Restart life

Chapter 77 0075 [Let's set a small goal of 100 million first]

Amidst applause, Wu Meng leaned closer and said to Bian Guanyue, "His Chinese is really good!"

“Yes,” Bian Guanyue clapped and laughed.

Xu Haibo was also whispering to Xie Yang: "That's amazing, they actually questioned the Chinese textbook."

Xie Yang tossed his hair and said, "Is that what you call questioning? Just say the textbook is wrong and ask them to revise it next time they compile the textbook!"

Li Runze, the Chinese language teacher, smiled without saying a word. This was his class representative for Chinese language, and one of the top students he had taught.

A language arts teacher nearby asked, "Old Li, did you teach him all of this?"

"He figured it out himself." Li Runze blushed slightly.

During summer tutoring last year, when Li Runze was teaching the "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng," Chen Guiliang came to ask him after class, "Teacher, the textbook annotations don't make sense."

The teacher and student each found a copy of "Guan Zhi of Ancient Prose" to discuss this issue.

Li Runze's book is the older version, with the same annotations as the textbook.

Chen Guiliang's book is a newer edition, and it offers a different interpretation.

Li Runze found it troublesome and didn't delve into the matter. After comparing the two, he said, "The textbook might be wrong. But if it's on the exam, you should answer the questions according to the textbook."

Gone.

Looking back now, Li Runze feels quite ashamed.

Soon, reporters from the media asked questions.

A reporter asked, "Was the content you discussed today something you researched yourself, or did you receive guidance from a teacher?"

"I did the research myself."

Chen Guiliang held up a copy of the 2002 edition of "Guan Zhi Gu Wen": "But some scholars must have discovered this problem long ago. That's why we corrected it when we published 'Guan Zhi Gu Wen' two years ago. I don't have access to professional journal articles in Longdu City, so I'm not clear about the current situation in academia. If there are similar papers in recent years, it's purely coincidental. I didn't plagiarize. Don't accuse me of plagiarism in the future."

They're getting vaccinated.

"Hahahaha!"

A burst of laughter erupted at the scene, and the reporters immediately thought of Guo Jingming.

In fact, as early as two years ago, Professor Liu Yongxiang of East China Normal University published an article in the magazine "Literary Heritage" pointing out the errors in the textbook.

A year ago, Professors Wang Yunxi and Chen Shangjun of Fudan University also published an article in the magazine "Literary Heritage" to discuss this topic.

At the same time, Mr. Zhu Dongrun compiled "Selected Works of Chinese Literature Through the Ages," correcting the original erroneous annotations.

"Literary Heritage" is an academic journal affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Very few people pay attention to this magazine, and ordinary people don't even know where to buy it.

"Selected Works of Chinese Literature Through the Ages" has been selected as a supplementary textbook by some schools. However, teachers are too lazy to teach this book and simply tell students to read it on their own, while the vast majority of students don't even touch it.

Therefore, this issue has always been neglected and has even failed to attract the attention of the academic community.

For more than a decade afterward, scholars raised questions, but the high school Chinese textbooks remained unchanged!

Moreover, different versions of Chinese language textbooks are even making different mistakes.

The annotations in the Shandong Education Edition are quite interesting; half are wrong, and half are correct. They are vague, ambiguous, and confusing, sometimes even grammatically incorrect, leaving students bewildered.

It's not even as good as the People's Education Press version, which is completely wrong; at least the sentences are fluent.

The Beijing News, which has only been established for a little over two months, came uninvited this time in an attempt to boost sales. The reporter couldn't wait to stir things up: "What do you think about fairness in student recruitment? Are you against the special admission of the first prize winner of the New Concept Writing Competition, or do you support it because of your own circumstances?"

Many of the dozens of media reporters in front of us came here specifically for this reason!

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "Of course I hope that everything can be fair. Everyone has a responsibility to build a fair society. Especially for rural left-behind children like me, my family and I have no power or influence. Only when society is fair can we have a bright future."

"So you're against the special admission of the first prize in the New Concept Writing Competition?" the reporter from Beijing News pressed.

Chen Guiliang did not give a direct answer: "I will obey the arrangements of the various universities."

"So, you still support it?" the reporter from Beijing News persisted.

Simply responding passively will only make you more passive.

Chen Guiliang became more proactive and countered, "Why did Fudan University promise to specially admit me as long as I pass the undergraduate entrance exam? Why did Beijing Normal University admit me without even looking at my college entrance exam score? And why did other first-prize winners only get a 20-point reduction?"

A reporter from the Beijing News laughed and said, "Your article is even better."

"Why do I write better articles?" Chen Guiliang pressed.

A reporter from the Beijing News said, "Talent and hard work."

Chen Guiliang retorted, "I am talented and hardworking, why can't I be specially admitted? The importance of my articles in the competition is the result of my hard work, it didn't fall from the sky."

A reporter from Southern Weekly picked up the thread: "So, you still support special admissions?"

"Have you studied dialectical materialism?" Chen Guiliang finally got a little angry.

"Learned."

"Then why do you see issues in such a black-and-white way, creating a binary opposition? Why do you only see simple support and opposition?"

Is there a third attitude?

"Of course, we should address each issue individually and analyze each specific problem in its own way."

"On the issue of bottom-line rules, a clean and decisive approach is necessary, otherwise people will take advantage of loopholes."

"I don't think you've mastered the theory of contradictions either. The main contradiction concerning the fairness of admissions is that some people use their resources to disrupt the normal admissions process. What resources do I have? Is my resource that I have an exceptional talent for writing? Or that I read too many extracurricular books? What kind of answer do you expect to get when you ask a left-behind child whether they support special admissions? Why don't you go ask the children of officials and businessmen?"

"Well said!" Xie Yang roared, clapping his hands loudly.

"Clap clap clap!"

All the students from ordinary families present applauded along with the others.

Even Zheng Feng was applauding; his parents were both laid-off workers.

Some reporters also applauded, enjoying the spectacle. They could have reported it from different angles, such as a high school student confronting a reporter from a certain newspaper, or a reporter harassing left-behind children in a rural area. They were happy to see their colleagues get humiliated.

Principal Yan's forehead was already sweating. He stood up and said to the reporters, "Please don't ask too many questions. After all, the interviewee is just a high school student."

Chen Guiliang continued:

"What's the point of asking me whether I support or oppose this? Does opposing the special admission mean I have to give up my chance to attend Tsinghua, Peking University, or Fudan University? This is not only irresponsible to myself, but also to all the universities, the New Concept Writing Competition organizers, other winners, and my high school!"

"What social impact would it have if I supported special admissions? Would it undermine the fairness of the admissions process? As a poor student, what decision could I possibly change?"

"Some media outlets only care about creating a big news story. Have they ever considered the negative impact this might have on the interviewees? Do they have no professional ethics whatsoever?"

Chen Guiliang was trying to confuse the issue and change the subject.

Because he genuinely couldn't answer.

Principal Yan blinked frantically at Chen Guiliang and waved his hand in front of his chest, clearly trying to persuade him to stop talking.

Aside from the reporter who was criticized, the other reporters were quite happy.

One reporter even asked, "Chen Guiliang, are you interested in studying journalism? You have excellent speaking skills and quick wit; you're sure to be a great reporter in the future."

Chen Guiliang made a startling statement: "I want to study philosophy."

Philosophy Department?
The reporters were clearly distracted because the answer was so unexpected.

A reporter asked, "Are you aware that philosophy majors have poor job prospects? If you don't switch fields, you can only do academic research in the future, and you won't earn much money."

"I believe I have many ways to make money with my abilities," Chen Guiliang boasted, "but I just want to study philosophy, that's my interest. If I ever become so poor that I can't afford to eat, I'll just do some business and make a little money."

Naive.

arrogant.

Arrogant.

conceited.

Through deliberate guidance, Chen Guiliang successfully left these impressions on the reporters.

Are you the only ones who know how to create hype?

I can too!

Moreover, it can be used to divert attention from sensitive topics.

Sure enough, a reporter pressed further: "Are you really going to study philosophy, or are you just saying it casually?"

“Absolutely true,” Chen Guiliang said with a straight face, “That’s why I didn’t immediately agree to Fudan University and Beijing Normal University, because they both wanted to recruit me into the Chinese Department.”

Fudan University: ? ? ? ?

Beijing Normal University: ? ? ? ?
Another reporter asked, "Do you think you can make money just because you want to?"

"Is making money really that hard?" Chen Guiliang asked rhetorically.

"Hahahaha!"

Laughter erupted from the audience, with adults finding Chen Guiliang overly naive.

And they were incredibly arrogant.

This kid is so interesting, I don't even know which aspect to focus on in my reporting. I hope to interview him more often in the future.

Journalists love interviewees who make surprising statements.

"Do you think you could make it onto the Hurun Rich List if you went into business?" the reporter asked, trying to sound like a child.

Chen Guiliang said, "If I start a company, I should be able to make it into the top ten of the Hurun Rich List within ten years, conservatively speaking."

"Hahahaha!"

Another burst of laughter followed, and the atmosphere became even more joyful.

Even with voice recorders, the reporters were busy taking shorthand notes. Today's interviews could fill several articles, and each report would cover different topics.

"You won't believe me!"

Chen Guiliang declared confidently, "Once I get into university, I'll study philosophy while making money in business. I'll be a scholar-businessman even before I graduate, and my small goal is to earn 100 million in four years of university!"

Upon hearing this, the reporters nearly burst into laughter.

Is 100 million yuan considered a small goal?

Principal Yan clutched his forehead in anguish; he hadn't expected Chen Guiliang to suddenly go mad.

Chen Guiliang was indeed acting erratically. If he hadn't, the Southern Media Group reporters would have gone mad and would have definitely steered the conversation back to fairness in student admissions.

"Fellow journalists, how about we make a bet?" Chen Guiliang said. "If I graduate from university and my net worth is less than 100 million, I will switch careers and become a journalist."

This statement is both laughable and pathetic.

The punishment for the bet was to become a journalist? Are journalists really that unpopular?
"Change the punishment!" a reporter shouted.

Chen Guiliang said, "Okay! If I lose the bet, and my net worth is less than 100 million during my undergraduate studies, I will swim naked in the Huangpu River the month I graduate. If I win, you are only allowed to write articles praising me from now on, and you are not allowed to write any negative reports."

“I recorded it.”

"I also brought a voice recorder."

"..."

The atmosphere became even more lively, and the reporters were practically going crazy with joy.

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(Thanks to 99玖玖久久 for the generous donation.)
(End of this chapter)