While Teachers Wei and Lai were talking with Erbao, the students of Class 1 in the first year of middle school were also curiously watching from the side.

“Isn’t that the student who came for testing yesterday?” someone asked.

It turned out that some students from Class 1 had also been at the sports field yesterday.

“Yes, that’s him. He runs so fast, like a tractor, haha…”

“You’re crazy. How can a person be as fast as a tractor? It should be more like a bicycle, haha…”

“Pfft…” Someone laughed out loud, “Your description is so amusing.”

“Exactly. His speed is incredible. In the blink of an eye, he had already run halfway.”

“Yes, I saw it too.”

“He’s not only fast but also strong. He pushed the shot put farther than Zhang Liangyuan.”

“You mean Zhang Liangyuan from Class 2? That’s impossible. Zhang Liangyuan is several years older than us, so he’s naturally stronger.”

“It’s true. He pushed it farther than Zhang Liangyuan. I saw it myself,” another student agreed.

“He must be really impressive.”

“Maybe he’s the same age as Zhang Liangyuan but didn’t do well in his previous studies and had to repeat?”

“Could be.”

“No way! He looks younger than Zhang Liangyuan. Zhang Liangyuan looks almost like a high school student.”

It seemed that high school students appeared much older to the first-year students.

While the students whispered among themselves, Teacher Wei had already left.

Physical education teacher Lai brought Erbao in front of the other students.

Since today’s training program was different from yesterday’s, Lai teacher was unaware of the impact Erbao had made the day before.

Lai teacher said, “Students, this is our new classmate who has skipped a grade. Before today, he was a fourth-grade student. He took the grade-skipping exam this morning and passed, so he is now your classmate. Since Lin Hairui is younger, I hope you, as older students, can take care of him both in learning and in daily life.”

Hearing this, the students in Class 1 were once again shocked.

“What? A fourth-grade student?”

“He’s not only fast and strong but also good at studying.”

“Lin Hairui, please introduce yourself to everyone,” Lai teacher said.

This was also a request from Teacher Wei, as it was the physical education class.

Erbao’s introduction would serve as a good opportunity for everyone to get to know him.

Naturally bold, Erbao spoke loudly, “Hello, everyone. My name is Lin Hairui. I’m 12 years old. I just took the grade-skipping exam and will be a middle school student like you all. My dream is to buy a car with four wheels.”

… The room fell silent.

Children in the capital were quite knowledgeable.

Even if they hadn’t been in a car, they knew that cars had four wheels.

And this new student’s dream was to buy a car.

Cars were very expensive, something children like them couldn’t afford!

Even Lai teacher was surprised by Erbao’s words.

“Why is your dream to buy a car? As students of a sports school, shouldn’t your dream be to win awards in sports competitions?” A girl asked with a smile.

Erbao answered matter-of-factly, “Because having a car makes it convenient to go anywhere. For example, when we move, Da Mao and Tie Dan can’t take the train and will have to be separated from us. If we had a car, we could bring Da Mao and Tie Dan along and wouldn’t have to be separated.”

“Who are Da Mao and Tie Dan? Why can’t they take the train? Everyone can take the train if they buy a ticket,” another student asked.

“But Da Mao and Tie Dan are not people; they are dogs,” Erbao explained.

Everyone: “…”

This new student seems a bit off.

No, no, no, he’s just a primary school student.

They should be tolerant.

In the eyes of the middle school students, primary school students were just kids, and they were generally forgiving.

Even Lai teacher chuckled, “Lin Hairui, you should sit at the end of the first row of boys…”

He initially intended to say the “front,” but noticing Erbao’s height, there were obviously taller boys, so he revised his statement, “Let’s do it this way. You can sit on the side today and watch the others train. Tomorrow, you’ll join the training with everyone.”

“Yes, teacher,” Erbao said.

Erbao officially began his middle school life.

……

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Ning Shu and the others finished lunch and started preparing food for the guests.

Last night, Lin Guodong and Ning Shu confirmed the number of guests.

Lin Guodong wasn’t a talkative person, so his college friends in the capital were few, including Ling Yuanhua and Yu He, making a total of five.

Thankfully, there weren’t too many; otherwise, hosting would be a huge task.

Even with only five, including their families, averaging four people per household, there were about 20 people.

Adding their own family of four, Ning Shu decided to prepare two tables.

At home, the family usually uses a small round table for meals, and there’s also a small square table that’s typically kept in the corner for snacks.

However, for entertaining guests, neither the small round table nor the small square table is large enough, so they need to set up a big round table with ten seats.

Ning Shu had already prepared the big round table.

They had ordered two large round table tops from the Yueyue Bay Production Brigade.

In fact, there was only one large round tabletop, which could be placed over the small round and square tables to make a big round table when needed.

Growing up in the countryside, Ning Shu was used to this setup.

In rural areas, many families did this—using small tables for daily meals but pulling out the big table for guests or special occasions.

“Be careful, don’t take off your gloves. The sap from the taro can make your hands itch,” Ning Shu reminded.

The mother and son had bought a lot of vegetables at the market in the morning.

With the warm afternoon sun and the water being warm, they decided to wash the vegetables in the afternoon.

So, here they were, enjoying the sunshine and washing vegetables in the yard—it was quite a relaxing pastime.

“I’ve washed taro before, and my hands didn’t itch,” Yi Bao said as he scraped the taro skin with a piece of broken tile.

The taro was to be used for stewing with ribs, and the ribs had been purchased from the meat stall at the market.

Nowadays, buying meat at the stall was like facial recognition payment online—just scan your face.

“Different places grow different taros. What if the taro here makes your hands itch?” Ning Shu said.

The itchiness from taro sap could be quite unbearable, much like a toothache—painful and distressing.

“Okay then,” San Bao relented and put on the gloves his mother made for him.

He didn’t understand why his mother had a preference for gloves with cute little animals embroidered on them.

San Bao, who thought of himself as grown-up, could accept cute animals on bed sheets and clothes, but found them childish on gloves.

Yibao chuckled quietly.

San Bao always acted like an adult, but he was just a kid.

Ning Shu left the peeling of the taro to Sanbao and Yibao, while she washed the greens.

Don’t ask her why she didn’t help with the taro—she was afraid of the itchiness.

Her sons’ hands could itch, but hers couldn’t.

“Yibao, Sanbao Bao, do you think Er Bao will adapt well at school today?” Ning Shu asked, feeling a mix of curiosity and concern.

Yibao replied, “No problem. Er Bao can adapt anywhere as long as there are people.”

San Bao said, “What if he starts running around and scares everyone away?” He secretly smiled at the thought of no longer having to deal with such antics himself.

Yibao commented, “That’s not likely. The students at the sports school are probably very fit and have good endurance.”

Ning Shu asked, “Do you think Er Bao will participate in the World Middle School Games next year?”

Yibao responded, “I don’t know. If Er Bao is one of the fastest runners, he should be able to participate.” He suddenly thought of something, “Mom, where will the World Middle School Games be held next year?”

Ning Shu wasn’t sure but said, “It should be abroad, not domestic.”

When Sanbao heard it was abroad, his eyes widened, “So Er Bao will go abroad?”

Ning Shu explained, “Yes, representing the country means he’ll go abroad. But he’ll be with coaches and other event officials, so don’t worry.”

San Bao said, “If Erbao goes abroad next year, he’ll come back so proud.”

Ning Shu smiled at the thought of Er Bao strutting around like a peacock with pride.

“Mom, what’s it like abroad?” Yi Bao asked.

Ning Shu wasn’t sure how to answer.

She hadn’t been abroad in her previous life either.

But she said, “It’s not very different from here. The main difference is that some foreigners look different from us.”

“We know that. We’ve seen foreigners on TV and in movies—they look either very dark or very pale,” San Bao said.

“Yes, we’re yellow people, while they can be white or black. But it’s not just appearance; countries develop differently. Our country is still developing, but in the future, it will improve a lot,” Ning Shu thought, though she decided not to discuss the heavy topic of national development with the children.

While they chatted and washed vegetables, they heard Yu Chengci’s voice outside: “Lin Haizhi, Lin Haiyang…”

They looked up and saw Yu Chengci standing at the door.

“Why aren’t you out playing?” Yibao called out.

“Chengci, come in and sit,” Ning Shu invited.

Yu Chengci ran in, “Zhang Mingcheng said he was going to read and do homework and wasn’t going to play. I haven’t finished my winter vacation homework either. Lin Haizhi, Lin Haiyang, have you finished yours?”

Yibao replied, “We’ve finished it already.”

Actually, since they transferred schools, they didn’t need to do the winter vacation homework assigned by the military primary school teachers, but they had completed it early due to their good study habits.

“Wow, you finished it quickly. But your fourth-grade homework is easy. Our fifth-grade homework is much harder,” Yu Chengci sighed.

Yibao and San Bao exchanged glances, trying to stifle their laughter.

Ning Shu bit her lip, trying not to laugh out loud.

She could have mentioned that in addition to their elementary school homework, Yibao and San Bao also had middle school assignments from their father.

Yu Chengci continued, “Next year you’ll be moving to our school. Don’t worry, our classrooms are very close to yours. If anyone bullies you, just come to our classroom and find me, or mention my name. No one will dare to bully you,” he promised, puffing out his chest.

However, Yu Chengci’s satisfaction as the “big brother protecting his younger siblings” didn’t last long when he heard new friends say, “We won’t be in fourth grade next year. We plan to skip a grade and enter middle school.”

Yu Chengci blinked, doubting his ears. “I… I just heard that you’re skipping a grade to enter middle school. Did I hear that right?”

Yi Bao confirmed, “Yes, you heard right. Sanbao and I are skipping a grade to enter middle school. With Erbao already in the sports school, there’s no way we’ll stay in fourth grade.”

Yu Chengci gulped, stunned and unable to process the news.

Ning Shu watched him, thinking that the child looked quite bewildered.

Yibao and San Bao didn’t press the matter further, giving Yu Chengci time to digest the information.

Meanwhile, Er Bao was feeling lonely at the sports school.

He wasn’t integrating with the other students as quickly as Yibao and San Bao had expected.

Although the students in Class 1 were taking care of him, like the class monitor accompanying him for lunch, Er Bao still missed his siblings.

They had never been separated before.

They always ate together and went to the military’s dining hall together.

Now, starting today, Er Bao had to handle meals and dining alone, which made him feel a deep sense of loneliness.