The Next Day

The three brothers woke up exceptionally early today.

It was their first day at elementary school, the beginning of their journey into being big kids.

In the hearts of many children, kindergarten was for little kids, and elementary school marked the transition to being big.

So, this day was very meaningful to them.

They got up in the morning, washed up, and as usual, lined up to collect their breakfast from the kitchen.

They were surprised to see that Ning Shu had prepared two fried eggs for each of them.

There were two surprises.

First, they usually had boiled eggs (because their mom found fried eggs troublesome and only made them if they really wanted them). Second, when they did have fried eggs, it was usually just one, but today there were two.

Curious, Er Bao asked, “Mom, why are there two fried eggs today?”

Ning Shu replied, “To celebrate your official start as elementary school students. These two fried eggs are to wish you success, aiming for perfect scores.”

It was a gesture of ceremony.

“Thank you, Mom.”

On their first day of elementary school, the three brothers were unusually spirited.

After eating their mom’s breakfast, they headed off to school.

Since it was still hot outside, Da Mao and Tie Dan didn’t come with them.

Arriving at school, they weren’t the first, but they were early.

Their teacher had said they should arrive before 8:30, and they were there by 8:10.

Before long, other classmates started arriving too.

Everyone was new to the school and didn’t know what to do once they got to the classroom, so they started chatting with those they knew.

But before they could chat for long, their homeroom teacher arrived.

Seeing the teacher, everyone sat in their assigned seats as arranged the day before.

The seating was arranged from shortest to tallest, so it was the first time the three brothers were separated in class.

There was no helping it—five-year-old San Bao was still a little short among the 8 and 9-year-olds in first grade.

However, San Bao adapted well.

Although he wasn’t sitting with his older brothers, they were in the same classroom.

Besides, mentally, five-year-old San Bao was even more mature than his eight-year-old brother Er Bao and wasn’t afraid at all.

Elementary school courses are quite simple, with the core subjects being Chinese and math.

In addition, there are physical education classes, interest classes, and more.

Compared to village schools or commune schools, the development at the military school is more comprehensive.

After all, this is a military environment where shortages of eggs and meat are possible, but education is always a priority.

As the three brothers started elementary school, Ning Shu also deeply experienced the differences between kindergarten and elementary school.

The biggest change was that elementary school included homework.

When they were in kindergarten, the three Bao brothers would come home and just wait for dinner.

Now in elementary school, as soon as they got home, they started doing homework.

Although it was just the beginning of the school year and the teachers were still teaching pinyin, the three brothers had a head start and had been praised every day since school started.

The reason was that they were the best at pinyin.

So, the three brothers were shining in their class again.

The teachers’ praise fueled their motivation, and they were very serious about doing their homework.

However, this excellent performance was limited to Chinese (pinyin); they still needed help with math.

Of course, Lin Guodong, their father, took full responsibility for teaching them homework.

In terms of patience, Ning Shu admitted that she couldn’t compare to Lin Guodong.

This was also the advantage of having highly educated parents.

Some parents who hadn’t gone to school themselves might not help their children with their homework very well, and their children might be criticized by their teachers the next day when they went to school.

On this day, just like any other, the three brothers came home from school.

As soon as they got home, Er Bao shouted, “Mom… Mom…”

“What’s the matter?” Ning Shu asked, sitting in the yard eating peanuts.

The sun-dried and roasted peanuts were especially fragrant, and she hadn’t even looked up when her son returned.

Er Bao said, “Mom, we have to perform for National Day at school. Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school are all together, and we’ll be praised by the troops. We’ll be performing with the Cultural Troupe.”

Ning Shu wasn’t surprised. “Isn’t that every year? I saw it last year too.”

Er Bao replied, “But before, when we were in kindergarten, we didn’t have to perform. Now that we’re in first grade, we have to perform. Brother is the class monitor, and the teacher said the monitor has to take the lead and think about what our class should perform.”

“Oh, I forgot Yi Bao is the class monitor. He does have to take the lead in this.”

“What does Yi Bao think we should perform?” Ning Shu asked.

Yi Bao pursed his lips.

It was the first time he realized the significant responsibility of being the class monitor.

He had no idea what kind of performance they should do.

“Mom, what do you think would be a good performance for us?”

Ning Shu thought for a moment. “Performing a program is about showcasing talents. To decide what your class should perform, you first need to find out what talents your classmates have.

Ask everyone about their talents, choose a few from these talents, and present them to your teacher as options. Then, decide based on what your teacher says.”

Yi Bao’s eyes lit up as he understood. “I got it, Mom. Thank you.”

He took out a notebook he usually used to jot down notes from his small bag and looked at Er Bao and San Bao. “Er Bao, San Bao, what talents do you have?”

Ning Shu realized Yi Bao was applying his learning immediately, starting with Er Bao and San Bao.

Er Bao and San Bao were both stunned.

For a moment, they scratched their heads, trying to think of their talents.

What talents did they have?

After thinking it over, neither of them could come up with anything.

Finally, Er Bao hesitantly asked, “Is being fast at running considered a talent?”

Besides running fast, he couldn’t think of anything else.

Yi Bao hesitated a bit, thinking it didn’t quite sound like a talent.

He looked at Ning Shu. “Mom, is being fast at running a talent?”

Ning Shu chuckled. “Talents are skills you can showcase on stage. Er Bao, are you going to perform running on stage?”

Er Bao hesitated, “Then I don’t have any talents.”

San Bao shook his head. “I don’t have any talents either.”

Afterward, the three brothers fell into silence again.

Yi Bao felt that he himself didn’t have any talents either.

So, what could they perform?

Seeing their frustrated expressions, Ning Shu sighed and reminded them, “You can perform the martial arts your dad taught you.”

Since starting elementary school, Lin Guodong had spent half an hour each morning exercising with them.

Sometimes they ran, and sometimes he taught them martial arts.

A performance usually lasted three to five minutes, and Ning Shu felt having them perform martial arts for that long wouldn’t be a problem.

Surprised by their mother’s suggestion, the three brothers exchanged glances.

Yi Bao asked, “Mom, can we really perform martial arts?”

Ning Shu nodded. “Yes, you can. Ask your dad to teach you a few more moves. You can sing while performing martial arts, which will reduce the number of moves needed.”

The three brothers looked at each other for a moment, discussed it, and decided it could work.

Since they knew the moves their dad taught them, they could learn a few more.

Despite not knowing what talents they had, they included this in their talent show.

The next day, when Lin Guodong returned from the barracks, he learned about the situation.

Teaching a few more moves to his sons was certainly not an issue, and he agreed, “Let’s start learning from tomorrow morning.”

“So soon?” Er Bao blurted out.

Ning Shu added, “Wait until they report their talents tomorrow. Confirm the performance can proceed after that.”

Lin Guodong reflected, “Learning martial arts isn’t just for the National Day performance. It’s also about improving yourselves, which will be useful for the country, the people, and yourselves when needed.”

Now serving as class monitor, Yi Bao was more responsible than before.

He nodded, “I’ll listen to Dad.”

Once Yi Bao agreed, Er Bao and San Bao naturally had no objections.

When it came to something they would all do together, they always listened to their big brother.

So the next day, after reviewing the martial arts they had learned previously, Lin Guodong taught them a new move.

Lin Guodong’s foundation in martial arts was about speed, precision, and aggression.

Now, teaching his sons, he slowed down the movements and emphasized defense.

Since the children were still young, attacking techniques would likely be ineffective in real situations, so learning defensive moves was more practical and safer.

Moreover, teaching defensive techniques was crucial because the boys were still young.

Teaching offensive moves might lead to accidents if they got into conflicts with other children.

After a good breakfast, the first thing the three brothers did upon returning to school was inquire about their talents.

Seeing that all the classmates had arrived but the teacher hadn’t yet, Yi Bao strode to the teacher’s desk, his face serious.

As soon as the classmates noticed, they immediately quieted down from their chatter.

It was clear that Yi Bao held considerable authority in the class.

“Lin Haizhi, what do you want to say, class monitor?” asked He Jiaxing, who got along well with Yi Bao.

Yi Bao tightened his grip on his notebook and pen, feeling a bit nervous. “The teacher said National Day is coming soon, and our class needs to prepare a performance.

I don’t know everyone’s talents, so I need each of you to tell me your talents. Then we’ll decide what our class will perform.” His voice was clear and composed, despite the tension.

Yi Bao was used to masking his emotions.

When his mother wasn’t treating them well, he had to protect his younger brothers and would pretend to be stern, even if he was afraid inside.

Hearing that they needed to report their talents to the class monitor, the classmates became very enthusiastic.

For many children who liked to perform, this was an exciting opportunity.

When Yi Bao returned to his seat, everyone crowded around him.

Many students reported their talents, and he only managed to jot down a few before the bell rang for class, so they had to postpone further discussion.

Er Bao and Yi Bao shared a desk and were about the same height.

Seeing his big brother overwhelmed, Er Bao leaned in and whispered, “Brother, after class, I’ll help you write them down.”

Yi Bao’s eyes lit up with an idea.

He decided to have each student report their talent to their group leader in each row, who would then pass it on to him.

It would work like how students handed in assignments to their group leaders, who then passed them to the class representative.

There were few class committee members in the first grade, besides the class monitor and the representatives for Chinese and math classes.

The group leaders in each row played a significant role. Yi Bao was now learning to lead!