As the long summer vacation came to an end, Lin Yi also began to pack his luggage. To be precise, it was mainly Ms. Yu Xiujuan who was packing.
"I see in the weather forecast that the temperature in Beijing is about the same as that in Lin'an. It's still so hot now, so you should probably sleep on bamboo mats. By the way, is there an air conditioner in the school?"
"No."
Jingdian's dormitory building was older than Lin Yi's, and the conditions were very average. Yu Xiujuan didn't care how he knew about it in advance, she just believed it anyway.
"Then I have to bring the bamboo mat with me. The electric fan can always be turned on, otherwise how can I sleep at night?"
In fact, the voltage in the dormitory is not even suitable for a serious electric fan. It will overload and trip when turned on. At most, you can only use a desktop pocket mini fan that is connected to the computer with a USB cable.
When Lin saw the large and small bags she was preparing, she couldn't help but persuade her: "Mom, you can buy all these things after school. I can't carry so much."
Yu Xiujuan did not raise her head as she packed up: "You and your father are going together, why can't you take them with you?"
"ah?"
Lin Yi still didn't know when they made this decision: "I didn't say I wanted dad to accompany me, I can just go by myself."
"How can that be done? It's the first time the university has started, and other students are sent here by their parents. How can you be the only one to report it? Others think you are an orphan without a father or a mother."
Ms. Yu Xiujuan did not have any taboos in speaking. Lin Yi also wanted to explain: "You are overthinking. Many students go alone."
"Do you still remember the letter that was sent with the admission notice? Many poor students travel thousands of miles to go to school alone."
When Lin Yi received the admission notice, it came with a pink copy paper document detailing the conditions and procedures for students from poor families to apply for university student loans, and urged freshmen not to give up their studies due to financial problems.
Moreover, the identification of poor students is not strict. Basically, as long as you can bring an official stamped statement from the local area, the school will recognize it.
If students have difficulty paying for travel to Beijing, they can contact the school in advance through the contact information left above to obtain help from the school.
When Father Lin and Mother Lin saw this, although they couldn't use it, they still felt very warm. Father Lin said with emotion, "Now is really a good time to study."
Yu Xiujuan was unmoved: "Our family hasn't reached that level yet. We don't need your dad's train ticket, and we don't want to take advantage of the country."
Lin Yi emphasized: "What I mean is that those classmates can report on their own, and I am already independent. Didn't I go on the last graduation trip by myself?"
"On the graduation trip, there were classmates from your class, such a big group of people."
The mother was worried when her son traveled thousands of miles, but Ms. Yu Xiujuan insisted: "It's your first time traveling far away, so let your dad take you there, otherwise we won't worry at home."
Lin Yi declined again. He had traveled back and forth between the two cities countless times.
"Let's just send you off this time. I'll come back after I send you to school. From now on, you can go alone." In the end, it was Lin Guoqing who made the final decision.
Lin Yiyi finally accepted this arrangement, but he still prevented him from bringing him almost a complete set of daily necessities because they would be available when school started.
Ms. Yu Xiujuan complained dissatisfiedly: "Even if you can buy things in school, those cheap ones are definitely not as comfortable as those at home..."
Despite this, she packed a lot of luggage in the end, filling two large suitcases, enough for each of the father and son.
In short, on the afternoon before the reporting day, Lin Yi, accompanied by Lin Guoqing, walked out of the house and embarked on the journey north.
The person who took them to the station was Lin Yi's uncle Cheng Shengli. On the way, Lin Guoqing asked him:
"Shengli, why did you come here by yourself? When I called Guofang, I told Xiaohui to drive us off if he had time."
Cheng Shengli waved his hand: "Xiao Hui's car has not dared to go on the road recently."
"It's the same thing if I'm here to see you off. As for Xiaojie being admitted to a key university in Beijing, I should give him an extra fee if any parents of high school students get on the bus, so that they can enjoy our family's happiness, hehe!"
The tendency to brag is not unique to Beijing taxi drivers. It should be regarded as an occupational disease. After all, it is quite boring to hold the steering wheel all day long.
Lin Guoqing also remembered the reason he said. Recently, a neighboring country that was living a good life was causing a scandal over the purchase of an island. The domestic public opinion was in an uproar, and people everywhere were agitated.
"The wind is very tight these days, so Xiaohui's Honda should be parked at home and not driven out."
"Who says it's not the case? He even covered it up with a car cover. And now he regrets it. If he had known better, he wouldn't have bought a Honda."
Although it caused some inconvenience in life, Cheng Shengli did not complain too much. Instead, he scolded a neighboring country for its shamelessness.
This incident is of far-reaching significance, not only bringing the relationship between the two countries to a freezing point, but also affecting the sales of Japanese cars in China for a long time.
If this can only be regarded as a passive resistance, then the truly exciting moment will have to wait until many years later when the domestic automobile industry has made great progress in the new energy track.
Lin thought about how angry he was in his previous life, but this time his heart was much calmer, and he just felt that the goal in front of him was clearer.
When getting off the bus, Lin Guoqing gave Cheng Shengli the fare after some back and forth, and then he and Lin Yi turned around and entered the station.
This year, Lin'an East Station, known as Asia's largest transportation hub, has not yet opened, and there is no direct high-speed rail from this city to Beijing.
So Lin Yi chose a night train that took him overnight. The whole journey took about thirteen hours.
They bought two hard sleeper tickets because Lin Yi could get a discount with his student ID card.
It was already evening when they got on the train, and they found the corresponding carriage. The hard sleeper had three bunks, upper, middle and lower. Lin Yi chose the lower bunk, and Lin Guoqing was in the middle bunk above him.
They had little communication with the other people in the same carriage. There were no secretive outsiders or dignitaries visiting incognito.
We are all ordinary travelers, passing by in separate directions.
They did not buy meals on the train. The father and son took out the buckets of instant noodles prepared by Ms. Yu Xiujuan and drank the boiling water on the train for dinner.
At about ten o'clock, the lights on the car gradually went out, and the staff checked the people according to the bunks and then everyone called it a day and rested.
This old-fashioned train is not quiet. It makes a loud rumbling sound while running, which makes Lin Yi, who is used to riding on the Fuxing, feel a little uncomfortable.
Late at night, Lin Yi listened to the noise from the train and the rhythmic snoring of the upper bunk. He tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, so he simply got up and opened the carriage door and walked to the aisle.
It was pitch black inside and outside the car window, and I couldn't see my fingers. Lin turned on his rice phone and took a look. It was two o'clock in the morning.
Calculating the time, the train should be running on the vast plains between the Huanghuai River and the Huaihe River at this moment. This place is fertile and rich and has been the home of farming civilization since ancient times.
In those unclear nights, there are villages and cities, fields and rivers, and people sleeping soundly.
Lin Yi stood there alone in a daze, imagining this quiet and peaceful scene, becoming more and more determined about his future.
I went all the way north, where there is a bigger world.