rpbooks Chapter 11 The Butterfly Effect
Chapter 11 The Butterfly Effect
A rural primary school student wins first place in the Huaxia Cup Mathematics Competition! He crushes top students nationwide, creating a legendary achievement!
"Elementary school student achieves first place nationwide without any tutoring: A phenomenal math genius blossoms in a rural wilderness!"
......
Since Su Hao won the championship in the major mathematics competition, newspapers and online news have been flooding in.
Principal Li of the Experimental Primary School belatedly realized that his remote, rural school had produced a super genius who had caused a sensation throughout the country!
He rushed to the classroom to find Su Hao, thinking that the child had achieved such excellent results at such a young age, and that he must be getting too cocky. He had to take the opportunity to give him some rosy rewards.
However, what appeared before him was an ordinary child whose face seemed to say, "How annoying, don't touch me."
You know, in this impoverished, remote village where even a "wild boar coming down from the mountain and eating Grandpa Zhang's cornfield" would make the news, a nationally renowned genius suddenly emerged...
The local reporters who swarmed in like sharks smelling blood had long since driven Su Hao to his wits' end.
Looking at the principal in front of him, who was spitting as he encouraged him to continue participating in the competition, Su Hao simply blinked calmly.
"Huh? A competition?"
"Yes! I've inquired about it; there are provincial and national math competitions every year."
Since you have the ability, why not sign up for everything and win a Grand Slam?
This will also bring honor to our school and our county!
Su Hao was incredibly clever; he saw through the principal's scheme at a glance.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately adopted a sullen expression:
"Well, I'm thinking of not participating in the provincial competition for now."
There is a national competition next month, but that one is also…”
After all, provincial-level competitions don't even offer any prize money, making participation too uneconomical.
Seeing his hesitation, the principal's heart skipped a beat, and he became anxious:
"What's wrong? What happened? Is there some kind of difficulty?!"
Su Hao did not answer immediately.
His thoughts drifted away, recalling his conversation with Shen Yuxuan not long ago.
Why should you refuse the financial assistance I'm offering?
You know, sponsoring a student is practically nothing to me, not even a penny!
Shen Yuxuan genuinely had no ulterior motives of demanding anything in return under the guise of providing assistance; it was simply a matter of appreciation.
But Su Hao's stubborn parents staged a "moved but refused" scene, firmly pushing back the money that was offered to them.
"My parents said they couldn't accept your money. We're already incredibly grateful that you helped send the books and papers over."
But going to school costs money, doesn't it?
Running around to participate in competitions is something only families with a strong financial foundation can afford.
Travel and accommodation expenses—this is no small sum for your family!
If you have to participate in competitions abroad in the future, what are your plans?
"Let's talk about that later. My parents have their own plans too."
He knew very well that his father was planning to sell the ancestral land soon.
The parents' ideas were very simple:
Shen Yuxuan is ultimately an outsider. It's more reassuring to use your own money to pay for your child's education.
With his meager salary, he was already struggling to support his family of four. Now, not only Su Hao, but also his daughter was showing a talent for studying. The taciturn father finally made up his mind to sell everything he owned.
Su Hao deeply loves these ordinary yet extremely great parents.
To save money, Dad insisted on cultivating a vegetable garden in the backyard.
Every bite of food he eats is the result of his parents' hard work and sacrifice.
He respected his parents' integrity, so he chose to keep all his intelligence hidden in silence.
But he absolutely did not want his family to be dragged down because of him.
I thought it would be easy to just win first place nationwide and earn some prize money, but my mother insisted on saving the money for me...
In that case, is there any other way?
Su Hao slowly pulled himself out of his thoughts, looked at the principal in front of him, and said in a deliberately aggrieved tone:
I have a younger sister.
I don't mind going to the competition by myself, but my parents are worried about me going alone.
This means that every time we go out for a competition, the whole family has to go on a long trip together, which is really too expensive…”
Su Hao paused here with exquisite precision, not a fraction more or less.
The lingering melody evokes deep thought.
"What?!" The principal almost jumped up.
"Why didn't you tell me about this difficulty sooner?! Give me a few days, I'll figure something out."
……
When Principal Li returned to his office, the first thing he did was pull the administrative director over.
"Old Zhang, how much reserve fund do we have left at our school?"
"Petty cash? Let me check." The director opened the ledger, his face instantly turning ashen.
"Principal, the electricity bill is over the limit this month, and the toilet pipe burst again and has just been repaired."
The reserve fund is practically depleted.
Even if there's some left, there are still plenty of holes to fill later.
"Are there any other categories that can be used?"
"The money allocated by the Education Bureau is for designated purposes only and cannot be diverted at will."
But why are you suddenly asking this?
When the principal mentioned Su Hao's situation, the administrative director felt a tightness in his throat, and his voice trembled involuntarily.
"This is absolutely unacceptable! Using public funds to subsidize individual students! This will cause a huge mess!"
"If the higher-ups investigate, or if parents report us, we'll be fired immediately!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water, completely chilling the principal to the bone.
The director's words were indeed reasonable and irrefutable.
The principal slumped into his office chair and let out a long sigh.
No matter how you look at it, this is a dead end.
Just then, the landline in the quiet office suddenly rang shrilly.
Ring ring ring—!
"Hello, this is Experimental Primary School."
Hello, I'd like to transfer my child to your school, so I'm calling to inquire about the process...
Immediately, both the principal and the director opened their mouths wide.
Even the air seemed to freeze completely at that moment!
Keep in mind that the entire school has only 320 students, and they are fighting a life-or-death battle against the "withdrawal, merger and closure" every day!
Someone actually wants to transfer here?!
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in the principal's cloudy eyes as he snatched the microphone and asked:
"Hey, hey! May I ask where you're from?"
We are in Zigui County.
It's not far from your market. We saw it in the newspaper. We heard that your school has a genius student named Su Hao.
My child also really loves math...
May I ask which teacher taught Su Hao?
We're thinking of just moving there...
Moreover, this wasn't the only phone call!
In just one morning, I received three phone calls requesting to transfer schools!
They're all moving here with their families!
The principal hung up the last phone call and slammed his hand on the table.
It's done!
Even if it means selling everything we own, even if it means throwing a tantrum in front of the county government, we will still send this kid to the competition!
……
The precipitous drop in population in Daji County is a persistent shadow hanging over the heads of all officials.
Although it barely manages to stay afloat by serving as a satellite city of the provincial capital, the extremely severe population outflow over the past decade has reached the point where even stray dogs at the village entrance are about to leave.
No matter how much real money the government pours into subsidies, it's like throwing a stone into the sea, not even causing a ripple.
At this moment, on the second floor of the Daji County Government building, in the Education and Culture Section.
boom! boom! boom!
A loud knocking sounded at the door. Section Chief Wang looked up from the pile of official documents and stared in astonishment at the menacing old man at the door.
"Oh? Principal Li! What brings you here?"
"Hey Section Chief Wang, how long has it been since I submitted my budget application? Why haven't I heard anything back yet?"
Principal Li ignored the formalities and strode into his office.
The old man's voice was frighteningly strong, as if it were plugged into a megaphone, making the corridor buzz.
Several probing eyes peeked out from the crack in the door of the next office.
"Oh? You mean that matter? It's still in the approval process..."
"Approval? You told me a week ago it would only take three days! Now you're giving me the runaround?!"
Principal Li angrily slammed a briefcase on the table, dumping out a large stack of records of parents' transfer intentions, as well as several photocopies of news articles.
"Open your eyes and take a good look at me!"
Ever since Su Hao won first place in the math competition, my phone has been ringing off the hook!
Parents from several surrounding counties are green with envy, vying to transfer their children to this school!
"Really?!" Section Chief Wang's eyes widened suddenly.
"Nonsense! What do we parents value most? Education!"
As long as the educational environment is good, they are willing to move here anytime for their children!
Principal Li put on a pained expression.
"Our county keeps shouting about the population loss crisis, and how much subsidy has been poured into this area?"
We've poured mountains of gold and silver into it, and seen absolutely no results?!
Section Chief Wang was stunned.
Principal Li pointed at his nose and continued spitting as he spoke:
"Now, we have such a glorious genius who has brought honor to our county. He is a living advertisement that can attract countless families to settle down here!"
They can't go to the next game because they don't have enough money!
Do you think this makes sense?!
If word gets out, what will become of our county's reputation?
boom!
It was as if a lightning bolt struck Wang's mind, and he instantly understood!
What the hell!
The cost of government subsidies to help a family settle in the city is at least tens of thousands of yuan.
Now the whole family has come to us willingly, uprooted and delivered to our doorstep, and the government doesn't have to spend a single penny?!
Just because of an elementary school student?!
Having worked at the grassroots level for so many years, Section Chief Wang understands all too well the value behind this position.
Without saying a word, he grabbed the stack of documents and ran out.
"Wait for me, I'll go report right away!"
Half an hour later, Principal Li was, for the first time in his life, respectfully invited into the county magistrate's office.
......
A week later.
Su Hao, who had just stepped into the school gate, was dazzled by the scene before him.
[Daji Experimental Primary School is poised for a strong leap towards becoming a top mathematics school!]
Warmest congratulations to Su Hao, a student from Class 1, Grade 5, for winning first place in the Huaxia Cup Mathematics Competition!
Two glaringly red banners arrogantly straddled the dilapidated school gate.
Su Hao: "..."
His eyes twitched violently.
So embarrassing!
When did Daji Experimental Primary School, a place that doesn't even have a rubberized playground, become a "famous math school"?
Don't you feel any remorse when you're displaying those banners?!
Su Hao frowned, and in order to find out what was going on, he jogged all the way to the teachers' office.
As soon as the door was opened, the usually meticulous homeroom teacher, Gu Jin, was slumped in her office chair, as if her soul had left her body.
"Teacher Gu...?"
Gu Jin froze abruptly, then looked at Su Hao with a frustrated expression as if she were about to hang herself.
"Ugh... Don't ask anymore, I'm almost driven crazy by this too."
"What exactly happened?"
"I don't know who started this rumor, but they said that our school has a hidden master teacher who is so good at teaching math that he can turn a pig's brain into an Einstein!"
I've heard that dozens of parents have called to ask about transferring schools, specifically requesting to be in my class!
I bet it's all thanks to your award!
Let me make it clear first, I absolutely did not spread this message!
Su Hao nodded and then asked:
"And what's the story behind the rumors about the subsidies?"
Just last night, the usually composed Su Zhe came home from get off work carrying two bottles of beer, and with a flushed face, announced some good news to his family.
"It seems to be called something like 'Measures for the Cultivation and Funding of Outstanding Talents in Daji County'."
I heard it was approved swiftly in a meeting of county leaders yesterday!
Su Zhe continued excitedly,
"Students who win awards in nationally recognized academic competitions at the county level can receive a subsidy ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 yuan annually!"
The brows of Lin Wan's mother, which had been furrowed by the burdens of daily life, completely relaxed at this moment.
"Su Hao won first place in the national competition, so doesn't that mean he'll get the full 100,000 yuan?"
"Yes! And the document even specifically states 'effective retroactively'!"
Students who have already received awards this year can also receive them!
It's like it was tailor-made for our Hao Hao!
Su Zhe rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"However, there's an additional condition: if you take this subsidy, you have to keep participating in competitions, which is basically a waste of the county's resources."
Although Lin Wan was happy, her adult intuition still made her tilt her head in confusion:
"This is a bit strange. It doesn't sound like a regular bonus at all. What kind of government document is issued so hastily, and with retroactive effect..."
"Who cares? At least it's solved our immediate problem!" Su Zhe laughed heartily.
Seeing the long-lost, genuinely relaxed smiles on his parents' faces, Su Hao finally felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.
The younger sister, Su Hui, seemed to sense the sudden light and cheerful atmosphere in the house as well, and happily ran and shouted in the yard like a little crazy girl.
At this moment, Su Hao, standing in the teachers' office, stroked his chin.
Holy crap, could this be a butterfly effect orchestrated by the principal?