Chapter 102: Da Bao Was a Genius

The world outside was now covered in ice and snow, so Shen Yiyi rarely went out.

Previously, she had found all sorts of excuses to stock up on supplies. She had stored a large amount of goods—various meats, dried vegetables, snacks, and more. Even if she didn’t leave the house, they could still live a prosperous life throughout the winter.

She no longer needed to prepare breakfast herself. Li Chen usually made it according to her routine, ensuring that when she naturally woke up, a steaming hot meal was ready for her.

After breakfast, she would take a walk under the eaves to aid digestion before returning to the heated brick bed. She would either read or teach Da Bao and Er Bao how to recognize characters.

By lunchtime, if Li Chen was at home, the couple would cook together. If he was not, she would prepare the meal alone and eat with the Three Baos.

In the afternoon, she would take a refreshing nap. After waking up, she would continue reading and teaching literacy.

In the evening, Li Chen was usually home. After dinner, the family would take another walk to aid digestion. Then, after washing up, they would lie on the heated brick bed, where Shen Yiyi would tell the Three Baos one or two fables before bedtime.

Mother Li once said that Shen Yiyi was living a life better than that of the immortals.

One particular thing worth mentioning was—Da Bao was exceptionally intelligent!

Whatever Shen Yiyi taught him, he often remembered after hearing it just once. It was no exaggeration to say he had a photographic memory, which both surprised and delighted Shen Yiyi.

She began to take Da Bao’s education seriously, designing a study plan based on his learning pace.

Not only did Da Bao show no resistance, but he was also incredibly thoughtful and eager to learn. Sometimes, even after completing the study plan she had set for him, he would still cling to Shen Yiyi and ask about new topics for a long time.

Of course, Shen Yiyi’s life wasn’t without troubles, and her main concern was that Er Bao disliked studying!

Compared to Da Bao’s talent, Er Bao was rather ordinary.

The same knowledge that Da Bao could grasp after hearing once, Shen Yiyi had to repeat three times for Er Bao. He might remember it in the moment, but after a while, he would forget again.

This was normal—it was just an average level of intelligence.

Shen Yiyi understood this well and had endless patience with her son. If Er Bao couldn’t remember, she would teach him until he did.

But while she had patience, Er Bao did not!  

He was always finding ways to escape studying. The moment Shen Yiyi let her guard down, Er Bao would either fall asleep, start flipping through picture books, play with Xiao Bao, or simply run outside to play.  

If she forced him to focus, he would obediently sit at the desk, but his big, rolling eyes made it clear that his mind was wandering elsewhere.  

His attitude toward studying was completely unserious!  

Yet, Shen Yiyi simply couldn’t bring herself to get angry at Er Bao. The moment she put on a stern expression, Er Bao would immediately start acting pitiful. If she really lost her temper, he would quickly admit his mistake.  

His attitude toward admitting fault was extremely sincere—but he never actually changed!  

In contrast, he had an intense passion for things outside of textbooks. If he saw a martial arts routine in a picture book, he would be thrilled. Despite the freezing weather, he would rush outside to the courtyard and practice with great enthusiasm.  

He would practice over and over again, repeating the moves until he had mastered them.  

He also couldn’t sit still and rarely stayed home for long. If Shen Yiyi wasn’t paying attention, he would sneak out to play wildly.  

After a few times, Shen Yiyi simply decided to let it go. Not everyone was suited for academics. It was in Er Bao’s nature to be this way, and with Da Bao’s exceptional talent in front of him as a comparison, it was inevitable that he would feel a sense of inferiority.  

If she forced him to study, over time, it could easily lead to an unhealthy mindset.  

Shen Yiyi had come back to this life only wanting the Three Baos to live happily. She had no expectations for them to achieve great things.  

There were thousands of paths in life, and studying was just one of them.  

Besides, Er Bao was not without his strengths. He was lively, energetic, quick-witted, and articulate. He was also bold and strong. Unlike Da Bao, who preferred to explore the unknown through books, Er Bao enjoyed discovering things through hands-on experience.  

With this kind of personality, he was unlikely to suffer losses in life.  

So, Shen Yiyi never hesitated to praise him. She wanted Er Bao to know that even if he wasn’t good at studying, he still had his own shining qualities in other areas.

Of course, while Shen Yiyi did not force Er Bao to study, she also would not let him become illiterate.  

Every day, she assigned him a set amount of tasks. He could study whenever he wanted, but before going to bed, he had to go over everything with her.  

As it turned out, Shen Yiyi’s approach was very effective. By not pressuring Er Bao, his learning efficiency actually improved, and his face showed far more smiles compared to when he was forced to study.  

Li Chen was also an open-minded father. He had no grand expectations for the futures of the Three Baos. His main focus in parenting was on their character and behavior.  

Da Bao was highly intelligent and loved reading, which naturally pleased him.  

Er Bao was mischievous and disliked studying, but Li Chen had no complaints about that either.  

He treated them the same way as always, regardless of their differences.  

As for himself, he was not idle. Whenever he had free time, he would also pick up a book and read.  

Was it because he enjoyed reading?  

Not exactly—he mostly just wanted to have common topics to discuss with his wife.  

Before they knew it, their home had developed an atmosphere of reading.  

One day, Mother Li, having nothing better to do, came over to chat with Shen Yiyi. When she saw the scene, she was utterly shocked.  

Her views on the usefulness of reading had gone through a long and complicated journey.  

Before the 1960s, she believed that studying was beneficial. So, among the children she gave birth to, those who were willing to study were sent to school.  

After the 1960s, however, the waves of great reforms came, and many educated youth were sent to the countryside. Her perspective shifted—she started to believe that studying was useless. Moreover, she thought that her family simply lacked the talent for academics, so when her grandchildren showed no interest in studying, she never considered sending them to school either.  

But after Mother Shen arrived, her extraordinary knowledge and refined speech deeply impressed Mother Li, once again altering her perspective.

Seeing this scene, Mother Li was overjoyed and repeatedly exclaimed: “Good, good! Studying is great!”  

Although Er Bao didn’t like studying, that didn’t stop him from bragging about his older brother’s abilities. When he saw his grandmother arrive, he immediately raised his voice and declared: “Grandma, you don’t know this, but my big brother is incredibly smart! No matter what he learns, he only has to hear it once to remember it!”  

“Really?” Mother Li’s eyes lit up.  

“Really!” Er Bao said proudly, his face full of confidence.  

Mother Li was grinning so wide that her mouth nearly reached her ears. She quickly asked: “And what about you, Er Bao?”  

At this, Er Bao’s face fell, and he muttered in disappointment: “I’m no good. I’m really dumb.”  

“Our Er Bao is not dumb at all!” Shen Yiyi immediately interjected. “Look, you just learned an entire set of martial arts moves, but did your big brother learn them? See? You both have your own strengths, so don’t look down on yourself.”  

Hearing this, Er Bao’s face instantly brightened, and he proudly turned to his grandmother: “That’s right! I can do martial arts, but my big brother can’t!”  

Da Bao, however, was more concerned about something else. “Mother, what does ‘look down on oneself’ mean?”  

“It means not to underestimate yourself too much.” Shen Yiyi explained.  

“Yes, yes! Don’t underestimate yourselves too much.” Mother Li immediately chimed in. “Both our Da Bao and Er Bao are amazing!”  

This greatly satisfied Er Bao’s sense of pride. He flexed his little muscles and declared: “Mother, Grandma, if bad people ever try to bully you, I’ll use my martial arts and defeat them with one punch! No one will ever dare to bully you again!”  

“Then Grandma will be counting on our Er Bao to protect us!” Mother Li laughed so hard she could barely close her mouth.  

Still unable to contain her excitement over discovering that Da Bao was a little genius, and after successfully coaxing Er Bao, she couldn’t wait any longer—she hurried off to tell Father Li all about it.