Chapter 64: Clues

The envelope was opened, and the letter inside was quite thick, with five or six pages.

Being in the position of the first secretary, he naturally didn’t show any impatience. He quickly scanned the first page of the letter. Before he finished, his expression became serious, making the secretaries exchange curious glances, especially the one who had just complained.

However, curiosity was useless. The first secretary quickly finished reading the letter and directly put it back in the envelope, “I’ll take this one.”

This made everyone even more curious, and they glanced at the complaining secretary.

“What did it say? It didn’t even go through the normal process and was sent up directly.”

“Who knows, but it must be important.”

“Alright, let’s keep reading. We’ll find out if it’s important when the department holds a meeting.”

Soon, they did find out, as the minister brought up the letter at the next internal meeting.

“I received a suggestion from a grassroots teacher. Everyone can take a look.”

He placed the envelope on the table. The deputy minister, sitting closest, saw the name on it, “Lin Qiao?”

The minister nodded, “She suggests that we should establish middle school physics and chemistry competitions in addition to the math competition.”

Those who knew the details were not surprised, as Lin Qiao taught chemistry. Someone frowned, “Isn’t it too early to start these now?”

Another person added, “The math competition has only been running for a few years and hasn’t shown much effect yet.”

In fact, it wasn’t that no one had suggested this before, but there were many urgent matters to address after the resumption of the college entrance examination, and they couldn’t focus on everything. Normally, the minister wouldn’t bring this up so seriously at a meeting.

Sure enough, the minister took a sip of water, “If the goal is to strengthen basic education, improve the quality of school talent, and stimulate students’ interest in learning, then indeed, in just two years, we can’t see much effect. But what if we link the competitions to college admissions and allow award-winning students to be recommended for admission?”

“Recommended for admission?” The Deputy Minister, who had previously been a university president, immediately took the letter and opened it upon hearing this.

The others were also surprised by Lin Qiao’s suggestion, “Is she proposing to use competitions to select and cultivate specialized talents?”

This was different from simply holding competitions; it was another method of talent selection outside of the college entrance examination, somewhat reminiscent of the worker-peasant-soldier students of the past. But back then, it was unit recommendations which allowed for a lot of manipulation, unlike exams, where the rankings were clear-cut.

Seeing the Deputy Minister finish reading two pages, the person next to him reached out to take it. Someone who hadn’t yet had a turn asked the Deputy Minister, “Do you think this is feasible?”

“It is indeed worth considering,” the Deputy Minister said. “I once had a student who was very strong in their specialty but had severe subject biases. It took them three years to barely pass the entrance exam.”

He handed over the next page he had finished reading, “You should know this student.” He mentioned a name.

Everyone indeed knew, as this person was a pillar of mid-generation scientific research talent in recent years. They not only had experimental projects but also taught at a university.

This matter was indeed worth considering. The college entrance examination had been restored for three years, and the country still lacked talent. With the current reform and opening up, the shortage would only worsen under the impact of Western technology. If they couldn’t quickly cultivate a batch of usable talents and improve their technology, they would always be at a disadvantage.

In the end, it was almost unanimously approved, with an abstention as the only dissenting vote. Next, they needed to come up with a plan—when and how to implement it would still need to be discussed and decided slowly.

The Deputy Minister didn’t say anything at the meeting but later told his spouse, “Xu Li really raised a good daughter-in-law for the country.”

His spouse, also in the education system, called Xu Li and said, “You really have an eye for picking a daughter-in-law for your second son.”

“That’s also because the second son is lucky,” Xu Li smiled proudly, then couldn’t help but ask, “What happened this time? Why the sudden call?”

“You don’t know?” The other person was surprised and explained that Lin Qiao had written another suggestion letter to the Ministry of Education.

“I really didn’t know. You don’t know, Qiao Qiao and our second son are alike; they don’t leak a word until things are done. I only found out last time by reading the newspaper.” Xu Li complained, but her face was beaming, “Indeed, both of them are good at keeping things to themselves.”

She couldn’t help but ask, “So, did this matter get approved?”

“There’s an eighty to ninety percent chance it will be approved,” said the Deputy Minister’s spouse. “I don’t know when it will be officially implemented, though.”

A laboratory and a competition with direct admission could make Xu Li proud for the rest of her life. Feeling very happy, she hung up the phone, sat back on the sofa, and couldn’t help but mutter, “Qiao Qiao has so many ideas.”

Seeing the reading glasses Ji Duo gave her on her birthday, she even said, “I really have to thank my eldest daughter-in-law.”

This was unlike her usual style. When Ye Minshu’s incident was exposed, she was so angry but didn’t say anything harsh about Ye Minshu.

The old man couldn’t help but look at Xu Li, “Am I getting old and hard of hearing?”

“Then just pretend you’re hard of hearing,” Xu Li said, getting up to find some yarn, “Qiao Qiao came to our house with nothing, I need to make her a few more things.”

The old man was left alone in the living room, feeling bewildered. Wasn’t she supposed to make him two pairs of knee pads first? How did it turn into making things for Qiao Qiao?

It wasn’t until late December that accurate news came out. The Physics and Chemistry Association will jointly hold the first Physics and Chemistry Competition next year. The preliminary round was scheduled for March, and the final round for May. Outstanding students could be directly recommended for university admission.

Seeing the first part of the notice, the education bureaus and school principals could still sit calmly, planning the registration and exam arrangements in their minds.

But the second part left everyone stunned. Direct admission to university? The previous math competitions didn’t have this!

Being local, the major middle schools in Yandu quickly found out that this was Lin Qiao’s idea, which was even more shocking than last time.

Last time, it was just a pilot program benefiting a limited number of schools. This time, anyone could register, and as long as they did well, they could be directly admitted to university.

Lin Qiao’s school knew even more, especially the second-year science office. They could easily guess who Lin Qiao was doing this for.

“I wondered why you were asking about the competition, turns out it was for this,” the Class Three homeroom teacher sighed, “Li Xiaoqiu is really lucky to have you.”

She was just using what she knew from her previous life, which didn’t take much effort, just some thoughtfulness.

Lin Qiao smiled, “That’s because our country values talent. Such good seedlings are not only a pity for us but also for the country.”

Since the preliminary round was at the beginning of the school year, students who wanted to participate had to register this semester. Lin Qiao went to the classroom to announce this and then called Li Xiaoqiu out separately.

No longer sad, the girl looked at Lin Qiao with bright eyes, her eyes filled with tears, “Teacher Lin…” She wanted to say something but didn’t know how to express it. In the end, all her emotions condensed into a low “thank you.”

Lin Qiao hugged her and patted her thin back comfortingly, “Can you stay calm for the final exams this time?”

“Yes,” Li Xiaoqiu nodded firmly, “I will do my best!”

It seemed that her mindset had indeed calmed down. Knowing that even if her Chinese wasn’t great, excelling in her strengths could still give her a chance at her dream university, Li Xiaoqiu performed well this time. Not only did she stay on topic in her essay, but her reading comprehension exceeded expectations. She scored over 70 in Chinese, and for the first time, her overall score placed her in the top three of her grade.

“293 in math, physics, and chemistry, with a perfect score in physics. If her Chinese could also reach 90, she would definitely be in the top 100 in the city.”

Group Leader Gao shook the report card in his hand, “For students with such severe subject biases, especially those weak in core subjects, the regular college entrance exam is really a waste.”

“The average scores for each subject are out. You should go to the education bureau to report the scores, right?” the Class Three homeroom teacher asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Group Leader Gao became even more energetic, “Yes, I’ll report them tomorrow morning and see how other schools did.”

The reason the final joint exams are held only once a year is mainly because it’s troublesome. After all, in this era, there are no computers to calculate scores, and all results have to be manually ranked.

Every time after the exams, it takes their school several days to calculate and rank the scores. With over a hundred middle schools in Yandu, summarizing all the results would be even more troublesome.

January is the coldest time of the year. When Group Leader Gao, fully armed and carrying the report cards in a thick cardboard folder, arrived at the education bureau, he happened to meet the Group Leader of the second-year science group from the 21st Middle School.

Familiar faces met each other, and they were very enthusiastic. Group Leader Gao was quite friendly, greeting the other person from afar.

Confused by his smiling face, the other person glanced at him but didn’t respond, locking the car and entering the education bureau. But since both were there to report scores, they would eventually meet in the same large office.

Group Leader Gao wasn’t in a hurry. With his tall figure, he followed behind the other person, hearing the noisy voices in the large office where everyone was registering scores.

Someone saw the Group Leader from the 21st Middle School and immediately called out, “You’re finally here. Hurry up, we’re just waiting for your school’s scores to finalize the rankings.”

The other person quickly stepped in, “Is it this early every year? Let me see how everyone scored.”

Hearing this, Group Leader Gao also followed, wanting to see the overall scores of the top schools this year and estimate where his school might rank.

He was stunned when he heard the chemistry scores. When the 21st Middle School started reporting, he instinctively touched the report cards he brought.

“Still tenth,” the person in charge of recording roughly ranked the scores and told the Group Leader from the 21st Middle School.

The Group Leader was clearly dissatisfied. Unexpectedly, Group Leader Gao suddenly interjected, “Since we’re ranking, let’s rank our school’s scores too.”

“Your school’s?” The Group Leader from the 21st Middle School glanced at him but didn’t say more, the meaning clear in his eyes.

Group Leader Gao just smiled and handed over the report cards. The person in charge of recording took one look and was shocked, “73.8?”

“73.8?” The Group Leader from the 21st Middle School was also stunned. This average score was 0.1 higher than their school’s.

He couldn’t believe it, “Did you calculate it wrong?”

“The average scores for each class are listed. You can check for yourself,” Group Leader Gao said, cheerfully taking out another copy from his folder, “If you want to see the specific scores for each student, I have that too. If that’s not enough, we haven’t distributed the exam papers yet. They’re in the office, and I can show you those, too.”

Their school’s chemistry scores in the final joint exams this time actually made it into the top ten in the city. Anyone who saw the final rankings was astonished, and there should be no more claims that they became a pilot school just because of connections.

In addition to chemistry, the other subjects also improved by seven to eight places to more than ten places. When Principal Zeng returned from the education bureau, he walked with a spring in his step.

“This laboratory was really worth setting up. From what I heard, they plan to start the second batch of pilot schools next year.”

After the final exams, Lin Qiao went on winter break. Xu Li took her out to buy New Year’s goods and ran into an old colleague who specifically asked about Lin Qiao.

Xu Li listened with a smile the whole time and mentioned it to the old man when they got back. The old man nodded, “Not bad, making it into the top ten.”

“Thanks to the test papers Mom got. This time, one of the questions from Yanda Affiliated High School was spot on.” Lin Qiao warmed her hands and smiled as she took off her coat.

Xu Li was organizing the new plates they had bought and was visibly surprised, “I don’t think I got you any from Yanda Affiliated High School.”

“Was it Ji Duo who got them?” It had been a while, and Lin Qiao couldn’t quite remember which schools Ji Duo had gotten the papers from.

“Did the second son help you too?” Xu Li smiled teasingly at her son, “I wondered why he asked me that day.”

Even the old man squinted his eyes, looking up and down at his son as if he didn’t recognize him.

Ji Duo had been out in the morning and had just returned when he was met with such looks from the old couple. He paused, then brushed the snow off his military cap and said to Lin Qiao, “Old Gu asked me to bring you something.”

He only mentioned bringing something but didn’t take it out in front of the old man and Xu Li, clearly intending to give it to her privately.

Xu Li could see through it and smiled at her son, nudging Lin Qiao, “It’s a bit messy here. You two go to the room and talk.”

Lin Qiao followed Ji Duo back to the room, still curious, “What is it that’s so secretive?”

Ji Duo took a small jade-carved tiger strung with a red cord from his pocket. It had been kept close to his body, and when it fell into Lin Qiao’s palm, it was still warm.

This body was born in the Year of the Tiger, but Lin Qiao didn’t remember mentioning this to Old Gu, “Is this from Old Gu?”

“I bought it at Panjiayuan on the way.” Ji Duo didn’t feel he was being deceptive at all. He then took out a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts, “This is from him.”

So, the little tiger was a gift from him?

Lin Qiao had never thought she would one day receive a gift from Ji Duo. Although his tone was casual, he didn’t seem like someone who would give gifts. It seemed that ever since she had learned about his past and helped him find Shaozhen, his attitude toward her had subtly changed…

As she was thinking, the man spoke in a low voice, “Su Zheng and I need to go out.”

Hearing him mention Su Zheng, Lin Qiao immediately focused, “Has that person made a move again?”

Ji Duo responded with a deep “hmm,” “We just received the news. This time, it’s even more convincing than Chen Zhaonan, with no flaws in his words.”

If they didn’t find the person first, these impostors would keep appearing, and they would either end up with a fake or be completely tormented.

Lin Qiao rubbed the jade tiger in her hand, “Are you planning to…”

“Directly capture the person.”

If it were just about finding Shaozhen, they could send someone like Chen Zhaonan. But to capture the troublemaker, they had to go there themselves.

“When will you be back?” Lin Qiao was a bit worried about the household, “It’s almost New Year.”

Whether it was because of the New Year or not, Ji Duo’s expression softened when she asked about his return date, “I’ll be back before the New Year.”

“Should I keep things under wraps at home?” Lin Qiao asked the same question as before.

Ji Duo replied, “No need to hide it this time. While I’m away, you should stay at the old house.” He took the jade tiger from her hand and helped tie it around her neck, “There are more people at home, and Aunt Zhang’s cooking is better than the canteen’s.”

His rough fingers brushed against the skin on the back of her neck as he tied a knot, and the little tiger hung over her heart.

Lin Qiao felt a bit heavy and was about to say something when he let go and suddenly pulled her into his arms. It was just for a moment, and then he let go, but her body still stiffened for an instant.

After all, apart from certain things and when she teased him too much, he never hugged her like this, without any desire, just a pure embrace. It seemed he was unusually talkative today, not only explaining his whereabouts and reasons but also arranging things for her.

Lin Qiao avoided his gaze. Ji Duo noticed but said nothing; he just looked at her for a while. “I’ll go tell Mom and Dad.”

When Xu Li heard that Ji Duo was going out, she had the same worries, fearing he wouldn’t be back before the New Year and things wouldn’t go smoothly.

The elderly tend to be more talkative, and Ji Duo listened, occasionally glancing at Lin Qiao. He noticed she seemed lost in thought, unlike before when she would immediately sense his gaze. This time, she didn’t notice until Xu Li did and glared at him.

For some reason, he felt more comfortable being glared at than being calmly and decisively sent off.

Ji Duo didn’t look away. He just kept staring at Lin Qiao until the old man started coughing. Then he checked the time: “I’ll go pack my things.”

Lin Qiao didn’t leave with him. She felt like she had discovered something but wasn’t quite sure.

Compared to the original male lead wanting to be intimate with her, the idea of him wanting to live a normal life with her was even more beyond her understanding. After all, they had agreed from the beginning that it was a cooperative relationship. He had always maintained a good working distance, only talking about business and never wasting words.

Why now, when going out, did he not only explain everything clearly but also arrange things for her and even hug her before leaving?

That night, lying alone in the big bed at the old house, Lin Qiao found it hard to sleep. She took out her study materials and reviewed a couple of pages. After that, her mind calmed down.

He left, so why should she be left thinking about this and that?

Sleep. It’s not like she had nothing else to do but think about these things.

Lin Qiao’s return to the old house brought a lot of liveliness to the old man and Xu Li, almost like the time before she got married when she lived at home.

Aunt Zhang’s cooking skills had more room to shine with a young person eating with them. Within a couple of days, even Ji Ling came over with her school bag.

Ye Minshu came to take her daughter home and saw Ji Ling and Lin Qiao washing their hands with liquid soap after doing a small experiment.

She remembered her sister-in-law’s words that the old house always used the liquid soap Lin Qiao sent over, not bought. Could Lin Qiao really be related to that Muzi liquid soap?

But if she was, why had Lin Qiao never mentioned it? And she didn’t seem to have much money…

Ye Minshu hesitated momentarily, then sat on the living room sofa and asked the old man, “Dad, do you remember Xiao Ze’s childhood friend, Chen Weiguo?”

“Chen Baisheng’s grandson?” The old man responded, giving face to his eldest daughter-in-law.

“Yes, didn’t Old Chen pass away? Although he was later rehabilitated, his family never recovered. Recently, I heard that Xiao Ze’s childhood friend has fallen so far as to go into business and even borrowed a large sum of money from the bank.”

Ye Minshu sighed, causing the old man and Xu Li to exchange a glance. Both frowned slightly but said nothing.

Lin Qiao also remembered the name Chen Weiguo and glanced at Ye Minshu, who happened to be looking at her.

“I don’t know what he’s thinking. Even if the family is struggling, having a stable job is better than going into business, right? They used to say ‘scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants,’ but now, this would be considered speculation with the country’s reform and opening up. If Old Chen were still alive, wouldn’t he be furious?”

Ye Minshu shook her head, her tone full of disappointment, “It’s a pity I didn’t know earlier. If I had, I would have asked Xiao Ze to advise him.”

This left the old man and Xu Li at a loss for words. They both knew that Xiao Ze had always wanted to go into business. He had even made some progress, and they had heard about it.

Ye Minshu’s disparagement of Xiao Ze’s childhood friend and business in general left the old couple silent.

Lin Qiao smiled and sent Ji Ling out, “Go check if Aunt Zhang has finished cooking.”

The tense atmosphere in the living room had already made Ji Ling feel something was wrong. She nodded and obediently went out.

Lin Qiao then raised an eyebrow, “Hasn’t Sister-in-law been working recently?”

Meeting her gaze, which lacked any warmth, Ye Minshu instantly understood that Lin Qiao was implying she was too idle.

Ye Minshu smiled, “I was just saying, don’t get excited. You haven’t neglected your work to go into business.”

“If Sister-in-law is working, why not read the newspaper properly? I remember a leader encouraged individuals to go into business, right?” Lin Qiao also smiled, “Or does Sister-in-law think that leader was ignorant, abandoning good jobs to make people go into business?”

This accusation was heavy, and Ye Minshu was clearly taken aback, “When did I ever say that?”

“Then maybe I misunderstood. When you mentioned Xiao Ze’s childhood friend, you seemed regretful. I thought you didn’t like this policy.”

Lin Qiao wasn’t foolish. Ye Minshu’s sarcastic remarks were likely a veiled criticism of her and Ji Duo’s business activities.

They are conducting legitimate business, and the state does not prohibit it. Neither the old man nor Xu Li has opposed it, so why should a sister-in-law have any say?

Lin Qiao’s words were quite blunt, causing Ye Minshu’s face to flush with anger. Just as she was about to retort, the old man had already darkened his face, “Did you come back just to say this?”

Was he protecting his younger daughter-in-law?

Ye Minshu didn’t think there was anything wrong with her reprimand. If Lin Qiao wasn’t involved, she was just saying it; if she was, it was the old man’s responsibility to manage her. If this got out, wouldn’t it be a joke?

However, the old man was clearly biased, and she had no choice but to get up and call Ji Ling to go home.

Unexpectedly, just as she reached the door, she saw her elder sister-in-law from her maiden family waiting there.

“Minshu, I have something to tell you.”