Chapter 67: Good News

The greatest trait of a truly intelligent person is the ability to think—rational thinking.

"You know my situation. My father is in prison, my mother is missing, and only my grandmother supports me through school by selling candied hawthorns. If I want her to work less, I need to earn some money. But that's not the main point—the point is to first understand what I really want!"

She was in no rush to get into the exercises; instead, Yang Liushan was eager to understand how such a vast, interlocking plan came to be in Xiao Cheng's mind.

"I want my grandmother to work less—that’s my goal. To achieve that, it’s not enough to make money; it has to be money she can accept. As a middle schooler, she would never allow me to work, and any money from unknown sources, even the money from selling exam answers like today, she’d see as shady or underhanded. So the only kind of money she can accept is scholarship money."

"So you set your sights on the math olympiad?"

"The math olympiad was an opportunity. This year, Xiangyang is the host city. As Teacher Dong said, both the provincial and municipal education authorities are paying close attention—even making it to the second round gets you bonus points! But the prize money itself is too little. Even though it’s ten or twenty thousand, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to our debts. So I had to find a way to raise the stakes. The organizing committee’s and the education bureau’s rewards are out of my control. The only other parties who would pay for good results are the educational training organizations."

"Those institutions are out for profit, so to get them to pay, I must prove my commercial value. That’s why I had to hype things up—accepting interviews, stirring up drama online—it was all to grab their attention."

It sounds simple: if you want your grandmother to work less, you must earn money legally, and the best way is through scholarships. Math olympiad prizes are too small, so the next best thing is to approach training organizations, which require commercial value, thus the need for publicity. This has little to do with raw intelligence; it’s more a matter of calculation. Knowing what you want, and then deducing step by step what must be done—anyone can figure this out, given thought.

"Exactly. It’s like with the media—they’re almost certain to interview the first student to hand in their paper. So I handed mine in first. If the first to finish also scores full marks, isn’t that headline-worthy?"

Xiao Cheng’s strategy seems incredible, but when laid out plainly, it’s not that complicated. "If you know what you want, you’ll know what to do. Most of us don’t even bother to think about that. The teacher tells us to study hard, so we fight tooth and nail for grades. The saddest thing is to finally win something, only to realize it was never what you wanted in the first place."

The "how" is really a tactical matter—a matter of cleverness. But discovering what you truly want, that’s strategic—that’s real wisdom.

"What do you want?" Yang Liushan asked.

"To have hotpot with you. On a snowy winter’s day, I’ll bring you home. We’ll sit around a big round table, a divided hotpot in the center. You can’t handle spicy food, so the clear broth side faces you. I’ll mix my own dipping sauce: sesame paste, fermented bean curd, chive flower paste, sugar, soy sauce, and cilantro. We'll have lamb and beef, red and white, so appetizing to look at. You love lettuce, and there’ll be endive and crown daisy too. If Dad’s in a good mood, he might have some baijiu and maybe let me have a beer. You, my mother, and Grandma can have Sprite. The house will be warm and steamy with hotpot, while snowflakes drift outside, everything clean and bright..."

He made it sound so enticing you could almost taste it then and there.

"When it snows, will you come have hotpot at my place?"

"Mm!" The girl nodded shyly, her face flushed as though winter had already arrived and the chill had frozen her smile.

......

An hour after the preliminary math olympiad ended, the questions appeared on the official website. Grading was already underway, with teachers at many schools and training centers working overtime to estimate their students’ scores as soon as possible. But No. 2 Middle School saw no need for this exercise.

Teacher Dong merely called a few of her top math students to ask about their performance. The answers were almost identical: "No chance!" Only when she got to Yang Liushan did her expression change. "What? Fifty-one points! Are you sure?"

"Positive. The official answers are online. I checked them myself. I couldn’t have made a mistake."

Teacher Dong was so excited she almost dropped the phone. To have a student qualify for the second round of the math olympiad was unprecedented in the school’s history! The other benefits were nice, but the ten bonus points for the high school entrance exam were invaluable! She hung up and immediately called Principal Niu to deliver the good news. He was so delighted he practically jumped three feet in the air and ordered a grand celebration.

A bright red notice was posted at the school gate: "Warm congratulations to Yang Liushan from Class 8, Grade 2, for scoring 51 points in the preliminary round of the China Regional International Mathematical Olympiad (Selection Contest)!" On Monday morning, students and teachers crowded around, many casting envious glances at the well-known Yang Liushan. Yet she alone felt as though she had just swallowed a fly.

To fail an exam for once and have your score posted for all to see as though it were some great achievement...

With a rip, the notice was torn down. The girl’s face was frosty, and the onlookers exchanged awkward glances.

In the principal’s office, Niu Dalong held Sunday’s Xiangyang Evening News, shaking with rage. On page two, a prominent article titled "Math Olympiad Becomes a Lottery: Contestant Finishes in Fifteen Minutes" questioned the seriousness of the competition. Most infuriating was that the student who finished in fifteen minutes was clearly their own Wen Xiaocheng! No black bar, no matter how wide, could hide that face—he’d be recognizable even as a pile of ashes!

Finishing in fifteen minutes was one thing, but to accept a media interview afterward? To be made an example of? The article even mentioned students from the surrounding townships, with the school’s own hall monitors at the gate! "Go to Class 8, Grade 2, and bring Wen Xiaocheng to me!"

Soon, the hall monitor came in to report that Wen Xiaocheng wasn’t in class.

"Playing hooky, is he?"

"No, the math teacher called him to the office. I’ve let them know. The teacher said to wait until she’s done venting her anger before sending Wen Xiaocheng over."

In fact, what Teacher Dong had said was, "Once I’ve calmed down, I’ll let him come."

In the office, the innocent Teacher Dong was "venting" verbally, while Xiaocheng kept his head down, murmuring his agreements.

"Didn’t I make it clear in class? No handing in your paper early! Absolutely not!"

"Mm..."

"You had a chance to train at Star Academy. Why weren’t you more serious? All the teachers bent the rules for you, hoping you’d make the second round and get those ten bonus points for the entrance exam. We didn’t hesitate to approve your leave, but you finished in fifteen minutes. How can you be so irresponsible with your own future?"

"Mm..."

"Look at Yang Liushan!"

"Uh?"

——————

The previous section isn’t strictly necessary, but I’ve kept it. The greatest tragedy for our people is not knowing what we truly want. Yearning for health, yet neglecting our bodies; wanting success, but not working hard; longing for love, but unwilling to give; hoping for bonus chapters, yet never rewarding the author...

Sorry, I digress.

I promised this book would recharge your intellect. If, after reading, you take a moment to consider what it is you truly want, then all my rambling will not have been in vain.