I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 128 Giving him the money gave me peace of mind.

Compared with the number of college entrance examination applicants in Jiangkou Province last year, this year's increase is significant, with more than 40,000 more applicants, bringing the total number of test takers to over 300,000.

However, the admission rate has actually decreased. This year, apart from the Chinese composition in the college entrance examination becoming a hot topic, the other subjects were not as exciting as last year.

Overall, with a total score of 750, 550 is a watershed, which is roughly the top 10% of scorers.

As for those who scored above 600, the combined total for both arts and sciences barely exceeded 10,000, with over 1,000 of them coming from Xindongweigang Middle School.

After Zhang Da'an finished the exam, he started checking the situation of the "top scorer class". The students' families, grandparents, parents and so on, all came to join in the fun.

Fortunately, there was already a very large indoor stadium, so Zhang Da'an gathered here to communicate and explain.

Even with the air conditioning on full blast, it's not hot.

During the explanation, "Teacher Bai from the health room" was also present, which caused many trainees to lose their temper and cry. They all wanted to take a group photo with "Teacher Bai".

This is their youth.

"Teacher Xiaobai, I'll miss you so much! What will I do if I never see you again? Waaah—"

"..."

"..."

Both Zhang Da'an, who was holding the microphone, and the big black dog, who wasn't, looked completely bewildered.

"Zhang Xiaobai" is no longer an adorable little puppy. It has a well-proportioned body, a curled tail, bright eyes, and muscles all over its body that make it look like a black kangaroo at first glance.

Don't be too handsome.

Moreover, it doesn't get angry even if someone touches its "bell" and "barrel," as long as they don't pinch them.

"Tong Kejie, can you cry like that? It makes me want to vomit. Get out of here. Don't think I won't scold you just because you got over 600 points."

"Brother An, why are you so heartless, so cold-blooded, and so unreasonable!"

"Are you acting out 'Princess Pearl' with me? Where are your parents? Drag them away! If you bark like a dog again, I'll have your dad put your college application in Chengdu."

"I don't plan to apply to the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China."

"Get out of here, and Wang Lidong, all you do all day is pet the dog's chin. Can't you act like an adult? You'll never graduate from university. I told you to get out of here, and you still petted... oh yeah, you petted the dog's chin and then Tong Kejie's face. You two are just unbelievable."

"Hahahahahaha..."

Amid the laughter, some parents were also very excited. Although the scores wouldn't be released until July, the estimated scores at Xindongweigang Middle School had a very small margin of error, and were basically close to the actual scores.

Moreover, this year, all admissions in Jiangkou Province will be conducted online, and 73 universities will pilot online remote admissions. You can check online when the time comes, which is much more convenient than before.

This year, the enrollment will continue to be expanded, and universities will have greater autonomy in admissions. Within a 1:1.2 ratio of the number of students to be admitted, universities will request the transfer of student files and decide whether to admit the student and the major to which they will be admitted. They will also be responsible for explaining the reasons to unsuccessful candidates and handling any remaining issues.

Generally speaking, as long as you meet the cutoff score, even if you're just a dozen or twenty points short, you can basically get into a university. However, the major you'll most likely get is a newly established, unpopular major that the school is just using to amuse students.

In other places, high schools that have KPIs for the number of students applying to prestigious universities will not care about the job market three or four years later; they will only care about the school's impressive academic performance on paper.

But at Xindongwei Port Middle School, Zhang Da'an received tens of thousands of yuan from others, and he didn't cut corners on the training; he also received two thousand yuan in consulting fees, and he would never cheat anyone.

"Let me emphasize again, we all did quite well on the exams this year. Basically, those who were at the second-tier university level last year are now at the top-tier university level; those who were at the junior college level last year are now at the first-tier university level. The cutoff score for the first-tier university this year is around 530 or 540, not much different. For those who just barely passed, if you just want to apply to a good university and don't care about the major, then don't stay in the province. Be bold and go outside the province. For example, in the Western Regions or the Northeast, there are some universities with specialized majors such as agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry. They are actually guiding institutions in the industry. They may not be the top, but they play a cornerstone role in the industry. And if you go for their core majors, they guarantee job placement. It's similar to Jiangning Information and Jiangning Audit, but to a higher degree; and East China University of Water Resources and Hydropower is the same."

"There are also Jiangning Institute of Technology, Jiangning University of Science and Technology, and Jiangning University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. These three schools are piloting independent admissions for students who meet the minimum provincial control score in the same batch, without being subject to the 1:1.2 admission ratio. Those with high enough scores who do not want to go to other provinces can be given priority. This year, both arts and science students are eligible. You can continue your studies in graduate school after four years. There is no need to rush to work or take the civil service exam. A new talent policy is about to be introduced. If you go directly to your first year of graduate school after four years, you can also get a permanent position."

Many parents were shocked when they heard this.

Although the students' parents are generally a lower-tier version of "rich and powerful," they are not that expensive. Many top-tier information can only be obtained by a small number of parents.

For talent policies that Zhang Da'an can directly articulate, the provincial authorities would have to go to the highest levels to find even a smattering of information.

Not authentic yet.

However, the information provided by Zhang Da'an is absolutely guaranteed to be true.

You want to ask why?
That's easy. He's one of the advisory committee members for this talent policy pilot program, and some of the suggestions came from him.

The billionaire's right to bark was made tangible at this moment, with outstanding effect.

Another aspect is the exchange. Zhang Da'an's statement, "All my companies strictly abide by the Labor Law," has yet to be challenged by any business representative.

Even well-known local joint ventures in Jiangning City wouldn't qualify; they're not on the same level. Furthermore, some companies within the "Zhang An Group" are eligible for IPOs, such as "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd."—a great opportunity for "shared prosperity" through listing.

Don't ask how free antivirus software actually makes money; the concept they're currently developing is that it's a "top-performing stock."

Whether or not to cut chives, and how to cut chives, are two different things.

"Coach Zhang, is it true?"

"Is this true, Coach Zhang?!"

Many parents whose children scored over 600 points were thrilled at the time.

They weren't some extraordinary people; they were simply at the level where they could afford the tuition for Xindongwei Port Middle School. They couldn't be considered "upper class," but calling them "middle class families" would be perfectly accurate.

For them, if their children can go to university, they won't have to worry about their future careers, which is an absurdly high cost-performance ratio.

“I said, we’ve known each other for so long, can you please stop asking ‘is it true or false’? It’s unnecessary to ask every year. What I say is what it is. Don’t worry about whether it’s true or false. I’ve taken so much money from you, and I haven’t overcharged you by a single penny. I just like money, but I don’t like being scammed.”

"Hahahahahaha..."

Amidst laughter, Zhang Da'an paced back and forth on the stage, occasionally switching between the text materials on the big screen. "Don't just laugh, keep an eye on the big screen. The industry developments I mentioned before are worth considering for application. They've also been adapted to your family circumstances."

"In this area, civil engineering is a good choice, whether it's design, construction, safety, or materials application. Don't apply for materials science in mechanical engineering. You can skip it for graduate school, but it's unnecessary for undergraduate studies unless you're from a top ten established engineering university or a long-established chemical engineering program. However, if your family is in the home improvement or furniture business, or works in the urban construction department, applying for that would be a waste of resources. Like I said before, give me the two thousand yuan consultation fee, and I'll do an analysis for you."

"You can work in the upstream and downstream industrial chains of civil engineering, including mining and refining. If your family is from Pengcheng, you can go directly to China University of Mining and Technology. After graduating from university, you can live a comfortable life in the province for at least ten years. After ten years, you can go to a large state-owned enterprise or a central enterprise outside the province. Talent policies will only get better and better. You can just do a master's degree in the meantime."

"I first emphasized civil engineering because the demand for highly educated professionals in this field is huge. There's a simple way to tell when it will reach saturation: when houses in the suburbs of provincial capitals stop selling, that's when it's saturated. It's a bit like mechanical engineering over the past twenty years. Studying mechanical engineering now is too low-value, and it's saturated for a long time. Unless you're pursuing a research-industry-academia collaboration route, if you're after money, prioritize automation, electrification, and special processing. Oh, I almost forgot, Wang Lidong, your score should be higher than the welding major at Harbin Institute of Technology. My suggestion is to go straight for a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree. I'll discuss this with you in detail later."

"Okay, now for the main event: computer science. It's the golden major for the next twenty years. How to put it? Graduates from top universities can easily earn enough in five years to cover a lifetime's expenses. If they're lucky and their project becomes a hit, they'll achieve financial freedom. Financial freedom right now means around 20 million. You can live however you want, as long as you don't start a business or invest. Even if the money just sits in the bank and rots, you'll never run out of money. If you have dreams and want to build a career, then we'll talk about that later."

"Let me emphasize again, computer science is a golden major, and it doesn't require a high level of family wealth. Don't listen to what outsiders say about finance or law. If your family has a long history of bank management, you can apply anywhere, but if not, save your breath. If your family has assets of 50 million or 100 million, at most you can afford to have your child cut their nails at the counter every day, but that's easy. Unless your family is exceptionally powerful, computer science is a relatively high-paying and fair profession. Moreover, it will be highly integrated with multiple industries in the future. Take the education industry as an example. Everyone has taken multimedia courses, and in the future, it's very likely that anyone can enter the multimedia course market, with extremely low barriers to entry. There will be companies in the industry that will provide free online tools for you to teach live, saving you more time and effort than I do now."

"If you insist on studying mechanical engineering, such as the traditional mechanical manufacturing major or mechanical design, you must minor in computer science. You can earn about twenty times more money. If you only earn ten times more, then you are either too stupid or too incompetent."

Text and images scrolled across the big screen, and Zhang Da'an continued until his throat was dry. He then stopped to rest for a while, and then there was a commotion as dozens of students rushed onto the stage to pet the dog.

Amid the commotion, a parent of a student who estimated their score at 696 suddenly asked Zhang Da'an curiously, "Coach Zhang, what score did you get this year?"

"This year, in order to help Mazhou City launch a satellite, I specifically took the test and got a perfect score of 750."

"..."

"..."

Amid the exclamations, another student, stroking "Teacher Xiaobai's" dog head, asked loudly, "Then there isn't a single student in the 'Top Scholar Class' who scored over 700?"

"Let alone the 'top scorer class,' I estimate that apart from me, no one else scored over 700 this year. Some subjects on this year's exam were of a very high standard, while others were of a very low standard. I estimate that some people who could have scored over 700 would have lost 10 or 20 points due to the difference in quality between the high and low scores."

"Brother An, are you going to take the college entrance exam again next year?"

"I'm not participating anymore. I'll retire after this year's exams. I'll be a three-time top scorer in the college entrance exams and create a 'new Dongweigang dynasty.' This year, my fame will increase tenfold without any problem. Then I'll open a new Dongweigang Middle School in Jianghuai Province."

"Huh? Didn't you say before, Brother An, that you wouldn't open branch schools in other provinces?"

"I'm driving to Jianghuai Province, but I don't necessarily recruit students there. I can also serve students from the suburbs of Jiangning City. I've been there for the past few months. The general situation is that students have the money, but they don't have the qualifications to get into a good high school in the old city. Now, because of some things, it's like the right time, place, and people are all in place. Jiangning City can turn a blind eye to my poaching, as long as it's not too outrageous."

"Damn, Brother An, how about I apply to Jiangning Normal University and become a lecturer at your branch school in Jianghuai? My dad is from Jianghuai Province, and he really wants me to become a teacher."

"Sure, I estimate that by your sophomore year, you'll be able to get the preparatory class up and running. You can come and work part-time as an assistant then, and by the time you graduate, you can also get the 'Zhang An Certification'. Anyway, by your sophomore or junior year, the basic salary for a Level 1 lecturer should be 250,000...9,200 a year. That's not bad compared to a typical programmer working on small projects, and I haven't even included bonuses and project profit sharing."

"Then I'll apply to Jiangning Normal University! Brother An, please don't refuse to accept me then."

"Get out of here. Who knows if you've been busy dating since you entered university this year? Do you think I'd accept you even if you didn't complete all your credits? We've known each other for so long, you should know my principles very well, which is..."

"They only care about money, not people—"

The students who were lining up to pet the dogs suddenly stopped rubbing the dogs' heads, looked up, and shouted in unison.

Zhang Da'an only talks about money with everyone, never feelings. Not only are the students used to it, but the parents have also gotten used to it.

But how should I put it, I felt very reassured giving him the money.

After all, he only cares about money.

(End of this chapter)