English was Fan Rui's eternal pain. He never scored less than 130 in Chinese and Math, and his comprehensive arts score was over 270. With these results, achieving an overall score of 650 or higher in the college entrance examination seemed very likely, a score that would allow him to aim for Peking or Tsinghua Universities, or at worst, a 985 university, regardless of his background.
However, English seemed to be his nemesis. His scores never exceeded 80, and he sometimes even scored below 60. In mock exams, he would generally struggle around the 600-point mark. While this score was sufficient to get into a first-tier university, it was highly unlikely to get him into a top national institution. Of course, compared to the vast majority of students nationwide, this was still an enviable achievement.
At precisely 7 PM, as the familiar music played across the nation, the highest-rated news program began its broadcast. "Dear viewers, today's main stories include..." "Upon the application of Lucheng Jiangnan Group and with the approval of relevant departments, Lucheng University will collaborate with Jiangnan Group in joint education. Lucheng Jiangnan University marks a new reform in our country's education sector, exploring more refined educational methods and systems for society..." "Wow, this Jiangnan Group is even starting a university!" Fan Rui's father, Fan Xian, commented sarcastically as the news played on the television.
Fan Xian disliked Jiangnan Group because he used to work at a milk powder factory. After the milk powder incident last year, he lost his job and blamed Jiangnan Group for exposing the issue. "Yes, Jiangnan Group is getting bigger and bigger. My political teacher said it's an unprecedented 'monster' enterprise in China, possessing many distinct characteristics of the era. Those of us studying politics should research the development history of Jiangnan Group in the future. It's possible that questions on the college entrance examination might be based on this company!" Fan Rui said.
"It could be in the college entrance examination..." Fan Xian's mouth hung open. A company appearing on a college entrance exam question was quite a shock to his worldview. "It's not that the company's name will appear directly, but the events that happened to Jiangnan Group, and some policies, might appear in exam questions. Of course, the company name would be omitted, replaced by 'a certain company'!" Fan Rui explained. "This is also why our teacher tells us to watch the news more often. It's useful for both Chinese composition writing and political answers. It's always good to accumulate knowledge!"
As the father and daughter chatted, the news continued. The initial part covered important national affairs. In the last ten minutes, it began to report on the detailed news about Lucheng Jiangnan University. "It is reported that Lucheng Jiangnan University is the first educational pilot reform in the country to be driven by corporate demand. Lucheng Jiangnan University will only offer a few majors this year, all of which are in fields where Jiangnan Group urgently needs talented professionals for its technological development!"
"According to the policies issued, all students who successfully complete their studies at Lucheng Jiangnan University will be directly employed by Jiangnan Group, eliminating the current problem of difficulty in finding employment or good employment for university graduates!"
"Jiangnan Group will also provide specialized education and training to students based on the characteristics of the talent its company needs. Currently, Jiangnan Group is undertaking several key scientific research project breakthroughs, including new natural-base chip technology, network technology, and vacuum high-speed train technology. These are all cutting-edge high-tech fields internationally. Among them, natural-base chip technology and vacuum high-speed train technology are independently developed by Jiangnan Group, with no other enterprise or country involved globally. Once successful, they will greatly enhance China's technological development and corporate competitiveness!"
"However, these research efforts face a severe shortage of technical expertise. The demand for technical personnel is extremely urgent, but the market cannot recruit suitable individuals. Even with triple the normal salary, the demand cannot be met. This has led Jiangnan Group to adopt a self-reliance approach, believing it's better to train their own people than to seek external help."
"Especially for the research and development of natural-base chip technology, there is currently a shortfall of 1,000 people, and the market cannot recruit talent that meets the requirements."
"At the proposal of Jiangnan Group and with the approval of relevant departments, Lucheng Jiangnan University is temporarily allowed to establish a Computer Science department with a focus on natural-base chip research and development."
"Due to the specialized nature of the major and the requirements for student abilities, considering its uniqueness, autonomous enrollment examinations are permitted. On May 5th, in over 120 major cities across the country, under the supervision of the education authorities, autonomous enrollment examinations will be conducted!"
"Graduating students can register through their respective teachers, who will consolidate and submit the applications. Students will then proceed to designated examination sites. It is reported that this autonomous examination will only test Chinese and Mathematics, with the top 1,000 students based on total score being selected!"
"Once admitted through the examination, students will directly participate in scientific research work and tasks during their studies. Therefore, tuition fees will be waived, and a monthly allowance of 10,000 RMB will be provided. Upon graduation, they will be directly employed by the Jiangnan Group Natural-Base Chip Research Center, with a monthly income of over 30,000 RMB."
"..."
"Thud!" The sound of a heavy object falling. It was Fan Xian, his father, dropping the bone he was gnawing on onto the table. It was meant for Fan Rui's bone broth to nourish his brain, but Fan Rui didn't eat bones, so Fan Xian always ended up gnawing them. Fan Xian had never dropped a bone before today.
"How much... how much did the host say? A monthly income of ten thousand upon enrollment! And thirty thousand upon graduation! That's more than your father earns in a year!" Fan Xian exclaimed in shock. Fan Xian had used his connections to get a job in the urban management department. Of course, he didn't have a formal civil service position, only temporary employment. His monthly salary was only 1,200 yuan, and with bonuses, his annual income barely reached 15,000 yuan. So when he heard that a student would directly earn 30,000 yuan a month after graduation, his eyes widened, he forgot his past grievances with Jiangnan Group, and eagerly looked at his son. "Rui Rui, I think you should apply to this university. If you work hard on your Math and Chinese scores, it should be no problem!"
"Dad, there's something wrong with this university and major!" Fan Rui wasn't swayed by the staggering monetary figures but spoke with a frown. "Who knows if this is real or fake!"
"It must be real. How could there be anything fake in Xinwen Lianbo!" Fan Xian insisted.
"That also depends on whether Jiangnan Group as an enterprise can survive. What if it goes bankrupt in the future?" Fan Rui said calmly. "Besides, there's no reason for them to offer such high salaries. So I suspect this natural-base whatever major is something that no one outside Jiangnan Group wants. If Jiangnan Group disappears, we might not find any other jobs with this major!"
"No, Jiangnan Group is so huge, how could it go bankrupt so easily?" Fan Xian argued.
"That's not necessarily true. Our teacher said that Jiangnan Group is currently developing on borrowed capital and owes the bank 60 billion yuan. If they make one wrong move, the whole thing could collapse overnight!" Fan Rui said cautiously.
"Then there's even less of a problem!" Fan Xian replied excitedly. "If they owe the bank 60 billion yuan, the bank will absolutely not let them go bankrupt. Otherwise, who will repay the money?"
"..." Fan Rui felt speechless.
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The next day at school, Fan Rui arrived half an hour earlier than usual, as was his routine, and began memorizing vocabulary. He had actually memorized these words the previous night, but upon waking up and reviewing them, he had forgotten them completely, a truly dire situation. As the class bell rang, all students were at their desks, and it was time for morning reading. Since Fan Rui's class was a key class, concentrating the school's most outstanding students, there were no undisciplined individuals. Thus, morning self-study usually proceeded without teacher supervision.
However, this time was different. After the morning self-study bell rang, the class teacher unexpectedly appeared before the students and gestured for them to put down their books, stating there was something important to discuss. "Did any of you watch Xinwen Lianbo yesterday?" the teacher asked. About a dozen students raised their hands. The teacher nodded with satisfaction and then asked, "Does anyone know what I'm about to talk about?"
"Teacher, are you going to talk about that Jiangnan University matter!" the class monitor stood up and replied. He was always so sharp! "That's right, that's the matter. I originally didn't want to discuss this with you, fearing it would affect your focus on the college entrance examination. But the school has issued a notice requiring me to explain this new policy to all students, so I've come to tell you all!" The class teacher then recounted the content of yesterday's Xinwen Lianbo.
Many students looked understandably shocked. They had never imagined such a peculiar university would exist. "This is what the news said. I'll tell you some things the news didn't mention!" the teacher said. "Firstly, Lucheng Jiangnan University, after its establishment, is not a public university but a private one. Therefore, according to relevant policies, it will at most offer a second-tier diploma!" Upon hearing this, the classroom erupted in an uproar. Many students who had previously looked interested immediately lost their motivation. After all, they were all capable of aiming for a first-tier university, with several even being top students aiming for Tsinghua and Peking. How could they possibly accept receiving only a second-tier diploma in the end!