The homeroom teacher of Class 2 in the first grade is surnamed Hong, and her name is Hong Shuangxi.

Hong Shuangxi’s first child was a daughter named Hong Huanxi.

The second child was also a daughter, named Hong Shuangxi.

Hong Shuangxi is also the Chinese teacher for Class 2 in the first grade.

Hong Shuangxi entered the classroom when the bell rang.

As soon as she entered, the voice of Yi Bao echoed: “Stand up.”

“Hello, classmates.”

“Hello, teacher.”

It’s been a week since classes started, and Hong Shuangxi really likes this new class.

She especially likes Lin Haizhi, the class monitor.

Lin Haizhi is obedient, clever, good at studying, and has a polite appearance—every teacher likes such a student.

“Monitor, have you thought about the National Day performance I mentioned yesterday?” Before class, Hong Shuangxi asked about something important.

Actually, as the teacher, she could decide on the National Day performance directly, but she wanted to give her students a chance to showcase their talents.

Yi Bao stood up and said, “Teacher, I have an idea.”

Yi Bao is not a timid child, especially in front of a teacher who is very friendly to them.

“Oh?” Hong Shuangxi was surprised.

Yi Bao had an idea in just one night?

It’s said that the twins from the nursery school are the smartest in the nursery school.

It seems true. “Then tell me what it is.”

Yi Bao explained what his mother had said last night: “I plan to gather everyone’s talents and then select a few impressive ones for you to consider.”

Teacher Hong was pleasantly surprised. “Lin Haizhi, your performance is excellent, and this idea is also very good.”

Yi Bao smiled shyly, “Teacher, this idea was from my mother, not from me. I didn’t know what to do after school yesterday, so I asked my mom.”

Teacher Hong smiled and said, “Sometimes, asking for help when you don’t know what to do is the right thing to do.” She didn’t think Lin Haizhi’s performance was bad because of this.

After all, first-grade kids might not know what to do when faced with such a question.

Asking parents for help in this situation is the right thing to do.

She just worried that some might be stubborn and not know to ask for help.

However, it must be admitted that Lin Haizhi’s parents’ education is also very good, and not every parent can come up with such ideas.

Hearing that Teacher Hong did not oppose Yi Bao felt relieved.

Immediately, Yi Bao asked again, “Teacher Hong, I can’t write down all the talents of my classmates by myself.

Can I ask the group leaders for help?

Each row of students can report their talents to the group leader, and the group leaders can write them down and then give them to me?”

“Of course you can,” Hong Shuangxi said. “In the class, you are the monitor, second only to the teacher. As long as it’s related to the class, you can invite classmates to help you with anything.”

Yi Bao took in what Hong Shuangxi said, his little ears perking up.

Anything related to the class, he could invite classmates to help.

Hmm, he r, k. emembzered that.

Yi Bao is a very obedient and good student.

So after class, Yi Bao directly handed this matter over to the group leaders of each group.

The students transferred their talent registrations from the monitor to the group leaders.

But no matter where they registered, it didn’t affect the enthusiasm of the students.

“I can sing.”

“I can play soccer.”

“I can draw.”

“I can dance.”

“I…”

Group leaders: “Wait a moment, you’re speaking too fast. How do you write the pinyin for singing? Hold on, I’ll go and ask…”

During the break, various voices could be heard in the classroom. The most pitiful were the group leaders who weren’t very familiar with pinyin.

After the students signed up, they became busy and confused.

They didn’t know how to write this pinyin, so they had to ask others.

The classroom was filled with the innocence of children.

After a busy day during break time, the group leaders finally completed the registration of talents and handed it over to Yi Bao.

Yi Bao carefully reviewed them and corrected any mistakes in their pinyin.

Looking at so many talents, Yi Bao didn’t know which one to choose.

But as the teacher had said, if encountering difficulties, he could seek help.

He decided to go home after school to ask his mom for advice.

Finally, after waiting for school to be over, the classmates ran as fast as little puppies.

After a whole afternoon of classes, in those times where meals were only seventy percent full, they were already starving.

“Bark, bark, bark…”

Ning Shu was making sour yangmei juice in the kitchen when she heard Da Mao and Tie Dan’s barking.

At this hour, they would either bark because Lin Guodong had returned or because the three treasures had come back.

Sure enough… “Mom… Mom…”

The three children ran into the yard calling for their mother.

“Mom…” Yi Bao ran to the kitchen door.

“What’s wrong?” Ning Shu turned and asked.

“Mom, today Teacher Hong asked me about the National Day performance, and I told her what Mom said. Teacher Hong praised me, but I also told her it was Mom’s idea, yet Teacher Hong still praised me.” Yi Bao looked at Ning Shu with shining eyes.

Ning Shu smiled and said, “Since Teacher Hong praised you, it shows you did the right thing.

At the same time, Mom also wants to praise you for being honest and telling Teacher Hong it was not your idea.

That’s also correct. When we encounter problems, it’s okay to ask others for help, but we shouldn’t take credit for ideas that aren’t ours.”

“Yeah.” Yi Bao nodded vigorously. “Mom, I have another problem now. Can I ask you?”

Ning Shu continued stirring the sour yangmei juice without stopping. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

Er Bao and San Bao put away their school bags and came to the door.

Er Bao was watching Mom’s movements, while San Bao was listening to her talk.

Da Mao and Tie Dan smelled the scent of food and carried their bowls, lining up behind the three treasures.

Yi Bao said, “Now I’ve written down everyone’s talents, but there are so many talents. How do I choose which ones to show to Teacher Hong?”

Ning Shu replied, “Let me see those talents.”

“Okay.” Yi Bao took out four sheets of paper filled with talents from his school bag, one from each group leader.

Ning Shu took the papers and looked at them, then her face turned into a puzzled expression.

They were all in pinyin! She looked at one and forgot the previous one.

Ning Shu could only step out of the kitchen. “Come, let’s go to the dining room. Bring me your notebook where you usually jot down things, and also give me a pen.”

“Okay,” Yi Bao followed Ning Shu to the dining room, carrying the notebook and pen.

Er Bao and San Bao trailed behind Yi Bao.

The family of four arrived at the dining room.

Ning Shu said, “Yi Bao, you can do it like this for organizing:

You see, this student’s talent is singing, that one’s is drawing, and this one’s talent is also singing, but the next student’s talent is dancing…

So you can group the students who can sing together, write ‘singing’ on top, then write down their names, and below that, those who can dance…”

Ning Shu patiently explained the categorization to Yi Bao. “Do you understand?”

Yi Bao nodded. “Mom, I understand. What’s next?”

“Then…” Ning Shu continued, “you can consider which performances you want to include.

If it’s singing, you can choose from those who can sing. If it’s dancing, you can choose from those who can dance… Of course, you can also have a performance that includes both singing and dancing. Do you understand?”

Yi Bao’s eyes sparkled. “Mom, I understand.”

Er Bao took the opportunity to ask, “Mom, can I sing, and can my older brother and San Bao perform kung fu, right?”

Ning Shu replied, “You three brothers can discuss that yourselves.”

Er Bao was a student with a desire to perform, and she understood that.

“Bark, bark, bark… bark, bark, bark…”

Da Mao and Tie Dan barked together at the door, then Lin Guodong’s voice was heard, “What’s everyone doing inside?”

“We’re brainstorming ideas for the National Day performance,” Er Bao replied.

Ning Shu spoke up, “Let’s eat first… After eating and finishing homework, then we can think about it.”

Fewer people came to their house to watch TV in the evening now that the three treasures were in school.

Ning Shu required them to finish their homework before they could watch TV, so it wasn’t convenient for those people to wait at their house.

Gradually, fewer people came to watch TV.

At the same time, those children were all going to school, and some of them also had to take care of their children.

Originally, those who came to watch TV at their house were just around a dozen families on this street.

After dinner, Lin Guodong and the three children went to the well to wash dishes, while Ning Shu wiped the grass mats in the two rooms so they could sleep cooler at night.

Just then, they heard Granny Yang’s voice from outside. “Ning, Ning…”

“I’m here,” Ning Shu had originally planned to wipe the mats a few more times, but when she heard Granny Yang had arrived, she stopped and brought out the water. “Aunt Yang, is something the matter?”

Granny Yang entered the courtyard and whispered, “Do you know that our family compound is going to have a cooperative store?”

“Huh?” Ning Shu really didn’t know.

Mainly, she rarely interacted with people, so she wasn’t well-informed about news.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to interact with people, but people from different eras often didn’t know what to say.

“You don’t know?” Granny Yang could tell by Ning Shu’s appearance. “I heard that our family compound is going to set up a cooperative store.

Our family compound has a large population, equivalent to several villages in our hometown.

It’s really inconvenient to go to the city every time we need to buy things. If we could have a cooperative store, that would be great.”

Indeed, there were many people in the military family compound, such as several thousand soldiers in the military.

Adding their families, it was equal to the population of several villages.

Moreover, the purchasing power of villagers couldn’t be compared with those in the military family compound.

“I hope we can establish a cooperative store,” Ning Shu also liked the idea.

Granny Yang winked at her. “If the family compound sets up a cooperative store, they’ll need to hire people, and they’ll select them from the family members.”

“Is that so?” Ning Shu truly didn’t know this; she had thought it was arranged directly from above.

“That’s right,” Granny Yang said. “When I first came with the army, there wasn’t even a medical clinic here. It was set up later, and some of the nurses were chosen from the family members. Oh… but you’re a teacher at the nursery now, so you wouldn’t go to work at the cooperative store.”

One of the most respectable jobs in this era was working at a cooperative store.

While being a teacher was respectable too, it wasn’t as sought after as a job at a cooperative store.

Ning Shu replied, “There will definitely be a lot of people applying.”

Granny Yang nodded. “Definitely, but it doesn’t matter how many people apply; they’ll have to take exams and choose the best ones.

For example, sales clerks at the cooperative store need to be literate, able to keep accounts, use an abacus, and know how to write.

People like us from the countryside, how would we know all that? Even if someone attended literacy classes and can read, as soon as they pick up a pen, their hand starts shaking, and they forget what the letters look like.”

Ning Shu admitted, “I don’t know how to use an abacus either. Otherwise, I’m fine with the rest.”

“Really? Even as a high school student, you don’t know how to use an abacus?” Aunt Yang was surprised.

Ning Shu explained, “They don’t teach us how to use an abacus in high school.”

I did learn about it in my previous life, though I can’t remember if it was in elementary or middle school.

The textbooks had sections about it, like how many times to move the beads.

But I’ve completely forgotten about it.

Who uses an abacus nowadays except for finance?

Even then, not everyone knows how to use one. Modern accounting is all formatted in computers; it’s much easier than using an abacus.

The two continued chatting for a while until Lin Guodong and the three children returned.

Ning Shu looked at Lin Guodong, tall and capable of doing household chores like washing clothes.

She truly admired him as a good man.

Having observed him for several years, she had grown accustomed to Lin Guodong’s domestic capabilities, but each time she saw him, it filled her with appreciation.

She thought Ning Shu was blessed with a good life.

Despite not having had good luck at birth, she married the right man.

Outside, Granny Yang and Ning Shu continued their conversation, while inside the house, Lin Guodong was helping the three children with their homework, teaching them things their teacher hadn’t covered yet.

Lin Guodong placed great emphasis on his children’s education.

He believed not only that children from ordinary families needed education to succeed, but that education itself was beneficial.

“Dad, is this the right pinyin for this character?”

“Dad, I know how to write this pinyin now.”

“Dad, did I do this arithmetic problem correctly?”

“Yes, Yi Bao wrote the pinyin correctly. Er Bao, the ‘u’ you wrote has a tail that’s too long. San Bao, your arithmetic is correct.”

The voices of Lin Guodong and the three children mingled inside the house.

Granny Yang remarked, “Your Lin Captain is really good, teaching the children how to read and do their homework. Our Xiao Yang at home couldn’t do that; he doesn’t have the patience.”

Ning Shu replied, “Everyone has a different personality. It’s good when two people’s personalities complement each other.

For example, I don’t like doing dishes or have much patience for it, but Guodong does.

Jinzhu’s dad and mom are also very good; we’ve been neighbors for two or three years and never heard them argue. Their personalities are well-known for being good on our street.”

Ning Shu’s words were not just flattery; Mr. and Mrs. Yang, the deputy captains, indeed had good personalities.

Although Granny Yang was strong and assertive, she hadn’t turned her husband into that type.

Granny Yang’s face lit up with a smile, as if it had blossomed. “The two of them are honest, and their characters are good. I’m not being modest about it; the two of them are genuinely good.”

In contrast, her three granddaughters were a bit more like her, with somewhat feisty personalities.

But there were no sons in their family, so it was to be expected that their daughters had such characters.

If their personalities were too honest, they could be bullied without the backing of brothers.

However, being military dependents, their granddaughters were not afraid of bullying.

Besides, their father was a deputy captain, so if their daughters were still being bullied, it would have been a waste of his rank.

The pair was talking in the yard.

Sun Li came out to enjoy the breeze and saw the two.

She also walked over. “What are you ladies talking about? Oh, have you heard that the military family compound is planning to set up a cooperative store?”

Ning Shu raised her eyebrows.

Even Sun Li was asking this, which meant that it was likely to be true. “I heard about it from Auntie. Are you planning to apply, Sun Jie?”