Chapter 156: The Brothers Start School

Yun Xiaowu and his brothers, still blissfully unaware of the regret they would feel later, were happily parading around the house and the village with their new schoolbags on their backs.

Their schoolbags were all hand-sewn. They were army-green crossbody cloth bags, their favorite color, and each had a red, five-pointed star on the flap.

The children cherished those five-pointed stars. Even when they went out to show off their new bags, they only let others look at the stars, not touch them.

"Our schoolbags are brand new! Mom specially sewed them for us. Look how pretty this five-pointed star is."

The other children, who could only use old, hand-me-down bags from their older brothers or sisters, were very envious.

"Yun Xiaowu, let me touch it."

"No way! Your hands are so dirty. What if you get my five-pointed star dirty?"

"What if I wash my hands first? Can I touch it then?"

"Fine, but just one touch."

’Only because you’re my best friend.’

Yun Jiao nibbled on a hard-boiled egg as she followed her brothers. She also had a new little bag.

She had everything her brothers had.

It was also army-green and had a five-pointed star, but her bag was much smaller and more delicate, made for carrying little snacks.

The egg she was eating had come from inside it.

It even had a lining made of several layers of cloth stacked together.

Likewise, Yun Jiao’s friends were also envious.

"Jiaojiao, are you going to school too?"

"But this bag is so small. It can’t even fit a book."

"This isn’t a schoolbag. Mom made it for me to carry my little snacks."

’Inside, there are still a few pieces of candy, a bar of chocolate, and some cookies wrapped in a cloth.’

Hearing this, Yun Xiaohua and the others grew even more envious.

"I’m going to ask my mom to make me a pretty little bag when I get home."

"Me too. If she won’t, I’ll make one myself."

The little girls huddled together, discussing how to make their own nice little bags.

Yun Jiao finished the egg white, leaving behind a perfectly round yolk.

She broke the yolk into several small pieces and handed them to Yun Xiaohua and the other girls.

She didn’t really like eating egg yolks. They were too dry and made her choke.

Although her family still couldn’t afford to have a hard-boiled egg every day, Yun Jiao firmly believed that the plump chickens she was raising would soon give her a pleasant surprise.

’When will they start laying eggs? Then I can give my brothers an egg every day, too.’

However, her chickens, ducks, and geese were even uglier now.

Yun Jiao could no longer, in good conscience, call them her little chickies, duckies, and goslings.

After showing off outside, Yun Jiao’s brothers took her home.

However, the children who had been on the receiving end of the boasting went home crying and wailing, demanding new schoolbags—specifically, army-green ones with five-pointed stars.

Some of the children got their wish, but others were grabbed by their families and given a good spanking.

"What new schoolbag? There’s nothing wrong with this one! Where am I supposed to find army-green cloth to make you a new one? And you want a five-pointed star? With my sewing skills? You think I can just sew you a star? You might as well try flying to the sky!"

Some people also complained in private. ’Those Yun boys... honestly. So what if they have new schoolbags? Why did they have to show them off? Now all the kids in the village are restless.’

When the first day of school arrived, Yun Jiao also went to school with her brothers.

Her third and fourth brothers were the ones who took them to register.

Her third brother held her hand as they walked through the school, and she looked around curiously.

The school’s playground was paved with cement and had several ornamental trees. There was also a flagpole on the playground, where a bright red flag with a five-pointed star fluttered at the very top, the most eye-catching thing in the whole school.

Yun Jiao also saw students with red scarves tied around their necks. The red scarves were folded three times and then tied, a symbol of a primary school student.

There were quite a few students on the playground registering for school. Some were with their parents, while others had come by themselves.

This was Red Star Primary School, the closest one to them. It had classes from preschool to sixth grade.

Yun Chen Nan had also graduated from here.

He first took his two eldest younger brothers to the second-grade registration office.

As luck would have it, the homeroom teacher was the same one who had taught him before.

For a teacher, the most memorable students are either the ones who are the best academically, or the ones who are the worst and love to cause trouble.

And Yun Chen Nan clearly belonged to the first group.

The moment he appeared, more than one teacher in the office recognized him.

"Yun Chen Nan!"

The teachers who had taught him, including his former homeroom teacher, were all delighted.

His former homeroom teacher, in particular, walked up and patted his shoulder. "Yun Chen Nan, what brings you to school? In the blink of an eye, you’ve gotten so big."

Yun Chen Nan looked at the white hairs that had appeared on his teacher’s head and felt a bit emotional as well.

"Teacher Yang, I’m here to register my younger brothers."

He pushed Yun Xiaowu and Yun Xiao Liu forward. "This is my family’s Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu. Their full names are Yun Chenqin and Yun Chenshu. They can be a bit of a handful, so I’ll have to trouble you with them."

"Yes, yes, of course... What’s their situation been like until now?"

After some questioning, the teacher learned that because the family was poor, the two children had never been to school before. Their studies had been taught by their older brothers at home. He wasn’t surprised.

There were many families in this situation. Now that education was gradually becoming widespread, children who hadn’t attended school before would all have to enroll.

This led to some older children having to study alongside preschoolers or first-graders because they couldn’t keep up with the curriculum. The students’ heights were all over the place—some tall, some short.

These two were fine, though. At ten years old, they would normally be in third or fourth grade. They would be among the taller students in the second grade, but it was still acceptable.

He gave them a simple test and, after confirming they had learned the second-grade curriculum, he registered the two children.

Teacher Yang pushed up the glasses on his nose and looked at the other children behind Yun Chen Nan.

The only girl among them had fair, delicate skin and was especially pretty, so he couldn’t help but look at her a few more times.

Yun Chen Nan noticed and, taking Yun Jiao’s small hand, introduced her.

"Teacher Yang, this is my youngest sister. She’s three this year. We’ll wait another two years before she starts school."

In front of strangers, Yun Jiao was always very well-behaved.

"Hello, Teacher Yang."

She greeted Teacher Yang obediently.

Teacher Yang made a soft sound of acknowledgment and fumbled in his pockets. He actually found a piece of candy—a salted plum candy—and handed it to Yun Jiao.

"You have quite a lot of children in your family, huh?"

’According to what Yun Chen Nan said, the ones registering were Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu. So if there were three other younger boys and this little girl... wouldn’t that mean there were ten children in total?’

HISS... ’No wonder the family was so poor that the other children couldn’t go to school.’

"Thank you, Teacher Yang."

Yun Jiao took the candy and thanked him obediently.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Teacher Yang, Yun Chen Nan left with his younger brothers and sister, heading on to the next stop.