One afternoon in early September, Xu Mingxuan and the children returned to Harbin with personnel from various units who had gone to Tangshan for disaster relief.
As Xu Mingxuan led a group of people through the door, he shouted loudly, "Lan'er, Mother-in-law, we're back!"
The children also shouted in unison, "Mom, Aunt, Grandma, we're back!"
Their pitiful appearance startled Chen Lan and her mother, who were sitting in the living room picking vegetables to prepare dinner.
Xu Mingxuan and the boys had hair so long it could almost be tied into braids, their faces were tanned dark, and they all looked haggard and unshaven. Their clothes were so worn they could barely tell their original color! And they carried a strong stench of stale sweat.
Jia Hui and her two sisters weren't much better. They were also gaunt, their hair disheveled. Their white shirts, worn when they left home, were now gray.
The mother and daughter, surprised and delighted, quickly put down the vegetables they were picking and stood up. Chen Lan hadn't even had time to ask about the specific situation in Tangshan yet.
Jia Hui, Jia He, and Jia Xing began to clamor loudly, "Grandma, Mom, do we have anything to eat at home? We're starving!"
The old mother immediately replied, "Yes, yes, dear, dear, come, have some biscuits first to line your stomachs. Grandma will make you some egg noodles right away."
Before she could even finish speaking, the old mother turned to go to the kitchen. Chen Lan immediately reached out and grabbed her mother, saying, "Mom, I'm here! You just sit down, you don't need to do it yourself!"
After Chen Lan spoke, she turned to the group and said, "Go wash your hands and faces first, I'll prepare something for you to eat!"
Chen Lan ordered milk, bread, and cake from the system, intending to let them fill their stomachs first. Then she took her basket of vegetables to the backyard, where she had planted quite a few vegetables.
Chen Lan knew they must have suffered a lot during their time on the rescue mission, so she planned to make them a hearty meal to satisfy their cravings. Therefore, Chen Lan decided to make a seafood hot pot, which they all loved, for dinner that night.
When Chen Lan had prepared the ingredients for the seafood hot pot in the kitchen, she carried the pot base out of the kitchen and into the living room. She found several people lying sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep and snoring softly!
Looking at their current state, Chen Lan knew they had endured a lot this time. However, Chen Lan felt that letting them go out to experience hardship and understand the difficulties and struggles of ordinary people's lives would be beneficial for their future lives outside the valley.
Time passed quickly. One afternoon, not long after the triplets had gone to school, they returned home with red, tear-filled eyes. This had never happened since they were little, and it greatly alarmed Chen Lan and her mother.
Chen Lan hurriedly asked, "Little Tenth Sister, what happened to you three? Were you bullied at school? Or were you not paying attention in class and got scolded by the teacher?"
Chen Lan's question was a catalyst. Upon hearing their mother ask, the three of them shook their heads without answering, and their crying intensified even more!
Chen Lan comforted them for a long time before she could finally understand the specific reason for their tears from their choked, broken sentences.
After Chen Lan understood, she felt as if her blood had frozen. She stood there blankly for a long time, tears involuntarily streaming down her cheeks.
The old mother, being older, had slightly impaired hearing and hadn't heard the children clearly at first. Seeing Chen Lan's tear-streaked face, she was extremely frightened.
The old mother trembled as she tightly gripped Chen Lan's hand and anxiously asked, "Lan'er, what is it? What happened? Tell me quickly! Do you want to worry me to death?"
Chen Lan cried and said, "Mom, our country's great leader has passed away. He left us at 00:10 this morning, at the age of eighty-three."
Upon hearing this, the old mother's body swayed twice. Her face instantly turned pale, and she couldn't breathe. Fortunately, Chen Lan was close by. She quickly caught her mother, helped her lean against the sofa, and immediately took out a heart-saving pill for her to swallow.
A superstar has fallen. The death of a generation's great leader plunged the entire nation into grief. Funeral music played on the radio, and everyone felt as if the sky was collapsing. Cries of sorrow echoed everywhere!
In 1976, China experienced too many traumas, misfortunes, and hardships. The people shed too many tears that year.
On January 8th of that year, our beloved Premier left us forever.
On July 6th of the same year, the great Commander Zhu also passed away and left us.
Also on July 28th of this year, a major earthquake struck Tangshan, Hebei, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions displaced.
The old mother sat by the radio, listening to the broadcast and crying uncontrollably all day. As a result of excessive grief, she fell ill! The family was in a frantic rush, boiling and administering medicine to the old mother, but she cried and wouldn't sleep. Chen Lan had no choice but to ask Jia Yao to add a sleeping herb to the traditional Chinese medicine.
After finally coaxing the old mother to drink the medicine, Chen Lan turned off the radio. It wasn't long before the old mother was finally coaxed to sleep!
The sudden death of the great leader also took away the laughter of the people. Although everyone was deeply saddened, life had to go on.
Chen Lan knew that the college entrance examination was not far away, so she instructed the children who had graduated from high school in the valley and those studying high school in school to begin reviewing the contents of the "Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry" for each subject.
At the same time, Chen Lan also had Xu Mingxuan send an urgent telegram to Tan Weidang, who was far away in Qinhuangdao, asking him to take leave and return to the valley to participate in the review, in preparation for the first college entrance examination after its restoration next year.
Time passed very quickly. It felt like the blink of an eye and it was already October of 1977. Chen Lan, who had been eagerly waiting, finally received the news about the restoration of the college entrance examination.
On October 21st, the Central People's Radio Station announced this major news to the entire nation as a front-page headline. This exhilarating good news instantly spread across the country, north and south. Sudán Xiaoshuo Wang.
Considering the special circumstances of many graduates from the "old third year" (those who had been in school during the Cultural Revolution), this exam did not impose an age limit. It was stated that any Chinese citizen who met the enrollment requirements could participate.
The enrollment requirements were: Workers, peasants, educated youth who had gone to the countryside or returned to their hometowns, demobilized soldiers, cadres, and graduating students who met the enrollment requirements could voluntarily register and would be issued examination permits uniformly.