Restart life

Chapter 85 0083 [What the heck is the Yuanpei Class?]

Back in the countryside, I lay in bed all day, not wanting to do anything.

The next day, it was early in the morning.

My cousin Chen Guirong brought some termite mushrooms to my door: "My mom picked these termite mushrooms, I'm bringing you a few."

"Thanks," Chen Guiliang casually asked, "How's your preparation for the high school entrance exam going?"

Chen Guirong forced a smile and said, "It's alright."

After thinking for a moment, my cousin said, "Brother, why don't you try to persuade my parents? I'm just not cut out for studying. I want to go to a vocational school to learn a skill and start earning money as soon as possible. They insist that I go to high school, but I can't concentrate on my studies!"

Chen Guiliang didn't want to get involved: "You can try going to high school first. If it doesn't work out, you can study for a year and then drop out and transfer to a vocational school."

Chen Guirong thought for a moment and said, "This is a good idea."

This guy is about to take the high school entrance exam, but he's in a relaxed state, happily going home to get two nets.

This type of net is very small and is made from discarded mosquito nets; it can only be used to catch small fish and shrimp.

Chen Guiliang was immediately struck by a childlike joy. He used rapeseed meal, cornmeal, and wheat flour as bait and went to the riverbank with his cousin to catch river shrimp.

Thanks to the fact that most of the factories in the city have closed down, this little river would have been a stinking ditch a few years ago.

Of course, severe pollution also has its "advantages".

Especially in summer, factories would take advantage of heavy rains to collectively discharge sewage, which would drown the fish. Downstream farmers would cheer, and even the elderly and children would bring nets to scoop up the dying fish to take home and eat.

Chen Guiliang grew up eating fish raised in polluted water and has long been subjected to the test of the periodic table of elements, thus developing a body that is immune to all poisons.

The Nokia phone rang.

Chen Guiliang put down the net and took out his cell phone from his pocket.

"Hello, this is Hu Weishi."

"Hello, Sister Weishi."

How did you feel about the college entrance exam?

"It's alright, I can pass the first-tier university entrance exam."

"Then I wish you a pleasant life at Peking University. Do you have any plans to write a novel? Li Haiyang, who won the first prize at the same time as you, has already started writing a novel."

"let me think again."

"Your science fiction piece from the preliminary round could easily be expanded into a novel."

How about historical novels?

"That works too. Send me the first few chapters of the manuscript so I can take a look."

"Then I'll get ready first."

"..."

After hanging up the phone, his cousin looked at him with envy.

Chen Guirong said, "Brother, you're really awesome. You already have a cell phone while you're still in school."

“I bought it with my own earnings from writing,” Chen Guiliang said. “If you can get into a junior college, I’ll give you a cell phone.”

"Really?" Chen Guirong suddenly didn't want to go to vocational school anymore.

"Why did I lie to you?"

In the middle of the morning, the sun grew stronger and the weather became hot.

Chen Guiliang carried two or three pounds of river shrimp home.

"Meow~~~"

The panda smelled the fishy smell from afar and rushed over, circling around his feet.

Chen Guiliang grabbed a handful of river shrimp and casually threw them on the ground, where the kitten devoured them.

In the afternoon, Chen Guiliang took a car to the city center and went straight to Xinhua Bookstore.

As expected, I found a dusty copy of the History of Ming Dynasty in a forgotten corner.

As for the "Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty" and the like, you can't buy them even if you want to, and you can't find them online either. These days, finding information is extremely painful.

What is Chen Guiliang planning to do?

It's "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty".

Chen Guiliang only wrote the second chapter of his cyberpunk novel before abandoning it. Firstly, it was difficult to write, and secondly, it was destined to have few readers.

Because he wanted to include too much of his own agenda!
"Those Things About the Ming Dynasty" has a good market. The content is simple enough that as long as you are not illiterate, there is no reading threshold.

Of course, what Chen Guiliang wrote was definitely different from what the original author, Dangnian Mingyue, wrote.

He had even forgotten the college entrance exam essay topic, so how could he possibly remember "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty"? He had to find the materials himself and write it slowly, borrowing the original author's creative method, that is, to write a historical novel full of interest.

Yes, "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" is a novel.

Teacher Mingyue added a lot of personal touches to the script due to his own likes and dislikes.

Chen Guiliang didn't particularly like some of his personal opinions. For example, portraying the famous minister Zhang Cong as almost a villain was quite absurd.

But it's a novel, so it's completely understandable.

Even though "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" portrays Zhou Yu in such a negative light, and "Ming Dynasty 1566" depicts Zhao Zhenji as a non-stick pan, this doesn't diminish the exceptional brilliance of both works.

Chen Guiliang chose to write "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" not just to earn royalties.

He wants to pave the way for "Three Kingdoms Kill"!
RPG games like "Legend" require too much initial investment and have long development cycles.

The Three Kingdoms Kill game is different; it can be launched quickly and at low cost.

Moreover, this game has a long enough lifespan.

Twenty years later, you might think it's completely dead, but it's actually become a pay-to-win game, with monthly revenue still around 3 million.

Chen Guiliang could easily build his fame and fanbase with "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty," and then launch the "Three Kingdoms Kill" game and physical cards. He could even use Peking University as a promotional platform for "Three Kingdoms Kill"!
"Liangliang, are you still studying after the college entrance exam?" his mother, Yao Lan, asked as she walked over.

Chen Guiliang said, "Read some leisure books and relax."

Yao Lan glanced at the History of Ming Dynasty, which was densely packed with text. She didn't think this thing could be relaxing.

But she was happy that her son was always so self-motivated in his studies.

For the next twenty days, Chen Guiliang spent his days flipping through the History of Ming, extracting what he thought was useful.

Unable to start writing immediately, he pondered where to obtain the "Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty".

It's not available in stores right now, but Peking University's library definitely has it.

December 27th arrived in the blink of an eye.

Chen Guiliang took a rural bus and slowly returned to school to check his scores and fill out his college application.

Seeing the familiar school gate again, Chen Guiliang was filled with emotion.

……

Peking University, Admissions Office.

Director Zhu, who shouldn't be here, was making phone calls to the top scorers from each province in the admissions office.

"Hello, is this Yang XX? Congratulations on becoming the top science student in the province. This is the admissions office of Peking University. You're thinking of applying to Tsinghua University? Actually, you could also consider Peking University, especially the Yuanpei Experimental Class. Our teaching methods here are very unique..."

"Hello, is this xxx High School? This is the admissions office of Peking University. Congratulations to your school's student for achieving the top score in the province's liberal arts exam. Could you please call Zhou xx in for a chat?"

Another deputy director, Lu, walked in: "How is it?"

"Let's talk outside," Director Zhu said.

Director Lu asked, "How many top scorers are willing to come to the Yuanpei Class?"

Director Zhu said, "More than twenty people said they would consider it, but only two have made a decision."

"Expanding the Yuanpei Class to 160 students this year seems like a bit too ambitious," Director Lu sighed.

Director Zhu said, "I will then contact the top ten students in the arts and sciences in each province one by one."

The first cohort of Peking University's Yuanpei Class recruited students after the university's opening. Students from any department could transfer in, as long as they passed the interview.

It was quite chaotic at the time, and many departments complained – they were very unhappy about being poached by the Yuanpei Class.

Starting from the second cohort, they were forced to switch to pre-enrollment admissions.

For example, when Chen Guiliang filled out the Peking University independent enrollment application form, the first department listed was the Yuanpei Class.

But Chen Guiliang applied to the Philosophy Department.

There are also national first prizes and international gold medals in math, physics and chemistry competitions. As long as someone is recommended to Peking University, the Yuanpei Class will fight to recruit them!
This year, the Yuanpei Class has secured 20 students who won first prize in national subject competitions and were recommended for admission, including three who won gold medals in international chemistry competitions.

The top scorers in arts and sciences from each province are also sought after by the Yuanpei Class; they try to snatch as many as they can.

Director Lu said, "Chen Guiliang can also be recruited."

"Is that the one that caused a lot of controversy recently?" Director Zhu asked.

Director Lu nodded: "Anyway, we can't fill all the spots, so he's very suitable for the Yuanpei Class."

Director Zhu smiled and said, "That's right. The Yuanpei Class really needs this kind of student. I look forward to his performance after he enrolls."

"What about Minister Cheng..." Director Lu reminded him.

"I'll go and ask for the person," Director Zhu said.

Director Lu chuckled and said, "It has nothing to do with me. I just mentioned it casually."

Director Zhu said, "You continue to contact the top ten in each province. I'll go see Minister Cheng. Suddenly expanding the recruitment to 160 places was indeed a bit ill-considered. It would be good if we could recruit 150 people this year."

Minister Cheng was also busy at this time.

The moment he saw Director Zhu, he immediately became alert: "Who are you trying to rob this time?"

Director Zhu smiled broadly and respectfully poured water into Minister Cheng's teacup: "What do you mean by 'kidnapping people'? You talk like a bandit."

"Stop beating around the bush, just say it." Minister Cheng didn't give him a friendly look.

Director Zhu said, "We'll pick someone from the list of students admitted through the independent enrollment program."

Minister Cheng asked, "Which one should we retrieve?"

“Chen Guiliang,” Director Zhu said.

Minister Cheng said, "He applied to the Philosophy Department through the independent enrollment program."

Director Zhu said, "Since he likes philosophy, he can choose philosophy as his major in his second year. In the end, it will still fall into Minister Cheng's hands, right?"

Minister Cheng said irritably, "Who knows what kind of people you've turned them into? They might end up choosing physics, chemistry, or computer science in their second year. There have been more than just one or two examples like this. Last year, you made one of my top liberal arts students in the province major in materials science!"

"That was his own choice, we didn't force him," Director Zhu said with a grin. "Besides, didn't we also send an international chemistry gold medalist to Minister Cheng to major in history and philosophy?"

Upon hearing this, Minister Cheng's expression softened slightly.

Director Zhu continued, "If Minister Cheng is worried that Chen Guiliang might go astray, he can assign him a top philosophy professor as a part-time tutor. Professor Xu Lai would be a perfect fit."

Minister Cheng was furious: "You want to steal my professorship?"

“Part-time tutoring won’t take up much of my time,” Director Zhu said.

Director Zhu pestered him relentlessly for a long time, until Minister Cheng finally couldn't take it anymore: "Call Chen Guiliang yourself and see what his wishes are."

"Haha, thank you, boss."

"Go away, leave me alone!"

-

(Some of the mentors and students in the Yuanpei Class are quite sensitive and prone to being taken down by 404. All names in the book are fictional.)
(End of this chapter)