Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 153 - 149 Big Plate Chicken monthly ticket 660 additional - s

Chapter 153: 149 Big Plate Chicken monthly ticket 660 additional Chapters

The school held the exams as scheduled, with an additional English exam for the finance major, using the foreign language department’s paper. However, the teacher also said that scoring forty points would be considered up to standard, after all, they do not need to read and speak fluently, knowing some basics would be enough.

But for students from a country that hasn’t had college entrance exams in ten years, this is a difficult task, especially for someone like Ma Lingling who has never come into contact with English. It was almost overwhelming for her; she knew pinyin, but she never imagined that one day pinyin would appear before her with a different pronunciation and combination.

There are quite a few like Ma Lingling, their approach to learning English is to forcibly memorize it, using pinyin or Chinese characters to transcribe the sounds, then repeatedly read and memorize to ensure they can at least cope with this one exam.

The placement test was much harder than the college entrance exam, covering mathematics, physics, chemistry, English, politics, history, and geography, divided according to the major studied.

Li Xianglu and her peers were studying finance, but most were science students, although there were also arts students who got in. However, the school only allowed the science subjects to be tested, which made many students shout unfair and unreasonable, and some even reported the situation to the school.

The school, now operating for the first time in ten years, was very cautious and discussed such matters, concluding that the subjects one was admitted for would be the ones tested, to first establish a baseline before class assignment.

Li Xianglu didn’t perform well in math, physics, and chemistry, having reviewed so many problems in vain, but thankfully, the placement test came in handy.

In early May, the weather was comfortably warm, and sitting in the classroom was neither cold nor hot, especially cozy. She finished the last English paper in one hour.

It was simple, with thirty percent memorization questions, thirty percent translation, twenty percent comprehension and analytical questions, and the last ten percent was an essay, the topic was your view on learning English.

Li Xianglu wrote a classic and well-known proposition by Wei Hai, which is: "Learn from the barbarians to control the barbarians."

This proposition expressed a brilliant patriotic thought, and Li Xianglu believed this view should score high marks.

Once the exams were over the school announced a holiday. Li Xianglu handed in her paper fifteen minutes early, preferring to avoid the crowd, so she left first.

She went back to her dorm to pack, sorting out her underwear and socks into the bag, then rolling up her bedding partially to reveal the mattress.

Li Xianglu was a bit of a clean freak, not comfortable with others sitting on her bed, especially wearing trousers that had been worn outside. She could accept it if they changed into sleepwear.

Just as she finished packing, the other dorm mates came back. Ma Cui was surprised to see Li Xianglu and exclaimed, "Xiao Xiang, why did you come back early?"

Li Xianglu smiled at everyone and said, "I finished the test, and sitting there any longer seemed pointless, so I came back early to pack up. I’m going home."

Ma Lingling asked curiously, "Xiao Xiang, is your family from the capital?"

At this question, everyone entering the dorm turned to look.

Li Xianglu smiled and, instead of leaving, she sat down on her bed and said with a laugh, "My Grandpa came specifically to accompany me in my studies. We have a place in the capital, but it’s not close to the school, so I have to live on campus and go home on weekends."

This was the first time Li Xianglu had directly answered everyone’s questions.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xin’s eyes sparkled and she immediately asked, "Who is that Qin Xi to you? He always seems to come looking for you. I even saw him giving you a bike ride."

Li Xianglu glanced at Xu Xin and replied with a faint smile, "Family."

After saying so, she didn’t wait for further questions, instead smiling and saying, "Alright, classmates, I’m heading home, and I’ll bring some goodies back for everyone when I return."

Everyone waved goodbye, and Iro and Lu Anna also began packing their things, as their family’s car was arriving soon and they could not delay any longer.

After Li Xianglu left, she went straight to the bicycle storage area, where Qin Zhen was already standing by the bike, waving to her as she approached.

Li Xianglu quickly walked over: "Did you guys only have two exams today?"

Qin Xi took Li Xianglu’s bag and placed it in the basket in front, then said, "Yeah, our law department doesn’t have an additional English exam. How about you, how did you do on the exams?"

Li Xianglu smiled and said, "So-so, what are we eating this afternoon? I’m starving."

Qin Xi shook his head helplessly and said, "You, why didn’t you eat more at noon?"

Li Xianglu pouted guiltily and said, "The thought of coming home to eat this afternoon made me purposely eat less. What if I got too full and didn’t want to eat dinner?"

Qin Xi suddenly felt a headache coming on, as he sensed the strange vibes reminiscent of his younger brother.

Fortunately, Li Xianglu quickly changed the subject: "Let’s go buy some stuff first; the Overseas Chinese Store hasn’t closed yet. Let’s check it out. Didn’t that Qin Zhen guy call asking for a mosquito net?"

Qin Xi nodded and said, "Sure, let’s go and have a look. We’ll also buy some vegetables. Grandpa said he wants to eat the big dish chicken you make. Let’s buy a chicken on the way back."

Now, they had already left the campus. Qin Xi gently stepped into the car while Li Xianglu sat gracefully beside him, embracing the waist of the person in front, feeling the comfortable warmth of the sun and breeze.

Yet, the dark gaze that they hadn’t noticed lingered on them as they left.

Having bought meat and vegetables and also a mosquito net and some dried fruits for Qin Zhen, they headed back.

There was a car parked in front of the house. It belonged to Xu Xi.

Li Xianglu didn’t have a favorable view of Xu Xi; she found him too scheming. Increasingly feeling that interacting with such a person was simply exhausting!

But a basic level of courtesy was always necessary, so she exchanged greetings upon seeing him and then went inside to start cooking.

Upon entering, Li Xianglu saw Grandpa Li and Xu Xi both looking very grave. She didn’t know what had happened but it wasn’t convenient to ask, so she just started cooking.

Meanwhile, Qin Xi changed his clothes and went out to water and loosen the soil in the garden.

Li Xianglu looked at the ingredients — a whole free-range chicken, potatoes, and bok choy. She decided to make a big dish chicken and also pull some belt noodles.

Chopping the chicken into small pieces, blanching it, then heating the oil to about 80% before adding sugar to form the base, followed by stirring fry, then adding spices and water to stew while making the dough.

An hour later, the table was set outside, displaying a large dish of red, glossy potatoes and bok choy big dish chicken, somewhat resembling a stew. Xu Xi’s eyes widened at the sight of such a large dish filled with so much food.

But as he tasted the noodle belts dipped in the sauce, he found them even more delicious than the chicken itself. Chinese cuisine truly is profound and extensive, to have such a method of eating — and it’s extremely tasty.

Xu Xi patted his inflated stomach and sighed as he saw that the big dish was now reduced to some remnants, realizing it indeed wasn’t too much.

Grandpa Li poured some newly brewed tea for Xu Xi and said, "Have some tea to help digest. Xiangxiang’s culinary skills are impeccable; every time I end up eating more than I should by accident."

Xu Xi, feeling the sentiment deeply, nodded in agreement; indeed, he had overeaten.

Mr. Li, looking at his granddaughter and grandson-in-law who were bustling around in their aprons, suddenly spoke, "Then let Xianglu go, to meet Ah Yin, and take Qin Xi along."

PS: Actually, when I scheduled this, I didn’t have enough monthly tickets, but who am I? I am Fang Banxian; I can predict and calculate. I scheduled it for four o’clock because I believed that by four, I would have enough monthly tickets, because you all are Little Demons!