Chapter 140: The Ultimate Top Scorer of the College Entrance Examination

Because there were simply too many orders coming in during a single day, Zhang Wenhao even temporarily recruited most of the delivery workers from the Electronics City to help him make deliveries. His upstream suppliers also realized that his shop had enormous potential, so they suggested that he no longer bother stocking goods at his own store. From then on, he could simply notify them whenever he needed something, and they would arrange delivery directly. The merchandise in his shop could remain on display as samples.

The day’s turnover came to 710,000 yuan, with a net profit of 230,000. That money was entirely Zhang Wenhao’s, and he could place it in his pocket with a clear conscience. Still, this business was highly dependent on timing. The reason for today’s remarkable performance was that all the companies had happened to approach him on the same day. The supplies they had purchased would last them for quite some time, so it was impossible to maintain such a high turnover every day.

Zhang Wenhao was not worried, however. In any case, a single day’s income had already recovered all his costs. From then on, he could simply let the shop operate on its own. Even if he left, his mother and aunt would be perfectly capable of managing it.

The strong start on the first day also gave his mother and aunt tremendous confidence. After that, Zhang Wenhao basically no longer needed to interfere. He handed everything over to the two of them. The work was not particularly strenuous, and the sisters could look after each other at the shop, which was an excellent arrangement for both of them.

Melody brought Zhang Wenhao more than ten thousand yuan in income every day, while the office-supply shop was conservatively expected to generate over a million yuan in monthly turnover. In other words, it would bring in more than three hundred thousand yuan each month. These were two relatively stable sources of income for Zhang Wenhao, and neither required much of his time. Once they were properly established, he could finally devote himself to preparing for the grand plan he had been nurturing.

By the twenty-third, Zhang Wenhao’s personal savings had reached 630,000 yuan. That day was also when the national college entrance examination results were released. Students could check their scores online or by telephone.

At nine in the morning, the results-checking service opened on time. Both of Zhang Wenhao’s parents stood behind him, watching nervously as he entered his examination admission number into the score inquiry website.

Because so many people were trying to check their results at that hour, the page remained frozen for nearly a minute. His parents were so tense that they hardly dared to breathe. When the page finally finished loading, they immediately burst into excited cheers.

The score report showed that Zhang Wenhao had scored 146 in Chinese, 150 in mathematics, 147 in English, and 300 in the liberal-arts comprehensive examination. His total score was 743, ranking him first in the entire province.

“Oh, my goodness!” Song Huafang burst into tears of joy and exclaimed, “Wenhao really became the provincial top scorer! Old Zhang, I’m not dreaming, am I?”

Zhang Xingping was overwhelmed with emotion as well. Who could have imagined that, just six months earlier, his son’s grades had been a complete mess, yet half a year later, in the most important examination of his life, he had achieved such a perfect result?

First in the entire province!

Among more than a million candidates, his son had come out on top!

Although Zhang Wenhao had expected this outcome, he still found himself unable to suppress his excitement. To his parents, these results were an immense comfort and encouragement. He could see how thrilled and elated they were, and he could even see the hope and optimism that had suddenly filled them regarding his future and the future of their entire family.

The whole family embraced one another. Even his father, a man as tough as iron, could not stop the tears from flowing. Life was filled with disappointments. How many things could truly make a person feel that everything was perfect?

Yet at that moment, for the three members of the family, everything was flawless—perfect beyond criticism, perfect like a dream.

Unable to contain his excitement, Zhang Xingping said in a trembling voice, “I’m calling all our relatives. Tonight, we’ll hold a celebration banquet for Wenhao at the Jiangcheng Hotel!”

Their family had never invited the entire extended family to dine at a place like the Jiangcheng Hotel. In the past, their financial situation had been too modest; one meal there might have consumed two or three months of their combined wages. Besides, his parents had never had a suitable reason to host such a grand family gathering.

Today, however, Zhang Wenhao had become the provincial top scorer. There could not have been a more fitting reason.

Zhang Xingping hurried out, calling their relatives one by one. His mother wiped away her tears, still trembling with excitement, and said, “I’ll call your grandparents and let them share in the happiness. Then I’ll find a suitable time to gather their families together so we can all have a meal.”

Zhang Wenhao nodded. At a time like this, modesty would almost be a sin. At the very least, he had to give his parents a chance to hold their heads high in front of their relatives and friends.

While his parents were busy calling people to share the good news, Zhang Wenhao dialed Su Ruoran’s number. As soon as she answered, he asked, “Ruoran, have you checked your score?”

“Mm.” Su Ruoran gave a delighted little laugh. “I scored 728, ranking second in the province. That means you must be the one who ranked first, right?”

Zhang Wenhao smiled. “743. I performed a little better than usual.”

“I knew the top spot would be yours,” Su Ruoran said with a laugh. Then she added, “Wenhao, let’s have dinner together tonight to celebrate. I have to return to Yanjing tomorrow. Sister Qingwu arrived in Jiangcheng today, and she’ll be taking me back tomorrow.”

Zhang Wenhao understood. Now that the examination was over and the results had been announced, both of them had already applied to Yanjing University. Su Ruoran no longer had enough reason to remain in Jiangcheng while her relatives in Yanjing waited anxiously for her.

He nodded and said, “My father is inviting the whole family to dinner tonight. Why don’t you come too?”

“Me?” Su Ruoran hesitated. “This is a gathering for your entire family. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for me to go?”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it,” Zhang Wenhao said with a smile. “Besides, sooner or later they’ll have to meet you. You’re leaving tomorrow, and the next time you come back, it’ll be to meet your future in-laws. This is the perfect opportunity for everyone to get acquainted first.”

Su Ruoran felt shy, but she was also somewhat expectant. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded and said, “All right. Come pick me up at home tonight.”

After hanging up with Su Ruoran, Zhang Wenhao’s phone began ringing one call after another.

The first person to call was Song Yanni. When she heard that Zhang Wenhao had scored 743 and ranked first in the entire province, her scream nearly pierced his eardrum.

Next came Li Nan. The boy was incredibly excited. He had actually scored 423 points on the college entrance examination. He had earned 230 points in the liberal-arts comprehensive section alone. His Chinese score had exceeded expectations at 85, while English and mathematics had dragged him down badly; combined, the two subjects had barely exceeded one hundred.

Even so, compared with his former total of around two hundred, 423 was a tremendous improvement. With that score, getting into a junior college was no problem at all, and Li Nan was ecstatic.

Aside from Li Nan, Zhang Wenhao’s other classmates also called to ask about his results. Zhang Wenhao asked each of them about their scores and discovered that everyone had improved significantly compared with before. They were all filled with excitement, which brought him great comfort.

Chen Feng also called to ask about the results. He praised the precise positioning of Zhang Wenhao’s consumables shop. Although its profitability was somewhat limited, it was ultimately a dependable long-term source of income. He also said that he had instructed the purchasing staff beneath him and had called several other friends. Conservatively speaking, they should be able to bring Zhang Wenhao more than 500,000 yuan in additional turnover.

The calls continued throughout the morning. Zhang Wenhao did not even have time to drink a mouthful of water. By noon, things finally quieted down for a while. His father had already notified all their relatives that the family would hold a banquet at the Jiangcheng Hotel that evening, and he planned to reserve a private dining room after lunch.

For the midday meal, the family simply prepared several small dishes.

The television in the house was broadcasting the midday news on Nanjiang Satellite Television. Unexpectedly, Zhang Wenhao was mentioned in the opening report.

“Today, candidates across the province can check their college entrance examination results by telephone or online. According to information obtained by our station’s reporter from the Provincial Department of Education, the top scorers in both the science and liberal-arts examinations have now been determined. The liberal-arts top scorer comes from the provincial capital, Jiangcheng. His name is Zhang Wenhao, and he is a graduating student of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School. His total score was 743, setting the highest score in our province since the national examination was standardized at 750 points sixteen years ago!”

Zhang Wenhao’s result was truly unprecedented and unlikely ever to be surpassed. In previous years, very few provincial top scorers had exceeded 720 points, and no one had ever achieved the astonishing score of 743—just seven points short of the maximum.

It was an unreachable height.

The television report stirred another wave of excitement in his parents, and at that moment Zhang Wenhao heard the system’s notification.

“The user has achieved the highest score in the provincial college entrance examination. The system awards 3,000 points.”

“The user currently has 4,040 available points, with 6,340 accumulated points in total.”

Zhang Wenhao’s heart surged with excitement. He was one step closer to exchanging his points for the high-energy-wave control skill.

His mother could not resist teasing him. “Wenhao, I imagine reporters will be coming to our house to interview you within the next couple of days.”

Zhang Wenhao froze. He disliked television interviews, and he certainly did not enjoy being treated like a genius while reporters dug into every aspect of his life. He immediately made up his mind that he had to finish preparing everything over the next two days and then leave Jiangcheng as quickly as possible for Yunnan and Guizhou.

He turned to his parents and said, “Mom, Dad, I’d like to go traveling in a couple of days and take a proper break.”

“Where do you want to go?” Song Huafang asked without thinking.

“I want to go to Yunnan,” Zhang Wenhao said with a smile. “The scenery there is beautiful. I’ve been longing to visit for a long time.”

Zhang Xingping nodded. “It really is a wonderful place. You can go and enjoy yourself. But leaving in just a couple of days—isn’t that a bit rushed?”

“I don’t want reporters chasing me everywhere, and I’d rather not have to deal with all those officials either. It sounds like a headache, so it’s better to leave early.”

“How long are you planning to stay?” Zhang Xingping asked.

“I’m not sure. If I’m enjoying myself, I’ll visit several places. Besides, counting from now, I have a full two and a half months of summer vacation.”

“All right.” Zhang Xingping nodded. “Make your own arrangements. It’ll be good for you to go out and experience the world.”

Song Huafang shot Zhang Xingping an exasperated look. “You’re really at ease letting our child travel so far alone?”

“What is there to worry about?” Zhang Xingping replied with a laugh. “You’ve seen what this boy can do. I doubt there are many people anywhere who could hurt him. He’s lived beside us all his life. It’s time for him to go out and temper himself a little. Besides, he’ll be away for at least four years in the future. Think of this as an opportunity for him to get used to it.”

Song Huafang reluctantly nodded. Looking at Zhang Wenhao, she said, “You may go, but you must be careful. And don’t stay away too long.”

After receiving his parents’ permission, Zhang Wenhao finished his meal and called Chen Feng. He asked where Chen Feng was and learned that he was at his own company. After getting the address, Zhang Wenhao drove over.

Chen Feng had no idea why Zhang Wenhao was in such a hurry to find him. As soon as they met, he invited Zhang Wenhao to sit on the sofa before asking, “Wenhao, what’s the matter? Why did you come looking for me in such a rush?”

“Brother Chen, I’m planning to take a long trip and wanted to borrow a car from you.”

“A long trip?” Chen Feng asked in surprise. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to drive there.”

Zhang Wenhao nodded. “I’m going on a road trip. I want to travel around the southwest, so that Scirocco definitely won’t do. I’d like to borrow an off-road vehicle.”

“An off-road vehicle?” Chen Feng smiled. “That’s easy. I have a treasure. Since you need it, just take it.”

Zhang Wenhao asked curiously, “What treasure?”

Chen Feng raised his eyebrows and smiled. “A Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG. Have you heard of it?”

Zhang Wenhao was momentarily stunned. He knew everything there was to know about vehicles, both those available at the time and those that would appear in the future. How could he not know about the legendary Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG?

As far as he knew, only the G55 was currently available domestically. The G65 had not yet been officially released in the country.

Zhang Wenhao voiced his confusion, but Chen Feng merely laughed. “Just because it hasn’t been released domestically doesn’t mean you can’t buy one. Besides, my vehicle carries a license plate issued by the General Armament Department of the Central Military Commission. You could drive it anywhere in the country, and no one would dare give you any trouble. Of course, that doesn’t include those ignorant country bumpkins who don’t know what they’re looking at.”

Zhang Wenhao was delighted. He would be carrying large quantities of medicine and medical equipment, and if he encountered an inspection on the road, explaining their origins might prove troublesome. But according to Chen Feng, if he drove a vehicle with a military license plate, the traffic police would almost certainly not dare inspect it. That would save him a great deal of trouble.

He quickly said, “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ll return it when I get back.”

Chen Feng waved his hand dismissively. “I hardly ever use the car. Just take it.”

— fin —