Send your child to college Zhang Baotong

I remember more than 10 years ago at 10 o'clock in the evening on September 9, I took my son to Lanzhou by train. We slept in the sleeper all night, and it was 7 a.m. when we arrived in Lanzhou. When we got off the train, we saw that there were many universities in the square of the station that sent special buses to pick up new students. Seeing that there were a lot of people crowded into the bus, I took my son to school by bus. We didn't bring a lot of stuff, and I was carrying a duffel roll with a quilt, mattress, pillows, and mat. The son carried a travel bag, a backpack and a net bag in the other. The travel bag contained some change of clothes and some daily necessities, the backpack contained some school supplies, and the net pocket contained a washbasin and toiletries.

This is one of the more prestigious universities in the area, and the campus is very large, as if there are two campuses. The place where my son reported was the old campus. As soon as I entered the school, I saw a long line in front of the office building, and there was a large sign next to it that read "New Student Registration Office". So, my son and I waited in line to report for duty. There are a lot of people who have registered, not to mention hundreds of people. Most of these children come to send their children to college, and some parents come, but there are not many of them. Most of the parents are countrymen from poor areas, and many of them are still wearing the simple and old clothes and pants of the countrymen, and some people are wearing straw hats, and they look completely tired and tired. Presumably they had just gone through a long and arduous journey. These rural peasants in poor and remote areas bear a burden many times greater than others in order to send their children to college. They stood in the long queue with large bags on their backs and small bags on their backs, patiently waiting to report for the children. The children also seemed to come from the countryside or a small county town, and their clothes were equally simple. Carrying some light items, they stood silently beside their father, looking at the school in front of them with strange and respectful eyes. I saw a father holding a large bed roll and a heavy burden on his shoulders. The weight of the objects bent his waist, but he was able to endure and walk forward. And his son followed him with only a small bag and his head bowed. I really scolded him twice, I didn't know I felt sorry for my father when he was so old.

Although it was early September, the morning and evening temperatures were cooler, but the temperature was still very hot throughout the day. After a while in the sun, the fathers in line were almost all sweating profusely, constantly wiping the sweat from their foreheads and necks with their hands and clothes. But no one bought water to drink. Originally, I would have loved to buy a bottle of water for my son and myself. However, seeing that everyone didn't buy water, I had no choice but to persevere. Because I don't want my son to see that we are superior and special than others.

Many parents may have never been to a big city before, walk up to the front of the school, and still ask where the school is. You point him to the school gate, and he still doesn't dare to go inside. What they say is not understood by others, and what others say, he cannot understand. There was an old man with short stature, gray hair and tanned skin who reported to his daughter and didn't know what to do next. Carrying a large bag of luggage, he left here in a sweaty manner, and then ran back again, asking the staff three or four times in a row where to pay the fee. In the end, it was a parent who had finished reporting and took them away. These parents are not only poor, but also very humble, and they see everyone smiling humbly, because they have to ask for directions, how to pay the fees, how to ask about accommodation, and they need help everywhere. And their children, who soon became students at this university, showed some indifference and ignorance.

The progress of the registration office was very slow, from 8:30 to nearly 11 o'clock, before the registration, the registration office saw my son's admission letter, so we went to the electronics department to pay the fee. My son and I came to the Department of Electronics, and there were obviously fewer people here. So, we only waited for a minute or twenty and paid the tuition and living expenses. Then, my son and I went to the dormitory assigned by the school.

The dormitory is on the third floor of a four-story building. When I went up to the third floor, I saw that there were already many parents and children busy in various rooms. A middle-aged woman in her 40s spoke loudly to some students and parents in the hallway about the dormitory management rules, and said that if they were required to do laundry, they would have to pay a service fee of 20 yuan a month to the floor management. But I still want my son to wash his own clothes. When I entered my son's dormitory, there was a bunk bed in each of the four corners of the room. There was already a shelf bed outside, so I chose the one inside for my son. I put the luggage on my back under the bed, and without even taking a breath, I found a rag to wipe the bed board, then opened the luggage roll, climbed onto the shelf, laid the mattress and sheets on the bed, and then spread the mattress up, and placed the pillows and quilts neatly on the bed. At this time, my son also put away his school supplies and toiletries under the bed.

All the things that need to be done are almost done, and it's time for me to leave school. It was already noon, and I was tired and hungry, so I took my son to a restaurant in front of the school to eat. We each asked for a bowl of Lanzhou ramen, and a bowl was only 1.5 yuan, which was very cheap, because a bowl of ramen in Xi'an was at least two or three yuan. While eating, I asked a middle-aged man next to me about the local salary and consumption in Lanzhou. He told me that the average salary in Lanzhou is only more than 400 yuan. I was taken aback when I heard it, because it was almost twice as bad as Xi'an. At that time, my salary was more than 1,700, almost four times their average salary. So, after eating, I took out 400 yuan from my pocket and gave it to my son, saying that it was his living expenses for a month. I think the average salary of Lanzhou citizens is only 400 yuan, and they still have to support their families. And I also inquired, and the students' food expenses for a month are about 150 yuan, which is enough for him. The son didn't speak, but put the money in his pocket.

I want to catch the train from Lanzhou to Xi'an in the afternoon, before breaking up with my son, I said something to my son asking him to study hard and ask for progress, and my son kept nodding his head, as if he did not feel lonely and panicked about my departure, but had a feeling that he had been under the care of his parents for many years, and now he can finally fly freely. Actually, I know how many times I've said this kind of thing in the past, but now I want to tell it again in earnest, otherwise, I don't feel at ease. My son said how old I was and I knew what to do.

My son and I broke up at the bus stop, and even though I told him so much, I still didn't know what would happen to him. However, on second thought, we have spent a lot of effort for our son over the years, and our responsibilities have almost been fulfilled, and now that our son's wings are stiff, and it is time for him to fly on his own, what will happen to his life path depends entirely on his own ability. With that in mind, I got on the bus. When I came to the station, there happened to be a train to Xi'an parked on the platform, because I used a railway pass, so I immediately got on the train.