Restart life

Chapter 49 0048 [The New Concept Writing Competition Semi-Final Announcement Has Arrived]

Monday.

After school in the morning, many boarding students did not rush to the cafeteria, but stayed in the classroom to watch "News 30 Minutes".

Saddam Hussein was captured by the Americans right during the monthly exams!

We weren't allowed to watch TV back then, but now that the exams are over, I need to catch up.

The television continuously replayed the arrest footage, while also broadcasting the Americans' follow-up actions.

Xu Haibo ran over to Chen Guiliang, staring at the news, and said, "Master Chen, do you think Iraq actually has any weapons of mass destruction?"

“If it really existed, it would have been used long ago,” Chen Guiliang said.

Zhao Cong from room 301, who is very interested in current affairs, couldn't help but interject, "It might still be in the experimental stage. Didn't Powell produce a sample tube?"

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "It might contain laundry detergent."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Several classmates nearby burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Let's go, let's have some stir-fry, it's on me!" Chen Guiliang shouted.

Upon hearing that someone was treating them to a meal, the brothers from 302 immediately sprang into action.

Walking down the street, Li Yulin asked, "Master Chen, are you being kept by a rich woman? Your life has improved a lot lately."

Xie Yang hesitated, feeling incredibly frustrated.

He desperately wanted to vent and brag about how much money Chen Guiliang had made selling private clothing. But he had already promised to keep it a secret, so he had to keep quiet about it, and he was practically bursting with pent-up frustration.

Xu Haibo then asked, "Master Chen, is the woman who's keeping you a wealthy heiress or a lesser-known one?"

The "rich woman" refers to Bian Guanyue, while the "little rich woman" refers to Tao Xue.

Both of the beautiful women were rich and had a good relationship with Chen Guiliang, which made their roommates envious and jealous!

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I found a few hundred yuan a while ago."

"Do you think we'll believe that?" Li Yulin asked.

Li Dongqiang suggested, "Let's have another round of interrogation in Aruba tonight!"

Chen Guiliang turned and walked towards the cafeteria: "I'm not treating."

"Don't let him get away!"

"You promised to treat me, no backing out!"

Several guys quickly grabbed Chen Guiliang, twisted his arms behind his back, and escorted him to a small restaurant outside the school.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they returned to school to continue doing their homework.

Tao Xue rushed into the classroom and said mysteriously, "Did you know? Guo Xiaosi is suspected of plagiarism!"

"Really?" Chen Guiliang pretended to be surprised.

Tao Xue's eyes widened as she began to gossip: "It's absolutely true, it started last week. I've read 'How Many Flowers Fall in Dreams,' and yesterday I went to Tianya Forum to read 'Inside and Outside the Circle.' The two books have many similarities, and 'Inside and Outside the Circle' was serialized earlier."

Chen Guiliang said, "That's mostly just borrowing from others."

"What reference? It's blatant plagiarism. I never imagined Guo Jingming would be this kind of person!" Tao Xue's tone was filled with anger and disappointment.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Aren't you a fan of his books?"

“It’s all about reason, not personal relationships, okay? Besides, he’s not even my relative,” Tao Xue said, becoming increasingly frustrated. “I could have gone to the No. 2 High School in the city, but because I like Guo Xiaosi, I came to the No. 2 High School in the county to be his classmate. I’m so angry, so angry!”

Chen Guiliang comforted him, "We should thank Guo Xiaosi for that, otherwise we wouldn't be able to meet. If you didn't admire him, you wouldn't be studying here."

“That makes sense.” Tao Xue was taken aback.

Guo Jingming has really messed up this time, because the author he plagiarized is not some nobody, but an overseas-educated editor from Outlook Weekly!

When he chose his plagiarism target, he probably didn't expect that the author of the novel, who wasn't famous on Tianya, would actually have a pretty good background and connections.

If I had known earlier, Guo Jingming would have definitely copied from a different book.

Haha.

Tao Xue asked, "Nephew, where's your cyberpunk novel?"

"I've only written the first chapter," Chen Guiliang said.

Tao Xue was speechless: "You finished the first chapter half a month ago, how come it's still just the first chapter? I'm still waiting to see the rest!"

Chen Guiliang said, "I have to work with your brother and study for exams, how can I have time to write a novel?"

"Never mind, the college entrance exam is the most important thing. We'll urge you to finish the manuscript when you get to university." Aunt Tao was quite understanding.

When she saw Chen Guiliang take out his practice sheets, she waved goodbye so as not to delay her nephew's studies.

Chen Guiliang completes the test paper very slowly.

If you encounter a problem you can't solve, stop and slowly look it up in the book, or ask Xu Haibo for help.

Continue until you have mastered the key concepts for this question.

Whether or not he could finish the practice sheets the teacher gave him was secondary; he didn't care if he didn't hand in his homework.

Another hour later, Bian Guanyue arrived at the classroom.

She bought three portions of small potatoes at the school gate: one for Zheng Feng, who accompanied her to school; one for Wu Meng, who helped her with her studies; and one specifically for Chen Guiliang.

The aloof, wealthy girl who transferred schools has now learned to get along with her classmates.

Of course, this only applies to those who are relatively familiar with her.

Even when facing classmates with whom she had little to no relationship, Bian Guanyue still didn't like to talk.

Zheng Feng was happily eating small potatoes when he saw Bian Guanyue specially send a portion to Chen Guiliang, and suddenly the small potatoes in his mouth no longer tasted good.

Even though they're both little potatoes, if he wasn't there, Bian Guanyue definitely wouldn't buy them for him.

Even when Chen Guiliang is not present, Bian Guanyue will bring a special portion!
"Your cousin called and said the Apple laptop screen arrived this morning." Bian Guanyue put Little Potato on the table.

Chen Guiliang picked up a toothpick and ate a piece: "I'll go with you this weekend."

Bian Guanyue said, "Then let's meet at the bus station at nine o'clock on the morning of the weekend, and we'll keep in touch by phone then."

After saying that, Bian Guanyue returned to her seat to study.

"Wow, Chen, you're going on another date with the class beauty," Qin Shanshan teased, while also getting a free piece of potato as she spoke.

Chen Guiliang asked, "You want to go too?"

"I'm not interested at all. I've made plans to go rollerblading this weekend," Qin Shanshan said. "By the way, do you know how to rollerblade? When can we go together?"

"We'll talk about it when I have time," Chen Guiliang replied dismissively. Roller skating was incredibly popular at the time, even considered a fashionable sport in smaller towns.

In two more years, it won't work, and the roller skating rinks will all close down.

"Class representative, distribute the test papers."

Geography teacher Zhong Dahe arrived at the classroom a few minutes early. Without bothering the students on duty, he picked up an eraser and personally cleaned the blackboard.

Besides being a geography teacher, he also holds two other positions: vice principal and director of political education.

He was the principal of the county's No. 2 Middle School two years after that, and it was under his leadership that the school surpassed the city's No. 2 Middle School.

Later, he also held a whole host of titles, including part-time professor at a key university, master's supervisor, and external expert for reviewing master's theses.

"You've all heard, haven't you? Saddam has been captured."

After wiping the blackboard, Zhong Dahe suddenly said something.

It turns out he arrived at the classroom early today just to brag to the students.

"heard!"

The whole class answered in unison.

He picked up a piece of chalk and casually sketched the outline of a map of the Middle East: "This place is the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and has been a site of constant warfare since ancient times. When you study geography, it's best to combine it with history. Today, we won't go over the monthly exam paper; instead, taking advantage of Saddam's capture, we'll review the geographical points of Mesopotamia..."

Zhong Dahe's lectures are humorous and engaging, and he possesses a wealth of knowledge, drawing on a wide range of sources that can be used as engaging stories.

Of course, he also often brags.

First, he boasted about his glorious achievement of quitting smoking. A heavy smoker of over twenty years, he quit on a whim. He quit that very day and hasn't touched a single cigarette since.

Secondly, he boasted about his younger brother who immigrated to the United States, saying how successful he was.

Occasionally there are other things to brag about.

For example, last year, he led a youth environmental protection project, with specific teachers guiding the students. Eight projects were selected nationwide, and No. 8 Middle School ranked first. Two students received their awards at the Great Hall of the People, were received by leaders, and were both admitted to prestigious universities without taking the entrance exam.

This lousy school has more than just one Guo Xiaosi.

This year's top science student in the province also comes from the county's No. 2 High School. Everyone knows that the 2003 math exam was leaked, and the backup exam caused widespread dissatisfaction among students. This student from No. 2 High School scored 137 points in math.

……

It's the weekend again.

During peak hours this Friday and Saturday, Abyss Legends maintained nearly 9000 concurrent online users.

Many players were drawn away by similar private servers that followed the trend.

Many new players have also joined, mainly from internet cafes and readers of Popular Software magazine.

Shanda still hasn't made a move.

But on Thursday, Tao Chenggang called: "Something big has happened. Five national ministries have jointly announced a special crackdown on private servers and cheat programs. The crackdown is scheduled to begin on New Year's Day, which is thirteen days from now."

"What's the reaction from other private server vendors?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Tao Chenggang said, "They were all terrified. Five ministries joined forces, what a huge show! I heard that two private servers that were copying the trend of making dungeons canceled their opening plans and decided to hide for a while. The 17577 forum even received a lawyer's letter from Shanda, and the site administrator, Canying, doesn't dare to post anymore."

"How does Brother Gang plan to deal with this?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Tao Chenggang said, "On December 31st, the day before the special operation, we canceled the game download link and stopped all promotion from then on, as a way of giving the authorities face. I've consulted a lawyer, and as long as we don't cause any more trouble, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Then let's listen to Brother Gang." Chen Guiliang readily agreed.

Those who make private servers and cheat programs have been quite frightened these past few days.

The name of the five ministries sounds intimidating!
Some of the more timid ones even shut down their private servers immediately, not daring to wait until the day of the special rectification campaign.

Cheating in official games has also subsided considerably; at least no new cheats have emerged.

Shanda also took the opportunity to build momentum. Zhang Yingfeng, the legal and copyright manager, gave interviews to more than ten media outlets, talking extensively about Shanda's zero-tolerance policy towards cheats and private servers.

Chen Guiliang hid at school and turned a deaf ear to this.

On Saturday night, Chen Guiliang took a shower and looked in the mirror to choose his clothes for tomorrow.

I have to accompany Bian Guanyue to fix his computer again.

"Chen Guiliang, 302, come answer the phone!"

The dormitory manager shouted from the third-floor corridor.

"Coming, coming!" Chen Guiliang threw down his clothes and ran to the dormitory manager's office on the second floor.

The entire dormitory building has only one landline phone in the dormitory manager's office.

"Hello, this is Chen Guiliang," Chen Guiliang said.

A woman's voice came through the phone: "Did you submit an article to the New Concept Writing Competition?"

“Yes.” Chen Guiliang instantly understood what was going on.

"I'm Hu Weishi, an editor at *Mengya* magazine. I was just calling to let you know in advance in case you didn't receive your semi-final notification. Your semi-final notification has already been sent. If you still haven't received it, please check the semi-final details in the first issue of *Mengya* magazine next year. You can come directly to the semi-final by train, and we can reimburse your train ticket. Only hard seats are reimbursed."

"Okay, thank you, Editor Hu."

"Haha, you're also from Fushi No. 2 Middle School. I thought you'd call me 'Sister Weishi' like Guo Xiaosi."

"Thank you, Sister Weishi."

"If you have a novel to submit, you can send it directly to my office. Make sure to clearly state that I am the recipient. And remember, don't plagiarize!"

"Row."

"When Guo Jingming asked me to serialize 'How Many Flowers Fall in Dreams,' I repeatedly asked him if he had plagiarized, so as not to cause the same trouble as 'City of Fantasy.' He kept saying he hadn't plagiarized, but now he's causing trouble again!"

"clear."

"I'm hanging up now; I still need to notify the other players."

"Goodbye, Sister Weishi."

"Goodbye."

Chen Guiliang had heard of Hu Weishi, the female editor.

The "boss" Han Han mentioned was the one who called Han Han to ask her to retake the exam.

Guo Xiaosi always called her "Sister Weishi," at least until they fell out.

All the redesigns of the magazine "Mengya" were the work of Hu Weishi.

(End of this chapter)