Chapter 303 Time
After entering the final stage of senior year, the pressure is obviously much greater than before, and the first round of review for each subject has already entered the middle half.
As students in the top class, everyone was self-conscious on weekdays, and now they have become even more hardworking. Almost all the students, including Fang Weiwei, have piles of books on their desks.
Before, when the evening self-study class was held in order to maintain discipline, there were still sporadic conversations at the beginning. But now, after the bell rings, all you can hear is the faint rustling of papers turning and writing.
The lotus flowers in the school pond began to wither. Summer passed quietly and late autumn arrived.
When walking on the campus, it is rare to see students wearing short sleeves. Zhiyi, who is afraid of the cold, also wears a sweatshirt and a school uniform jacket over the sweatshirt. She tucks her little hands into the sleeves and wraps herself tightly.
The maple trees on both sides of the end of the school road are bright red, and the ground under the trees is full of fallen leaves. Occasionally, when groups of students walk by, they make pleasant rustling sounds.
Occasionally, when the wind blows, a few fiery red maple leaves fall from the branches, spinning in the air like butterflies flying in the spring.
Zhiyi thought the falling maple leaves were beautiful, Cailing also thought they were nice looking, and Fangwei, with his hands in his pockets, also felt that they looked like time.
Unfortunately, the school leaders insisted on cleaning up the maple leaves that fell all over the school path. The job of cleaning the school path was the responsibility of the first-year high school students. When I was still in the first year of high school, I also swept for them, but at that time I didn’t find the maple leaves so beautiful. I just disliked that there were too many of them and it was annoying to sweep them...
Perhaps except for Fang Wei and the other two, the other senior students probably don't have the leisure time to appreciate the maple leaves.
The first round of review is still going on intensely. Everyone is racing against time. Under the white test paper spread out on the table, the pen tips are shaking to draw one character after another, which looks a bit like a maple leaf spinning in the air.
After Cailing won the provincial championship in a record-breaking manner, major universities and colleges also extended olive branches to her.
Now Cailing, like Zhiyi, has been admitted to Fudan University in advance. This is why the two girls can remain relaxed during their senior year of high school, when they are almost suffocating from the pressure.
As for Fang Wei, it goes without saying that with the 20 extra points for the competition and his usual stable scores of around 700, if he still feels stressed, then the other students probably won't be able to live either...
Every year, the students in Class 2 of Junior High School hold a gathering at Baitan, where they chat, have a barbecue, and see how each other has changed over the past year.
This year is no exception.
The gathering was held during the National Day in October. If we were to say who had the most shocking changes in the past year, it would be Teacher Wen who opened an art exhibition and became a painter, Liu Zhiyi who published a book and became a young writer, and Xu Cailing who broke the record and won the provincial championship.
Just thinking about the fact that such a remarkable person is your classmate is a really strange and wonderful feeling. Many times, not only is it unexpected for everyone, even the person involved himself/herself feels the magic of fate when he/she recalls it.
Of course, everyone’s life time zone is different. Some people’s glorious moments come early, while others come late. There is no need to worry about it.
When we graduated from junior high school, the 42 students in Class 2, including Teacher Wen, all went to different places. Three years ago, everyone was still in the same classroom, but now, three years later, some students who were studying in technical schools have already started to intern in auto repair shops, kitchens or hospitals, while more students are preparing for the college entrance examination.
"I envy you guys so much! I regret not studying hard back then! You're taking the college entrance exam while I'm flipping the wok in the kitchen. The pot is much heavier than a pen!!"
“What are you talking about! When we graduate, our salaries won’t be even half of yours, Hui! Nowadays, when restaurants advertise chefs, they all say they graduated from New Oriental.”
"That's right! When are you going to make us a feast? We don't have to pay for the processing fee, do we?"
"Hehe... Next time, next time I'll cook my specialty for everyone!"
"Well, then, next time any of you go to the county hospital, remember to tell me! I'll give you the injections!"
"Qiu Rou, please stop scaring me...! Which boy in our class hasn't been stabbed by you with a pen? Can you find the blood vessels?"
"Haha, I can pierce your tube even with my eyes closed!"
No one expected that Ah Hui, the most troublemaker in the class, would become a chef, Qiu Rou, the most aggressive, would become a nurse, and Ah Zheng, who was most keen on fixing fans and changing light bulbs in the shabby classrooms, would learn auto repair...
By the time those students who are still studying graduate, I'm afraid there will be more opportunities and all kinds of jobs will be available.
"Shit! It's only 600-700 points?! Listen to me! Is what he said a human being?!"
"How come you, the class monitor, are 70 or 80 points higher than the top student in our No. 3 Middle School, even though we're both in high school?!"
"Give me the points! Give me the points! Give me 100 points, and we can both go to a key university together!"
"Blind date? Xiaoqin, you're just starting your internship, and your mom wants you to go on a blind date?!"
“Aaaaah, this is so annoying…”
"Hahahaha... That's bad. By the time we graduate, Xiaoqin will probably be a kid who can call people!"
"I don't want to get married! I want to be like Teacher Wen!"
Wen Susu: “???”
No, don't suddenly use the teacher to block the knife!
After the annual gathering, everyone returned to their work and study life. When we meet again next year, I am afraid that everything will be completely different.
……
In addition to his daily studies, Fang Wei also did not forget to take care of family matters.
In October, the family expanded the scale of mussel farming again, doubling it to 4,000 acres. A new farm was built in the sea area around Baitan Town. With Pioneer Aquaculture Company as the contracting entity, it has already entered the ranks of industrialized farming.
The mussel hatcheries and seafood feed processing plants at the upstream of the industry have also expanded their scale, and their sales range covers the entire Qingxi County.
The seafood deep processing factory jointly built with Cai Ling's family is also located in the county. Construction is currently underway to build a larger factory.
As e-commerce was in its booming blue ocean stage, Fang Wei did not miss this opportunity. In the early stage, he relied on Alibaba's platform to help his family set up a direct sales channel for e-commerce wholesale. He also helped his confused father recruit some operations staff and customer service staff who understood e-commerce and formed an online sales team.
In the long run, relying on Alibaba's platform is not the best solution, but the time is not yet ripe. Building your own e-commerce portal is not a simple matter. First, the brand awareness must be high enough, and second, it requires investment in technology, logistics and other aspects. This part of the cost is completely unaffordable at this stage, and there is still a long stage of trial and error in the details. Therefore, the best solution is to proceed steadily and accumulate some operational experience and long-term customers first.
The development of the family business began to enter a stage that Fang Xianfeng gradually could not understand. His father sat in the boss's office, but when he encountered some decision-making issues, he often had to call the boy who was still preparing for the college entrance examination to ask for advice.
Anyway, he would do whatever Fang Wei said. After all, along the way, he had already verified a fact: his son was better than his father, and his vision was definitely not comparable to that of his father...
It's so funny. I originally wanted to sit back and relax as a rich second-generation kid, but now it seems that I'll have to take over the burden from my dad early.
Fortunately, college is different from high school. He has more opportunities to show his talents. Although he is living a new life and is not aiming for fame and fortune, he still has to have what he needs.
He does not seek to be the richest man or to change the world. He just wants to earn enough money to live a worry-free life while he is still young, so that he can retire with honor and live the kind of leisurely life he wants, tasting green plums, chatting with his deskmate, raising children, watching the spring flowers and autumn moons, and living in peace and joy.
By the way, I’m going to college soon, so I have to buy a house near Fudan University.
Although Fang Xianfeng didn't understand e-commerce, he knew a lot about buying houses. After all, he had tasted the sweetness of it. When he heard his son say that he wanted to buy some real estate in Shanghai, he patted his chest happily and said that he would take care of it!
……
When the coldest time of the year arrived, 05 passed quietly. In the New Year of 06, Fang Wei and Cai Ling Zhiyi celebrated the New Year together again.
Joining the three of them in celebrating the New Year was Wen Susu.
Since I entered the third year of high school, I only have half a day off every week, so I have no time to go to Shanghai to see my sister on weekdays!
Fortunately, my sister was free and available, and they had no time to go to Shanghai, so Wen Susu would come to see them when she was free. The empty room in the three-person nest now became Wen Susu's exclusive use. My sister would come and stay for a few days when she had nothing to do. On weekdays, when Fang Wei and the three of them went to class, Wen Susu would take her camera and drawing board and go sketching in the city or take a boat to a nearby island.
The Xuanzhu Thousand Islands are home to many small islands with diverse landscapes and culture. Boys, girls, small boats, fishermen, the sea, the blue sky, the beach, islands, and seagulls have become the most common elements in Wen Susu's paintings.
On a cold winter day, the most comfortable thing is to soak your feet.
"I say, Cai Ling Zhiyi, why are you two helping him wash his feet?! And one of you is massaging his shoulders and the other is pounding his legs?!"
"Fang Wei is very tired, so give him a massage. I'm afraid he won't be able to get into Fudan University!"
Wen Susu: “???”
"Um... Sister, you don't want me to fail the entrance exam to Fudan University, right? My head hurts a little, can you give me a massage?"
"I'll have a share if I crush your dog's head!!"
ten minutes later……
Wen Susu closed her eyes and played with her feet in the bucket of water. Behind her, her three younger brothers and sisters were rubbing her head, pinching her shoulders, and beating her legs. The older sister looked very happy.
"You don't want your secret to be exposed, do you? Stop being lazy and give me a good squeeze!"
“Wuwuwu… Is your strength still okay…”
"A little to the left, a little to the left... huh~~~"
……
At the end of the first semester of senior year, the first phase of review also ended and the school held the first diagnostic exam.
The family business reached an important stage this year, and Fang Wei was distracted a lot by it, but he still firmly held the first place in science with a total score of 708.
The one who improved the most was probably Zhao Yueting, who ranked second with a score of 696. It was a pity that the girl's goal of knocking Fang Wei off the top spot was a bit difficult. The two were evenly matched in other subjects, but she always lost in Chinese because Fang Wei pulled her down by some points.
Liu Zhiyi also ranked first in liberal arts. Although she had been admitted without taking the entrance examination, she did not slack off in her daily studies. Instead, she was able to better demonstrate her true level without any pressure.
As for Cai Ling, she still had to train every day after the provincial games, but fortunately she had teacher Fang as her personal coach. Even though daily training took up most of the girl's time, her course progress was not behind that of the gifted students in the same class, and she was even ranked second in the class.
Just like previous years, there is no need to count on the winter vacation. The Lantern Festival has not even passed, and it is only the eighth day of the New Year, and the senior high school students have already returned to campus.
The spring chill has not yet faded, but this teaching building remains stubborn and proud, with bright lights throughout this long and cold winter.
When the freshmen who no longer had to take extra classes returned to school, the campus, which had been silent for a winter, regained its vitality, just like the flowers and plants that began to sprout green buds.
Spring is here.
There is an indispensable activity for all senior high school students, and that is the Hundred-Day Oath-Taking Rally.
Xuanzhu No. 1 Middle School holds a 100-day oath-taking ceremony for the senior class on February 27th every year, exactly 100 days before the college entrance examination.
At this time of year in previous years, Fang Wei would lie on the balcony with the crowd, watching his seniors take the oath.
Today it was their turn to sit in the playground. The corridor of the teaching building behind them was filled with younger classmates who were talking and laughing, watching them from afar.
As usual, the school still invited speakers from outside to give everyone various motivational speeches. When everyone was excited and couldn't wait to go back to study, they shouted the oath together.
As the top student in the school, Fang Wei was undoubtedly the student representative. He walked up to the podium with the oath and stood in front of the microphone.
Fang Wei stood straight, confident and proud. He looked up at the crowd of young people wearing the same black and white school uniform as himself.
"…Looking back, countless days and nights of hard work have condensed into the confidence at this moment. We have endured countless nights of studying late into the night, exploring the true meaning of knowledge in dense exercises. In the ups and downs of exams, we have honed our perseverance…"
"Here, I swear! ... In the 100-day race, watch me ride the wind and waves; in the June singing, I will definitely be on the list of successful candidates!"
"…Sing in June, and you will definitely pass the imperial examination!!"
Every time Fang Wei recited a sentence, all the students who stood up would shout along. By the last sentence, the roar of more than a thousand people seemed to shake the playground down.
……
After the oath-taking ceremony, a countdown appeared on the blackboard of every classroom in the senior year of high school.
The time went from ninety-nine days to eighty-eight days, to seventy-seven days, to sixty-six days... The further it went on, the faster the time seemed to pass on the countdown.
When the snow-like lychee flowers on the lychee tree at the entrance of the village were in full bloom, the cat that had been hibernating in the firewood cave for a whole winter climbed up the branch mischievously. In its amber eyes, it reflected the spring with birds singing, flowers blooming and warm sunshine.
The first mock exam of the senior year of high school arrived as scheduled in the warm and spring weather of March.
This mock exam was jointly held by Xuanzhu No. 1 Middle School, No. 2 Middle School, No. 3 Middle School, and No. 4 Middle School. It was a test of the review results in this stage, and also provided a city-wide ranking for reference for students who are about to take the college entrance examination.
The time arrangement of the examination subjects is consistent with the college entrance examination, and the supervision standards are completely in line with the college entrance examination process. Even the invigilators are exchanged and assigned by various high schools to invigilate the examinations.
This was the first time that senior high school students had formally experienced a baseline test of this scale. The performance of different students varied greatly. Some top students even had unsatisfactory results due to inexplicable nervousness.
But No. 1 Middle School is No. 1 Middle School after all, and the overall quality of its students is naturally better than that of other high schools. It is still far ahead in this mock exam.
Among them, Fang Wei ranked first in the school in science with a score of 705, and also the first in the city.
Zhiyi also won the first place in the city in this mock exam with a score of 687.
I am a top student in the top high school in the city, so the city ranking is not important. But for most middle-level students, the city ranking is still very meaningful for reference.
“Ahhh! (#>д<) Why does my ranking have so many digits?!” Cai Ling screamed.
"…It's not important." Fang Wei comforted.
The first mock exam is quite difficult as it mainly focuses on ranking and testing review results, so many people’s scores fluctuate greatly.
By the time the second mock exam was held in April, most people's scores and rankings had stabilized. The second mock exam is also the closest to the college entrance examination.
When they saw the unfamiliar invigilator walking into the examination room again, everyone came to their senses and realized that it was already the last of the three mock exams without them noticing.
Different from the previous two mock exams, this exam is relatively easier. After all, the college entrance examination is approaching, and this exam is mainly based on psychological encouragement.
Before we know it, it’s already May!
Early summer has arrived and the fans have already been turned on in the classroom.
The fan blades were creaking, blowing the test papers that had not been pressed properly on the table.
The lotus flowers that withered in the school pond last year have turned green again, with dragonflies flying around the pink petals.
There are no more heavy clothes on campus. Even Zhiyi, who is afraid of cold, has made summer short-sleeved school uniform a daily routine last month.
What surprised many students was that they suddenly discovered that a couple in the class were together!
Just as the college entrance examination is approaching and the midsummer is about to come, a spring-like love affair suddenly emerges, quietly breaking through the dull pressure and boredom of senior high school.
There was no gossip, everything seemed so logical. Not only were the teachers confused, even the closest classmates were shocked. When did so-and-so start having an affair with so-and-so?
Fang Wei was happy to see this. After all, in an environment where solving a problem could change one's destiny, a little arrogance from a girl and a little hesitation from a boy might lead to the couple drifting apart at the crossroads of life.
Of course, it is not known whether they can go to the end, but at least it is fun to recall their youth.
Cailing and Zhiyi have been enjoying gossip during this period. Although Fang Wei is not in Class Three and Class Six, they learned from the two girls that someone in their class and someone else "suddenly" got together.
"It was so sudden!! I didn't even notice it before!"
"…That's just the surface. Who knows, they may have been doing it in secret for a long time."
"Are you involved with anyone else?"
"Hey, hey, hey! You can do the questions casually, but you can't say anything casually! How dare I! If my sister finds out, she will beat me to death first!"
"Humph, I don't think you dare~ But those guys are really brave! They don't even go back to the dormitory during lunch break, and stay in the classroom to study shamelessly! Aren't they afraid of being seen by the teacher?"
"…The college entrance examination is coming soon."
"Yes, the college entrance examination is coming soon."
At this stage, nothing is more important than the college entrance examination.
After the third mock exam in May, the activity of asking classmates and friends to write a yearbook became popular in the class again.
Fang Wei didn’t even know how much he had written in these days!
In addition to classmates and friends he knew, there were also a large number of his little fans. Seeing that their senior was about to graduate, how could they not go to him with notebooks and ask him to write a few words?
"Here, write it for me!"
Zhao Yueting took out a brand new yearbook and put it on Fang Wei's desk, asking him to say a few good words about it.
"...Sir Zhao, I remember when we were divided into different classes, didn't I write this to you?"
"Division is division, graduation is graduation. See? The first page is reserved for you. Stop talking nonsense and write quickly."
"What do you want me to write?"
"You're asking me about your job, you idiot Fang Wei, hurry up and say something nice to me!"
Fang Wei thought about it, then picked up his pen and wrote two sentences:
Running from east to west, our three years as classmates went by so quickly.
I have so many words and so much meaning, I just hope you can be on the list of successful candidates.
Ride the wind and spread your wings, and turn into a dragon when it rains!
"Okay, how's it going?"
"Not bad, not bad... Hey, hey? Why did you close the cap on your pen? We are such good friends, why don't you just write a few words for me? There are still so many blank spaces! Fill it up! You must fill it up!"
"???"
After racking his brains and thinking hard, Fang Wei finally wrote a full page for her.
After receiving the message Fang Wei wrote to her, Zhao Yueting happily put it away. Girls are emotional. No matter what, Fang Wei was her best friend in the three years of high school. Holding the message he wrote, Zhao Yueting cherished it very much.
"Hey, everyone is writing messages in the yearbook, why don't you make one for everyone to write in?"
"Haha. I have a camera!"
Fang Wei smiled and took out a camera from his bag.
"Come, let's take a photo! After I develop the photo, write a message on the back of it for me. Fill it up!"
"Damn it! You are so cunning!"
"This is called cleverness, okay? Can you be more rigorous?"
“Remember to give me a copy of the developed photos!!”
"Give me the money! Five dollars!"
"Are you robbing?!"
……
Fang Wei was not just talking, he really did it. In addition to taking a photo with Zhao Yueting, he also took photos with many good classmates in the class. Of course, he was just joking about accepting money.
Compared to the words in the yearbook that are difficult to express your feelings, these photos are more valuable as memories.
Although not everyone has a camera, fortunately the school also organizes everyone to take graduation photos.
It was the second week after the third mock exam. All senior students and teachers dressed up and dressed themselves up to look their best in this rare group photo.
There are two group photos, one is serious and the other is "free-spirited". However, no one expected that the one that would be viewed repeatedly in the future would be the funniest "free-spirited" one with everyone's most relaxed poses and the brightest smiles.
That afternoon, the blue sky was as clear as if it had been washed by water, there were no clouds in the sky, and the sky was high and the land was vast.
The bright afternoon sunshine fell on the teaching building behind them and also on them.
Fang Wei put down the camera in his hand, listened to the incessant chirping of cicadas, and looked at the young faces in front of him who were still excitedly discussing what poses to strike for the photo.
He couldn't help but stand there for a long time, looking a little dazed.
Before we knew it, summer is here.
"Squad leader! Stop taking pictures! Come over here and let the photographer take a group photo for us first!"
"okay!"
Fang Wei smiled and trotted back to them.
"Come on, look at the camera... three, two, one!"
"I will definitely win the college entrance examination!"
(End of this chapter)
