The 70s Novel: The Supporting Character Just Wants to Lie Down-Chapter 66: Crowded Dorm Registration on Opening Day

The Provincial High School in City J has an old teaching building with a long history. As you enter the school gate, you see an ancient tree towering above, its branches thick and flourishing. Under the tree’s shade is a circle of tables, surrounded by a crowd of people, apparently the place for registration.

Yang Zhigang did not drive the car in, as the alley at the school gate was too narrow, it couldn’t be driven through.

He and Wang Baoxing were each carrying a sack of grain, Wang Jia Bao and Liu Yulan each holding a large parcel, Wang Miaomiao and Wang Pandi ahead, each carrying a small bag.

You register with the admission notice, exchange grain for grain coupons, receive the dormitory key, a one-stop service.

Wang Miaomiao and the others arrived relatively early, assigned to Dorm 202, the second room upstairs on the second floor.

The room door was already open, and upon seeing the inside, she couldn’t help but frown.

Just moments earlier, she had been looking at the campus buildings outside, thinking they were okay, but didn’t expect the student dormitory to be so...

The small room was packed to the brim. To the left was a row of four bunk beds; it seemed eight people would live in one room. To the right was a row of large wardrobes, corresponding to the eight bed spaces. In the middle was a row of eight tables...simple and straightforward.

Now, there were already four students in the room, the lower bunk beds were occupied, and together with the adults there were about ten people, noisy and crowded; Wang Miaomiao watched and couldn’t help but feel headache.

"Dad, my mom and I will go in, you wait downstairs first, it’s too crowded inside." Wang Miaomiao took the large parcel from Wang Baoxing’s hand, a parcel that Wang Baoxing had handed over after exchanging grain with Liu Yulan.

Liu Yulan also took the parcel from Wang Jia Bao’s hand and the bag from Wang Pandi’s hand, waved them to go downstairs, and squeezed into the dormitory with Wang Miaomiao.

"Miaomiao, which bed would you like to choose?" Liu Yulan entered the room and couldn’t help but frown as well, it was too noisy and the parents had placed things haphazardly, all over the tables.

"I’ll stay in Bed Number One, it’s more peaceful inside." Bed Number One was the innermost, by the window.

"Hello, my name’s Wang Miaomiao, I want to stay on your upper bunk, could you help move the table a bit?" Because a row of tables was blocking the middle, and Wang Miaomiao found the bed side crowded, she went along the wardrobe side and reached the end, realizing she couldn’t go further.

"Oh, sorry." There were some belongings on the two tables, it seemed they belonged to a shy girl, "My name’s Liu Ying, how do you want to move them?" She swept all the items on the table onto the bed, looked at the table awkwardly, unsure of what to do. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Wang Miaomiao put down her parcel, smiled, "Let’s do it together. Turn your table, place it against your bed head, and put another one parallel. This gives us a pathway to walk through on this side. Otherwise, every time we go to the wardrobe side, we’d have to take a detour..."

"Yeah, you’re so smart." Liu Ying, petite and delicate, smiled showing a cute little tiger tooth.

The two worked together, quickly rearranging the tables. The tables weren’t large, each about eighty centimeters, placed side by side under the window, leaving a pathway of eighty centimeters to the right. The wardrobe had double doors, with each door forty centimeters wide, open and close unaffected.

Nearby parents, seeing their operation, happily exclaimed, "Hey, this method’s great, let’s make some changes too."

Several parents then worked together to make major adjustments to the room. With this, each bed space was separated by a space, making it look much roomier.

Liu Yulan watched as her daughter’s method was adopted by everyone else, smiling with loving affection, thinking: her daughter is indeed smart.

September days were still hot, and with many people in the room, Wang Miaomiao soon felt stuffy and hurried to open the window to let some air in.

The beds were wooden, sized one meter twenty by one meter eighty. In this weather, a cotton mat would suffice. Once everything was organized, Wang Miaomiao said her goodbyes to Liu Ying as they still needed to go to No. 1 Middle School.

In no time, three more people had entered the dormitory, creating a noisy atmosphere, and she wasn’t in the mood to meet classmates. She’d wait until they were settled when she returned.

Walking out of the dormitory building, Wang Miaomiao took a deep breath, feeling concerned about her future living quality.

Three women together make a drama, eight women together, ha...

No. 1 Middle School was just two streets away from the Provincial High School, with newer buildings, and dormitory conditions also better than the Provincial High School; rooms housing only four people, with a tiny balcony in them.

Wang Miaomiao felt envious, if she had known she would’ve applied to No. 1 Middle School.

At No. 1 Middle School, she ran into her second uncle’s family again; Jia Bao and Jian Min weren’t in the same dormitory, which was a bit of a shame, but they were in adjacent dorms and even in the same class, which wasn’t bad.

Both No. 1 Middle School and the Provincial High School had weekday schedules, out at 2 PM Saturday, resting on Sunday, and back to class on Monday. With just that one day, going home meant spending most of the day there.

Whether traveling from Red Star Town to the city, or vice versa, buses operated at 9 AM and 3 PM.

Too rushed, Wang Miaomiao, hearing this, didn’t feel like returning, she quietly tugged Liu Yulan’s sleeve, frustrated, "Mom, it’s too rushed, all time spent traveling, how will I have time to draw? The dorm is full, drawing in front of everyone isn’t ideal if people find out."

Liu Yulan, hearing this, frowned as well, unsure of what to do, "Why don’t you go home once a month?"

"Sigh, if only I could rent a room outside." Wang Miaomiao casually suggested, having thought of this after seeing the dormitory conditions.

"No, it’s too dangerous living alone outside." Liu Yulan immediately vetoed.

"But there’s my little brother." Wang Miaomiao tried to negotiate again.

Liu Yulan disdainfully glared at her son hopping around ahead, "He’s no help. Why not live at your second uncle’s home?"

"I don’t want to, it’s too much trouble for them; it’s not just for a day or two." Wang Miaomiao shook her head in refusal, sighing inwardly that it’s unlikely; her suggestion surely wouldn’t be approved, she’d just have to endure it, "I’ll go home once a month then, and paint at school on Sundays."

Liu Yulan didn’t push further, living at her second brother’s home would be fine occasionally, but frequent stays over long periods might lead to opinions from her sister-in-law, better not.

Liu Yulan thought for a bit, took out ten yuan and some grain coupons, handed them over, "Since you’ll be going home monthly, keep these, treat yourself at the state-run restaurant on Sundays, don’t let yourself suffer."

"Thanks, mom." Wang Miaomiao accepted without fuss, knowing that having money while away from home brought security.

At noon, the two families dined together again, at the table, Wang Miaomiao mentioned going home only monthly, drawing a deeply wronged, abandoned look from Wang Jia Bao.