Chapter 212 A Peaceful Home

She suddenly remembered something, her eyes flickered, and she quickly gripped Xu Yunli's hand tightly.

"By the way, where's your child? Why didn't they come along?"

Xu Yunli smiled and tightened her grip on Li Huachen's arm.

The two walked slowly side by side.

"They're still in class. By the way, we've already completed all of Rong Kai's enrollment procedures, and he can officially register tomorrow without any further delays."

"So fast?"

Li Huachen was startled, her voice filled with surprise and emotion.

"I remember spending half a year struggling in western Guizhou, pulling strings and giving gifts everywhere, just to find a place for my child to go to school, but I still ran into obstacles everywhere. But here... it was done so easily?"

"Of course."

Xu Yunli shrugged dismissively.

"Dekang is the principal of the county's No. 1 Middle School, after all. Although he usually doesn't show off, if he really wanted to get something done, like arranging for a child to get into the school, wouldn't it be as simple as eating and drinking?"

Li Huachen listened silently, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Her voice unconsciously lowered.

"Yunli, how have you been these past years? Have you... suffered a lot?"

"That's all ancient history, let's not talk about it anymore."

Xu Yunli waved her hand, her smile still on her face.

But beneath that smile lay a hint of weariness.

"I won't ask you about your past anymore. Those days are over, why bring them up? Anyway, Yu Fan has made a name for himself now, I heard he's making a fortune. With him around, you've finally made it through."

"It would be good if you and Brother Dekang were teachers."

Li Huachen said softly.

"A peaceful and stable life, successful children, and a harmonious family—how enviable!"

The two chatted as they walked.

They would sometimes reminisce about old times, and sometimes tease each other about how they had changed, their laughter never ceasing.

Zhou Shufen stood on the street corner, quietly watching their backs, a smile unconsciously spreading across her lips.

She was already planning her second sister-in-law and second brother's wedding.

They've toiled and suffered their whole lives; they deserve a stable home.

Now that the factory is on track, she can apply for a piece of land under the name of the daily necessities factory.

Expand the factory and build a few more dormitory buildings for employees.

When the factory grows larger and has more employees, all of these will come in handy.

When the time comes, she will definitely secretly allocate an apartment to her second sister-in-law and second brother.

Choose the best location, close to the factory area, and convenient for living.

With her mind made up, Zhou Shufen felt much more at ease.

She raised her wrist and glanced at her watch.

I decided to set off that afternoon to talk to Guo Yanlong about this matter.

After all, he is now the person with the most say in Yu Xin's life.

Without his approval, nothing can be accomplished.

After returning home, she first settled Zhou Yufan in the courtyard she rented.

The room next door was also rented and had been assigned to Cheng Jiaqi long ago.

That place is bigger and has better lighting.

When Lijuan comes back, we can make do with the accommodation.

Wu Dekang stood on the side of the street and pointed across the street.

“Rong Kai, do you see that? That’s the No.1 Middle School of Yuxin City with the sign hanging at the entrance. You’ll be studying here from now on. Be diligent and catch up on the lessons you’ve missed.”

He paused, then asked softly.

"Your aunt said you didn't finish fifth grade? You missed a lot of classes?"

Li Rongkai lowered his head, his face slightly flushed.

"Well... I've been going to school on and off. It's not that my family doesn't have money, it's... it's that Pan the Cripple... he's been making things difficult for me. He wouldn't let me enroll, he kept making excuses to stop me."

"Others are already in junior high at fourteen, but I'm still stuck in fifth grade..."

"Uncle Wu, I..."

"Don't be nervous. I'll test you with a question first to see how good your foundation is."

Wu Dekang spoke calmly, his gaze falling kindly on his face.

Li Rongkai nodded vigorously.

Wu Dekang pulled him to sit on a stone stool in the courtyard.

He then took out a workbook from his bag.

"Come on, look at this one. It has 35 heads and 94 feet. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"

He pushed the workbook in front of Li Rongkai and pointed at the question with his fingertip.

Li Rongkai's pencil trembled violently, and he wrote the character "解" (jie, meaning solution) crookedly on the paper.

Memories flooded back like a tide, instantly pulling him back to that gloomy afternoon.

Gui Xi, Pan Ming kicked over his crippled wooden table.

The books and draft papers on the table tumbled and fell to the floor.

"What's the point of a poor wretch reading books!"

Pan Ming's face turned bright red, and his eyes were full of disdain.

"Don't panic, take your time."

Wu Dekang gave him a piece of candy.

“Drawing is fine too. Draw the heads of the chicken and the rabbit, and then give each head two feet.”

The sugar slowly melted in his mouth, its sweetness sending a shiver down Li Rongkai's spine.

He picked up his pen and quickly drew 35 circles.

Add two feet to each one.

With 24 left, he added circles on top.

When you add the 12th circle, you'll have just enough feet.

"23 chickens and 12 rabbits!"

He suddenly looked up, his eyes gleaming.

Wu Dekang patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the equations in the booklet.

"When you learn algebra in the future, you'll have to set up unknowns. Let the chicken be x and the rabbit be y, and write two equations."

As he spoke, he wrote down the two equations in the blank space.

"If you change your approach to a problem in life, you'll find a way out."

Li Rongkai stared at the two letters and asked in a low voice.

"Uncle Wu...No. 1 Middle School...Does someone like Pan Ming even get in?"

"Can't get in."

Wu Dekang spoke firmly.

"People there all respect official documents from the Education Bureau. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be sent directly to the police station."

After he finished speaking, he took out a registration form from his bag and handed it over.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll sit in on a class in Class 2 of Grade 7. Don't worry if you don't understand, I'll tutor you after school."

Li Rongkai stared at the line of bright red words on the registration form.

Yuxin No.1 Middle School.

His eyes suddenly started to sting.

Children his age are already in middle school.

No one expected that the schooling issue would be resolved so easily once they returned to Yuxin.

Instead of starting from the beginning, we'll jump straight to the first year of junior high.

"Uncle Wu...can I really do this?"

He gripped the pencil tightly, his palms sweating profusely.

"The textbooks for the first year of junior high... there are so many words that I've never even seen before, let alone understood."

Wu Dekang looked down and took out a thick book from his bag.

That was a Xinhua Dictionary.

The red paint on the cover had long since peeled off, revealing the grayish-white cardboard underneath.

Turning to the title page, a line of neat penmanship comes into view.

Purchased in 1975 from Yu Xin Bookstore.

"Don't know the words? Then look them up."

Wu Dekang's voice was low and deep.

He opened the dictionary and his finger landed precisely on the character “黎”.

"Look, this character is your surname. Below it is pinyin. It's the same spelling method your elementary school teacher taught you when you were in Guixi, right?"

Li Rongkai held his breath, his fingertips hesitantly reaching out to trace the character "Li".

In that instant, a scene flashed through his mind.

That was my mother, squatting under the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

She was drawing stroke by stroke on the mud with a matchstick.

She spoke softly as she drew.

"Rong Kai, your mother hopes that in the future, you will walk steadily and go far."

Pan Ming, who lives next door, was squatting on the doorstep, grinning at him.

"Li Rongkai? He's as stupid as a donkey!"

He blushed and lowered his head, not daring to say a word.