1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

At this time, the students quickly returned to their seats and the originally noisy classroom became quiet in an instant.

A middle-aged man in a navy blue Zhongshan suit and with his hair neatly combed strode into the classroom.

He has an upright posture, steady steps, and eyes that reveal depth and wisdom. This person is Xu Changqing, the head teacher of Class 3.

What was different was that Xu Changqing was holding a huge pile of books in his arms. The pile of books was stacked so high that it almost covered half of his face, but he walked steadily without any sign of panic.

Xu Changqing walked straight to the podium and gently placed the book in his arms on the podium. With a dull "bang" sound, some chalk dust was stirred up.

He raised his hand to brush off the dust, and slowly swept his eyes over every student in the audience. With a kind smile on his face, he said, "Students, welcome to our Class 3 and start this new learning journey. I am your class teacher, Xu Changqing. In the days to come, we will fight side by side."

His voice was deep and magnetic, echoing in the classroom with firmness and strength.

"In today's class, our main task is to distribute textbooks, and everyone can take this opportunity to get to know each other."

As he spoke, Xu Changqing began to call the roll one by one. Every time he called a name, he would carefully observe the corresponding student, his eyes full of expectation and inquiry, trying to get a preliminary understanding of the students in the class from this brief moment.

When the name "Li Weiguo" was read, a handsome and sturdy young man stood up from the stage. He had bright and determined eyes, and exuded a spirit of vigor and vitality.

Xu Changqing nodded secretly. He had heard before that Li Weiguo had excellent grades. Now that he saw him, he felt that this child was extraordinary.

It turns out that Xu Changqing, as a member of the National Mechanical Research Organization, is well aware of the value of talent.

Before school started, he had been keeping an eye on students with potential, and Li Weiguo naturally entered his field of vision early on.

Not only that, when he saw Lin Wanqing, Xu Changqing felt a surge of admiration in his heart.

He and Lin Wanqing's parents are old classmates. He is well aware of their silent contributions to the country's machinery industry, but due to the nature of their work, they keep their mouths shut. Even Lin Wanqing knows very little about his parents.

Now seeing his old friend's daughter pursuing this profession, Xu Changqing feels both pleased and moved.

After calling the roll, Xu Changqing began to distribute textbooks.

He carefully handed the books to the students one by one, and reminded them from time to time: "These lessons are not easy to come by, you must study hard."

"It's a bit difficult to learn the new courses. If you have any questions during your preparation, feel free to ask me."

The students took the new textbooks handed out by the teacher, held them carefully in their hands, and took even better care of them.

After handing out the textbooks, Xu Changqing talked about class management: "A class is like a small group. It needs a leader who can lead everyone forward."

He paused for a moment, his eyes fell on Li Weiguo again, "After my observation and previous understanding, I have decided to appoint Li Weiguo as the monitor of our Class 3."

As soon as these words were spoken, the classroom exploded.

Li Weiguo himself was both surprised and delighted. He never expected that he would have such an important responsibility in the first class of the first day of school.

He stood up and saluted the teacher and classmates a little stiffly: "Teacher Xu, classmates, I will live up to your expectations and work hard to serve the class."

The students looked up at Li Weiguo with different expressions. Some were full of surprise. Teacher Xu chose the class monitor so casually, without even asking any questions?

Some people feel a little envious and wonder why they don’t have such a good opportunity.

Others frowned slightly, secretly wondering about Li Weiguo's background.

Lin Wanqing was sitting in the front row. When she heard that Li Weiguo became the class monitor, her eyes were full of surprise, as if she had known that Li Weiguo must be so outstanding.

She looked back at Li Weiguo with light in her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and nodded gently, as if to encourage him.

Xu Changqing raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Classmates, I believe Li Weiguo has the ability. Everyone should work together. Our class three must become a model class in the school, train more mechanical talents for the country, and contribute to the construction of the motherland."

"Also, there will be a week of military training next. I hope that all students can participate in the training well, and hone their will while exercising their bodies."

When Li Weiguo learned about the military training, he was stunned.

In his original idea, students of this generation would start studying right after receiving their textbooks, but he did not expect that there would be a week-long military training waiting for them.

The next day, all the freshmen gathered in the playground, standing in neat rows according to their classes.

When all the students gathered together, Li Weiguo realized that there were quite a few college students in this era, more than a thousand.

Li Weiguo's outstanding height and strong physique made him the instructor's favorite at first sight, and he naturally became the military training monitor of Class 3 of the Mechanical Engineering Department, leading his classmates to embark on this special journey of hardship.

What surprised him but also made sense was that Zhang Jianguo became the squad leader of Class 2 thanks to his excellent military qualities acquired from growing up in a military family.

During the military training days, the sun was scorching and the earth was hot.

Every day before dawn, the loud wake-up call breaks the silence. The students hurriedly get up, tidy up their rooms, and rush to the playground to gather as quickly as possible.

Li Weiguo, standing at the front of the team, had a posture as straight as a pine tree. Whether standing at attention, at ease or marching, each of his movements was as standard as in a textbook, with both strength and beauty, and he easily won the first place in all the training for the first grade.

The eyes of his classmates looking at him were full of admiration and envy. Those who were usually a little arrogant and relied on their status and background had to be impressed by his strength and felt inferior to him.

The instructors were full of praise for Li Weiguo. Every time they demonstrated a move, they would call him out and ask him to show everyone the standard posture.

However, there is a small "problem" that makes Li Weiguo a little embarrassed, and that is his appetite.

In this era of relative material scarcity, which student who was able to get into university did not carry the expectations of the entire family and even the entire village?

We are all very frugal on weekdays, except for the first day of school, when we relaxed our appetite a little when we first tasted the food in the school cafeteria. After that, we try to save as much as possible on every meal.

But Li Weiguo was different. He ate an astonishing amount at every meal, which often attracted the attention of his classmates.

But Li Weiguo did not change himself because of other people's eyes. After all, his appetite was far more than what his classmates saw. He really didn't care what others thought of him.

At the same time, during the arduous training, Li Weiguo saw the tenacity in his classmates' bones.

Take Lin Wanqing for example. As one of the few girls in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the intensity of military training was quite high for her.

Standing in military posture under the scorching sun, her clothes soaked with sweat and her legs trembling, but she bit her lower lip tightly, her eyes revealing stubbornness, and she persisted without saying a word.

There were also many students who insisted on training while on an empty stomach. Some students even fainted from hunger, but would stand up again and continue training. Their unyielding spirit made people respect them.