Time passed day by day. After that day, Luo Chuan's life in the village became peaceful. He trained, studied, and took extra lessons, feeling the progress he made every day. Luo Chuan never felt bored.
During this time, Luo Chuan dedicated most of his energy to math, constantly studying and rapidly increasing his progress in the subject.
It wouldn't be long before math surpassed cooking and reached LV3. By then, winning the provincial high school math competition would be a sure thing.
Meanwhile, subtle changes were happening in Daxing Village. The most noticeable one was the increase in strangers.
These strangers weren't there for anything else but the braised meat sold at the Scream of Eyes Noodle Shop.
Just as Luo Chuan had expected, his secret braised meat, once sold, filled the air with an irresistible aroma, quickly captivating a group of customers.
The braised meat was sold out that day. The profit alone was almost equivalent to half a month’s earnings from selling noodles.
As time went by, more and more people learned about the secret braised meat shop in Daxing Village, known for its delicious taste. Some even drove over just to buy it.
With the growing popularity of the braised meat, the noodle business, which used to be the main source of income, was now neglected. Jiao Dad, a decisive man, stopped making noodles and started stocking up on some alcoholic beverages and other snacks like peanuts to go with the braised meat.
The daily profits were also considerable. Jiao Dad and Jiao Mom were busy from morning till night, sometimes not even having time for a sip of water. But they were also experiencing the feeling of counting money until their fingers cramped.
Of course, it wasn’t just the Zhu Wei Jiao family who benefitted. The braised meat required pork, which was often purchased at a low price from Tu Jun’s father. As the demand for pork grew, Tu Jun’s father’s smile became more frequent, enjoying a hidden benefit.
Luo Chuan only had to wait for his share of the profits. The only trouble was that he needed to prepare the braised meat seasoning packets every few days.
This technique couldn’t be easily shared with others. Luo Chuan had to do it himself, a price he had to pay.
...
At Jiefangbei High School, a series of bell rings filled the previously quiet classroom with commotion.
The substitute teacher, seeing the chaos, put down his chalk and said “Class dismissed” before leaving with his textbook. The classroom erupted in a loud uproar.
However, this had no impact on Luo Chuan. He remained seated in his seat, his hand steadily writing down a series of equations.
Upon witnessing Luo Chuan’s demeanor, the surrounding students unconsciously lowered their voices, as if afraid of disturbing him.
Only two days had passed since the recent monthly exam, and Luo Chuan’s name undoubtedly topped the list. This was the strongest rebuttal to all the doubters.
Similarly, Luo Chuan’s high-profile success attracted considerable attention, not just from teachers, but also from students, or rather, female students.
Luo Chuan was already handsome. Now with the halo of a top student, he naturally attracted the attention of some girls. Some even slipped love letters into his desk drawer.
Of course, Luo Chuan ignored them all. He simply didn’t feel anything.
"Xiao Chuan," Zhu Wei Jiao, holding her textbook, plopped down beside Luo Chuan, drawing envious glances from other girls in the class.
After all, currently, only Zhu Wei Jiao could get close to Luo Chuan without any restrictions. As for the other boys, sorry, who are they?
Sensing the envy and jealousy in the eyes of the other girls, Zhu Wei Jiao slightly puffed out her chest, a smug look on her face. This was her Xiao Chuan, stay away, you common girls.
"What’s wrong?" Luo Chuan said without looking up.
"Can you help me with this question? I don't understand it," Zhu Wei Jiao placed her exercise book in front of Luo Chuan, speaking meekly.
Luo Chuan glanced at it and said,
"This is a variation of the exponential function. We just covered it yesterday. Think about it from a different perspective."
After that, Luo Chuan ignored Zhu Wei Jiao.
Zhu Wei Jiao pouted. She missed the days when Luo Chuan patiently taught her how to solve problems. Now he just made her figure it out herself.
Speaking of which, Luo Chuan’s tutoring was remarkable. In four words, it was highly effective.
The Daxing Village F4 was no longer at the bottom of the class for the first time. Zhu Wei Jiao, in particular, even reached 37th place in the class. The others were all hovering around 40th place.
Although they were still towards the back, it was enough to show the effectiveness of tutoring. Of course, this didn’t apply to Luo Shen Xi. This guy was a control freak, always managing to keep his grades within a certain range.
This was just the first monthly exam. Luo Chuan believed that once they caught up on their basic knowledge, Tu Jun and the others would see significant improvement in their grades.
After getting rid of Zhu Wei Jiao, Luo Chuan continued to work on his problems. Suddenly, Tu Jun’s voice came from the classroom doorway.
"Chuan, come out, Qin Ge is looking for you."
Luo Chuan’s eyebrows twitched, and he put down his pen and left the classroom.
Outside, Liu Wen Qin and Tu Jun were standing together, exchanging words with a hint of a smile on their faces.
Luo Chuan walked over and said,
"Qin Ge, what brings you here? Aren’t you preparing for the spring basketball league?"
The provincial basketball league had recently begun, and the school team, led by Liu Wen Qin, undoubtedly won the preliminary rounds, securing their spot in the league. All that remained was to play through the matches according to the draw.
Liu Wen Qin had been dedicating a lot of his time and energy to training lately, so Luo Chuan rarely saw him.
Hearing Luo Chuan’s question, Liu Wen Qin chuckled and said seriously,
"Luo Chuan, I’m here to ask you for help."
Luo Chuan: ?
Soon, Luo Chuan understood the situation. The problem was that a forward on the school team had suffered a ligament injury during training and wouldn’t be able to play for a while.
The team’s substitute players were not very skilled and couldn’t play well with Liu Wen Qin on the court.
If it were just during practice, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But in a competition, it would be fatal. Most teams participating in the basketball league were strong, and Liu Wen Qin couldn’t accept his team being eliminated halfway through.
So, Liu Wen Qin thought of Luo Chuan, the one whose skills had already surpassed his.
While Luo Chuan would undoubtedly steal some of his spotlight, it was nothing compared to being eliminated halfway. And, given Luo Chuan’s academic achievements, he wouldn’t be taking the special admission route.
Hearing Liu Wen Qin’s request, Luo Chuan furrowed his brow slightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help, but he was primarily preparing for the math competition, and if there was a conflict, then he couldn’t do anything about it.
"Qin Ge, when is the final of the basketball league?"
Liu Wen Qin thought for a moment and gave a definite answer,
"It’s on March 31st, the last day of this month."
Luo Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. The timing worked out.
His math teacher had already applied for a spot in the math competition, which was on April 15th, a gap of half a month. The time was quite ample.
"Alright, I’ll go," Luo Chuan nodded.
Liu Wen Qin grinned, clapped Luo Chuan heavily on the shoulder, and said,
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"There’s one more thing," Liu Wen Qin looked a bit embarrassed.
"Can you meet our coach after school? He wants to see you too."
Luo Chuan realized. Basically, they wanted to test his skills.
"Alright, see you at the gym after school."
This chapter’s note: Thank you to the "淦TA?吖的" book friend for the monthly ticket support, and thanks to all book friends for your flowers and comments. Thank you for your support!