Fu Jiangxiu (aka Sue Google) was born in 1972 in a small village in a remote mountain valley in Qiongzhong County, Hainan Island, China. There was no running water or electricity there, and the village was separated from the town by two rivers and two steep mountains. The villagers lived a primitive life of slash-and-burn farming, almost completely cut off from the outside world.

Yet, the young Chinese woman displayed extraordinary talent from a young age. Although her parents were illiterate, they knew that “only through education can one stand on one’s own.” They spared no expense, even selling their household belongings, to send her to a prestigious county high school as a boarding student.

She loved reading and would sneak off to the library during class whenever the teacher wasn’t looking. She was constantly immersed in Tang and Song dynasty poetry and classical literature, and she also read extensively in popular science. She demanded of herself to understand astronomy and geography. However, while her Chinese grades were among the top, her Math was a complete disaster.

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