She patted Cen Huai’an on the head and said with a smile, “Your mouth could practically hang a teapot. I’ll take you to see a movie next time.”

Cen Huai’an looked at Chu Xia with some lingering resentment. His mom was teasing him again.

However, knowing he would get to watch a movie with his mom next time, Cen Huai’an made an effort to suppress the corners of his mouth from turning up in a smile.

Chu Xia took Cen Huai’an to an old tailor near the textile factory.

The old tailor had worked near the factory his whole life and was famous for his skill.

When the tailor saw the leather Chu Xia brought, he touched it and smiled. “This material is good; it’s top-quality sheepskin. We don’t often see this kind of leather around here.”

Chu Xia nodded. “My son and I want to make a winter coat from these pieces.”

Chu Xia then explained her ideas to the tailor through gestures.

Following her description, the tailor quickly sketched two designs for the coats and asked Chu Xia if they were what she wanted.

“Yes, this is exactly what I want. Is it difficult to make?”

The tailor shook the sheepskin and confidently said, “It’s simple. I’ve been making clothes all my life. This is not difficult. The real challenge is working with delicate materials and intricate embroidery, which is very complex and can take months to complete. Those were worn by the wives of officials in the past.”

Chu Xia understood the type of clothing the tailor was referring to.

Nowadays, no one makes clothes with handmade embroidery.

They are both expensive and, in the past, were not permitted.

The most common items made now are false collars, suits, and overcoats.

Additionally, Chu Xia also had two cotton jackets and pants made for Cen Huai’an.

He didn’t have many warm clothes for winter, and handmade cotton clothes might not be trendy but were definitely warm.

After agreeing to pick up the clothes in a month, Chu Xia and Cen Huai’an left.

---

At the Ninth High School:

The teachers were grading the transfer students’ exams.

There were not many students, just over twenty taking the test.

The teachers planned to finish grading them all by this afternoon.

The English teacher came across a perfect paper.

“This paper is a perfect score! I can’t find any points to deduct, and the essay is written so perfectly.”

“I have a perfect paper here too,” said the Chemistry teacher. “This is the first time I’ve seen a perfect score in Chemistry among transfer students.”

The two teachers were very curious about the student who wrote these papers and wanted to see who it was immediately.

Other teachers were also interested.

Everyone knew that most transfer students had a poor foundation, and passing was already impressive.

Most students might only score one or two hundred points.

So seeing a perfect score made the teachers anxious.

Even high school students preparing for college entrance exams rarely achieve a perfect score, especially in English.

Initially, when the college entrance exams were restored, English was not included in the total score.

Later, its importance increased, and this year, it was counted at 50%.

Many people previously studied Russian, and since everyone hadn’t learned English, it was normal to do poorly when it was suddenly included.

Of course, there were those with a talent for languages who performed exceptionally well, but they were in the minority.

Finally, after finishing grading, the teachers hurriedly found the perfect English and Chemistry papers.

“It’s the same person! Luo Chuxia.” The English teacher looked at the English paper and then the Chemistry paper, her surprise evident.

She quickly said to the other subject teachers, “Check her other papers!”

Having only good grades in chemistry and English isn’t enough.

Chinese: 79 points, Politics: 60 points, Physics: 81 points, Biology: 92 points, Mathematics: 85 points.

With English calculated at 50% and Biology at 30%, out of a total of 580 points, Chuxia scored 482.6 points.

This score is definitely good enough to get into college, and even into a very good one!

The political science teacher, holding Chuxia’s exam paper, was also shocked: “She did well in all her other subjects. How did she end up with such a low score in politics? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Politics is all about rote memorization.”

“She also got quite a few physics questions wrong.”

“Her Chinese score isn’t very high either.”

But this can’t be blamed on Chuxia.

Back then, she was a science student, so she never took politics seriously.

After the comprehensive exams, she moved all her liberal arts books out of the house and never touched them again.

Moreover, with so many subjects to review, politics, being full of lengthy memorization, was particularly difficult for her.

She was very satisfied with just passing in politics, as she didn’t dare to guess blindly.

The same went for Chinese, where there were too many fragmented and trivial points to memorize, some of which she didn’t recall well.

Physics had been a headache for her in high school.

She had put in a lot of effort to avoid falling behind. Without that foundation, she wouldn’t have scored over 80 now.

As for scoring full marks in chemistry, it was quite normal.

She was a medical student and had studied two chemistry-related courses in college.

She also did well in biology.

The head of the Academic Affairs Office, strolling into the grading room and seeing a group of teachers chattering, cleared his throat.

The teachers immediately looked over, not afraid of the headmaster, and eagerly talked about Luo Chuxia.

Especially for the subjects where she didn’t perform well, three teachers urged the headmaster to admit her, noting that her scores had significant room for improvement.

Without saying much, if her physics improved by another five points, her Chinese by another ten, and her politics by twenty points, her total score would be remarkable.

After reviewing Luo Chuxia’s exam paper, the headmaster felt very wise for agreeing to her transfer exam.

See, she was indeed a top-notch prospect!

When Chuxia went to the school to collect her report card the next afternoon, the headmaster was nearly anxious.

He hadn’t seen Luo Chuxia all day and thought she might not come.

However, upon seeing Luo Chuxia, the headmaster wiped his glasses and regained his calm demeanor.

“Student Luo Chuxia, the ninth middle school has agreed to admit you into the second year of high school. You have been placed in Class 2 (3). Please come to class tomorrow. Will you be boarding or a day student?”

This outcome was expected by Chuxia, but hearing the final result, she still showed a relieved smile.

However, she couldn’t board, nor could she choose to be a day student, and even full-time attendance was not feasible.

She had work at the factory and a young Cen Huai’an to care for, making it impossible for her to attend school like other students.

She had already decided to self-study at home.

After all, having gone through one college entrance exam, the knowledge points she had forgotten were not ones she didn’t know.

Starting second year again wouldn’t improve her learning outcomes but would actually slow her progress.

Chuxia showed a troubled expression: “Thank you, Headmaster, but…”

She explained her difficulties to the headmaster.

The headmaster, after listening, frowned deeply and paced around the office, “This isn’t feasible; there’s no precedent for this.”

Chuxia said, “I just want a spot to participate in the mock exams and register for the college entrance exam.”

Without a pre-exam and high school registration, she wouldn’t be able to take the college entrance exam.

If the principal didn’t agree, she would have to attend night school.

However, the credentials from night school weren’t recognized by the country, so later on, if she wanted to pursue a college diploma, she would need to re-enter a regular college.

The same applied to a bachelor’s degree.

The Headmaster frowned for a while, reluctant to let go of such a promising student.

He said, “I’ll ask the principal. It’s up to her to decide.”

The Headmaster sighed and went to find the principal of Ninth High School, while Chu Xia waited in his office.

It wasn’t long before the principal and the school head arrived.

The principal of Ninth High School was a woman with a serious expression, walking with an air of elegance and decisiveness.

“Luo Chuxia, is it true that you requested not to attend classes at school and instead study at home?”

Facing the Ninth High School principal’s aggressive tone, Chu Xia stood up with poise and replied with a smile, “Yes.”

“Alright, I agree!” The principal said with a clear and decisive tone. “However, you must attend every school exam, and if your grades do not improve, you will have to return to regular classes.”

Chu Xia readily agreed, “Thank you, Principal. Thank you, Headmaster.”

After speaking, the principal turned and left immediately. The Headmaster, relieved, wiped his sweat and asked Chu Xia curiously, “Aren’t you afraid?”

Chu Xia was puzzled. “Why would I be afraid?”

The Headmaster looked at her with admiration. The principal’s authority wasn’t something everyone could withstand, so it was no wonder the principal agreed to her request; she must have been impressed by Chu Xia.

“There will be a monthly test on the 29th and 30th of this month, starting at 8 AM. You should come a day earlier to find your homeroom teacher and check your exam venue and number.”

“Okay.”

After finishing her business, it was still not dark. Cen Huai’an had already finished school, and she had told him earlier that she would pick him up later in the afternoon, so he should wait a bit longer at school.

Taking the bus to the affiliated elementary school, Chu Xia noticed the entrance was still noisy, with students not having left yet. She spotted Cen Huai’an right away.

He was selling Popsicle with Kuai Zi and Mao Zai, along with candies, marbles, and cards—things kids love.

Cen Huai’an and the others were surrounded by a crowd of kids, and Chu Xia could only see them because she was an adult and taller.

Since business was good, Chu Xia didn’t want to interrupt them and waited to the side, observing them sell their goods.

She noticed that both boys and girls liked to buy from Cen Huai’an and would chat with him after making their purchases.

Is Cen Huai’an so popular at the elementary school?

When the students finally left, Chu Xia clapped her hands and stood up.

“Huai’an!”

“Mom!” Cen Huai’an waved and wanted to run over, but since the stall wasn’t packed up yet, he ran a few steps and then returned.

Chu Xia walked over to help them pack up.

She smiled warmly at the three children. “I saw everything; your business is doing great! Well done!”

Cen Huai’an couldn’t help but let a small smile form at the corners of his mouth.

His mom praised him again—there might be a little red flower waiting for him at home.

Kuai Zi and Mao Zai, like Bangzi, had difficult lives and no one cared for them.

Except for Bangzi’s grandmother, no one had ever praised them before.

Hearing Chu Xia’s words, the two children lowered their heads shyly, and Cen Huai’an couldn’t help but find their smiles annoying.

“Mom!” Cen Huai’an hesitated, then quickly remembered to say, “You don’t need to pick me up every day. I can go home with Kuai Zi and Mao Zai.”

The primary school is a ten-minute walk from the textile factory dormitory, and there are many children who walk home by themselves without crossing major roads.

However, since Cen Huai’an has just started kindergarten and is younger than the others, Chuxia is worried.

Initially, Chuxia planned to refuse, but after some thought, she agreed.

Cen Huai’an obviously wanted to go after school to play with the other kids selling things, and if she went to pick him up, it would put pressure on them.

On the way back, Chuxia helped push the cart and reminded Cen Huai’an as they walked, “If you’re walking home alone, you must be with Kuaizi and Maozi. You can’t walk by yourself. Walk on the right side of the road, don’t eat anything given by strangers, and don’t follow strangers…”

Chuxia gave him a long list of instructions, and Kuaizi and Maozi couldn’t help but look at Cen Huai’an enviously: if only they had a mom like him.

As Chuxia glanced at them and smiled gently, she said, “You should also remember these things. There are many kidnappers now; if you get taken, you might be sold to some remote place and never come back!”

Chuxia wasn’t trying to scare them intentionally, but human trafficking is a real issue.

From ancient times to the future, it has never stopped.

Cen Huai’an and the others nodded seriously.

With the college entrance exam registration issue resolved, Chuxia finally felt less urgency about her studies.

She also thought about the Wang Yulan family’s situation, as the division of the family property had reached a crucial point.

In fact, there are many requirements for the factory housing allocation, such as needing approval from the group, the union, and the workers’ representative conference, but in the end, it’s still decided by the factory director and the party secretary.

If there’s no one with more authority than them, then the allocation of the house to Luo Dage’s family is a done deal.

So the key is to deal with Luo Chuxia’s in-laws.

Her in-laws are most concerned about who, which is Luo Chuxia’s husband, the adult with the intelligence of a seven-year-old.

The party secretary only has this one son, and if anyone harms his son’s interests, the secretary and his wife would tear them apart.

Moreover, the secretary and his wife dislike Luo Chuxia’s maternal family.

They don’t like families who sell their daughters, and even if they gain benefits, they don’t like them.

Chuxia’s mind turned quickly, and she came up with a plan.