As Lin Huowang was wondering, he picked up the telegram in front of him and quickly glanced at it.
There was only one short line of text on it:
"Warmest congratulations to Comrade Lin Huowang for winning the top score in the science stream of the 1977 Jilin Province College Entrance Examination!"
"Top scholar! Your luck is excellent!"
Liao Gong exclaimed excitedly, "You're number one in the whole province! The top science student! Haha, our industrial zone has produced a top scholar! In ancient times, this would be considered a divine intervention by the God of Literature!"
In this era, college students are already the pride of heaven, let alone "provincial champions".
Its value was so high that it was even rarer than any doctorate in later generations!
In Liao Gong's opinion, this was a great joyous occasion, worthy of celebrating with firecrackers throughout the factory for three days and three nights!
However.
Lin Huowang looked at the telegram, but his expression... well, it was quite indifferent.
In fact, one could even say it was somewhat "indifferent".
"Oh! Not bad."
Lin Huowang responded indifferently and casually placed the telegram, which was something countless people would dream of, into the pile of waste paper on the corner of the table.
Then he picked up a pencil again and looked down at the blueprint of the car chassis once more.
"..."
Liao Gong was completely taken aback by his reaction.
"No... Huo Wang, is this...is this your reaction?"
Liao Gong's eyes widened: "This is the top scholar! The best in the whole province! If this were ancient times, it would be a momentous occasion, a grand event that would be paraded through the streets on horseback, bringing glory to the family! You...aren't you even a little bit happy?"
Lin Huowang then raised his head again, looked at Liao Gong, and smiled helplessly:
"Master Liao, I am certainly happy. After all, this is my way of giving my mother an explanation; all my education wasn't in vain."
"but……"
Lin Huowang pointed to the blueprints on the table, then to the bustling construction site outside the window:
"To be honest, at this point, the title of 'top scholar' doesn't really mean much to me!"
Lin Huowang wasn't being pretentious or overly modest when he said this.
Instead, after the exam, he had a general idea of what was going on. With his super memory after his rebirth and his comprehension and knowledge accumulation from his previous life, he was able to become the top scholar, so there was really nothing to brag about.
It's like others painstakingly play games and progress through levels, while you use cheat codes to get through them effortlessly; naturally, the sense of accomplishment is vastly different.
"Moreover, Mr. Liao, all I can think about right now is how to improve the suspension of this car, how to get this batch of cars off the production line as soon as possible, and how to bring us a lot of US dollars."
"As for the top scholar..."
Lin Huowang shrugged and said, "As long as I pass the exam, it doesn't really matter whether I'm first or not."
"..."
Liao Gong looked at the nonchalant young man in front of him, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.
After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh and gave Lin Huowang a thumbs up:
"I'm impressed! I'm truly impressed! You really are a natural-born man."
"The college entrance examination has just been reinstated. Others would be ecstatic if they could get into university, but you, you became the top scorer as if you just picked up a scallion while buying vegetables."
"Perhaps this is what our leader often refers to as your...general's demeanor!"
...
Time flies by incredibly fast.
While the preliminary work for the "Dragon Brand" automobile assembly plant in Shekou to the south was completed and the production line had begun to be installed, Beijing in the north was still shrouded in the chill of a harsh winter.
A nostalgic green train, panting heavily, slowly pulled into Beijing's West Railway Station.
As the rattling sound gradually subsided, the train doors were opened by the conductor, and the surging crowd instantly filled the platform.
Lin Huowang was wearing a thick woolen overcoat and a scarf on his head. He stood at the exit, holding a sign that said "Welcome to the Station," and his eyes were anxiously searching through the crowd.
Frankly speaking, given his current status, he could easily use the VIP channel or even drive his car directly into the station to pick someone up.
But to put his mother at ease and not make things too special, he chose this most down-to-earth approach.
"Brother! Brother! We're here!"
A clear and familiar shout pierced through the noisy crowd and reached Lin Huowang's ears.
Lin Huowang immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lin Xiaoxue waving her hand frantically at him.
Behind her was her mother, Zhang Guizhen, who was bundled up tightly, and Gong Xue, who was carrying large and small bags and looked like a housekeeper.
"Mother! Xiaoxue! Gongxue!"
Lin Huowang immediately strode forward and took the luggage from his mother and Gong Xue.
"Oh dear, Awang, aren't you cold wearing so little?"
As soon as Lin's mother saw her son, she instinctively touched his face and said with eyes full of tenderness, "The weather in the capital is much drier and colder than back home."
"Mom, I'm not cold, let's go! The car is waiting outside."
Lin Huowang smiled as he helped his mother up, then turned and smiled at Gong Xue.
Although neither of them spoke, a blush rose on Gong Xue's face in the brief moment their eyes met, and she whispered:
“Our journey was quite smooth. It’s just that Mom was worried about spending money, so she couldn’t bear to eat the hot boxed lunches on the bus and insisted on eating the dry food we brought ourselves.”
"This child, why is he telling the truth?"
Lin's mother patted Gong Xue's hand somewhat embarrassedly, "The food on the train is so expensive, is it for ordinary people like us? The cornbread we brought is quite delicious."
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