Reborn in 1977

As soon as Teacher Guo finished speaking, Chen Fan immediately nodded, "Don't worry, I'm only here to register today. I don't know anything else."

At this moment, Jiang Tian Tian also nodded vigorously and said softly, "I didn't hear anything either."

The three of them turned their heads to look at her, each with a knowing smile on their faces.

Of course, saying that they didn't hear anything couldn't be taken seriously. Having received this news, even if they didn't explicitly say it, they would implicitly force the people in their families who were still in school to study. In fact, Teacher Guo and the others were doing just that.

However, as long as they didn't explicitly say it, that was enough. When faced with such a major event, how could they really pretend they didn't hear anything?!

After Chen Fan smiled, he frowned slightly, seemingly seriously considering Teacher Guo's words.

Teacher Guo and Teacher He weren't in a hurry either, sitting in their chairs and watching him, waiting for his decision.

Moreover, they were both very confident that Chen Fan would most likely choose…

"I still choose correspondence university."

Chen Fan raised his head, his face somewhat tangled, but his eyes were very firm.

He looked at the two teachers with surprised expressions and said seriously, "Admittedly, a regular full-time university has more advantages than a correspondence university, especially after graduation, there is a great opportunity to 'ascend to heaven in one step' and become a cadre in a large organization, but for me, these are not my pursuits.…"

Just like last time in the Health Department, after a burst of eloquent speech, Chen Fan once again stated his idea of settling down in Lujiawan and building the production team.

In general, university is valuable, but freedom is more important. Since correspondence university can teach the same knowledge and has the advantage of "being able to graduate at any time as long as you pass the exam," then he should naturally choose correspondence university, which allows him to study, get a diploma, and not delay the construction of the production team.

It must be said that people in this era are easily swayed by this kind of talk.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that most people are pursuing "progress," wanting higher positions and more wages, which is human nature. But on the other hand, positive role models can still gain the respect and support of most people.

I can't do it myself, but that doesn't prevent me from admiring those who can.

This is fundamentally different from the social atmosphere in later generations, where good people and honest people were often ridiculed.

After listening to Chen Fan's words, Teacher Guo and Teacher He looked at each other, both able to see the surprise in each other's eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, Teacher Guo sighed and said, "Some time ago, I heard that the Health Department extended an olive branch to you, wanting to transfer you to the Prefectural Committee to take a position, and even offered you the待遇 of a cadre, but you refused. I originally thought it was just a rumor, but seeing you today, I'm afraid it's true."

Chen Fan smiled shyly, "I am also very grateful for the kindness of the director and deputy director Hao of the Health Department, but I am used to the wild life in the countryside and cannot bear restraint, so I can only disappoint their good intentions."

Teacher Guo raised his head, his eyes full of admiration as he looked at Chen Fan, "In our literary circles, there are also many great writers who have abandoned the superior life in the city and voluntarily gone to the countryside to get close to the masses and engage in creation. From this perspective, you have the demeanor of these great writers."

After a pause, without waiting for Chen Fan to speak, he said seriously again, "Since you have this ambition, I can't stop you. In this way…"

He turned to Teacher He and said, "Lao He, bring the liberal arts special recruitment exam paper over. Let's give Xiao Chen the exam now."

Teacher He nodded, stood up, smiled at Chen Fan and gave him a thumbs up, then turned and walked out.

In less than a minute, he came back with a set of test papers, and placed them in front of Chen Fan along with a fountain pen. While separating the test paper and the answer, he smiled and said, "The liberal arts exam paper includes five subjects: politics, Chinese, mathematics, history, and geography. History and geography each have a time limit of one hour, and the other three subjects each have a time limit of two and a half hours. After you are ready, I will start timing you."

After he finished speaking, Teacher Guo continued, "It will definitely be too late to finish the exam this afternoon, but it doesn't matter. Take as much as you can, and continue timing tomorrow morning."

Teacher He also said with a smile, "We can be considered to have made an exception for you. Otherwise, we would only give you one subject to test today, and then one subject each morning and afternoon every day. It would take a total of two and a half days to complete all the subjects."

While they were talking, Chen Fan had already briefly browsed the test paper, then raised his head and smiled, "Thank you, teachers. Then shall I start now?"

Teacher He raised his wrist and looked at the time, "It's exactly 4 pm now, you can start."

Chen Fan slowly unscrewed the cap of the fountain pen, spread out the Chinese test paper, lowered his head and said with a smile, "I will try to hurry up and not delay you from getting off work."

Teacher Guo and Teacher He smiled, thinking that he meant trying to finish one subject before getting off work at 6 o'clock.

But half an hour later, seeing Chen Fan writing the Chinese test paper fluently, including an 800-word essay on a given topic, the two couldn't help but feel their scalps tingle.

A Chinese test paper in half an hour?

Even for excellent students, it wouldn't be enough to finish writing an essay, right?

Then, thinking that Chen Fan was already a well-known writer in the province and should have a good foundation in Chinese, they comforted themselves: It's okay, it's okay, it's just his advantage subject, it's excusable.

But after 20 minutes, seeing Chen Fan put aside the completed mathematics test paper, not only the two of them, but even Jiang Tiantian, couldn't wrap their heads around it.

Jiang Tiantian stared intently at a major question on the test paper. She felt that she didn't even understand the question, but Chen Fan didn't even hesitate for a second. After writing the previous question, he directly wrote this question.

Wasn't he just writing nonsense?

Seeing that Chen Fan had already picked up the history test paper, Teacher Guo gently patted Teacher He's arm and signaled with his eyes towards the mathematics test paper.

The meaning was to let him see if these answers were correct.

There were not many staff members at the correspondence point, only five in total, but because the workload was relatively small, usually only two people were stationed here. The other three rotated among the various correspondence points in the province, or worked at the school headquarters, and would only come over when there was something to do. They were considered mobile positions.

And he and Teacher He, one was responsible for liberal arts and the other was responsible for science. Teacher He was the one responsible for science, so he asked Teacher He to take a look at Chen Fan's test paper.

As a result, when Teacher He saw his eyes, he spread his hands with a blank expression and drew a check mark in the air.

When Teacher Guo saw it, his eyeballs almost popped out.

Without a doubt, Teacher He meant that they were all correct?!

How was this possible?!

Chen Fan answered the questions seriously, while paying attention to their actions out of the corner of his eye. Without raising his head or stopping his hand, he smiled and said, "These questions are very simple. Basically, they are all within the scope of knowledge points in the Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. Coincidentally, I have been teaching mathematics, physics, and chemistry courses to the students in the production team's study class for the past two or three months, so I am very familiar with these question types. Therefore, answering the questions at this time can be considered an advantage."

Teacher Guo came back to his senses, smiled awkwardly, and his eyes fell on the test paper.

Okay, let's say you just learned the Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, then what about history?

Chen Fan coughed lightly, finished writing the last question on the history test paper, raised his head and smiled, "History is even easier. They are all knowledge points that test memory. Just memorize them by rote."

Teacher Guo felt a little depressed, reluctantly smiled and waved his hand, "You, you continue."

Chen Fan put the history test paper aside and picked up the geography test paper.

At this time, he had already finished the Chinese, mathematics, and history exams, and was burying his head in writing geography. Teacher He raised his wrist and looked at the time, only 65 minutes had passed.

That is to say, Chen Fan only spent 15 minutes writing the history test paper.

After figuring out the time, Teacher He couldn't help but have a headache, his eyes staring at Chen Fan's pen.

Good fellow, his writing is like a typewriter. Not only is it fast, but there isn't even a single typo. How did he practice this?

At this time, Teacher Guo also discovered the key point, grabbed Chen Fan's test paper, and his eyes were shining.

After a while, he handed the test paper to Teacher He and whispered, "Look at this handwriting!"

The corners of Teacher He's mouth twitched slightly, "I noticed it just now. He writes quickly and well, and there isn't even a single typo. I don't know how he practiced this fountain pen handwriting?"

At this time, Chen Fan suddenly raised the fountain pen in his hand, smiled shyly, "Teacher, the fountain pen is out of ink."

Teacher He came back to his senses, "Oh, I'll get you some ink."

As he walked out, he was still shaking his head and sighing. This is a large Hero brand fountain pen. He usually uses it himself, and he doesn't need to add ink for a week. As a result, today it couldn't even last through one exam. It's amazing!

Before long, the ink was brought over. Chen Fan refilled the ink, and the exam continued.

Another 15 minutes passed, and the geography section was also completed, leaving only the final subject, politics.

In this era, politics was one of the three major subjects, even the most important of the three. You could write carelessly in language arts, make mistakes in math, but you absolutely couldn't answer randomly on the politics exam.

This was also why Chen Fan had saved this subject for last.

First, he carefully reviewed the questions.

I. Explain the following terms:

Productivity, practice, class, ...

II. Essay Questions:

1. What are the social forms in which human society develops from lower to higher levels?

2. According to Mr. Li's theory of the Three Worlds, which countries and regions are included in the First, Second, and Third Worlds? Give examples.

3. ...

The above were all easy questions to answer; the difficult ones couldn't be written here.

Chen Fan concentrated on answering the questions, constantly reminding himself not to write carelessly.

General line, general policy, general task, criticism, etc., etc., etc. In short, it was very characteristic of the times.

However, these couldn't stump Chen Fan. Starting to answer the questions at 4 p.m., he finally wrote the last period at 5:50 p.m.

He then let out a long breath and placed the exam paper in front of Teacher Guo.

Two people proctoring one person, and also having the answer key in hand, the efficiency was naturally high. The moment Chen Fan handed in the paper, the result was already out.

Teacher Guo took the politics paper and carefully read it through. With a serious face, he said, "You answered well, but there is still a little room for improvement. Although I can't find fault with the answers, it doesn't mean there are no mistakes, so I'll give you 99 points. I can't give you any higher."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly, and he humbly lowered his head. "I will definitely study hard and strive for improvement soon."

Teacher Guo's lips twitched even more violently than his. He then cleared his throat and said, "Well, that's... Five subjects, a total of 500 points. You did fairly well, scoring 498 points."

Saying this, he himself felt like he couldn't make it up anymore, and said with a helpless face, "I say, Little Chen, why don't you just take the college entrance exam? Studying by correspondence is a waste.

If we guess wrong and the college entrance exam isn't reinstated, I can still recommend you to work at the Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles or the Writers Association, or even the 'Jiangnan Literature' magazine. With your qualifications, they can definitely give you a university recommendation spot.

Now that postgraduate enrollment hasn't been reinstated, otherwise, you could study at a correspondence university and continue to study for a postgraduate degree. Although a correspondence diploma is the same as a regular diploma, a regular diploma has a more competitive advantage when compared horizontally!"

Chen Fan said solemnly, "Teacher Guo, I appreciate your kindness, but my mind is made up, so you don't need to persuade me anymore."

Teacher Guo sighed softly and muttered, "Forget it, forget it. Anyway, correspondence study isn't bad. Maybe one day postgraduate enrollment will be reinstated, and you can continue to study without delaying your contribution to the production team."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little curious. "Teacher Guo, do you mean that postgraduate students don't need to attend classes?"

"How is that possible?"

Teacher Guo smiled and looked at him, saying, "Under normal circumstances, postgraduate students, like ordinary university students, have to attend classes and study. They are also divided into public courses and specialized courses. After passing the exams for all subjects, there are also research topics assigned by the supervisor. Only after publishing papers and defending them can they graduate."

After a pause, he smiled again and said, "However, that's under normal circumstances. I don't think you're normal at all. If all the knowledge you've mastered has come through self-study, then your self-study ability is amazing.

Plus, you've already publicly published many articles, even a serialized novel. Your achievements have already surpassed many full-time writers. If you continue to study for a postgraduate degree, which supervisor would stop you from attending classes?

As long as you can pass the exams for all subjects and complete the publication and defense of relevant papers, I don't believe any supervisor would restrict you. If there really is one..."

He said, suddenly patting his chest, "My senior brother is a professor of Chinese language and literature. I'll take you to him, and I guarantee there won't be any problems."

At this time, Teacher He also said, "My senior sister is also a professor of literature and was once a member of the National Writers Association. You can come to me too."

Teacher Guo immediately turned his head. "It's as if my senior brother isn't a member of the Writers Association. I'm still a member of the Provincial Association."

Teacher He chuckled. "Whether it's the Provincial Association or the National Association, they've all suspended their work. Only 'Jiangnan Literature' has just been relaunched. The other associations only have a liaison office. Let's not mention this."

Teacher Guo: "You were the one who brought it up first."

Seeing that the two teachers were about to argue, Chen Fan quickly raised his hand and said, "Teacher Guo, Teacher He, postgraduate enrollment hasn't been reinstated yet, so let's not talk about this for now."

Guo and He looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

In their hearts, they secretly decided to send a telegram to their senior brother/sister tomorrow, asking him/her to snatch Chen Fan's supervisor position.

If they can't be a postgraduate supervisor, being a correspondence teacher is fine too!

They couldn't possibly be unhappy to have a famous writer as a student!

The four people walked out of the room, each with a layer of fine sweat on their bodies.

The examination room was large and had two rows of windows for ventilation, but the weather was hot after all, and it was indeed uncomfortable to stay inside for two hours.

After coming out, Teacher He immediately turned on the ceiling fan above his head. The fan blades rotated, bringing a gust of cool wind, making everyone feel much more comfortable.

Seeing that both teachers were wiping sweat with their handkerchiefs, Chen Fan also picked up his backpack and took out a handkerchief from it, but handed it to Jiang Tiantian with a smile. "It's clean, wipe yourself."

Jiang Tiantian's pretty face blushed slightly, and she generously reached out to take it, saying softly, "Thank you."

While wiping her sweat, she remembered that there was still a handkerchief she hadn't returned last time. This was already the second one. She could only wait until she washed it clean and return them together next time.

Or... She turned her head and glanced at Chen Fan, who had taken out a towel to wipe his sweat. Her heart was pounding, and she thought to herself, 'Wouldn't there be a third one?'

'Have I become someone who sponges off handkerchiefs?'

Over there, Teacher He took a big gulp of water and then rummaged through the filing cabinet for a few forms, placed them on the front desk, and said to Chen Fan, "Come over and fill out the information. I'll issue you an admission notice."

Chen Fan immediately got up and walked over. "Thank you for your trouble."

Teacher He waved his hand. "You're welcome."

While Chen Fan was sitting and filling out the form and pasting photos, Teacher Guo walked over with a teacup and said with a smile, "Every year, correspondence universities have one or two specially recruited students, mostly those who missed the registration deadline. However, most of them only pass the exam and aren't considered very outstanding. You're the first one to score above 400 points."

In his heart, he silently added, 'And it's 498, what a freak!'

Chen Fan smiled and turned his head to look at him, but didn't say anything and continued filling out the form.

Teacher He continued Teacher Guo's topic and said, "With your grades, I suspect you can graduate directly. I'll give you the complete set of textbooks in a moment.

The major courses in the literature major are mainly divided into linguistics and literature, including a total of a dozen subjects. You have to choose the courses for the final exam this year, so you have to pick a few from these dozen subjects, plus the required public course subjects. After studying by correspondence, you will participate in the semester exam at the end of the year.

Those who pass the exam will get credits. After you get the credits for all subjects, you can apply for the graduation exam, which is the thesis and defense. This part also includes written and oral exams, that is, in addition to answering questions, you also have to conduct assessments in terms of oral expression such as recitation.

Finally, if the thesis and defense are passed, you can get a correspondence undergraduate diploma from Jiangnan University."

Hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but raise his head and look at him.

So the correspondence education at this time is so strict?

I'm afraid that even the regular full-time school education doesn't have so many tricks.

Well, this is not Chen Fan's unfounded guess.

At the education conference at the beginning of this month, the deputy director's evaluation of a certain school was: "Then it should be called Tsinghua Middle School, Tsinghua Elementary School, not a university."

Therefore, in this specific time period, it is not without reason that the gold content of correspondence university graduates is higher than that of full-time students.

It's just that in terms of welfare and placement, a correspondence diploma is indeed not as good as a full-time diploma.

This is a bit of a disconnect.