After being reborn, I have seven older sisters.

Song Guangliang was very curious. Chunsheng, like him, had hardly ever left Songjiazhuang Village since childhood, and had only been to the county town a few times. How could he know that the person was from the south just by hearing a few words?

So he immediately asked, "You're from the South! How did you know?"

"Because I saw that person a couple of days ago; he and another person came to our village to collect recyclables!"

Chunsheng was certain that the man who had just cursed Song Guangliang was the short man who had been collecting scrap with the crew-cut man who had knocked on his door the day before yesterday.

The short man was riding the same bicycle he had just seen after leaving a house in the village.

Because he remembered very clearly that the iron hoops around the back of the bicycle seat were wrapped with a red rope.

The bicycle that person was riding earlier also had the same red rope around the back seat.

Also, although he hadn't heard the short man speak that day, he had seen his back.

Based on these two pieces of information, he was almost certain that the person was the short man who had been collecting recyclables with the man with the buzz cut in the village the day before yesterday.

What intrigued him was that it was getting dark, and it seemed unlikely that he would be able to go to other villages to collect recyclables.

If you continue south along this road, there will be ten villages and then the Qinling Mountains, and there will be no inns or hotels to stay in.

Chunsheng racked his brains for a long time but couldn't figure out what the short man could be doing rushing into the mountains at this time!

Just then, Song Guangliang and Song Hongqin, who were standing next to him, started chatting in a way that surprised him.

Chunsheng knew that Hongqin didn't have a good impression of Song Guangliang before, mainly because Song Guangliang had a bad reputation at school.

Whenever the school publishes a list of first-year high school students who skipped class and got into fights, Song Guangliang's name is almost always on the list.

Another point is that Hongqin has always been quite proud and only talks to classmates who are good at studying.

Those classmates who didn't do well in school and loved to cause trouble were no different from air in her eyes.

But what Chunsheng didn't know was that the moment Song Guangliang stood up for Hongqin, threw a stone at her, and even cursed at the cyclist, Hongqin's impression of Song Guangliang had already changed.

Hongqin thought that Song Guangliang was actually a pretty good person, not at all as bad as she had previously thought.

As a result, she broke some of her preconceived notions!

Even students who don't do well in school, skip classes, or get into fights aren't all good for nothing.

Perhaps this is what people often mean when they say that no one is perfect and everyone has their own strengths!

Although Chunsheng was completely unaware of Hongqin's psychological changes.

But seeing that Hongqin had changed her attitude in such a short time and could talk and chat with Song Guangliang without rejecting him, he was naturally very happy.

He had been worried that if Hongqin continued to treat Song Guangliang with indifference like she had this afternoon, it would be really awkward for the three of them to walk home together after school.

Now that's good, as long as the two of them can communicate normally, there's no need to worry about that anymore.

When Chunsheng arrived at school, he realized that he had forgotten to bring his copy of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" back home.

I had originally planned to use the evening self-study time to quickly finish reading that novel and then tell it to Hongqin.

It seems I can only do something else tonight.

He thought for a moment. He had already finished all his homework for the day and handed it in to the class representative. If he didn't read the novel, he would have to start working on that competition essay!

Although he had already constructed a rough outline of the essay in his mind by the afternoon, there was just too much he wanted to write. If he were to write it all down, 1500 words would not be enough.

This essay competition has a clear word count requirement: it must be between 500 and 1500 words.

If it's not enough, or if it's too much, you probably won't even get into the school's selection process.

Chun Sheng thought to himself, "If you set the word count too strictly when writing science fiction, it's really not easy to write."

Sometimes it's necessary to provide simple explanations for some conceptual content in an article; otherwise, others may not be able to understand what you've written.

As a result, many of the ideas Chunsheng had conceived in his mind had to be cut, otherwise it would definitely have far exceeded 1500 words.

So, as he was thinking, he started doodling on the draft paper.

Smart appliances, mobile internet, aircraft carriers, supersonic aircraft, lunar landing program...

These things will be commonplace and taken for granted by people 50 years from now, but for the teachers and students who are still living on the edge of subsistence, they sound almost like a fantasy.

But upon closer reflection, the content I want to present might not all be far-fetched ideas for some people who enjoy fantasizing. As long as I do a good job of filtering and maintain a proper balance, people should be able to accept it.

Science fiction is originally a kind of imagination about the future. Chunsheng felt that the content in his essays should not only be related to people's daily lives, but also ideally involve elements that can inspire people's national pride, such as national strategic assets.

Only by linking personal future with the fate of the nation can an essay be elevated in quality and truly move people.

Chunsheng became more and more excited as he thought about it, and soon began writing the main text on the manuscript paper.

It will be Tuesday after tonight. If Wang Tianhe's teacher says that it must be handed in before school ends on Friday, then all the remaining time will only amount to three or four days at most.

Moreover, the written text needs to be revised many times, so a first draft must be written as early as possible.

Just as Chunsheng had a clear idea and was about to finish writing, the power suddenly went out.

In an instant, the entire campus was plunged into darkness.

Soon, squad leader Hu Aimin spoke up.

"Everyone, please light your kerosene lamps. I'll go ask the teacher. If the power still isn't back on after 20 minutes, we'll proceed as usual: boarding students will continue their evening self-study, and students living at home can go home to study at any time!"

Just as Hu Aimin was speaking, some students took out matches from the drawers under their desks, lit them, and headed straight for the shelves in front of the classroom.

On that shelf, the kerosene lamps of all the students in the class were placed layer upon layer.

To prevent mistakes, each lamp has a student's name on its base.

That scene was like the shelves in front of many elementary school classrooms decades later, used to hold students' water cups.

After a while, Chunsheng's deskmate, Sun Chaoyang, also brought him the kerosene lamp.

The moment everyone lit their kerosene lamps, the entire classroom was instantly filled with a strong smell of kerosene.

Sun Chaoyang turned to look at Chunsheng, who was writing on the paper, and frowned as he asked, "We just switched from electric lights to kerosene lamps. Don't you let your eyes adjust to this dim light? Aren't your eyes uncomfortable writing in such a hurry?"

"It's alright, but I've already come up with some ideas, and I'm worried I'll run out of steam later!"

Chunsheng didn't even look up when he spoke.

Just as he said, writing an essay is similar to writing a novel. Once an inspiration strikes, you have to write it down on paper as soon as possible, otherwise you may not be able to remember it later!

A moment later, Sun Chaoyang suddenly looked towards the classroom door, nudged Chunsheng lightly with his elbow, and whispered, "Someone's looking for you at the classroom door!"

Chunsheng immediately stopped writing and looked up.

I thought to myself, "Could it be that bourgeois lady again?"