novelraw Chapter 537: The Secret to Good Grades
Chapter 537: The Secret to Good Grades
The teachers weren’t exactly quiet, especially when a crowd of them noisily barged into the principal’s office, a sight seen by many students. And once they realized the ringleaders were Teacher Wu and Teacher Zhao, the uproar was even more extreme.
Even though it was a confrontation between two teachers, everyone instinctively attributed it to Zhao Guangran. Isn’t it precisely this kid’s doing that got the two teachers to face off?
Zhao Guangran was utterly shocked, "What, you say they searched Teacher Zhao’s desk? Isn’t that something done by Red Guards?"
Although Zhao Guangran had always lived in a quiet rural area where such things never happened, he had occasionally seen such actions in the county and during visits to the commune, leaving a deep impression on him.
Gong Ruini was also surprised, not at Teacher Wu causing trouble for Teacher Zhao, but at the fact that teachers, who should be role models, would stoop to such actions.
"Those exam papers." There was no reason to search before or after; they had to do it right after Zhao Guangran visited the office. If they weren’t targeting the papers he brought, no one would believe it.
It seemed Teacher Wu was going all out to prevent the advanced class from overshadowing others. Unfortunately, Zhao Guangran cared even more about those exam papers, as he intended to fire the first shot and wouldn’t let some people succeed.
Zhao Guangran patted his coat. Luckily, his mom made the clothes with hidden pockets. Originally, Zhao Guangran thought of casually putting the exam papers somewhere, but now he dared not do so.
"Looks like everyone wants the good stuff, so we have to keep it safe." Zhao Guangran motioned for Gong Ruini to help keep an eye out.
A dispute indeed triggered by an exam paper, Gong Ruini agreed it should be taken seriously and not let anyone easily snatch it away.
The classmates watched Zhao Guangran and Gong Ruini exchanging cryptic glances, making them itch with curiosity, and they couldn’t wait to ask questions when they got a chance.
"Actually, they were after the exam paper I showed Teacher Zhao today. Teacher Zhao said it was good, and if our classmates could understand and solve it, we could suppress the advanced class without a problem." Of course, Zhao Guangran embellished a bit, as Teacher Zhao, being a teacher, wouldn’t make such sweeping statements to avoid giving students too much pressure.
But who is Zhao Guangran? To him, not applying pressure would only cause these guys not to work hard. If it was just a matter of pride before, he wouldn’t push too hard. But now that it’s related to his own wallet, Zhao Guangran had to set high standards.
Before imposing strict standards, he cleverly motivated these guys, letting them know they’re not bad. And with some effort and someone helping them improve academically, there should be no problem.
The previous day’s motivational chat from Zhao Guangran, combined with being constantly overshadowed by the advanced class, filled them with anger, which they vented accordingly. Yet, they felt that even if it failed, the one who’d lose face would be Zhao Guangran. They’d only receive a little ridicule if it didn’t work out.
From their perspective—they’ve already endured scorn from the advanced class students last semester and have heard Teacher Wu’s harsh words. They felt no pressure, especially since they didn’t believe Zhao Guangran could come up with a solution.
"Did you make this exam paper?" They had heard Zhao Guangran say he used to self-study at home when he was in the Northeast, so someone studying at home was either exceptionally smart or had superior study materials.
No one expected Zhao Guangran to bring them out to share with everyone. How could they not be thrilled?
Even more so, Teacher Zhao, who never boasts, praised the exam paper, showing that Zhao Guangran wasn’t exaggerating.
Even if some of Teacher Zhao’s words were exaggerated, with so many teachers eyeing Zhao Guangran’s exam paper, if it weren’t good, why would they do so?
This made the whole class eager, wondering if they could dramatically improve their grades and eventually, when they walked out, crush the advanced class, watching them leave dejected.
Zhao Guangran nodded, "Of course, it’s material I used before. But since I don’t know your level, we’ll start from the third grade."
What, start from the third grade? Everyone was initially touched that Zhao Guangran shared such good material with them, but hearing this made everyone unhappy.
"Zhao Guangran, you’re underestimating us here."
"Exactly." While their grades weren’t as good as Zhao Guangran’s, he didn’t have to blatantly mock them, right?
"We’ll do fourth-grade material."
"Although we might not score exceptionally well, achieving a passing grade should be no problem, right?"
A passing grade? Zhao Guangran thought they were thinking too much, really comparing his exam papers with the school’s.
The reason for proposing this wasn’t to dampen these guys’ enthusiasm. Fine, since they’re willing to think this way, he wouldn’t hold back.
He initially intended to put some pressure on these guys but wanted to find the right moment. He didn’t want to scare them off right away, but they seemed so eager for self-inflicted torture.
Since they’re willing to do so, Zhao Guangran wasn’t going to intervene; after all, it’s all their own doing. "I’ll go home to get the exam papers at noon, and since we have self-study in the afternoon, shall we first test in Chinese or math today?"
Zhao Guangran was quite democratic; when planning to quiz them, he consulted everyone.
"Chinese."
"Math."
In any case, the tension in the room rivaled a bustling market. Gong Ruini yawned and took out a book from her bag to read.
Though there weren’t valuable items at the junk station in Beijing, as good stuff had been dealt with or picked up by sharp-eyed people, Gong Ruini did find some interesting books.
Such as comic books and some Republican-era books, though not particularly valuable—might not even be worth anything in ten or twenty years—but from them, Gong Ruini gained much knowledge, and she accepted them without hesitation.
"Ni Zi, what are you reading?" The front-row Cao Na turned around intending to ask Gong Ruini something, only to find her engrossed in a thick book.
"Reading travelogues." Lately interested in travelogues, Gong Ruini, in her previous life, was a loser struggling for a living. She never had money or time for travel, and even if she did, she felt obliged to go to upscale places to show off.
Now, reading the content of these travelogues, Gong Ruini found it fascinating, as if she was traveling along with the authors exploring many places, especially those that were lost to war and now could only whet her appetite through travelogues.
Travelogues? What’s so interesting about them? But Cao Na noticed that Gong Ruini wasn’t a bookworm, "Don’t you always have a textbook in your hands?"
In Cao Na’s view, someone with good grades should be glued to textbooks all the time. How could there be time for these ’adult-touted’ miscellaneous books? Isn’t that a waste?
"Paying attention in class, doing pre-study and reviews at home, completing assignments seriously, I think grades will surely improve." Gong Ruini could only say this, not wanting to mislead people into becoming bookworms, which would be so dull.