Chapter 12: Opportunities for Development

ute. Thinking about how many suitors had pursued her in school even though she wasn’t exactly a popular figure there, Su Cen recalled how her pride kept all of them at bay. Oh, now during this period,...Chapter Twelve: Opportunities for Development

The beginning of autumn was already somewhat chilly, with stars and the moon shining brightly against a deep blue sky, as Venus had yet to rise.

It was now 5:40 in the morning. Under the bedroom lights, Su Cen, who had been up for ten minutes, flipped through his Chinese textbook which he had "reviewed" to page 62. At this point, a high school first-year book only amounted to 162 pages. For someone like him who had relived life once before, the term 'previewing' could not aptly describe his current study of past knowledge points.

Having reacquainted himself with middle-school basics and solidified them, Su Cen was now taking each step to tackle a large amount of high school knowledge. He was like a sponge absorbing everything. The most crucial part of Chinese in high school was mastering the foundational elements of the entire national language system; however, under the current educational framework, the discipline had become highly goal-oriented. In Su Cen's memory, many students spent extensive time practicing and focusing on intensive study sessions, which could lead to improved scores after a series of tough training programs. Yet, the application and mastery of classical Chinese required by the test system remained an unbreakable barrier.

This was due to the overly instrumental and goal-oriented nature of current education, coupled with many people's lack of awareness of its importance. The reason why Chinese is referred to as a national subject precisely lies in how it embodies the cultural values and worldview of a nation, serving as a symbol of its spiritual civilization. Without adopting this attitude and perspective in learning these subjects, one would inevitably find them boring.

For Su Cen, who had already laid a solid foundation for writing reports in his later life, reviewing the current Chinese grammar was akin to swimming upstream effortlessly. However, given that internet普及 (popularization) hadn't yet occurred and there were no prototypes of massive knowledge databases like web search engines, encountering unfamiliar rare characters still posed some difficulties for him. Fortunately, on Su Cen's desk lay a thick copy of "The Dictionary of Chinese Characters," which he regarded as invaluable treasure in his eyes.

The amount of reference information and materials available in this era was limited. He had to widely explore them although there wasn't a systematic plan in his mind. If he were to return to the past merely to avoid repeating previous mistakes, it would seem too narrow-minded.

But right now, he didn’t know what he should do. Shouldn't he study high school content and instead help his parents with their business, carving out a realm for himself, or casually become a billionaire like those in novels This might be feasible, but it would also face tremendous resistance. From one perspective, this was akin to gambling; having suffered such a crushing defeat in the future, today’s Su Cen was more inclined towards prudence. He lacked too many things; relying solely on his prescient abilities could still leave him clueless as to how he would die.

Furthermore, Su Cen felt that what he was learning at this stage was quietly arming and recharging himself in terms of strength, given the current inadequacy of his capabilities.

However, with Su Cen's present perspective, these knowledge horizons in high school seemed somewhat confined. If acquiring knowledge through recharging was most suitable for him and aligned with minimizing risks while maximizing benefits, why couldn't he follow this path!

Said another way, Su Cen's disadvantages in the future could be attributed to his own academic background and luck issues, but it might also stem from a lack of personal capability. Even during his student days, he failed to develop robust study habits or apply what he learned effectively, leading him to face many strong opponents in society later on, suffering repeated setbacks due to insufficient inner strength.

Since he has a second chance at life and lacks a prestigious family background or external support, the only way forward is to rely on his own abilities to shape his destiny.

The current systematic review of all subjects is part of Su Cen's grand "sponge plan," aimed at enriching his inner strength.

With this entire plan in place, Su Cen sleeps at 11 PM and gets up at 5:30 AM daily, starting a long day of reviewing. Although the vast knowledge across all high school subjects resembles an endless ocean with intricate connections,

Su Cen excels at identifying key points; sometimes catching the crux of a difficult issue can unravel many complex problems. Consequently, his systematic review plan makes him increasingly clear about these past concepts rather than confusing himself as he did in the future. Of course, this also benefits from his adult mental acuity and cognitive capacity, which is his advantage.

After all, if we use psychological formulas to define intelligence, a higher ratio of intellectual age to actual age indicates high IQ. Currently, Su Cen can be considered a genius with high intelligence.

In just the first month of his senior year's classes, he had already reviewed one-third of Chinese literature and almost completed Chapter 3 on sequences in Grade 1 math textbook, specifically Section 3 on "Sum of the First n Terms of an Arithmetic Sequence," which is near the end. He also covered more than half of his physics and chemistry textbooks.

Su Cen finds it somewhat helpless regarding history and politics; recalling from before, he would頭疼不已於背誦的時代，然而工作後捧著那些古人的傳記和各朝代的曆史看得津津有味。

當然，那時候還冇有後來那種以小說體裁的《某某朝那些事兒》之類的書籍，而當時的自己也冇有如今這樣的覺悟與耐心。

If junior high school English focuses on vocabulary accumulation, then senior high school English delves into grammar and practical English usage. Su Cen wrote down all the tenses and grammatical rules he encountered in a notebook before setting aside his English textbook to specially purchase the entire set of "New Concept English" from the bookstore. According to Su Cen's memory, this series might not be a highly advanced text but has been widely recognized for its practicality and scientific approach in later times. The versions (1-4) he bought were newly revised editions from 1997. Although some content may seem outdated through his current perspective, it remains an authoritative classic.

Three volumes are already sufficient to handle three years of high school English, and the fourth volume has long surpassed the high school scope. However, under Su Cen's comprehensive absorption capacity for knowledge, he naturally welcomes more.

Naturally, Su Cen doesn't think that he can be flawless. After all, even at the high school level, the amount of knowledge contained is quite vast. Furthermore, regarding some problems in science subjects, one often needs to accumulate a certain quantity before achieving qualitative changes. For example, although reviewing the second chapter on functions in the first volume of high school materials enables Su Cen to handle medium-difficulty problems adequately, when it comes to difficult ones, his accuracy might be less than half, and he would spend much time, which is the limitation.

In the process of seeking knowledge, how could it ever be so easy Sometimes without a tough journey, one cannot witness the phoenix's rebirth and evolution.

Su Cen plans to use three months to thoroughly understand the first-year high school content. This is merely the beginning.

He brought back an abundance of books from the bookstore, not only reference materials but also some novels, finance-related literature, current affairs, military strategy, political agendas, foreign references, world geography, and at that time quite popular magazines like Overseas, all of which Su Cen took home. This way, the money his uncle gave him during the holiday was quickly used up, yet Su Cen has never felt that spending money was so worthwhile.

Of course, one can't become fat by eating just one bite; in front of a vast sea of knowledge, Su Cen merely ensures he studies according to what his daily capacity allows.

This is similar to the theme in martial arts novels where someone with underdeveloped meridians won't benefit from accumulating more inner strength. Broadening horizons and enhancing one's learning efficiency are truly key. Apart from expanding knowledge, Su Cen subconsciously focuses on improving his research efficiency and learning capabilities.

In a moment of introspection, Su Cen even feels like he is akin to a software engineer because any existing skill faces rapid obsolescence in a rapidly developing society. Hence, the true ability needed for future adaptation lies in quickly mastering new things or knowledge.

Back in those days when computers were not widespread and extracurricular activities were limited, after Su Cen finished his daily review, he would spend some time reading these books.

Because of the investment and focus, he could more easily forget about the rumors circulating at City No. 1 High School, a place where public opinion is daunting.

People always have a tendency to forget, especially in places where gossip is a source of entertainment. Continuous streams of information mean that after just a few weeks, the excitement caused by Su Cen's declaration of love towards Chen Ling珊 (Note: The name "陳靈珊" was transliterated as "Chen Ling珊", but it should be noted that "珊" is already part of her name in Chinese and doesn't have an equivalent English translation. If a proper English name for this character needs to be provided, further context or clarification would be necessary.) in their class and grade began to gradually subside.

This point can be corroborated by observing the entertainment industry in the future and the endless online炒作 (stirring up rumors).

Going to school by bicycle at Shi Zhong High School had many inconveniences, so Su Cen was more accustomed to taking Bus No. 8 which he could catch right from his doorstep; hence, the bike that was a prize after passing the high school entrance exam was mostly used as a means of transportation during weekends when he visited his maternal uncle's house.

Zeng Quanming's bookshelf held over a thousand world classics and various banned books. Even books on cultural relics were not something Zhen usually read; they were merely there to impress guests who came for visits.

Su Cen would carry a bag between his maternal uncle’s house and his own, borrowing one or two classics each week. Sometimes he would spend half the afternoon at his uncle's place. As summer heat gradually receded and grass leaves turned yellow during this bleak autumn season, Su Cen began to reacquaint himself with Keats, Dante of banquets, and Nietzsche... Previously, Su Cen thought literature was foreign and thin for him but now he deeply understood that it was the key to unlocking his entire spiritual world.

Su Cen felt a gradual filling in his heart as he absorbed vast amounts of knowledge without feeling overwhelmed or saturated. This harmonious state also provided a stable foundation for further growth.

Only Su Cen could experience such a situation where, being just a first-year high school student, he felt like he was enduring the hardships of a senior year.

Similarly, after frequent weekend visits to his maternal uncle's house for meals and snacks from his sister, besides improving their relationship, he also heard about many new developments in the city government.

Su Cen skipped over economic and political development issues; instead, focusing on key points such as the establishment of a pilot group for procurement by the municipal government to regulate procedures and rules for government purchases. Inspection teams would be dispatched, with personnel selected from the Municipal Commerce Commission to review various units designated for public goods procurement.

Su Cen realized that this was an opportunity for his family's shop to develop.ief. These princes wearing Versace, Dior, and one even with L'oreal Men Expert cream on his face sat at this corner of the small city ordering fried potato salad and skewers while watching the fight a...