Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 418 Keep it confidential
To be honest, Chen Fan is by no means a stingy person, as the rolling creatures can attest.

Changchang and Shuishui often lorded it over him, the Eurasian Falcon always perched on his arm or shoulder and frequently threw rabbits at him, Duoduo and Qiuqiu often tore his clothes during training, and there were also foals, mares, and lambs...

But Chen Fan never gets angry and would never say he wants to kill them and eat them.

They also fed the pandas sour apples and grapes because the book said that eating more sour foods is good for the body.

When they have free time, they will put Duoduo and Qiuqiu in the river to bathe, pull the foals into the paddy fields to train their leg strength, and let the mare massage the two lambs with her hooves.

Look, he's even repaying evil with kindness; he has such a good temper!

Even the best-tempered person would absolutely not tolerate this.

Previously, Jiang Lili was sent to the prefectural committee. After returning, an investigation was launched. After careful planning, 18 plans were prepared, and they were finally implemented today.

Poisoned?

That was just the 18th plan.

Just now, he deliberately reminded everyone not to bring their study materials into the exam room. While everyone was huddled together handing their materials to their companions, he silently obtained the notes from those three people.

As a martial arts master, it's reasonable for him to know some agile techniques and moves!
What if none of them brought any?
It's okay, Chen Fan has thoughtfully prepared cheat sheets for them.

With his calligraphy skills now at LV5 and combining both soft and hard strokes, he guarantees that when they hold it in their hands, they will all think it is their own handwriting from that day, and will never doubt that it is not their own handwriting.

Of course, it's better to use their own things; they'll leave a deeper impression and be undeniable.

Then, while the candidates were entering the examination room, they would block the only way, waving their hands and shouting slogans while secretly stuffing the papers back into their seats.

He was afraid the little notes wouldn't fall out, so he only stuffed a tiny bit of each one into the edge of his pocket. That way, even if they did nothing but sit and move around, the little notes would soon peek out from the corners or even fall out.

What happened next was only natural.

……

An interlude is just an interlude. When things are peaceful, it can be a topic of conversation, but when serious matters come up, it is immediately forgotten.

Two and a half hours later, the exam ended, and hundreds of students poured out.

There are only a little over 5000 test takers in the entire Yunhu area, and a few hundred in a single county, which is already a lot.

Zhang Cuie ran ahead and immediately spotted Chen Fan sitting across the street. Overjoyed, she ran over and shouted, "Master, I've finished the exam!"

Chen Fan sat calmly on the small stool, smiling and nodding at her. Only when she ran up to him did he look at the two sheets of paper covered in writing in her hand. "Did you bring the questions and answers out?"

Zhang Cuie immediately handed it to him, saying, "I brought it out, take a look."

Chen Fan took it and read it carefully.

Zhang Cuie, still showing off, said, "I finished the exam in less than an hour and a half, even after checking it three times. Then I spent half an hour copying the questions and answers. Master, please take a look and see how many points I can get?"

Only then did Zhang Wenliang, looking displeased, say irritably, "He doesn't have a standard answer, how would he know what score you got?"

Seriously, this girl is hopeless. Is she even my own cousin? She's been talking non-stop for ages, but I haven't seen her cousin at all.
Then he successfully attracted his cousin's attention.

Zhang Cuie turned around, hands on her hips, glaring angrily. "My master is the standard answer. If he says it's right, it's right; if he says it's wrong, it's wrong. How dare you, someone who didn't even graduate from elementary school, interrupt?"

Zhang Wenliang clutched his chest, on the verge of spitting out a mouthful of blood.

This girl is hopeless!

At this moment, the others also ran over one after another, forming a semicircle and staring intently at Chen Fan, waiting for him to pronounce the verdict.

Chen Fan didn't hesitate. He quickly read through the test paper that Zhang Cuie had copied, then picked up his pen and made a couple of marks on it before handing it back to her. He smiled and said, "Your essay is still a bit lacking. You should lose 3 to 5 points."

Zhang Cuie's face was full of tension as she looked at him anxiously, "Then, what about the others?"

Chen Fan smiled. "Everything else is correct."

Huang Ying immediately chimed in, "Doesn't that mean you can get at least 96.5 points?"

The Chinese language test paper is divided into two parts: one part is "basic knowledge" and the other part is composition.

However, the two parts are not weighted equally.

Taking Shanghai as an example, the essay score accounts for a staggering 90%, while basic knowledge only accounts for 10 points. In contrast, the score for the capital city is 70%.

In other words, on a 100-point test, the essay score would be 90 points and the basic score would be 70 points. The other sections are similar, with the essay score significantly higher than the basic score.

The scoring rules in many places are also quite interesting. They separate basic knowledge and essays, score them on a 100-point scale, and then multiply them by the corresponding proportions and add them together to get the total score.

For example, Liu Xuehong, the top scorer in the college entrance examination essay in Beijing that year, scored 99 points on her essay, losing only 1 point, so her actual score was 69.3.

The essay was published in a second-rate newspaper the next day, and the author became famous throughout the country.

(That's her, she got into Peking University)
Hearing this score, everyone around was shocked. Although they had done many tests before, those were just tests. This was the real college entrance examination!

If you can get 96.5 points in Chinese, as long as you can maintain that score in the rest, getting into university is a sure thing.

Coming to her senses, Huang Ying quickly handed over the exam paper she had copied, saying, "Master, please take a look at it too."

These words were met with a burst of light laughter from those around him.

Zhang Cuie pouted and glared at her, "When did my master take you in?"

Huang Ying blushed and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue."

She glared at Zhang Cuie as she spoke, "It's all your fault. You kept calling me 'Master, Master,' and it made me dizzy."

This was a blatant act of biting back, which made everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Cuie pouted, then her eyes lit up, and she pulled her along with a smile, saying, "How about this, you call me Senior Sister, and I'll beg Master to accept you as a disciple."

Huang Ying hugged her tightly and laughed, "I don't want to."

Chen Fan took Huang Ying's test paper, shook his head with a smile, and scanned it quickly once more.

When the others saw him reviewing the papers, they all quieted down. Only people in other places in the distance were shouting and making noise. Some were dejected, while others were jubilant and seemed full of confidence.

Chen Fan ignored him and quickly finished reading Huang Ying's test paper, making a few quick marks before moving on to Yang Ju and Liu Dan's.

After he finished reading all four test papers, he stood up and said, "They're all pretty good, around 95 points. Keep up the good work."

He then waved to the crowd and said, "I have a suggestion for everyone: don't come to them to compare answers before the college entrance examination is over. Wait until it's over before estimating scores together. Otherwise, it's easy to lose your composure and end up losing more than you gain."

The most important thing now is for you all to go back to the guesthouse, settle in, have a meal, get some rest, and prepare for the afternoon's exam.

After saying that, he repeated it again, "Anyway, what's done is done, there's no use worrying about the scores now. Remember, the most important thing is your mindset before the exam. After you finish one subject, put your mind to it and focus on the next one. Go all out and do your best."

As soon as he finished speaking, almost everyone nodded slightly. Anquan looked around and smiled at the group of educated youth, "Those girls are very confident and have the ability, so it's okay for them to estimate their scores in advance. We are indeed a little behind, but we've seen our share of ups and downs. Don't lose your composure at the last minute. Listen to Teacher Chen, go back and rest well, and prepare for the next exam."

People will listen to what makes sense.

So, under the direction of the accompanying staff, they headed towards the guesthouse.

After they left, Chen Fan handed the small stool to Zhang Wenliang, saying, "They all seem normal. They should have passed the first psychological hurdle. I won't be coming this afternoon. You can handle it yourself."

Zhang Wenliang's eyes widened. "Where are you going to run off to this time?"

Seeing that he wouldn't take it, Chen Fan simply shoved it into his arms, shook his hand, and said, "Go to the prefectural committee."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenliang couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Running to the prefectural committee every other day, how much diesel fuel are you wasting? Why don't you just move out of the prefectural committee office?!
……

Chen Fan strolled all the way to the pier and slipped into the first Luwan deli.

The counter was already spotless, and the store manager, Hou Mingying, was cleaning. When she saw him come in, she immediately greeted him, "Teacher Chen is here."

She immediately ran to the counter, took a thick envelope from the drawer, and handed it to him, saying, "I just received it today."

Chen Fan took it, smiled at her, and said, "Thanks."

He tore open the envelope, pulled out two magazines with "BJ Literature" on the cover, and handed them to Hou Mingying.

He then smiled and said, "Same as always, it's a secret."

He used more than a dozen cooked food shops in Lujiawan as contact addresses to submit articles to more than a dozen provincial magazines across the country, requesting that if the articles were accepted, the royalties be sent back in cash inside the sample copies.

In less than two months, he had already saved more than four thousand yuan in royalties.

The reason he was so high was that he deliberately revealed himself to be Chen Fan, the author of "Jiangnan Literature and Art".

At that time, there were only a few dozen literary magazines in the country, and they were all paying attention to and learning about each other. Which editor or chief editor of a publishing house didn't know about the well-known author who had been occupying long pages since the resumption of "Jiangnan Literature and Art"?
Many of them had considered asking him to contribute articles, but seeing that each issue of "Jiangnan Literature" contained tens of thousands of words, they wondered if he would have the time.

Once we received his submission, well, he'd walked right into our trap. What were we waiting for?
Not only were the manuscripts accepted directly, but they were also accepted without any changes, and the payment was calculated according to the highest standard under the new regulations: 7 yuan per thousand words.

Chen Fan is also a "fast writer," capable of writing tens of thousands of words every day. Combined with his previous drafts, his income is quite considerable.

Actually, this amount of royalties is nothing. The real money will come when the print run royalties are reinstated, and all these articles are printed and published as a separate book!
As for the contact points, he asked the sales clerks at each store to keep it a secret, and they readily agreed to this small request.

It's unclear whether there were any leaks, or if someone told their family, but they didn't tell anyone. Anyway, Chen Fan hasn't been exposed yet.

Hou Mingying hugged the magazine to her arms, grinned, and said, "Teacher Chen, can I ask you a question?"

Chen Fan squeezed the small envelope inside the large envelope, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. Hearing her words, he immediately turned around and asked with a smile, "What's the problem?"

Hou Mingying asked curiously, "Why didn't you just fill in your home address? If Secretary Yang and the others knew that you had also published an article in 'BJ Literature and Art,' they would definitely be proud of you, and might even give you an award."

Chen Fan coughed lightly, gesturing for her to take out the backpack he had left there. He then put the large envelope inside the backpack and said mysteriously, "People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat. If everyone knows that I published an article, I don't know if Secretary Yang will give me a reward, but I'm sure Brother Sanhu will make me treat everyone!"

Upon hearing this, Hou Mingying burst into laughter.

Chen Fan waved his hand, "So for the sake of my wallet, you must keep this a secret!"

Hou Mingying didn't believe him at all. Everyone knew that Teacher Chen was the most generous. He could even give the production team a diesel engine. Why would he care about a few meals?
Besides, even if Zhang Wenliang asked him to treat him to a meal, he would definitely bring something over to ensure that he wouldn't suffer any loss.

However, since they are unwilling to talk about it, there's no need to press them.

She smiled and assured Chen Fan that she would keep it a secret, then waved goodbye as he left.

……

After leaving the deli, Chen Fan crossed the dike to the dock, retrieved his small wooden boat, and headed towards the prefectural committee.

It was much closer to the prefectural committee from the county seat than from Lujiawan; he arrived at the health department's guesthouse in less than half an hour.

In the room where the Jiang sisters were staying, the two had just finished eating and were about to rest when they heard a knock on the door. Jiang Lili quickly ran to open it.

The moment the door opened and she saw Chen Fan, the light in her eyes shone brightly.

Chen Fan smiled at her, and as he walked inside, he glanced at the two of them, asking, "How did the exam go this morning?"

Jiang Lili closed the door, walked over, and said, "It's so difficult."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow slightly, "What's difficult about it?"

Before Jiang Lili could speak, Jiang Tiantian poured a cup of tea and placed it on the coffee table, smiling at him, "She means it's difficult to control the score."

After Chen Fan sat down, she and Jiang Lili sat on the bed together. They looked at each other and then continued to laugh and say, "The basic Chinese score is too low, only 30 points. We left 8 to 10 points unanswered. We didn't dare to write freely in the essay either, so we could only write some old clichés. I guess the score won't be very high."

Chen Fan nodded. "The Chinese score is indeed difficult to control; the key lies in the composition."

He then asked, "Did you copy the answers?"

"Copied it."

Jiang Lili immediately stood up and took two pieces of paper from the table next to her. "My sister's and my papers are here."

Chen Fan took the essay and read it carefully. After a moment, he looked up and smiled, "It's alright. Although your essays are all clichés, the most important part, which is that you got the topic right, is that you got at least 4 or 50 points. Add the 20 points for the basic section, and that's enough."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the two of them and couldn't help but feel a little strange. "You two don't seem to care much about your exam scores?"

Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian exchanged a glance, their faces suddenly flushing red. They pouted but didn't say anything.

Seeing her sister like this, Jiang Tiantian could only take over the conversation and said softly, "My biggest wish used to be that Lili could return to the city. Now that she has been transferred back, it can be considered a perfect ending for both of us."

Although the college entrance examination is important—if we can go to university, we can change our current living conditions—it's no longer a necessary path for us now.

She paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course, if possible, we also hope to get into university smoothly without causing trouble for you or anyone else."

But if we fail and don't get in, we won't have any regrets.

After her sister finished speaking, Jiang Lili nodded very seriously, "Yes, that's it."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, looked at the two of them, and after several seconds, sighed softly, "You're still worried, afraid of causing me trouble."

The two sisters exchanged a glance and quickly shook their heads together, "No, no..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan raised his hand to interrupt him, "Actually, your biggest problem is still with your uncle. I've already thought about this matter, but until there's a result, we should keep a low profile and try not to attract attention."

So don't overthink it. Just stick to the original plan, take the exams seriously, and try to get around 70 points in each subject. This matter should be resolved before you go to school to register.

(End of this chapter)