Chapter 17 Monthly Exam
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At noon, when She Hongmei returned from packing up her stall, She Ning asked her about the bicycle bell.
The bustling market was a great place to gather information. Coincidentally, one of her customers was a victim. According to everyone, there had indeed been several cases of bicycle parts being stolen in the town recently. However, it wasn't the whole bell, but the bell cover, a metal hemispherical object.
The police station has also noticed this phenomenon, and Officer Chen said they are following up on it.
"Those people are too arrogant, daring to commit crimes in broad daylight." She Hongmei took a sip of porridge and sighed as she thought of what the guest had said.
According to the customer's description, he went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. He locked his bicycle at the entrance of the cooperative. Less than a minute after he went in, when he came out, the bell cover of his bicycle was gone. There were people on the road, and those people really dared to do this in front of everyone. They were simply lawless.
She Hongmei was still complaining, but She Ning's attention was completely drawn to the bicycle bell cover she was talking about.
Different bicycle brands use different materials for their bells. In later years, most bicycle bells on the market were made of aluminum, copper, and aluminum alloys in various colors and styles. In this day and age, most still have metal iron shells or metal with a small amount of plastic. Guan Xiuli's bicycle bell is the latter.
Yesterday, when She Ning found that hemispherical iron metal, she had some doubts. Now, after hearing what She Hongmei said, she was 100% sure.
The bicycle bell cover in the vegetable garden was one of the stolen items, but it's unknown what role She Yaozu played in it.
She Ning was deep in thought.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely ate any of the porridge in her bowl, and she didn't pick up any food with her chopsticks. When She Hongmei came back after refilling the porridge, she saw that she had been eating porridge for a long time, and her bowl was still full. This was in stark contrast to She Ni next door, who was eating happily and had her head almost buried in her bowl.
"Ah Ning, the green beans are very tender today, eat more." She Hongmei said softly, while putting some green beans and a chicken wing on She Ning's plate. "Here, your favorite chicken wing."
She Ning snapped out of her daze and stared blankly at the chicken wings in the bowl. Did the original owner of this body also love chicken wings as much as she did?
"Eat quickly, the food is getting cold."
"Okay, sure." Looking up and meeting her clear eyes, She Ning's heart skipped a beat, and she awkwardly lowered her head to eat.
How strange, what exactly is the relationship between the original owner and her?
All signs indicate that their relationship is extraordinary, but she clearly came here after falling into the water. Every time she tries to seek the truth, her mind seems to be shrouded in a layer of fog, and she can't break through it no matter what.
You only realize how little you know when you need it. If only I had gone to Green River to read more books and learn more about time-travel novels before I transmigrated, I wouldn't be completely clueless now.
As if venting her anger, She Ning took a big bite of the chicken wing meat and chewed it vigorously.
"Today's porridge tastes especially comforting than usual." The smooth texture and rich aroma of rice give a warm feeling to the stomach, as if the whole body is being healed.
After drinking two bowls, She Hongmei couldn't resist getting another one.
She secretly added some rice from the cultivation world to the pot and cooked it together. She Ning kept her merits hidden and patted She Ni's head beside her, praising, "It's all thanks to Ni Ni's excellent fire-making skills!"
Rice and such are unimportant!
She Ni was happily eating when she heard her sister praise her. She looked up from her bowl, her face covered in rice grains, and proudly puffed out her chest. Her eyes sparkled, as if to say, "It's me, it's me, it's me, the little fire-starter She Ni!"
"Sister, just call me when you need to start the fire. You can rest assured that I'll start the fire!" She reminded She Ning at the end.
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely find you." She reached out and gently removed the rice grains from her face, her eyes crinkling and her lips curving upwards in a smile.
Watching this heartwarming and joyful scene, She Hongmei slowly drank her porridge without making a sound, quietly enjoying the moment.
On the day of the monthly exam, the sky was just beginning to lighten. She Hongmei was tinkering in the kitchen. By the time She Ning got up, she, who was not very good at making pasta, had already made a long and thin cylindrical shape.
"It's your first exam, so make sure you have the right attitude," she said with a smile as she handed the plate to She Ning.
On the plate are two carefully peeled eggs and a long, thin steamed bun.
The steamed buns had many air holes and the surface was not smooth, indicating that the craftsmanship was somewhat rough and the maker was not skilled.
In the candlelight, the person with her back to her was tidying up the stove. Her shadow on the wall showed a slightly hunched back, but she was the one who held up the entire She family.
She Ning silently finished all her food, and even though she was full, she didn't say anything.
This was the first time she had received such treatment. In her previous life, whenever she heard her classmates complaining about their parents' superstitious and childish behavior, and how they always made breakfast of a fried dough stick and two eggs before exams, she would silently envy them.
As she grew older, she no longer needed these things, but only now does she realize that she still seems to care about them somewhat.
After breakfast, She Hongmei insisted on taking She Ning to school. She said that she had also taken her younger sister to school on her first day, and she couldn't be biased towards one over the other.
Last night, She Hongmei borrowed the bicycle back and took She Ni to school. Then the two of them turned around and headed towards Xiahe Middle School in the town.
The dirt road was uneven, and the ride was very bumpy. The whole vehicle would rise and fall, swaying back and forth.
Sitting on the back of the bicycle, She Ning hesitated for a moment, but finally let go of the back seat and carefully pulled on the hem of the person in front of her.
She had just tightened her grip when, in the next second, her hand was grabbed and pressed directly onto her waist.
"Are you a little scared?" The bike was going fast, and the wind was whistling past her ears. She Ning vaguely heard a gentle voice coming from ahead, intermittently, "Hold your mom in your arms, don't be afraid."
The familiar scent of soap filled her nostrils. She Ning hugged her waist, savoring the warmth, and tightened her embrace.
When they arrived at Xiahe Middle School, people were arriving one after another at the school gate. After She Ning got out of the car, she told She Hongmei to go back first, and that she could walk back by herself after she finished her exam.
She Hongmei patted her head, without giving any further instructions or telling her to do well on the exam. She simply said she understood and told her to go inside quickly.
Standing at the gate, She Hongmei watched her enter the school until she could no longer see her figure before she rode away on her bicycle.
Ever since She Ning woke up after falling into the water, She Hongmei noticed that she had changed. She was much more aggressive in her actions than before, as if something was chasing her from behind. She took the initiative to ask to skip a grade and go to the third year of junior high school, and tried to get her to have the idea of setting up a stall. She also worked hard to take care of her family on weekdays.
She was also careful not to be scolded by her. Every time she saw She Ning avoid her gaze and not dare to look her in the eye, She Hongmei felt a pang of sadness. She was so small. It was supposed to be pampered and raised, but she was forced to grow up too fast and use her small body to support this dilapidated home.
It was her dereliction of duty as a mother.
She didn't want She Ning to bear such a heavy burden at such a young age.
It doesn't matter if she doesn't get first place, or if her tuition isn't waived. Her family can afford to support her studies, and she will work hard to set up her stall and earn money so that they can live a good life.
She Ning was unaware of She Hongmei's thoughts. After entering the school, She Ning first went to see Director Xia. Her situation was rather special. The monthly exam seating was arranged according to the scores of the preliminary exam. She had not formally participated in the preliminary exam, so she was assigned to the last class.
Director Xia was worried that She Ning wouldn't be able to find her classroom since she was unfamiliar with the area, so she originally planned to take her there. However, She Ning declined, thinking it would be too high-profile. Just then, a classmate came to deliver homework to the teacher, and Director Xia directly asked her to take She Ning there.
"Student She, are you going to study at our school?" He Xiaoyan asked curiously as she led She Ning towards Class 9.
The classmate with two braids had round, bright eyes and made no attempt to hide her voyeuristic behavior. Looking at her, She Ning was reminded of her own daughter, She Ni. She smiled and nodded, giving an affirmative answer: "Yes, He Xiaoyan, we'll be alumni from now on."
"Wow, this is fantastic! We can finally compete on the same stage!" He Xiaoyan exclaimed happily. "Weiwei and Qian will be so happy to know!"
“I’m very happy too.” She Ning reached out and sincerely shook her hand, thanking them again: “Thank you for the book donation. We can learn from each other and make progress together in the future.”
Class 9 arrived quickly.
He Xiaoyan was taking the exam in Class 1. The two classes were not only separated by stairs, but also by one end of the stairs and the other end of the stairs, so they were quite far apart. After dropping She Ning off at the entrance of Class 9, she also had to go back to Class 1 to prepare.
According to the ranking based on the preliminary test scores, the students in Class 9 were ranked last or second to last. When she arrived at the door, She Ning could hear a lot of noise inside.
She Ning's seat was in the last corner. She went in through the back door, found her seat, and sat down quietly. Next to her was a classmate who was sleeping.
There was a lot of noise all around.
Until the teacher came in with the test papers.
The existence of She Ning was already known to all the teachers. The proctors would occasionally walk to the back and, under the guise of proctoring, watch her do the questions.
In the past, teachers would sit up and proctor exams, only coming down if they saw someone making a fuss. Now, she hasn't stayed up at the top of the table at all during an exam.
The teacher was so strict that the students in Class 9 complained bitterly, wondering if the teacher had changed his personality.
The test wasn't too difficult; it was a monthly exam covering a specific period of material. The questions weren't even as difficult as the one the principal had given her that day. She Ning quickly wrote down her answers without hesitation.
The proctor stood at the back, nodding with satisfaction. Director Xia had indeed not exaggerated; he was indeed a promising student.
She Ning's classmate next to her was staring blankly at his test paper when he heard the sound of She Ning turning the pages. He glanced at it and saw that the test paper was filled with black words.
!!
Is being last in the class really that impressive?
That makes her look bad, being second to last!
Unaware of her deskmate's thoughts, She Ning finished the test paper, checked it as usual, and then went up to the front of the class. The teacher, who had been watching her complete the process, took the paper, glanced at it, placed it on the table, nodded to her, and then told her to leave.
The students in the classroom: !!!
Wow, they're all at the bottom of the class. Why can she just write whatever she wants and get out? They don't want to take the test either!
Someone tried to replicate She Ning's approach, but the teacher glanced at the scribbles on his test paper and made him sit and write until the bell rang to signal the end of the exam.
eccentric!
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