Time flew by, and soon it was the start of the college entrance examinations. Due to regional differences and a shortage of personnel in charge, the timing and methods of the college entrance exams varied across different locations.
Nationally, the earliest exams began on November 28th, and the latest concluded on December 25th, spanning a full month.
There were also specific age restrictions.
Generally, the age limit was set at twenty-five years old, with special cases for those with exceptional abilities being extended to thirty.
Whether one was married or not was irrelevant.
Zhu Wenxi, the oldest among the educated youths, had previously stated he was thirty-two. However, this was his age in traditional Chinese reckoning (xu sui). In Western reckoning (zhou sui), he had just turned thirty but had not yet reached thirty-one. With the village head's assistance, he ultimately qualified.
It would have been a shame if his years of effort yielded nothing.
If he had been unable to participate in the college entrance exams.
He would likely have gone mad!
Regardless, all the educated youths from Dawang Village and eligible local villagers successfully registered and participated in the exams.
After the exams, most people felt both confident and anxious. Confident because they knew most of the questions and believed they had answered correctly, yet anxious because even with certainty, they worried about the outcome.
After all, their future hinged on this.
However, no matter how much they fretted internally, life had to go on, and time continued to pass slowly.
Before long, they began filling out their university applications.
Then came waiting for their scores and admission letters.
Even if the educated youths and villagers of Dawang Village weren't geniuses, they at least had sufficient preparation time and ample revision materials, which put them ahead of over eighty to ninety percent of other competitors.
Therefore, the results were as expected.
All of them were admitted.
The lowest score was adjusted to a teaching program.
In the initial years of the college entrance exams, talent was primarily channeled into normal schools (teacher training colleges) because those years saw a severe shortage of teachers and qualified educational professionals. Those who chose "adjust to any program" and had reasonably good scores were generally assigned to programs like teaching.
This brought joy to some and regret to others. Those who were glad simply to have a place to study were content.
Those who truly did not want to be teachers, however, regretted their decision.
If they had known, they likely wouldn't have selected the adjustment option.
But whether they were glad or regretful, the situation was irreversible, and admission letters began to arrive one by one.
Amidst the excitement, there was an unavoidable sense of sadness at parting. Many had lived together for ten years, and the shortest period was two to three years.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that some couples had not spent as much time together as they had. Though they were all happy for each other's future endeavors, a deep sadness at parting was inevitable.
However, no matter how sad or reluctant they felt.
It couldn't delay their reporting dates. So, they eventually exchanged addresses, hoping to stay in touch and perhaps reunite years later.
It must be said, societal development is peculiar.
In an era when staying in touch after parting was extremely difficult, people's emotions were genuine. After many years, they would still find ways to reconnect, or shed tears upon meeting.
Even reminiscing over a few old items.
Yet, in an era where one could connect instantly even across vast distances, or have video calls, people might become less inclined to keep in touch, resorting to mere pleasantries during festivals.
Or perhaps even forgetting each other entirely.
As time went on, admission letters arrived one after another, and people gradually left.
Before long, Ding Yun also received her letter.
After bidding farewell to everyone, she boarded the green-skinned train to report to school.
In truth, whether Ding Yun went to university or not was inconsequential to her. Even without a degree, she could easily achieve a comfortable life or become a minor magnate through her existing "expiring inventory sales network."
She decided to take the exams because during those years, the free market was still somewhat restricted. Large-scale reselling still carried risks.
Plus, she had nothing better to do.
So, she decided to pursue a university degree. She reasoned that within four years, the free trading market would likely be largely liberalized, and she could then leverage her expiring inventory sales network for development.
...
University life was not as idle as Ding Yun had imagined. This was because teachers at major universities quickly realized that the quality of students in this cohort was significantly lower than that of students a decade earlier. Furthermore, the teachers themselves were beginning to fall behind the world, lacking knowledge of many cutting-edge global advancements and struggling to obtain relevant materials.
Many students also recognized their own shortcomings, realizing their foundational knowledge was not very solid.
Simultaneously, grasping advanced knowledge proved to be quite difficult.
Consequently, most universities operated in a state where teachers were not only teaching diligently but also striving to collect cutting-edge information and teach themselves, while students spared no effort and seized every moment to learn, and learn again.
Those who slacked off were considered anomalies.
In this environment, Ding Yun naturally felt it inappropriate to continue slacking. Coupled with her realization that she was unlikely to establish a dedicated company specifically for selling near-expiry food in the future.
She decided that selling technology products would be more straightforward and profitable.
Therefore, she soon began to study diligently, not only the existing curriculum but also the inventory technology data she gathered from her expiring inventory sales network. She even purchased outdated technological products, dismantled them for research, and created schematics, preparing for her future entrepreneurial endeavors.
The expiring inventory sales network was not limited to food.
It also included near-expiry inventory of various daily chemical products, and even technological products. For instance, after the development of smartphones, the older button phones naturally became inventory. With the rapid pace of phone upgrades, older models also became inventory.
This principle applied to other areas as well.
For example, once spaceships capable of faster-than-light travel became invented and widespread, those limited to light speed would simply become backlog inventory.
Such products were all available on the expiring inventory sales network.
The only difference was that Ding Yun could afford to buy inventory phones, but she couldn't afford inventory-stuffed spaceships.
However, not being able to afford them now.
Did not mean she would never be able to afford them in the future.
With diligent study, time passed quickly, and four years felt like the blink of an eye.
After graduation, Ding Yun did not opt for postgraduate studies.
Nor did she accept the job assignment.
Instead, she immediately ventured into entrepreneurship. Utilizing the various patent knowledge she had accumulated over four years, she first sold some patents on the international market, earning her initial capital.
She then used this initial capital to purchase production lines.
And established a technology research and development company.
The patents she sold were for MP3 technology, and the products she manufactured on her own production lines were MP4 and MP5.
She effectively swindled the buyers of her patents.
After all, with P4 and P5 already available, who would buy a P3?
Even if someone did, sales would be difficult to boost.
From there, her development proceeded methodically. With the expiring inventory sales network, and the ability to directly dismantle and replicate various products within it, Ding Yun was always one step ahead, even a step ahead of the world. A company developed in such a manner was destined to grow.
Before long, the company became a multinational corporation.
In less than ten years, it officially entered the Fortune Global 500 list and continued its rapid ascent.
At this point, her stepmother and stepsister had no standing even to look up to her, and thus, her commission was considered complete.