

After a moment's thought, Li Yunjing realized that although it was wrong for teenagers to smoke in this era, it was also one of the labels of "socialite" to some extent, which would help them quickly integrate into Fu Chao's small circle and make it easier to use their resources in the future.

So he nodded and said frankly, "Okay!"

He took the cigarette, paused it skillfully on his fingernail, and then put it in his mouth.

Fu Chao brought the lighter closer, and Li Yunjing lowered his head slightly to light it, took a deep drag, and then exhaled a large, round smoke ring.

That posture, that style, was many times more experienced than Fu Chao and Ding Dong!

"Holy crap! How did you do that?"

Ding Dong stared wide-eyed.

"You...you're even more skilled than us?"

"Do you often steal your dad's cigarettes to smoke at home?"

Fu Chao was also shocked. He thought he was already "street smart" enough, but he didn't expect Li Yunjing to be so unassuming!

Little did they know that standing before them was a seasoned smoker with twenty years of experience, who had tried every kind of cigarette and knew how to create every kind of smoke ring.

This is just basic operation.

"Haha, Lao Fu, Ding Dong, I'll teach you guys sometime."

Li Yunjing laughed and vaguely replied, "I know more than you think!"

The three of them were puffing away on cigarettes, strolling leisurely toward the school gate, enjoying the thrill of "freedom after school" and the slight stimulation brought by the tobacco.

Suddenly, a burst of shrill laughter and noisy shouting came from not far to the left of the school gate, mixed with a girl's angry rebuke.

Li Yunjing looked in the direction of the sound and saw seven or eight students forming a small circle. In the center of the circle, a tall figure stood out.

The girl wore a well-tailored white dress, a rarity for that era, with the hem reaching her calves and revealing a section of her fair and slender ankles.

She wore her hair in a high ponytail, revealing a bright and beautiful face, which was now slightly flushed with anger, her eyebrows raised and her starry eyes filled with murderous intent.

It was none other than Li Wanting, the undisputed campus beauty of this year.

Not only is she outstanding in appearance, but she is also exceptionally tall and has a remarkable figure. It is said that she comes from a wealthy family and has a rather bold and decisive personality. She is someone that many boys admire but dare not easily provoke.

Surrounding her were two shady-looking boys. Judging from their school uniforms, they weren't students from No. 25 Middle School; they were probably from other nearby schools or street thugs.

The two men, one tall and one short, were laughing and joking as they spoke to Li Wanting. The shorter man even reached out to touch Li Wanting's ponytail.