“I know, I know,” a younger student piped up. “When my cousin got married, I helped roll out the wedding bed sheets too, and we got red envelopes too. Lin Hairui, did you get red envelopes after rolling out the bed sheets?”

“We did,” Er Bao replied excitedly now that someone understood what rolling out the bed sheets meant. “We each got two red envelopes, Me, Yibao and San Bao.”

“Wow…” The other student widened his eyes. “That’s a lot.”

The other students listened with envy.

Red envelopes were something everyone loved, but not everyone received them.

Even in the future, who could resist the allure of a red envelope?

“Lin Hairui, how much money did you get in your red envelopes?” He Jiaxing asked.

Er Bao answered, “One had one yuan, and the other had fifty cents.”

“Wow…”

The hearts of the students pounded as they heard this.

During Chinese New Year, even if they received lucky money, it was usually just a few cents.

They knew exactly how much one yuan and fifty cents were worth.

They only saw that much money when they sold vegetables from their fields.

But that money had long been spent on things they needed from the local store.

Back when there was no cooperative store in the military camp, they went to the nearby cooperative store.

They didn’t need ration coupons to buy a few pieces of candy, and in summer, they didn’t need coupons to buy popsicles either.

The money they earned from growing vegetables twice a year had already been spent.

Now hearing that Yibao, Er Bao and San Bao had one yuan and fifty cents each in their red envelopes made them all feel envious.

A girl in the corner overheard this conversation, her eyes sparkling.

Soon it was time for class.

Although Yibao, Er Bao and San Bao had missed several classes in the past ten days, they were familiar with everything the teacher taught, whether it was Chinese or math.

They could even answer questions confidently when the teacher asked.

The teacher was surprised.

Curiously, he asked, “Lin Haizhi, can you answer all the questions I ask because you’ve studied ahead?”

The teacher in Class 2 of Grade 1 liked asking Yibao questions because Yibao always had the answers, unlike the other students.

Of course, although the teacher liked Yibao, he didn’t ignore the other students either.

“Yes, teacher. My dad taught me and my brothers. It takes three days by train to visit our hometown, so that’s six days in total. During the journey, dad teaches us from our textbooks, and we’ve learned everything,” Yibao honestly replied.

“Where did your dad teach you up to?” the teacher asked again.

Yibao said, “Dad taught us Chinese and math …”

Upon hearing this, the teacher realized they were far ahead of the class material.

For Lin Haizhi, the lessons in class were like revision.

The teacher understood the importance of parental education on children.

Unable to resist, she praised, “Your dad is great, and you’re good students. Keep up this attitude.”

In the military, there were many children whose parents were intellectuals or whose ancestors were intellectuals.

However, families like Lin Haizhi’s, where parents teach textbook content, were rare.

At least, in her two years as a teacher here, it was the first time she had encountered this.

“Thank you, teacher. We will,” Yibao replied.

The three of them, Yibao and his brothers, never slackened in their studies because they had a goal to strive for.

They wanted to study hard, become scientists, invent cars that could take their grandparents to the military base for visits, and take Da Mao and Tie Dan back to their hometown together.

That was their driving force for hard work.

After class, the teacher returned to the office and talked about the three brothers: “…I used to hear how well-behaved the twins at the nursery were, and I thought it might have been exaggerated. But now, seeing it with my own eyes, I realize it’s true. They’ve already studied ahead before I even teach the content. Their family upbringing is really good. If only other students could have such education at home.”

“That’s not possible. Many parents only attended literacy classes themselves and can’t educate their children properly. Some haven’t even attended those. It takes parents with higher education levels like theirs.”

“The twins’ dad is a college graduate, and their mom finished high school. Education must be a priority at their home.”

Lin Guodong was one of the few college graduates of his generation.

With the fame of the three Baos, more about their parents became known.

Moreover, Ning Shu, the substitute teacher at the nursery, also had her educational background public.

“Exactly. They come from an intellectual family.”

The teachers began discussing.

Soon, it was time for dismissal.

“Lin Haizhi, Lin Hairui, Lin Haiyang, want to go play soccer?” Yang Wenjie called out to the three brothers.

They hadn’t seen each other in ten days and hadn’t played together for a long time.

Since school was out today, they wanted to play soccer together.

Of course, there was one problem: they didn’t have a soccer ball, so they needed the three brothers to join them.

But mainly, they just wanted to play with the three brothers.

“No, not now. We… we need to go home first… to get the soccer ball. We’ll join you later,” Er Bao said.

Cheng Yingyong replied, “Okay, we’ll wait for you at the small park.”

“Alright,” Er Bao agreed.

The three brothers hurried home because they wanted to eat sugarcane.

However, despite not being five-year-old kids anymore, in this impoverished era, they knew not to discuss their snacks openly.

With their small backpacks, Yibao, Erbao and Sanbao ran to their doorstep and urgently called out, “Mom, we’re back!”

“Mom, can we eat the sugarcane now?”

“Mom…”

Three voices echoed in the yard.

The first voice was Yibao’s, calm.

The second was Er Bao’s, urgent.

The third was San Bao’s, soft and gentle.

Ning Shu called from the kitchen, “Yes, you can eat it. Put it on the table. Each person can have one section only. If you eat too much now, you won’t be hungry for dinner later.”

“Yay!” Hearing that there was sugarcane to eat, the three brothers were thrilled.

Er Bao and San Bao hurried to the dining room to get the sugarcane.

It had been washed, cut into sections about 15 centimeters long, and placed in a strainer—short enough so the kids wouldn’t get too full.

Yibao didn’t join his brothers.

He stood at the kitchen door and asked, “Mom, Yang Wenjie and the others asked us to play soccer later. Can we go and come back before dinner?”

Ning Shu replied, “Sure, but only for a while. I’ll call you for dinner later; otherwise, it’ll be late.”

“Okay,” Yibao agreed naturally.

Then Ning Shu added, “When you go, take a section of sugarcane for each of them so they can taste it too.”

Yibao nodded, “Got it, Mom.”

The three brothers each took a section of sugarcane and headed out.

Er Bao held a soccer ball in one hand, while Yibao carried three sections of sugarcane in his other hand.

San Bao didn’t carry anything.

They arrived at the small park where Yang Wenjie and others were playing on the seesaws.

Everyone was having a great time.

Playing on the seesaw required strength—pushing down with their bottoms to lift the other person on the opposite end, signifying a win.

“Hey, He Jiaxing, Yang Wenjie, Cheng Yingyong!” Er Bao called out loudly.

“Hey…” Upon hearing Er Bao, the three others ran over from the seesaws.

When both groups met, Yang Wenjie and the others noticed the three brothers eating sugarcane.

“Here…” Yibao handed them the three sections of sugarcane.

Everyone had grown up together since nursery school, so they were naturally familiar with each other.

Yang Wenjie took the three sections of sugarcane and gave one each to He Jiaxing and Cheng Yingyong.

As he ate, he asked, “Can you eat sugarcane from your home now?”

Yibao nodded, “Today’s the first day we’re eating it, and it’s as sweet as before.”

He Jiaxing remarked, “So sweet, as sweet as sugar!”

Having never eaten sugarcane before, he was instantly drawn to its sweetness.

Cheng Yingyong’s mind was quick, “Can we grow sugarcane too?”

Yibao thought for a moment, “I’m not sure. Sugarcane needs to be cut into sections, placed in pits covered with straw, and left to sprout. We put them in the pit during summer vacation in July, and they only sprout by late July.”

Er Bao added, “We’ll have to ask Mom about that. If she says yes, we can use the sugarcane from our yard to sprout.”

He Jiaxing and Yang Wenjie were intrigued.

He Jiaxing asked, “Can we go ask Auntie about it?”

Er Bao asked, “But then you won’t play soccer?”

Yibao reassured, “We can play soccer. My mom said she’d call us for dinner, and we can ask her when she comes.”

He Jiaxing decided, “Then let’s play soccer first.”

He cleared a clean space in the study, took a bite of sugarcane, and carefully put the rest in his backpack.

Yang Wenjie and Cheng Yingyong did the same.

They nibbled on the sugarcane, about 15 centimeters long, savoring its sweet juice rather than finishing it in one go.

The three brothers had left their backpacks at home, so they stuffed the remaining sugarcane into their pockets.

Ning Shu had made their pants with large pockets, convenient for carrying snacks and other items.

The 15-centimeter sugarcane was gradually eaten as they played soccer, and now only half a section remained in their pockets.

Then, the six of them started playing soccer.

They played in various imaginative ways, typical of children.

After a while, a faint girl’s voice came, “Lin Haizhi…”

The voice was soft, and if they weren’t facing each other, they wouldn’t have noticed someone calling.

He Jiaxing said, “Lin Haizhi, Xu Duomei is calling you!”