On the front page of the newspaper, the headline boldly proclaimed, “China’s First Successful Launch of ××.”

Cen Zhengnian’s research had been kept secret from everyone except his parents, as the research institute was affiliated with their military unit.

No other relatives, including Chu Xia, were aware of it.

However, Chu Xia knew from the book’s memories.

As soon as she saw the report, she recognized that it was the result of Cen Zhengnian’s team’s work.

Even an ordinary person would be excited to see the progress of their country, let alone Chu Xia, whose nominal husband was the researcher.

Her emotions were a mix of excitement and admiration.

Cen Zhengnian’s contributions to the country were truly worthy of being written into textbooks.

She calmed herself and began to read the report carefully.

The article only covered the scientific achievements and didn’t mention any scientists’ names or the research institute’s location.

Chu Xia understood why: this information needed to be confidential.

Nowadays, scientists often conducted their research under aliases, with most of their identities only becoming known later.

After reading, Chu Xia folded the newspaper and placed it carefully in a small wooden box.

This box contained things she thought might be useful in the future, like stamps.

She realized why she hadn’t heard from Cen Zhengnian; as the project neared its conclusion, he was increasingly busy and might not even see her letters, let alone reply to them.

Fortunately, her focus wasn’t entirely on Cen Zhengnian, or the lack of news might have been unbearable.

She put the newspaper away and pushed the matter to the back of her mind.

Cen Huai’an was unaware that Chu Xia had seen such a newspaper.

After all, confidentiality meant she couldn’t explain how she knew.

“Mom, this week I want to do a good deed,” Cen Huai’an said as he came home from school on Monday.

Chu Xia put down her book, puzzled, and asked, “Why this week? Can’t it be done next week? And doing good deeds isn’t something you plan ahead; it’s about helping others when you see they need it. How do you know someone will need your help this week?”

Cen Huai’an looked conflicted and said, “The teacher said we should do one.”

Chu Xia asked, “Did the teacher only ask you to do it, or did they ask you to write something about it?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head, “No.”

Chu Xia thought so; preschoolers barely knew a few characters, so the teacher probably just assigned a task.

After completing it, the students would report to the teacher, but the teacher wouldn’t be able to verify if it was done.

However, young students generally trusted their teachers and rarely lied to them.

“Why the sudden emphasis on doing good deeds?”

Preschoolers had very limited capabilities.

“The teacher said it’s to nurture us into ‘five virtues and four beauties’ students from a young age,” Cen Huai’an recited word for word what the teacher had said.

Indeed, the “Five Virtues and Four Beauties” campaign was being promoted nationwide, with society striving to adhere to these principles.

Even the textile factory had slogans and was actively promoting them.

Students are the most impressionable group, and instilling proper values and habits in them from a young age is crucial.

Hence, it was entirely normal for schools to emphasize the “Five Virtues and Four Beauties” campaign, as it was a national requirement.

“So, have you figured out how to do a good deed?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head, “No. There was no money on the ground when I was coming back.”

He had been looking at the ground on his way home, but it was clean, and he didn’t find even a single coin.

He hadn’t seen anyone fall or anyone in need of help.

“Mom, do we have any elderly people living in our residential compound?”

“No. There are some on the street. Do you want to help them with their chores?”

Cen Huai’an nodded and said, “I’ll go help them sweep the floor.”

Chuxia pointed to the floor in their house and said, “First, sweep our own floor clean, and then help me bring some foot-soaking water. This is not only about being filial to your parents but also part of the ‘Five Virtues and Four Beauties’ teachings.”

Cen Huai’an’s eyes lit up immediately.

He stood up and started sweeping the floor with enthusiasm, while Chuxia smiled contentedly and continued reading her book.

Great, from now on, the housework can be left to her son.

In the evening, when it was time for foot soaking, Cen Huai’an wouldn’t let Chuxia do anything.

He insisted on bringing the water and preparing it for her.

The water in the aluminum kettle was warmed after boiling medicine, so it was only lukewarm and wouldn’t burn.

Chuxia trusted Cen Huai’an to handle it and didn’t intervene.

After pouring most of the water into the basin, Cen Huai’an carefully carried it toward Chuxia.

Chuxia watched with concern, worried he might spill it.

Fortunately, he successfully placed it in front of Chuxia and said, “Mom, for your feet.”

Then Cen Huai’an knelt down, put his hands in the basin, and prepared to wash Chuxia’s feet himself.

Chuxia quickly stopped him, saying, “You don’t need to do the rest; I can do it myself.”

“No,” Cen Huai’an insisted, “If I don’t wash it myself, it doesn’t count as washing your feet.”

Alright then, Chuxia stopped opposing him.

Cen Huai’an took washing her feet very seriously.

He was quiet throughout, carefully washing every part of her feet, and after finishing, he used a towel to dry them, then placed them into the slippers and said, “All done.”

His expression was so earnest, it seemed as if he was performing a particularly solemn task.

Even Chuxia couldn’t help but sit up straighter.

After washing the feet, Cen Huai’an poured out the water.

While Chuxia was thinking about how to praise him, he hurriedly came over with his little red flower booklet.

“Mom, look, red flowers for sweeping the floor and washing feet!”

Chuxia: “.…”

But she took the booklet, drew two red flowers in it, and then counted them before asking with a smile, “You’ve collected 17 red flowers. Do you want to exchange ten of them for something?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head, “I don’t want to exchange for anything right now.”

Chuxia didn’t press him; he would naturally come to her when he wanted to exchange them.

The next day, Cen Huai’an went to school and told his teacher about the good deeds he did for his mother yesterday.

The teacher was very pleased and praised him, “Very good, you’re a good child who follows the ‘Five Virtues and Four Beauties’ teachings. You should continue to help others in the future.”

The teacher marked a check on the ‘Five Virtues and Four Beauties’ assignment sheet.

Cen Huai’an knew his assignment was complete and returned to his seat, carefully taking out Cen Zhengnian’s calligraphy book and writing each character by comparing it with the model.

He wrote each character very carefully, erasing and rewriting them if they didn’t match the examples.

“An’an, An’an, did you finish your ‘Five Virtues and Four Beauties’ assignment?”

Chen Chen, who had been troubled and sleepless all night, still hadn’t figured out what to do this morning when he came to school.

As soon as he arrived in the classroom, he couldn’t help but ask Cen Huai’an, “What good deeds did you do? An’an, An’an, tell me quickly. I really don’t know what to do.”

Cen Huai’an was tugged by the other kid, causing the character he was writing to be smudged.

Some of the characters on the paper were also partially erased and needed to be rewritten.

His demeanor immediately turned cold, and he glared at Chen Chen with a displeased expression.

He pulled his arm away and said, “Don’t pull me. I helped my mom clean the floor and wash her feet yesterday. Stop talking to me.”

Cen Huai’an’s expression was so intimidating that Chen Chen sensed danger and carefully moved aside.

He realized Cen Huai’an was angry and didn’t dare to speak to him anymore.

However, Chen Chen found the homework really difficult.

He leaned on his desk, thought for a while, and then went to ask other classmates about their good deeds.

Children love to boast, and they couldn’t keep it to themselves, proudly sharing their good deeds with their classmates.

“I watered the vegetables at Grandma Li’s house yesterday.”

“I helped an old grandpa cross the street.”

“I helped a little kid find his mom.”

Chen Chen gathered a lot of examples, his face full of excitement.

He thought he’d definitely complete his homework today.

Excited, he wanted to share the good news with Cen Huai’an.

He turned to look at Cen Huai’an’s writing and saw him working hard on it.

Chen Chen leaned in to see.

The more he looked, the more confused Chen Chen became: What characters are these? He didn’t recognize any of them.

Looking at Cen Huai’an’s serious and neat writing, Chen Chen felt a sense of awe: Cen Huai’an is amazing! He can write such difficult characters!

Cen Huai’an’s image grew even taller in Chen Chen’s eyes.

Northwest Tian Gong Base.

With the project successful, Cen Zhengnian finally had a bit of time for himself and received Chu Xia’s letter.

In the letter, Chu Xia sincerely thanked him and expressed her gratitude for his support.

She mentioned that in a couple of days she would be taking an exam, and the materials and questions he had sent were very timely and helpful.

Chu Xia admitted she was a bit nervous about the upcoming exam but was confident she would pass.

She also mentioned that she had enrolled Cen Huai’an in elementary school.

“I found out that Huai’an is incredibly smart. He learns things much faster than other kids; he picks up on things after just one explanation. His favorite subject is math, so I bought him a Sudoku book. He loves it and now his favorite thing to do is solve Sudoku puzzles.”

Aside from that, Huai’an has been practicing calligraphy and is constantly checking his progress.

He took the copybook you sent to school and his handwriting is getting better.

Chu Xia shared many anecdotes about Cen Huai’an in the letter, including stories about him playing chess, brainstorming money-making ideas with Bangzi and the others, and selling ice cream at the school gate.

She mentioned little about her own situation apart from the exam.

However, towards the end of the letter, Chu Xia wrote: “I’ve had a falling out with my maternal family. They always expect money from me and take advantage of me without caring about me or Huai’an.”

“I hate their selfish and exploitative behavior, so I’ve decided not to have any contact with them in the future. Please don’t mention them to me, and if you come back, don’t have anything to do with them or try to persuade me!”

Reading this, Cen Zhengnian frowned.

He didn’t blame his wife.

If she was forced to make such harsh statements, then the Luo family must have been excessively unreasonable.

He felt a sense of frustration, not having been able to help her during these difficulties, or even offer basic companionship.

He thought for a moment and began to write a reply.