I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

There are two days off after the college entrance exams.

These past two days, apart from necessary exercise, Yan Jiefang has spent most of his time in the library's reading room.

After studying for this period of time, his junior high school Chinese score had already reached 98, and his ability to write junior high school compositions was also among the best of his peers.

Although my junior high school essays are still very immature, they cover more than twenty points in the overall writing process, which can be considered an introduction to writing.

After learning writing methods, a new skill, writing, appeared on his personal panel.

Writing (40/100).

It improved by more than ten points in two days, which is quite remarkable.

Keep in mind that this corresponds to all writing levels.

After the holiday, the students returned to school.

This college entrance exam was a watershed moment.

As a result of this exam, about 25% of the students will be advised to drop out.

These students will lose the opportunity to take the high school entrance exam, and their academic careers will essentially come to an abrupt end.

After leaving school, students without connections either become street urchins or work as porters at train stations and other similar places.

Those with connections became apprentices.

This was the kind of arrangement that Yan Bugui had previously made for the Yan brothers, Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiecheng.

If you can get a permanent position, that's basically the best way out.

In the classroom, all the students were sitting in their seats.

The sound of the teacher calling roll could be faintly heard from the next classroom.

Some students walked past the classroom in the corridor with tears of regret in their eyes.

Many students with lower grades looked nervously at their homeroom teacher and the thin stack of papers in her hand.

This should be the legendary junior high school graduation certificate.

The homeroom teacher, Ms. Chang, glanced at the entire class with a serious expression, and then stopped delaying.

"Now I will start taking attendance. Students whose names are called, come to the front to collect your graduation certificates, and then gather on the playground. The principal has something to say to you."

Chen Shuisheng, Zhou Qiao, Pang Dahai, ..."

Yan Jiefang silently counted in his mind that Teacher Chang had called out the names of 15 students in total.

Upon hearing their names called by the teacher, many students stepped forward with pale faces, and several girls couldn't help but cry.

After the dozen or so students left, the classroom became empty again.

After this incident, the homeroom teacher, somewhat invigorated, took out a blank sheet of paper.

"Classmates, I have an announcement to make: Yan Jiefang from our class achieved the highest score in Dongcheng District in this exam with 537 points!"

This achievement was hard-won and the result of diligent study and hard work.

I hope everyone will take him as an example, adopt a correct attitude, and work hard in a down-to-earth manner.

Next, please welcome Yan Jiefang to the stage to share some of his learning experiences. (Applause)

Yan Jiefang was slightly taken aback by the homeroom teacher's sudden move, but he calmly stood up and walked to the podium under the watchful eyes of his classmates.

As he walked toward the podium, he had already basically thought through his next words.

He stood near the center of the podium and calmly began to speak:

"Thank you for your recognition, Teacher Chang and classmates. To be honest, I don't have any special tricks."

This achievement is inseparable from the teachers' meticulous guidance.

I believe the most important things in learning are finding the right methods, focusing your attention, managing your time effectively, and understanding every single knowledge point.

......

Yan Jiefang spoke on stage for three or four minutes before ending his speech.

His speech seemed to make sense, but when you thought about those principles, it felt like you were lost in a fog.

As he bowed and walked down the aisle, He Yushui, who was in the audience, immediately clapped loudly, and the other students and the homeroom teacher followed suit.

After the applause subsided, Teacher Chang encouraged the remaining students for a few words before leaving.

During the break, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Chang, came to the window.

"Bang Bang~"

She reached out and tapped twice on Yan Jiefang's desk to get his attention, then gently beckoned with her finger, pointing to the corridor outside.

After Yan Jiefang left, the two stood near the back door of the classroom.

Teacher Chang smiled and said with a hint of caution, "Jiefang, I have something to tell you. This afternoon at the school's commendation ceremony, the group leader has arranged for you to go on stage and share your learning experience."

Yan Jiefang was slightly taken aback. Wasn't it Li Changsheng who was speaking?

Then, considering that he was in first place this time, it was understandable.

"Prepare well, and bring something substantial. Don't try to gloss over it like you did this morning."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiefang's expression faltered slightly, and he quickly replied:

"Don't worry, teacher! I wasn't well prepared this morning. This time I will definitely plan carefully, organize my experience thoroughly, and show my true abilities. I will not be perfunctory! I will bring the written speech to you for your feedback at noon."

Teacher Chang nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and turned to leave.

Yan Jiefang returned to the classroom and began to carefully draft his speech.

Because of the bulletin board and the red list displayed at the school gate, Yan Jiefang's outstanding academic performance caused quite a stir in the school.

Although he had begun to show his talent in last month's monthly exam, no one expected that this guy would actually achieve a near-perfect score and become the top student in the Dongcheng District preliminary exam.

To achieve such top scores, cheating would be impossible.

Even if the answers were presented to you and you were asked to memorize them beforehand, you still might not be able to achieve this score.

The only explanation is that this guy was pretending to be weak all along!

He only started showing his talent as the high school entrance exam approached, wanting to make a name for himself.

...

At the school's oath-taking and commendation ceremony held in the afternoon, Yan Jiefang delivered a speech as a representative of outstanding students.

The principal personally pinned bronze medals of excellence on the top three students and praised the outstanding students, encouraging everyone to carry forward the spirit of not being afraid of hardship and fatigue, study hard, and strive to achieve even better results in the coming month.

During difficult times, the school's funds were also stretched thin, but it still gave a small amount of material rewards to the top-ranking students.

In addition to the bronze medal, Yan Jiefang, who ranked first in the entire district, also received two certificates for being a model student at the district and school levels, a hardcover notebook printed with "Study Hard," and a pencil.

The item itself wasn't valuable, but in 1961, it was a real honor. It was recorded in the archives, and it gave you confidence wherever you went!

Back in the classroom, many classmates who rarely interacted with Yan Jiefang couldn't help but smile and show their closeness when they saw him.

Yan Jiefang responded politely, without feigning arrogance.

Even He Yushui, who was sitting in the front row, secretly glanced at him a few times.

After school in the afternoon, Yan Jiefang walked home along the relatively easy-to-walk alleys, just like he always did.

As they passed an alleyway intersection, several familiar-looking teenagers suddenly jumped out at the same time.