Chapter 86: Before the College Entrance Examination
Chapter 86: Before the College Entrance Examination
In the following days, the overall performance of the clothing store was just as Li Yi had anticipated. As the initial promotional effect started to wear off, the daily turnover began to decline. From its peak of 80,000 yuan per day, it quickly dropped to below 40,000 yuan and eventually stabilized at 30,000 yuan per day.
Li Yi understood that the potential of the Lianhua Plaza store had reached its limit. If he wanted to increase revenue, the only way was to open more stores.
With this in mind, after conducting thorough research, he decided to open a new store in the densely populated old city district in the east of the city.
Thanks to his prior experience, the site selection and store renovations were completed swiftly.
To ensure smooth operations, Li Yi transferred half of the employees from the old store to the new one and promoted Sun Chu (Da Chu)—who had the highest level of education among his brothers—to store manager.
On July 3, just ten days after the opening of the flagship store, the Jiangnan Beauty Clothing Old City Store opened with great fanfare!
Due to the flagship store's growing reputation, the new store, though not seeing overwhelming sales at first, still performed remarkably well. In the first three days, it achieved a total revenue of 70,000 yuan, averaging over 20,000 yuan per day.
Considering the new store was only 300 square meters, this level of revenue was quite impressive.
With both stores running simultaneously, inventory quickly depleted. Within a short span of ten days, more than half of the clothing stock purchased from Donghua Clothing in Guangzhou and Shenzhen had been sold. In return, Li Yi received over 600,000 yuan in payments.
Without hesitation, he sent Wei Sanpao to Guangzhou and Shenzhen once again to purchase a second batch of inventory from Donghua Clothing.
Li Yi didn't go in person this time for two reasons:
1. He wanted to train Wei Sanpao and cultivate him into a reliable business partner.
2. He had more important matters to attend to—the college entrance examination was approaching.
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The Upcoming College Entrance Examination
As July arrived, the summer heat in Jiangnan City became more intense.
However, what made people more anxious than the heat was the college entrance examination.
The exam was scheduled for July 7th, 8th, and 9th—three crucial days that would determine the future of millions of students.
Starting from July 5th, all high school seniors in the city were granted a break to allow for examination room arrangements and to help students adjust their mindset.
But in reality, who could truly relax before such an important exam?
Most students chose to stay home and review, and Xu Qingyao was no exception.
These past few days, Xu Qingyao had been in low spirits—the college entrance examination was the first major challenge of her life.
To support her, Li Yi set aside his work and focused entirely on helping her prepare.
Using his knowledge from the future, he mixed the actual college entrance exam questions from previous years with the ones he vaguely remembered and had Xu Qingyao practice them repeatedly.
Even for essay topics, he provided direct guidance.
Although Li Yi couldn't recall every single question in the six subjects, he remembered all the key concepts and high-probability topics.
With these insights, he believed that Yaoyao had a strong chance of securing admission to a top university.
At the small dining table, Li Yi patiently explained the exercises to Xu Qingyao, over and over again.
"I explained this question to you yesterday—it's in the past tense!"
"Although native English speakers don't always follow strict grammar rules when speaking, we must pay attention to grammar. Since this event occurred in the past, you should use the appropriate tense..."
"Also, you need to ensure your answer has a questioning tone to achieve the desired effect. The examiner needs to understand your thought process, so grammar is crucial!"
After an entire morning of explaining grammar, Li Yi's throat was dry, but he refused to slack off—this exam was too important for Yaoyao's future.
Meanwhile, Xu Qingyao admired Li Yi more and more.
She had always thought of her brother as a carefree street kid.
But now, she realized that behind his casual demeanor, he was actually highly intelligent and well-read. It felt as though he knew everything—from astronomy to geography, he truly seemed like a top student.
However, Li Yi was still worried. The college entrance exam was no joke—it was a crucial turning point in Xu Qingyao's life.
More than just academic knowledge, factors like mindset, test-taking strategies, and environmental influences could greatly affect performance.
The exam lasted for three days, covering six subjects:
Mandatory Subjects: Chinese, Mathematics, Politics, and a Foreign Language.
Politics and Foreign Language: 100 points each
Chinese and Mathematics: 120 points each
Elective Subjects:
Liberal Arts Students: History and Geography (100 points each)
Science Students: Chemistry and Physics (100 points each)
Since Xu Qingyao was a liberal arts student, she needed to take History and Geography, along with the four mandatory subjects.
Based on her current academic level, Li Yi estimated she could score around 430 points—which was on the borderline between a second-tier university and a junior college.
In her previous life, she had scored 401 points, falling 14 points short of the second-tier cutoff.
But this time, Li Yi had set a target for her—550 points.
This score was 40 points higher than the first-tier university cutoff, ensuring that she could secure admission to any university in Jiangnan Province.
Of course, reality doesn't always match expectations, so he could only do his best to prepare her and hope for the best.
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The Night Before the Exam
Since tomorrow was the exam, Xu Qingyao had finished most of her revision. To lift her spirits, Li Yi decided to cook a feast at home.
In the afternoon, he went to the market to buy spare ribs, fish, and chicken, then invited their parents to join them for dinner after work.
As he was busy cooking in the kitchen, Xu Qingyao was carefully packing her exam essentials.
"Yaoyao, remember to read each question carefully before answering!"
"If you don't know the answer, skip it and come back later!"
"You'll be nervous, but try to stay calm and focused."
As she listened to Li Yi's reminders, the comforting sounds of her brother cooking filled the house, while their parents played with Weiwei in the bedroom.
At that moment, Xu Qingyao felt a warm sense of happiness, and her anxiety began to ease.
During dinner, the family encouraged her, reminding her not to stress and to simply do her best.
Although they tried to reassure her, Li Yi knew the harsh reality—the college entrance exam of 1991 was nothing like the one thirty years later.
By the time Li Yi was reborn, 80-90% of students successfully entered university.
But in 1991, out of nearly three million candidates, only 620,000 were admitted.
That meant an admission rate of just 21%, with many only making it into junior colleges.
Even so, Li Yi believed that with his guidance, Yaoyao would secure a place at a top university.
Tomorrow, the real challenge would begin.
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