Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

The third day after the end of the college entrance examination.

The liveliest place in the commune was not the supply and marketing cooperative, nor the radio station, but the stone table under the shade of a tree.

Every morning, people gather there, all talking about the same thing—the college entrance examination.

"What do you think the admission score will be this year?"

"Who knows? Nobody experienced the first year after the college entrance examination was reinstated."

"I heard from people in the county that the questions were quite difficult."

"What's there to be afraid of? We're all in this together."

The discussions haven't stopped all day.

In the supply and marketing cooperative, people buying things also like to casually ask a question.

"Has Xiuhe returned?"

"You're back."

"Have you estimated the grades yet?"

"I've estimated it."

"How many points?"

"Go ask him yourself."

Li Hongmei smiled and pushed the question back.

When Ke Zhen and the others finally found Lin Xiuhe, the answer they received was still the same four words: "Wait for notification."

Gradually, everyone realized that they couldn't get anything out of her. So their curiosity grew stronger.

Evening, in the warehouse.

Zhao Xiaomei was lying on the table, twirling a pencil in her hand, and had been doing so for almost ten minutes.

"Sister Xiuhe."

"Um?"

"What exactly did you estimate?"

"I forgot."

Zhao Xiaomei nearly fell off her chair: "You can forget?"

"It's written on a piece of paper."

"Where's the paper?"

"In the drawer."

Zhao Xiaomei's eyes immediately lit up.

The next second, Lin Xiuhe pushed the drawer shut, the wood making a soft clanging sound: "Don't even think about it."

Zhao Xiaomei immediately deflated: "I wouldn't peek."

She laughed as soon as she finished speaking—because she had indeed tried to peek.

The warehouse door curtain was lifted. Zhou Zhiyuan walked in.

He was holding a stack of documents. The county's temporary transfers had already begun, and he had been frequently traveling to the county seat these past few days, making him busier than ever before.

Zhao Xiaomei looked at him like he was a savior: "Comrade Zhou, could you ask her for me what score she estimated?"

Zhou Zhiyuan placed the document on the table: "I've already asked."

"and then?"

"They didn't tell me."

Zhao Xiaomei instantly lost her spirits: "Not even you told me?"

"Um."

Zhou Zhiyuan unscrewed the tea mug, took a sip of water, and his gaze fell on the table—or more precisely, on the drawer.

The day before yesterday afternoon, Lin Xiuhe showed him the paper after estimating her score. It was only for a few seconds. But he memorized the numbers.

Outside the window, the sun slowly sank below the horizon, and the light inside the warehouse gradually dimmed.

Zhao Xiaomei finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Fine, I'll say mine. I estimated it to be 290."

After she finished speaking, she looked nervously at the two of them: "Is it too low?"

"It's already very good," Lin Xiuhe replied.

Zhao Xiaomei blinked: "Really?"

"real."

In her past life, Zhao Xiaomei didn't even take the college entrance exam. Scoring over 300 points in this life has already changed her destiny.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuhe looked out the window. The evening breeze blew through the courtyard, and the leaves swayed gently.

Many things are different from those in my previous life.

Just then, shouts suddenly came from outside.

"Xiuhe! Is Xiuhe here?"

Li Hongmei came running up quickly from the front: "Someone is looking for you."

"Who?"

"From the county."

Several people in the warehouse looked up at the same time. The county?

Lin Xiuhe got up and walked out.

A bicycle was parked in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, with a briefcase strapped to the back rack. A young cadre was standing there, and when he saw her come out, he immediately went to greet her.

"Comrade Lin Xiuhe?"

"it's me."

The young cadre nodded and took out a registration form from his bag: "The county education bureau notified us that they need to verify some candidates' information. Go to the county office at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

As soon as he finished speaking, many people around looked over. The Education Bureau? Checking documents?

The young cadre handed over the notice: "Several other candidates have received notices. Don't be nervous, it's just routine work."

After saying that, he got on his bicycle and left.

At the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, everyone was looking at the notice.

Zhao Xiaomei was the first to come over: "Checking the data? Why the sudden need to check?"

no one knows.

But at that moment, Lin Xiuhe suddenly remembered something.

In my past life, during the first year after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the county conducted a random check of the files of a group of high-scoring candidates. Those who were checked all had scores that were among the highest.

She looked down at the notice in her hand, the edges of the paper fluttering gently in the evening breeze.

The folded piece of paper in the drawer seemed heavier than she had expected.

*******

The next morning, Lin Xiuhe rode her bicycle to the county town.

The Education Bureau office building is not large; it is a two-story gray brick building with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance, the paint of which has faded somewhat.

When she arrived, several people were already sitting in the corridor. They were all quite young, holding their exam admission tickets and household registration documents, clearly having also received the notification.

The staff sat behind a table, checking, registering, and stamping documents one by one. The process was quick.

When it was Lin Xiuhe's turn, the staff looked at her file and then at her.

"Red Flag Commune?"

"Yes."

"The one who got first place in the mock exam?"

Lin Xiuhe didn't respond. The staff member smiled and handed her the form: "Sign."

The pen fell, and three characters were written neatly: Lin Xiuhe.

After the staff member stamped the documents, they put them away and said, "All done."

"That's all?"

That's all.

Lin Xiuhe nodded, got up and left.

Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I suddenly heard arguing coming from upstairs.

"The list has been submitted."

"But the project is still short-staffed."

"We can't just borrow people whenever we're short-staffed."

"The county is pressing us urgently."

The sound grew closer. Several cadres came down from upstairs, one of whom Lin Xiuhe recognized—the deputy director of the county machinery factory. She had met him in her previous life; he had been featured in the county newspaper when the factory was restructured.

The group walked and talked, none of them looking relaxed.

"We need to add more people to the technical team; if this drags on any longer, the equipment installation will fall behind schedule."

"Isn't there a Zhou Zhiyuan over at the commune?"

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence at the stairwell.

The deputy factory director stopped in his tracks: "Zhou Zhiyuan?"

"Yes, that young man from the technical station. He wrote the proposal that was sent last time."

The deputy factory director nodded: "I know that young Zhou; he's quick-witted and has solid data. But is the commune willing to release him?"

The group continued walking downhill, and the sounds gradually faded into the distance.

Lin Xiuhe stood by the stairs, motionless.

Because at this time in her previous life, Zhou Zhiyuan hadn't even joined the machinery factory project—at least she didn't know. It seems that it's not just herself who has changed in this life.

Stepping out of the Education Bureau, the county town was more bustling than usual. The college entrance exams had just ended, and everywhere you looked, people were discussing their results. They were talking about it in front of bookstores, post offices, and even in state-run restaurants.

Lin Xiuhe was pushing her bicycle out when she suddenly heard the telephone ringing just past the gate of the county machinery factory. Ring ring—

On the second floor of the factory office building, a young cadre rushed into the office carrying a notebook: "Phone call! It's from the commune!"

The deputy factory manager answered the phone: "Feed?"

After hearing something said on the other end of the phone, his expression slowly changed: "Really? Are you sure? Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

The phone call ended, and several people in the office looked over: "What's wrong?"

The deputy factory director put down the microphone and said directly, "Zhou Zhiyuan has agreed to the secondment."

The people in the room breathed a sigh of relief at the same time: "Great, at least we have someone in the tech team."

The deputy factory director shook his head: "Don't be too happy yet. Nobody in the county has ever touched that German equipment. If something goes wrong, all the pressure will be on him."

Meanwhile, the commune's technical station.

As soon as I hung up the phone, a thick stack of documents appeared on the table—equipment drawings, installation plans, and operation records, all sent by the county machinery factory.

The station manager put down the last document: "Are you really sure?"

Zhou Zhiyuan flipped open the blueprints, the edges of which were already creased: "I've thought it through."

The stationmaster sighed, "The county machinery factory is a tough nut to crack now; it's a headache for anyone who goes there."

"Did you finish?" Zhou Zhiyuan asked.

The station chief paused for a moment, then laughed: "If you do a good job, you might not have to stay in the commune."

Outside the window, the June wind blew into the office, and the blueprints were turned gently.

Zhou Zhiyuan pressed down on one of the pages. It was a general installation diagram of the equipment, a diagram that had changed his fate in his previous life.