There are two flowers, one on each branch. Apricot got her wish and was admitted to Hebei Institute of Technology, and the golden phoenix flew out of the ravine, the glory of the family, the whole village rejoiced, and it was passed on as a beautiful talk. When school started, Xing's father must personally escort his daughter to the provincial capital to sign up for school. Relatives are like this, and apricots are naturally welcome. Xing's father thought: After the reform and opening up, the mountain people became rich, and my daughter was the first in the village to be admitted to university; But no one in the village has ever been to the provincial capital, and I want to be the first mountain person to enter the provincial capital, and when I come back, I can show off in front of the villagers. Xing also has her own ideas: in the past, when she signed up for the start of school, whether it was junior high school or high school, it was Tao, Li and Xing who went together, and Li carried heavy things such as backpacks alone, and she and Tao only carried schoolbags and odd things; Now that Tao and Li have fallen off the list, she is the only one who has been admitted to the university, and when the school starts, Tao and Li can't even see a shadow, of course, she also understands their mood and practices. However, let her go to such a distant and strange place alone, alone, without even someone to talk to, she is really not used to it, and it is inevitable that she will feel sad and desolate; With her father by her side, she helped her carry things, talk, and run errands all the way, so as not to be cranky and lonely.

The father and daughter came to the provincial capital for the first time, looking at the neat and wide roads, lively and bustling streets, high-rise buildings such as forests, dazzling shops and department stores, endless streams of all kinds of cars, handsome men and women like flowers, fashion show clothes, dizzying. However, the apricots have not yet signed up for the school, and they dare not delay much outside, for fear of missing the registration time, so they have to ask all the way to the Provincial Institute of Technology. Seeing that it was a new student from the mountainous area, who had a difficult journey and was not familiar with the environment of the school, the college immediately came up with a few classmates, helped them take their things, took them to register, arranged the dormitory, and took them to the canteen to eat, so that they felt cordial, enthusiastic and grateful.

After lunch, my father said to Xing: "It's not easy to come to the provincial capital, and no one has been here in our spring breeze for several lifetimes." Today, thanks to the blessing of reform and opening up, you were admitted to the university, and our father and son came to the provincial capital together, I want to take a good look at what the provincial city looks like, and when I return home, I can also talk to the villagers; Otherwise, if you don't know what to ask, won't you come here in vain? The folks will laugh at me, too. You are literate and educated, so go out with me and have a look. Xing was embarrassed and said: "The provincial city is so big, we are not familiar with it, where is the scenery good, where are the places of interest, we don't know, where to go?" My father thought for a while and said, "Our county is the largest county party committee, and the provincial capital is naturally the largest provincial party committee." In my opinion, let's go to the compound of the provincial party committee to have a look. Xing said: "The compound of the provincial party committee is the office of the leaders of the provincial party committee, and I am afraid that people will not be allowed to go in and see it casually." The father said, "What are you afraid of?" We are poor middle peasants, and we are not bad people, even if Chairman Mao is alive, he will let us in. You come with me, to the place, and I will tell them. Xing didn't know whether the provincial party committee compound would be allowed to enter casually, and since her father had to go, she had to agree to accompany her.

The father and daughter were instructed to take the bus for two stops, and after getting off the bus, they walked a short distance to the gate of the provincial party committee. Xing looked at the signs on both sides of the gate and said to her father, "This is the compound of the provincial party committee." "When my father looked up, he saw that the gatehouse was tall and magnificent, and there were people standing guard on both sides; Inside the compound, high-rise buildings, solemn and majestic, do not hear the noise, the staff wear suits and leather shoes, and there are cars in and out from time to time. He didn't feel a little timid. Xing saw his father's expression and said, "This is the office of the leaders of the provincial party committee, you see, there are still people standing guard; We don't have anything to do, what are we going to do in there? Just take a look outside. The father did not give up and said, "Since you have come, you should go in and have a look." In this life, I have finally been to the provincial capital and seen the big leaders. "Pull the apricot and go straight inside.

As soon as they reached the gate, they were stopped by the guard on duty and said, "What is the matter with you?" Who are you looking for? Go there and register first. Xing's father said: "I am a poor middle peasant in Daliang Mountain, and I sent my daughter to the provincial capital to go to university. The officer on duty smiled and said, "This is the important office of the provincial party committee, and I refuse to visit." If there's nothing to do, please go back. He was still arguing, but Xing grabbed him and said: "People have made it clear that this is the important office of the provincial party committee, and they are not allowed to visit." Let's go to the mall and have the right clothes, and buy one or two for mom and brother. The father had no choice but to follow his daughter out, and he muttered as he walked: "The poor and middle peasants are not allowed to enter, and there is really no distinction between good and bad people." ”

When the father and daughter came to the department store, they saw that the goods were abundant, the variety was complete, and the dazzling array was dazzling. The father wants to buy Xing a new dress, and he thinks that his daughter should dress better now that she is in college, so they find a place to sell clothes. Unlike the rural shops, where the clothes are placed on the counter, they are hung on the racks of clothes in separate categories, so you can pick them up and try them on. Xing's father saw a fur coat and stepped forward to identify it, and recognized it as a fox skin; Said to Xing: "This is the fox fur produced in our Daliang Mountain, and it is really beautiful to make a fur coat!" You see how much it is, it's suitable, I'll buy you one. You're a college student now, and you have to dress well so that you can't be looked down upon by the people in the city. Xing looked at the price and said to her father with a smile: "I'm afraid you are stingy and reluctant to buy it for me." The father said, "I am reluctant to buy it for you, but to whom?" You are our family, and you are also the first college student in the spring breeze, wearing it on you is not only our glory, but also the glory of the whole village! Apricot said, "Do you know how much this fox fur coat costs?" Eighteen thousand! "What? Eighteen thousand! The father was stunned and said, "The fox skins I sell are only twenty or thirty yuan each, and ten are only two or three hundred yuan, plus the manual cost of fabrics, it is only a few hundred yuan; How could they ask for eighteen thousand? It's so expensive! It's scary! It's better to wait for the winter vacation, I'll take you to our county seat to buy it, where clothes are not too expensive. Apricot said, "Got it?" This is the difference between urban and rural areas. Your little money, in our village is quite rich, when you come to the provincial capital, you are really a poor middle peasant! The father smiled and asked the apricot: "It's so expensive, and someone buys it?" You say, "How do the people of this city make their money?" A dress is 18,000 yuan, how long does it take? All year round, I farm, hunt, and collect medicine, and I feel that I have made a lot of money, but I can't even afford a piece of clothing, which is really annoying! Xing shook her head: "I don't know how people in the city make money." Since there are shops that sell this kind of clothes, someone must buy them, otherwise, the owner of the mall will not spend money to come in and hang it here for nothing. A gentleman loves money and takes it in a good way. They have their own way of making money, we just don't know. The father said, "You inquire carefully in the provincial capital, you have learned, go home and teach me, and in the future, we will also learn to make a lot of money!" Xing shook his head and said: "The people in the city are educated, understand technology, are well-informed, unfathomable, and calculating, but I am afraid that we mountain people will not be able to learn; If anyone can learn it, then who wants to stay in the mountains, stay in the countryside, and not run to the city?" The father was puzzled and asked, "Can you learn?" What could that be? I'm afraid that you need a high level of cultural knowledge to learn. Xing still shook her head and said, "I don't know for the time being, maybe I won't know until I graduate from college, because I want to stay in the city in the future." The father said, "Yes, you are a college student, of course you should stay in the city to work, otherwise, after so many years of study, you will study so many books, it will be in vain." It's better to stay in the city and make a lot of money! ”

Xing and her father walked around the provincial capital for a long time, and finally found a street stall selling clothes in an alley, with many clothes hanging on the stands. After looking at it, the style and color were not bad, and the price was not too expensive, so my father bought a gown and a pair of pants for Xing. He instructed his daughter: "There is little money in our mountains, and the clothes in the big shopping malls are too expensive, so we can't afford them; If you want to buy clothes in the future, you can buy them here, and we can afford to buy clothes here. Apricot nodded in agreement. I thought to myself, the clothes here are all stalls, and rich people will not come here to buy clothes; It is probably bought exclusively for people with little money. It seems that there are also poor people in the big cities, who wear such clothes.

Seeing off her father, Apricot's college life began. She still wakes up early and goes to bed late as she did in high school, and studies cultural and scientific knowledge diligently. In the morning, when other classmates were still sleeping and snoring under the covers, she would read foreign languages or memorize articles aloud on the playground; In the evening, other classmates have fallen asleep, and she has to recall the homework of the day in her mind, and she will think and study the topics repeatedly and carefully, sometimes the concept is blurred, and she has to turn on the flashlight and open the book to check. The credo she followed is still the motto taught to her by her elementary school teacher: "Today is done". During class, she listened carefully, took notes carefully, and was never late or absent from class. On Sundays, when other classmates went shopping, or watched movies and music, she always soaked in the library, reading, checking materials, and taking notes, and stayed all day. The hard work pays off, although her grades are not the best, her current grades are the top in the class, and she is the top few in every exam, even the students who were admitted to key high schools in provincial cities sighed to themselves.

However, she also has many things that are inferior to others, such as literature and art, sports, leisure and entertainment, and her knowledge and skills are much worse than her classmates in big cities. She still can't dance, and she can't even tell what kind of dance other students are dancing. In terms of music, she can't read music, let alone play the piano, and she learns a few popular songs from the radio, but she doesn't dare to sing them in front of her classmates, because she goes out of tune when she sings, which makes her classmates laugh; As for the music of foreign composers such as Beethoven and Mozark, she was even more incomprehensible. Therefore, she would rather hum a mountain village tune behind her back, listen to local opera, and go to a concert. In terms of sports, she can only run, do radio gymnastics, and not many other things, and even many sports equipment can't be named. I don't know anything about the popular styles and colors of painting, makeup, and clothing.

Although Xing has many inferior points, she is not inferior and discouraged. She thought, you have your advantages, I have my advantages; Your advantage is to show your face more on the stage, on the stadium, and win more applause; My advantage is major, the school has to take exams, and if you get credits, you will be assigned jobs in the future, and it should be based on your professional grades, not your cultural and sports grades, because we are an engineering college. However, since she came to the provincial capital and the provincial institute of engineering, she is surrounded by modern atmosphere every day, and she is not immutable, and she is also unconsciously changing her understanding and life. For example, when she saw some female classmates wearing a new fashion, perming their hair and putting on makeup, other classmates looked at her with envy, and she also felt very beautiful and envious; Some of her classmates can sing pop songs, dance modern dances, and perform on the stage, receiving bursts of applause, she also feels very beautiful, very envious, and wants to learn. However, her life remained the same, and little has changed. The reasons are manifold. First of all, it is an economic problem, because it costs money to buy new clothes, perms, and cosmetics, and the family only gives her 100 yuan a month for living expenses, even if she saves money, the rest of the money is only enough to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste, take a bath, and take the bus; If I wanted to buy a dress, I had to go to a stall to buy it. The second is the shyness of the mountain people. Although I watched other classmates singing and dancing beautifully and fashionably, I didn't dare to study openly, I sang twice when no one was around, twisted a few times, and stopped as soon as people came, and people asked what they were doing, and said they didn't do anything. And then there's her habituality. Although she studied very hard, and sometimes even forgot to sleep and eat, she was used to it, and she did not feel hard, and even felt very proud and fulfilled.

Other students have different opinions on apricots. Some students think that it is not easy for a girl in the mountains to study so hard and achieve such excellent grades! Although she dresses simply and does not pay attention to grooming herself, judging from her face, skin color, and figure, she is still a beauty. Some classmates think on the contrary, thinking that they are so old-fashioned, so hardworking, so simple and unpretentious, although their face and figure are all beautiful women, they dress themselves up as nuns, they only know how to practice, they don't understand life, so people dare not get close, which is really unsatisfactory and out of place. even called her a "learning machine" behind her back, thinking that although she has good academic performance, she may not be a good student, and she may not have a good future in the future, because she does not know how to cater to the times and keep pace with the times.

These comments, from time to time, will also float into Xing's ears, making her happy and annoyed, causing her to think deeply and change.