"Ten years old? That works too. I have five. Let's keep one and give them the remaining four."
“I have no objection, but if that’s the case, I will send them away after they turn six.”
"Send them away?"
"Yes, send them up the mountain. There will be people who will train them."
Zhang Hongmei fell silent. She was genuinely reluctant to let them go, but she also knew that without effort, there would be no reward. The children's starting point was too high; if she wanted them to protect themselves in the future, she had to be willing to sacrifice.
"Don't be sad, I'm here with you." Zhang Shouyi was afraid that Zhang Hongmei would be like this, so he prepared her in advance.
Life went on as usual; Zhang Hongmei resumed her regular school routine.
But now we spend more and more time with our children.
The children have a very strong learning ability. They can now communicate with Daniel and Annie in a foreign language, and Beth calls them every week.
Cheng Ping'an stayed with the four of them the whole time. Cheng Guangxu hadn't sent his son to kindergarten either. With such a good opportunity, how could they miss it?
Liu Pengfei comes over every week, but this child isn't as smart as the other five. He can't keep up with their pace.
Li Cuihua didn't force it. This is something you're born with; you can't rely solely on hard work later in life.
Liu Jingsong is only decent in martial arts; his foreign language skills are not as good as the five juniors', and his computer skills are just average.
He was depressed for a while, and Zhang Hongmei didn't know how to comfort him. Later, he gradually accepted the facts, so he worked even harder.
After dinner, the children went to recite their lessons. "Grandpa, Dad, Brother Zhang, I don't want them to go to school now. I want them to finish elementary school at home, depending on their progress. Judging from their pace, they should finish elementary school by the age of six."
The three of them agreed, since it would be a waste of time for them to sit with the children now.
Zhang Hongmei had been observing and considering this for a long time.
The four of them were not envious of Liu Jingsong for going to school, nor were they envious of him for having classmates.
Zhang Hongmei also took them to a primary school, but none of them liked it, thinking it was too childish. They were also quite averse to becoming friends with children their own age.
Zhang Hongmei was worried that they were too toxic and unsociable, but after listening to their conversations, she found out that they disliked the children's crying and fussing, and also that they didn't have anything in common with each other.
After much deliberation, we finally decided to let them learn at home.
I asked for their opinions, and they all agreed with this approach. They believe that students can learn more at home and can learn what they like, instead of following the textbook step by step.
The family made a decision, and Zhang Hongmei went to see Cheng Guangxu and Er Ya the next day.
Zeng Zhongkang and Cai Peilin are currently teaching, so the remaining time will be made available for Cheng Guangxu. After all, Er Ya is already eight months old.
What do you two think?
“Hongmei, I asked Ping’an, and he’s falling behind. Maybe we should let him go to elementary school.” Cheng Guangxu was very concerned about his son and was afraid of delaying his development.
"Okay, but teaching too many different things isn't a good thing either."
“Hongmei, Zhenye and the other three are even smarter than you.” Er Ya was genuinely envious, but she also knew that with Hongmei’s intelligence, her children would be just as smart.
"Being smart means you'll have a lot of work to do later."
"Given their status, if they don't work hard, they'll just become spoiled brats."
Cheng Ping'an was brought back by Cheng Guangxu, and the children cried, making Cheng Guangxu feel like he was a sinner for all time.
Only the four of them were left, and Zhang Hongmei made a point of going into their room that night.
"My darlings, are you still sad?"
"Mom, I'm fine now. I understand. Ping An couldn't keep up and even cried a few times." Zhenye was quite rational, and his words were mature.
Zhang Ruifeng glanced at Zhang Hongmei, then lowered his head again. "Mom, I knew this would happen. Ping An is just like Brother Jinsong back then. But I'm still quite sad."
"Mom, I'm sad." Zhang Weiyu pouted, on the verge of tears.
"Mom, this was bound to happen sooner or later, so I was sad for a while, but I'm fine now."
Zhang Hongmei was quite pleased and gave each of them a cup of water.
"You've all grown up, and Mom is very happy."
There is no banquet that doesn't end; even you four brothers will eventually part ways.
Now think about it, why don't we have stricter requirements for Ping An and Jin Song?
"Mom, it's because of our identity."
“Yes, Zhenye is right. This is a good thing, but it will also be a shackle for you for life. Because of your status, you will have to work ten or even a hundred times harder than others.”
Zhang Shouyi had discussed these things with the four of them, and the children understood the situation.
“Mom, we know. We don’t feel tired either. We’re four years old now, and we know we’re smarter than the other kids. We don’t feel tired from the lessons taught by the teacher; we feel happy while learning.”
Zhang Hongmei's eyes reddened when she heard her son's words; being too smart can also be a burden.
"Mom, don't worry, we won't be arrogant or complacent."
Seeing Zhang Hongmei's sadness, the children gathered around her.
"You are only four years old, still children. Children your age are just beginning to learn."
“Mom, we are your sons. You are so smart, we won’t be any less so.” Zhang Weiyu leaned on Zhang Hongmei’s back, hugged her neck, and acted coquettishly, afraid of upsetting his mother.
"Okay, Mom is proud of you."
"We are proud of our parents." The four children said in unison, perhaps this is the tacit understanding between twins and triplets.
From then on, the four of them learned even faster, and Zhang Shouyi even specially found a distinguished old gentleman to teach them.
At the end of October, Er Ya gave birth to another son in the hospital.
Er Ya laughed when she heard the result.
The doctors thought she was sexist and were somewhat dissatisfied with her.
Er Ya returned to the ward and looked at her child beside her. "Mom, Hongmei must be very disappointed."
“Who can disagree? Hongmei has told me more than once that she hopes you can have a daughter, so you can have both a son and a daughter.”
"Let her give birth on her own. As for me, I only have these two."
"Two is too few. We need at least one more, maybe we can have a girl next time."
"Mom, I'm not having any more children. These two are good enough. Otherwise, I won't be able to raise them properly."
"What can't be taught? Aren't you still here for me?"
"Mom, you've worked hard your whole life, you should rest. You have two children, that's enough. In the future, when Cheng Guangxu and I both go to work, we'll neglect them."
"You two can decide for yourselves. If Guangxu likes it, then have another one."
Er Ya just smiled and didn't reply. Having two children was enough; she didn't want to suffer anymore.
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