Chapter 1 Do you want a wife?

"Old Xu, do you want a wife? Just ask, and I'll bring her to you in a minute!"

"Hey, what the hell am I talking about?"

"You don't understand this, do you? These are the original words from the novel written in dialect. I sneaked a peek when he was writing."

"You and Fangyan are the two most unconventional among our educated youth. One wants to pretend to be sick and go home, and the other wants to be a writer. Why can't you just study hard and take the college entrance examination?"

On the earthen kang in the educated youth dormitory, the educated youth, wearing gray or blue cotton-padded jackets, either sat cross-legged or lay on their sides, looking at the outdated "Review Outline for the 1978 Admissions Cultural Examination".

"Where are the dialect people?"

"Outside. Today is the day when the postman delivers mail. Look, isn't that him squatting there?"

Looking out through the door and windows of the cave, I saw a young man in a yellow jacket and yellow pants, thin and fair, with a straight nose, clean and smooth, his appearance worthy of the title of "the most handsome young man in the area". At this moment, he was holding a dogtail grass in his mouth, and a trace of helplessness flashed in his energetic eyes.

That’s right, he was actually reborn!
You would never have thought that a middle-aged man who was preparing to retire would go back to the time when he was 19 years old and went to the countryside to work as a farmer overnight while eating hot pot and singing songs.

After completing his university studies and fulfilling his literary dream when he was young, he planned to go on a spontaneous around the world trip, but he died before he could accomplish his mission.

Coming back to this world again, I don’t know whether to cry or laugh.

But the older I get, the more I accept my fate. Now that I'm here, I'll just go with the flow and adapt myself to it. Before I knew it, I had been staying in Yangjiawan Brigade, Hezhuangping Commune, northern Shaanxi for half a month.

The accommodation was a bit shabby, the work was a bit tiring, and the food was a bit inferior, but none of these were as uncomfortable as being a little hungry. The canteen for the educated youth was filled with vegetable porridge all day long, and there was no oil or water in their stomachs at all.

Not to mention the meat!
This was a real torture for me as I was still growing up.

Fortunately, these days are finally coming to an end.

If I follow the trajectory of my previous life, I will not be able to return to the city until 1980.

The educated youth who had been sent to the countryside with him had used all kinds of tricks to get back to the city over the years.

Some are serving in the army, some are retired due to illness, some are recruited back to the city to work, some have returned after taking the college entrance examination, and some are taking over their family's shifts as workers.

It was impossible for him to take over the shift because his deceased father's shift had already been taken over by his elder sister Fang Hong. Otherwise, she would have had to go to the countryside like him.

There are three paths before me.

The first option is to sacrifice her sister's happiness, just like in her previous life, and marry the son of the deputy director of the noodle factory in order to get herself a job recruitment quota back to the city. This is not acceptable in any way!

Because his ex-brother-in-law is a scum!
My sister's misfortune in the first half of her life began from the moment she married him. If she were to start over again, she would definitely ruin it.

The second is the college entrance examination.

This should have been the best path. With his level, it might be difficult for him to get into Tsinghua University or Peking University, but getting into a medium-level undergraduate college like Yenching University was not a big problem.

What's more, today's college entrance examination has basically no restrictions. If you are admitted to a university, not only are your tuition fees waived, but you will also receive subsidies.

After graduation, you are guaranteed a job and at least become a cadre.

What is the end of the universe?

Before the situation becomes clear and you start your business, it is definitely a first-class place to go. Although you cannot complete the original accumulation, it is absolutely safe. After all, in the early 80s, to do business, you either have to put your head on the belt or be "shameless" to become a self-employed individual.

These days, having a stable job is glorious, while being self-employed is shameful!

But the key point is that we may not catch up in time.

The 1979 college entrance examination had already passed. If she had to wait until next year, her mother Yang Xia might have been persuaded by the matchmaker. Coupled with the recruitment quota and the temptation of relatives of the factory leaders, Fang Hong was arranged in this way "without knowing it".

Free love is not popular these days. Once a relationship is established, even if it is just to watch a movie together, it is considered "dating". If you don't get married at that time, it is tantamount to hooliganism.

So no matter what, I have to return to the city before next year’s college entrance examination!
As for the third way to return to the city, after much research, Fangyan finally thought of literature and writing.

In the 1980s, people were eager for food and equally eager for spiritual sustenance, even more than that. Otherwise, there would not have been the literary boom at that time.

A piece of obscure poetry can become popular all over the country and become a national idol, even more popular than the top idols; a pure literature magazine can sell hundreds of thousands of copies every issue without any advertising.

Becoming a writer definitely means you will become famous, rich and have status.

Moreover, if the novel he submitted was selected, there would be a possibility of revising the manuscript. He could take the opportunity to go back to Beijing and prevent his sister's marriage tragedy from happening. With this in mind, Fang Yan wrote two pieces of scar literature and reflective literature, and also wrote a reflective novel based on the movie "The Shepherd" to ensure safety.

All three articles were sent to a magazine which was not called "Yenching Literature" at the time, but "Yenching Literature and Art".

The reason is simple. "Yenching Literature and Art", as the name suggests, the publishing house is located in Yenching. I especially remember Yu Hua's story of being called to Yenching to revise his manuscript. Isn't this quite appropriate!
"puff!"

Fangyan spat out the dogtail grass in his mouth and stood up suddenly. He saw the country postman riding a green bike, speeding on the winding dirt road, with the copper bell ringing non-stop.

"Ding bell, jingle bell."

"I'm sorry."

The postman stopped at the door, sweating profusely, and carefully took out a thick stack of envelopes from his green cloth bag. He smiled and said, "There are only two postmen in the whole commune, and 12 teams. We can't deliver all the mail every day, so we can only do it once every few days."

"You've worked hard. Come, have a drink of water."

Fangyan handed over a Type 65 kettle that was filled to the brim.

"You'd better take a look at it quickly. What does the letter say?"

While the postman was drinking water, he saw a number of educated youth jumping out of the dilapidated cave, standing at the door and looking around.

Some hope to be selected, some hope to be rejected...

When Fangyan opened the letter, the first thing he saw was "Comrade Fangyan" in the upper left corner. The second time he saw the editor's name in the lower right corner, "Zhou Yanru". Then he scanned the letter from top to bottom.

"How about it?"

The postman was even more nervous than him, the one reading the letter.

"Ugh."

Fangyan sighed softly.

"Not selected?"

The postman shuddered, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the educated youth's faces, which showed regret, sadness, and gloating.

“No, two articles were selected.”

Fangyan shook his head and laughed, then shrugged.

"Ah? Hit it!"

The postman shouted, and everyone in the yard knew that the two novels written in dialect could be published in the literary magazine.

All of a sudden, the educated youth rushed out in a swarm.

"Xiao Fang, why did you sigh just now?"

The postman blinked enviously.

Fangyan couldn't say that one of his novels, which he had worked so hard to create, was not selected. On the contrary, "The Shepherd" received the highest evaluation among the three novels. He couldn't help but sigh and say:

"The editor said that the ending of one of the articles was not 'sunny' enough, and she hoped that I could go to Yanjing to revise the manuscript and discuss it with her in person."

"Look, this is human language!"

"Everybody, hit him!"

In an instant, the educated youth surrounded Fangyan, and from all directions, fists of envy and jealousy rained down on him like raindrops.

"Fuck you, which bastard took off my pants? Do you still want me to run errands for you?"

Fangyan pulled his pants and dodged with a smile.

Finally, I can go back home!
（PS：70年代小学是5年制，初高中是2年制，当时高中毕业插队的知青年龄也有15岁、16岁。）
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(End of this chapter)