Seeing that demand outstripped supply, Chen Lishu took some time that day to grab some fabric and return to the village with Gu Xingping.
Since it had snowed heavily the previous night, the snow on the road was almost ankle-deep, making the walk difficult for the sisters-in-law. They arrived home nearing noon.
With the men away, Li Xiulan, Zhang Qin, and Liu Yuemin were sitting on the heated brick bed, cutting fabric.
"It's cold out, isn't it? Quickly take off your hats and scarves and warm yourselves by the stove," Li Xiulan said, seeing the frost from their breath on their eyelashes and eyebrows, urging them to the stove.
Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping were indeed frozen through. As they removed their hats and scarves and moved closer to the stove, the heat made them shiver.
"This year is really something; it's cold before the twelfth lunar month even begins," Chen Lishu remarked as she warmed herself.
People were making padded jackets and pants at the time, but due to the need for cotton coupons, each person's padded clothing had to last for several years and offered little warmth. Some even had their padded pants worn so thin at the seat that only a layer of fabric remained.
Down jackets were not yet popular and would only start to become fashionable a few years later. However, due to the quality of the fabric and processing technology, the down jackets were not very good. Because of the low down content and bulky filling, down jackets were still called "bread jackets."
Since they were difficult to buy at the moment, Chen Lishu thought of going to the reservoir someday to buy a few ducks or collect some duck feathers to make a down jacket herself.
Down jackets were warmer in the Northeast's weather. She could also make a down vest for Gu Xingdong; a down vest would surely be enough for his strong build.
"They say wives married in the twelfth lunar month have strong tempers. I think it's true for our fourth brother's wife," Liu Yuemin chimed in with a smile.
"Second Sister-in-law, my third sister-in-law also married in the twelfth lunar month, and she has a very good temper. So, that saying might not always be true," Gu Xingping disagreed.
Liu Yuemin couldn't help but purse her lips. If Chen Lishu had a good temper, then she herself would be a living bodhisattva.
After chatting for a while longer, Chen Lishu told Li Xiulan and the others about making underwear and also distributed the commission money they had earned last month, thirty yuan each.
In the afternoon, Gu Xingye returned with the horse cart borrowed from the production team. He stopped the cart at the entrance of the courtyard with a "whoa" sound, quickly tied the horse to a tree stump at the courtyard entrance, and then went to open the gate.
The wives and mothers in the house saw this through the window and immediately came out. They were all surprised when they saw the wardrobe, which was taller than a person, on his cart.
"Fourth brother, where did you buy this cabinet?" Li Xiulan asked as she helped him untie the ropes.
"I bought it at the furniture factory." He had liked this large wardrobe the moment he saw it while passing by when collecting grain, and he happened to borrow the production team's horse cart today to buy it.
"Slowly, slowly."
Because the cabinet had a large mirror inlaid in the front, they all carefully helped carry the cabinet into the house.
"Fourth brother, this must have cost a lot of money, right?" After the cabinet was placed, Liu Yuemin admired it closely. Seeing the large mirror that could reflect her entire body, she immediately felt envious and wanted to buy one too.
When she and Gu Xingmin got married, the Gu family had only prepared two chests for them. When Chen Lishu got married, she still received a five-drawer chest. It had only been a short time, and now there were large wardrobes.
"One hundred and eighty."
Upon hearing it cost one hundred and eighty, Liu Yuemin immediately gave up the idea; it was too expensive.
Because she was concerned about her business, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping stayed at home for a night and returned to town the next day.
Another week passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Chen Lishu sold over two hundred pieces of underwear and more than a hundred sets of false collars and false sleeves, earning a net profit of nearly three hundred yuan.
Not long after, Ding Yongfeng and Sun Shuzhen returned from another county. Chen Lishu specially cooked a few more dishes and invited them over, as it had been a long time of isolation and they could use a change of pace.
"The break from school was too long, and the students' answer sheets were uneven. Very few passed," Ding Yongfeng said with emotion.
The document issued by the authorities stated that all fresh graduates and youths under thirty years old could participate in the examination. However, this also resulted in a significant gap in scores; some were truly excellent, while others were truly poor.
"I don't know what these students were thinking. Some even submitted blank answer sheets for the Chinese paper. They didn't even cherish such a great opportunity given by the country," Sun Shuzhen sighed.
To ensure absolute fairness and impartiality in the college entrance examination scores, the selected outstanding teachers were accommodated in hotels, operating in a fully closed-off mode. Although the two had stayed for more than half a month, their bodies were not tired, but they were mentally exhausted. After dinner, the family of three left early.
As the announcement day for the exam results approached, Chen Lishu's mood became increasingly anxious, and she was even a bit absent-minded in everything she did.
Finally, on the day the results were announced, Chen Lishu woke up early. Although she had little appetite, she forced herself to eat a bite of food.
"Third Sister-in-law, I'll go with you," Gu Xingping said when she saw Chen Lishu seemed a bit uneasy.
"Mhm."
After they had tidied themselves up and were dressed, Ding Chen came over, and the three of them walked towards the place where the results would be posted.
From a distance, they could see a large red banner hung at the entrance to the results posting area, which read: "1977 Student Results Posting Area."
Upon approaching, they found the area already surrounded by a dense crowd of people eager to check their names.
This year's college entrance examination results were not publicly announced. Candidates who passed the initial screening could go to the scoring group to check their results and collect their physical examination forms. They would then undergo a political review, and only after all these qualifications were met would the school issue admission notices.
The large notice was posted on red paper, with the words "Roll of Honor" written in calligraphy at the top, followed by densely packed names.
In front of the Roll of Honor, some people were joyful, while others were sad. Some were even so devastated by not finding their names that they wept uncontrollably.
"Lishu."
As Chen Lishu hesitated to push forward, someone called her from behind. Chen Lishu turned and saw Xu Ning and two other educated youths from the village approaching.
It was only past eight in the morning, but to check the results earlier, they had woken up before dawn and rushed to this location.
"Have you seen the results?" Wang Tiegang asked, his breath puffing out white mist.
Chen Lishu managed a weak smile and shook her head, "We just arrived too."
"I passed, I passed—" someone suddenly shouted from within the crowd. As soon as the voice fell, a commotion erupted from where it originated.
"Someone has fainted, quickly help them to the hospital." Soon, several people surrounded a boy carrying another person and headed towards the county hospital.
"Third Sister-in-law, there are fewer people over there. Let's hurry," Gu Xingping pointed to a section of the red notice that had cleared slightly and pulled Chen Lishu to squeeze through.
"Little sister," Chen Lishu suddenly became timid. She didn't move and said to Gu Xingping, "Why don't you go and check for me?"