After taking the advice, I became a top student.

Xiaomei Town

Standing at the counter of the convenience store, Chen Wanjun frowned and dialed a phone number.

"Hello, is this Brother Hu?"

The call connected quickly, and Chen Wanjun immediately put on a big smile. "When will the payment for the goods I delivered last time arrive? It's been three months already."

"Wan Jun, don't be anxious. Others have tens of thousands of yuan owed to me and I don't even ask about it every day. Your five thousand yuan? What era are we living in? Do you think I would shortchange you on your payment?"

"But if this money isn't settled soon, I won't have any money to buy more goods, and the small shop won't be able to keep operating."

Chen Wanjun immediately frowned deeply.

This amount of money is indeed not much, but last time he had already emptied his savings to pay Chen Mo's school selection fee. If the other party does not settle the payment soon, he will be in dire straits, and Chen Mo's living expenses next month will be a problem.

"Don't worry, I'll transfer the money to you as soon as it arrives. I have something to do, so I'll hang up now."

The call ended quickly.

Chen Wanjun's forehead was furrowed into a deep frown.

He had made many calls, but each time the other party made various excuses to refuse. He originally thought it was a big order that could earn him several hundred dollars, but it turned out to be a huge trap.

The Wumeng Mountains connect to mountains beyond mountains...

Suddenly, Chen Wanjun's cell phone rang.

He excitedly took out his phone, thinking the payment had arrived.

I only realized it was Chen Mo calling when I saw the caller ID.

"Xiao Mo, are you out of living expenses? I'll transfer some to you in a bit."

Chen Wanjun's forehead relaxed, and he spoke with a gentle expression.

"It's not living expenses; I have plenty more for living expenses."

Chen Mo found it somewhat amusing, but he usually called to ask for living expenses, so it was normal for his father to misunderstand. "Dad, I won first place in the provincial math competition this time!"

"What kind of math competition?"

Chen Wanjun was somewhat bewildered. He had lived in the small town for decades and had never encountered this word before.

"Just think of it as an exam, a test for the best math students in the province, and I got first place!"

Chen Mo gave a brief explanation, which was partly a boast, but mostly meant to let his parents know that he was doing well in the provincial capital and to reassure them.

Chen Wanjun immediately broke into a bright smile, "Xiao Mo, you're amazing! I knew you could do it!"

"The school also gave me a reward of 5,000 yuan this time. I will transfer 4,000 yuan to you later. You can buy Mom two nice clothes, and your old tricycle should be replaced with a new one."

Chen Mo happily said that he doesn't have much of an obsession with money, but money can make his parents' lives easier, so he is very concerned about earning back his 20,000 yuan school selection fee.

"How many?"

"Five thousand?"

Chen Wanjun's eyes widened.

Chen Mo had previously said that he had won first place in the province, and even after he explained it once, he still didn't really understand what it meant to be first in the province. But when Chen Mo mentioned the 5,000 yuan prize, he immediately realized the significance of being first in the province!

That's five thousand yuan!

His small shop only makes a profit of ten or twenty thousand yuan a year, which is equivalent to several months' worth of his earnings.

Can you make money while studying?

Chen Wanjun knew that his son seemed to have really made something of himself.

However, he quickly realized what Chen Mo was about to say and hurriedly refused, "Why would I take your money? Keep it for yourself, go eat something nice. You have to spend money everywhere in the provincial capital, don't be too frugal."

"Don't worry, I'm going to Beijing to participate in the national competition later, and there will be rewards then. I have enough money to spend."

Chen Mo persisted.

After exchanging a few more words, the two hung up the phone.

Chen Mo then immediately completed the transfer.

"Was that Xiao Mo calling?"

Tao Tao came out of the convenience store. "Why didn't you wait a little longer and call me to come pick you up?"

"If you want to talk to Xiaomo, just call him yourself."

Chen Wanjun found it amusing.

"He has such a heavy workload right now, what if we disturb his studies?"

Tao Tao shook her head, then asked, "Does Xiao Mo run out of living expenses?"

Chen Wanjun shook his head. "He said he would transfer four thousand yuan to us so I could buy you two nice outfits."

"What?"

"Where did he get the money?"

"Why buy clothes? I have enough."

Tao Tao immediately launched into a series of three soul-searching questions.

"He participated in some kind of math competition and won first place in the province. The school awarded him 5,000 yuan."

Chen Wanjun explained.

"What math competition?" Tao Tao asked, equally bewildered.

"Let me check."

Chen Wanjun took out his phone, opened the browser, and started searching for math competitions. He was determined to learn more about them so that he wouldn't be at a loss for words when Chen Mo brought them up next time.

The first result on Baidu was "GG Math Competition Training Class," which Chen Wanjun ignored and quickly found the information he wanted.

National High School Mathematics League.

"It says here that if you win a medal in the national competition, you might have a chance to be admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University without taking the entrance exam?"

"Xiao Mo just said that he's going to participate in the national competition in a while."

Chen Wanjun exclaimed in surprise. Tsinghua and Peking Universities held such a sacred place in his heart, yet now he was being told that participating in a competition could guarantee admission to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and that his son was currently participating in this competition and was doing quite well. He was still somewhat unable to process what was happening.

"Let me see, let me see."

Tao Tao also perked up and quickly came over.

Then, they saw a news interview on Sichuan TV.

From last in my grade to first in the province: I just used the time others spent eating and sleeping to study.

"Hey? Isn't this Xiao Mo?"

Chen Wanjun let out a soft "hmm" and clicked on it.

"First of all, congratulations to Chen Mo on his achievement in this..."

The reporter's voice came through the loudspeaker, but Chen Wanjun stared intently at the boy on the screen.

"She really is the last one!"

Tao Tao exclaimed in surprise, burying her face in Chen Wanjun's shoulder, her face beaming with joy, "Our Xiaomo is on TV!"

The two stood there at the entrance of the convenience store, watching Chen Mo's interview.

The interview ended quickly, and the two were still somewhat reluctant to leave.

"Send me this video, I want to save it," Tao Tao said excitedly, taking out her phone.

"Xiao Mo's hair is such a mess. Why doesn't he take care of himself before going on TV? I'll have to remind him next time."

Chen Wanjun stared at the screen and grinned as he spoke.

"Yes, yes, let's look at it again and see where Xiao Mo missed it. We'll remind him next time."

Tao Tao agreed.

So the two of them turned on the interview video again.

Meanwhile, in the provincial capital...

"Stop watching TV all day. Come on, let's go play some ball with Dad."

Shu Hui said to Shu Yuan, who was lying on the sofa watching TV.

"I'm not going."

Shu Yuan lay on the sofa, unwilling to move an inch. "It's such a rare holiday, and I still have to go out and play ball. How tiring!"

"Health is the foundation of everything. I don't care about your grades, but you must keep your body healthy."

Shu Hui walked to the sofa, reached out and pulled Shu Yuan, "Those who don't listen to the elders will suffer the consequences."

Suddenly, Shu Yuan, staring at the television and seeing that familiar face on screen, remembered something and said to Shu Hui, "Dad, do you remember that uncle we met when we went back to our hometown last time?"

"What's wrong?"

"His son won first place in the provincial math competition. Professors from Yanbei University came to see him, and the principal personally presented him with the award at the flag-raising ceremony. His classmates and teachers all said that he might be recommended to Tsinghua or Peking University in the future."

"what?"

Shu Hui was stunned on the spot.

"So what you said might not be right."

Shu Yuan said smugly.