"You're back! You must be tired from working overtime."
"It's nothing, I'm not that tired." Teacher Feng's wife took off her coat while changing her shoes. She took a sniff and smelled a familiar fragrance.
"Did you make hot pot today?"
"Hey, my student made this. You know what, it's actually pretty good." Teacher Feng scratched his head, looking rather embarrassed.
Upon hearing this, his wife chuckled softly and playfully scolded him, "How can you let a guest cook? Has he left yet?"
"I'm leaving now, I'm leaving after I finish eating." Teacher Feng helped her with her bag while continuing to answer, "I don't know how to make hot pot. I thought I could just boil water and add the ingredients, but I didn't expect that I also had to make soup, which I don't know how to do, so I had to ask someone else to do it."
"Oh dear, you're silly. Who adds ingredients directly to boiling water to cook hot pot? Did your student tell you to use chicken broth?"
"Hmm, this child is quite capable." Teacher Feng praised Chen Bing, and then asked his wife to sit down at the table. He busied himself heating up the dishes and adding rice, serving her dinner.
After picking up her chopsticks and tasting a piece of chicken from the pot, the teacher's wife showed a hint of surprise.
"Hmm, your cooking skills are really quite good, much better than your mediocre skills." After taking another bite of rice, the teacher's wife immediately put on a distressed expression and said, "Sigh, left-behind children have to learn to be independent early. They probably have to take care of themselves with things like washing clothes and cooking."
“This time, I didn’t bring back any left-behind children. Their parents live in Shangping and run a big hotel business. Moreover, Yunxuan, a teacher from my school, is their aunt.”
"What's wrong?" The teacher's wife looked puzzled, because in the past, the children her husband brought home for dinner were either children whose parents worked away from home or children from families with difficult circumstances.
"Hey, this kid is sensible, gets good grades, and I like him a lot. That's why I was thinking of bringing him back for a meal to strengthen our relationship and encourage his studies." Teacher Feng rested one hand on the back of the chair and lowered her voice as she continued, "Besides, this kid's grades are really good. I was thinking of having him share his study tips with Xiao Bo, or at least set a good example for him. Guess how his grades are?"
Since her husband said so, his grades must be very good. The teacher's wife thought for a moment and immediately guessed high.
"I estimate that he would consistently rank in the top three at your school."
Upon hearing this answer, Teacher Feng smiled smugly.
"Not only that! Ever since I started paying attention to him, this kid has never failed to get first place in any exam, and he's always been first in the entire county!"
Wow, that's amazing?
"Yes! When I'm teaching, as soon as I see him raise his head, I know I've made a mistake. He's a real genius. He gets full marks eight or nine times out of ten tests. I have to ask him for help with many questions. A kid like that will at least get into one of those two top schools, and who knows, he might even become the top student in the city."
When her husband said those words, the teacher's wife just smiled to herself and didn't take them seriously.
Shangping is a small county town that has produced countless students over the decades. While many have been admitted to those two top universities, there has never been a case of a student being admitted as the city's top scorer. What a coincidence that her husband taught the first one to achieve this!
However, she did not directly refute the other party. Instead, she went along with the other party's point of view for a few words before changing the topic to other topics, such as her son.
The teacher's wife first glanced at her son, who was engrossed in his work, then lowered her voice and asked her husband, "Have you made a decision about Xiao Bo's schooling?"
Upon hearing this, Teacher Feng paused slightly, a hint of unease showing in her eyes.
"I haven't told the admissions office yet. This is what I'm thinking: if he really doesn't pass the exam, I'll find someone to pull some strings to get him into the honors class. Otherwise, it's a bit inappropriate to ask before the exam even starts. What if he actually gets in? It would be embarrassing to use connections."
The teacher's wife frowned slightly, then replied in a low voice, "Xiao Bo's grades aren't good enough. How can he possibly pass the exam on his own? I think you'd better ask him sooner rather than later, otherwise, once the quota is set, even if you want to use connections, you won't be able to get in."
"Uh... let's take another look, let's take another look."
"Anyway, you should go and ask them sooner rather than later."
In the quiet of the living room late at night, even the faintest sound could be clearly heard by everyone in the room. Xiao Feng, doing his homework at the coffee table, silently gripped his pen, but said nothing.
...
The next day, at Shang Yunmiao and Chen Bing's (later) home, during breakfast.
"Xiao Chen, what are your plans for today?"
Chen Bing, who was engrossed in eating, heard Shang Zhengxin's voice, looked up blankly, and replied, "Uh... nothing special."
Sitting next to him, Shang Yunmiao also looked up at the two of them, wondering why her father had suddenly asked Chen Bing this.
Seeing that both children's eyes were on him, Shang Zhengxin was slightly nervous, but quickly regained his composure.
"I saw some photos of people fishing at Hulu Lake Wetland Park on my WeChat Moments a couple of days ago, and I'm really tempted to go fishing myself. So I was wondering if you would like to come with me."
Since Uncle Shang had said so, Chen Bing had no reason to refuse. He immediately agreed and asked curiously, "Uncle Shang, you can fish? I've never seen that before."
"Haha, it was a little hobby from my youth, I haven't touched it for years." Shang Zhengxin chuckled and glossed over the matter.
"Great, Chen Bing! Let's go on a spring outing together. I want to make sandwiches with my mom, and we can eat them together while enjoying the scenery, okay?"
After hearing the above conversation, Shang Yunmiao happily told Chen Bing this, but before he could reply that it was okay, Shang Zhengxin advised from the side, "The sun is very strong today, and you girls are afraid of getting sunburned, so it's better not to go. We'll take you and your mother next time when the weather isn't so sunny."
I'm not afraid of the sun, and I can use an umbrella.
Before she could even utter a rebuttal, Yunxuan chimed in, "Okay, sure, you two can go together. Yunmiao, how about you go shopping with Mom today? On the way back, buy some strawberries, and we can make a strawberry cake together, okay?"
"Hmm..."
Shopping and fishing...
After struggling for a moment, Shang Yunmiao finally obeyed her parents' arrangement.
Chen Bing noticed the unspoken coordination between Uncle Shang and Aunt Xuan. He had a vague feeling that today's fishing trip was probably more than just fishing...
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