Chapter 46: I Am a Loner

Picking up high school knowledge again was easier than expected.

After all, I had learned it once, plus the advantages in Chinese and English, making self-study easy.

Of course, being able to self-study is one thing, and what level you can test to is another. High school math problems clearly started to make people’s heads big...

There were a few moments when he was scratching his head and feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath at the math extension problems, Brother Han... no, Brother Han really couldn't help but think: Damn, should I just surrender?

Why fight with them?

I feel sick just looking at this broken math!

Support education reform! Support quality education! Hurry up and delete high school math and physics for me!

Of course, the twitch was just a burst. After that, he had to do what he had to do. He had encountered bigger difficulties than this; when did he ever really shrink?

Calling the "crotch-kicker" over and giving him a fierce kick, Brother Han started fighting again.

As a result, he only solved five problems in total when Wang Tong, a reporter from the Xinmin News, arrived.

—Don't ask me the time!

When Wang Tong arrived in the small county town, the influence of the three articles and the black tide had just spread to the maximum.

The number of people scolding Han Han could line up from Tiananmen to the Oriental Pearl, and the number of people supporting him was not large but not cowardly at all. The two sides fought until their brains became dog brains, and a little chili oil made a good soup.

So it wasn't just Wang Tong who couldn't wait to rush over; a vast number of reporters were rushing to the small city. Just yesterday, Liu Dashan received three batches of reporters from different media.

Han Han didn't pay attention to anyone and remained silent.

Things like exclusive interviews couldn't be many, and even less could they be abused. Interview qualifications were also a precious resource.

Who to give and who not to give, Han Han knew very well in his heart.

Therefore, Wang Tong didn't complain about why it was the Beijing Youth Daily reporter who got the first exclusive interview, but chatted happily, handed over Chen Danya’s gift, and also brought Han Han a Hero brand fountain pen.

"Your post-match interview brought a sales growth of nearly 200,000 copies to our Xinmin News. I was commended for it myself. Thanks to you... thank you, thank you!"

"I haven't had time to read it yet."

Han Han smiled and chatted the topic to death, not giving the other party a chance to continue pulling relationships.

Actually, he had read it. Wang Tong’s writing was good and made the theme very engaging.

Oh, by the way, the theme focused on Han Han’s depth of thought, which was a display with strong positive significance, and the Xinmin News didn't forget to compare the "good big brother," playing the drama of two great literary genius youths loving and killing each other.

The tactic of inciting conflict to farm traffic was never an exclusive invention of later generations.

Overall, the previous interview was of great help to Han Han, making the arrogant Shanghai people look at him squarely.

Don't look at it as only a few points; that was quite difficult. This was good enough.

The interview began in a peaceful atmosphere.

Wang Tong asked as expected: "Why did you write that 'The Small-Town Test-Taker'?"

Han Han’s answer was sharp and straightforward: "I don't like the current atmosphere. Some people are stupid and bad. How can studying be useless?"

It was time to truly open fire on this kind of fallacy.

No longer so refined, no longer so metaphorical, no longer so beautiful, but instead charging straight in and attacking head-on.

Wang Tong realized there was material, his spirit lifted, and he hurriedly pursued: "But many people scold you for seeking fame and reputation, because you can live very well without studying."

"Even they think you haven't studied much at all. It’s talent that supports you to walk to the present. No matter what you do, you can succeed. This just proves that studying or not has no decisive significance for special talents."

Really can talk nonsense.

Han Han didn't want to fight meaningless mouth cannons, so he handed over "The Added Value of Studying—From a Bowl of Handmade Noodles on the Street to Motorola."

"A new miscellaneous essay prepared for your agency. The added value of my studying is indeed not that high, but I believe ordinary people are different."

Wang Tong was very surprised. He stopped the interview in his hand: "Wait a moment, I’ll finish reading it and then we’ll continue."

The new miscellaneous essay had a very simple atmosphere as a whole, talking about economic truths that everyone in later generations knew but were very fresh at this time.

Han Han wrote a small story in the second half of the article:

"Baofu doesn't want to study anymore. His family is rich and can support him for a lifetime."

"Little Yanbian doesn't want to study anymore either. His family has ancestral cold noodle craftsmanship, so he discussed with Baofu: 'When the time comes, let’s partner and open a cold noodle shop. Have you eaten my family’s cold noodles and spicy cabbage? Is it fragrant?'"

"Baofu nodded fiercely, saying it was damn fragrant, I can eat three big bowls, this business must work!"

"The two of them started imagining the future, as if a beautiful life was just around the corner."

"I couldn't help but calculate an account for them."

"I told Little Yanbian: Assuming you treat selling cold noodles as an opportunity to turn over, then you have two completely different development routes."

"One, drop out of school after finishing junior high, borrow 2,000 yuan and open a small shop opposite the school."

"According to the sales volume of the wonton shop at the school gate, in the most ideal situation, you can sell 100 bowls a day, and after deducting all costs, you can earn 20 yuan net, 600 a month, 7,000 a year."

"Then some people won't give money, deduct 500;"

"Some money you must pay, deduct another 500;"

"The landlord wants to raise the rent, you have to endure it, deduct another 500;"

"Food, clothing, housing, and transportation cost 1,500 a year. Let’s say you can save 4,000 yuan every year."

"Endure the humiliation and support it for ten years, with savings of 40,000 yuan, you can finally open a decent restaurant, hire a few chefs and waiters, and make it big."

"However, after becoming a boss, you still have to make cold noodles yourself."

That is your family’s ancestral secret recipe; the sauces, the soup bases, the ingredients—everything must be handled personally to feel at ease.

"Then gradually, you find that your big restaurant opened for nothing. In essence, you are still a small manual stall vendor, still relying on the ancestral secret recipe to earn that bit of hard-earned money. Nothing has changed."

"If the chef’s craftsmanship is not good, he might drag you back."

"You start asking yourself: how long do I need to work to free myself from this tired and numb life?"

"Two, you study hard from now on, get into a key university, and study a food major."

"In school, you study desperately, focusing on researching the ancestral recipe."

"Before graduation, you finally cracked all the secrets and formed the ability of industrial production while keeping the taste unchanged. Just at this time, Baofu learned business management, and the two of you hit it off, took some money from his family, and started a small food factory."

"Just producing instant cold noodles."

"That thing is like instant noodles, with a fixed amount of cold noodles, a seasoning packet, and a vacuum-packed dried fresh vegetable packet."

"Baofu specifically applied for a brand and trademark called 'Little Yanbian Ancestral Extreme Fresh Cold Noodles,' and then took it to an exhibition in Guangdong to exhibit."

"You were born with the ability to speak Korean, specifically staring at those Korean customers to promote and invite them to taste."

"Your ancestral recipe made them tearful, calling out that they tasted grandma’s taste."

"The customers decided to purchase on the spot, and you started earning foreign exchange."

"The more money you earn, the more you naturally expand production. You only need to keep the last production process of the sauce strictly confidential. The rest of the time, do whatever you want."

"At the same age of 40, the you who made cold noodles by hand for more than 20 years collapsed from exhaustion, while the you who opened a food factory is traveling around the world."

"As for Baofu, he lent you 2,000 yuan to open a small shop when he was 14. Ten years later, he laughed and waved his hand, saying: 'Return what? Doesn't our brotherhood worth 2,000 yuan?'"

"But Baofu, who studied, opened a factory with you and used his professional management ability to develop 'Little Yanbian' into a big brand."

"The initial investment of 200,000 yuan became 2 billion many years later, richer than his father."

"Two completely different endings, where exactly is the difference?"

"The difference is that the books you read and the knowledge you learned added extra added value to your ancestral craftsmanship, and also added extra added value to Baofu’s money."

"This kind of value is not the high school physics and chemistry that will never be used again, but the thinking after we are filled with knowledge and expanded by logic."

"Studying doesn't have to be used; studying itself can endow us with energy."

"You always ask me, Brother, you are so handsome and awesome, why do you still study so hard?"

"Because the more added value, the better. Everyone has a basic foundation. The more useful things you stack on top, the stronger you can become and the greater power you can have."

"So how absurd and ridiculous is the statement that studying is useless?"

"There is no way of empowerment in this world that costs less than studying and has greater benefits than studying."

"Those who shout that studying is useless are either stupid or bad."

"Don't believe them. You must treat them as scum to criticize. They hope that the bottom-level coolies will sink forever, so they can hold a 13,000 Motorola mobile phone and point at you who are selling cold noodles on the side of the road, mocking wantonly."

"1.2 yuan a bowl of noodles? Pfft, even dogs won't eat it!"

"And their beautiful wives will educate their children in a gentle tone—"

"'Look, if you don't study hard, you will be like that uncle in the future and can only set up a stall on the side of the road. Tell mom, do you want to set up a stall?'"

"You look up, wanting to defend: 'I’m not an uncle, I’m only 25...'"

"But in the end, you didn't say anything, just numbly lowered your head again."

"Making 100 bowls of cold noodles a day is tired enough, why bother to talk more? That family looks very rich, better not cause trouble..."

"Little Yanbian, I’m sure, at that time, you won't have the courage to throw a punch at any time like today."

"You don't believe it?"

"Go back and observe your father carefully, then guess why he loves to ramble about the past every time he drinks."

"Because only at that time does he have light in his eyes."

"My friends, never do those simple mechanical repetitive labors at the age when you should be studying. It seems you earned some money and had some freedom, but you lost the greatest possibility of life, lost the opportunity to stack value for yourself, and lost the energy and instinct to think deeply."

"When one day you wake up completely from a numb and confused dream and shed tears without warning, it is definitely not because you are living well or not, but because you suddenly started to feel heartache for yourself for eating so many unnecessary hardships over the years."

"Now, let’s re-examine this question: what can studying give us?"

"The answer is very simple: it is the light in the bottom of the heart."

Wang Tong read the whole text in one breath and couldn't speak for a long time, his heart feeling very blocked.

Although he went to university and his current job was quite good, he didn't go all out when he should have worked hard, and he made many wrong choices.

At this moment, reading such an article, he couldn't help but break his defense.

Wang Tong subconsciously touched his face, which was no longer smooth, and a thought arose and couldn't be dispelled: If I could return to the starting point, would I be rebellious again, or study hard?

The answer jumped out violently, without hesitation for a second, so he realized that Han Han’s article would achieve another sensational success...

Wang Tong couldn't be calm for a long time.

The ripples in his mentality led him to ask a question that was not at a high level.

"Han Han, this article is too correct, not as rebellious as your previous ones. Can you tell me why?"

Of course, because I have different strategic goals for every article I write, otherwise what?

Han Han felt it was funny, so he really smiled.

As a troll leader, he is quite casual in life, but has great purpose and planning in work.

This article, in essence, was not used to attract fans.

Fan-oriented articles need to be cool, trendy, and have strong emotions, but it’s better not to talk about those clichés.

Young children don't like to watch.

But "Added Value" is a stance, an attitude, a horn, a banner.

It was written for adults to see.

—You see, I’m not just good at being cool. At critical moments, I, the little master, have a firm stance and a clear brain, and I am a good young man with justice in my heart.

When the era needs me, I will naturally charge forward.

Stance and action are perfectly combined at this moment.

Therefore, although Han Han clearly had many ways to scold people and more intense ways of writing, he just talked about the truth very simply in the end, not as fierce and sharp as "Knowing but Not Following" and "I’ve Fought with Fate."

The purpose is different, the text naturally needs to be fine-tuned. This is not a quality that a writer needs to possess, but a clever thought unique to a troll leader.

"I don't know how you view rebellion."

Han Han calmly unfolded his statement, putting righteousness in front of Wang Tong.

"In my view, rebellion is a resistance to injustice, fallacy, and hegemony."

"Although we young people often lead to some rebellious behaviors that appear childish and ridiculous because we cannot correctly distinguish right from wrong, on the issue of whether to study or not, we don't need to work hard to distinguish; right and wrong are obvious."

"Facing such an obvious fallacy, I oppose it. How is that not rebellious?"

Wang Tong didn't apply for interview equipment, so he wrote quickly, and while writing, he suddenly discovered a blind spot.

He hurriedly asked: "But in the interview with the Beijing Youth Daily, you said: 'Whether you are or not is up to you.' I noticed that you have a bystander mentality toward other people’s fate, but now you have written such an article to persuade learning. Don't you think you are very contradictory?"

"Not contradictory."

Han Han shook his head and distinguished patiently.

"Facing things I don't like, whether to scold or not is one thing, depending on my mood; what the result is is another thing, depending on the reader’s mood."

"I will write articles because I am unhappy, but I don't force readers to listen. This is the true meaning of 'whether you are or not is up to you.'"

"Even for my friends, I only remind them, not force them to do this or that."

"I don't have that qualification, let alone that kind of obligation."

"Giving up the plot of helping others and respecting the fate of others is my unity of knowledge and action."

Wang Tong’s eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly and hastily: "Actually, this kind of thinking does not conform to our traditional values. Our ancient Chinese philosophy pays attention to saving the world and helping people, and having the world in mind, but you are particularly different."

"Therefore, some experts and professors criticize you for being selfish and having a loner ideology. How do you view these criticisms?"

Han Han smiled, then raised his chin slightly, looking at Wang Tong arrogantly.

"I am a loner." ===== CHAPTER 47 =====