Chapter 29

In 1995, none of them did well in the exams. After discussing it, they concluded that if they wanted to attend the top high school, they would have to repeat a year, plus three years of high school, and then they might not even get into college, which might require another year of repeating. College would take another four years, totaling nearly ten years. Their families were not well-off, so it was more practical to attend a three-year vocational school and then start working.

Although Feng Yiping and Xiao Zhijie later became small business owners with moderate incomes, and Wang Changning even became a white-collar worker, they had to work much harder and sweat more than their peers. If they had received higher education, would their achievements have been even greater?

Of course, life is unpredictable. Even if they had gone to college, they might have ended up as small employees in a company for their entire lives. But now, with Feng Yiping's foresight, going to college would certainly not be worse than before.

The biggest fear was that they would not do well in the high school entrance exam, and their families would not agree to them repeating the year. So, he had to talk about this beforehand.

Feng Yiping was actually very worried about the high school entrance exam. Originally, he did not have this concept, but after watching "China Partnership," he learned that the Ministry of Education announced a 44.1% high school admission rate in 1993. This meant that in 1993, out of every 2.5 junior high school students, one could definitely advance to high school. In 1995, the admission rate would be even higher, possibly one out of every two junior high school students.

Was he really that bad back then? He decided to find an explanation for himself.

So, he did some calculations. The top high school in their county had only three classes, with a maximum of 150 students. After the county's restructuring, there were 12 townships and three county-administered towns, totaling 15 townships. Among these 15 townships, some were large, like their own, which had merged three townships. Each town had at least one junior high school, so there were 15 junior high schools. Assuming each school had three classes with 150 students, the average admission rate was 6.67%.

If you consider the dropouts and the fact that some townships had fewer than 150 students, and if you assume each school had 100 students, the final admission rate would be 10%, or even 15% after a discount. This was still far from the 44.1% average announced by the Ministry of Education in 1993.

He realized that he had been "averaged" without his knowledge. He was not confident about the data he calculated, so he searched online and found a news article. In 2000, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference conducted a survey and found that, despite an 80% college admission rate, the high school admission rate in Guangdong was only 42%!

This result was unexpected. Even in Guangdong, the construction of high schools was seriously lagging. In the 1990s, when he took the high school entrance exam, the situation in inland provinces was even worse.

Therefore, he accepted the conclusion that the high school admission rate in his county in 1995 was less than 10%. "I wasn't that bad after all!"

However, the situation had changed. The conclusion that made him happy then now made him worried. Last year, out of nearly 100 students in two third-year classes, only three were admitted to the top high school. This was understandable, as the admission rate for the top high school in the county was the highest.

The best junior high school in the county, the County Experimental Middle School, was where the children of all the county's government agencies studied. If the admission rate did not reach 60%, no parent would agree, and the principal would likely be replaced, and the school would shut down. The other two townships' junior high schools would take up at least half of the spots, leaving the remaining half to be fought over by nearly 1,000 students from the other 12 junior high schools. The competition was intense.

Given this severe situation, Feng Yiping could not guarantee that he would definitely succeed, let alone Xiao Zhijie. Therefore, he needed a backup plan and to inform his parents in advance.

With his main goal achieved, Feng Yiping slept well that night, both because he was relaxed and because the bed was comfortable. It was a large bed, larger than the one at school, and he and Xiao Zhijie had plenty of space. Xiao Zhijie's family was well-off, with a cotton quilt under the mat. In Feng Yiping's village, most families used straw, and his family did too. They used a bamboo mat on top of the straw, and to prevent lice, they sprinkled the straw with the pungent 66 powder. The mat had some patches, and if not, the bamboo strips would cut the skin.

In the morning, they did not sleep in. Xiao Zhijie pulled Feng Yiping out of bed, and they got up before 7:00 AM.

After they washed up, steaming bowls of egg noodles were already on the table. Feng Yiping's bowl had very little noodles but plenty of meat and eggs. They couldn't eat too much for breakfast because they were going to the mountain, and eating too much would make it hard to move.

Xiao Jianping and his wife each carried a basket, while Xiao Zhijie and Feng Yiping carried long bamboo poles. They followed the winding mountain path behind the village for nearly 20 minutes before reaching their destination.

There were two old persimmon trees, tall and large. The leaves had almost all fallen, leaving only the golden persimmons hanging from the branches. Unlike chestnuts, which could be knocked down with a bamboo pole and would not be damaged by the fall, persimmons had to be carefully picked one by one or in clusters. If you hit them with a bamboo pole, they would be damaged and break when they hit the ground, making them suitable only for feeding pigs. This was a delicate task.

However, children enjoyed these tasks because they could eat while working. For example, Xiao Jianping climbed the tree and picked three ripe persimmons, giving one to Feng Yiping and one to Xiao Zhijie, and sharing the third with his wife.

The other persimmons were light yellow and hard, while the ripe ones were a yellowish-red and soft. When you peeled the thin skin, juice would flow out, and the flesh inside would be mostly juice, sweet and cool, with a natural fragrance, making them very delicious.

However, you had to be careful when eating them, as the juice could stain clothes and be hard to wash off. So, Xiao Zhijie's mother said, "Be careful when you eat, so you don't stain your clothes."

The two of them smiled at each other and walked to the pond to eat, wiping their mouths and hands afterward. Xiao Jianping simply grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and rubbed it on his hands.

Xiao Jianping, still on the tree, picked the persimmons from the top and passed them to Xiao Zhijie's mother. Feng Yiping, being tall, held a shorter bamboo pole and circled the tree, picking the reachable persimmons. Xiao Zhijie caught them and placed them in the basket.

This was a physically demanding task. The long bamboo pole with persimmons at the end was heavy, especially when picking a cluster. Feng Yiping, lacking strength, only filled half a basket before switching with Xiao Zhijie. Xiao Zhijie also couldn't hold on for long and had to switch. The adults did not rest, but the two young men took four or five breaks.

When the sun was high in the sky, they finally finished.

Xiao Zhijie's mother said, "You two have good eyes. Look around the tree to see if you missed any."

They circled the tree a few times, and Xiao Zhijie found one hidden under a withered leaf. Feng Yiping found another under a broken branch.

Xiao Jianping was sorting the persimmons in the basket, filling his basket to the brim, while Xiao Zhijie's mother's basket was much less full.

Feng Yiping and Xiao Zhijie carried the bamboo poles and left first, each holding a cluster of persimmons. These were left on purpose, with the branches still attached, to be hung in a well-ventilated place at home. They would be fresh and sweet by the New Year, and also help clear the palate.

When they returned home, they cooked dinner, fed the pigs, and watched some TV. Xiao Zhijie's parents returned with their baskets.

After dinner, they were told to rest in their room. Xiao Zhijie's mother, knowing her pickling skills were not good, was afraid Feng Yiping would not like it, so she brought half a basin of pickled vegetables and pickled beans from her sister-in-law's house.

On Sunday afternoons, they usually did not sleep well. They were good students who listened to their teachers and wanted to return to school after lunch. Without an alarm clock, they were afraid of oversleeping and being late for evening study, so they got up after less than half an hour.

In addition to the two basins of pickled vegetables, Feng Yiping's bag also contained a jar of pear preserves and a pack of cookies. At the village entrance, Xiao Zhijie's mother handed him a bag, saying, "It contains roasted peanuts and melon seeds. Give some to your classmates, and share the rest. Eat the peanuts first, as they can go stale over time. Tie the plastic bag tightly after each use to prevent the seeds from spilling."

She smoothed Feng Yiping's hair, saying, "Have your clothes and bedding brought back by Xiao Jie for washing. If your clothes are torn, have Xiao Jie bring them back. If your grandfather is free, come back with Xiao Jie. It's good to have a companion, and you can help each other with studies."

Feng Yiping said, "Okay, Aunt, I will. You go back."

Xiao Zhijie also said, "Mom, go back. Remember to tell Dad not to drink too much. We're leaving."

When they arrived at school, it was around 3:00 PM, and not many people were there. Wang Changning had just arrived, and his grandfather had brought him a