After waking up, Wen Jiajia drank another bowl of bone soup.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and Wen Jiajia went out to find someone. She needed to ask if a child as old as Wen Chun could be sent to school.

First, she looked for logistics. Lao Wang was diligently checking the guardrails along the riverside.

During the flood season, the river water can reach up to the waist. It’s manageable for adults, but dangerous if children accidentally fall in.

Wen Jiajia ran to the logistics office to find him but didn’t locate him there. She then heard that Lao Wang was inspecting the guardrails, so she went back to search along the river.

After a long search, they finally found Lao Wang and his friends by the river not far from their home.

“Uncle Wang, here you are!” Wen Jiajia looked at her home not far away and almost laughed at herself.

It turned out she had started her search from the opposite side of the river.

Lao Wang shook the guardrail beside him vigorously, feeling it was not stable enough. He patted the guardrail and asked Xiao Wang to take note of it and reinforce it together the next day.

He turned around and said, “Xiao Wen, I haven’t seen you for a while. Isn’t it Wednesday today? Don’t you need to work at the factory?”

Wen Jiajia replied, “I’m taking a few days off. I’ve been too busy recently.”

“That’s right. I haven’t seen you since the third year of junior high school!” Lao Wang said, counting in his mind. It had been more than a month. The medical glass factory was really treating people like donkeys.

Xiao Wang added, “On the Lantern Festival, a cultural troupe came to our army to perform, but I didn’t see you, sister-in-law. You missed a big show! That day, a girl who sang very well ended up falling in love with a soldier from our army. A week later, their parents met and they got their marriage certificate right away!”

Wen Jiajia was so surprised that her mouth fell slightly open.

No matter how many times she encountered it, she was still astonished by the speed of marriages these days.

What is a flash marriage? This is a flash marriage.

“What a pity! Next time there’s such a lively event, you have to call me, Xiao Wang,” she said with regret.

Xiao Wang laughed. “Didn’t Wei Dai tell you about this exciting event?”

“Nope!”

She had been so busy during that time that she went straight to bed right after dinner and didn’t feel like talking much.

“Oh, right,” Wen Jiajia recalled something important. “Lao Wang, what’s the minimum age for entry into our military primary school? Can my niece Wen Chun go? She’s already six years old. Shouldn’t she be in the first grade?”

Lao Wang was shocked. “What are you thinking? Sending a child to school at age six? Aren’t you worried she won’t be able to sit still?”

“How could that be? I don’t know about other children, but my Wen Chun can definitely sit still.”

Wen Jiajia had trained Wen Chun for this. She started by asking her to sit still for 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, and gradually extended it to 40 minutes, which is the length of a class. Wen Chun was able to sit still.

“You won’t be able to teach her!”

“She’s learning well,” Wen Jiajia said proudly. “Chun’er can already do addition and subtraction within 100. So just tell me—can she attend primary school at age six?”

“No one has been admitted before age six…”

“Everything has a first example. Once there’s a first, there will be others. This shows that as material conditions improve, children these days are getting better nutrition, their brains are developing faster, and they are naturally smarter.”

“…”

Old Wang was speechless after hearing her arguments. He waved his hand and said, “Go find Comrade Guo. If she agrees to take Chun’er in, you can send her there. I’ll handle things here.”

Then he muttered, “Really? Aren’t your two children the same age? They’re only a few months apart. Why don’t you send them both together?”

Wen Jiajia thought about it but knew Wen Xuan was much more restless than Wen Chun.

In fact, she had planned for Wen Xuan to study alongside Wen Chun at the end of last year, but Wen Xuan was easily distracted after just a few minutes of study, often breaking erasers and drawing on paper. He just couldn’t focus.

Wen Jiajia felt she needed to work on her discipline. If she could get her to be half as good as her sister by September, she would be willing to send both children to school at the same time. It would save her a lot of trouble in the future.

After returning home, Wen Jiajia sewed a schoolbag for Wen Chun.

The fabric used for the schoolbag was thick, though not as sturdy as the materials used for schoolbags decades later.

She decided to add a seal to the shoulder bag for durability.

Wen Jiajia removed the straw cover from the sewing machine, threaded the needle, placed the cloth under the needle, turned the iron wheel, stepped on the pedal, and quickly sewed the cloth together amidst the “clang clang” of the sewing machine.

The schoolbag wasn’t too large, as elementary school textbooks aren’t very big. It had two layers, with the largest layer featuring an inner pocket with a zipper for small items like erasers.

After sewing, Wen Jiajia started embroidering.

Her embroidery skills were average. She could only sew large, childlike flowers, which turned out a bit crooked.

Fortunately, the simple design looked harmonious on the bag, more so than if it had been intricately embroidered.

Due to her limited skills, Wen Jiajia only made one schoolbag.

In the evening, the sunset was magnificent, reflected on the lake’s surface. A gust of wind created ripples on the water.

As the sun set and the temperature dropped, Wen Jiajia put on her coat and began cooking.

The stove was lit again, and the chicken soup in the casserole began to boil as the charcoal fire grew stronger.

Wen Jiajia started the stove and added the soaked rice from the afternoon to the pot. Once the rice had blossomed and the soup was ready, she poured it into the rice bucket and put the bucket back into the pot to steam.

The rice cooked quickly. Once it was done, she set it aside to prepare the dishes.

In spring, wild vegetables are a common and tasty food.

Wild onions are abundant, and Wen Jiajia picked a potful right next to her yard.

She only needed two handfuls for today’s dish, as she was just frying some eggs.

Wild onions have a unique aroma that is quite different from even the most expensive onions decades later.

Cut into small pieces, they were fried with eggs until golden, then seasoned with soy sauce and rice wine. The mixture was simmered to allow the flavors to meld before serving.

Since Wei Dai would probably be coming home for dinner, Wen Jiajia decided two dishes weren’t enough. She also prepared a plate of fresh spring bamboo shoots.

Spring bamboo shoots are at their best at this time of year. After blanching, their astringency diminishes. She added a few slices of bacon and some garlic sprouts to make the bamboo shoots more appetizing.

After cooking the dishes and cleaning up, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan returned home, looking dejected.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look so listless?” Wen Jiajia asked as she brought the spring bamboo shoots, bacon, wild onions, and eggs to the table.

The weather was cold, and if left outside too long, the food would get cold.

Wen Chun pouted and said, “A new kid joined the Yuhong class and said we don’t have a mom or dad. Xuanxuan and I fought with him, but we lost.”

Wen Jiajia: …

So are you upset because he said you don’t have parents, or because you lost the fight?

“Who is it? Which kid is so wicked!” Wen Jiajia raised her eyebrows and asked angrily. “A newcomer? Is there someone new in your class? Did you tell the teacher when you lost the fight? And how old is he? How could two of you lose to just one person?”

Wen Xuan threw her bag down and said angrily, “We didn’t lose at first. We lost because he spit on us and tried to bite us.”

Disgusting.

“What’s his name? I’ll go find his parents tomorrow.”

Wen Chun immediately replied, “His name is Li Anbao. Auntie, you’d better not go looking for him. Xie Yi, Xiaopang, and I have already planned to take care of him after school tomorrow. Don’t worry, we’re going to stuff his mouth with leaves first, and then beat him up.”

Wen Jiajia was stunned. “Who came up with this idea?”

Wen Chun held her head high and said, “We all thought of it together and even prepared a rope.”

“You’re forming a gang to fight.” Wen Jiajia shook her head. “Don’t do this. Although I want to deal with him, violence won’t solve the problem. If the four of you beat him up, what if he gets hurt?”

Wen Xuan whispered, “We also prepared a sack to put over his head so we can’t be identified. Auntie, he’s really annoying. He even pulled my sister’s hair, lifted Feifei’s clothes, and called Xiaopang a wild boar.”

Wen Jiajia said, “I’ll go find his parents tomorrow, so you don’t have to go to school.”

Children don’t understand limits, so don’t resort to violence. Even if you’re right, you won’t be in the right if you act that way.

“It’s already arranged…”

“What did you agree on? Let’s eat!” Wen Jiajia urged the two children to wash their hands. “Today we have bone soup and bacon. Do you want to eat?”

Mentioning the meat made them immediately forget about the fight. They hadn’t had meat in a long time.

While they were eating, Wei Dai came home.

Wen Jiajia informed him, “That child’s surname is Li. Is he a new resident? That building hasn’t been completed yet, so how could someone else be here?” The family compound was already full, with no vacant rooms.

Wei Dai thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know about this. I’ll have to ask.”

He took a few bites of rice and frowned. “It seems to be true. I remember Li Fang saying that his wife and children would arrive next month. Could they have come early?”

Wen Jiajia asked, “Where will they stay when they arrive?”

Wei Dai replied, “Some people have been transferred out. Several people have left, so more people are expected to move in over the next two months.”

Wen Jiajia slammed the table and said, “I’ll go to Li Fang’s house tomorrow.”

Parents are responsible for their children’s behavior, and they need to teach them properly.

“Oh, by the way, there aren’t any elderly people in his family, are there? I’m really concerned about old folks who might collapse at any time. Even if there are ten of them, I’d be no match if they started causing trouble.”

“…No, he only mentioned his wife and children. He didn’t say anything about his parents coming too,” Wei Dai said helplessly. “Don’t be impulsive. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

“Look at what you’re saying. Do I look like an impulsive person?”

However, they were unable to go because the mischief caused by the naughty kids led to a commotion in the family building before they could arrive.