Chapter 5

"Scrooge! What are you doing again!" A loud roar interrupted Scrooge, who was distracted by studying commercial law. He looked up and saw Mr. Rodriguez, the math teacher, standing beside him with a furious expression.

"Nothing, I'm thinking about the problem you gave us," Scrooge immediately replied without changing his expression.

"Oh," Mr. Rodriguez laughed, "Have you figured it out yet?"

"No, I haven't made any progress," Scrooge said, looking puzzled, and then he raised his head to look at the blackboard. A math problem was written on it.

"Stop looking!" Mr. Rodriguez said coldly, "It's not that problem. Hack just solved it."

Laughter immediately spread around. Amidst the laughter, Mr. Rodriguez said fiercely, "There was no new problem just now! What are you doing!"

"Teacher, I suddenly remembered the content from the last religion class," Scrooge said.

Scrooge understood that the school in this era was very different from the one he attended in his previous life. In this era, teachers had a lot of power, and they could even expel students who they deemed were not studying diligently. Although Scrooge had plans to drop out, it wasn't the right time yet. At least, he couldn't be expelled before he mastered Chinese and religion.

Scrooge knew that although Mr. Rodriguez was a very strict teacher, he was also a devout Christian. Therefore, while being distracted during class was infuriating, it was forgivable if it was due to religious reasons. Moreover, Scrooge's devoutness in religion was already somewhat well-known in the school, so Mr. Rodriguez probably wouldn't expel such a devout good boy.

"Don't think about other subjects during math class!" Mr. Rodriguez's tone was still strict, but there was a hint of gentleness in his voice.

"But, if I don't punish you, you might not learn your lesson." Just as Scrooge thought he had gotten away with it, Mr. Rodriguez added.

"Great, I'm going to suffer!" Scrooge lamented in his heart. In this era, corporal punishment was not uncommon and was considered a teacher's right. Mr. Rodriguez had a bad temper and was particularly skilled with a ruler. However, Scrooge couldn't concentrate on math in this era, so he couldn't help but be distracted. "Next time, I mustn't let him catch me!" Scrooge thought.

"I'll give you a difficult problem. If you solve it before class ends, you'll be fine. Otherwise..." Mr. Rodriguez chuckled, "You'll have a hard time!"

However, Scrooge was relieved upon hearing this. The math problems in this era's middle school were easy for him.

In just a few seconds, Scrooge solved the difficult problem Mr. Rodriguez had given him, to the astonishment of the entire class. Scrooge had his reasons for doing this: one, to gain privileges in math class; and two, to gain fame.

Yes, to gain fame. Many people saw his survival as a blessing from God. If he showed both piety and talent, people would easily interpret his talent as a gift from God. And someone who received God's gift would naturally be God's favorite. Such a reputation would certainly benefit his future business endeavors.

"This, this, this!" Mr. Rodriguez's eyes widened, "Have you done this problem before?"

"No," Scrooge replied.

"Really not?"

"Really."

"Then I'll give you another problem!" Mr. Rodriguez gave him a more difficult problem, but Scrooge solved it easily in a few seconds.

"I have another one."

...

"Try this one."

...

"No, Scrooge, this one is wrong!" Mr. Rodriguez frowned.

"What's wrong? The answer should be correct, right?" Scrooge was surprised. Could his math skills have declined so much that he could even get a middle school problem wrong in this era?

"Oh, the answer is correct, but... but I made a mistake in the problem." Mr. Rodriguez was a bit embarrassed, "This problem involves some content we haven't covered yet... Scrooge, have you studied ahead?"

"Yes, teacher," Scrooge replied. To be honest, Scrooge had just flipped through his math textbook and had a general idea of what was covered. He wasn't quite sure how far Mr. Rodriguez had progressed in his teaching, so he didn't realize that some of the knowledge in the problem hadn't been covered yet.

"How much of the content have you studied ahead?" Mr. Rodriguez asked.

"The whole book," Scrooge replied.

"..."

The rest of the class became Scrooge's personal performance. Through a series of problems, Scrooge proved that he had mastered all the math knowledge required for the semester.

"Scrooge, this is surprising. It seems I can give you the textbooks for the next semester in advance," Mr. Rodriguez said, "If you can finish them ahead of time, I'll allow you to do whatever you want in my class."

"Teacher, does that mean I need to pay for the textbooks and tuition in advance?" Scrooge asked.

"No, no, consider these books as a loan from me," Mr. Rodriguez said with a smile, a smile Scrooge had never seen before.

...

After another half a month, Scrooge returned the textbooks to Mr. Rodriguez.

"All learned?"

"Yes, all learned."

"Then I'll test you!"

...

"Alright, you've passed. From now on, as long as you don't cause trouble, you can come to my class or read whatever you want, freely!"

...

After another half a month, Scrooge found Mr. Rodriguez again.

"Scrooge, what brings you here again?"

"Teacher, can you arrange for me to take the graduation exam with the senior students?" Scrooge looked a bit nervous.

"Ha, want to compete with the older kids? Not a bad idea. The final exam questions are too easy for you. I'll talk to the principal— he's already noticed our school's math prodigy— taking the graduation exam in math shouldn't be a problem!"

"Mr. Rodriguez, that's not what I meant. I've almost finished the other subjects, so... I hope to... graduate directly..." In fact, even the other subjects were not very challenging for Scrooge, who had received higher education in his previous life.

"How is that possible? You're not thinking of graduating, are you?" Mr. Rodriguez asked in surprise.

"Of course, I am," Scrooge thought, "My parents clearly won't let me drop out halfway. Should I really stay in this school for several more years? That would be a waste of valuable time. The Civil War is not far off, and both the Rockefeller and Morgan empires started with this war. To make more money during the war, I need to accumulate more wealth before the war. Time is money, and I can't afford to wait!"

Of course, he couldn't say this to Mr. Rodriguez. So Scrooge said, "Teacher, I really want to graduate early to reduce the burden on my family. My father has poor eyesight, and if I can graduate early, he can take it easier."

This reason might not hold up, but teachers always have a special regard for high-achieving students. It wasn't a matter of professional ethics but human nature. Mencius said that one of the joys of life is to educate the talented. So now, Mr. Rodriguez found Scrooge more and more appealing, even if Scrooge's request was a bit unconventional.

"Are you really confident in the other subjects?" Mr. Rodriguez asked.

"I should be fine," Scrooge said.

"Alright, on Sunday, I'll test you with a few teachers. If you pass, we'll talk to the principal about it."

...

"Are you sure about what you're saying? No exaggeration?" A tall, gray-haired old man asked.

"Principal Smith, we can assure you that this child's level in any subject is top-notch, even among the seniors. Principal, keeping a genius and making them learn at the same pace as ordinary students is like putting a thoroughbred horse to pull a cart with a draft horse. How can that be right?" Mr. Rodriguez said, knowing that the principal liked horse racing, so he used this analogy.

"Staying in the lower grades is not good for him," the religion teacher, Mr. Duke, added, "He is too smart, learns easily, and effectively, which undermines the confidence of other students."

"It seems our school has indeed produced some thoroughbreds?" Principal Smith laughed, "Yes, keeping thoroughbreds with the workhorses is not a good idea. However, we have never had a rule allowing lower-grade students to graduate directly. This would be too irregular and could affect the school's reputation."

"Principal, having a genius in the school will only enhance the school's reputation," Mr. Rodriguez said, a bit anxious.

"Ah, Mr. Rodriguez, don't be so anxious," Principal Smith laughed, "We don't have a rule allowing lower-grade students to take the graduation exam directly, but don't forget, we have another rule. Excellent students can skip grades! We can arrange an exam. If he passes, we'll move him to the senior class, and then everything will be fine, won't it?"

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