In the third grade, He Yan's grades remained stable and he was still the top student in the grade at the end of the semester.

The school is also making reforms this year. The top three students in each exam will receive rewards. The first place will receive a thick-covered notebook and a pen, while the second and third place will only receive one of the two items.

These two items are not very expensive, but they are not cheap either. They cost about four or five dollars in total.

Even in the Navy Yard, many children could not afford such good notebooks and pens. Those with better conditions at home used thin-covered notebooks to take notes, while those with less conditions simply bought large sheets of draft paper, cut them up and stapled them together with fine wire to use as notebooks.

The pens they use are all pencils. Firstly, they are easy to erase if they make a mistake, and secondly, pencils are cheap. Fountain pens can only be used when one is at least in the fifth grade of elementary school. Some people even have to wait until they enter junior high school before their families buy them fountain pens.

The school's reforms have been very effective. For the reward, the children have worked very hard this semester, and the average scores of each class have improved at the end of the semester.

This semester, He Yan worked harder than before, but his purpose was different. He also wanted to reward himself before the midterm exam.

Although he had been using a fountain pen for a long time, it was an old fountain pen that He Dongchuan had discarded.

Of course, the reason why he said the pen was old was because his father had used it for two years before he got it. But in fact, the pen didn't look old. It just faded a little where it was often held. If you didn't look closely, it looked like a new one.

And that pen is not cheap, it cost more than ten yuan when I bought it, and the quality is also very good, and the pen still flows smoothly.

However, after He Dongchuan received the pen from Su Ting, he found that the pen was of little use to him, so he simply gave it to He Yan.

When He Yan first got the pen, he really treasured it and used it for all his homework.

But the notebooks and pens as rewards are not just stationery, they represent honor. So after the news was announced, He Yan worked very hard for a while, and then successfully won the first place in the grade and received the reward.

After getting a new pen, the pen given by He Dongchuan quickly fell out of favor.

Actually, in terms of quality, the reward pen is not as good as the one given to him by He Dongchuan, and the handwriting is a bit rough. But people tend to like new things and dislike old things, and He Yan also likes to use new pens.

However, he was reluctant to give the old pen to others and kept it as a backup.

Having received a reward once, He Yan was no longer looking forward to the reward for the final exam. However, he still felt a little vain in his heart. Having been the top student in the grade for a long time, he did not want to be dragged down by anyone.

So seeing that everyone was getting excited, he could only study harder.

Therefore, He Yan defended his dignity in the final exam and took first place in the grade.

Holding the report card and the notebook and pen that he got as a reward, He Yan walked with a breeze all the way home from school. People he met on the road knew that he must have done well in the exam when they saw the expression on his face, and they all asked about his grades with a smile.

He Yan didn't show too much pride at this time. He lowered his tone and tried to create a calm voice: "I got 100 points in math and 98 points in Chinese."

"So high? You are number one in the grade again, right?"

He Yan said with false humility: "Good luck."

He was so humble that people who asked him about his grades were speechless. If one was lucky, he could get first place in the grade, then why didn't her child have such luck?

He said with a smile: "You are such a humble child."

He Yan was very pleased with the compliments and continued walking home with great speed.

He Yan could hold it in outside, but couldn't hold it in when he got home. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted loudly: "Mom, sister, I'm back!"

Su Ting was sitting at the desk studying. Because the master bedroom was not big enough, the desk was placed between the sofa and the dining table, with a window next to it. When she was tired from work or study, she could look up and see the blue sea outside. The scenery was very nice.

There is the sea on the side of the desk, and the front is naturally placed facing the door, so as soon as He Yan entered the room, she heard the noise and raised her head, without He Yan having to shout at all.

Looking at He Yan's excited look, Su Ting knew without hesitation that he must have got first place.

Looking down, I saw that he was holding the newly issued notebook and pen.

Su Ting asked: "How many points did you get?"

In front of his mother and sister, He Yan couldn't hold back his voice, and his eyes and eyebrows revealed pride: "Chinese 98, Math 100."

"Not bad." Su Ting smiled.

Slowly follow the applause: "Not bad, not bad!"

He Yan laughed, and when his mother didn't continue talking for a while, he couldn't help but look up and ask, "Mom, why didn't you ask me what place I got in the exam?"

"Just look at the notebook and pen in your hand. You must be number one."

"That's right." He Yan suddenly realized, looked down at the things in his hands, and said regretfully, "If I had known earlier, I would have hidden them."

Su Ting smiled and said, "It's okay. When your father comes back, you can ask him to guess again."

"But I don't know if Dad will come back at night."

The internal competition of the Navy began on July 15th. After entering July, the training of He Dongchuan and his colleagues became more and more intense, and it was common for them to train until late at night.

Because he didn't want to disturb Su Ting's sleep, He Dongchuan usually didn't come back after the transfer, but stayed overnight in the officers' dormitory in the camp.

Counting it up, He Dongchuan hasn't been back for four or five days.

Su Ting calculated in her mind and said, "He should be back in the next two days."

"Really?"

“I think so.”

Although the competition will not start until the 15th, He Dongchuan and his team have to rush there in advance and rest for at least one day after arriving, so they have to set off at the latest the day after tomorrow.

It’s okay if they are busy with training at other times, but since they are going on a long trip, they should be allowed to come back to pack their luggage and spend some time with their family.

And she was not wrong. When she was about to go to the cafeteria for dinner with her two children at dinner time, she saw He Dongchuan riding a bicycle from a distance as soon as she walked out of the yard. She stopped unconsciously.

He Yan was looking up and talking to his sister when he saw her suddenly stop moving. He asked what happened and turned his head to look forward. When he saw He Dongchuan clearly, a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Dad, you're back!"

Slowly he looked up and said in the same surprised tone: "Dad!"

He Dongchuan rode his bicycle up to the three people, stretched out his legs, braked and asked, "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat?"

"Yes." He Yan answered hurriedly, "Dad, why are you back?"

"The training ended early today." He Dongchuan answered and looked up at Su Ting, "Then I'll go home and park the car. You guys wait for me?"

"I'll go back with you. I need to get my lunch box and meal ticket."

"No need, I can get it myself." He Dongchuan said, stepped on the bicycle pedal with his right foot, and went home by the mother and her two children.

He Dongchuan was quick, and came over within two minutes of returning home. He took the girl from Su Ting's arms and said, "Let me hold her slowly."

He Yan looked at him with envy: "Daddy, I want to hug you too."

It was a rare opportunity to rest, and He Dongchuan was in a good mood. He looked at his son and said with a smile: "If you are not afraid of being seen, you can climb on my back."

If He Dongchuan hadn't said it, He Yan would definitely not have thought about whether it was embarrassing to be carried away by his father, but now... He imagined the scene, swallowed his saliva and said, "Okay, then, no need."

There were a lot of people in the cafeteria at this time, and every table was occupied. He Dongchuan looked around and saw only one table with two empty seats. He quickly quickened his pace and walked over, put Manman on one of the stools, and pulled an empty stool from another table and said to Su Ting, "Take Manman and keep his seat. Xiaoyan and I will go get the food."

"Okay." Su Ting agreed immediately and took out money and tickets from her pocket and handed them to He Dongchuan.

After watching the father and son line up, Su Ting turned around and smiled at the military wife sitting next to her: "You didn't cook today?"

"There's no rice at home, so I'm too lazy to cook." After the other person answered, he asked again, "Why did your husband come home so early today?"

"They said the training ended early."

"Oh, they are leaving in the next two days, right?"

Su Ting nodded: "Probably, but I haven't asked him the exact date of departure."

"How long will he be gone this time?"

"Including the round trip, it will probably take more than half a month."

"Won't you be back at the end of the month?"

"right."

"But your Lao He is relatively lucky. At least he doesn't have to go out to sea every few days. Besides, this competition is a big deal. If you can get a place, you may even be able to make a contribution."

If you can get a ranking, it doesn't mean you may make a contribution, but it means you will definitely make a contribution.

Su Ting smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to it in my heart, too."

While they were talking, they finished their meal. Then Mr. He Dongchuan and his wife came over with lunch boxes. They didn't say hello to Su Ting, just said hello and left with the children.

Seeing this, He Dongchuan simply sat in the seat that had just been vacated, opened his lunch box and asked, "What were you talking about just now?" He was also keeping an eye on Su Ting while waiting in line.

"Let's talk about your martial arts competition," Su Ting asked, "Are you sure when you're going to leave?"

"The boat is tomorrow afternoon."

"So urgent?"

"It will take two to three days on the road." He Dongchuan said as he put rice into Manman's special small bowl.

"So are we going to pack tonight?"

"Just bring two sets of clothes. It doesn't matter when you pack. I won't be home during this time, so you'll have to take care of Xiaoyan and Manman by yourself."

The brother and sister who were named raised their heads at the same time, and He Yan said, "I will help mom take care of my sister."

Slowly followed suit: "I can do it too."

"What can you do? Help your mother take care of yourself?" Su Ting asked with a smile.

Slowly and heavily nodded: "Yeah!"

This time, not only Su Ting laughed, He Dongchuan and He Yan also laughed. The little girl was confused by the laughter. She tilted her head to look at her brother, then at her father. Gradually she realized that they were laughing at her and pouted her lips unhappily.

Seeing that the lady was about to lose her temper, He Dongchuan quickly put away his smile, touched her head and said, "It's great that you can take care of yourself now."

She nodded slowly with satisfaction, tilted her head to look at her brother, and waited for him to speak.

He Yan had no choice but to speak up: "I also believe that my sister can take care of herself."

Now she was completely satisfied, opened her mouth and said "ah", waiting for her mother to feed her. Su Ting scooped the rice mixed with vegetable juice with a spoon and fed it into her mouth, saying: "You are a little devil."

…

Although He Dongchuan said that he could pack his clothes at any time, Su Ting did not lie down on the bed after taking a shower. Instead, she took out a military backpack, emptied it, and helped him pack.

Clothes are easy to pack. He Dongchuan only has a few sets of military uniforms that he often wears in summer. Some are new and some are old. They are all stacked and placed on the top. The same goes for hats, training clothes, underwear and socks. They are all sorted and placed in different categories. They can be directly put into the backpack.

When He Dongchuan finished washing clothes and returned to the master bedroom, he found a military bag at the end of the bed, and it was bulging. When he opened it, he smiled and said, "Did you help me pack my luggage?"

"I'm afraid you might have forgotten something in such a hurry this morning." Su Ting sat in front of the dressing table, applying vanishing cream while saying, "Check again to see if there's anything else you need to bring."

"become."

He Dongchuan agreed immediately and looked through his bag: "Everything is ready. No need to bring anything else."

"Do you want some toiletries?"

"I'll just pack them in my bag tomorrow." In fact, after arriving at the destination, the reception unit will prepare toiletries, and he brought these with him mainly in case there were none on the ship.

Su Ting wiped her face, rubbed her hands together, walked around the bed to He Dongchuan and asked, "Do you want to bring money and tickets?"

"It's useless to bring tickets. You can't use them there." He Dongchuan was talking about industrial coupons, which can only be used within each city or province. If you want to use them in other places, you can only exchange them with local people.

But on the one hand, there were local industrial coupons, and it was difficult to find people who needed Rong City industrial coupons. On the other hand, he was leaving tomorrow and didn't have time to find someone to exchange the tickets.

"Then bring some national food stamps."

Su Ting said this as she sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out to open the cabinet, and took out the iron box containing her savings from the pile of clothes in the bottom corner.

People at that time had little savings and were reluctant to deposit money in credit unions because they felt it was unsafe. However, Su Ting had no such worries. Before she traveled through time, she had not used cash for several years. She paid for everything with her mobile phone and was very accepted.

But the security factor of passbooks at that time was indeed not very high, and the identity card system had not yet been implemented. As long as you had a passbook, you could withdraw money without showing any identity proof.

In order to avoid returning to the days before liberation, Su Ting divided the business into several items when she went to the credit union to handle business. She asked the staff to open a passbook for each item, and put 2,000 yuan in each passbook. This way, she didn't have to bring a bunch of passbooks home, and she wouldn't feel too bad if she lost a passbook.

Therefore, there was not much money in the iron box. There were ten large bills in a bundle, and there were ten bundles in total, which added up to one thousand yuan.

Su Ting took three bundles of large group, and all the military ration coupons and national ration coupons in her family and handed them to He Dongchuan. He Dongchuan saw them and said, "Just give me a few ration coupons. I have money."

"Come on, do you have forty dollars in total?"

Last year, He Dongchuan could still save ten yuan every month, but this year it is completely impossible. Every time he takes his two children out to play, they would go to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Manman became a person who found everything new and wanted everything. After buying things for his daughter, of course he could not forget his son. So every time he went to the supply and marketing cooperative, He Dongchuan would spend two or three yuan, and sometimes four or five yuan.

There was even a month when he was in debt. Well, it was He Yan who lent him the money.

In other families, the father is richer than the son, but in their family, it is the other way around. The one with the most money is of course Su Ting, who is in charge of the family wealth. The second one is He Yan.

When it comes to spending money, the father and son are completely opposite.

He Yan used to have no idea how to spend money. He would spend whatever his parents gave him. But after working for a few days last year and realizing how hard it is to make money, he changed and became more frugal.

After the serialization of "Sanhuo's Working Diary" began, Su Ting would give him ten yuan every month, and he could save at least seven or eight yuan, and when he had more, he would not spend a penny.

That’s right, in that month when he didn’t spend a penny, he just took advantage of his father.

So they are the fathers borrowing money from their sons to buy things for their sons' daughters.

But that was a few months ago. In the past two months, He Dongchuan was busy with training. He went out early and came back late every day. He sometimes had a day off on Sundays. He didn't have much time to take his two children to the supply and marketing cooperative, so he saved some pocket money.

He Dongchuan touched his nose and said, "More than 30, but it should be enough. I am going to participate in the competition with the team. The local unit is responsible for my food and drink, so there is not much room for spending money."

"You should bring more money. Your food and drink are taken care of on weekdays, but you will inevitably have to attend social events during your breaks. If someone invites you to dinner, you should always treat them back."

The competition is divided into individual and team categories. The first few days are basically individual competitions with different events, while the next few days are team competitions.

Although He Dongchuan participated in many events, he would be fine after the team competition began. Even if he had to be a spectator during the competition, he would have free time after the competition.

These elite players from different units get together. Even if they were not familiar with each other before, they will definitely become familiar with each other after a few games. It is normal for them to treat each other to meals and drinks.

He Dongchuan said: "That's only a few meals. The army has its own rules. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have that much time to eat and drink with others."

"Then bring more money with you. If you have time to go out, you can use the extra money to buy gifts for me and the children." Su Ting always believed that a poor family can become a rich family. Although He Dongchuan was following the army to participate in the competition this time, it would not hurt to bring more money with him.

He Dongchuan deliberately misinterpreted Su Ting's meaning and said in a long voice: "I was wondering why you insisted that I bring so much money. It turns out you want a gift. What do you want?"

Su Ting glared at him: "You bought me a gift, and you still want me to tell you what to buy?"

"I have no idea."

"You can buy whatever you want, food and daily necessities, local specialties are fine, as long as you can afford them," Su Ting just casually mentioned buying gifts. Fearing that He Dongchuan would be delayed by this, she thought about it and added, "But if you can't leave the camp, forget it. Business is more important."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Su Ting also felt that he knew what was going on, so she didn't say anything more, took off her shoes and lay down on the bed.

He Dongchuan stuffed the money into the bag inside the military backpack, counted the luggage, and after making sure everything was alright, he also got on the bed and lay down next to Su Ting.

July is the hottest time of the year on Pingchuan Island. Even with a fan blowing, it was useless. When He Dongchuan approached, Su Ting blocked him with her elbow and said, "Stay away from me. You are as hot as a stove."

He Dongchuan felt that his wife was "heartless" and accused her, "That's not what you said in winter."

"Isn't it cold in winter?" Su Ting said as a matter of course.

He Dongchuan: "You're crossing the river and then destroying the bridge, right?"

"Yes." Su Ting looked calm, and it was clear that she was a scumbag.

"No, that won't work. I want to stick to you even in the summer." He Dongchuan said, and he used force with his right hand to lift Su Ting up, forcing her to turn over and lie on top of him.

The weather was hot, and both of them were wearing light clothes, so they could see each other's body movements clearly.

Moreover, Su Ting was wearing a halter dress bought specially for sleeping. The bodice was very loose. When she reacted and propped up her upper body with her hands... From He Dongchuan's perspective, he could see it all and his breathing became heavy.

He Dongchuan stretched out his hand, lifted Su Ting's slender waist, and let her sit up. At the same time, he also leaned up a little so that he could lean over more freely to kiss her.

During the kiss, their positions kept changing, from her sitting on him to him pressing her against the end of the bed. The cool breeze from the electric fan blew over her head, but her body was very hot. The alternation of hot and cold made it even more unbearable.

After the first time, Su Ting pushed He Dongchuan away, turned over and lay on the bed, blowing the air in front of the electric fan.

But no matter how hard the electric fan blew, the heat could not be dissipated. Her eyes were wet, her face was red, and her lips were sometimes open and sometimes tightly clenched until she was kissed by the person behind her.

The two of them kept quarreling until the end of the day. He Dongchuan was still full of energy, but Su Ting was already drowsy. Feeling that he was still moving, she finally couldn't help but say, "You are leaving tomorrow, why don't you go to bed early today?"

"It's because we have to leave tomorrow that I have to sleep late today." He Dongchuan has his own theory. He kissed Su Ting and said, "There will be plenty of time to rest after we get on the ship. You don't have to worry about me not getting enough sleep."

Su Ting chuckled: "I'm just worried that your legs will go weak during the competition."

This translates to "I don't think you can do it." Being questioned, He Dongchuan paused, biting Su Ting's rosy lips, and gritted his teeth and said, "...I won't feel weak even if I do it all night!"

…

Although He Dongchuan wanted to prove himself with practical actions, Su Ting was very sleepy and had no energy to accompany him, so he prevented her from falling asleep just after one o'clock.

Before dawn in the morning, Su Ting was woken up by He Dongchuan's kiss. However, this time he did not do anything but kissed her from lips to forehead.

Su Ting opened her eyes dazedly and saw that he was dressed neatly. She turned her head to look at the window and vaguely saw a faint light. She reacted for a moment and asked, "Are you leaving?"

"To the camp. We will leave in the afternoon."

"Be careful on the road."

"Um."

"Have a good game."

"Um."

“Try to get first place.”

He Dongchuan smiled and said, "What's the reward for taking first place?"

Although Su Ting was not fully awake, her mind was not confused. She was puzzled by his words: "What is the reward issued by the army? How could I know it in advance?"

"Playing dumb with me, huh?"

Su Ting blinked her eyes and asked innocently, "Who is playing dumb with you?"

He Dongchuan didn't beat around the bush and took the initiative to ask for benefits: "How about this, if I get first place, we'll make up for the remaining time from last night."

"How long?"

"We went to bed at about one last night, and you usually get up at half past six. I'll eat a little, and I'll give you five hours, how about that?"

He had already calculated the time, and Su Ting stopped pretending and said unhappily, "Five hours, aren't you afraid that your legs will be too weak to get out of bed by then?"

"My legs are weak? Who begged for mercy last night?"

Su Ting turned her head and glanced at the alarm clock. It was already 5:45. He had to be at the military camp at 6 o'clock. He couldn't stay at home for a few minutes. Besides, he wouldn't be back until the end of the month. So she said fearlessly, "I was thinking about you. I was afraid that your legs would be weak during the competition. Do you think I'd be afraid of you at another time?"

He Dongchuan laughed angrily: "Okay, then on the first night after I come back, whoever is scared is the puppy, how about that?"

"Come on, who's afraid of who?"

At five fifty, He Dongchuan left home contentedly carrying his backpack, while Su Ting lay on the bed questioning her life. She must have lost her sanity just now by having such a fight!

There is truth in the saying that "Birds of a feather flock together". No matter how smart and rational a person (especially her) is, if she stays with dirty and childish people (such as He Dongchuan) for a long time, she will occasionally lose her rationality and become childish.