In the evening, after returning home, Liu Yuzhen beckoned Chen Xing into the bedroom with a mysterious look and handed him a black plastic bag she picked up from the bedroom table.
"I went to the supermarket and got you some Beast Taming milk powder today."
Chen Xing opened the bag and found it contained seven large cans of milk powder, no wonder it felt so heavy.
Four-Sheep milk powder, a brand so familiar.
Chen Xing then remembered that this was the sponsor of the challenge he participated in with Taotie!
Why did mom buy their brand of milk powder? She didn't see me there, did she?
But then Chen Xing realized that his mom had gone to the supermarket today, so she definitely hadn't seen him.
"This isn't cheap." Chen Xing looked down at the Beast Taming milk powder.
This Beast Taming milk powder is different from milk powder for babies.
The cans for Beast Taming milk powder are much bigger, with an image of a baby gorilla holding a milk bottle in the bottom right corner.
Next to it was written a line: Beast Taming Native Milk.
"It's not expensive." Liu Yuzhen said with a smile, touching her neck, "There was a promotion at the supermarket, each can was just over two hundred."
"Thanks, mom, I really like it, but you don't have to buy it for me next time." Chen Xing glanced at the milk powder; he had heard about it from his classmates.
It's considered a sort of supplement for beast tamers, but only families with ample budgets usually buy it, sort of like a health product.
To say it has no effect would be wrong, as it does have some effect.
To say it has an effect, well, health products are somewhat mystical...
Liu Yuzhen really can't lie, though—every time she lies, she instinctively touches her neck.
Chen Xing took a photo with his phone and searched online for the same product, finding the cheapest price to be 499, which means these seven cans together would cost three thousand five hundred.
Suddenly, Chen Xing remembered the "[Skills for Large Can Pet Freeze-dried Meat]" that he hadn't activated yet.
He recalled that milk powder should be able to be made into yogurt freeze-dried, according to the knowledge feedback from making junior carnivore pet food, the better the raw materials for pet food, the more significant its effects, and it seemed the same principle applied to freeze-dried food.
Plus, if Chen Xing remembered correctly, milk powder was also an optional ingredient in junior carnivore pet food.
Chen Xing took out the junior carnivore pet food made yesterday from the refrigerator, heated it in the microwave, added two spoonfuls of milk powder, stirred it well, and then sprinkled a spoonful of dry milk powder on the surface. The milk-flavored junior carnivore pet food was ready.
Taotie wagged its tail, raising its head high like a dog, looking eager and greedy.
As soon as Chen Xing placed the bowl on the ground, Taotie couldn't wait to rush over and start eating heartily.
"Tasty, tasty, tasty!"
Taotie said joyfully while eating.
...
In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and the timing of the first monthly exam at Azure Dragon Middle School Eight arrived as scheduled.
In the principal's office while sitting by the window looking at the bustling scene on the playground below, Xue Jinbao felt quite satisfied.
A few months ago, he had bid farewell to the graduating senior class, and now a new semester had started again. He wondered whether this batch of students would yield any outstanding talents.
The pressure on his shoulders was not small either. The new district had been developing for just a decade, and as the top-ranked public high school in the new district, Azure Dragon Middle School Eight received the most substantial resources from the district's education department.
Therefore, their competition was never with other high schools in the new district but with the established powerhouses in the other eleven districts.
Last year, Azure Dragon Middle School Eight's comprehensive score in the college entrance examination ranked thirty-fourth among one hundred and twenty-five high schools in Jincheng's twelve districts. Excluding the twenty-six private high schools, Azure Dragon Middle School Eight ranked sixteenth among the ninety-nine public high schools.
Last year, he made a military order in the mayor's office, so the number sequence for free Beast Taming for this year's freshmen was even earlier.
The fifty-six types of free Beast Taming provided by the country vary in power, and although it is said that all beasts are equal and there's no distinction between high and low quality, Xue Jinbao felt there was a difference!
Otherwise, why would these principals want to apply for earlier numbered beast resources every year? If they were the same, everyone would wait for random allocation.
"How are this batch of students performing? I've made a military order to the mayor, claiming that this batch must make a name for themselves and advance into the top twenty of Jincheng's hundred schools in the college entrance examination," Xue Jinbao asked the head teacher of the first year.
Sun Dekang nodded, "Principal, there are some promising students in this batch. Comparing the internal data of the education department with the progress reported by the teachers of each class, there are forty-six students who can currently be graded as excellent."
Sun Dekang admired the principal for his incredible influence, having managed to acquire three kinds of beasts ranking within the top ten sequences.
Especially with the sequence ranking third, the Heavy-Armored Rhinoceros—last year's university championship's main player had a Heavy-Armored Rhinoceros, known as the tank of the land!
"Forty-six..."
Xue Jinbao seemed slightly disappointed. The number was average, about the same as previous years.
If you consider the stronger Beast Taming advantage than previous years, the college entrance examination scores might look a little better, but not enough! He needed more to break into the top twenty of Jincheng's hundred schools; it depended on luck.
Thinking deeply about change, Xue Jinbao suddenly asked, "What do you think about shifting more resources towards the top students?"
Sun Dekang was startled, "Principal, I think there's a certain risk. If the top students get more resources, the average students will get fewer. In this scenario, the overall results of the college entrance exam would fluctuate more..."
While exceptionally talented students definitely add to the school's evaluation score, the numerous average students are also important. Though individual scores for average students might not be high, they add up to a substantial contribution.
Moreover, there is the consideration of the parents' sentiments. It could impact the school's intake of new students for the following year since the majority of the world's population are ordinary people.
If the principal's scheme is adopted... then it's a gamble.
It's a bet on whether there are any exceptional talents that stand out. If such a talent is eye-catching enough and performs exceptionally well, perhaps even clinching the top spot in the city or province... then naturally, the bet is won, and the influence of a top-ranking student is immense.
Xue Jinbao understood this as well.
So he wanted to see for himself if there were any suitable candidates.
"Spending too much time up here means missing the view below. Head Teacher Sun, accompany me to see how the students perform in this month's exam, and let's see how many promising students can be spotted with the new examination scheme I came up with."