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Beyond the Mountains
墨書 Inktalez
I was about to leave the small mountain village where I had lived for over ten years.
In 1988, after a brief period of confusion following my failure in the first mock exam and the unrestrained long-term study during my repeat year, I easily passed the mock exam in May and confidently completed the July examination. I relaxed at home, juggling my time between playing games and waiting for the university admission notice.
Fate played a cruel joke on me, and I once again tasted the bitter fruit of failure: my college entrance exam scores did not meet the official admission cutoff, leaving me with only the option to enroll as a Self-Funded Student.
Upon learning my exam scores, my father ran around seeking help from classmates and friends. He heard that my uncle had a relative who was a professor at Hunan Medical University. My father made a special trip to Changsha with him, and after much effort, they received a response from the university: I could be admitted as a Self-Funded Student, but I had to pay the tuition fee of 20,000 yuan in one lump sum.
Although studying medicine was my dream and Hunan Medical University was a well-regarded institution that my parents approved of, we simply could not gather that amount of money, so we had to give up.
After nearly half a month of searching for other schools, my father discovered that self-funded programs required an additional payment of at least 8,000 to 10,000 yuan in tuition fees. After discussing it with my mother, they decided that rather than exhausting the family's resources to send me to this self-funded university, it would be better for me to repeat another year and aim for a better university next year based on my own abilities. This time, I agreed to their decision without the hesitation and vanity I had experienced after failing the mock exam last year.
Once I decided to repeat another year, my parents didn’t simply let me register at Third Middle School by myself. Although many leaders and teachers at Third Middle School welcomed my return, my parents learned from various sources that during my repeat year there, due to the familiar environment and a bunch of friends who often distracted me, I still approached my studies with a lack of seriousness. Therefore, they wanted me to change schools for my repeat year.
At that time, the best option was First High School. The fifth brother among us six siblings, Peng Zequan, had successfully entered Shanghai Maritime University after repeating a year there. This news further solidified my parents' determination to send me to First High School.
First High School had always been the highest institution in Dongkou County, representing the aspirations of many students. However, it seemed that I was always destined to miss out on it; every time I aimed for First High School, I never succeeded. After graduating from elementary school, I failed the entrance exam organized by First High School; after middle school graduation, although I thought I met their admission criteria, I ended up at Third Middle School instead.
Thinking about the large classroom in First High School's Remedial Class with over a hundred students made me hesitate as I proposed to my parents that we should try enrolling at First High School's main campus. My father recalled how he had asked Fourth Uncle for help finding someone in charge at First High School last year but was unsuccessful. He felt it would be difficult for me to enter First High School's main campus but reluctantly agreed to accompany me to see if we could find connections in the county town.
On a morning close to the start of school, my father took me on foot for over ten miles to Huayuan and boarded a bus heading to the county town. On the bus, he said to me, "This time we won't go looking for your Fourth Uncle; we'll go directly to First High School. With your college entrance exam scores this year, let's see if they can accept you for repeating. If not, you can join their Remedial Class; you should have a good chance there."
Thinking about how much my parents had been worrying and running around for my education and reflecting on how I had wasted so much time and opportunities over the years without appreciating what I had been given, I lowered my head and mumbled something before silently accepting my father's arrangement.
As we walked into First High School's campus, both of us were somewhat lost as we tried to find signs pointing towards the principal's office but found nothing. We could only follow behind a group of students deeper into the school.
Suddenly, a slightly overweight middle-aged man holding a textbook approached my father with surprise in his voice and asked, "Long Shiyang! What brings you here today?"
"Liu Zupin! When did you transfer back to Dongkou?" My father recognized him and exclaimed with joy.
It turned out this teacher had previously worked in Suining County while my father was principal at a middle school; he taught history at high school. They had met during education bureau meetings and were both from Dongkou County but hadn’t seen each other since returning until today.
After exchanging pleasantries with Teacher Liu, they quickly got around to discussing our purpose for visiting First High School today. Liu asked about my college entrance exam scores briefly before saying cheerfully: "This is simple! I'm currently the homeroom teacher for this year's graduating class. Although I teach humanities classes, it's no problem introducing someone into a science class; just follow me."
Following Teacher Liu’s lead with light steps, my father and I arrived at a three-story building on campus. We entered a room on the first floor where Liu introduced us to a tall and handsome man in his thirties: "Teacher Changlin! This is the son of an old colleague of mine; he scored above the self-funded line this year but didn’t enroll. Let him join your class."
The man smiled broadly and said loudly: "If it's someone recommended by Zupin Teacher, that's no problem! Coincidentally, I have a friend whose child graduated from Second Middle School this year but didn't get into university; he studied humanities and was just thinking about coming here."
The two teachers exchanged a few more words before Liu left for class. The handsome male teacher looked at me and gestured for another boy with fair skin and shiny hair inside the room to come over: "You two are now part of our Class 45! Study hard and aim for a good university next year!" After saying this, he instructed us both to find seats in class before heading over to the administrative office for necessary paperwork.
As we slowly walked toward the teaching building by the river, we introduced ourselves along the way. That day marked my first acquaintance at First High School with She Songsong from Shijiang. Sharing part of our names with "Song," we caught the last train heading toward Dongkou County's highest institution together.
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