On the day I went to college, my father sent me to the train station. We carried our luggage and took a three-hour car ride to the provincial capital. The bus was half an hour later than the scheduled time, and when we hurried into the platform and got out of the car, there were only fifteen minutes left. Dad didn't like seeing him off, especially at the last minute. After he put all my luggage away, he got off the train quickly.
"Don't think too much about saving money. I'll send you money on the first day of next month."
With tears in my eyes, I nodded.
"Remember to open a bank account first, and deposit the money you have with you, so you don't lose it as soon as you go."
"oh."
"study well."
"Um."
"Xiaoqiu, we are going from a poor place to a big city, but we are poor and have a lot of ambition. Remember what my father said, you must be a man with propriety and integrity."
About integrity, my father said it hundreds of times from childhood to adulthood, as if he lived in the late Ming Dynasty. In fact, my father taught in the middle school in the small town where we lived. He himself was a college student in the city. He voluntarily went to the countryside in the year he was assigned. Then he married my mother and stayed in the countryside forever. Now he looks prematurely aged, and his beard is graying.
"Understood, Dad."
He smiled and said, "I'm leaving first, there are still classes in the afternoon."
After speaking, his figure quickly disappeared. Disappeared so quickly, before seeing my tears.
I took a crowded train and arrived in Beijing for three full days. Then, according to the instructions of the "admission notice", I took a few bus stops and finally arrived at S University. This is a normal university. In fact, my grades were more than enough to go to Peking University. I don’t know why Peking University didn’t admit me. The one who admitted me was my second choice, S Normal University. I applied for international economics, and the Department of International Economics did not admit me, but the Department of Foreign Languages admitted me. Although my foreign language is very good, I never thought of making it a career for the rest of my life. I entered the gate of S University with a sense of loss and frustration. After queuing up to complete the admission procedures, I walked through the green shade for a long time and found my dormitory.
The bedroom door was open. Six bunks unobstructed. The three lower berths were piled with luggage. Three girls were sitting by the shop talking and laughing. One of the tall ones turned to look at me and asked, "Are you a freshman?"
I nod.
"Which department?"
"Foreign Language Department."
She raised her eyebrows: "Which language?"
"English."
She pointed to one of the upper berths and said, "The lower berths are already occupied. The upper berths are still empty. You can choose one yourself."
She is beautiful. He has a high nose bridge, big eyes, fair skin, and an indescribably leisurely demeanor.
"What's your name?" she asked again.
"Xie Xiaoqiu."
"My name is Feng Jing'er. This is Wei Haixia, and this is Ning An'an. We are all locals." She pointed at two other stylishly dressed girls, "We are your roommates."
"Hello everyone."
"There will be another person from Shanghai moving in later. She has already arrived, so she has to go through some formalities." Ning Anan pointed to a pile of luggage at the foot of the door. After a while, she remembered something again, and she said: "There is another shop that will always be vacant. That's Liu Xuan's seat. She is Principal Liu's daughter-in-law, and her home is at the school. She probably lives at home most of the time."
"You guys knew each other before?" I asked softly.
"We're all in the same high school."
I didn't say anything else, I unpacked my luggage as quickly as possible, climbed onto the top bunk and started making the bed. My luggage was easy and the bed was made quickly.
Wei Haixia looked around and asked, "Hey... you didn't bring a tent?"
I shook my head: "No. Winter is coming, are there still mosquitoes here?"
Wei Haixia smiled lightly: "The tent is not used to keep out mosquitoes. The tent is a world, and inside is your privacy. You must have some privacy of your own, right?"
I realized that the words were not kind, and my back straightened immediately. I looked into her eyes and said, "I don't have much privacy."
The eyes of the three people alternated, and silent sentences were passed in their eyes.
In the end, Ning Anan smiled and said, "Don't look at this room on the fourth floor, it's very dusty. It's better to have a tent, so you can sleep clean. Everyone has a tent, and this room looks tidy. What do you think? That's right, What's your name?"
"Xie Xiaoqiu."
In the afternoon, I went to the grocery store and bought a mosquito net, which cost forty yuan. I went to buy textbooks for this school year again, and it cost me 130 yuan. Only thirty yuan was left on me. The school cafeteria is extremely expensive, and a meal costs at least two yuan.
Back in the girls' dormitory, the Shanghai girl was already sitting in the tent she had made. Her name is Xiao Rui, she is small, with milky white skin, long black hair, cross-legged, eating chocolate while sitting, like an elf.
"At night, there is a movie in the school auditorium. Tickets cost 3 yuan. Let's all go. After the movie is played, there will be a dance, ladies are free. Jing'er, is your bodyguard coming?" Ning Anan laughed.
"Okay!" Everyone raised their hands except me.
"Chocolate?" Xiao Rui handed me a piece, "Dove's. I don't eat other brands."
"Thank you, I... don't eat sweets much."
"Eat, why are you polite." She continued to stuff it into my hand.
"OK, thanks."
Xiao Rui let out a "tsk" while eating, and suddenly said: "I think it is reasonable to change the upper and lower bunk arrangements every semester? Upper bunk. The upper bunk last semester and the lower bunk next semester. Everyone has the opportunity to live in the lower bunk, so it’s only fair, Xiaoqiu, what do you think?”
I nod.
Feng Jinger's expression was a little uncomfortable, and Wei Haixia gave us an even more displeased look. Ning Anan smiled and said: "It's still early for the next semester, let's discuss it carefully after the next semester. Maybe by then you'll get used to living here and won't want to move out."
Xiao Rui took a bite of the chocolate: "I'm definitely willing to move down. I'm not used to living here now!" She stared at everyone, almost angrily.
Probably unable to resist the pressure of this gaze, Wei Haixia turned around and asked me: "What about you, Xiaoqiu, don't you want to live in the upper bunk?"
"I think Xiao Rui makes sense. It doesn't matter if you can't live in the upper bunk, the important thing is fairness."
"Let's go to the movies first." Ning An'an picked up her small satchel and walked out, followed by Feng Jing'er.
"Xiaoqiu, aren't you going?" Xiao Rui asked.
"I want to see a fellow countryman, tonight."
There was a sneer from outside the door, "I haven't started learning foreign languages yet, and I have forgotten Chinese grammar. Miss, the time phrase is in the front." It was Wei Haixia's voice.
In fact, I have already met my fellow villager Lin Qing. She and I come from the same small town. She is a fourth-year history student and is about to graduate soon. I met her in the afternoon, and after some pleasantries, I asked her how she lived in Beijing.
"Consumption here is too expensive, you have to work to make ends meet."
I felt the same way, and I quickly told her that most of the money I brought had been spent. She suddenly slapped her thigh and remembered something: "I knew there was a cafe that was recruiting people. I originally planned to go there. Because it was a bit far from the school and I had to take a bus four stops away, I changed my mind. What do you want?" Do you want to go? It’s a Starbucks, and I’m a waiter. I’m not tired, mainly the morning shift and night shift, and the hours are flexible. They like the students of the foreign language department because there are many foreigners there. If you want to go, tell me now, I have to go first Give someone a call."
It's really pie in the sky, I nodded again and again.
The fellow wrote a resume for me, lent me a set of clothes, and handed me a lipstick before leaving.
"We are from a small city, and our accent is rustic. If you don't dress fashionable, it will make people laugh. Do you speak Mandarin well?"
"It's okay. The accent is not too obvious."
"I don't talk if I roll my tongue. People here have to distinguish between in and ing."
"Be careful."
"Try to bring as much English as you can, don't tell the truth all the time, don't reveal your details. If you are honest, you will be bullied, understand?"
"Understood, thank you senior sister for reminding me." I made a grimace.
"The part-time workers in the cafe are all college students, earning decent money, so I'm not worried that you will learn bad things. Don't learn from the unprogressive girls in your department and music department. For high consumption, they are chickens and mistresses. Little San, do everything."
"oh."
After Lin Qing finished giving instructions, he went out and called me. Come back and tell me that the cafe has a three-day trial period, which starts tonight. He asked me if I would like to work the night shift. The night shift starts at six o'clock and ends at twelve o'clock in the middle of the night. No other slots are available.
Of course I would.