When Teacher Lu entered the classroom, Xia Minmin stood on the podium to maintain discipline.
After seeing Teacher Lu come in, Xia Minmin returned to her seat.
"Ahem! The final exams are over for today. Everyone can pack their bags and go home. Come to the classroom at nine o'clock the day after tomorrow to pick up your report cards and winter break homework."
Cheers erupted from Class One, everyone eagerly anticipating the holiday.
"besides!"
Before Teacher Lu could finish speaking, the class was already bursting with excitement, each of them talking to their friends about their winter break plans.
Clang, clang...
The class discussion abruptly stopped!
"And one more important thing! Don't go swimming at the beach alone. That's it for school!"
Teacher Lu watched as her class monitor and her friend packed their bags, chatting and laughing, seemingly about to go out and play.
"Squad leader, come here for a second."
Xia Minmin put down the schoolbag she had packed for Class 1 and walked towards the podium.
Teacher Lu looked at her class monitor with a smile, her tone very kind.
"Class monitor, I remember your home is very close to the school."
Xia Minmin sensed something malicious in the homeroom teacher's tone.
"Put your schoolbag at home and come to my office. You're here to help the teacher grade papers, right? Class monitor, you'll agree, won't you?!"
Xia Minmin looked uneasy. "Okay, Teacher Lu. I'll come right away after I put my bag away."
Seeing Xia Minmin walk away dejectedly, Teacher Lu nodded in satisfaction, left the classroom, and returned to his office to continue grading papers.
Xia Minmin said with a long face, "Mengmeng, I can't go eat barbecue! Teacher Lu told me to go to the office to grade papers later."
"It's okay, we can go tomorrow. It's a holiday today, so there will definitely be a lot of people. Let's pack our bags and go home quickly. You can eat something before going to school."
Xia Minmin went straight back to the small supermarket.
"Dad, Teacher Lu asked me to go and grade the test papers now."
Upon hearing this, Xia Jianguo took a bar of dark chocolate from the counter and handed it to Xia Minmin.
"Okay, take care of yourself. Take the chocolate with you, it can help you eat if you get hungry. If you get home too late, just call your parents and we'll come pick you up."
Xia Jianguo was still a little worried, so he took a shopping bag and browsed around the supermarket before handing it to Xia Minmin.
"Take these with you, you don't know when this will end, so don't let yourself go hungry."
"Dad, I understand. I'll go to school now."
Xia Minmin carried heavy shopping bags as she walked towards school.
thump thump thump…
"Teacher Lu, your class monitor is here!"
There were a few students in the office with pens, probably there to grade exams.
A teacher stopped to drink water and rest, and saw Xia Minmin carrying a shopping bag filled with colorful snacks, which must have been quite a lot. The teacher was also hungry.
"Xia Minmin, are you here to visit and comfort the teacher?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Minmin walked towards the teacher who had spoken. "Yes, teacher, please take whatever you like to eat. Don't be shy."
Xia Minmin's shopping bag was much emptier after walking around.
"Thank you, class monitor!"
Xia Minmin dragged her chair back to Teacher Lu's desk. "Teacher, what can I do to help you?"
Teacher Lu said, "Why don't you eat something first to fill your stomachs? It's all our fault for not thinking things through, and you children are going hungry."
Xia Minmin took out some dark chocolate from the shopping bag, broke it into several small pieces, and asked, "Teacher, would you like some?"
"No, I'll just have cookies. This is too bitter."
With a mouthful of dark chocolate, Xia Minmin took the test paper from Teacher Lu and began to correct it by comparing it with the answers.
The test papers were only initially graded at 6 p.m., and the scores still needed to be tallied.
"It's getting late, you kids should go home now!"
After Xia Minmin and the other students put the chairs back in their places, they left the office.
The teachers in the office also stood up and stretched their bodies.
"Teacher Lu, what does your class monitor's family do? They brought so many imported snacks today, and they're all quite expensive. The only place around here that has a good selection is the small supermarket!"
"A small supermarket?"
"Yeah, that supermarket is called 'Little Supermarket,' isn't that interesting!"
Teacher Lu said, "That supermarket seems to be owned by their family."
"That's not surprising, such a big bag costs at least a hundred yuan."
This was the first time Xia Minmin had walked alone on the quiet campus of No. 5 Middle School. It was a cloudy day, and the sky was darker than usual. Strange thoughts kept surfacing in Xia Minmin's mind.
She wasn't afraid at first, but suddenly she started running. Only after leaving the Fifth Middle School and walking on the street, surrounded by colorful neon lights, did her heart calm down.
As she walked to the entrance of the residential area, she saw the neon lights of the small supermarket turned on. This was the first time she had ever seen the small supermarket with its neon lights on.
Xia Minmin quickly went over. Inside the supermarket, Li Chunmei and Xia Jianguo were sitting opposite each other, each reading a book.
The wind chimes at the supermarket entrance rang, and the two looked at Xia Minmin, their eyes softening and their expressions becoming gentle.
Li Chunmei asked, "Xiaomin, have you had dinner yet?"
Xia Minmin walked to the table and sat down. "Not yet! Mom and Dad, have you eaten?"
Li Chunmei said, "Not yet. We'll just grab a quick bite and eat together when you get back."
Xia Jianguo joked, "Your homeroom teacher is really stingy, he won't even treat you to dinner. But your dad was right to bring you a lot of snacks."
"Yes, thanks to Dad, otherwise I would have starved to death in the office!"
Upon hearing Xia Minmin's words, Li Chunmei gently patted Xia Minmin's mouth with her hand, "Pah, pah, pah, children say the darndest things!"
Adults are always very reluctant to say the word "death" to children, for fear that it might come true.
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