Chapter 28

As Lin Qiangsheng was eating, Chen Fang and Chen Yao, the sisters, came over.

Lin Qiangsheng heard the sound, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and just opened the door when the two sisters walked in.

"Why are you both here? What's up?" Lin Qiangsheng thought Chen Fang had come to confront him.

Chen Fang smiled and said, "Qiangsheng, I came to ask you something."

Chen Yao walked up to Lin Qiangsheng, patted him, and said, "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

"Oh!" Lin Qiangsheng, not knowing what was going on, went into the room.

Chen Fang walked into the room and saw a table full of dishes.

Lin Qiangsheng had prepared a rich dinner for himself: peanuts, spicy and numbing tofu, pig's head meat, a large bowl of sour cabbage fish, and a bottle of yellow wine.

The dishes of this era had a rich flavor. Lin Qiangsheng couldn't quite describe it, but they were clearly much more fragrant than in his previous life!

"Where are your parents?" Chen Fang turned and asked.

"They're both at the party school for training. I'm alone at home." Lin Qiangsheng smiled and went to the kitchen to get two sets of chopsticks and bowls.

"Let's eat together. Have you eaten?" Lin Qiangsheng put the chopsticks and bowls on the small table and said to the two sisters.

"No, no, we've already eaten!" Chen Fang quickly waved her hands and gave her sister a look.

Chen Yao looked at her sister, nodded, and then said to Lin Qiangsheng, "We came to ask you about the college entrance exam. I heard you know the university professors well. Have you heard any news?"

Lin Qiangsheng sat cross-legged on the kang and said with a smile, "You two standing there, how am I supposed to eat!"

Chen Yao smiled and looked at her sister. Chen Fang had dragged her over, but now she didn't know what to say.

Chen Fang glanced at her sister and waved her hand, "Alright, you go up, sister."

"Okay." Chen Yao nodded and sighed in relief. The girl took off her shoes and sat down inside.

Lin Qiangsheng poured half a bowl of yellow wine for the two sisters and said, "Have some yellow wine. I've warmed it up, it's nice and hot."

Chen Fang, sitting at the edge of the kang, said in surprise, "Wow! Qiangsheng, you're eating without waiting for your parents and even drinking!"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "It's so late, they must be eating out. Otherwise, how could they last until eight or nine at night?"

Chen Yao nudged her sister's arm, and Chen Fang paused, then nodded.

Lin Qiangsheng handed the chopsticks to Chen Yao and said, "Eat, it's good that you're here to keep me company."

Chen Yao looked at her sister, then picked up a piece of tofu and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly. She looked up at Lin Qiangsheng and asked in surprise, "Lin Qiangsheng, this tofu is really delicious. Did your mother make it?"

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said, "I made it all myself. How is it, good enough?"

Chen Yao was surprised again and said, "You can cook? What's this called?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Spicy and numbing tofu. It's a simple dish, just be careful not to break the tofu when you're cooking it."

Chen Yao's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lin Qiangsheng and said enviously, "Where did you learn to cook? It's really delicious!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and nodded. He handed the chopsticks to Chen Fang and said, "Fang, try my cooking too."

Chen Fang took the chopsticks, tasted the tofu, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect Qiangsheng's cooking to be so good!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled, picked up his cup, and took a sip of yellow wine. "Have some yellow wine. It's from the oil and grain company, they sent it to our factory, and my father got a few boxes."

Chen Fang nodded and said, "Okay." She looked at her sister, reached for the bowl, and took a sip.

Chen Yao also picked up the bowl with both hands, sipped the uniquely flavored yellow wine, frowned, and then took another sip.

She said happily, "Wow, it's really good!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and put a piece of pig's head meat in his mouth.

Since the factory started producing cars, their living conditions had improved. In fact, the lives of the families of the car factory workers had undergone a tremendous change.

The factory provided them with meat, oil, and grain; the scarce sugar and cloth in the market were also provided by the factory. The fifty workers of the car factory were now considered the wealthiest and best-off people in the city.

Chen Fang picked up a few bites of food and asked Lin Qiangsheng again, "I heard you know the university professors well. Have you heard anything about how the exam will be this year?"

Lin Qiangsheng, while eating, said, "The teachers from Harbin Institute of Technology have been quite busy lately and haven't come to the factory much. The research plans have been delayed!"

"Are you asking if you know about the college entrance exam?" Chen Yao puffed out her cheeks and said to Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng exclaimed, "Ah," and said to the sisters, "I heard that this year is the first time the college entrance exam is being held. The teachers are lowering the difficulty to accommodate students who haven't had proper education for the past ten years."

Chen Fang asked in surprise, "Really? Is this information reliable? How low will the difficulty be?"

Lin Qiangsheng, seeing how concerned the sisters were, asked them, "What level have you studied to?"

Chen Fang said, "I still often review my junior and senior high school courses!"

Chen Yao raised her hand and said softly, "I'm good with junior high school courses; for senior high school, I'm a bit weak in math, physics, and chemistry, but I'm okay with Chinese, politics, history, geography, and foreign languages!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at the calendar and said, "Today is November 20th. There are 20 days left until the exam on December 10th. You just need to master the parts you know well!"

Chen Fang smiled and said, "Is that so? Can we really pass like that? It's not as simple as you say!"

Chen Yao also nodded and asked, "If it's that simple, wouldn't many people pass?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said to the two sisters, "Don't underestimate yourselves, and don't overestimate others! Many people wouldn't be able to pass if it were a year or two later. There are a lot of such people! They just have a head start, and this is the first time they have such an opportunity! If they were to take the exam a year later, or even two years later, I guarantee they wouldn't pass. The questions would be harder and more normal, and they wouldn't pass!"

Chen Fang nodded in agreement, took a sip of wine, and said confidently, "I'll take the liberal arts exam. What do you think, Qiangsheng?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "If you feel that liberal arts is your strength, go for it. I support you! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and no one should miss it!"

Chen Fang nodded and said, "Okay! Let's go, sister. We'll start reviewing tonight."

Chen Yao looked at her sister and said with a smile, "Sure!"

The two sisters left immediately, as if they were determined to study hard at home.

"Hey? You're leaving already?" Lin Qiangsheng asked.

Chen Yao turned around and said with a smile, "We're leaving. You keep eating. We're going to study."

"Oh!" Lin Qiangsheng saw them out of the room.

As they reached the door, he suddenly remembered the essay question and quickly said, "Hey, wait a moment!"

Lin Qiangsheng ran into the room, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to the sisters, saying, "Memorize this essay question and write an essay. It's worth 20 to 30 points!"

The Chen sisters took the paper, and Chen Yao said with a smile, "Is it the one I saw earlier? Okay, I'll treat it as practice."

Lin Qiangsheng saw the two sisters out, watched them walk away, and sighed in relief, smiling genuinely.

Many people seized this opportunity and entered college through the college entrance exam. They leaped from a fish to a dragon, grasping the greatest opportunity of their lives. This description of the college students of that era is not an exaggeration.

When it's time to strive, one must strive hard!