Ning Tang said, "Do you know what I admire most about your dad?"

The eldest child said, "Which point?"

"There's life in my eyes." Ning Tang said.

Shen Lie is different from Captain Qi. He is the kind of man with life in his eyes.

Normally, if he saw that the floor or table at home was dirty, he would take the initiative to clean it up and would not wait for Ningtang to come back and do it.

Anyway, Ning Tang admired this point of his and gave the three little ones some advice, "When you are looking for a partner in the future, whether it is a man or a woman, you must look for someone who has a lively look in his eyes. Just remember one thing: a diligent person will not be too bad. Do you remember it?"

The three kids nodded and said in unison, "I'll remember that."

While we were talking, Sanwa had already cooked the vegetables. "Mom, try it."

Ning Tang took a quick look and commented, "These vegetables are fried well." They were not burnt, the color looked good, and they smelled delicious.

She didn't teach him anything? How could a three-year-old kid be able to cook it? He's so good, not bad.

He picked up the chopsticks, took a bite, and praised, "It tastes pretty good too."

The eldest child didn't believe it, so he tried a vegetable cooked by the third child. It tasted really good. "Third child, how did you cook it so well?"

Sanwa scratched his head, "I don't know. Is it difficult? Just learn how dad and mom cook, pour the vegetables into the pot, stir-fry them a few times, isn't that enough?"

"What about the heat?" The most difficult part of cooking is controlling the heat.

Sanwa was confused. "What's the point of cooking it over medium heat? I think it should be cooked right. It's almost done, so it's ready."

Ning Tang was very pleased and said, "It seems that Sanwa is the one who can cook."

Could it be that there really is a cooking genius in the family?

Erniu rolled up her sleeves and said confidently, "Let me try."

Ning Tang expressed her great anticipation. The eldest child's cooking skills follow hers, the third child's cooking skills follow Shen Lie, and what about the second girl? She has to find something in between, right?

Erniu made a dish of stir-fried beans and eggplant. Ningtang took a bite, patted Erniu on the shoulder, and said bitterly, "It seems that your cooking skills are still like mine."

The eldest child ate a piece of eggplant and immediately spat it out, looking at Ning Tang, "Mom, you and Dad should save more money in the future."

Ning Tang: “Why?”

Sanwa swallowed the black beans with difficulty: "Save more dowry, otherwise I won't be able to get married in the future."

The eldest boy replied, "Whoever marries her will be unlucky."

Erniu didn't believe it and rolled up her sleeves, "I don't believe it, I'll make another dish."

Ning Tang quickly stopped her and said, "Farewell, there are not many vegetables at home. I'll clean them up for you. What are we going to eat for lunch?"

At noon, Shen Lie returned home and Ning Tang let him taste three dishes made by Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa.

Shen Lie's reaction was similar to that of Da Wa and San Wa, "Is this really the dish cooked by Er Niu? Are you lying to me? It should have been cooked by Da Wa, he is the only one who can burn the food."

"I didn't lie to you." Ning Tang said.

Shen Lie muttered something, but no one knew what he was talking about. Then he said, "I have to save more money for the dowry."

After dinner, Ning Tang spread a cool mat on the ground, and the three little ones lay on the cool mat for a nap while enjoying the fan.

The weather at noon in Hailang Island in summer is so hot that even if you turn on the fan, you will sweat if you stay in bed for a while.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the three of them woke up and went out to play.

Ning Tang casually reminded them, "Go play under the shade of the trees, don't get a heat stroke."

The eldest child nodded, "Mom, we want to eat popsicles."

"There's money in the drawer, take it yourself."

The eldest boy took out a dime from the cabinet at the entrance, waved goodbye, called the second girl and the third boy, and went out.

Ning Tang glanced outside the house. The sun was like a huge fireball hanging in the sky, and the wind was blowing in her face like a heat wave. She didn't want to go out for a walk in this weather, let alone play. Only the big boy and his group of kids had such leisure time.

She stretched her body, cut a fruit plate, lay down on the rocking chair, and ate fruit while reading a book.

The three of Da Wa went out, walked around the military compound, and called their friends. Soon they caught up with a group of little friends.

Da Hu asked: "Da Wa, where are we going to play?"

"Go to the back mountain to pick wild fruits?" Wang Zhuangzhuang suggested.

The eldest child shook his head and said, "No, it's easy to get clothes dirty."

"Don't you have a washing machine at home?"

"I didn't go even though there was a washing machine." said the eldest child. "Not only did my clothes get dirty, but the branch scratched my pants last time, exposing my crotch. I covered my butt all the way back home."

Sanwa said, "Let's go swimming. I want to swim. The weather is too hot."

Big Boy's eyes lit up and said, "That's fine." He also felt hot.

A group of children ran to the beach. The boys took off their clothes and jumped into the sea. Some girls played in the sea, some kicked the waves in the shallow beach, and some picked up shells on the beach.

Occasionally, an adult would pass by and see them playing at the beach, just smile and walk away.

Few children who grow up on an island cannot swim.

Some children are better at swimming than adults.

Among them, the third child had the most fun. He was like a fish in the sea. He swam over and splashed water on the eldest child's face. When the eldest child wanted to splash water back, he dived into the sea. After a while, he appeared in a place where the eldest child could not reach and smiled at him.

Among the group of children, Sanwa was the youngest and all the older children were teased by him.

Sanwa wiped the water off his face and said, "Let's go play somewhere else."

Just playing in the sea was no longer enough for him.

The eldest child also thought it was boring, "Then where shall we go to play?"

Sanwa pointed to a small cliff not far away and said, "Let's go there and play. Let's play diving and see who can make the smallest splash when jumping into the water."

"Can."

Erniu was a little worried, "Let's just play here. It might be dangerous to go there."

Sanwa said nonchalantly, "What's so dangerous about it? It's just a big rock protruding from the sea, about six or seven meters above the sea. I've jumped off it before."

The eldest boy exclaimed, "You are really good! Okay? Let's go play over there." He added, "Whoever loses buys a popsicle."

A group of little boys moved their position, and Erniu, worried, followed them.

When they reached the small cliff, Sanwa volunteered, "I'll go first, I'll go first, I'll jump first."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, he dived into the sea.

The eldest child stretched his neck to take a look and said with a curled lip, "You are splashing water."

Sanwa just smiled and didn't take it seriously.

Diving is much more interesting than swimming. Look at Sanwa jumping, there is no problem. A group of kids jump down one by one like dumplings.

Wang Xiaoming was a rather fat man, and when he jumped into the water he deliberately landed on his butt, creating a large splash of water, which splashed all over the faces of the children around him.

The eldest child was happy: "Xiao Ming, do you want to treat us to popsicles?"

Wang Xiaoming waved his hands, "I did it on purpose, it doesn't count this time."

A group of children were having fun, but they didn't know that not far away, Principal Lu of Hailang Island Primary School was staring at them with wide eyes.

Principal Lu had to go to the army for some business. On the way, he happened to pass by the seaside. He glanced over by chance and saw a group of children jumping into the sea one by one like dumplings.

He quickly turned the front of his bike, rushed to the edge of the cliff, and shouted, "What are you doing!"

The group of children were startled, and Da Hu weakly called out, "Principal."

Led by Da Hu, voices shouting "Principal" rose one after another.

Principal Lu hummed and said sullenly, "What are you doing here?"

Sanwa rolled his eyes and said, "We are swimming."

Principal Lu snorted, "Swimming? Then swim for me." He pointed at Sanwa and Dahu and said, "Just the two of you, go ahead and swim."

Sanwa had a bitter face. If he had known earlier, he would not have come to the cliff to dive. Who knew that he would run into Principal Lu.

He exchanged a glance with Dahu, then stood at the edge of the cliff with a miserable look on his face. He didn't dare to jump directly down like he did just now. He slowly entered the water and splashed around in the water for a few times to finish his mission.

Principal Lu originally just wanted to teach the kids a lesson, but he didn't expect that Sanwa would swim a long way ahead in one glance. He glared at them and said, "How can you swim so fast, little kid?"

Da Hu, who started at the same time as him, had not even swam halfway as far as him.

Sanwa was innocent. He just paddled a few times and blinked. "Principal, we're done swimming."

Principal Lu: "Don't lie to me. I asked you to repeat what you did just now. Tell me, who told you to jump into the sea?"

Sanwa frowned and said, "Principal, we are just dancing for fun."

"Jumping for fun?" Principal Lu said, "Aren't you afraid that there are rocks all over the ground and you might get a bump on your head if you jump down?" He continued to scare him, "If it's a sharp rock, it might blind your eyes or even scratch your face."

After hearing what Principal Lu said, the group of kids finally got scared.

One by one, two of them said, "Principal, we are wrong."

Seeing that they had a good attitude to admit their mistakes, Principal Lu hummed and said, "Go back and write a self-criticism and hand it in on Tuesday." He glanced at Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa and said, "You three are the children of Captain Shen, right?"

There are too many children in the school, and Principal Lu can't remember all of them.

I have an impression of the other two, including Da Wa, mainly because of Er Niu. During the school anniversary party, Er Niu sang very well, so Principal Lu asked Zhou Caiwei whose child this was.

Zhou Caiwei pointed to him and said that was Shen Ya from the Shen family. She also had an older brother, Shen Zhanping, and a younger brother, Shen Xiangdong, the two wearing red bow ties.

Erniu sang well, and Principal Lu was also looking forward to the performances of Da Wa and San Wa.

I didn’t expect it... Never mind, let’s not talk about it.

Principal Lu praised Erniu, "Shen Ya, right? Your class sang the song "The East is Red" very well, and you led the singing very well too."

Erniu showed two dimples and said in a crisp voice, "Thank you, Principal."

"Yes." Principal Lu responded, got on his bike, and turned back to say, "Although you sang well, you still have to submit your self-review."

"Why?" Erniu was dumbfounded. "Principal, I didn't jump into the water. My clothes are all dry."

"Because Shen Zhanping and Shen Xiangdong jumped, who told you not to persuade them?" Principal Lu said, "This is called collective punishment."

After saying this, the scaffolding was thrown, and both the car and the people disappeared without a trace.

Erniu was so angry that she said to Da Wa and San Wa, "Who asked you to compete in diving? Now we all have to write a self-criticism."

The eldest child said, "It's all the fault of the third child. He was the one who suggested it."

Sanwa said, "Why didn't you tell me when you were playing? You only blame me when something went wrong."

Erniu: "So what should we do now? Go home and write a self-criticism?"

The eldest child pursed his lips and said, "Forget it. It's not due until Tuesday anyway, so it's not too late to start writing on Monday."

The eldest child clapped his hands and said, "Then let's play for a while?"

"What to play?" asked Sanwa.

Da Wa said without thinking, "Diving, we haven't decided the winner yet."

Erniu said, "You've just been taught a lesson by Principal Lu, and you still dare to play around."

"You said it yourself. Principal Lu has already told us off, and he's also forcing us to write a self-criticism. Wouldn't it be a shame if we don't play?" said the eldest child. "He's not afraid of anything else, but he's afraid that there are rocks under the water and that we might get hurt. We've verified that there are no rocks under the water, so isn't it a waste of time if we don't play? We won't play."

Sanwa thought what Dawa said made sense, "I have to play, otherwise the self-review will be in vain." He muttered, "I have to write a self-review anyway, I have to play enough first."

Erniu: What do you think? What you said makes sense.

"Wouldn't it be a big loss if I didn't play?" She would have to write a self-criticism if she didn't jump, so she might as well jump.

The eldest boy took the lead and dived into the sea, his head popping out from the water. "Hurry up and play, have fun first, then we'll talk."

Sanwa followed closely behind, "The loser gets a popsicle."

The group of children had a great time playing, and when it was time to go home, all Ning Tang saw were three wet little ones.

She was happy: "Going swimming again?"

Erniu squeezed the water out of her braid and said, "I went diving, and Principal Lu punished me by making me write a self-criticism—"

Before he could finish his words, the eldest and third kids covered his mouth and said, "Don't say it!"

Ning Tang raised his eyebrows and said, "Tell me, what did you do wrong?" He glanced at the three little ones and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I can find out by asking. You can choose whether to tell the truth or wait for me to ask."

The three kids looked at each other, and the eldest child said, "Let me tell you, it was because the weather was too hot, so we went to the beach to swim, but after swimming for a while, we felt bored, so we went to the cliff to dive."

Ning Tang glared and said, "You are so brave, aren't you afraid that there are rocks in the sea that will break your heads?"

She would go surfing with Mrs. Luo every now and then. There were black reefs on the beach, hidden below the sea level. Unless you got close, you couldn't see them at all.

Sanwa said, "Principal Lu also said the same thing. He said it was too dangerous and told us not to do it. In order to teach us a lesson, he also made us write a self-criticism."

Ning Tang nodded, "Principal Lu did the right thing."

He took a look at Erniu's wet hair and the wet corners of Da Wa and San Wa's clothes and asked, "When did Principal Lu tell you about this?"

"About two hours ago." Da Wa said, "After that, Principal Lu left in a hurry. He seemed to have something urgent to do."

Ning Tang: "More than two hours ago, your clothes should have been dry, but why are they still wet now? Could it be that Principal Lu left and you went back to play again?"

The three little ones' eyes rolled around, but they didn't dare to look at Ning Tang.

Ning Tang sneered, "Write two copies of the self-review, one for Principal Lu and one for me."

The three little ones whispered, "Oh."

Shen Lie walked in from outside the room, "What's the point of writing a self-criticism? You don't need to write it." He lowered his head and glanced at the eldest, second and third children, "In my opinion, they need to be beaten so that they will learn their lesson."

"Dad!" Big Baby screamed, "Why are you back? No, were you eavesdropping? We were talking!"

Shen Lie snorted, "I eavesdropped on your conversation, why should I be punished? It was Principal Lu who complained to me."

Principal Lu went to the army for something and happened to run into Shen Lie. He mentioned to him the three little ones' diving experience.

Shen Lie: "Erniu, Principal Lu told me that you didn't play, so why are you wet? You jumped into the water after Principal Lu left, right? You broke the law knowingly, and your crime is even more serious."

His hand touched the belt around his waist, "If I don't teach you a lesson today, I will write the word Shen backwards." He said to Erniu, "Don't think I won't beat you just because you're a girl. No matter who it is in our family, if they commit a crime, they will be beaten."

Ning Tang replied, "Men and women are equal."

Erniu had a bitter face. She didn't want to be 'equal' to Da Wa and San Wa in this matter. "Dad, I was wrong." She added, "I will accept the punishment no matter how you hit me."

The eldest and third children also said, "Dad, we are wrong."

No matter who shouted, it was useless. Shen Lie was determined to beat them all up today, to prevent them from doing something dangerous next time. He grabbed the eldest child and planned to start with the biggest one. "I'll beat you first to make an example of you."

The eldest boy had a gloomy face. He didn't want to be the butchered chicken, so he howled, "Dad, it hurts, it hurts, please be gentle."

Shen Lie was so angry that he laughed, "I haven't made a move yet."

After saying that, he raised the belt high.

Da Wa's eyes were filled with tears as he looked at Ning Tang, "Mom, my dear mom, if you don't stop Dad, my butt will break apart."

Ning Tang was amused, "Why are you fighting? If not, you three deserve to be beaten." He added, "Shen Dawa, go out and ask whose family doesn't beat their children. He didn't beat you even after causing so much trouble. If it hadn't gone to Principal Lu this time, he would still have punished you."

The eldest child shouted, "Is this called 'habit'?"

Ning Tang looked at Shen Lie and said, "Go ahead and beat him. I support you. By the way, remember your belt? Disinfect it. Dip the belt in iodine and disinfect it while beating him." He added, "If you don't disinfect it, the consequences will be serious. Last time, someone beat a child with a rusty clothes hanger and gave him tetanus."

Shen Lie didn't know whether to raise or lower the belt in his hand, and laughed angrily, "Whose side are you on? You've said this, should I fight or not?"

"Beat them." Ning Tang took the belt from his hand, "But you have to wait until they finish taking a shower before beating them. Look, they are all wet." He squeezed his eyes at the three little ones, "Hurry up and take a shower."

The three little ones reacted instantly and rushed to the bathroom. The eldest jumped down from the stool, pulled up his pants, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Shen Lie sneered and said to Ning Tang: "A loving mother often spoils her children."

"Okay, okay, blame me now." Ning Tang took the hat from his hand and helped him take off his outer navy uniform, leaving only the white vest inside. "You guys are really something. It's summer, and you still wear so much."

Shen Lie put on his slippers and said, "I have to wear them. A leader from the central government is coming to inspect today."

Ning Tangchun gave him a cup of winter melon tea. Shen Lie took it and drank it. The winter melon tea had the fragrance of winter melon and a light sweetness. He finished it in just a few gulps.

Shen Lie said, "By the way, remember to give Zhao Qing a red envelope in two days."

"I remember it." Ning Tang said.

Perhaps it was the heartbreak that gave Zhao Qing motivation, as she performed exceptionally well in the college entrance examination and was admitted to a teachers' college in Fujian Province. This made Political Commissar Zhao and Mrs. Luo so excited that they wanted to go door to door to announce the good news.

But Zhao Qing was still hesitant, saying that she was already 22 years old and was just starting college, and she felt a little embarrassed.

Mrs. Luo said to her, "There are people who are in college in their thirties. If you don't believe me, go to the dormitory and take a look."

Shen Lie said, "If Sun Minghui knew that Zhao Qing was admitted to university, he would definitely regret it."

Ning Tang said, "It's no use regretting it. They are no longer from the same world."

Ever since Zhao Qing was admitted to university, Mrs. Luo no longer asked people to find a partner for Zhao Qing.

There are so many young talents in university, so there is no need to worry about finding a partner.

I hope this silly girl can read more books, wipe her eyes, wake up her brain, and find a reliable partner, so that Mrs. Luo and Political Commissar Zhao won't have to worry so much about her in vain.

All three kids did well in this year's final exam.

Especially the eldest son, who just entered junior high school. In addition to Chinese and mathematics, he has an additional main subject of English, and five minor subjects: politics, physics, chemistry, biology, and history. In total, there are eight subjects, and the full score for each subject is 100.

Da Wa suddenly felt the pressure increase dramatically.

In this exam, he got full marks in math just like before, 70 points in Chinese, and a little bit worse in English, with only 50 points. English is quite difficult, and there were not many people in their class who scored well, so this result was considered good. In the other five minor subjects, the eldest boy's scores were all around 70.

Ning Tang thought that Da Wa had entered junior high school and that he had to carry the red lantern twice as much as he could back home, but he didn't expect that he actually did well in the exam. "Dawa, what reward do you want?"

Big Baby: "I want to eat pizza, the kind you see on TV."

Shen Lie was amused: "Last time you wanted to eat burgers and fries, but this time you want to eat pizza. Comrade Shen Dawa, may I ask where your mother and I can get you pizza?"

The eldest child pouted and said, "I just want to eat pizza. Mom agreed to it and said I did well in the exam and it's a reward."

"Okay?" Ning Tang said, "I'll make you a pizza this New Year."

The three little ones waited and waited, and finally the New Year’s Eve came.

On New Year's Eve, at six o'clock in the morning, Da Wa opened his eyes, pushed Shen Lie and Ning Tang, and asked them to write couplets.

Shen Lie picked up the pen and asked, "What are you going to write?"

The eldest child said, "All is fine."

Ning Tang yawned continuously, "Write, first line, don't wake up in the morning and don't sleep at night, second line, all day long, always dozing off, horizontal line, sleep peacefully."

Shen Lie was happy: "Okay, I'll write one for you."

"Still the same old rules?" Ning Tang asked.

Shen Lie nodded, "Yes, according to the old rules, the indecent couplets are posted in our room or on the door for your own enjoyment, and the proper ones are posted outside."

Ning Tang shook his head and sighed, "You really need to save face."

Shen Lie patted his face and said, "A tree lives by its skin, and a person lives by his face."

After the couplets were written, the eldest child rushed to post them, the second girl was in charge of mixing the paste, and the third child directed, "A little to the left, a little to the right, oops, I said right, not left."

After pasting the couplets in a flurry of activity, Ning Tang picked up a pen and wrote a Chinese character for "Fu" for the three children, and asked them to paste it upside down on the door of their room, and then pasted one outside the door as well.

The word "Fu" turned upside down means that good fortune has arrived.

After putting up the couplets, the eldest child started clamoring for pizza: "Mom, make pizza quickly, I want to eat pizza."

Ning Tang: "I see. I'll do it for you. You've been nagging me for a long time, and I am annoyed by you even though you don't mind."

She entered the kitchen, and Shen Lie followed in. "You really know how to make pizza. Do you know what pizza looks like?"

"I saw it in a newspaper illustration." Ning Tang said casually.

Shen Lie: "So what are you going to do?"

"How do we do it?" Ning Tang said, "It's simple, just watch."