In the evening, when Lin Guodong came home from work and heard that Erbao would be reporting to the sports school the next day, he, who was usually quick to react on the battlefield, was momentarily caught off guard.

After Lin Guodong heard the details, he was quite surprised.

He knew Erbao was fast and strong, but he didn’t know how Erbao’s running speed compared to other children his age.

He didn’t realize that Erbao had set a national record among his peers.

“Good, very good,” Lin Guodong said with evident joy in his voice.

If Erbao could compete for the country next year, that would be wonderful.

Lin Guodong was so excited that he didn’t even know how to express it.

Compared to ordinary people, those like Lin Guodong, who had a strong sense of honor, understood their country’s status.

Although things were no longer as difficult as before, there was still some disdain and exclusion.

But it didn’t matter.

The country had proven its strength and capability step by step, and it was changing and becoming stronger.

His child’s efforts would also contribute to this proof, which made Lin Guodong happy and excited.

“Hehe…” Erbao was thrilled to receive such praise from his father for the first time, so much so that he was on the verge of drooling with happiness.

Being praised by his mother and father felt different.

When his mother praised him, it felt like tender love from someone who cared for him deeply.

But when his father praised him, it felt like recognition among men, which gave him a strong sense of responsibility.

“Tomorrow, Xiao Hou will come to pick me up. Let Xiao Hou take you to school. You have so many things; it would be hard to carry them all.” Lin Guodong added.

With quilts and clothes, it would be cumbersome for his wife and a few children to manage, and since he would be a bit late going to the army, it wouldn’t be a problem.

In fact, at Lin Guodong’s level, he wasn’t bothered by trivial matters.

He only needed to be involved in major tasks or emergencies.

“That’s great,” Erbao said.

Ning Shu asked, “Will it be a problem if you arrive late at the army?”

Lin Guodong replied, “No problem. If there’s an urgent matter, they will find someone else if they can’t find me. If it’s not urgent, they wouldn’t look for me.”

Ning Shu knew Lin Guodong had a sense of responsibility, so she didn’t say anything further.

Yibao, seeing that their discussion about his matter was done, shared his plans with Sanbao: “Dad, Mom, Sanbao and I want to skip grades after the Spring Festival. We want to take the middle school grade-skipping exam.”

“Mm.” Sanbao nodded, “It should be fine.”

Lin Guodong said, “I have no objections. You can do as you wish.”

He was aware of the children’s academic performance.

Erbao skipping to the first year of middle school would be fine, though the results might not be excellent, just a bit above passing.

But for Yibao and Sanbao, their exam results would surely be impressive.

“What do you think?” Although Lin Guodong had no objections, he still wanted to hear Ning Shu’s opinion.

Ning Shu replied, “I have no objections.” She respected the children’s decisions.

“Wow, so after the New Year, my brother and Sanbao will be middle school students,” Erbao said with envy.

When he was in kindergarten, he envied elementary school students because they seemed like big friends.

When he became an elementary student, he envied middle school students, who seemed to look down on elementary kids as little kids.

Perhaps when he was in middle school, he would envy high school students.

Ning Shu said, “Next year, you’ll also be a middle school student.”

“But what if I don’t pass?” Erbao wasn’t really worried; he just didn’t want to miss the opportunity to participate in the world middle school sports competition due to failing.

“Then you should follow the sports school teachers’ arrangements and try your best. If you pass, you’ll be able to see your competition on TV next year. I believe you are the best.” Ning Shu said encouragingly.

Hearing his mother’s praise, Erbao felt very motivated. “Yes, I will work hard. If I win the competition next year, I’ll bring the prize money back for you, Mom. When I have enough prize money, we can buy a car and drive it back to our hometown.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Ning Shu said.

She knew that in those times, prize money was minimal, so it might take a long time for Erbao’s prize money to buy a car.

Speaking of driving, she remembered about getting a driver’s license. “Next year, I want to get a driver’s license.”

She had a license in her previous life, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get it again.

Getting a driver’s license was not as hard as in later times, with written tests, road tests, and so on.

Lin Guodong said, “Okay.”

He thought his wife’s idea was good, and learning as much as possible while in the right age was beneficial.

“Mom, if you get a driver’s license and I earn money, will we buy a car?” Yibao asked.

Ning Shu said, “Let’s talk about it when you earn the money.”

After dinner, everything was tidied up, and after their baths, everyone headed to their rooms.

Considering that Er Bao would be reporting to the sports school tomorrow, the three brothers didn’t exercise tonight.

They had bathed and gone to their rooms early.

In the room, none of the brothers could fall asleep. Er Bao tossed and turned on his bed, unable to sleep.

The same was true for the Yibao and Sanbao.

The three of them had never been apart, and now that they were about to be separated, they felt uneasy.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to eat Mom’s cooking again,” Er Bao sighed. “Mom said the sports school’s schedule is different from regular schools, and I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to come home on weekends.”

Yibao said, “If you can’t come home on the weekends, I’ll bring Mom’s cooking to you.”

“Really? Can you do that?” Er Bao sat up excitedly, looking at Yibao in surprise.

“Yeah,” Yibao nodded.

Yi Bao had always been true to his word. “If there’s anything at school that you don’t understand, you can ask the teacher. If you don’t want to ask the teacher, wait until we see each other again, and you can tell me then.”

He knew his younger brother wasn’t the brightest and had a bit of a temper.

He was worried Er Bao might get into fights. It wasn’t that he feared Er Bao would lose; rather, he was worried that if Er Bao won, the others might call for backup.

After all, Er Bao was new to the school and didn’t know his classmates well, making it easy for him to get taken advantage of.

“Alright,” Er Bao said.

He had always remembered his Elder brother’s advice, if he didn’t understand something, he should ask for help instead of making decisions on his own.

“If someone bullies you, don’t get into a fight. Tell the teacher. If you’re worried people will call you a snitch, you don’t have to tell the teacher. Wait until we see each other, and we’ll figure it out together,” Yibao reminded him.

“Got it,” Er Bao replied.

Sanbao also chimed in, remembering what their mother had said. “Big brother, we don’t start trouble, but we’re not afraid of it either. We’re from a military family. If someone bullies us, they’re disrespecting our dad, who serves the country.”

“Exactly,” said Yi Bao. “You have to understand that fighting won’t solve the problem. The smartest way to handle things is to convince people with words so they’re truly convinced.”

“Yeah,” Er Bao nodded firmly, committing his brothers’ words to memory.

He wasn’t afraid of fighting or arguing with others.

He wasn’t alone—he had his brothers, the military compound, and the new friends they’d made in the compound.

If he couldn’t handle a fight or an argument, he’d just wait until he got home and bring everyone along to settle it.

Even though he hadn’t spent much time with Yu Chengci and the others, they had eaten together twice, and the bond forged over meals was strong.

The three brothers chatted on, not knowing when they eventually fell asleep.

The next morning, they woke up even earlier than usual.

Er Bao was going to the sports school today, so even though they could’ve stayed in bed a bit longer, none of the brothers wanted to.

They all got up, grabbed Yi Bao’s luggage, and headed downstairs.

To their surprise, not only were their parents already up, but Uncle Hou was there too.

“Good morning, Uncle Hou,” the three brothers greeted him politely.

Uncle Hou had come at his usual time to pick up Lin Guodong, their father, for work.

Normally, they’d go to the military cafeteria for breakfast.

But today, Lin Guodong had told Uncle Hou that they were heading to the sports school and invited him to join them for breakfast.

Seeing the three brothers, Uncle Hou greeted them with excitement. “Good morning! Er Bao, you’re amazing, getting into the sports school. Keep it up and bring honor to the country!”

“Of course! I’m going to win first place, and there’s a prize for that!” Er Bao replied cheerfully.

He liked Uncle Hou, who was his father’s aide, much like Uncle Xiao Li had been in the army.

“Haha, well, when you win that prize, you’ll have to treat me to a meal,” Uncle Hou teased, feeling a little embarrassed.

He hadn’t known about the happy occasion today and hadn’t brought any money to give Er Bao as a red envelope.

“No problem!” Er Bao replied enthusiastically.

After breakfast, Lin Guodong and Uncle Hou drove Er Bao to the sports school.

Since they had a car, Ning Shu, Yibao and Sanbao didn’t go along, as they would’ve had to take the bus back.

The sports school wasn’t conveniently located for public transport, but it was easy to reach by car.

When the car stopped at the entrance to the school, it immediately attracted the attention of the guard.

The guard hurried over, looking nervously at the vehicle.

As someone working at a sports school, the guard had some experience and recognized the vehicle as a military one.

Curious about why a military vehicle was here, he still had to follow protocol and stop the car.

But before he could knock on the window, it rolled down.

“Comrade, who are you here to see?” the guard asked.

“Uncle, it’s me!” Er Bao stuck his head out from the back seat. “I was here for the test yesterday. Do you remember me?”

The guard did remember him. “Yes, I remember! It’s you!”

He sounded surprised but hesitated as he looked at Uncle Hou in the driver’s seat. “However, we don’t allow outside vehicles into the school. What do you think?”

Lin Guodong spoke up, “We’re not planning to drive in.”

He then turned to Uncle Hou. “Wait here while I take Er Bao’s things inside and check out the situation.”

Although he had already heard about what had happened yesterday from his wife, Lin Guodong wanted to be extra cautious since this concerned Er Bao’s future.

“Understood,” Uncle Hou replied.