Chapter 81 Receiving the Award
Do you like playing basketball?
Gao Ming whispered in his daughter's ear, and although it looked like the father and daughter were talking, Teacher Liang and Xiao Mu could hear it clearly.
"I liked it at first, but then I stopped liking it." Gao Nian'an said very softly.
Why did you stop liking it later?
"The teacher said we have to practice even after school, but I have to go home after school."
clever:"……"
"Going home from school to play with the kids in the alley?"
Gao Ming's words reflected the thoughts of several adults present, leaving Teacher Liang somewhat amused and exasperated.
“No.” Gao Nian’an shook her head, her two braids brushing against Gao Ming’s cheeks. Her daughter answered very loudly, “I want to talk to my mom. I can’t play basketball at school.”
"..."
“You can talk to your mom every day… just for two hours, and you can go home after practice!” Teacher Liang, who was unaware of the Gao family’s situation, chuckled inwardly, but thought that Gao Nian’an was just throwing a tantrum, and that she could probably persuade her parents by having a good talk with them.
Little did Gao Ming know that he was deeply moved at the time. He pinched his daughter's little face and smiled, "Then don't practice. Study hard and become a doctor like your mother in the future."
"Ming-ge!" Xiao Mu's face was almost twitching with laughter. In his excitement, he even changed his form of address: "Don't rush to make a decision. Let's hear what Teacher Liang has to say."
Teacher Liang glanced gratefully at Xiao Mu, then quickly added, "Our school organizes this basketball training as an after-school activity..."
With the rapid development of the national economy, there is a growing emphasis on sports talent, and finding outstanding prospects from various schools has become the preferred method for discovering sports talent.
Teacher Liang listed several reasons why Gao Nian'an is very suitable for basketball.
Besides the physical and conscious reactions mentioned earlier, another important reason is Gao Nian'an... because he is tall.
"I think Gao Nian'an can try it out first. If he doesn't like it or it's not suitable, he can withdraw then... As parents, we can let our children try different possibilities. What if Gao Nian'an becomes a member of our national basketball team!"
Gao Ming fell into thought, and then simply said to Teacher Liang, "I'll go back and discuss it with Nian'an's mother, and also ask the child properly."
"become!"
Seeing that the goal had been achieved, Teacher Liang stopped wasting time and called the children back to the center of their respective classrooms.
The students stood in neat rows like building blocks. The microphones on the cement award stage were tested, and after someone said "hello, hello" twice, the commendation ceremony officially began.
All the students stared at the stack of gold-edged certificates on the table, while the parents discussed among themselves, wondering what important award required their participation.
Just as several pairs of eyes were turning in the same direction, a sneer suddenly came from the back row: "Isn't that Manager Gao from [Anping Transportation Company]!"
Zhao Guojun, the manager of [Qianjin Transportation Company], crossed his legs, with half a pack of "Qianmen" cigarettes sticking out of his brand-new shirt pocket.
He deliberately emphasized the company name, which quickly drew the attention of several parents around him.
"Manager Zhao."
Gao Ming had actually seen Zhao Jinguo earlier, but the two didn't get along, so there was no need for him to greet him.
The two had known each other for a long time; they had met through a fellow villager when Gao Ming was still selling clothes in Guangzhou.
Later, Zhao Jinguo heard from someone that Gao Ming had opened a transportation company and was making a lot of money, so he followed suit and started his own transportation team.
Unfortunately, their companies were located in the same area, inevitably making them direct competitors.
Especially after losing a bid for a foreign company this year, Zhao Jinguo harbored resentment towards Gao Ming and spoke ill of him to other industry peers.
Gao Ming has never taken such petty people who only know how to talk a good game seriously.
[Qianjin Transportation Company] is not on the same level as [Anping Transportation] in terms of scale or routes. It is only because Zhao Jinguo has a poor self-awareness that he always thinks Gaoming will steal his business.
"You must have made a lot of money this year by securing that big order in Longyun!"
“Not much money, but a lot of work.” Gao Ming tapped his toes lightly and gave Zhao Jinguo a look with a half-smile: “Long Yun requires that every tile must be flawless, and only new vehicles can be used. Old vehicles… their shock absorption is not up to standard.”
Longyun is a foreign company that specializes in importing various home decoration materials. The tile transportation was a contract that Gaoming and Zhao Jinguo had been competing for not long ago.
To reduce costs, most private transportation companies choose to modify old vehicles, so many small companies do not have new vehicles.
Qianjin Transportation only had about thirty old trucks that could break even when transporting a watermelon, so they were eliminated by Longyun in the very first round of competition.
Therefore, Gao Ming said that Zhao Jinguo lacked self-awareness, otherwise how could he have come up with the idea that the two companies were on par?
Zhao Jinguo's face darkened, and he snorted coldly.
"Who do you think you are? You're just lucky to have the money to buy a new car. If you ask me, the old car can still run... At worst, you can just haul some stones and sand... You can still make money."
It's unclear whether he was speaking to himself or to Gao Ming, but as he spoke, his confidence waned, and by the end, his voice was barely audible.
"First of all, on behalf of the Fifth Primary School, I would like to welcome all the parents to this commendation ceremony..."
The sound from the speakers resounded through the air, and the playground instantly fell silent.
This commendation ceremony has nothing to do with the end of the semester; it mainly recognizes the outstanding achievements of students in various competitions during the second half of last year.
Each time a name was called, a sparse burst of applause would erupt from below.
It's really true that other people's children win awards, and since most parents of students who didn't win awards are parents, only a few are truly happy.
"First place in the third-grade Chinese reading competition... Zhao Gang."
As soon as the principal finished announcing the names, Zhao Jinguo, who was behind him, immediately stood up, kicked Gao Ming's chair back, and clapped his hands excitedly.
"It's my son, my son is number one."
"A reading aloud competition?" one parent muttered to the parent next to them, puzzled. "Isn't it just reading from a book? How can you tell who's good and who's bad?"
"Stop talking!"
Those with quick eyes had already noticed Zhao Jinguo's gloomy face and immediately tugged at the parent next to them who had spoken the truth.
"Can't I just ask out of curiosity?"
The man didn't back down; instead, he stared intently at Zhao Jinguo, the court emblem on his collar gleaming.
Zhao Jinguo quickly turned his head and sat down sullenly.
The reason there was a reading competition award was because he provided the school cafeteria with rice, flour, and oil for free twice last year.
Zhao Jinguo pretended not to know, but Zhao Gang had been making a fuss all over the class, unable to hide his thoughts, just like his father.
Gao Ming pursed his lips and continued looking at the podium.
He saw his daughter chatting animatedly with her classmates when, a moment later, the teacher walked over and covered Gao Nian'an's mouth.
Instead of criticizing the student for fidgeting, the teacher took action directly.
Either they really like this student, or... they're just too lazy to bother explaining.
Gao Ming judged it to be the former, because the teacher's smile didn't seem fake, and she even gently patted Gao Nian'an's braid after withdrawing her hand.
“Du Mao from my family said that Nian An’s words carry more weight in class than the class monitor’s!” Xiao Mu laughed and nudged Gao Ming: “She also said that she has good grades.”
The class committee of Class 3, Grade 1 was not elected by vote. Instead, the teacher nominated Gao Nian'an but he refused, so the teacher nominated a female student sitting in the first row instead.
When Du Mao got home, he told Xiao Mu that the class monitor had to ask Gao Nian'an for help with everything the students needed to do.
"I have to watch over him every day while he does his homework..." Gao Ming shrugged, his expression full of helplessness: "Why don't you give it a try?"
"My daughter has no idea what to do!" Xiao Mu waved his hands repeatedly.
"Next, we will award the 'Three Good Students' to students of each grade... Gao Nian'an from Class 3, Grade 1."
Gao Ming's spirits lifted instantly, and he hurriedly craned his neck to look at the podium.
Gao Nian'an stood up, turned around, raised one index finger and shook it at Gao Ming before going on stage to accept the award.
While everyone else walked up slowly with excited expressions, she was the only one skipping and jumping around with great joy.
Xiao Mu was very curious: "What does Nian Anju mean by raising a finger?"
Gao Ming, who knew his daughter perfectly, chuckled: "The first one, she means there's more to come."
"I thought she was saying she was number one!" Xiao Mu laughed, thinking to himself that the little girl was really confident.
Just as Gao Ming had predicted, Gao Nian'an's name appeared a second and third time, gradually sparking a small discussion among the parents.
Congratulations to Gao Nian'an for winning first place in the city's primary school mathematics competition.
After the principal finished announcing the award, what he picked up from the table was not a certificate, but a bright red certificate and a trophy.
A round of applause erupted from Class 3 of Grade 1, as the children chattered like ducks, offering their congratulations.
Gao Nian'an placed the certificate on the stool, and walked confidently onto the podium.
This award was undoubtedly the most prestigious of all the awards presented today. The principal handed the certificate to Gao Nian'an and offered a few words of encouragement with a cheerful smile.
It was hard to hear what they were saying from below the platform, but Gao Ming was sure it was something nice.
A trophy in one hand and a certificate in the other.
Gao Nian'an stood between the two school leaders, looking quite smug, for a group photo before coming down.
The commendation ceremony has concluded.
After the class was properly picking up the certificate, Gao Nian'an dashed out of the crowd and ran to Gao Ming.
The first thing she said was, "Dad, let's go home quickly, I want to show Mom my award certificate."
"Your sister-in-law is off this afternoon." Gao Ming only had time to leave this sentence with Xiao Mu before Gao Nian'an pulled him away.
The father and daughter's backs were filled with an excitement that others couldn't understand.
When Chen Yun returned to Guanming Hutong, he was still not home.
"Is Nian'an just going to sit here and wait?" Dong Qiaoying asked.
After finishing his meal, Gao Nian'an sat down at the front door with his award certificate in his arms. He would stand up and look towards the alley entrance, and then unfold the award certificate and place it on the threshold.
The adults in the courtyard found it amusing and were extra careful to avoid it when entering or leaving.
Taking advantage of the good weather, Dong Qiaoying and Aunt Luo discussed cutting some dried radishes to dry, planning to use them to stir-fry with salted meat and eat with rice in the winter.
"Your Nian'an has won so many awards, you should at least treat her to a nice meal tonight as a reward, right?"
"Let's talk about it when Nian'an's mother gets back."
"It's a good thing your eldest son's wife isn't here; if she saw this, she'd definitely say something sarcastic!"
In the past few years, Qiu Zhifang often boasted to other people in the courtyard about how good his eldest son, Gao Liang, was at studying, and how the younger generation of the Gao family had to rely on his son, and so on.
Those who listened found it annoying, but there was nothing they could say.
Aunt Luo's eldest son, Jiang, and Yun's two children are both academically terrible, and the third son, who has no children, dares not chime in.
Aunt Liu is even worse off than her. Zhang Quan's son has joined the army, and his second son, Zhang He, and Cui Niang have two children. Together, they don't know as many characters as Gao Nian'an.
As for Granny Jia... after that incident, everyone in the courtyard knew that Yan Jun couldn't have children!
"The eldest son's family is busy with business every day, how can they have time to care about Liangliang?" Dong Qiaoying pouted.
She had no objection to her eldest son and his wife going into business, but the fact that they neglected their children in their pursuit of money made the elderly couple somewhat uneasy.
If they hadn't called Gao Liang to the front to eat, the child would have been eating nothing but cold rice soaked in hot water that day.
"She's still better than my eldest son's wife. You know, Lao Niu's wife is such a hardworking person, how could she raise such a lazy girl like Niu Qiuhong!"
Qiu Zhifang doesn't have time to take care of the children because she's busy making money, unlike her eldest son's wife, Niu Qiuhong, who is simply lazy.
How lazy she was... Aunt Luo glanced at the third room in the east wing.
The day I moved back, I noticed a spider web under the eaves, and two months have passed since then and I haven't swept it up.
"well--"
Click click click—
Sighs and the sound of savage chopping vegetables rang out at the same time.
"mom!"
Why are you sitting by the door?
As Chen Yun walked to the door, she immediately noticed the certificates displayed on the threshold in her daughter's proud little expression.
"Wow!" Chen Yun quickly squatted down to pick up the certificate and praised loudly in an unprecedentedly exaggerated tone: "Our Nian'an is really amazing. Mom has never received so many certificates before."
"There's also a bonus!" Gao Nian'an quickly added.
"Yeah!"
"Yes! Buy Mom a new dress."
As he spoke, he took out fifty yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into Chen Yun's arms.
"Mom will save this for you. We'll use this money to buy new clothes for the New Year." Chen Yunlou gave her daughter a quick kiss, then picked up the trophy and examined it closely. "When your grandpa has some free time, I'll have him make a cabinet just for you and Nianping to store your certificates... What about your brother?"
"My little brother is sleeping," Gao Nian'an reported happily.
Having already shown the certificate to her mother, Gao Nian'an saw no need to stay at home. After answering her questions, she happily went out to play with her friends.
As for the certificates on the threshold, they were no longer important to Chen Yun after she had looked at them.
"Auntie, you've chopped so many radishes, how many guests are you planning to entertain this year?!"
Chen Yun picked up the award certificates that had been forgotten by their owner and walked into the yard with a smile.
“My family is getting bigger this year.” Aunt Luo stopped what she was doing and turned around, her expression instantly becoming interesting: “Xiao Chen, if you get annoyed later, just leave. Your mother and I will take care of the rest.”
Just as Chen Yun was wondering what Aunt Luo meant by those words, Granny Jia's voice suddenly rang out from behind her, startling Chen Yun.
There was no sound when I walked...
"Little Chen girl."
"Huh?" Chen Yun licked her dry lips and forced a smile: "What is it, Mother-in-law?"
Ever since the news of Yan Jun's incident spread, Grandma Jia and Yan Jun have practically disappeared from the courtyard, and they haven't come out to chat with the neighbors since.
Grandma Jia looked around, her expression slightly troubled.
Dong Qiaoying said, "Auntie, just say what you want to say here. Nian'an's mother must be very tired after just getting off the night shift... We're all neighbors, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
Grandma Jia wanted to speak to Chen Yun alone, simply because she knew Chen Yun was shy and found it difficult to refuse certain things.
Dong Qiaoying wouldn't give Granny Jia any chance to take advantage of her, and refused her with a smile.
Grandma Jia stood there, opened her mouth, but then looked away as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"If my mother-in-law has nothing else to do, I'll go back to my room and check on the baby."
"Something's wrong!" Granny Jia hurriedly grabbed Chen Yun, her grip so strong that her fingernails dug deep into his skin. "Grandma needs your help!"
Chen Yun winced in pain, and Dong Qiaoying immediately dropped the kitchen knife and stood up: "Auntie, if you have something to say, say it. Why are you pinching Nian'an's mother!"
"I didn't mean to pinch her!"
"If it's something, Mother-in-law, just say it quickly." Chen Yun rubbed the marks on her arm from being pinched, her tone becoming increasingly impatient: "I'm really tired!"
If Gao Tiejun hadn't said he would let Yan Jun off the hook for the sake of the deceased Grandpa Yan, Chen Yun would have had no desire to talk to Grandma Jia's family.
The favors and debts accumulated by the older generation in the past have been almost squandered by this mother and son!
"Could you get a baby for your mother-in-law from the hospital?"
"What?" Chen Yun could hardly believe her ears.
"I heard that some women in the hospital gave birth but didn't want the babies. You can bring one back for your mother-in-law, preferably a boy... a girl is fine too!"
They were embarrassed to say it before, but now they're acting all high and mighty, just like they're buying vegetables at the market, even picking and choosing.
Chen Yun was speechless and didn't even know what expression to use to answer Granny Jia.
"Do you think babies fall from the sky and you'd bring one home?" Aunt Luo found it utterly absurd and raised a kitchen knife at Granny Jia, saying, "Auntie, how come you're getting more and more confused as you get older!"
"Then I'll pay for it, okay?" Grandma Jia said.
Chen Yun burst out laughing, speechless. Seeing that Granny Jia still looked reluctant, she said irritably, "If you want a doll, you can buy one at the police station!"
"What?" Granny Jia asked.
Chen Yun: "..."
It was obvious that they hadn't understood the meaning behind Chen Yun's words and had instead taken them seriously.
“Holding a baby is illegal, I don’t have the ability to help you,” Chen Yun said bluntly.
"Since it's unwanted, why can't I bring it back?"
"First of all, I've never met any parents at the hospital who planned to sell their babies right after they were born. Secondly... even if the parents don't want the baby, we doctors can't take the baby home!"
"Then I'll just buy them with money! I'll buy the kind that looks cute and has a good physique..."
Chen Yun: "..."
No matter how much she said, Grandma Jia still couldn't understand a single word.
"Go back to your room and rest first." Dong Qiaoying pushed Chen Yun towards the door and stepped in front of Granny Jia: "No matter how much you plead, no one will dare to help you with this!"
Chen Yun pushed open the door and entered the room.
The health bureau recently informed the hospital of the results of its handling of Xue Ruzhi's case.
In addition to dereliction of duty and breach of professional medical ethics, there are several other issues that have already involved criminal matters.
First, he accepted bribes from medical representatives and purchased substandard medical equipment at inflated prices.
Secondly, there is the buying and selling of induced abortion fetuses and contacting sellers to participate in the buying and selling of babies.
Xue Ruzhi would pay special attention to families with multiple children who wanted to have sons, and if a girl was born, she would persuade them to resell the child.
She deliberately didn't use abortion pills for late-term pregnancies, but instead used oxytocin to induce labor in pregnant women. If the baby was born alive, she would resell it.
The person has now been arrested and taken to the police station, and Xue Ruzhi's assistant has also been arrested for assisting in the trafficking of children.
The stark examples are right in front of her, and today she encountered something like this again.
It is because of unscrupulous buyers that Xue Ruzhi was able to resell the baby without any conscience.
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