Chapter 105: Yang Xueling’s High School Entrance Exam Results (Please Vote!)

As Yang Tian had predicted, Zhao Shilei and Zhang Xiaoshan quickly became friends. Zhao Shilei spent less time reading martial arts novels, and Zhang Xiaoshan was rarely left alone at home. The two often went out together, and although Zhang Xiaoshan was two years older than Zhao Shilei, this did not seem to affect their friendship.

The craze surrounding the King of Fighters tournament had indeed brought booming business to Hongyu Internet Cafe. Sales of game membership cards surged dramatically. In just a few months, Yang Tian had earned fifty thousand yuan from membership card sales alone, plus a 150,000-yuan commission from the gaming competition, on top of his previous earnings. He now had over 200,000 yuan in savings.

Instead of depositing the money in a bank, he put it in a credit cooperative, clearly recalling that at this time in Binhai, credit cooperatives offered much higher interest rates than banks or post offices.

Actually, before the quarterfinals—on June 24—Yang Tian did something very important: he accompanied Yang Xueling to her high school entrance exam.

Yang Xueling was assigned to the Third Middle School for the exam, and instead of taking the school bus, Yang Tian picked her up on his motorcycle. Yang Baofu and his wife followed along, and the whole family, along with Huang Juan, accompanied her to the test.

Yang Tian had always been confident about Yang Xueling’s studies. Like Huang Juan, she was diligent and hardworking, and getting into Binhai No.1 High School was no problem. So before the exam, he just took her out to relax and enjoy herself.

With the entrance exam behind them and their own final exams ahead, the eagerly awaited summer vacation soon arrived, and everyone returned to Daliushu Village.

Summer in Daliushu Village was always lively. Cicadas chirped in the large willow tree at the village entrance, frogs croaked everywhere. But the most annoying thing was the mosquitoes. The countryside was teeming with them; they hid in the rice paddies or piles of grass and trees, emerging at night with their shrill buzzing.

“Brother, your method really works! No mosquitoes are biting me at all! Mosquitoes, come on, bite me!” Yang Xueling, wearing a loose dress, dragged her feet playfully by the door, laughing happily.

Watching her, Yang Tian smiled and shook his head. Actually, all he had done was place two fennel seeds and two star anise pods in her washbasin. The fragrant steam formed a protective shield around the girl, deterring mosquitoes from biting.

Right now, he was standing by his parents’ door, driving away mosquitoes to keep Yang Baofu and his wife from being bitten at night.

Though their home was fitted with screen doors and mosquito coils were lit inside, these measures were ineffective in the countryside, where mosquitoes were too numerous.

“Brother, what are you doing?” Yang Xueling bounced over, curious as she saw Yang Tian burning tea leaves by their parents’ bedroom door.

“Driving away mosquitoes! This method is called the ‘used tea mosquito repellent.’ You collect and dry the tea leaves from daily use, then wrap them in mugwort leaves and burn them where mosquitoes gather. It drives them all away!” Yang Tian explained with a smile.

“That’s so economical! Brother, can we do this by our doors too? To chase away the mosquitoes inside?” Yang Xueling’s eyes lit up with joy as she suggested.

“No. Burning used tea smells bad. Adults don’t mind, but little kids can get choked or allergic. So definitely no burning it in your room!” Yang Tian scratched her soft nose, making her blink her big eyes.

“I’m not a little kid!” Yang Xueling muttered.

“But I have an even cooler trick to show you how mosquitoes that suck blood actually die!” Yang Tian walked slowly to Yang Xueling’s room and pulled out a large bottle, grinning.

“Really? What trick?” Yang Xueling perked up immediately.

“Watch closely. The mosquitoes will come and die all by themselves!” Yang Tian gently placed the bottle on the table, then turned off the lights and lit a candle beside it.

Soon enough, many mosquitoes flew toward the candlelight, circling it, then inexplicably dived headfirst into the bottle’s liquid without hesitation. They struggled briefly before dying on the spot.

Yang Xueling clapped and cheered, “Brother, why do mosquitoes run into the bottle to die?”

“That’s the consequence of greed. The bottle contains sugar water. Mosquitoes smell the sweetness and rush in recklessly. But they don’t realize the sugar water is sticky and traps their wings and bodies. Once they fly in and start licking the sugar water, they’re doomed! The candle attracts the mosquitoes, as they like flying toward light. Lighting a candle lures them to the sugar water trap so we can quickly get rid of them!” Yang Tian explained slowly. He didn’t use this method everywhere because it was costly—though sugar isn’t expensive, it shouldn’t be wasted. Beer works too, by the way.

“This is fun! Brother, let me try! Hey, you said mosquitoes are greedy. Are you implying I’m greedy?” Yang Xueling laughed, then frowned, playfully scolding.

“No, mosquitoes are guilty of greed, kids aren’t!” Yang Tian patted her head and turned back to his room.

“Not guilty? Hmph! If you say I’m greedy, I’ll snatch your sugar tomato salad next time!” Yang Xueling raised her fist, whispering mischievously.

At the end of July, the high school entrance exam results came out. Surprisingly, Yang Xueling scored just 530 points, qualifying only for Binhai No.2 High School. She was devastated. After the exam, she had felt relaxed; the questions were not difficult, and she was sure she could get into No.1 High School. The result hit her like a thunderbolt.

Zhang Xinyu did very well, scoring 645 and ranking first at Victory School. According to this year’s competition, she should be admitted to Binhai No.1 High School, and Wang Qiang and his wife were beaming with joy.

Yang Baofu and his wife did not scold Yang Xueling for her poor results; they gently comforted her: “It’s okay. What matters is that the knowledge is absorbed. Exams aren’t everything.”

They also said that if Yang Xueling wanted to attend No.1 High School, they would pay for it. Many families wouldn’t do that.

Though China had undergone tremendous changes by 1998, many feudal ideas still prevailed in the countryside, including Daliushu Village. Girls attending high school was already considered fortunate; most stopped after junior high and were sent to work to earn money. The countryside believed that daughters eventually belonged to others and were like water spilled once married away. Therefore, parents like Yang Baofu’s, willing to spend on their daughter’s education, were rare.

Yang Xueling was silent. She wanted to attend No.1 High School to be with Yang Tian and Huang Juan, but she didn’t want her family to spend so much money. It cost over ten thousand yuan to get into No.1 High School. Although her parents had recently earned quite a bit from greenhouse vegetables, it was hard-earned money; how could they spend so much at once?

“Xueling, think carefully. Could there have been a mistake? A score of 530 isn’t terrible, but I think you should have scored higher!” Yang Tian called her into his room and asked softly.

“I think so too. I estimated over 600 when I checked. How could it only be 530?” Yang Xueling said, tears falling. She had held back her tears for days but could no longer contain them.

“That probably means there was an error during the grading. Don’t worry. I’ll go into town tomorrow to investigate!” Yang Tian’s voice deepened as he comforted her. In major exams like the high school entrance and college entrance exams, errors in score compilation were rare due to strict review systems. But before computerized scoring, human errors were inevitable. He was confident the mistake came from the exam center.

“Brother, you can even check that?” Yang Xueling was astonished. The entrance exam was sacred to junior high students; grading was like divine judgment—authoritative and intimidating.

“Of course! Don’t believe me? I’ll show you!” Yang Tian ruffled her hair. He could see the hope sparkling in her eyes at the mention of checking the scores. Before his rebirth, she never trusted him. Now, he was the one she trusted most.

Early the next morning, Yang Tian rode his motorcycle into town. Huang Juan and Yang Xueling wanted to go too but were persuaded not to—too hot, and it was risky to ride with two passengers.

Upon arriving, he went straight to the Binhai City Education Bureau. Though he knew no one there, he had heard that Bureau Chief Zhu Wenkai and Deputy Director Jiang Nan were old classmates. Before coming, he had called Jiang Nan to ask for help. Jiang Nan would have informed Zhu Wenkai by now, so Yang Tian headed directly to the chief’s office.

“Hello, Director Zhu!” Yang Tian entered the office, led by a rather charming secretary.

“Yang Tian, right? That old Jiang Nan just called me. I roughly know the situation. Here’s what you do: write an application and have your sister’s school submit it. Then they’ll unseal the exam papers and recheck the scores,” Zhu Wenkai said, eyes fixed on his newspaper, speaking dismissively.

“Oh, sorry to trouble you!” Yang Tian said politely, pretending to leave. He already knew Zhu Wenkai was greedy. Even with Jiang Nan’s help, he’d only gained an audience, not a free favor.

Trying to extort money from Yang Tian? No way. Just as he was about to exit, Yang Tian called Vice Mayor Lang Ping and started chatting loudly: “Vice Mayor Lang, hello! Haven’t seen you here for days. Busy with work? Even so, make sure to rest. Let’s have tea at Golden Coast sometime…”

“Wait, Yang Tian, come back!” Zhu Wenkai was startled, then called softly after him.