"University student, follow this small path for another two miles and you'll see the school gate. This isn't the main road, and my car won't be able to get out later. Otherwise, it would only take a step on the accelerator to get you there."
The driver, after receiving one yuan and fifty cents from Chen Yang, was very enthusiastic.
Moreover, they were university students who had just passed the college entrance examination, and only a small number of people were admitted right after the resumption of the college entrance examination. The status of university students was still very high, and they were respected intellectuals.
"Thank you, driver. It's just a few steps, we can walk there ourselves."
Chen Yang and Shen Rong were not pampered. A distance of two or three miles would take them about ten minutes to walk.
Shen Futang had nothing to complain about either. People of his generation often walked dozens of miles in the mountains without taking a break. They used to carry loads for days when repairing dikes, so walking was nothing.
Liu Chunmei treated them equally. Shen Rong and Shen Pandi's luggage was similar: a new cotton quilt and clothes they had made before.
At this time, wearing a piece of clothing for several years was normal. Even if it was torn, it could still be worn with a patch.
However, Shen Rong had made several new sets of clothes last year and this year, and they had only been worn for a few months, so they were still in good condition. Naturally, she brought them all.
"Classmate, are you here to register? Which department are you in? We are from the Foreign Language Department, majoring in English. My name is Lei Hao, and this is Wang Ling. We are sophomores here to welcome new students."
"I'll take you to register later. Since you are a girl, it's not convenient for me to enter the girls' dormitory, so Wang Ling will take you there."
This scene was very common in later generations, where senior students were responsible for welcoming new students, helping them register and find dormitories. This not only helped the new students but also reduced the workload of the teachers.
However, the atmosphere in universities in later generations was more open. Many people treated freshman registration as an opportunity to find a partner, and they would strike while the iron was hot, taking advantage of the new students' budding affections and inexperience!
In 1979, dating was still forbidden for university students. If caught dating, they would be publicly criticized by the entire school and expelled.
After all the hard work to get into university, to be expelled before graduation and job assignment because of dating was unacceptable to anyone.
Therefore, the purpose of these young people coming to the school gate was still very pure: to genuinely help new students. Of course, there was also the possibility of infatuation at first sight. However, even so, it was unlikely that anyone would dare to cross the line before graduation.
At least not openly on campus. If caught, they would be expelled.
"Hello, senior brother and senior sister. My name is Shen Rong. I am a freshman majoring in accounting in the Economics Department. Thank you for your enthusiastic help with my registration and finding a dormitory."
Seeing the enthusiastic welcome from the senior brother and sister, Shen Rong was immediately touched. This girl had rarely been out before and had never encountered such enthusiastic strangers.
"We're all alumni now, so this is what we should do. Junior sister, who are these two?"
Lei Hao glanced at Chen Yang and Shen Futang, who were carrying luggage, not knowing how to address them.
"Senior brother, this is my father, and this is my brother-in-law. They came to see me register. My brother-in-law also got into university, but he's going to Shanghai and will report a little later than me."
Shen Rong introduced them warmly. Upon hearing that Chen Yang was also a university student, Lei Hao and Wang Ling's eyes lit up. It was not easy for a family to have two university students.
"Uncle, brother-in-law, let us carry the luggage. Let's go register quickly."
The two were very enthusiastic and reached out to take the luggage.
"Classmate Lei, Classmate Wang, thank you, but there's no need. My father and I work in the fields at home, so carrying this little bit of luggage is nothing."
"Let's go register quickly and not waste time."
Looking at the two young people, and then at the many students of similar age around them, Chen Yang's heart suddenly seemed to be filled with youthful vigor.
This was what young people should be like!
The university students who graduated in the 1970s and 1980s would become the backbone or even hold leadership positions in many domestic sectors in the future.
"Junior sister, this is the main building of our school. The east side is the annex building. Our school now has two canteens, one is near the dormitory, which is in the south, and the other is behind the annex building."
"To the west is the sports field where you can run. The school planned to purchase some fitness equipment, but later heard they couldn't afford it. Now the principal is preparing to have our mechanical engineering students build it themselves this year."
"We've been hearing the sounds of iron forging from the school-run factory in the mechanical engineering department these past few days. You're lucky, you'll probably get to use the fitness equipment this year."
Lei Hao and Wang Ling introduced the school, each speaking in turn. To be honest, both the buildings and facilities were extremely rudimentary in front of Chen Yang, who had seen the modern campuses of the 21st century.
But in Shen Rong's eyes, a complete novice, it was like a new world.
Everything was so new; these were things she had never even heard of in her village.
"This is the registration area. Junior sister, this is the Economics Department. You can go in and register quickly. Wang Ling will wait for you here. When you're done and get your dormitory key, she'll take you there."
"I need to continue welcoming new students. There are quite a few new students arriving these days, and the school is short-handed."
Initially, Lei Hao had seen that Chen Yang and the others were carrying a lot of luggage and was ready to help. Otherwise, Wang Ling could have led them alone.
But Chen Yang and Shen Futang didn't let him carry anything. Since they were already halfway there, he couldn't go back. Now he had brought Shen Rong to the registration area.
He couldn't go into the dormitory later, so he let Wang Ling wait alone and went to see if there were any new students who needed help later.
"Classmate Lei, thank you. Rongrong, after you're settled, if you have time, you can spend more time with the senior brother and sister. If there are any good clubs at school, you can also listen to their suggestions."
"At school, studying well is important, but you also need to experience new things. You can choose clubs that interest you and participate."
Chen Yang was someone who had been through it before. Nowadays, popular clubs included literary societies, poetry societies, astronomy societies, and the like. Of course, there weren't as many clubs as in later generations, but it was a way to enrich one's university life.
"Junior sister, you must know a lot about university, including clubs. We have indeed joined some clubs. If Shen Rong junior sister is interested, we can recommend them."
When Lei Hao and Wang Ling heard Chen Yang's words, they no longer treated him as a freshman who hadn't registered. They also looked at Shen Rong with more respect.
In this era, information was relatively scarce, and many people didn't even know what a university looked like before attending. Let alone knowing about clubs. Lei Hao and Wang Ling were such people.
In their eyes, Chen Yang was definitely not an ordinary university freshman; instead, he exuded a sense of mystery, which made them more inclined to get closer to Shen Rong.