Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

I met up with my buddies at the internet cafe and asked them about their scores.

Huang Mao was the worst off, scoring 405 points. But even this score delighted Aunt Zhao. Don't forget, this is Songjiang, where the undergraduate admission score for science is over 300. Given Huang Mao's family's financial situation, getting him into a good university with this score would be no problem at all.

Li Weiguang is slightly better than Huang Mao, with 413 points, which should be enough to get into the worst second-tier university.

The third child's score was a pleasant surprise, 480 points. He could easily choose any second-tier university in the province, and if he didn't mind the distance, he could even go to a second-tier university outside the province.

This is actually thanks to Wang Xiaozhou's intensive study in the first half of the year. Seeing that even the eldest brother was studying hard, the three of them, especially Huang Mao and Liu Weiguang, also gritted their teeth and found tutors to take many lessons, which is why they have achieved their current results.

After checking on his brothers' grades, Wang Xiaozhou opened his own grade inquiry portal to see where the problem lay.

Looking down from the top, 120 in math, no problem.

Chinese...147?

"Wow, the Wenquxing (a popular Chinese dictionary) is me! How did I get such a high score in Chinese?" Wang Xiaozhou himself was completely baffled.

Let's turn back time ten days.

Kyoto marking team.

Liu Hongwei, a senior teacher at the Experimental High School in charge of grading papers in the Chinese language group, hasn't left the house for several days. He wets his hair with warm water and dries it in the bathroom to look a little more energetic.

"This year's Songjiang Chinese exam was really nothing special. I only had two students who scored over 140. Lao Zhang, how did yours go?"

Today's workload was a bit too much, and Liu Hongwei's eyes were a little blurry, so he took off his glasses and rested for a while.

The old Zhang he mentioned also put down the test paper on his desk, took off his glasses, and let out a heavy sigh:

"I didn't get a single one. I know it's not easy for the students, and I've tried my best to give them high marks. I've been lenient with the reading comprehension questions, but these answers... sigh..."

Liu Hongwei shook his head upon hearing this: "It is indeed too mediocre. Take the essay topic 'My Mother' for example. It was already on the national exam in 57, but it's obvious that these kids haven't practiced it. Their writing lacks any genuine emotion."

Old Zhang sipped his tea: "The relationship between this generation of children and their families is really different from that of our generation. The way they express themselves is also different."

After saying that, Old Zhang started grading the test papers again, and then exclaimed, "Oh my, the test papers I'm grading now are quite interesting. They only got one question wrong in the first few questions, and if the essay gets a high score, it's almost guaranteed to be over 140."

Liu Hongwei became interested and quietly walked behind Lao Zhang to read the essay with him.

The essay topic was still "My Mother".

The first sentence:

When I was young, writing about my mother always consisted of clichés. My mother never needed proof; it's just that my story with her was too short. During the first half of my student years, I always listened to my father tell me stories about his mother and his wife. So this time, I want to write this essay from my father's perspective.

Liu Hongwei frowned: "This is getting off-topic."

Old Zhang nodded: "It is indeed a pity, but... let's take another look."

As they continued reading, the text suddenly became simple and unadorned, and the two teachers couldn't help but read it aloud:

"My mother has been gone for over thirty years. She's buried in the old cemetery at the edge of the village. Her face, her every move, are as vivid as if they were right before my eyes..."

Old Zhang looked up and exchanged a glance with Liu Hongwei. They both understood the meaning in each other's eyes: "He's got some skills..."

"Back then, life was tough. The difference between rich and poor wasn't that great, but people were warm-hearted and valued relationships. My mother was the kindest of them all..."

"The dumplings she made were incredibly delicious; they were the most cherished treat during those impoverished days..."

"Thinking back now, where did my mother, with her small and thin body, get so much strength...?"

"I have to keep this family you've built up going, and keep it stable..."

"The grass on the grave turns green and then yellow, yellow and then green again, just like my thoughts, year after year, they can never be broken."

I'm a father now, and soon a grandfather, but I haven't called her "Mom" for over thirty years. I think that one day when I can no longer farm, I'll go to the edge of the village and lie down next to that mound of earth. Maybe then, when I call "Mom" again, she'll hear me.

......

After reading the entire essay, the two examiners sighed in unison, exchanging a troubled glance.

This article is bound to be very controversial; it will either be given a low score for being off-topic, or it will be considered a perfect score example.

However, the topic and opening of this article would definitely cause a lot of controversy if it were published outside, which made the two teachers really unsure.

"Let's call the team leader to take a look."

Liu Hongwei suggested.

Old Zhang immediately nodded: "Of course, of course, the team leader really needs to check it out. I'll go get someone right now."

Old Zhang went and came back quickly. He went to the team leader's office and returned to find himself following behind an elderly man with gray hair.

"Mr. Zhao, this is the exam paper. Please take a look."

Liu Hongwei, who was sitting in the same spot, got up with a keen eye and gave his seat to the team leader.

Old Zhao put on his reading glasses, held the exam paper at a distance, and after a long while, finally spoke up: "Full marks, is there any objection?"

Old Zhang quickly added, "From an essay perspective, this is indeed of extremely high quality, but the candidate's answer is somewhat off-topic. We are worried that it will cause controversy after the exam paper is released."

Old Zhao took off his glasses: "We're all teachers, what's there to be afraid of? Just give us full marks. If there's any controversy, let them come to me with it."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang naturally complied and immediately awarded the essay a perfect score on the test paper.

In truth, he was willing to give the candidate full marks. The reason he called him Zhao Laolai was because the group leader was upright and incorruptible. As long as the writing was good, he dared to give any score. In fact, he just wanted to find a big shot to help him endorse the candidate.

"After the results are released, we can try to contact this candidate. If he/she has reached the cutoff score, we can ask him/her if he/she would like to come to our Department of Literature at Tsinghua or Peking University."

Old Zhao stood up, left those words, and headed back to his office.

Old Zhang hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about we use some resources to get the admissions office involved? With a score of this level on the Chinese exam, the overall score shouldn't be low either. Let's prevent other schools from poaching our students before they get ahead of us."

Old Zhao shook his head: "Follow the procedures. Protect the candidates' information. No one is allowed to contact him before the results are released."

......

The matter was settled by Old Zhao, which is why Wang Xiaozhou hasn't been contacted even though the internal results have been out for so many days.

At this moment, Wang Xiaozhou in the internet cafe was naturally unaware of what had happened in the grading team, but with such a high score in Chinese, the problem must lie in the essay.

The essay he wrote for the college entrance examination was actually written by a cement worker at the request of a blogger during an event in his previous life. Wang Xiaozhou felt it was relevant to the topic of the college entrance examination, so he copied it from his father's perspective.

But none of that matters now. What matters is the next short film, where Wang Xiaozhou is going to extend the lifespan of the Wei family's livestock!