"Senior Baolin, Senior Xiangyu, isn't this building a teaching building? Should we register here?"
Seeing that Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu were getting more and more excited with his joining, they started talking about everything from the local customs of Anhui province to ancient and modern history, and even forgot to look at the road.
Chen Yang, looking at the familiar teaching building in his memory, finally couldn't help but speak.
If he didn't speak up now, the two would have led him straight to the dormitory building. Although Chen Yang knew which dormitory he would be assigned to, he hadn't registered yet.
He couldn't just walk up and tell Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu that he knew he would be assigned to Room 102 in Building 6, could he?
"Ah, sorry, sorry. When I talk about home, I just get carried away."
"Younger brother Chen Yang, to be honest, I've been away at school for two years, and this is the first Chinese New Year I've returned home. It's been a year and a half since I last went back, and I miss home so much."
"Let's go, let's go. We'll register quickly. After we register and get our meal tickets and subsidies, we'll first settle down in the dormitory, and then we'll take you to the cafeteria. We can chat on the way."
Liu Xiangyu's family was very poor, so poor that their house was almost bare.
He had eight siblings. Liu Xiangyu was the third child, but his elder two were sisters who were already married. Now, he was the eldest son at home.
When he went out to study, his family still lived in a mud house with a thatched roof. It rained heavily outside, and it dripped lightly inside.
His parents worked to support the remaining five younger siblings. The money Liu Xiangyu used for high school was borrowed from the villagers by his father.
Fengyang was truly a poor place. Otherwise, the villagers of Xiaogang Village wouldn't have written letters with their own blood and stamped their fingerprints to implement the household contract responsibility system. If they could survive, who would take such a risk?
Liu Xiangyu's shirt was patched. On the welcoming day, everyone would wear their best clothes, which showed the situation of Liu Xiangyu's family.
The subsidy and food coupons he received from school, except for his own meals, were all sent home.
He knew that if it were not for his parents, his five younger siblings would not have enough to eat, let alone the large amount of money borrowed for his education.
Therefore, even though he missed home very much, Liu Xiangyu only returned home for Chinese New Year in the first year. In the following years, he stayed at the school library during both Chinese New Year and summer vacation.
Besides improving his studies, he also helped organize books in the library. The school not only provided three meals a day but also an additional subsidy of ten yuan per month.
If he went home, he would have to spend money on return tickets and eat his family's food. By not going home, he not only got free meals but also saved the cost of tickets and received an extra ten yuan subsidy per month.
In his previous life, he worked until graduation and earned money to pay off his family's debts. Before that, Liu Xiangyu never went home, just to save some money and reduce his parents' burden.
Although he didn't go home, Liu Xiangyu cared about his family's situation very much. His elderly parents couldn't write, and his fourth brother had finished junior high school. However, his parents often reported good news and hid bad news.
Every letter he received said not to worry, to study hard at school, not to send money home often, and that they could support the family.
Liu Xiangyu eagerly wanted to learn about the real situation of his hometown from Chen Yang, as Chen Yang was one of the few fellow villagers he had met. He was afraid his parents were living a hard life in their hometown but didn't want him to worry, so they deliberately hid it from him.
"Senior Xiangyu, it's okay. After we settle down, I'll treat you and Senior Baolin to a meal. Don't refuse. It'll be a simple meal at the cafeteria.
Let's chat together. Chen Yang can talk to Senior Xiangyu about home, and Senior Baolin and Senior Xiangyu can give me some advice on what to pay attention to at school."
Chen Yang also learned some information about them from the conversation between Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu.
It was fortunate that Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu were still students and didn't have the sophistication they would later develop; otherwise, Chen Yang might not have learned these things.
After registering, Chen Yang received his subsidy and meal tickets, and threw his luggage onto an empty bed in the dormitory. He was the first to arrive, so he took the best bed. After throwing down his luggage, Chen Yang didn't care about anything else.
He pulled Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu to the cafeteria. It was just mealtime, so Chen Yang took the meal boxes of the three of them and ordered two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.
He naturally wouldn't be stingy with food expenses. If the cafeteria had trays, Chen Yang would have ordered four or five dishes without blinking.
However, his generous gesture made Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu feel a bit embarrassed.
A portion of braised pork cost eighty cents, and the asparagus chicken was one yuan per portion. Only the baby cabbage was cheap, costing five cents per portion.
Rice didn't cost money; it was exchanged for food coupons. For every two taels of rice, two taels of food coupons were given.
Not only did he get two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, but Chen Yang also went to the school cooperative and bought three bottles of Zhengguanghe. Unlike Beibingyang, which was popular in the north, Zhengguanghe salt soda in Shanghai clearly had a geographical advantage.
With this meal alone, it cost over two yuan. Even Wang Baolin, who was from Shanghai and whose family wasn't so tight on money, had never been so extravagant as to spend over two yuan on a single meal.
Keep in mind that the subsidy the school provided was only 21 yuan per month, averaging about seventy cents per person per day for living expenses, and only a little over twenty cents per meal.
It could be said that Chen Yang's meal cost about the same as ten ordinary meals.
Of course, the subsidies the school provided were not just for food. Although tuition was free, students had to spend money on stationery, pens, ink, scratch paper, and daily necessities like thermoses, kettles, enamel basins, towels, toothbrushes, and hot water.
There were many expenses, otherwise, the school wouldn't have distributed the subsidies and food coupons directly to the students upon registration, considering that many students from rural areas had very poor families and might not have money.
"Chen Yang, you're spending too much. We still need to eat. We know you want to thank us, but it's only your first day here. We still need to eat later. Let's split the cost of today's meal three ways."
Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu looked at the fragrant braised pork and asparagus chicken, their mouths watering.
Although the school provided subsidies, there were many stationery items to buy. They didn't spend much on food. Even Wang Baolin, who didn't have to worry about his family, probably only ate a meat dish once a week.
It was even more so for Liu Xiangyu. Every time, he only used food coupons to get noodles or steamed buns, which could be eaten without dishes.
Occasionally, he would get a portion of vegetables just for the flavor. As for meat dishes, he could rarely afford them. The last time he ate a meat dish was during Chinese New Year.
Since he couldn't go home on New Year's Eve, Liu Xiangyu gritted his teeth and ordered a portion of braised pork and a dish of vegetables to celebrate the New Year!
Even so, Liu Xiangyu didn't complain. Chen Yang was generous, and they couldn't just watch Chen Yang run out of money later. There were many expenses at the beginning of the semester.
Liu Xiangyu gritted his teeth. He wouldn't eat vegetables this week and would just eat steamed buns to save the seventy cents. The money sent home couldn't be touched.
"Senior Baolin, Senior Xiangyu, don't worry about me not having money. I sincerely want to treat you to a meal. I have money."
Chen Yang lightly showed the more than ten large "Da Tuan Jie" bills in his pocket. While the saying goes that wealth should not be flaunted, it depends on the person.
Besides, he only showed a little over a hundred yuan. He didn't believe that the two university students would do anything that would ruin their future for such a small amount of money.
It was just a meal, and Chen Yang could afford it.
Wang Baolin and Liu Xiangyu were stunned when they saw the amount of money Chen Yang had. In those days, "Da Tuan Jie" was not a small sum.
With more than ten "Da Tuan Jie" bills, it was hard to tell that this junior fellow student was quite well-off.