Chapter 216: Networking

Wang Qian brought a large pile of items and first took some to her elder Cousin’s place. After all, her elder cousin and Mingcheng were in the same class, so she had to bring something for him as well. Mingcheng was getting ready to change into his sports attire for the inspection when he saw a young girl carrying a large pile of items, running over. He thought it was someone else’s child at first, but when he looked closer, he couldn’t help but smile wryly and hurried over to help.

“Qianqian, why are you here? Please don’t tell me you skipped class to come here.”

Why would Mingcheng make such a guess? Well, there was a reason for it. Some of the students in the class had younger siblings in elementary school, but so far none of them had come to watch the event. Most likely, they didn’t have time to come during school hours.

Wang Qian, feeling a bit embarrassed, chuckled as she held Mingcheng’s arm. “Big brother, can’t you be a little less clever? I got permission from the teacher to come out. However, I got sick leave, and I brought my brother along. I’ll admit my mistake to Mom and Dad when I get home tonight. Take these things back and have something to eat. I brought something for our elder cousin too. Go on, run well. I’ll go cheer for you.”

Helplessly, Mingyuan rubbed his sister’s head and took the items. “By the way, brother, the soda bottles have a deposit on them. Don’t forget to return them and get the money back. I’m going to find our elder sister and second brother now.”

Wang Qian hastily ran off with the items. Some of the male classmates in Mingcheng’s class saw the beautiful young girl and jokingly teased, “Wang Mingcheng, who’s that little girl? She’s so pretty. Don’t tell me she’s your betrothed.”

Wang Mingshan, who was sitting in his seat, heard this and immediately reached out and slapped the back of the speaker’s head. “Nonsense. That’s my cousin, Mingcheng’s sister. But why did she come today?”

Mingching placed the items he was holding into Wang Mingshan’s hands. “Elder brother, these were bought by Qianqian for us. Share some with everyone and save some for me. Don’t eat them all. It’s the first time my sister has bought something for me.”

As the inspection was about to begin, Mingcheng reminded him once more, and sitting in his seat, Wang Mingshan waved confidently. “Go on, I’ve saved some for you. Run well and try to earn some points for our class.”

Wang Qian ran back to her elder sister’s class with the items. She was seen by her sister’s teacher warmly offering sunflower seeds to the students. The teacher found it amusing to see the sensible young girl before her. She wasn’t of school age yet, but couldn’t resist asking a question.

“Are you Wang Xuan’s sister? Are you already in school?”

Wang Qian handed the sunflower seeds to the teacher and replied, “Yes, I’m already in the third grade of elementary school.”

The unprepared teacher was startled by Wang Qian’s response. “What? You’re already in the third grade? You’re only eight or nine years old, right? How did you start school so early?”

One of their female classmates from the same village explained, “Teacher, several siblings in their family have skipped grades. Both Qianqian and her younger brother have skipped grades. Everyone in our village knows about it.”

The class teacher was astonished. Wang Xuan and Wang Mingcheng were already considered exceptional at their school. She hadn’t expected these younger siblings to be so exceptional as well. They were indeed promising candidates.

Looking at the genuine smiles on Wang Qian and the others’ faces, the teacher’s smile became even more sincere. “Oh, I see. Study well, and maybe in the future, when you come to our school, I’ll be your class teacher.”

Wang Qian was aware of the teacher’s intentions. With a smile, she responded, “Great, we’ll all strive to be your students.”

After distributing the items she had bought, she handed bread, sunflower seeds, and soda to her elder sister and Mingyuan.

“Sister, I’ve already given some to our brother. You can eat in peace. He’ll have his event soon, and we’ll cheer for him,” she said.

The next event was the men’s 800-meter race, the same event Mingcheng was participating in. Wang Qian and Mingyuan eagerly watched from the start line. Among the boys, their elder brother didn’t seem as frail. Although Mingcheng was not as big as them, the family’s diet had improved over the past two years, and Mingcheng had shot up in height. Additionally, their grandfather exercised with them regularly, so Mingcheng was much healthier than the others.

As it was a grade-level event, there were only eight participants. The morning had seen the preliminaries, and now it was time for the finals. As the starting gun went off, Mingcheng dashed to the front like a little tiger. Some participants were thrown off by the sudden sound, causing them to falter, but in that short time, Mingcheng had surged ahead.

“Go, big brother, go, big brother!”

Mingyuan and the others cheered loudly as they saw their brother charging ahead. Other classmates, who had been bribed by Wang Qian, also joined in, shouting, “Go, Wang Mingcheng, go, Wang Mingcheng!”

Sitting in her seat, Wang Qian watched Mingcheng’s speed. It was clear that her brother had good nutrition, as the others seemed to lack the stamina to keep up. Mingcheng’s speed was increasing, and he had already left the others far behind.

“Our brother is amazing; there’s no suspense,” remarked Mingyuan as he sat down and shared his soda with those around him. After all, they had also cheered for his brother, so it was only right to offer them a drink. Besides, he had been half a bench for them.

Mingyuan started a conversation with others nearby, reminding them to take care of his sister. Wang Qian chuckled to herself as she listened. Her little brother was quite astute. Despite his young age, he had already learned to navigate social situations.

Mingcheng won the first place without any doubt. After receiving his prize, he didn’t even return to his own class. Instead, wearing the red vest and blue shorts that Zhang Lan had bought for him, he ran over to Wang Qian.

“Sister, here’s the prize for you.” Mingcheng handed her the plastic pencil box with a magnetic stone that he had won.

Wang Qian accepted the pencil box without hesitation, planning to give it to her elder sister when they returned home that evening.

“Bro, you’re amazing. Have some water to quench your thirst.” Mingyuan, in a sycophantic manner, handed his sister’s soda, as he had already finished his own. Wang Qian hadn’t even poured any from the one she had bought.

Mingcheng took a sip of the water his brother handed him. “Mingyuan, you guys should head back in a while. Don’t worry Mom and Dad. I don’t think there are many events left. Go back early and take care of your sister.”

With the eldest brother’s instructions and seeing that Wang Qian had also seen enough, he nodded and said, “Big brother, we’ll leave in a while. If you finish school early, go back home too.”

After Mingcheng left, Mingyuan and his sister didn’t stay for long before leaving the school grounds. When they returned home, they learned about the incident involving the students. Both of them felt a bit scared. Perhaps skipping school that day had been the right decision after all.

Meanwhile, Zhang Lan and the others continued working on the mountain, but they couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease. Not having seen their children with their own eyes left them feeling uneasy.

As soon as they finished work, the couple hurried home. They found their two children sitting quietly in the kitchen, helping peel potatoes.

“Mom, you’re back. Hehe, I made a mistake today, and I need to confess it to you,” Wang Qian admitted.

Ignoring what the children were saying, Zhang Lan immediately pulled the siblings to her side and checked them carefully. “Mingyuan, where did you go after school? Were you scared?”

Hearing this, Wang Qian felt even more guilty. “Mom, I’m really sorry. I made a mistake today. My younger brother and I asked for sick leave from the teacher to watch our elder brother running, so we missed the incident after school.”

Acknowledging their mistake, Mingyuan quickly admitted it was his fault too and explained that they had gone to watch the sports meet. “Mom, please don’t be angry. We’ve learned our lesson. We won’t do it again. We promise to study well and not make you worry,” he assured.

Wang Zhenhe and Zhang Lan found it both exasperating and amusing. The children had narrowly avoided a disaster that day. They were upset that their children had lied and skipped class, but seeing their repentant attitude and their pitiful expressions, they resisted scolding them severely. Instead, they gently slapped each child on the backside.

“Mingyuan, as the elder brother, you must never do this again. And Qianqian, you knowingly made a mistake by lying. I’ll let it go this time, but if it happens again, I won’t be lenient. Do you understand?” Zhang Lan’s tone was firm, but the siblings had prepared themselves for a scolding and felt relieved to have passed this test.

In a sycophantic manner, Wang Qian hugged Zhang Lan’s waist. “Mom, we’ll remember. We won’t do such things again in the future. But when dealing with bad people, can we still lie when necessary?”

Shaking her head helplessly, Zhang Lan replied, “You’re such a little trickster. There are situations where it’s necessary, but you must understand that lying to your parents is not acceptable. We always have your best interests at heart.”

Mingyuan presented the prize his elder brother had won. “Mom, look at what big brother won. We brought it back for him. He did so well today; he came in first place.”

Wang Zhenhe understood what was happening. Both of their children were cunning. By presenting the prize, they were trying to divert their mother’s attention.

“Let it go, Lan. Both of them have admitted their mistake. I’ve already spoken to them when they returned. It’s a good thing they took leave; otherwise, the situation could have been much worse. By the way, how are the injured students who were taken to the hospital?” Hao Lianchun asked.

Speaking of the injured children, Zhang Lan and Wang Zhenhe sighed. “Auntie, when we arrived, there was blood on each of them. We don’t know where they were injured, but we haven’t heard any bad news so far. Most likely, they’re just injured, and there’s nothing serious. It’s heartbreaking to see such young children suffer. Several people didn’t even go to work; they probably went to the hospital to see the children.”