I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 897 – No Longer Complete Walls
Outside the large blue-brick tile building, those who had just finished two exams were still lingering and had not yet left.
Earlier, the Divine Child had already said that the results would be announced soon, so everyone waited.
For those experiencing such a formal exam for the first time, tension was palpable. Even those who thought they had done well looked anxious.
The gathered crowd was too focused on the closed doors of the blue-brick tile building to talk or joke. All eyes were fixed on the door, waiting for it to open, eagerly anticipating their results.
This anxiety rivaled that of students in later times waiting for college entrance exam results.
After what felt like a long wait, the doors of the blue-brick tile building slowly opened.
Han Cheng stepped out holding sheets recording the exam results, followed by Shi Tou and Yuan, who were assisting with the exams.
Shi Tou held a bowl filled with millet paste.
Though this paste wasn’t as sticky as one made with flour, it was sufficient for pasting papers onto walls.
Seeing Han Cheng and the others emerge, the anxious onlookers immediately crowded around.
Han Cheng smiled and said, “Don’t rush or push. The results will be posted on the wall shortly.”
While he spoke, Shi Tou dipped a brush into the paste and began spreading it on the wall.
Han Cheng and Yuan opened the sheets with the exam results.
Once Shi Tou finished applying the paste, Han Cheng and Yuan affixed the sheets to the wall.
The previously noisy crowd fell silent once the list appeared.
Everyone eagerly scanned the list for their names and scores.
Each sheet was artificially divided vertically into two halves: the left for language scores, the right for mathematics scores.
Compared with the language section, the math section had far fewer names—less than half.
“I got 88!”
“I got 69!”
After a brief silence, the crowd erupted again.
Those who found their names couldn’t contain their joy, shouting with excitement.
Before the exam, the Divine Child had told them that the total score was 100, and 60 points were needed to pass.
“Huang Chong! You’re amazing! Ninety-nine points!”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Huang Chong with admiration.
They had just taken the exam themselves and understood its difficulty. That Huang Chong could score 99 impressed everyone.
Huang Chong’s face turned bright red with excitement, and he puffed out his chest, looking like a victorious rooster among hens.
“Hey, where’s my score? I don’t see my name!”
Where some rejoiced, others felt disappointment.
Among the laughter, some questioned aloud, scanning the list repeatedly without finding their names.
Some found their names only in the language section, not math; a few found them only in math.
Han Cheng had anticipated this. “Those whose names aren’t on the list go to Shi Tou for language scores and Yuan for math. Your papers are there.”
Only scores 60 and above were posted; the rest were withheld to avoid embarrassing anyone.
Upon hearing this, Shi Tou and Yuan retrieved the papers from under their arms and held them up.
Soon, everyone collected their own papers.
Seeing their scores and the red ‘X’ marks on the papers, the students understood the Divine Child’s intent.
This round of selection resulted in 33 passing in language, 12 in math, and 7 in both.
In total, 38 students passed—a result that pleased Han Cheng.
It confirmed that the tribe’s earlier, rough-style teaching had been effective.
However, the current number was still too high; further selection was needed to identify the best candidates.
Once the crowd calmed, Han Cheng congratulated those who passed and encouraged those who didn’t, announcing that these were preliminary exams. Two more tests were scheduled in the afternoon—language and math—with increased difficulty.
He then allowed everyone to disperse and rest, reminding those who passed to prepare for the afternoon exams.
Time quietly passed, accompanied by the two more difficult exams.
Once again, the blue-brick tile building doors opened, and Han Cheng stepped out with the lists, Shi Tou holding paste and brush, and Yuan.
The lists were posted on the wall.
This time, fewer names appeared: 11 passed language, only five passed math, and 3 passed both.
Thirteen students in total passed, which was precisely what Han Cheng wanted.
These 13, plus Shi Tou and Yuan, were sufficient to teach the tribe’s minors.
Having too many teachers would have been burdensome for the tribe.
Han Cheng congratulated the successful candidates and announced that a more difficult exam would be held the next morning. This exam would identify the most capable students for teaching higher grades, without eliminating anyone else.
Hearing this, the previously cheerful students immediately looked grim.
After experiencing the previous exams, they now understood just how rigorous the testing was. The thought of another, more difficult exam was not a happy one.
Han Cheng smiled inwardly at their expressions.
Seeing people frown over exams reminded him of his own experiences; rather than feeling sympathy, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
It was similar to an older student, once tortured during military training, who later enthusiastically punished younger students in turn.
The next morning, those who passed faced another grueling ordeal.
Afterward, Han Cheng regraded the papers.
Watching the Divine Child complete grading almost immediately after receiving the exams inspired deep respect among the students.
Earlier, these same students had struggled with the challenging problems, yet now the Divine Child handled them effortlessly.
This time, even fewer passed: 3 passed the language test, only 1 passed the math test, and none passed both.
Still, adding Shi Tou and Yuan to the mix was sufficient to cover the higher-grade teaching tasks.
This last round of results was kept internal, not posted publicly.
Through the three exams, Han Cheng had assessed the students’ capabilities and knew who was suitable for teaching which grade.
After this, the next step was a brief, intensive training for the prospective teachers.
Before training, Han Cheng personally cooked lunch for them, allowing everyone to gather, eat, and talk.
Everyone was envious—after all, they were eating food prepared by the Divine Child himself.
During lunch, Han Cheng introduced the concept of teaching and its responsibilities.
After a short rest, he gathered them again to teach basic classroom knowledge: lesson preparation, writing on the board, dividing knowledge points, handling inattentive students, and other common classroom scenarios.
He also demonstrated teaching techniques in a mock classroom without students, using roll call, writing on the board, and other methods to illustrate how to manage a class.
He even showed how to throw chalk at inattentive or sleeping students.
The trainees were astonished but diligently took notes, determined to master these methods and carry them forward.
Watching them and seeing children playing outside through the windows, Han Cheng felt a pang of conscience.
Becoming a good teacher was far from simple, with much more to learn and consider.
But given limited time and his own capabilities, this was the best he could do for now.
As he prepared exams and trained prospective teachers, he also supervised others in constructing classrooms and walls inside the blue-brick tile building.
Originally spacious, the building was now insufficient for all the minors.
Forcing everyone into one room, as had been done previously, was no longer suitable.
With multiple grades and multiple teachers, chaos would ensue without dividing the space.
Thus, constructing internal walls was necessary, creating three smaller classrooms and one larger one for meetings.
Due to labor demands and the upcoming autumn harvest, building new buildings was impossible, but dividing the existing blue-brick building could be done in time.
All tables and chairs were moved out, and soil and stones were transported in for wall construction.
Workers followed the lines drawn by Han Cheng, building walls and drilling holes in the north wall for doors.
Meanwhile, outside the tribe’s walls, minors with basic literacy and numeracy gathered in a shaded area.
Each had a small stool—or a makeshift one of wood or stone—on which they placed their papers and wrote.
This was the tribe’s first placement exam for minors, determining their grade level.
Because of the number of students and the building’s renovation, the exam was held in the shaded courtyard rather than the central plaza, where sunlight would have been too harsh.
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