Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 82 The Joy of Becoming a Legend Plus

Monday, October 4.

Zhou Xiaoyun repeatedly refused Li Zhao's request to take the bus to school by himself, and insisted on taking Li Zhao to school on her motorcycle.

In theory, motorcycles are banned in New Taipei City, but 08 was a relatively early time. They were strictly prohibited on main roads, but no one cared about them on the old city and short-distance roads in the suburbs.

Construction on the pedestrian street entered a new phase. Motorcycles could only drive up to the entrance of the pedestrian street, so all the students of the Sixth Primary School had to walk half of the pedestrian street to get to school. This was also the reason why the school was later moved.

From afar, Li Zhao could see that the entrance to the pedestrian street was crowded with people.

They must be parents dropping off their children, but—there are no cars on the pedestrian street, so why would they need to watch their children leave?

When Li Zhao got closer, he was dumbfounded.

A large poster is prominently displayed on the white wall on one side of the pedestrian street entrance.

Red background, yellow lettering; very rough, but very impressive.

Congratulations to Li Zhao, a student from New Taipei City No. 6 Elementary School, for winning the first prize in the National Elementary School English Competition!

Li Zhao quickly got out of the car and hurried into the crowd, and behind her, she heard a voice saying, "Li Zhao's mother—".

One after another.

They actually put up promotional posters here. What must the school be like inside?

Li Zhao was dumbfounded when he entered the school.

Upon entering the main gate of New Taipei No. 6 Elementary School, there is a huge black monument inscribed with the school motto: "Honesty, Courage, and Aspiration."

Li Zhao quite liked the school motto, feeling it was very suitable for elementary school students.

At this moment, a huge red banner hangs on the monument, no longer announcing that Li Zhao won first prize, but instead proclaiming him as "Number One in the Country".

A large group of children were chattering over the banner. Li Zhao, the person in charge, wanted to walk past it quietly, but he was 1.7 meters tall, which made him stand out among the elementary school students, and Liu Mingyu happened to be right behind him.

And then—"Li Zhao! You're actually number one in the whole country! That's amazing!"

A wave of "Wow!" that was like a tidal wave hit him, and Li Zhao got goosebumps all over his body.

Since smartphones didn't exist yet, these elementary school students didn't have the means to take photos, so they used their eyes as cameras, surrounding Li Zhao with eyes full of longing.

For many third and fourth graders, Li Zhao is like a god in their eyes.

This "senior who achieved first place nationwide" will become a guiding star for them on their future academic journey.

Although he was just a child, this was the first time Li Zhao had ever experienced being treated like a celebrity.

This is the joy of being watched. Happiness +2, Total 25

Ok?

Is there no redemption option?

Is it because Li Zhao doesn't have anything he particularly wants right now, or is it because he was curious about what he could do with high happiness levels last time, so this time he just gave him something big?

It's possible that both are true.

Li Zhao was genuinely uninterested in the basic redemption option of 20,000. He was making money on the stock market and would be able to collect the profits next month. Besides, he had just redeemed his royalties over the weekend; his 8,000-word article on the seven major issues had earned him 2000 yuan, which must have been an extra bonus. He hadn't redeemed the article on earthquake resistance.

2000 yuan.

Twenty 20-yuan bills were tucked in a hidden compartment of Li Zhao's schoolbag. For a primary school student who couldn't spend money freely, this was already a huge sum of money that was difficult to handle.

Surrounded by the crowd, Li Zhao walked into the classroom with difficulty, receiving another wave of cheers.

Li Zhao met many pairs of bright, sparkling eyes.

The cheers continued even after He Lin entered the classroom, showing no sign of stopping.

The children were so clever; they knew the teacher wouldn't get angry in this situation, so they cheered and clapped along with Li Zhao, experiencing a bit of joy outside of classroom order.

Li Zhao's astonishing achievements brought a strange sense of excitement to the entire school, even Ma Yingying had to admit defeat. And since it happened right before May Day, everyone's emotions were running high and couldn't be calmed down, resulting in a strange feeling permeating the entire three days—

Wandering outside the daily routine, walking on the edge of order.

During these three days, Li Zhao became the absolute center of attention in the class.

Perhaps that's an understatement. After all, the class next door, led by Liu Yiting, had each student fold a star for Li Zhao, saying it was to make a wish for him.

Li Zhao was delighted when he accepted them, until he accidentally crushed one of the stars and discovered the small print inside:

Please, Li Zhao, bless me so I can get into New Taipei Experimental School.

You son of a bitch, Liu Yiting, do you really think I'm some kind of goddess?!

Huang Keyun held an unprecedentedly high position in the office. How high? Chen, the team leader, personally poured her tea.

Li Zhao was very tired in the three days leading up to May Day.

If he had reached this level in his previous life, he would probably have just kept a straight face and pretended to be cool, enjoying it immensely.

The more people praise him, the more he pretends, and the more he pretends, the more people praise him. Although this creates a group of enemies who don't like him, he can immerse himself in this kind of happiness very well.

Unfortunately, Li Zhao was a cunning and ruthless individual.

In his previous life, he had led a city park project that won an award in Beijing. It was also the best in the country. Many industry giants were sitting in the room. Li Zhao went on stage to introduce the project and give his acceptance speech.

The award was presented to him by a director from the Ministry of Natural Resources. The vice president of the Urban Planning Society expressed high praise for his project. After receiving the award, he went to the Linjiang Natural Resources Department and chatted happily with the leadership team.

The threshold is very high.

So after the initial joy wore off, Li Zhao found it difficult to cope with everyone's persistent and unsettling emotions.

Interestingly, He Shuyao and Chen Nian seemed completely unfazed by the situation.

He studied very attentively in class.

Is there even more pressure coming?

Aside from his emotions, Li Zhao was more concerned about the South China Weekly, which did not publish "One Picture Coordination:" as he had expected.

The key to resolving the disconnect between urban planning and land planning.

It's the same old story: academic observations and editorials get published instantly; but those involving policy or even political orientation don't.

Understandably, given the size of the South China Weekly, the previous article on earthquake relief sparked a major discussion, and they need to carefully consider their next move before jumping on the bandwagon.

Li Zhao suspected that they might have sent the article to some bigwigs in the planning industry for their review first.

That's good. Those at a higher professional level should be more able to understand the value of Li Zhao's article and this series of articles.

Over the weekend, Li Zhao suddenly came up with a good way to leverage the influence of the Four Knives.

Once he has gained some influence in other areas, such as university or high school, he can inherit the pen name as a disciple of Sikoudao.

The old man requested that the identity of the Four Knives be kept secret.

As for everyone's speculation that Li Zhao himself is Si Kou Dao, go ahead and guess. He was still a primary school student in 08. Is that even possible?

This should be a better way to fully absorb influence.

But that's all in the future. Right now, it's best to maintain the influence of his pen name while also cultivating Li Zhao's urban management mindset—a win-win situation.

On Wednesday after school, the elementary school students finally broke free from the "Li Zhao is number one in the country" mentality and, like birds released from their cages, flew towards the May Day holiday.

Chen Nian stretched and yawned. "The holiday is finally here—I'm exhausted."

"You've become very serious."

"No way," Chen Nian waved his hand, "Nothing I do is worth praising in front of you."

That brat, he's definitely got a competitive spirit.

Have you ever heard the saying, Chen Nian?

He Shuyao suddenly slowed down her packing and perked up her little ears.

"What?"

"I'm afraid my brother will suffer, and I'm also afraid my brother will drive a Land Rover."

"Pfft!" While Chen Nian was still wondering, He Shuyao burst out laughing first.

"What does that mean?"

Li Zhao waved his hand, "No, no, let's go home first, it's a holiday."

"What are you planning to do this weekend?" He Shuyao asked first.