Chapter 8

After a final check, he found that he had brought the hawthorn slices prepared to deal with the child. That damn child usually had a lot of candies on her hands, so it was not possible to please her with candies. Fortunately, the hawthorn slices he brought with him last time made Su He know that Tu Mian liked to eat sour and sweet things, so he would definitely be able to please her this time.

Even though they had never talked about love, Su He firmly believed that Tu Yin would have him in her future. They were childhood sweethearts. Which boy had a relationship with Tu Yin as close as his?

Not telling anyone now just wants Tu Yin to focus on her studies. Su He is confident that she will not lose.

So he regarded Tu Mian as his future family member, and a family member who needed to be pleased.

The dispute in Tu Yin's family has not ended yet. Tu Yin is also very sensible. She has no homework this summer vacation. Lin Mei and Tu Chenglin are busy, so she takes Tu Mian with her wherever she goes.

When the hawthorn slices were handed to Tu Mian, she did not take them. She looked at Tu Yin first, and only took them after Tu Yin nodded, and thanked her sweetly.

Su He ruffled Tu Mian's hair. While Tu Mian was eating hawthorn and his mind was not on them, Su He tentatively asked, "Where are you planning to go this summer vacation? After all, it's a vacation without homework, so you have to cherish it."

"Alas," Tu Yin sighed deeply, "I don't have the heart to play."

Su He thought Tu Yin was going to make it inconvenient for Tu Mian to play, so he hesitated and said, "Don't worry about me? I can take care of Tu Mian. If you want to go somewhere to play, I will take good care of her. I promise to take good care of her."

Tu Yin rolled her eyes at him angrily, "Don't, you're an only child, how can you take care of a child? I'm not at all worried. My sister is so good, our Guo'er likes me too, right Guo'er?"

Tu Mian paused and stopped eating the hawthorn slices. She put them down silently, pushed them towards Su He, turned around and smiled at Tu Yin, "Yes, sister!"

Tu Yin was amused by this clever guy. She picked up a tissue and carefully wiped the residue from Tu Mian's mouth.

"I'm a little anxious thinking about going to study in the city."

"You're going to the city?!"

Su He stood up suddenly, his face full of shock. He had good grades and Sucheng No. 4 Middle School and No. 12 Middle School had approached him before, but thinking of Tu Yin's choice, Su He did not agree and chose Yangxian No. 1 Middle School instead.

As a result, now Tu Yin said she wanted to go to the city to study?

"Is it strange? Yeah, I can even foresee the countdown to the next day."

Tu Yin mistakenly took Su He's shock as a doubt about her own ability, but she was also an honest child, so she told Su He directly: "I am studying here on a temporary basis, and I will come back to take the exam later."

Su He pursed his lips. Every night before going to bed he would be excited because he could continue to be classmates with Tu Yin after school started, but now all this was impossible.

"County No. 1 Middle School is also very good. There are people you are familiar with here, and the teachers are also good. If you can't learn it, I can teach you."

Tu Yin didn't say anything. She supported herself with her arms and looked at the calm lake. Su He's gaze was so intense. He was her best friend, and Tu Yin couldn't bear to leave him.

She sprinkled fish food on the lake, breaking the tranquility of the lake. The fish gathered around and scrambled for the food.

"You can't really escape just by running away. Many people say that I'm just a pretty face with an empty mind, but Xiaohe, I won't accept that. Am I really that stupid? When Auntie said that maybe I could find a study method that suits me in the city, I heard the voice in my heart saying: agree to it. Only then did I realize that I'm not someone who is content with comfort. You are my best friend, I think you can understand me."

Su He's eyes dimmed and he looked away from Tu Mian.

After a long while, he said softly: "Yes, I have always known, Huaer, you are a very smart girl."

After receiving Su He's praise, a smile returned to Tu Yin's face. Before she could say anything, she heard Tu Mian's exclamation.

"Look, this fish is so fat."

Tu Mian's attention was diverted after Tu Yin put the fish food in. She observed the fish carefully. When she saw a fish eating the most, she also wanted to draw her sister's attention. This fish was really fat.

Tu Yin looked in the direction she was looking at. She was a little surprised: "Are there koi fish here too?"

Tu Yin has been to this place many times, but this is the first time she has seen koi.

"Yes, it is so unique. Not only is it beautiful, but it is also very smart and takes good care of itself."

Tu Yin turned to look at Su He, and she felt that he meant something.

Su He didn't say anything. He thought that Tu Yin was just like this koi fish, out of tune with the people around her. He had never seen such a beautiful girl.

But she does not meet people's suspicions of beautiful girls. She is smart and persistent.

Once she makes up her mind, she will stick to it.

but,

"I will also work hard. I won't fall behind you even if I am ranked first in the county."

Tu Yin smiled. Su He was different from many people, so he became her best friend.

On the other side, Tu Chenglin silently counted the time, and when it was time to get off work, he stopped moving again.

During this period, Tu Chenglin did not accept any invitations from his friends. His heart was split into two halves, arguing with each other.

A voice said, "Old Tu, Old Tu, look at yourself. You're already in your 40s. Your next promotion will probably be at 50, based on seniority. With such a predictable life, what's there to brag about? But now things have turned around. God has been kind to you. Our Guo'er is far smarter than her peers. As long as you train her well, you'll have everything you need in the future. Everyone will know that you're the father of a genius. This is the most worthwhile thing to look forward to in your life!"

Another voice said, "Old Tu, you old fool, you've sacrificed so much for this job. You even got sterilized to keep it. You'll never have a son in this life! If you lose this job, what will all your sacrifices mean? Yes, our Guo'er is very smart, but she's a girl. Maybe she won't be as smart as a boy when she grows up. And with your temper, can you really tolerate gossip? If you really did that, you'd be living off the man!"

At this moment, the image of Tu Mian rushing towards him and calling him dad emerged in Tu Chenglin's mind, and Tu Chenglin made a decision.

When Lin Mei dragged her tired body home, she found that the table was full of dishes.

This is, the sun rising from the west?

"Are you back? Wash your hands and let's eat."

Looking at the man in the apron in front of her, Lin Mei's heart skipped a beat. Something must be wrong when things are abnormal. Could it be that Tu Chenglin is possessed by something?

Tu Chenglin scooped a bowl of soup for Lin Mei and said, "Drink some soup first to fill your stomach. Hua'er took Guo'er out to play with the boy from the Su family. They are eating outside, so we will leave her alone."

At the dinner table, Tu Chenglin kept picking up food for Lin Mei. Every time he did so, Lin Mei felt very uncomfortable because it turned out that she was always the one picking up food for others.

After they had almost finished eating, Tu Chenglin told them his plan.

"I'm going to resign, and from now on our family will live a good life in Sioux City."

This news exploded in Lin Mei's ears. Her expression was complicated and she almost didn't recognize Tu Chenglin in front of her.

"Are you ready for this?"

Tu Chenglin nodded: "I will improve my cooking skills in the future. It doesn't make sense that you can do it but I can't. Besides, we don't have many acquaintances in Sucheng, and the people who gossip about it are not talking in my ears, so I will just pretend not to hear them. The most important thing is that our family is doing well."

Lin Mei was silent for a long time. She didn't understand why Tu Chenglin, who had been arguing with her so fiercely before, suddenly came to his senses. But he was right. The most important thing was that the family was well.

Lin Mei's eyes softened, "Our family will definitely get better."

Before the military training at the No. 1 Middle School, Lin Mei completed the procedures for borrowing a student's class and enrolled her in an ordinary class at the No. 1 Middle School. This was already the result of Lin Mei's hard work, and forcing Tu Yin into a key class was not necessarily a good thing.

Although Lin Mei was confident that she could repay the borrowed money within the deadline, everything needed money at the moment, so Lin Mei finally bought a second-hand house.

This is a 90-square-meter three-bedroom apartment. The bedrooms are relatively small, but it is a three-bedroom apartment after all.

Tu Mian is 5 years old now and can sleep in a separate room. She should have a room of her own.

Lin Mei and Tu Chenglin lived in the master bedroom. For the remaining two rooms, Lin Mei asked Tu Yin to draw lots. The room she drew would be hers, and the remaining room would be her sister's.

Tu Yin's room is a little bigger, but it's on the shady side, while Tu Mian's room is on the sunny side, and the sun shines lazily at noon.

Both rooms have their own advantages and disadvantages, but since we got it by drawing lots, no one will have any objections.

By the time everything was ready, Lin Mei had almost no money left, but she was not panicked.

The business experience in the past few years has made her grow a lot, broadened her horizons and improved her abilities. She is no longer the uneasy and worried woman she was when she was a housewife.

During this time, Lin Mei ran around and came into contact with many agents, which gave her new ideas.

The city is now undergoing development everywhere, with buildings popping up one after another. It is obvious that Suzhou will develop better and better, and there is no need to worry about not being able to sell houses.

Moreover, after closing a deal, the commission is quite a bit, which is just right for Lin Mei who doesn't have much money to start a new business.

With her eloquence and personal abilities, Lin Mei successfully got a new job.

Everything else went smoothly, but Tu Mian's school had not been finalized until the start of the school year.

It’s not her fault. It’s mainly because she and Tu Chenglin have different opinions.

Tu Chenglin didn't want Tu Mian to go to elementary school early. He thought Tu Mian could study in kindergarten for another year before going to elementary school, so that Tu Mian would not be bullied by others. He was always afraid that the young Tu Mian would be bullied. He didn't want Tu Mian to suffer any mishaps, otherwise everything would be in vain.

However, Lin Mei thought, she and Tu Chenglin are both ordinary people, and their thoughts are based on their own standpoints. Does Tu Mian really need to worry like this?

Lin Mei still decided to take Tu Mian to give it a try. If the situation Tu Chenglin described happened at school, or if Tu Mian was unhappy, Tu Mian could drop out and go back to school when he was older.

But school is about to start, and the good primary schools have already taken applications early. People in Suzhou attach more importance to education than in the county. They believe that children's education cannot be neglected and must be started from an early age.

After looking for many places, Lin Mei decided to send Tu Mian to Jinhan Private Primary School.

The tuition fee of this private primary school is not cheap, but it is worth the money. While most schools now start teaching English from the third grade, this private primary school starts teaching English from the first grade, and students can learn other languages ​​later.

It's not just about teaching, it also has many extracurricular activities, striving to make parents feel that every penny is well spent.

This burden is not small, but even so, there is still a constant stream of people coming to sign up. After all, there are many wealthy people in Sucheng.

Tu Chenglin and Lin Mei accompanied Tu Mian to Jinhan Private Primary School.

With the help of others, they found the admissions teacher.

The admissions teacher was a female teacher who looked to be around forty years old. She was grading homework when they arrived.

"Hello, teacher, we would like to ask if your school has filled up its first-grade enrollment?"

Li Xue looked at the couple in front of her. The man was handsome but the traces of time were evident on his face. The woman was plain in appearance but her confidence could not be concealed.

The clothes these two wore were not as expensive as those worn by other parents; they looked just ordinary.

But if you are able to come to this primary school and have already understood the tuition fees, you should not underestimate it.

Li Xue smiled and said, "Hello, parents. My last name is Li, so you can just call me Teacher Li. Unfortunately, all the first-grade classes are filled this year."

Lin Mei couldn't hide the disappointment on her face.

Tu Mian, who was being held by her, did not feel her mother's regret. She was now taller than the table and could see the homework that Li Xue was correcting.

"This isn't the right place."

Li Xue looked in the direction Tu Mian pointed. She hadn't corrected that point yet, but the student had indeed made a mistake.

But, this seems like third grade math, right?

Li Xue looked at Tu Mian, who was eating the hawthorn slices given by his mother without realizing what he had done.

"You've done a good job educating this kid. Have you taught him third-grade math?"

"No, her mother and I are usually too busy, but we would buy her some books from time to time. She learned this by herself." This is what Tu Chenglin is most proud of. He always hopes that others will discover Tu Mian's intelligence, and then he can start his long talk about it.

Li Xue exclaimed, "Ah!" and then asked, "She seems a little shorter than a seven-year-old. Is she seven?"

Lin Mei quickly explained, "No, no, she's five years old. We just thought she was smart and wanted to try to see if she could start first grade."

Tu Chenglin added, "She's very fast at memorizing things. Many of us adults can't compare to her. And she's also very good at mental arithmetic. Teacher, what do you think?"

The implication was obvious. Li Xue stood up and said with a smile, "Then I'll take this kid over there for an interview and do some small tests, is that okay?"

Tu Chenglin nodded, and Lin Mei put down her hand. She instructed, "Guo'er, follow this teacher. Be obedient and sensible. Be polite and answer truthfully."

Tu Mian nodded and took the hand that Li Xue extended to him.

Lin Mei and her husband waited anxiously, and it was unknown how long it took before Li Xue came back carrying Tu Mian.

Seeing the smile on Li Xue's face, Tu Chenglin knew that the matter was probably settled.

This is indeed the case.

"The first-grade class is full, but after testing we found that Tu Mian has no problem attending the third grade, but she has never learned English before. After discussion, we decided to let Tu Mian attend the first grade first. If she can keep up with the English, she can apply to skip a grade. We at Jinhan Primary School very much welcome students like Tu Mian."

In this way, Tu Mian successfully enrolled in Jinhan Private Primary School.