Si's Father sent someone home, then cheerfully arrived at the Zhou family's house. He even honked the horn twice at the gate, as if afraid no one would know he had come.
After honking for a while with no one coming out, he frowned and got out of the car.
He wondered to himself, was that child still sulking?
Yes, it was Si Si's fault for stealing the money and framing her before, and they had blamed her. But so much time had passed since then.
Surely even the greatest anger should have cooled by now?
Just as Si's Father stepped out of the car, he heard the sound of a door opening.
He straightened his suit and walked forward.
"Nianni—"
Before he could finish the sentence, a middle-aged woman opened the iron gate and asked doubtfully, "Who are you looking for?"
Then, she looked at him in surprise. "It's you?"
Si's Father was also puzzled. "And you are?"
Aunt Zhang remembered this man; he was Si Nian's adoptive father.
He had come once before, when Si Nian married Zhou Yueshen, acting all high and mighty, looking down on everyone.
Anyway, she didn't have a good impression of this family.
"I'm from next door, here to clean the Zhou family's house. Do you need something?"
Si's Father said, "I'm here to see Niannian about something."
But inwardly he thought, this adopted daughter was living quite comfortably now, even hiring someone to clean the house.
Back at the Si family home, they had to think twice before hiring someone just to cook.
"Forget it, I'll just go in myself."
"Wait." Aunt Zhang stopped him. "Niannian isn't home. Going in is useless."
"What?" Si's Father was taken aback. "Not home? Where did she go?"
Aunt Zhang looked at him as if he were ridiculous. "Aren't you Niannian's adoptive father? Don't you know the whole family moved away?"
Under her gaze, Si's Father felt a pang of irritation. "I, of course I'm her adoptive father! I watched that child grow up."
Aunt Zhang looked skeptical.
Although at the last wedding, Si Nian had been smiling and chatting with this man, she always felt their relationship wasn't good.
So she answered dismissively, "Well, they moved away quite a while ago. I heard Niannian is going to the city to be a teacher. Didn't she tell you?"
Hearing this made Si's Father even more uncomfortable.
He had only learned about the teaching job from Liu Dongdong.
Si Nian hadn't mentioned it.
Moving away? She hadn't mentioned that either.
"Where did she move to?"
Aunt Zhang shook her head. "Don't know. I didn't ask."
Hearing this, Si's Father's face darkened further.
He had rented a car and come all this way, wasting so much gas.
And it was all for nothing.
He couldn't have felt more frustrated.
Si Nian had no idea Si's Father had gone looking for her. After getting settled at home for a few days, she went to report at the school.
School was about to start, and as a new teacher, she naturally needed to prepare in advance.
First, she completed her onboarding with the vice principal and received the textbooks ahead of time.
Her daily schedule hadn't been finalized yet, but it wouldn't be heavy.
Originally, the vice principal had planned for her to teach grades one, two, and three.
But considering Si Nian's level, that seemed like a waste of talent.
So she was assigned to grades four and five.
These grades were more important, after all.
Good promotion rates could even earn bonuses.
Of course, the pressure was greater too.
To be honest, Si Nian wasn't too keen on being surrounded by a bunch of kids who weren't very sensible yet.
Having three at home was tiring enough.
The fourth and fifth graders were a bit older and knew to be somewhat afraid of the teacher.
So she had no objections and agreed.
Next, she took the Eldest Child and the Second Child to complete their school enrollment procedures.
Both children were a bit nervous about transferring to the new school.
This new school was nothing like the small, boxy building in their village.
It was a proper, large building.
Four or five stories high, with many classrooms on each floor.
She heard this school had a considerable number of students, with forty or fifty kids in a single class.
Back at their village elementary school, a class had twenty students at most.
The entire school only had a little over a hundred students.
This elementary school, however, had thousands.
They even had to wear uniforms.
And there were all sorts of miscellaneous fees.
Although there were preferential spots for tuition, the various other fees added up to a significant burden.
An ordinary family would struggle to afford it.
Fortunately, Si Nian had the money Zhou Yueshen gave her. By the end of the day, she couldn't help but admit why people in the future would call children "money-guzzling beasts."
And she had three of them.
Thankfully, Yaoyao was still young.
After finishing the procedures, she had to take the Eldest Child to the vice principal for an assessment.
Si Nian had initially thought it would just be a few questions.
She didn't expect there to be a test paper.
The Eldest Child was going into fourth grade this year. Apparently, this test would determine which class he would be placed in.
Naturally, such schools had a very clear streaming system.
Classes were strictly divided based on scores.
There were elite classes, regular classes...
Sure enough, no matter the era, the competition was fierce.
Afraid Zhou Zedong might be nervous and underperform, Si Nian comforted him, "It's okay, don't be nervous. Take your time. It doesn't matter which class you get into."
Zhou Zedong looked up at her.
He saw some tension in Si Nian's eyes.
He was momentarily stunned.
Then, he managed a slight smile. "Mom, I'm not nervous at all."
Of course he wasn't nervous. Zhou Zedong had realized from a young age that he was different from others. He wasn't afraid of anything.
He was only afraid of women.
As for outsiders, he didn't even pay them any mind, so why would he be afraid?
But Mom was more nervous than he was.
Mom must be worried he wouldn't do well and would feel bad.
But Zhou Zedong wouldn't. Whatever he did, he aimed to be the best.
He had just heard the vice principal say that Mom would be teaching the elite classes.
If he ended up in a regular class, Mom would lose face.
He lowered his gaze.
The vice principal gave him another look.
Hearing Si Nian's words, the Second Child beside them thought his brother was scared.
Actually, he was scared too. He had never been to such a big school.
The Second Child appeared outgoing on the surface, but he was also very afraid of being looked down upon.
So he mustered his courage, stepped forward, and took Zhou Zedong's hand. "Brother, don't be afraid. Even if you get into a regular class, I'll be there with you."
That's right. The Second Child's grades could only get him into an average class.
He didn't mind; being able to study was enough.
But his brother was different.
His brother had always been the top student at school.
If he ended up in a regular class like him, his proud brother would surely be devastated.
This was the moment for him, the considerate and kind-hearted younger brother, to offer comfort.
It was his important duty as a brother.
Zhou Zedong glanced at him, then looked away. He walked to the small desk, picked up a pen, and started writing.
Sorry, little brother. I don't plan to be in a regular class like you.
His hand moved swiftly across the paper. His fingers were somewhat rough, with old scars on the knuckles, like frostbite that hadn't fully healed. His skin was dark. The vice principal could tell at a glance that this child had known hardship.
He hadn't quite believed what he'd heard from Sister Chen about Si Nian's situation before.
Seeing these two children, he was convinced.
However, although being a teacher came with priority enrollment opportunities, he couldn't accept just anyone.
After all, it concerned the school's reputation.
He couldn't just slot people in randomly.
This test paper was from last year's third-grade exams.
It included not just Math and Chinese, but also English.
Of course, having heard they were from the countryside, he didn't expect the child to know English.
He thought if the child did reasonably well in Math and Chinese, he would place him in a better class. That would be fair to Si Nian.
Thinking this, the vice principal settled in, in no hurry.
He chatted with Si Nian about some things that needed to be done after joining the school, as well as the procedures for new student enrollment later on.
Before he could even finish his cup of tea, he suddenly saw the other person stand up.
He was taken aback, thinking to himself, could it be that he can't write the answers?
It made sense. Even though Si Nian had a recommendation letter from a previous teacher, rural education was backward. Even if someone did well in the countryside, their performance in the city might only be considered average.
And the questions would be quite difficult.
It was normal if he couldn't write them.
"Can't write anymore?" He coughed lightly, offering comfort, "It's alright. Even in the regular class, our school teaches very well, better than the top classes in other schools..."
"No." Zhou Zedong interrupted him before he could finish, speaking calmly, "I've finished writing."
