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The Two Oddballs I Met
墨書 Inktalez
1. After 28 years of graduation, my high school alma mater, Annan Junior High School, is organizing an alumni association. The former vice class monitor, Gao Jiazhuang, found out that I didn't receive an invitation. He first flaunted the invitation letter with a big red stamp on WeChat, and then urged me to attend: "I'll take you there, maybe we'll even see our goddess, Jiang Qiuying!"
I have always believed that during elementary school, I was ignorant, during junior high school, I was naive, and during university, I was utilitarian. High school life was the purest and most genuine, even though I was just a poor student back then. During the three years of high school, I cherished not only the beautiful, kind, and excellent student Jiang Qiuying, but also the poor students who sat with me at the back and were often punished by the teacher.
It's been nearly thirty years, and everyone has changed so much! As for not receiving an invitation from our alma mater, it doesn't really matter. The school has undergone earth-shaking changes, with the small bungalows turning into dormitory buildings, teaching buildings, and office buildings. The dusty playground has been covered with plastic and grass, and the memories of the past are completely unrecognizable.
Our former homeroom teacher, Mr. Jia Huairen, has retired and was temporarily brought back by the school to serve as a member of the alumni association reception team. When he saw us, Teacher Jia tightly held Gao Jiazhuang's hand and said, "Jia Zhuang! No, Director Gao, on behalf of our alma mater, I welcome you!"
"Teacher Jia, you're too polite, I'm just a vice, just a vice," Gao Jiazhuang replied modestly.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Teacher Jia finally turned to look at me and asked, "Who is this?"
Gao Jiazhuang introduced, "Teacher Jia, this is Hu Ruoyun, who didn't take the college entrance exam back then, you may not remember..."
Teacher Jia ignored my outstretched hand and said, "Oh... since you're here, just come along with us."
Gao Jiazhuang was taken to the "VIP area" with a dedicated reception, while I was left in the lobby. I wandered around and only saw a few classmates who had been admitted to Hebei South Normal University and Jinan University. We shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and introduced each other. It turns out that they were either in the management of companies or were cadres at the county or township level, some even holding deputy or full director positions. Gao Jiazhuang, as the deputy director of the Cultural Bureau of Jina City, held the highest position among them. I was the only one who was a poor student back then and now a "migrant worker" outside the organization.
The school auditorium was almost full. The current principal is younger than me. He delivered a welcome speech, reporting on the recent years' college entrance situation: the rate of students entering vocational colleges, second-tier universities, first-tier universities, and the number of students admitted to 211 universities... But there was no mention of 985 or double first-class universities. The college entrance situation is similar to ours back in the day, which is really not commendable.
The Deputy County Mayor in charge of education, science, culture, and health also spoke. His words were earnest and his emotions sincere: "As an old high school in Annan County, Annan Junior High School is relatively lagging behind in various aspects due to its location outside the county. Everyone present here has come from this school and is outstanding in various fields. I earnestly hope that everyone can contribute to the development of our alma mater..."
I know why I didn't receive an invitation from the school, and I also know why I didn't see most of our classmates from our class.
The invited alumni are basically all "successful people", as for those who farm at home or work outside, they just "laugh it off".
20 years ago, just when it was time to register for the college entrance examination, our class teacher Teacher Jia gathered a group of "underperforming" students for a talk: "I am clear about your academic situation, and you are also very aware. If you participate in the college entrance examination, it will lower the rate of our class's enrollment, and the teacher's performance is linked to the enrollment rate! What I mean is that you don't need to apply, so that... your parents don't have to pay the registration fee and other fees unnecessarily..."
"You are leaving the school now, and the school will retain your student status and issue high school diplomas to you..." He didn't say what the consequences would be if we insisted on taking the college entrance examination, but we all understood the implied meaning from Teacher Jia. So, we "maturely" graduated early and went back home.
After that, I embarked on society.
Over the years, apart from those classmates who "graduated early" with me, I rarely contacted anyone else. Gao Jiazhuang, who slept on the bunk above me, was an exception, but it was limited to hearing him talk about how he graduated from Annan University, entered the city's cultural bureau, became a deputy section chief, and then a deputy director...
He always considered himself a "successful person" from our class, while I, a student who didn't even take the college entrance examination, was his most vivid point of reference. In his eyes, people like me would only move from one construction site to another, or from one factory to another, doing manual labor.
In the first year after graduating from high school, during the Spring Festival, Gao Jiazhuang took me to visit our homeroom teacher Teacher Jia.
I bought two cases of drinks, and he seemed a little awkward: "My tuition fees were all borrowed from my family..."
I said, "It's okay, I'm earning money now, so consider these as from both of us."
At the doorstep of Teacher Jia's house, Gao Jiazhuang took the gifts from my hands and said, "Let me take these." He gestured for me to knock on the door. When Teacher Jia opened the door, he was very excited: "Jiazhuang, you are the most promising of your generation!" He looked at the two gift boxes in Gao Jiazhuang's hands and scolded, "You coming here already makes me happy, are you a student or just a consumer, why buy things?" Then he disdainfully turned away from me with both hands empty. Gao Jiazhuang replied, "It's the New Year, just a little something."
Invited to dinner at Teacher Jia's house, during the meal, they, the teacher and student, chatted away, even when toasting, they didn't include me. I felt like a little transparent person, sitting there foolishly.
I swear to live up to a certain standard.
The first "job" was at a brick kiln by the Yellow River bank. I got up at five in the morning to work, wielding a shovel to scoop soil into the hopper of the brick-making machine, never daring to stop for a moment. At 8:00, it was time for breakfast - boiled cabbage and radish in clear water with a bit of sesame oil, served with noodle soup and steamed buns.
You ask me if the food is delicious? With an empty stomach, I can work at high intensity for three hours straight. Anything I eat will taste good. I start work again at 8:30, and I may not finish until noon. When lunch is ready, I take a 30-minute break, then work again until after 8 in the evening. After dinner, exhausted, I collapse onto the floor and instantly enter deep sleep. This job not only requires great intensity but also lacks any technicality. After half a year, I made some money and went to a southern electronics factory the following year. I went from an ordinary worker to a skilled worker, then to a team leader, and a line leader... As my parents grew older, I eventually settled down in Jiangcheng.
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