Early the next morning, before Zhao Shuhe had even gotten out of bed, she heard someone talking in the courtyard. It was Lu Jingfeng.
She pulled on her outer clothes and stepped out of the West Room. Lu Jingfeng was crouched beside the water tap in the courtyard, washing his face. He wore a gray work jacket over a white shirt and looked as though he had just hurried back from the factory.
Hearing the noise, he looked up. When he saw Zhao Shuhe, he paused, then stood and wiped his face. “Shuhe, I’m really sorry about yesterday. Something suddenly came up in the factory’s security section, and I couldn’t get away, so I wasn’t able to go pick you up.”
Zhao Shuhe shook her head. “You had work to do. Auntie Wang came to get us, and she took very good care of us.”
Zhao Shuhe glanced at the dark circles beneath his eyes. He clearly had not slept, so she said, “You were on duty all night, weren’t you? Go eat something first, then get a good sleep.”
Lu Jingfeng did not stand on ceremony. “All right. I’ll catch up on my sleep first, then in the afternoon I’ll take you to familiarize yourself with the route to the examination site.”
“No rush. We can talk about it after you’ve rested.”
Wang Xiulan came out of the kitchen. “Jingfeng, the porridge is being kept warm in the pot. Serve yourself.”
“Got it, Mom.”
Lu Jingfeng went into the kitchen. Zhao Shuhe stretched a little in the courtyard, and at that moment Zhao Manzhu came out as well.
“Little Sister, the beds in the provincial capital really are different. I slept wonderfully last night.”
Wang Xiulan brought two sets of clothes out of the house. One set was for Zhao Shuhe: a white short-sleeved shirt paired with blue trousers, clean and neat. The other was for Zhao Manzhu—Lu Jingfeng’s old clothes.
“You two come with me to the public bathhouse in a little while. You’ve been traveling for two days in the middle of summer. You must feel sticky all over, don’t you?”
Zhao Shuhe really was unbearably hot. When she had left the mountains, she had still thought the mornings and evenings were pleasantly cool. Only after arriving in the provincial capital did she learn what oppressive heat was. Layer after layer of sweat had soaked her.
Zhao Manzhu took the clothes and looked them over. “These are Jingfeng’s?”
Wang Xiulan nodded. “They got too small for him. You two are about the same size, so make do with them.”
Zhao Manzhu pinched the fabric, gave a sheepish chuckle, and said nothing. His eyes were full of delight.
After breakfast, Lu Jingfeng went inside to catch up on his sleep. Lu Changxiong then took Wang Xiulan and the siblings out toward the public bathhouse on the street.
Zhao Manzhu looked around in every direction along the way. When they reached the bathhouse entrance, he asked, “Uncle, how much does it cost to take a bath this time?”
Lu Changxiong waved a hand. “You don’t need to pay. I’m treating you today.”
Zhao Manzhu felt a little embarrassed. Zhao Shuhe tugged at him. “Third Brother, Uncle said he’s treating us, so stop refusing.”
Zhao Shuhe went into the women’s bathhouse with Wang Xiulan. After washing, she changed into the white short-sleeved shirt and blue trousers. She looked fresh and clean from head to toe, and Wang Xiulan nodded when she saw her.
“That’s much better. You’ll look bright and spirited. Wear this outfit to the exam tomorrow.”
Zhao Manzhu took even longer to wash. When he came out, his hair was neatly combed, and after changing into Lu Jingfeng’s somewhat worn shirt, he looked quite presentable too.
Back at the Lu family home, Zhao Manzhu caught hold of Zhao Shuhe and said, “Little Sister, do your best on the exam tomorrow. Third Brother can’t help you with anything else, so I’ll stay here and watch the house while we wait for news.”
That afternoon, after Lu Jingfeng woke up, he rode his bicycle and took Zhao Shuhe out to familiarize her with the route. The Provincial Normal Secondary School was not far from People’s Road. It took only half an hour by bicycle, and the route was easy to find—after two turns, they were there.
As he rode, Lu Jingfeng said, “I’ll take you there tomorrow. Once we reach the entrance, you go in by yourself. I’ll wait outside.”
“Okay.”
On the morning of the examination, Zhao Shuhe woke up at six. She braided her hair, then put paper and a pen into a cloth bag.
Wang Xiulan was already busy in the kitchen. She brought out a bowl of plain porridge and two eggs. “Eat until you’re full before you go. Your brain won’t work otherwise.”
Zhao Shuhe peeled the eggs and ate them bite by bite.
Zhao Manzhu had gotten up as well. Standing at the courtyard gate, he cheered her on. “Little Sister, go for it!”
Zhao Shuhe smiled and followed Lu Jingfeng out. After half an hour on the bicycle, they arrived at the entrance to the Provincial Normal Secondary School. Several people were already standing in front of the teaching building. Zhao Shuhe counted them: including herself, there were eight in all—five men and three women.
Lu Jingfeng stopped the bicycle at the entrance. “I’ll be right here waiting for you. Come find me when you’re finished.”
Zhao Shuhe nodded and walked inside with her cloth bag. The examination room was in a classroom on the second floor, where two invigilators were seated at the teacher’s desk. Zhao Shuhe found her seat and sat down. After the invigilators went over a few examination rules, they began handing out the papers.
Zhao Shuhe took the test paper and flipped through it. Half the tension in her heart eased.
The questions were not particularly difficult. They were all basic material: spelling, grammar fill-ins, reading comprehension, and simple translation. She should have no trouble scoring seventy or eighty points on that portion.
The written examination lasted an hour, but she finished in a little over forty minutes. She checked everything from the beginning again, corrected two minor spelling mistakes, and handed in her paper only when time was called.
After the written examination, they took a ten-minute break. Next came the oral interview, with the students going in one at a time.
Zhao Shuhe was fourth in line. The first three people emerged with very different expressions. Some looked relieved, while others were so pale that they looked ill.
When it was her turn, a middle-aged female teacher and a young male teacher were seated inside.
The female teacher looked up at her and said in English, “Please give a brief self-introduction in English.”
Zhao Shuhe stood in front of the teacher’s desk and began by stating her name, age, where she lived, and why she wanted to study English. Her pronunciation came from the lessons she had studied in her mind. She had no idea whether it was standard, but at least she was fluent and did not stumble over her words.
The two teachers exchanged a glance.
The female teacher asked two more questions. One concerned daily life, while the other was somewhat more difficult: she asked Zhao Shuhe what use she thought there was in learning a foreign language. Zhao Shuhe answered everything she could. There were a few things she did not know, but overall, she thought she had done reasonably well.
The female teacher nodded. “All right. Go outside and wait for the results.”
Zhao Shuhe went out and stood in the corridor, her palms covered in sweat. After waiting for about an hour, all eight candidates had finished. The invigilators called everyone back into the classroom and told them to take their seats.
The female teacher entered carrying a stack of papers. “The results are out. I’ll read them now.”
Zhao Shuhe listened with her fingers clenched as the names were called one by one. Some had scored in the sixties, some in the seventies, while those who had failed looked terribly grim.
“Zhao Shuhe: eighty-eight on the written examination and ninety on the oral examination.”
Zhao Shuhe herself froze for a moment. Eighty-eight plus ninety—her combined score was the highest among all the candidates so far.
The female teacher looked at her. “Student Zhao Shuhe, where did you study English before this?”
Zhao Shuhe stood and answered, “My schoolteacher taught me some basics, and I also spent a great deal of time studying on my own after class.”
The female teacher nodded without pressing further, then leaned toward the male teacher beside her and spoke with him in a low voice.
After a while, the female teacher faced everyone and announced, “The students who passed today’s examination will have their personal records retrieved by the school for political vetting. Once you pass the political vetting, your household registration[1]China’s household registration system, known as hukou, records a person’s registered residence and rural or urban status, which historically affected access to public resources and services. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733460_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733460_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); will be transferred to an urban collective household registration. Pay attention: your group of students is made up of urgently needed talent, so your academic schedule will be quite intensive. You are to officially report and begin classes on August twentieth. Bring all relevant documents and daily necessities with you when the time comes.”
August twentieth was less than a month away.
When Zhao Shuhe heard the date, her heart began pounding. She had passed!!!
As she came out of the teaching building, Zhao Shuhe immediately saw Lu Jingfeng standing beneath the shade of a tree at the entrance. He was holding a thermos.
The moment he saw her come out, he ran over and asked, “How did it go?”
Zhao Shuhe said with a smile, “I passed! Eighty-eight on the written exam and ninety on the oral exam.”
Lu Jingfeng was delighted as well. He handed her the thermos and said, “Have a drink. I brought you some sugar water.”
Zhao Shuhe took it and drank a sip. It was sweet.
Lu Jingfeng asked again, “When do classes start?”
“I report on August twentieth.”
Lu Jingfeng calculated the days. “There’s enough time. My father will keep an eye on the political vetting for you. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
References[+]