Going back to university?
Not only Xia Xiaolan, but Liu Yong and Kang Wei at the table were also stunned.
Shao Guangrong wanted to attend university.
They couldn’t help but be skeptical. Shao Guangrong had been working for several years. Unlike Kang Wei who just coasted along, he was quite ambitious in his career and was currently on an upward trajectory.
A technical secondary school diploma was still sufficient at this time. The real gap between that and a bachelor’s degree wouldn’t become apparent for another decade or more.
Xia Xiaolan remembered that after 1996, even university graduates wouldn’t be guaranteed job assignments, let alone technical school graduates who would fall far behind. Many early career workers would then seek in-service degrees, as without higher education, their career advancement would be limited at every turn – but this was only 1984, was Shao Guangrong really planning this far ahead?
Xia Xiaolan didn’t mock him, instead encouraging him to share his thoughts:
“You’re not just trying to avoid the arranged dates, are you?”
Shao Guangrong shook his head.
The idea had come suddenly, but the more he thought about it, the more appealing it became. While his family’s attempt to arrange dates with Tong Lili had been a catalyst, it had merely ignited thoughts that were already present. The seed had been planted during his visit to Huaqing.
After careful consideration, Shao Guangrong had thought it through thoroughly. By speaking about it publicly now, he’d already made up his mind about seventy to eighty percent.
“I just really want to do it. Not having attended university is something I regret.”
There’s never a wrong time to pursue education, so Xia Xiaolan didn’t discourage him. She simply laid out the practical considerations: “It’s already late October. There are at most seven months until the 1985 college entrance exam. You’re 22 this year, and if you don’t get in next year, you’ll be 23 the following year… Plus there’s your job situation – after graduating, you’d essentially be starting over.”
It wasn’t certain whether his work unit would hold his position, and from his tone, Shao Guangrong was planning to study full-time.
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t very familiar with this area – were there in-service degree programs available now? She had no idea about any of this.
Shao Guangrong could certainly choose to improve his education later. Nobody could guarantee that returning to university would lead to better opportunities in the future.
But young Comrade Shao simply wanted to study, and there was nothing wrong with that.
Sometimes people shouldn’t focus solely on practical benefits. A pure desire for knowledge and pursuit of learning was something Xia Xiaolan completely supported.
Rather than being discouraged, Shao Guangrong seemed more determined after hearing Xia Xiaolan’s words: “I understand, Sister-in-law. I’ll think it through carefully.”
Kang Wei was shocked.
They were all poor students – why was his friend suddenly wanting to work hard?
Would they no longer be able to be friends if he was the only one without a university degree?
This meal was originally meant for Kang Wei to tease Shao Guangrong, but suddenly Shao Guangrong had become the center of attention. Nobody cared anymore about his arranged dates – that wasn’t important at all!
After dinner, back at the guest house, Liu Yong kept telling Xia Xiaolan:
“Xiaolan, look at how even young Shao wants to continue studying. You must never slack off at Huaqing University. Getting into Huaqing – many people couldn’t achieve that even if they begged!”
Though Liu Yong wasn’t highly educated, his awareness was keen.
His view was opposite to Xia Changzheng’s – what’s wrong with girls attending university?
Heaven might provide opportunities, but it’s up to the individual to seize them. Wasn’t Shao Guangrong clever? With similar family backgrounds, Kang Wei couldn’t match Shao Guangrong’s work performance. When even smart people wanted to continue studying, Liu Yong believed Xia Xiaolan couldn’t go wrong focusing on her studies at Huaqing University!
Because Shao Guangrong’s visit to Huaqing had inspired him to pursue self-improvement, a confused Kang Wei specifically went to Huaqing two days in a row.
He wanted to experience the cultural atmosphere, to see if he too might suddenly have an “awakening.”
While he didn’t have an academic awakening, Kang Wei had a romantic one!
In his own words, he was wandering around campus when suddenly a storm broke out. While anxiously taking shelter in a corridor, he saw a figure running through the rain with a book held over her head, also seeking shelter in the corridor.
“When she lowered the book, her face was beautiful, her demeanor refined…”
Xia Xiaolan got goosebumps listening to this. Not only was Kang Wei’s tone dreamy, but he even recited Dai Wangshu’s “Rain Alley” to her!
Was this something Kang Wei would do?
Apparently, in the 1980s, everyone was truly filled with literary sentiment.
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t help but ask: “Then what happened?”
Kang Wei’s face turned red, “Nothing happened.”
The rain stopped, the girl left, and he hadn’t even asked her name. How could he admit to something like that?
Xia Xiaolan dismissed it as just another of Kang Wei’s jokes.
Even if it was true, Kang Wei wouldn’t have time for dating. By mid-November, he had to return to Pengcheng.
They had agreed the business belonged to everyone – they couldn’t let Bai Zhenzhu handle everything alone. The building materials store was showing signs of success, and apparently, Manager Liu from Tianchen had referred quite a bit of business their way.
Liu Yong was also in a hurry and couldn’t stay in Beijing any longer.
When he left, he took with him the 200,000 yuan loan that Manager Wu had approved.
He immediately bought 20,000 yuan worth of government bonds, living up to Manager Wu’s help.
Manager Wu hoped Xia Xiaolan would ask for more favors, repeatedly inquiring whether, besides her uncle being a southern businessman, she had any other uncles or such.
She did have uncles – one with a severed hand, being shuffled around by landlords in Beijing.
Another was reportedly gambling away his money in Dahe Village.
Neither of these men could become the quality clients Manager Wu was hoping for. After Xia Xiaolan indicated she had no other uncles who could buy government bonds, Manager Wu was quite disappointed, “Well then, Miss Xia, do you need any help with anything recently?”
Xia Xiaolan nodded seriously: “I’m participating in the National College Students’ English Competition. Can you help with that?”
Manager Wu initially nodded reflexively, then quickly realized Xia Xiaolan was joking.
But Xia Xiaolan wasn’t joking. November 9th was the preliminary round, consisting of written tests held at Huaqing University.
In the examination hall, first-year students were few and far between, with upper-year students forming the main contingent.
Huaqing didn’t just teach English – Russian, German, and others were also available as electives… Some upper-year students were quite frustrated about why the Education Ministry only organized English competitions. Xia Xiaolan knew that for the next twenty to thirty years, English would be a mandatory subject in college entrance exams. If China wanted to connect with the world, wasn’t promoting English education necessary? With America being the most powerful nation and the dollar is strong, if you wanted to earn foreign exchange, what else would you study but English?
Studying Russian had no future – the mighty Soviet Union would collapse in ’91, just seven years from now.
Seven years later, could she learn from that business tycoon from her previous life who traded canned goods by the trainload to the post-collapse Soviet Union in exchange for four aircraft… Such thoughts, once they occurred to her, had to be immediately recorded in her notebook!