Chapter 2. In Chapter 2, she couldn't help but imitate Ning Yiwen's usual mannerisms...
The next day, while it was still barely dawn, the sound of a rooster crowing came from somewhere in the distance.
Ning Yao was half asleep, but not soundly, as she kept feeling someone pushing her.
She pushed away the mischievous hand, turned around, and intended to continue sleeping.
To everyone's surprise, the blanket disappeared with a "whoosh".
Ning Yao was stunned and suddenly sat up.
Turning my head, I saw a tall figure standing by the bed.
"Drink!" She was startled.
"Awake?" a deep voice came.
It is Ning Yiwen.
Ning Yao let out a heavy sigh and glanced out the window. "It's not even dawn yet! What are you doing, Ning-ge?"
She ruffled her messy hair, intending to snatch the blanket from Ning Yiwen's hand and go back to sleep.
Ning Yiwen didn't let go; the blanket didn't budge, and she couldn't pull it back.
"Time to go to school."
Ning Yao: ? ? ?
Ning Yao covered her ears. "Brother Ning, no, what time is it? Why do we have to go to school now?"
Why is it still school, which she hates the most?
Ning Yao couldn't stop wailing inside.
Even though she was still half asleep, she knew that her wailing was something she couldn't let anyone see, at least not the person standing by her bedside.
"Get up. Wash up. I'll give you fifteen minutes."
Ning Yiwen didn't say much to her. He casually folded the blanket twice and put it at the foot of the bed.
After saying that, he turned and left Ning Yao's room.
Ning Yao sighed and muttered softly, "My life is so hard, so incredibly hard."
But he didn't dare to delay his actions at all.
She changed her clothes, washed up, combed her hair, and tied her waist-length hair into two braids that hung down in front of her chest.
The whole process took exactly fifteen minutes, not a minute more, not a minute less.
Ning Yao stood in the center of the courtyard right on time, in front of Ning Yiwen, who was holding several books.
"Brother Ning," Ning Yao called out with a bright, cheerful smile.
Ning Yiwen looked her up and down.
She wore a dark blue diagonal-front top, neatly folded, with some wear and tear on the elbows, but Ning Yao had sewn a few small white daisies on it.
Underneath the trousers, which were in the same color family, were a pair of black cloth shoes.
The overall appearance is neat and clean.
She nodded almost imperceptibly. "There's some porridge cooling down on the stove. Go have some."
Ning Yao gave each command and performed each action.
When she felt that the porridge in the bowl was at the perfect temperature to drink, she quickly slurped it down.
The weather isn't cold now, but it will take some time for the porridge to cool down. Adding the time it takes to cook the porridge, Ning Yao didn't even dare to think about what time Ning Ge would have to get up to manage it.
There was a large steamed bun next to the porridge. Ning Yao grabbed it and quickly returned to her original spot.
"Brother Ning, you're done eating."
"Let's go then." Ning Yiwen didn't comment on her speed, but glanced at the sky and started leading Ning Yao out.
They need to walk a distance.
They currently live in a suburban area in the west of the city, while the school is in the east of the city, requiring them to walk a long distance every day.
In addition, he had to arrange Ning Yao's affairs first today, so he left home much earlier than usual.
Ning Yao had nothing on her mind. She looked at the people on the street and was surprised to find that many people had already set up their stalls at the crack of dawn.
She also saw someone riding a two-wheeled vehicle overtake them in a flash and disappear into the distance.
Unable to resist, she tugged at the sleeve of the person beside her, "Brother Ning, when do you think we can buy a two-wheeled vehicle like this?"
She wanted to ride.
Ning Yiwen glanced down at her and casually replied, "There will be opportunities."
Bicycles are actually not cheap; one costs over a hundred yuan.
If both of them go to school, their food, lodging, and daily necessities will be a considerable expense.
It wouldn't be easy for him to buy a bicycle with his unstable income from writing.
But Ning Yao didn't understand. She nodded, secretly pleased.
What Brother Ning said, rounded up, is practically no different from saying he can buy a bicycle very soon.
She dreamed that one day she could ride this bike from one side of the street and "whoosh," instantly rush to the other side.
*
By the time I arrived at the school, it was already fully light.
There were even more stalls around the school, and Ning Yao could hardly take it all in, but Ning Yiwen pulled her along, and they entered the school without a moment's hesitation.
The school was named Yumin Public School. It was one of the schools established by the government according to the Western educational model.
The school is very large. Although it is an old-fashioned one-story building, it does not prevent it from having a garden in the courtyard and buildings standing tall.
Ning Yiwen's goal was clear. He walked around the school's corridors and soon passed the front yard to the teachers' quarters in the back yard.
By this time, quite a few people had arrived at the school, coming and going, and occasionally a few would greet Ning Yiwen.
They were all very curious about the person behind Ning Yiwen, but seeing that Ning Yiwen kept walking, they didn't want to stop him from talking to her.
Ning Yao wasn't so particular. She asked curiously, "Brother Ning, do you know so many people?"
She used to think that school was a place where many people would read books together, but now it seems that's not the case. There are many people, but they aren't always reading and studying.
Along the way, they would chat idly with gestures, some were eating, and others were folding paper.
Only a small number of people were holding books and reading.
Ning Yiwen nodded: "You will meet a lot of people in the future."
He knew Ning Yao liked to join in the fun.
Ning Yao's eyes lit up immediately. Maybe going to school wasn't so difficult after all?
She can also fold paper with others; she knows many different styles.
"Old Chen." Ning Yiwen stopped in front of a man with gray hair and a stubble-covered face.
Upon hearing this, Ning Yao immediately straightened up, cleared her mind of the jumbled thoughts, and obediently greeted Ning Yiwen, "Old Chen."
The man nodded to Ning Yiwen and glanced at Ning Yao.
The girl in front of me had bright, intelligent eyes, but there didn't seem to be much desire for learning in them.
Looking at their own appearance, they were mostly curious, with less respect.
"Is this your sister?" Old Chen asked.
Ning Yiwen carefully spoke up: "No, she's sixteen, a year older than me, so she's a relative in the family."
Old Chen nodded and continued, "How many characters do you know? Can you write articles?"
Upon hearing this question, Ning Yao, who wasn't very educated, immediately turned to look at Ning Yiwen, curious about his answer.
If she's grown up and doesn't know a single word, will her schooling be put on hold?
Ning Yiwen lowered his eyelids. "I can't write, but I know a few characters."
Oh, if we count the ones, two, and three, then there are indeed several.
Ning Yao thought to herself.
She saw Old Chen's brows furrow slightly, but for some reason, he still nodded.
"Alright then. Let's start with the elementary school, 15 yuan per semester."
“Okay,” Ning Yiwen replied.
Seeing the two of them decide their future school life in just a few words, Ning Yao felt like her heart was breaking.
She cautiously approached Ning Yiwen, gently tugging at his long robe with her fingers. Only when Ning Yiwen turned to look at her did she look at him with hopeful eyes.
"Brother Ning, isn't this... a bit too expensive?"
She didn't want to go to school, but it wasn't appropriate to say that here.
The only thing they can talk about is tuition fees.
15 yuan is enough for them to live on for a long time, enough to buy hundreds of kilograms of rice.
Her voice was very soft, but Old Chen, with his sharp ears, heard it.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Chen was very kind and asked, "Are you having any difficulties?"
Ning Yiwen shook his head: "Thanks to Elder Chen's introduction, we are still able to make ends meet for now."
Hmm? Ning Yao looked at Ning Yiwen, then at Old Chen.
Suddenly, she thought of the twenty silver dollars in the small cloth bag that Brother Ning had given her yesterday.
Is there a connection?
But at this moment, Ning Yiwen held her mischievous little hand in his palm, and she dared not say anything more to cause trouble.
The matter of attending school was thus settled.
Ning Yiwen escorted Ning Yao to the location of the primary school, which was in the northwest of the school.
On the way, Ning Yiwen had already given Ning Yao a brief explanation of the current school system.
"Our current school system is modeled after Japan's Renzi Guichou system, which consists of three stages and four levels. Your elementary school is the youngest, and the students there are generally quite young."
"When you get there, get along well with them."
Ning Yao's head was buzzing until she saw the people in the classroom.
They were all short, tiny little radish heads.
"No, Brother Ning..." she exclaimed in shock, "Brother Ning, I'm already sixteen!"
How can I get her to study with a group of ten-year-olds?
"Academic pursuits know no age; those who are accomplished come first. If your knowledge is similar to theirs, you will naturally learn alongside them."
Ning Yiwen said lightly, then let go of Ning Yao's hand, "Study hard. I'll come pick you up for lunch."
Ning Yao: "..."
Ning Yao's face remained so sour all morning.
The students in the class are young, but they are talkative and not shy.
As soon as Ning Yiwen left, and before the teachers arrived, everyone gathered around.
"Girls! Now girls are coming to class too!"
"How old are you? You look so old."
Are you sure you haven't come to the wrong school?
Ning Yao: "..."
None of them look particularly friendly.
Ning Yao wanted to retort to them one by one, but they all looked so young!
She remembered when she was a waitress, a little kid spoke to her in an unpleasant way, and she snapped back.
As a result, the child cried, a truly earth-shattering, terrifying cry.
She scolded them all until they cried. Would that mean Ning-ge would take her home and she wouldn't have to go to school anymore?
Ning Yao was conflicted.
After thinking about it, I decided against it.
It's wrong to scold children.
Now that she's the oldest person in the class...
Ning Yao stood up, hands on her hips, "I'm older than you all, you all have to call me 'older sister'!"
The children: "..."
Where did that big face come from?
But Ning Yao assumed their silence meant consent, and started to act like the older sister, "Come on, let me fold some paper for you."
She casually pulled a piece of white paper from the table and deftly flipped and folded it with her little hands.
Soon, a small, lifelike bird stood in Ning Yao's palm. "Here, this is called a paper crane."
The children: "Wow..."
His attitude changed drastically in an instant.
They all crowded around Ning Yao, saying, "Sister, I want a little bird."
"Sister, don't you know how to fold other things?"
The noise didn't stop until the teacher came in.
When Teacher Li entered the classroom, he saw that it was noisy and students had gathered together, but he didn't know what they were doing.
"Ahem!" Teacher Li cleared her throat.
Some students with sharp ears had already heard the teacher's voice and quickly returned to their seats.
One leads two, two pass on to three.
Soon, all the children obediently returned to their seats.
Only then did Teacher Li realize that the person they were all surrounding was the new female student who had arrived that day.
Walking slowly to the lectern, Mr. Li's eyes, framed by his glasses, sharply surveyed the students seated below.
Finally, his gaze fell on Ning Yao.
"New student, please introduce yourself."
Ning Yao stood up.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't help but imitate Ning Yiwen's usual mannerisms.
He lowered his gaze, put his hands behind his back, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
A note from the author:
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Yumin Public School is a privately-run school, but its academic system is not.
The Renzi-Guichou school system was a school system established by the Republic of China government between 1912 and 1913. It advocated for equal education for boys and girls and implemented curriculum reforms.
Of course, at that time, aristocratic girls still preferred to attend girls' schools. This article describes a commoner girl who went directly to a public school.
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