Chapter 226

The real holiday finally arrived, but except for Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Yao Bao, all the kids in the family were woken up by Han Cheng for morning exercises.

Han Cheng patted their butts one by one: “Get up! Lately, you’ve all been neglecting exercise due to your part-time jobs. Get up and exercise now.”

Xiao Yu was half asleep and half awake, hugging the pillow and crying: “Uncle Han, how can you be crueler than my dad? I’m not your son, I don’t want to listen, I don’t want to listen, I want to sleep…”

Han Cheng patted his butt again: “Your dad said that while you’re here at my place, you are my son for the time being, and I will take care of you. If you are not satisfied, go back to your dad.”

Han Cheng picked up the heavy Xiao Roubao: “Hurry up, if you don’t exercise, you’ll start getting a belly from all that laziness.”

Xiao Roubao used his hands and feet to hug his father and act coquettishly: “Daddy, I’m not yet five. Brother said the exercise starts at five. You can’t bully kids! Wuwuwu…”

Han Cheng pinched his face: “You will be five years old on August 5. No excuses.”

Xiao Roubao hugged his father and kissed his face: “Sister doesn’t have to go. I don’t want to go either. Mom definitely won’t agree with how you’re treating her beloved son!”

Han Cheng wiped off his son’s saliva: “Only your mom and sister are beloved treasures in the family, not you. Get up!”

Only Xiao Doubao was obedient. He rubbed his eyes and got up. Han Cheng reached out to lift the groggy Xiao Doubao and said to his chubby son, “Look how well-behaved your brother is. You’re the laziest.”

Xiao Doubao has been the most obedient child in the family since he was young. This obedient child said, “Dad, I must pee urgently. Please let me go to the toilet first.”

Han Cheng: “…………”

Finally, Han Cheng personally lifted each child out of bed. It was just past six o’clock, and the eastern sky of summer was already brightening. The bunch of half-awake kids with messy hair howled as they headed out for exercise, except for the under-five Little Yao Bao, the favorite Xiao Tangyuan, and little Zhuzi, who had returned home to sleep.

Quick-witted Xiao Yu already had a plan: he would sleep at Zhuzi’s place tonight and see how Uncle Han would handle that.

As a result, Han Cheng took a detour and ran to Zhuzi’s street.

Xiao Yu was shocked. He asked Fantuan, “Uncle Han isn’t going to wake Zhuzi up for exercise, is he? No way!”

Fantuan, fully awake by now, shattered his hopes, “You really don’t understand your Uncle Han. He absolutely will. He has always been like that.”

When Han Cheng arrived at Zhuzi’s door with the group of reluctant kids, Zhuzi was already dressed neatly, having washed his face and brushed his teeth. He was surprised to see everyone and a bit worried, “Uncle Han, is there something wrong?”

Xiao Roubao hugged his big brother’s thigh with a sad face and said: “Something happened, something big. Your Uncle Han is so bad. He forced Xiao Roubao to get up and exercise early in the morning. Wuuuuuu…”

Zhuzi breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was something serious. He shouted into the house, “Grandpa, I’m going for morning exercises with Uncle Han and Fantuan. Can you please put my books away?”

A crisp voice came from inside, “Alright, go ahead. Bring back some breakfast for Grandpa when you come back.”

“Got it, Grandpa,” Zhuzi replied.

Xiao Yu’s eyes were wide open: “Zhuzi, are you serious? You wake up at six to study?!”

Zhuzi felt a bit embarrassed as he said, “We’re starting the second year of junior high soon, but I’ve only just reviewed the second semester of the first year. Fantuan has already finished all the junior high courses. It wouldn’t be good if I fell too far behind him.”

He used to be ranked right behind Fantuan and naturally didn’t want to fall too far behind him in junior high school.

Xiao Yu’s mouth almost dropped open: “Why am I the same age as Fantuan? I’m only starting the sixth grade, and you all are in the second grade of junior high school?”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao remained silent. Da Bao was one year older than Zhuzi and was starting the first grade of junior high school this year. Xiao Bao was one year older than Fantuan and had skipped a grade in elementary school. He had gone to the county with Da Bao to start the first grade of junior high school at the beginning of this school year. He might already be the youngest student in the class.

Fantuan put his arm around Xiao Roubao and said, “It’s okay. I’ll only skip the first grade of junior high school. Next year, you’ll be in junior high too, and soon, you’ll be a high school student like us.” If he hadn’t needed to take care of Xiao Roubao in his arms when he was younger, he would have already graduated from junior high. But he thought things were fine as they were now; he had yet to fall too far behind his buddies.

Xiao Yu thought about how Fantuan consistently ranked first every year and how Zhuzi was either tied for first or second place and didn’t feel like talking to them anymore. He turned to Xiao Doubao and asked, “What about you, Xiao Doubao?”

Xiao Doubao replied seriously, “I’m starting sixth grade this year.”

Xiao Yu stared with wide eyes at the little guy who was barely taller than his shoulders, “But Xiao Doubao, aren’t you three years younger than me? How are you already in sixth grade?”

Xiao Doubao was only nine years old this year and hadn’t started taking exams yet. Compared to his older brothers, who had begun to grow at the age of eleven, he was indeed still a little sprout.

Xiao Yu wasn’t very interested in studying and hadn’t paid much attention to his friends’ academic achievements. He hadn’t expected Xiao Doubao to catch up with him!

Xiao Doubao looked up and said earnestly, “This year, while attending my regular classes, I taught myself the fifth-grade curriculum and scored full marks on their final exam. The teacher said I don’t need to spend time studying in the fifth grade.”

Xiao Yu: “…………”

Xiao Yu wants to knock his head against the door frame. Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s academic performance has always been excellent. He didn’t want to ask any more questions. He felt he had to be the best, or else he would be considered the most useless person among them.

Han Cheng couldn’t help but laugh at Xiao Yu’s shocked expression. He patted Xiao Yu’s head and said, “Everyone has their own strengths, and you have yours too. Your physical fitness is the best among them, making you well-suited to be a soldier. Of course, you need to maintain good academic scores as well. If you work hard to get into the military academy, you can truly show your true strengths.”

Xiao Yu hugged his Uncle Han: “Uncle Han, I love running. I will never be lazy again. I will get up on time at six o’clock daily to run!”

After Xiao Yu finished speaking, he rushed out like an arrow piercing the clouds.

Han Cheng shook his head with a smile and turned to the other kids, “Keep up, everyone.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao were not to be outdone. They quickly caught up with Xiao Yu, and the three little guys raced ahead.

The rest of the kids followed Han Cheng’s lead and jogged along.

As dawn broke, smoke began rising from the homes in Balihu Tong. The elderly men and women who had gotten up early to clean their yards were startled by a gust of wind outside their doors. Looking up, they saw children jogging like an arrow. One child raced ahead, with two more following closely behind…

The vigilant, kind-hearted old lady hoisted her broom and walked to the door. Did this speed mean that a family was being robbed? Were these two young men chasing the thief? Should she call for help?

As soon as she leaned out to look, she saw a tall and handsome young man jogging in an orderly manner with a group of children. Two particularly energetic boys lagged behind slightly, trying to catch up with the pace of the young man in front. Meanwhile, a little boy at the back was pushing a mischievous younger child, both running slowly forward.

The aunt realized that the Han family’s children were doing morning exercises again. She hadn’t seen them running for a while, and now they were running again.

The old lady hurried back inside and woke up her grandson, “Da Mao, I just saw that Han Jing from your class started exercising again. You shouldn’t stay in bed either. Get up and exercise!”

When Da Mao heard this, his sleepiness disappeared, and he jumped up: “What? Boss Han is exercising? Where?”

The old lady said, “Right outside the door, they just passed by.”

Da Mao slipped on his slippers and dashed outside. “Boss, wait for me… I’m going to start playing basketball with you!”

The old lady: “…”

With one person leading another, the morning jogging team became somewhat of a spectacular sight. Although it wasn’t so crowded that it blocked the entire street, the noise from dozens of children running together was quite loud. Naturally, this grand scene drew many curious onlookers from the neighborhood.

Fantuan’s classmates gathered around him, Zhuzi’s classmates surrounded Zhuzi, Xiao Doubao’s classmates surrounded Xiao Doubao, and they chattered non-stop. Only Xiao Roubao’s kindergarten classmates couldn’t get up. No one was running with him. Xiao Roubao was really struggling to keep up. He couldn’t catch up with his father and couldn’t see any of his classmates. He was on the verge of tears. The older children had to slow down and encourage him to keep moving forward gradually.

Han Cheng had previously taken the children out for runs. Sometimes, they ran on their own, and there were few people following them. He didn’t know what had changed that day. This kind of morning exercise was proving quite inconvenient. Han Cheng hoped to avoid being interrupted by onlookers and considered taking them to the university playground for their run the next day.

In the end, Xiao Yu still couldn’t run faster than Da Bao and Xiao Bao, who worked in the fields all year round, but he didn’t get discouraged. After some reflection, he resolved to study diligently and train hard once he returned. He aimed to be admitted to the military academy in the future and was determined not to let his friends down.

In the final days of the summer vacation in 1978, the children had developed a commendable habit of exercising. They woke up early each day to join Han Cheng for morning runs on the Peking University campus. One morning, Han Cheng’s mentor, who had also risen early, was astonished to see Han Cheng leading a group of children with “carrot tops” across the field. At first, he thought he was seeing things, but upon realizing the truth, he praised Han Cheng highly. To him, Han Cheng not only ensured his own children’s well-rounded development in morals, intellect, physical fitness, and labor but also inspired all the children in the neighborhood to advance together, demonstrating exceptional ideological awareness.

No matter how Han Cheng explained that he never intended to lead such a movement, his mentor remained convinced of his exceptional qualities. Indeed, Han Cheng fulfilled expectations by achieving the top score in the graduate entrance exam’s written and oral exams, earning the unofficial title of “top scholar.”

During the busy yet fulfilling summer vacation, the children studied in the mornings and explored the city’s landmarks in the afternoons. They were either driven by Su Xiaoxiao, who had recently obtained her driver’s license, or accompanied by Han Cheng and his aides. They visited nearly every notable spot in the capital, taking in the sights and sounds of the city streets.

When Su Xiaoxiao began driving, Han Cheng was particularly worried. He even took a leave to sit in the passenger seat, feeling more nervous than Su Xiaoxiao, who was behind the wheel. He didn’t dare to speak to her, fearing that he might startle her and cause her to mistakenly press the accelerator instead of the brake, which could cause disaster.

After driving for a while, he began to notice that Su Xiaoxiao drove more steadily than he did and could chat and laugh with the children in the back seat as if she were an experienced driver. Although he was puzzled, he decided to let her continue driving.

Su Xiaoxiao also breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what made Han Cheng worried about her.

At the end of the busy and fulfilling summer vacation, Gu Zhanwnag fulfilled his promise and bought return tickets for Da Bao, Xiao Bao, Yao Bao, and Xiao Yu so that they could fly back comfortably.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao knew how to take a bus from the city back to the county. Han Cheng called Sujia Commune to inform Su Zhenhua about their arrival date, mentioning that Da Bao and Xiao Bao would find a post office to call him once they reached the city. He advised Su Zhenhua to pick them up at the county bus station.

Su Zhenhua felt a bit anxious because they were still children and might get lost. Han Cheng reassured him that Su Xiaoxiao had provided all the necessary instructions. This wasn’t the first time Da Bao and Xiao Bao had gone on a long trip. All three were well-behaved and dependable children, capable of handling the short journey from the city to the county. It was important for them to learn to be independent.

Of course, the three children of the Su family finally got home smoothly.

Zhao Xianfeng would personally pick Xiao Yu up at the airport. Upon receiving Han Cheng’s call, he expressed some dissatisfaction, joking that his son had flown before he did, though his pride was evident in his tone.

After the summer vacation, everything was back on track.

Once the summer vacation ended, life returned to normal. The twins moved up from preschool to kindergarten, where Xiao Roubao remained the leader of the class, and Hao Ran still couldn’t shake off his habit of farting, much to Xiao Tangyuan’s displeasure.

Xiao Doubao, the only elementary school student in the family, had begun to adjust to his new classmates and was successfully promoted to the fifth grade. Little Fatty struggled to accept that Xiao Doubao had skipped a grade and was no longer in the same class as him. He went to the sixth-grade classroom to find Xiao Doubao and cried.

Zhuzi and Fantuan got their wish to be classmates again and became deskmates. In the second year of junior high school, the students were divided into the top and ordinary classes. Zhuzi, having achieved the highest grades, was admitted to the top class. Most of his classmates from the first year of junior high school were placed in the ordinary class, with only a few being promoted. Those who made it to the top class were the top three from the previous class. Everyone was curious about Fantuan, the new transfer student. While some had heard of his “legend”—knowing he was the youngest student in the class, had been the top student in elementary school, and had skipped a grade—most people were unfamiliar with him and did not know his background.

The first year of the resumption of the college entrance examination was special. Su Xiaoxiao, who had enrolled in the spring of 1978, was still a freshman in the autumn of 1978. Mu Xiaocao had returned from summer vacation and had turned back into the sunburned red girl from the plateau. The class buzzed with more gossip. The stories were the same old ones. The most common were about a male educated youth classmate who had divorced his rural wife, whom he had married when he was sent to the countryside and a female educated youth classmate who, after marrying a village man during her time in the countryside, had divorced her original rural husband, and so on.

Han Cheng was now a first-year graduate student. Naturally, this “top scholar couple” was also famous. The talented man and beautiful woman had raised four equally outstanding children together, becoming the best story at Capital University. No matter where they went, people paid them attention.

In short, everything was thriving, the future was promising, and everything related to Su Xiaoxiao was developing in the best direction.

---

Lucia: Hi~ I unlocked chapter 226 -230 (end of main story) By the end of this month, all of the chapters will be unlocked! Thank you so much for waiting patiently~

---