The next day.

January 1st.

The first day of the new year should bring something new.

Others might enjoy a long-awaited holiday on the first day of the new year and sleep in, but Zhang Li still has the same schedule as when she was in school. Before dawn, her biological clock and the alarm clock next to her pillow wake her up at six o'clock in the morning.

Without missing the warm bed, as soon as the alarm clock rang, Zhang Li left the not-so-soft pillow, lifted the still warm quilt, put on her clothes, dragged her tired body, got out of bed, walked to the desk, turned on the desk lamp and started another day of study.

Learning is not just about talking, you have to put it into action to gain anything. This is the experience Zhang Li has summed up over the years since she started school.

It’s not that Zhang Li has never seen a genius. When she was in junior high school, there was a boy in her class.

That boy was the most amazing student Zhang Li had ever seen in her life.

How powerful is the opponent?

Sometimes, when the teacher in the class encounters a difficult problem, his first reaction is to discuss it with him.

Such a talented boy naturally received the attention and expectations of all the teachers in the school. During the three years of junior high school, this boy also became the "other people's child" in the eyes of many teachers and parents.

Fortunately, this boy did not disappoint the expectations of many teachers and class teachers in the school. After the junior high school entrance examination results came out, the boy was directly admitted to Tongdu No. 1 Middle School as an exception.

You know, although Ruxu Middle School is very good, it is only compared with other high schools in Ruxu County. However, Tongdu No. 1 Middle School is a real key high school in the entire Anhui Province.

What's more, the admission requirements for the junior high school entrance examination are not like those for applying for university through the college entrance examination. You can fill in the application form at will and go anywhere you want in the country.

What needs to be understood clearly here is that the restrictions on filling in the application form for the high school entrance examination are very strict. Generally, without the approval of the provincial education department, public high schools are not allowed to recruit students across municipalities, so students can generally only choose to fill in the application form in the high schools in their own county or city. (The above example is true, but it was very early, so early that the author was still in elementary school at the time, and Beijing's bid for the Olympic Games had just been successful, so it's just for fun here, don't take it seriously.)

Therefore, the fact that this boy was admitted to Tongdu No. 1 Middle School as an exception shows the value of his academic performance and his potential for growth.

And this boy did not disappoint Tongdu No. 1 Middle School. When Zhang Li was still struggling in Xiangshan Middle School and doing endless test papers every day, this boy had already been admitted to the junior class of USTC.

Zhang Li hadn't heard from the other party for a long time. The last time she heard about him was from others. This boy, who had become a legendary figure in Zhang Li's hometown junior high school, had been recommended by his mentor to go to America for exchange study.

Although there was a good example of this boy before, many people who knew this boy had deep doubts about themselves, wondering if they were not suitable for studying and that an electronics factory or a construction site was the most suitable destination for them.

However, Zhang Li was not disappointed. She felt that her efforts were not meaningless.

Zhang Li knew very well that academic masters like this boy... no, it should be said that academic geniuses, like this boy, are only a minority after all, and are extremely rare.

After all, most people in this world are just ordinary people like me.

Therefore, all I have to do is work hard to surpass more ordinary people like myself, and that would be success for me.

...

...

The weather these days was not very good. Zhang Li got up early and started reading. Until seven o'clock, the sky outside was still gray and it still felt like it was not bright.

Because Zhang Li started doing test practice after waking up instead of reading and reciting texts and words in the morning, the whole yard was quiet and there was no sound except for the occasional sound of the chair rubbing against the ground coming from Zhang Li's room.

It was unknown how long it had been before Zhang Li, who was immersed in her studies, was awakened by the noise outside the door.

"Who is it?" Confused Zhang Li raised her head and asked in confusion.

There shouldn't be anyone else here at this time? All the other students had gone home last night. Could it be the landlord?

But that won’t happen. The landlord isn’t supposed to come today.

The courtyard where Zhang Li lives is near No. 2 Middle School.

Seven or eight rooms were converted into rooms in the yard to accommodate students from the nearby No. 2 Middle School.

Moreover, in order to maximize profits, even the two-story building in the yard was converted into six rooms by the landlord.

However, since the living conditions in the small building are slightly better than those in the courtyard, the rent for the rooms in the small building is one hundred yuan more expensive per semester than the rooms in the courtyard.

The reason why the landlord converted the small building into a student dormitory without any scruples was because the landlord's family had another residence in the county town.

With the money earned from renting out the apartments for the middle school students, the landlord and his family had already bought a large flat elsewhere in Ruxu, so they did not live in this small building.

Therefore, apart from coming to this small courtyard on time every day to fill a pot of boiling water for the students living here, the landlord will not stay in this courtyard for even a minute longer.

"It's me, your mom!" Zhang's mother's slightly impatient voice came from outside the door, "Hurry up, stop being dazed, come and open the door!"

Zhang Li was stunned for a moment when she heard her mother's voice, then she quickly pulled out a chair and stood up to open the door for her mother.

As Zhang Li stood up, she also glanced at the time on the alarm clock.

8:17.

That's a bit early.

You know, according to the journey from Zhang Li's home to Ruxu County and the time it takes Zhang's mother to arrive at the old Ruxu South Station and walk from the South Station to No. 2 Middle School, the total time spent is about one and a half hours.

This also means that Zhang's mother got up around six o'clock or even earlier, and then took the earliest urban and rural bus at 6:30 in the morning to Ruxu.

Zhang Li couldn't help but feel a little confused. Although when she called yesterday, Zhang's mother said she would come today, Zhang Li could never have imagined that Zhang's mother would come so early.

Zhang Li opened the door and her eyes were attracted by the large woven bag full of things at the feet of Zhang's mother standing at the door. "Mom, why are you here so early? I thought you would come later."

Zhang's mother picked up the woven bag at her feet and squeezed into the dormitory, muttering, "Come later? If you come later, I won't have time to clean up for you! I'll clean up your room in the morning, wash your clothes, cook you a meal at noon, and I'll be back in the afternoon! I can't leave my family without someone!"

...

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