Hearing this, Ling Jiawen became interested. Normally, he had no interest in elementary school games, but Zhang Jingwen’s involvement surprised him.

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, Ling Jiawen started walking.

Meanwhile, at the main compound…

Erbao ran home, slightly out of breath, and saw his mother airing out the quilts.

The warm afternoon sun of winter made the quilts smell like sunshine, giving them a cozy warmth different from that of a heater.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t the fishing just be starting?” Ning Shu asked, surprised to see Erbao back so soon.

“I came to get popsicles,” Erbao replied.

Ning Shu teased, “The competition is on, and you’re here for popsicles? That’s not very professional, Comrade Lin Erbao.”

“Hehe, Mom, they’re not for me,” Erbao laughed, running into the house as he explained the situation.

Ning Shu raised an eyebrow, surprised by what she heard.

She followed him inside and said, “Why don’t you just take 11 popsicles and share them with everyone?” Popsicles were cheap, but it was important for the kids to feel confident at this moment.

“But there are only nine of us,” Erbao said, always trusting his mother but unsure why she suggested taking more than needed.

“You have a friend who went to get more people, right? Take some for them too.”

“But what if they don’t come? Or what if more than two come?” Erbao asked.

Ning Shu was momentarily stumped by his questions. “If they don’t come, you can share the extras. If more than two come, you can figure out how to split them.”

“Okay,” Erbao agreed, loading 11 popsicles into a small basket and then running off quickly.

Ning Shu hoped this gesture would help the children integrate smoothly into the new community.

By the river…

Zhang Jingwen was surprised when he saw Ling Jiawen and Yu Chengyuan arrive. Why were they here?

“Why isn’t Zhang the ‘Good Student’ at home doing homework? You’ve got time to watch elementary kids fish?” Ling Jiawen asked mockingly.

He didn’t like Zhang Jingwen—not because of the rivalry between their families, but because Zhang Jingwen was both smart and arrogant.

Worse, his arrogance was justified by his good grades, which made Ling Jiawen’s elders think less of him in comparison.

Ling Jiawen was one of the key representatives of his generation in the Ling family, and being compared unfavorably to Zhang Jingwen made the elders believe the Ling family’s younger generation was inferior to the Zhangs.

Zhang Jingwen greeted them with a smile, “Ling Jiawen, Yu Chengyuan, you’re here too. I’ve already finished my winter homework, so I came out to get some fresh air. Didn’t the teacher assign us to write diaries? I’m just here looking for material.”

Ling Jiawen teased, “Good students always have learning on their minds.”

Zhang Jingwen didn’t mind his comment; after years of friendly rivalry, he was familiar with Ling Jiawen’s personality.

Seeing Zhang Jingwen staying silent, Ling Jiawen turned to Yu Chengci and his group. “Why hasn’t the competition started yet? Do your best and win; we can have fish soup this afternoon.”

Yu Chengci replied, “We’re waiting for Lin Huirui, he went home to get popsicles.”

“What? Popsicles in the middle of winter?” Ling Jiawen asked, surprised.

“There are; his family has them,” Yu Chengci said.

Just then, a loud voice echoed from not far away: “I’m here…” and a figure quickly ran up to the group.

Ling Jiawen’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape.

This kid was fast—faster than even he had ever run.

Intrigued, he asked, “Are you in the track team? You run really fast.”

Erbao didn’t really understand about track teams; the military school he attended only focused on academics, not sports. “Track team? I’m in fourth grade! Back in our old military school, I was the fastest runner,” Erbao said proudly.

“If I had your speed, why bother studying? I’d be running to win glory for the country,” Ling Jiawen said, thinking how it would save him from pleasing others.

Winning glory for the country was something ingrained in many people of that era, and even Erbao, young as he was, understood what it meant. “Can running fast really win glory for the country?”

“Of course,” Ling Jiawen said. “Ever heard of the sports competitions?”

Erbao replied, “Of course I have! I’ve been participating in sports meets since first grade, and I always come first in the races.”

“Tch, elementary school sports meets are nothing,” Ling Jiawen scoffed. “Let me tell you about our National Games—those are at a national level, totally different. And then there’s the World University Games. Back in 1959, our country could only send four track athletes. But by this year’s ninth World University Games, we could send 38 athletes. Impressive, right?”

“But I’m just an elementary schooler, not a college student! Why isn’t there a World Elementary School Games?” Erbao sighed.

Ling Jiawen said, “…You’ll grow up someday, and when you do, you’ll be able to compete. But if you grow up just like this, without training in track, it won’t be the same.”

Erbao listened, his mind suddenly stirred by the idea.

Zhang Jingwu, growing impatient, shouted, “Are you guys going to compete or not? Did you bring the popsicles?”

“Yes, I did,” Erbao said, pulling popsicles from his basket. “I brought eleven, and my mom even said to share them with everyone.” He then handed out the popsicles to the six friends he already knew and, holding the remaining two, turned to Yu Chengci. “My mom said to give these to the two who were called over. Are these the ones?”

Yu Chengci nodded.

Erbao handed the extra popsicles to Ling Jiawen and Yu Chengyuan.

“These really are popsicles…” Ling Jiawen said, not hesitating to take one and start eating. “Wow, it’s tangerine soda flavor.”

“I got watermelon flavor.”

“I got bayberry flavor.”

Watching the eleven people on the opposite side eating popsicles, Zhang Jingwu swallowed hard.

This was too much; one popsicle would have sufficed to prove a point, but why bring eleven and give even the two new arrivals one each?

Yu Chengci remarked, “Now that we’ve brought the popsicles, it’s clear you can’t prepare the food we asked for, right?”

Zhang Jingwu nearly ground his teeth to dust. “Yeah, so what do you want?”

Yu Chengci turned to Yibao. “Lin Haizhi, you decide.”

Though they had only known each other for two days, Yu Chengci and his friends could already tell Yibao and Erbao apart by how they spoke.

Yibao didn’t hesitate. “If we lose, the food we brought goes to you. But if you lose, not only do we get your food, but you also have to give us double as a penalty for not meeting the conditions. How about that?”

It was an unequal deal, but with no way to meet their side’s food requests, Zhang Jingwu had no choice but to swallow his pride and agree. “Fine.”

Before the fishing competition began, the teams had to select their participants. Zhang Jingwu brought the same six people who had competed in previous events.

On Yu Chengci’s side, there were nine people, so they needed to choose six.

Yu Chengci and Zhang Mingcheng were selected, along with two others, and then they added Yibao and Sanbao to the team.

Erbao, being an energetic person, wasn’t well-suited for the patience required in fishing—sitting still for two hours was a challenge for him.

However, since both Yibao and Sanbao had caught several fish the day before, it made sense to include them in the competition.

With the participants chosen, Zhang Jingwen and Yu Chengyuan were appointed as the referees, and the fishing began.

The competition was set to last from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, a total of an hour and a half.

The children had prepared their own bait; most used worms, except for Yibao and Sanbao, who brought pig intestines.

They didn’t criticize others for using worms, as they had used worms before and knew they could work just as well.

Once the competition started, the eleven competitors quieted down, focusing on their fishing.

Nearby, Zhang Jingwen, Ling Jiawen, Yu Chengyuan, Erbao, and two other friends were sitting by the roadside, not caring whether the ground was clean or not.

As Erbao ate his popsicle, he sat down next to Ling Jiawen and asked, “Brother Jiawen, can you tell me more about becoming a track and field athlete like you mentioned before?”

Ling Jiawen had a very good impression of Erbao.

After all, someone who gave him a popsicle the first time they met couldn’t be anything but a good person in his eyes.

Happy that Erbao was asking him, he readily explained, “Sure, what do you want to know?”

While he might not be good at academics, he was quite knowledgeable about non-academic things.

“You said that running fast can bring honor to the country, becoming a track and field athlete. But do you get paid for that? Can you make money?” Erbao was naturally eager to bring honor to the country, but he also wanted to earn money.

If he had to choose, he would still be willing to bring honor to the country even without pay, but it would be even better if he could make money while doing it.

“Of course you can! If you win a competition, the country will give you a bonus.

Local governments, like your school or the capital, might also reward you,” Ling Jiawen explained.

He regretted not having the ability to do it himself, otherwise, he would have jumped at the chance.

He wasn’t good at studying, and this would have been a golden opportunity. “But, are your grades good?”

Erbao was already excited at the prospect of earning bonuses. “They’re okay. I was ranked third in my class in first grade, and now in fourth grade, I’m still third, but it’s getting harder. My family has also enrolled me in extracurricular classes. I used to enjoy them, but now I find the material difficult. Still, becoming a scientist can make money, so I don’t want to give up.”

However, hearing that running could also make money, Erbao started to reconsider.

If both options were viable, he might prefer running since it didn’t require as much brainpower.

Ling Jiawen reminisced about his own elementary school days. “Are you third from the top or third from the bottom?”

Erbao was momentarily speechless. “Of course I’m third from the top.”

Yu Chengyuan couldn’t help but smile at the exchange.