There was no fighting.
But the problem was still quite serious.
He didn't pay attention in class, loved to whisper, and even liked to drag the students around him into his chatter.
The teacher had criticized him several times already.
He would agree to behave in the moment, but it wouldn't be long before he did it again.
Left with no other choice, the teacher asked him to call his parents in.
Listening to the teacher's words, Jiang Chengzhou tucked his head so hard against his chest that he squeezed out a triple chin.
Just then, the school bell rang.
"Dr. Lin, let me go dismiss the students first. We can talk more in a bit."
"Alright."
This was the teachers' office. As the children were dismissed, the teachers also got off work.
Soon, only the two of them were left in the office.
Lin Zhilan found a chair and sat down, then pulled Jiang Chengzhou in front of her.
"Chengzhou."
"Mhm..." Jiang Chengzhou responded weakly. He didn't dare to lift his head, nor did he dare to look his aunt in the eye.
Lin Zhilan didn't scold him angrily. Instead, she asked patiently, "Can you give me a reason for not paying attention in class?"
"Auntie, what the teacher teaches is too simple. I know it all."
Most of the first-grade students had either never been exposed to books at all, or had such a poor foundation that they couldn't keep up with the pace.
The teacher had to start with the simplest vocabulary and numbers.
But Jiang Chengzhou had started learning new words and multiplication and division a long time ago. Having to listen to this simple content all over again made him a bit impatient.
In order for the whole class to grasp the material, the teacher taught extremely slowly and meticulously.
Jiang Chengzhou was already an active, lively child with an impatient temperament. He simply couldn't help but fidget and act out.
Lin Zhilan said, "I can accept this reason, but why do you always try to whisper with your classmates? You might know it, but the others don't. Plus, you're disrupting the teacher's lesson, aren't you?"
"Yes, I know I was wrong." Jiang Chengzhou admitted his mistake, but then he pouted and said, "Auntie, studying isn't fun at all. I don't even want to go to school anymore."
What should you do when a child hates school?
Would a spanking help?
This thought flashed through Lin Zhilan's mind, but she quickly suppressed it.
Just then, the teacher returned and was taken aback upon hearing Jiang Chengzhou's reason.
"Jiang Chengzhou, you already know everything I've been teaching?"
"Mhm," Jiang Chengzhou added, "Yan Yuan and Li Xuan know it too."
Lin Zhilan helped explain, "Last year, a fourth-grade teacher, Fang Wenwen, tutored Jiang Chengzhou and Yan Yuan. Li Xuan has been studying with his mother since he was three or four years old."
Now the teacher was in a bit of a tough spot.
After all, it was impossible to adjust the teaching pace just for a few students.
"Dr. Lin, have you ever considered letting the child skip a grade?"
Lin Zhilan thought about it. "Teacher, could we go back and think it over?"
"Of course."
Leading the child out of the school gates, students were continuously streaming out of the school.
Sitting on the back seat of the bicycle, tugging at his aunt's hem, Jiang Chengzhou asked anxiously, "Auntie, will Uncle beat me when he finds out?"
Lin Zhilan asked, "Why would you think that? Has your uncle ever hit you?"
Jiang Chengzhou shook his head. Realizing his aunt couldn't see him, he quickly added, "He hasn't, but I'm still a little scared."
"That shows you know you did something wrong, which is a good trait. But student Jiang Chengzhou, there still have to be punishments for doing wrong things, right?"
Jiang Chengzhou asked nervously, "What punishment?"
Losing weight!
Lin Zhilan gritted her teeth as she pedaled the bike. She absolutely had to make him lose weight!
This kid was way too heavy!
After dinner, they held a family meeting.
First, they discussed the issue of student Jiang Chengzhou skipping a grade.
Su Lang, of course, agreed.
But Lin Zhilan was a bit hesitant.
It wasn't until October 1977 that the government officially announced the resumption of the college entrance examination, and it was in the winter of that very year that the country held the first exam since its restoration.
It was said that 5.7 million people applied that year, but only 270,000 were admitted.
The admission rate was only about 4.7 percent.
By 1978, universities expanded their enrollment. The number of applicants reached 6.1 million, and the admission rate rose to 7 percent.
The military district school enrolled students this spring. To ensure that the first-grade students could keep up with the curriculum, the first grade actually had to take an extra semester of classes, and they wouldn't advance to the second grade until the autumn of the following year.
Lin Zhilan had done the math. By the time Jiang Chengzhou finished high school, he would be right on time for the college entrance examination.
It was simply perfect.
If he skipped a grade and graduated early, he would be too young whether he joined the army, started working, or was sent to the countryside.
"Su Lang, if he skips a grade... he turns eight this year. Normally, he'd be 17 when he finishes high school. If he skips a grade, he'll only be 15 or 16 upon graduation. What would we have him do then?"
Even enlisting in the military required one to be at least 16 years old.
Lin Zhilan preferred to let the child receive a few more years of education.
Su Lang was a college student at the Naval Command Academy in the 1950s, so he naturally understood the importance of an educational background.
He glanced at his clueless nephew and spoke slowly, "Seeing how mischievous he is, even if he skips a grade, he'll probably have to be held back eventually. He might end up in high school until he's thirty. There's no rush."
"What are you talking about?" Lin Zhilan swatted him in exasperation, but he just laughed, caught her hand, and rested it under the table.
"Zhilan, I just mean that we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Chengzhou will still have to walk his own path in the future."
Lin Zhilan certainly understood this logic.
But when it came to her own child, she always hoped things would be a little easier for them.
Lin Zhilan could only ask her eldest nephew, "Chengzhou, then you choose for yourself. If you choose to skip a grade, Auntie will have the teacher give you a test to see if you meet the standard for skipping.
If you don't skip a grade, you have to promise us that you'll pay attention in class and not violate classroom rules, otherwise I'll ask the teacher to move your seat right next to the podium."
"Is Yan Yuan skipping a grade with me?" Jiang Chengzhou blinked his dark eyes and asked curiously, "Yan Yuan is smarter than me. Does he have to learn everything he's already learned all over again?"
It would have been fine if he hadn't brought it up, but speaking of this, Lin Zhilan couldn't help but say, "So, student Jiang Chengzhou, why didn't Yan Yuan and Li Xuan have to call their parents in?"
Jiang Chengzhou: "..."
Lin Zhilan lightly tapped the table with her left hand. "Don't worry about the others. You need to decide for yourself whether you're skipping a grade or not."
"Mhm..." Jiang Chengzhou thought seriously for a moment. "I've decided not to skip a grade."
"What if Yan Yuan skips a grade?" Lin Zhilan asked probingly.
"Then I still won't."
"And the reason?"
Jiang Chengzhou folded his hands on the table and said with a flushed face, "I don't want to grow up too fast. I want to graduate when I'm thirty."
He had picked up on it earlier when his aunt and uncle were discussing.
Once he finished his studies and graduated from high school, he would have to leave home.
Despite Jiang Chengzhou being the king of the kids outside, he was actually a very homebody child who was deeply attached to his family.
Not to mention his father's side, after Su Lang brought him to the island, he used to be home alone for almost half the year.
Now that he had his aunt and little sister, Jiang Chengzhou felt it was just too wonderful and happy.
He could be held back until he was a hundred years old!
Su Lang saw through his thoughts and scoffed with a laugh, "Jiang Chengzhou, are you planning to cling to your aunt for the rest of your life?"
