She only hoped Luo Chuyu wouldn’t drag her into her maternal family’s troubles.

Hearing such sanctimonious talk was just annoying.

“You… you’re really out of your mind! Mom is right, you’re heartless. She really raised you in vain!” Luo Chuyu said, looking disappointed.

Chuxia didn’t want to listen to more useless talk.

She stood up and opened the door, “Elder sister, don’t force me to kick you out.”

“Fine, fine!” Luo Chuyu stood up, “After offending everyone in the maternal family, you’ll regret it!”

Angry and shaking, she left immediately.

Watching the door slam shut, Luo Chuyu felt a mix of anger, grievance, and confusion.

How had her second sister, who used to be closest to her, changed so much recently?

Chuxia then turned to Cen Huai’an, putting a piece of beef jerky into his mouth and asking, “Did it scare you?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head, clinging to Chuxia’s arm and saying, “Mom, you have me.”

If grandma and others don’t want you, I want you.

Chuxia understood the meaning in Cen Huai’an’s words and smiled as she ruffled his hair, “Yes, just the two of us will live well together!”

On September 1st, there was a primary school near the Textile Factory, an affiliated school where the local children attended classes.

After consulting with Cen Huai’an, Chuxia took him to the school to register.

The school was busy today with many parents paying fees for registration, and students from other grades were also paying their tuition fees.

School was no longer free.

Strictly regulated schools required children to start school at age seven, but the affiliated school, being run by the factory, was less strict with the children of factory employees.

As long as the child wasn’t too young in appearance, they would accept them if the fees were paid, even if they were five years old.

The semester fees, including tuition and miscellaneous fees, were 10 yuan.

Some families were unwilling to pay, so many children, especially girls, didn’t go to school.

This situation was also present in the textile factory.

In later years, the elimination of tuition and miscellaneous fees in compulsory education truly opened a path for children who couldn’t afford to go to school.

Chuxia watched as the school staff recorded Cen Huai’an’s name and, without looking up, said, “Come to school the day after tomorrow. He’ll be in the pre-school class.”

At that time, schools had a pre-school class before the first grade.

Chuxia knew why Bangzi wasn’t attending school; the fees were too high for a single child.

She hadn’t asked Cen Huai’an about their business recently, but today she remembered and casually asked, “How much have you and Bangzi earned these days?”

Chu Xia was surprised when Cen Huai’an quickly answered the amount of money he made, saying, “493 yuan.”

“Did you calculate this after deducting costs?” Chu Xia asked.

Cen Huai’an nodded. “I calculated it yesterday. Today’s sales aren’t included yet.”

Chu Xia couldn’t help but praise him. “You all are amazing!”

Cen Huai’an smiled a bit but then downplayed it. “I only sell on weekends, so I don’t make much.”

“That’s still impressive. What do you want to eat today? I’ll take you to a nice place!”

Chu Xia knew Cen Huai’an’s favorite foods were related to his past experiences of hunger.

The most frequently redeemed rewards for him were food, followed by money and toys.

Cen Huai’an pointed to a street vendor selling cotton candy and licked his lips. “Can I have that?”

Of course, Chu Xia agreed.

Cotton candy wasn’t expensive, just a few cents.

She bought one for herself as well.

Back then, cotton candy wasn’t as varied as it is in the future; it was just a white fluff.

Cen Huai’an carefully took a lick, and the different sweetness from candy made his eyes squint with delight.

He looked adorable.

Chu Xia couldn’t resist pinching his little face, which made him look at her curiously. Chu Xia smiled brightly and said, “It’s nothing, just got a bit dirty.”

Cen Huai’an watched in astonishment as Chu Xia ate a large bite of the cotton candy.

He soon mimicked her, stuffing his mouth full, making him look even cuter.

After finishing the cotton candy, Cen Huai’an reluctantly kept the stick and licked it carefully.

In the evening, while writing in his diary, Chu Xia read: “Today, Mom took me to eat cotton candy. It was sweet and tasted different from candy. Mom’s way of eating it is different from others; it made my mouth full of cotton candy, but I want to try it again.”

Many of the difficult words he couldn’t write, so he used pinyin instead, like for the words “candy” and “mouth.”

Compared to his earlier diaries, he now used less pinyin, reflecting his progress in learning new words.

Chu Xia was very proud of his efforts.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t brag about her excellent son all the time without annoying others.

….

“Bang Ge, I’m going to school tomorrow,” Cen Huai’an said, looking sadly at the Popsicle in the foam box.

Once he started school, he wouldn’t be able to sell these Popsicle anymore, which meant earning less money.

Bang Zi, feeling envious but hiding it, said, “What’s so great about school? It just costs money and doesn’t earn any.”

Cen Huai’an thought for a moment and said, “Not necessarily. You can still make money at school. Bang Ge, you can sell Popsicle at the school gate after school. I think it’ll sell just as well as in the cinema.”

His voice was still childlike, but he spoke with sincerity, showing he had thought this through.

It was the peak of autumn heat, and except when it rained, people were mostly wearing short sleeves and shorts, and it was still quite hot at noon.

Cen Huai’an and Bang Zi sold Popsicle together, which had tanned their faces and arms.

There was still time to sell more Popsicle. Selling at the school gate was a good idea.

Bang Zi’s eyes lit up, but he was reluctant to give up his cinema business, where he had finally established himself.

Cen Huai’an had clearly thought this through and quickly added, “You can have Kuai Zi and Mao Zi bring the ice cream to the school gate around dismissal time, and I’ll join them right after school to help sell.”

Bang Zi raised his eyebrows and smiled. “You’ve already planned this, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. Besides Popsicle, you can also sell other things at the school gate in the future.”

Cen Huai’an planned to observe what his classmates liked to buy when he started school.

He knew that the children of workers at the elementary school were quite well-off, and he enjoyed earning money from them.

Cen Huai’an would no longer attend the kindergarten class.

Chu Xia had asked the principal for a refund based on the time Cen Huai’an had already attended.

When Chu Xia left the principal’s office with the refund, she saw Chen Chen anxiously looking at Cen Huai’an. “Are you really not coming to the kindergarten class anymore?”

Cen Huai’an looked up as his mother came out and quickly walked towards her. “Yes,” he replied.

“An’an!” Chen Chen said determinedly, “I’m going to go to elementary school too! We can still be good friends! Wait for me!”

Chen Chen ran off with his short legs but was quickly caught and carried back to the classroom by the teacher.

He struggled and kicked, still calling out to Cen Huai’an, “An’an! Wait for me!”

Chu Xia smiled at Chen Chen’s departing figure and said, “You and Chen Chen seem to have a good relationship. I thought you didn’t have many friends in the kindergarten class.”

Cen Huai’an looked at Chu Xia, puzzled by why she thought he and Chen Chen were close, since he hadn’t spoken much.

In fact, the child who was closest to Cen Huai’an in the kindergarten class was indeed Chen Chen, mainly because Chen Chen was persistent and had candy.

Cen Huai’an liked winning candy from him.

He wondered if he would find other kids who would let him win candy once he started pre-school.

Cen Huai’an saved all the money he earned, including what Chuxia gave him, without spending a single penny unnecessarily.

His mother would give him a candy every two days, and he happily enjoyed it without having to buy any.

Toys could be exchanged with small red flowers, so he didn’t need to buy them either.

Cen Huai’an calculated that he had saved up quite a bit of money.

Even if the fairy mother were to leave, he wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry.

Chuxia knew Cen Huai’an was saving his money.

Recently, he had been exceptionally well-behaved at home.

She had no doubts that he wouldn’t do anything bad outside.

She found a small iron box the size of a square candy box and asked him to keep his money in it.

The box had a small lock, with the key only in Cen Huai’an’s possession.

Every night before bed, Cen Huai’an would open the box to check and count the money, adding more whenever he had it.

Chuxia enjoyed watching him count the money, pretending to be calm but with his body tensed like a little thief stealing oil, which was very cute.

If she made any noise, Cen Huai’an would jump in surprise.

Later, Chuxia felt he was too nervous and told him, “I won’t touch your money. It’s just the two of us in the room; you can relax.”

Perhaps due to his habits from childhood, he responded affirmatively but didn’t change his behavior.

At that moment, Cen Huai’an was counting his money while Chuxia was studying high school books.

She was making good progress in her review but needed practice with exercises.

Without practicing, she felt uncertain, as if she needed to do more to be fully prepared.

However, she had visited the Xinhua Bookstore and found that various reference books from the future were not available now.

Most of the exam questions were made up by school teachers, and since she wasn’t a student there, no one would give her those questions.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

The door was knocked on, and Cen Huai’an immediately closed the box and locked it, turning to watch the door with a wary look.

It took less than a second.

Chuxia stood up, indicating that he should put away his precious money box, and went to open the door.

Seeing Guan Yan outside, Chuxia didn’t let her in but asked politely and distantly from the doorway, “Is there something you need?”

Guan Yan, embarrassed, tucked her short hair behind her ear and gave Chuxia a friendly smile.

“I heard from Sister Li that you make especially delicious pumpkin cakes. Could you please teach me? My son Mingming is sick and wants some sweet treats.”

Chuxia frowned slightly and replied without hesitation, “I don’t teach people. I just made them randomly. You should ask Grandma Chen; she taught me how to make them.”

Previously, when the family compound helped Chuxia find Cen Huai’an, she made pumpkin cakes on a Sunday and shared them with the neighbors who helped.

At that time, Grandma Chen had been next to her, but she wasn’t teaching her how to make the cakes.

Instead, Grandma Chen was reminiscing about her own childhood, mentioning that her mother was famous for making pumpkin cakes, which she would make whenever Grandma Chen was ill.

Chuxia had inherited her mother’s skill, and her pumpkin cakes were also very well made.

Her little grandson loved them the most.

After Chuxia closed the door, Guan Yan was left outside, looking stunned.

She now truly understood that Chuxia didn’t want to have much interaction with her.

But why?

Even Sister Li now had a good relationship with her, and she got along well with others in the family compound.

Only Chuxia, whom she most wanted to befriend, remained unapproachable, which troubled her greatly.

However, she had already made two attempts; there was no need to continue.

Since she couldn’t befriend the adults, it didn’t mean the children couldn’t play together.

She often heard Cen Huai’an reciting ancient poems quickly, showing he was quite smart.

Moreover, he always dressed neatly, unlike the mischievous kids in the family compound.

Such a child would be a good friend for her son.

Returning home, she saw her son Qi Ming, who was “grumbling” in bed, demanding soda.

She prepared a cup of malted milk for him.

Gently touching his forehead, she said, “You can have soda after you’re better. For now, have some malted milk; it’s also sweet.”

Qi Ming was just looking for an excuse to complain because he was uncomfortable with his fever.

Malted milk was fine, as long as his mother promised him soda later.

As her son drank, Guan Yan stroked his head, her gaze falling on the wall leading to the neighboring apartment.

She said, “The kids in our compound are afraid of An An. You should play with him more, so the other kids will be afraid of you.”

Back in the other apartment, Chuxia warned, “An An, don’t have too much contact with the mother and son next door. They don’t seem to have good intentions.”

“I understand, Mom.”

…

Cen Huai’an thought that kindergarten would be different from the preschool class, and that kids at this stage shouldn’t cry as much.

However, he discovered he was wrong; there were still children crying in the classroom.

It wasn’t until the teacher, a stern old man, entered and slammed his hand on the desk, glaring at the children with eyes as wide as copper bells, and said in a fierce voice, “No more crying! If anyone cries again, I’ll deal with them!” that the classroom instantly fell silent, with only the sound of quiet sobs remaining.

No one dared to cry anymore.

Cen Huai’an understood now; children are also afraid of fierce people.

As long as you are stern, they will listen to you.

Just then, an excited voice came from outside the door, “An An! An An! I’m here for school!”

Cen Huai’an: …

Why can’t he escape from this annoying classmate even now that he’s in elementary school?

He thought about the candy from Chen Chen and decided he could tolerate it.

“No loud talking!” The teacher glared at Chen Chen, who immediately shrank back, looking like a wilted chick, with his head and body huddled together.