January 3rd, evening. The sun was setting in the west.
Qin Yuanqing stood at the school gate, looking at the red banner hanging above it. The banner celebrated his CMO championship gold medal. Even though more than half a month had passed, it still had not been taken down.
This time, he flew directly from Beijing to Ludao Airport. After landing, he did not return to the county high school, because it was already the New Year's holiday. Even the third-year students had three days off.
So Qin Yuanqing went straight home by boat from Ludao.
At home, he enjoyed this rare New Year's holiday. His parents were extremely happy when they learned he had won the CMO gold medal. They told him that reporters had been visiting constantly, and local officials had come to offer condolences and encouragement. There was even a bonus of fifty thousand yuan.
With this fifty thousand, plus the one hundred thousand yuan Qin Yuanqing had previously sent home, the family now had one hundred and fifty thousand yuan. Their financial situation became much more comfortable.
His father wanted to add another floor to the house to reduce the summer heat. Qin Yuanqing had worked in engineering design in his previous life. Although it wasn't specifically housing design, many principles were the same.
The old house had been built more than ten years ago. Rural construction concepts in the 1990s were backward. The foundation only used stone strips as ring beams, and walls were built directly without columns. The house was also close to the road. After more than ten years, uneven settlement had occurred, cracks had appeared in the walls, and rainwater sometimes leaked through the floors.
So the old house could not be expanded upward. Otherwise, it would become unsafe, and the money spent would be wasted.
In his original life, Qin Yuanqing had carefully considered whether to add another floor or rebuild. He eventually chose to rebuild.
At this time, labor and material costs were still low. About 200,000 yuan could build a three-story unfinished house. By 2015, with rising prices of cement, steel, sand, and labor, the same house would cost 380,000 yuan.
After persuading his parents, Qin Yuanqing went to an internet café, downloaded CAD software, and redesigned the house from memory. This time, he learned from past experience and widened the staircase to 1.5 meters. In rural houses, stairs should not be too narrow. His original 1.25-meter design had been criticized by his father.
He also optimized the master bedroom. The bathroom was made smaller and divided into dry and wet areas, leaving space for cabinets. The overall layout became much more reasonable.
After his father found a construction foreman, Qin Yuanqing carefully explained everything—architecture, structure, plumbing, drainage, and electrical systems. Only then did he feel relieved.
When he returned to school, he received an even grander welcome than last time.
The principal held a celebration on the playground. Qin Yuanqing had avoided speaking before, but this time he couldn't escape. He chose the theme: "The Post-90s Are Not a Failed Generation."
"Dear students and teachers," Qin Yuanqing said, "I was born in 1990. Most of you here are also from the post-90s generation. Society often labels us as 'the failed generation.'"
"'The failed generation'—what a heavy label. It presses down on us and makes it hard to breathe…"
"But in fact, we are not failed. We are a generation of individuality. The era of the post-90s is calling to us. History will prove that each generation of Huaxia is stronger than the last."
"Some people say we disrespect elders and are arrogant. But let me ask: Didn't our revolutionary predecessors sacrifice everything to build a peaceful nation for their descendants? Didn't they hope future generations would be better?"
"One generation stronger than the last—that is our greatest tribute to them!"
…
When his speech ended, thunderous applause erupted. Every student felt deeply moved, as if Qin Yuanqing had spoken their hearts.
After the celebration, a county official gave a short speech and, on behalf of the government, awarded Qin Yuanqing 200,000 yuan, encouraging him to continue striving and lead the Huaxia team at the IMO.
Qin Yuanqing and the official each held a symbolic check and took photos together.
He hadn't expected such a large reward.
Soon, he discovered that it didn't stop there. The provincial education department, the provincial math association, and the city education bureau also gave him awards. In total, he received another 500,000 yuan.
This was Huaxia. As long as your academic achievements were outstanding, you would never lack opportunities.
Qin Yuanqing didn't transfer the money to his father. Such a large amount was unsafe, so he kept it himself.
With only ten days left before the final exams, he decided to go home after they ended.
He also accepted several more interviews from county, city, and provincial media. National-level interviews had already been done at the CMO closing ceremony.
Back at school, Qin Yuanqing quickly blended in again. He studied, taught classmates, joked around, and laughed with everyone.
He also received piles of love letters every day, including from several pretty girls.
But as the saying went: beautiful appearances were common, interesting souls were rare.
He had no intention of dating in high school. After finals, he would return home briefly and then go back to Beijing for his second training session. He had neither time nor interest in romance.
Thus, many girls had dreams, but Qin Yuanqing had no intention.
Many girls cried under their blankets, and many boys felt indignant.
One evening during self-study, Qin Yuanqing wrote a problem on the blackboard.
"Everyone, let me share a problem with you," he said. "You have twenty minutes to work on it."
The problem consisted of three parts:
(1) Matrix and transformation: Given that a linear transformation maps point A(x, y) to A′(13, 5), find the inverse matrix M and the coordinates of A.
(2) Coordinate system and parametric equations: Given a line l and a circle C, determine the number of intersection points.
(3) Inequality: Solve |2x − 1| < |x| + 1.
As he watched his classmates struggle, Qin Yuanqing remained calm.
This was actually similar to the final problem of the next year's college entrance exam. He used it as a "benefit question." If students mastered it, they could secure fourteen points.
Although it had three parts, only two needed to be answered.
All students had finished learning the high school curriculum, including matrices. Qin Yuanqing remembered that many students had failed this problem in his previous life.
For example, in part (1), one had to find matrix M first, then its inverse, and set up new equations. Part (2) required transforming the circle's equation to find its center and radius. Part (3) required dividing into cases.
Case one: x < 0, leading to no solution.
Case two: 0 ≤ x ≤ 1/2.
Case three: x ≥ 1/2.
Then combine all results to get the solution set.
The problem was not very difficult, but placed at the end of a stressful exam, many students would forget key points or run out of time.
In his previous life, Qin Yuanqing had only gotten half the points.
As expected, most students were not yet at their peak. Only two students completed the full solution. Many couldn't even finish the first part.
Qin Yuanqing asked Lin Yuling to solve it on the board while he explained each step and wrote down key concepts.
He didn't know how many students would remember it. The opportunity was given—whether they seized it was up to them.
During this period, he adapted remembered exam questions into practice problems. As long as students worked hard, getting into top-tier universities was possible.
"Very good. Lin Yuling's solution is complete," Qin Yuanqing said. "This problem covers many elective topics. Use it to consolidate your knowledge."
He realized that environment mattered. Although he hadn't taken the last monthly exam, his class had improved greatly. Lin Yuling ranked 38th in the grade, and three others entered the top 100.
The final exam might bring even better results.
At least, Qin Yuanqing was confident he could take first place in the grade.
January 14, 2009. The sun was bright, and the temperature was around 20 degrees Celsius.
Jinpu No.1 High School entered the final exam period.
Grades were staggered. Each classroom had only half its students, with one person per desk. Others were assigned to multimedia rooms and spare classrooms.
Midterm and final exams were highly valued. Teachers used every method to prevent cheating. Grade heads and homeroom teachers repeatedly emphasized discipline.
But for some clever students, no matter how strict the measures were, they could still find loopholes.
Most students, however, were honest and well-behaved. Even if two shared a desk, they dared not glance at each other's papers.