Training the Heavens

Chapter 158: Staying in Suzhou might be a good idea

The leader thought about it and picked up the phone to call the Municipal Education Bureau Director Shen Zhixue. "Have you read today's newspaper? What are your thoughts?"

"You mean Zhuang Tunan? I've seen it and am now considering whether to organize a formal exam to test his ability." Shen Zhixue's answer was steady.

"Well, how do you plan to take the exam?" the leader asked again.

"The newspaper said that Zhuang Tunan has completed high school math, physics, and chemistry, and his math has even reached the level of a freshman in college. So we will give him physics and chemistry questions based on the difficulty of this year's JS Province college entrance examination. The math difficulty can be increased a bit on the basis of the college entrance examination, so that it is closer to that of a freshman in college. Let's see how many points he can get in the end." Shen Zhixue's plan was very rigorous.

"Okay, you should finish this exam as soon as possible and tell me the results. If the test results are good, you should also seriously consider the training of Zhuang Tunan." The leader made a final nod.

"I understand. If he is qualified, we will recommend him to the junior class of USTC." Shen Zhixue also hopes that Zhuang Tuanan is a true genius, and that discovering such talent is also an achievement of the education department.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Zhixue immediately called a meeting and invited several outstanding teachers from Suzhou to give Zhuang Tuanan questions that day. Some of them had even participated in the college entrance examination and their question-setting level was quite high.

Then he asked his assistant to go to Zhuang Tunan's house in person to inform him to come for the exam tomorrow. He would take a math test in the morning and a comprehensive physics and chemistry test in the afternoon. If Chinese and politics were added to this, it would be almost the same as the college entrance examination.

The examination was to be held at the primary school attached to the cotton mill. They felt that they would perform better if they took the exam in an environment that Zhuang Tuannan was familiar with.

At nine o'clock the next morning, Zhuang Tuanan walked into a familiar classroom and began to answer questions under the watchful eyes of two invigilators. Shen Zhixue, along with staff from the Education Bureau, leading teachers from the affiliated primary school and other interested people, watched outside the window.

Fang Boliang, a reporter from Suzhou Daily, also came. The newspaper recently planned to focus on reporting on Zhuang Tuanan, and the results of this formal examination must be published truthfully in the newspaper.

After watching for a while, Shen Zhixue nodded slightly. "I was originally worried that Zhuang Tunan would be nervous taking the exam alone in such a large classroom. Now it seems that this child is really calm and he calmed down and started answering the questions so quickly."

After watching for a while, Shen Zhixue and the others went to the conference room to drink tea and chat. The exam would last two and a half hours, so they couldn't just stand here waiting. Two people would be left to report any news at any time.

After chatting for over an hour, Shen Zhixue asked someone to check on the situation. He returned soon and said, "I've already answered half of the questions."

One teacher couldn't help but frown. "I've seen the test, it's not too difficult. Why is he so slow?"

"Yes, if he is really a genius, he should have finished it by now, right?" Many people felt that Zhuang Tuanan's performance did not meet expectations.

He Chengxuan calmly explained, "Tunan is different from what we usually think of as a genius. His slowness in solving problems is his hallmark, but he generally gets full marks on any problem he solves. He doesn't make careless mistakes or pretend to know what he doesn't."

"So you have a thorough grasp of the knowledge points?" Most of the people present were educators, and they understood immediately.

"Then let's wait patiently." Shen Zhixue was not in a hurry and continued to ask Shen Zhixue various information about Zhuang Tunan.

Before I knew it, it was time to finish the exam. A staff member came back with a full test paper and said, "Little Tunan has finished answering all the questions."

"That should be full marks." He Chengxuan blurted out without even looking at it.

"I don't believe it." A test setter immediately took over the test paper and started to correct it. The overall difficulty of this test paper was not high, but there were two or three tricky questions that most people might not be able to answer.

They had already prepared the answers when the questions were given, so now they just had to compare them. He corrected the answers and reported the results one by one, "The first question is correct, the second question is also correct, and the third question is still completely correct." The third question was a bit tricky, but it still didn't stop Zhuang Tunan.

"The fifth question is correct. The eighth question is correct." The teacher, who had been grading until the end, looked up in surprise. "He even got the supplementary questions right. There was not a single mistake in the solution process."

"See, I told you I could get full marks, right?" He Chengxuan said proudly.

"This is not a full score. The score is over when the additional questions are included. This child is really amazing! How many students in Jiangsu Province got full marks in mathematics in this college entrance examination? Who else is there besides the top child star?" asked another teacher.

Tong Xing was the top scorer in liberal arts in Jiangsu this year. He studied in the Department of Philosophy at Nanjing University, stayed at the school after graduation, and later became a well-known scholar.

"I can't remember exactly, probably no more than five." Everyone was shocked by the calculation. "I didn't think it was that bad while I was doing the test, but the results are really scary! Even if I didn't do well in physics and chemistry this afternoon, I can definitely be called a genius."

"Physics and chemistry are just for reference. With this math score alone, he can enter the junior class of USTC. Ning Bi's level cannot compare with his. I will ask the leader for instructions later. If there is no problem, I will contact USTC immediately." Shen Zhixue couldn't wait for the results to come out in the afternoon.

"This matter is a bit troublesome." He Chengxuan immediately interrupted him, "Tunan doesn't want to go out of town."

"Why? You didn't explain to him clearly what kind of university USTC is? And what does it mean to go to university?" Shen Zhixue was anxious.

"His family situation is a bit complicated." He Chengxuan told everything he knew.

Everyone was speechless after hearing this. "This old man is really a bit too much. And his father is the same. How come he doesn't even care about his wife and children?"

"No wonder Tunan doesn't want to go out of town. If he leaves, his mother and sister will probably have a harder time."

"This child is so sensible. I wish my child could be half as good as him."

"Can we do something about it? If things at home are resolved, Tunan should be able to go to USTC without any worries, right?"

"This is not easy to handle. Even an honest official cannot judge family affairs. We are all outsiders, how can we interfere?"

"And this will take time. USTC's junior class will soon be finalizing its roster. Even if we can resolve the issue, it might be too late by the time we're done."

Everyone was talking about it, but no one had any good solution for the time being.

After listening for a while, Shen Zhixue asked, "What does Tunan think?"

"He wants to study nearby, so he came to our Jiangsu Normal University." Ping Zetao replied, and he also came.

If I stay in Suzhou, maybe it will be a good thing? This thought suddenly popped up in Shen Zhixue's mind, and then it got out of control.

(End of this chapter)