"Alright, time's up, hand in your papers!"
"Ah! Hey... wait a minute..."
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, some students let out a chorus of groans.
Of course, Sun Zhengguo and Zheng Wenhua are not included, as they had already finished their exams.
A month has passed since Lao Mo's last meal, and today is the last exam before summer vacation.
The ones making the "wailing" sounds were, as you can imagine, a group of students with poor grades, commonly known as "academic underachievers".
As soon as they left the classroom, Zheng Wenhua stepped forward and put his arm around Sun Zhengguo's neck, grinning as he spoke.
"So, Zheng Guo, do I have a chance to reach number one this time?"
Sun Zhengguo couldn't help but chuckle at Zheng Wenhua's nonchalant attitude and said jokingly.
"Young comrade, the great man taught us not to be arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat. You still have a chance. Strive to do your best next time and be the best. Don't worry, the motherland will believe in you, and the Party and the people will also believe in you."
Hearing Sun Zhengguo's meaningless words, Zheng Wenhua felt like punching him.
"Work hard, work hard, haven't I worked hard enough? I, Zheng Wenhua, have worked hard for three years and only got second place every year. Can't you show some style for once? What happened to the Chinese people's introverted, reserved, and moderate nature?"
Thinking of this, Zheng Wenhua rolled his eyes at Sun Zhengguo as a greeting.
The two then started joking and playing around before leaving the school.
Back home, her mother inquired about the three siblings' exam results but then stopped paying attention. Lin Wencui was quite at ease about her children's studies.
A few days later, Sun Zhengguo held his report card, and unsurprisingly, he was once again the top student in the entire school, while Zheng Wenhua once again became the "background emperor".
But Zheng Wenhua was not discouraged. Instead, he made a promise with Sun Zhengguo to fight the final battle in the college entrance examination next year.
Back in the courtyard house, the three siblings became the envy of everyone, just like other people's children.
Xu Damao also took the high school entrance exam this year, and then... nothing happened. The neighbors thought this was normal. It is said that Xu Fugui is already looking for connections to get Xu Damao a job in the factory.
…………
The next morning, the three siblings packed their things and prepared to return to their hometown. Sun Zhengguo had a specific purpose for going back this time.
On the way to the bus station, Sun Zhengguo made an excuse to buy something and packed two small bags of flour from his spatial storage, intending to give them to his grandfather and maternal grandfather's family.
It was already 10 o'clock when we arrived at Grandpa's house.
"Hello, Grandpa and Grandma!"
"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, how are you?"
“My grandson and granddaughter are here. Your grandfather was just saying that he figured you two would be here in the next few days, so they came to let Grandma see how much they’ve grown.”
Grandma was talking to herself, while everyone around her was laughing.
At lunchtime, my maternal grandfather's family also came. At the table, my aunt kept asking about her son.
When they learned that Lin Jiguo was doing well and would be able to participate in the next assessment, the maternal grandparents were very happy.
After dinner, his younger siblings went to play, while Sun Zhengguo went to his maternal grandfather's house alone with gifts.
Lin Hong first watched Sun Zhengguo practice his skills, then tried it out himself and sparred with Sun Zhengguo.
As a result, Lin Hong, who was in the late stage of Ming Jin, suffered a loss in the first round. He was forced to retreat seven or eight steps by Sun Zhengguo's powerful punch.
Lin Hong was shocked. He couldn't understand how his grandson had trained. But he stopped thinking about it. After all, he was his grandson. Could he be jealous of his grandson?
Thinking of this, Lin Hong went into the house, took out a yellowed book, and handed it to Sun Zhengguo.
"Zhengguo, take this book. It was passed down from the first patriarch."
The book contains annotations on Ming Jin (manifested strength) and An Jin (hidden strength), but only mentions the idea of Hua Jin (transformation strength). It also includes the preparation and usage of medicinal baths.
I can no longer teach you. Remember, the tradition must not be broken.
After saying all this, Lin Hong seemed to have a weight lifted off his shoulders, and he looked much more energetic.
Sun Zhengguo solemnly accepted the book and began to read it. He found the annotations very helpful and believed that given more time, he would be able to break through to the late stage of Ming Jin.
The next morning, Sun Zhengguo packed some dry rations and prepared to go up the mountain alone. Before he left, Lin Hong repeatedly warned him not to go too deep, as there were wild beasts in the depths.
Sun Zhengguo was being hypocritical; he agreed verbally, but his true intention was to go deep into the mountains to hunt some big catches.
After leaving the village, Sun Zhengguo headed straight for the back mountain. Since the outer area was full of small animals, Sun Zhengguo did not stop and went deeper into the mountains.
Along the way, Sun Zhengguo also tried it out. There was a pheasant floating in the space at the moment. After finding that there was no problem, he dared to continue to go deeper.
To Sun Zhengguo's dismay, he walked for more than an hour without encountering any large wild animals. On the contrary, he collected a lot of medicinal herbs, including a ginseng that was over 30 years old, which he transplanted into his space.
After walking for another half hour without finding anything, we prepared to return.
Perhaps even the heavens couldn't bear to see it anymore. Just as Sun Zhengguo was about to return, he discovered a small pond, and beside the pond was a Chinese serow drinking water.
Sun Zhengguo quietly approached and activated his mental power. The Chinese serow that was drinking water vanished instantly.
After catching his first prey, Sun Zhengguo thought the pond was quite nice and had an idea in mind.
Sun Zhengguo entered the space, slaughtered and butchered the prey he had just acquired, stored the meat in the wooden house space, and poured all the blood and internal organs into the pond, making the area around the pond instantly filled with a bloody stench.
What Sun Zhengguo had to do was find a place to hide and wait for his prey to take the bait.
Sure enough, the method worked. Soon, two wolves came attracted by the smell of blood. When the wolves entered the 15-meter range, Sun Zhengguo immediately launched his attack, followed by the slaughter and dismemberment, his movements skillful and fluent.
Two hours later, Sun Zhengguo had already started to descend the mountain, otherwise his family would have been worried.
On the way down the mountain, Sun Zhengguo was calculating his gains for the day.
Today's biggest catch was a group of wild boars, eight in total, probably a family. This catch alone provided Sun Zhengguo with 1,500 jin of meat.
Including other odds and ends, Sun Zhengguo's total harvest today was about 2,000 jin, which can be described as a bountiful harvest.
Before 4 p.m., Sun Zhengguo had already arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Seeing that no one was around, he took out a roe deer, two pheasants, a rabbit, and some herbs from his spatial storage and headed straight for the village entrance.
When they returned to their grandparents' house, their grandmother was very happy to see her grandson's harvest. However, she kept reminding him to be careful and not to go deep into the mountains.
That evening, both families enjoyed a delicious meal together.
For a period of time afterward, the wild animals on the mountain suffered greatly. In just 20 days, Sun Zhengguo had already harvested 10,000 jin of meat, and even a considerable amount of medicinal herbs.
Sun Zhengguo wasn't planning to go hunting in the mountains anymore; they had enough for now. Besides, they couldn't just keep fleecing one place; they had to leave some for the village.
After making the decision, Sun Zhengguo planned to have several more medicinal baths. During this period, he had been going to deep mountains and forests, so there were plenty of herbs available.
Sun Zhengguo had a premonition that he was about to break through.
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