Ji Zhuxin also received a letter. As soon as she saw the contents of the package, she was both happy and heartbroken over the expense—how much money must this have cost?
She rambled on in her reply, telling Ji Zhaoxi not to waste money buying things for her. The cost of living in Shanghai was high, so she should keep the money for herself.
She also mentioned that living in the village was inconvenient, so she had rented a place in the county town. It had two rooms, and she told her to come straight to this new house during the holidays.
Ji Zhuxin also brought up Qin Du.
She hadn't seen Qin Du for a long time. Not long after she moved out, the Qin family seemed to have moved away as well. Their house was empty and desolate, and she had no idea what Qin Du was doing now.
Finally, she told Ji Zhaoxi to take good care of herself and not to worry about things at home.
When she went to the post office to mail the letter, Ji Zhuxin couldn't stop showing off her sister who was attending university in Shanghai.
"She's so thoughtful, buying clothes for me all the way from Shanghai. I told her I could just wear whatever, but she insisted on buying them for me, this child."
Ji Zhuxin smiled as she filled out the form.
The staff member also smiled. "You've raised her well. With a university student in the family, you'll be able to enjoy a comfortable life from now on."
Ji Zhuxin quickly waved her hand. "Let's not talk about that. As long as she takes care of herself, that's enough. I definitely can't hold her back."
That very day, she wore the woolen coat Ji Zhaoxi had bought for her to work.
Before the morning was over, the entire factory knew that the coat Ji Zhuxin was wearing had been sent back by her sister studying at a university in Shanghai.
Every day in the park, there were students practicing their spoken English, and Ji Zhaoxi went there every day too.
Gao Lin felt that just doing that wasn't enough, so she started practicing conversations with Ji Zhaoxi. At first, Ji Zhaoxi stumbled over her words, but after practicing for a while, she finally improved.
In the language lab, Ji Zhaoxi wore heavy black headphones, recording herself along with the cassette tapes over and over again, listening back, and recording again, catching every pronunciation flaw.
Seeing Ji Zhaoxi getting better and better, Lin Fang felt a bit panicked.
Lin Fang was the only university student from her village and was always put on a pedestal. She didn't like asking others for help, believing her own methods suited her best.
But even though she studied every day too, Ji Zhaoxi's progress was far greater than hers.
"Ji Zhaoxi, it doesn't feel like you've improved much despite practicing like this every day," Lin Fang couldn't help but say.
"I feel like your pronunciation is no different from when school started."
Ji Zhaoxi looked at her in confusion. "But I think there's a huge difference."
Lin Fang smiled. "That's just what you think. Gao Lin and the others had people teaching them at home since they were little. Let's just forget it, the two of us. No matter how hard we study, we'll never catch up to them."
Ji Zhaoxi took a heavy hit from this but retorted, "If you can't catch up, don't drag me down with you. I'll definitely catch up eventually."
She was clearly making great progress. She didn't like listening to Lin Fang talk at all.
She decided she would never speak to Lin Fang again; every time she did, it made her feel terrible.
Lin Fang choked on her words and wanted to continue, but in the next second, Ji Zhaoxi grabbed her books and ran off, giving her no chance to speak.
That evening, Ji Zhaoxi received the letter Qin Du had sent her.
Qi Zhenzhen saw the large package and leaned over to take a look.
"It's wrapped so tightly."
Ji Zhaoxi's sharp eyes spotted the letter, and she immediately put it on her bed, afraid Qi Zhenzhen might grab it.
Qi Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow. "Treating it like such a treasure, huh? Who wrote you the letter?"
"My brother."
Qi Zhenzhen looked at Ji Zhaoxi with eyes full of suspicion. "Which brother? How come I've never heard you mention him?"
Seeing the tape recorder and cassettes in the package, Qi Zhenzhen was surprised for a moment. "It really is your brother. He cares so much about your studies."
"And it's a Sanyo brand, too. Your brother must have gone out of his way to look into this," Gao Lin smiled, handing her the remittance slip from the floor. "Put this away safely."
Ji Zhaoxi quickly tucked the remittance slip away.
Gao Lin observed Ji Zhaoxi. Having known her for a while now, she was becoming increasingly curious about her background.
She had seen her admission forms, which listed a very remote village. But the clothes she bought, the things she used daily, and now this radio—these were clearly not things an ordinary person could afford.
What exactly was her family's situation?
Su Manzhen bustled in through the door, holding a stack of photocopied New Concept English materials. This book hadn't been officially published in the country yet.
"Ji Zhaoxi, if you want to read this, you can ask me for it. It's published by the British, super authentic. My mom printed it for me."
However, this book could only be read secretly in private.
Qi Zhenzhen was speechless. "Do you guys have nothing else to talk about all day except English?"
Wasn't it enough to just learn the basics? Why did they need to be so proficient?
From what she saw, the people working in foreign trade didn't have great English either; most of them just got in through family connections.
It might not matter for others, but it did for Ji Zhaoxi. She didn't have anyone in her family working in state units.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at the materials Su Manzhen had given her. Not knowing how else to study them, she could only resort to rote memorization, memorizing them article by article.
At first, she doubted herself, wondering if memorizing like this was actually useful. But after she had memorized over a dozen articles, she found that her English had suddenly improved, and her memorization speed had also gotten much faster.
Today was oral English class again, and Ji Zhaoxi listened exceptionally attentively.
She used to be afraid whenever she had oral English class, but now she liked it more and more.
"Then I'll call on a student to answer," the teacher said, standing at the podium and looking at the students below.
She met Ji Zhaoxi's gaze and smiled at her. "Ji Zhaoxi, you go ahead. I haven't called on you in a while."
She had quite a deep impression of Ji Zhaoxi. The girl had a somewhat carefree and straightforward personality, both in life and in class.
Last time, she had pointed out Ji Zhaoxi's pronunciation issues, and as a result, Ji Zhaoxi's entire face had suddenly turned red. She looked so embarrassed that it made the teacher feel guilty.
But for an English major, this kind of desensitization training was necessary.
Ji Zhaoxi stood up and fluently answered the teacher's question. Only Gao Lin, sitting next to her, knew how nervous she was; her hands were trembling.
Gao Lin gently patted her hand.
The teacher listened carefully to Ji Zhaoxi's answer, a flash of surprise in her eyes. Had she improved this quickly?
She randomly asked a few more questions, and Ji Zhaoxi was actually able to answer them all very smoothly. It was obvious she had put a lot of hard work into her pronunciation.
"Ji Zhaoxi, you've really made me see you in a new light," the teacher smiled. "It hasn't been that long, yet you've improved so fast."
Ji Zhaoxi blushed a little at the praise, while Qi Zhenzhen kept laughing at her from the side.
"So you see, some students always come and ask me how to practice their spoken English. I've already given you the methods; the rest depends on your individual effort. Look at Ji Zhaoxi, she's doing very well."
In the back row, Lin Fang stared blankly at Ji Zhaoxi.
How could this be? How could she improve so quickly?
It must be Gao Lin and Su Manzhen helping her. Between the tape recorder and practicing conversations, how could her English not improve?
Lin Fang suddenly felt it was unfair. They were all in the same dorm, so why were those two only helping Ji Zhaoxi?
