Restart life

Chapter 74 0072 [The report made the whole of Sichuan famous]

Three-quarters of the students in the class had already learned of this news in advance.

Most of it was news they'd heard in the last hour or two. Xu Haibo, Xie Yang, and others spread it around, and Chen Guiliang patiently dealt with another group of them.

Only students like Li Jun, who arrive at school right on time, need to obtain information from their homeroom teacher.

Class teacher Liu Shuying praised Chen Guiliang extensively, then admonished the other students: "Chen Guiliang's special admission to a prestigious university is an extremely rare exception. He has always enjoyed reading extracurricular books and has accumulated a long-term literary foundation, which is why he was able to achieve such remarkable success. It's too late for you to try to emulate him now, so you should focus on the college entrance examination and diligently review the knowledge points..."

"Now, I'm announcing the final exam results. The final exams were more difficult than the monthly exams, so the cutoff scores are lower..."

"Wu Meng, with a total score of 661, ranks first in the entire grade and second in the entire city!"

"Li Rui, with a total score of 654, ranks second in the entire grade and fourth in the city!"

Liu Shuying doesn't read out the city rankings for those who aren't in the top 30 in the city.

She simply didn't bother reading out the grades of those ranked outside the top 100 in the entire school, and just had Li Rui hand out the grade slips.

Chen Guiliang received his score sheet and was quite satisfied with his performance.

Chinese 138, Math 81, English 95, Humanities 242.

Total score 556.

The cutoff score for the first-tier university is 550.

He was pleasantly surprised by his math score. The last monthly exam was very easy, and he only scored 68 points. The final exam was much more difficult, and he actually scored 81 points, which shows that his review was very effective.

Although my English score only increased by 2 points compared to the monthly exam, the questions were more difficult, and my score is still steadily improving.

Now let's talk about the overall score.

Chen Guiliang's monthly exam score was just one point above the second-tier university admission line.

Chen Guiliang's final exam score was 6 points above the first-tier university admission line!
His scores in Chinese and humanities were so high that he could have gotten into a top-tier university if his math and English scores were just average.

Liu Shuying now finds Chen Guiliang agreeable and even gives him special praise: "Although Chen Guiliang was distracted by preparing for the essay competition, his hard work last semester was evident to all. Even without special admissions from prestigious universities, he could have gotten into a top-tier university based on his own merit. Let's give him a round of applause!"

A round of applause broke out, with Bian Guanyue and Xu Haibo clapping the most enthusiastically.

On Christmas Eve last year, Zheng Feng had given up chasing Bian Guanyue and was seriously burying himself in his studies.

At this moment, Zheng Feng was completely convinced and clearly realized the gap between himself and Chen Guiliang.

He turned to look at Chen Guiliang, and could only sigh in his heart.

I've stopped competing and scrambling; there are plenty of fish in the sea.

"As I mentioned last semester, we'll be rearranging seats after the final exams. This time, we'll let the students choose their seats themselves, based on their scores from highest to lowest..."

Wu Meng chose to stay put. She wasn't very tall, so sitting in the first row was fine for her, and it would also make it easier for her to ask the teacher questions.

Li Rui, however, chose to sit in the middle of the second row, which was behind Wu Meng. Here, he wouldn't have to inhale chalk dust, wouldn't have to crane his neck to listen to the lecture, and could even discuss difficult problems with Wu Meng.

The middle seats in the second, third, and fourth rows were quickly snapped up by top students.

When it was Chen Guiliang's turn, he was too lazy to change seats again; the second to last row was fine.

Bian Guanyue didn't change seats either, so no one was competing with her for the first row, and she could continue sitting with her good friend Wu Meng. She actually wanted to sit with Chen Guiliang, but she was too shy to say it.

In terms of learning attitude alone, Bian Guanyue worked much harder than Chen Guiliang, making up for the lessons he missed when he was an art student.

Her final exam score was still only enough for a third-tier university, but she was only 4 points away from the second-tier university cutoff.

After arranging the seats, Liu Shuying smiled and waved, "Chen Guiliang, come here for a moment and bring over a stool too."

In the past, when Chen Guiliang was called in for a talk by his homeroom teacher, it was usually a one-on-one conversation in the hallway or office.

Now, however, he sits at the lectern, no longer needing to hide from others.

"Have you decided which school to attend?" Liu Shuying asked.

The students in the first few rows immediately perked up their ears.

Chen Guiliang said, "I'm waiting for news from Tsinghua and Peking Universities. If that doesn't work out, I'll choose Fudan University."

That was a really rude thing to say, and the students in the front row were speechless.

Liu Shuying then asked, "What do you need the school to do?"

Chen Guiliang said, "The New Concept Writing Competition's special admissions process follows the university's independent admissions route. In March, you need to take the independent admissions exam and provide personal materials to the university, which require the school's stamp."

“List out all the materials you need, and I’ll get them for you,” Liu Shuying said.

"Thank you, Teacher Liu," Chen Guiliang said.

Liu Shuying added, "After discussion, the school leaders have decided to invite several media outlets to do publicity, and we'll need your cooperation. Your disciplinary action has already been revoked, understand?"

"Understood," Chen Guiliang replied.

Principal Yan planned to invite twenty or thirty media outlets, but unfortunately, the school's prestige was not high enough, and Chen Guiliang's influence was not significant enough.

In this situation, you can't give away money even if you want to.

The main reason is that this dilapidated county town is too remote, and reporters from major coastal newspapers are unwilling to waste their time.

Principal Yan personally contacted dozens of media outlets, but only seven or eight have agreed to appear, and half of them are newspapers from Sichuan province.

If it were about promoting Guo Jingming, even more reporters would be willing to come. But Guo Jingming hasn't had time lately; he's busy starting his company and has already planned to return to his alma mater in the second half of the year.

Unless Chen Guiliang's popularity continues to rise, the media will come uninvited.

This still needs a catalyst.

For example, Han Han's book "Peeping into People Through a Cup" did indeed spark nationwide discussion, but like a gust of wind, the hype died down very quickly. What truly ignited public opinion was Han Han failing his courses and dropping out of school!
Moreover, taking advantage of failing his courses and dropping out of school, he published "Triple Gate," and the novel became a bestseller, finally reaching its peak.

……

The 18th day of the first lunar month. The latest issue of the Xihua City Daily is out.

This newspaper has been among the top 100 daily newspapers in the world for six consecutive years.

The current daily circulation is 110 million copies, mainly distributed in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas.

Not only do government agencies across Sichuan automatically subscribe to it, but ordinary people also enjoy reading it and can buy it at any newsstand.

Xiao Weidong is an ordinary small business owner who runs a photo studio in Chengdu.

Their main income comes from taking ID photos, and they also run a typing and photocopying business, as well as selling newspapers and magazines.

Comprehensive business operations.

The shop is actually very small, and besides myself, there is only one young apprentice.

The photo studio was located in an old alley, and every day neighbors would come to sit and read the newspapers he sold.

"Boss Xiao, business is good!"

"What's so great about it? Only two people came to take photos this morning. Do you want to take one?"

"You've already taken my funeral portrait, what other photos do you want?"

This old neighbor swaggered into the shop, grabbed a stool, and then sat at the shop entrance to read the newspaper for free.

Xiao Weidong teased, "Are you still feeling relaxed? Would you like me to make you another cup of tea?"

"That's fine, thank you for your help," the old neighbor said with a smile.

The old neighbors were reading the Xihua City Daily, which is the top choice for Chengdu citizens when it comes to reading newspapers.

When a customer came in to take ID photos and photocopy their ID card, Xiao Weidong would tell his apprentice to do the work while he lay down under the shade of a tree and took a nap.

A short while later, he heard the neighbors say, "Wow, this student is pretty fierce!"

Xiao Weidong asked, "Why are you being so fierce?"

"He got into Tsinghua and Peking University by writing articles, and he even wrote poetry in seven steps. He dared to fight against the underworld while he was in junior high school."

You believe even bragging?

"See for yourself."

Xiao Weidong glanced at it, then picked up another copy of the Xihua City Daily and flipped directly to the culture and entertainment section.

The headline article in the culture section was: "A Contemporary Version of Seven Steps to Poetry: Exploring the Growth Path of a Prodigy in Literature."

"In mid-January this year, the Qingsongcheng Hotel was packed with renowned figures and media. Dong Hongkang, a senior editor at Wenhui Daily, gave Chen Guiliang, a senior high school student, four keywords and asked him to write a classical poem on the spot. Why would a well-known editor make things difficult for a high school student?"

"Let's rewind to the day before. The 6th National New Concept Writing Competition was held as scheduled. Chen Guiliang, a student from Fushi No. 2 Middle School in Longdu City, amazed the judges with his essay 'A Journey to the Seas.' Mr. Wang Meng, the former Minister of Culture, highly praised 'A Journey to the Seas' and held a seminar to analyze and appreciate it in detail. Major universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, competed to recruit Chen Guiliang, and there was even a phenomenon of 'snatching' students."

"The preface and poems of 'Journey to the Seas' are written entirely in classical Chinese. The writing is mature and skillful, the imagination is imaginative and unconventional, the style is magnificent, and the ideas are lofty. This doesn't seem like something a high school student could write. The editor of Wenhui Daily questioned this and gave Chen Guiliang a test on the spot. Chen Guiliang picked up a brush, took seven steps, and wrote a high-quality five-character quatrain. Editor Dong Hongkang praised it repeatedly and took the manuscript of the poem home for his collection."

"How could a high school student from a small county have such a profound foundation in classical Chinese? With this question in mind, I visited Chen Guiliang's junior high and high school alma maters..."

The following content includes interviews with Chen Guiliang's junior high and high school teachers, as well as interviews with police officers and market vendors.

Even Chen Guiliang's primary school was mentioned, because the vice principal of the junior high school often visited primary schools in various villages in the countryside.

Left-behind children in impoverished rural areas have no extracurricular books to read from a young age; they can only memorize textbooks and dictionaries.

During junior high school, he bravely fought against criminal gangs and facilitated the arrest and sentencing of gang leaders. He also achieved the highest score in the entire town in the high school entrance examination.

He saved money during high school, even going hungry to buy books, but his grades didn't suffer. He went to Shanghai alone and made a name for himself!
"How is it going?" the old neighbor asked.

Xiao Weidong said, "Awesome. Absolutely amazing!"

"What are you talking about?" Yet another neighbor came to borrow a newspaper.

Xiao Weidong handed over the Xihua City Daily: "A Sichuan boy, very fierce, skilled in both literature and martial arts."

After reading the article, the neighbor actually took out his money to buy the newspaper.

Xiao Weidong laughed and said, "You're being generous today, aren't you? You're willing to spend money."

The neighbor said, "I'm going to buy it and show it to my grandson when he gets out of school. Other kids are well-behaved, but he just plays all day long."

"Give them a few more beatings."

"Can't type it out."

The old neighbor said, "This kid named Chen Guiliang is really something. You can't teach him to be like that. Other kids are left-behind children, with no one to take care of them at home, so they have to rely on their own initiative. He's very bright; if he lived in ancient times, he would definitely have passed the imperial examination."

"What kind of scholar are you? You're taking the imperial examination!"

"Nearsighted? You need to wear glasses?"

"You know nothing!"

"..."

Chen Guiliang has truly become famous this time, at least in Chengdu.

In Chengdu alone, the Xihua Metropolitan Daily has a circulation of over 70 copies, and it is often shared by multiple people.

The reporter from Longdu City Daily was slow to realize what was happening, and drove to the school the next day, becoming the second person to conduct an on-site interview.

As for No. 2 Middle School, Chen Guiliang was already a prominent figure in the school.

I received quite a few love letters from female students without really knowing what was going on.

-

(Thanks to the generous donation from the generous patron "Let's Go Eat".)
(End of this chapter)