Chapter 34 Part 2: The Genius’s Reputation and the Family’s Pride (2)

After speaking, Chen Xiaohua picked up a small wooden stick and wrote the characters she had learned on the ground for Xiang Chen. She had secretly taken Chen Fang’s textbooks and copied from them.

Xiang Chen watched the little girl write characters on the ground with the stick. Her handwriting was stiff, and her strokes were incorrect, but the characters she produced were recognizable.

Xiang Chen was somewhat surprised. To be able to recall character forms entirely from memory and write them out was already quite impressive. Considering the little girl was barely six years old, it indicated that her memory and intelligence must be quite good.

“I learn a little every day, and slowly I’ll learn more and more,” Chen Xiaohua said, her voice still soft. She looked at Xiang Chen and quietly asked, “Brother, once I’ve learned them, can you teach me to read them?”

She hadn’t placed her hopes of going to school and learning to read on her parents because one day she had overheard her mother telling her father,

“None of the children in the family are very bright. Only Daniu might have a chance to succeed in school. Why don’t we just support her? The tuition fees for all the children combined are not a small sum…”

That night, Chen Xiaohua huddled, not daring to move. She heard her father say, “We’ll see…”

That phrase felt too vague; it offered no sense of security. Her wish to go to school might not be realized.

However, Chen Xiaohua did not give up because of this. In the Chen family, she was at the bottom of the food chain. The little girl was actually very smart. She thought, ‘Going to school is for literacy. If I become literate, then maybe I can go to school?’

Thus, the act of secretly learning to read from books came about.

Upon hearing Chen Xiaohua say this, Xiang Chen nodded eagerly. Of course, he was willing to help Chen Xiaohua learn. He had been thinking about something else.

Chen Xiaohua was almost six this year. If the Chen family were willing to send her to school, it would be in two years. Although his own studies weren’t great, he remembered basic historical events.

In a few years, there would be a period of turmoil, which would not be a good time for learning. However, it was also impossible to give up entirely.

For now, he could only try his best to help Chen Xiaohua acquire more knowledge. What one learned was truly one’s own, and it would always be useful.

From that day on, Xiang Chen secretly became Chen Xiaohua’s little teacher. Following the order of his own textbooks, he began to teach Chen Xiaohua.

The little girl was truly intelligent and very diligent. Every day, besides looking after her younger sister, she spent a great deal of time reviewing the knowledge Xiang Chen taught her.

Xiang Chen had to accelerate the pace, and soon he had taught her everything from his own textbook.

Xiang Chen didn’t hide this from his brother and uncle. Although Song Wenbin disliked the Chen family, he wouldn’t hold a grudge against such a small girl.

He also knew Chen Xiaohua had helped Xiang Chen, so he simply told Xiang Chen to protect himself and not let the Chen family use this as an excuse to cause trouble.

Xu Hengzhou thought a bit more long-term. His younger brother seemed to truly enjoy his re-lived childhood, and since the knowledge was relatively simple now, he often played joyfully with the boys downstairs, sometimes running off so far he couldn’t be found.

Xu Hengzhou thought, ‘Being a little teacher is great! It’s right by the house, under my watchful eye, and he can review his knowledge more, preparing him to skip grades later. How wonderful!’

So, when Xiang Chen mentioned that he had finished teaching everything from his textbook, Xu Hengzhou proactively helped him brainstorm solutions.

Xu Hengzhou’s solution was to push the problem to Song Wenbin.

He told Song Wenbin that Xiang Chen had already finished learning his own textbooks and had consolidated his knowledge by teaching Chen Xiaohua, making his understanding very solid.

He suggested that Xiang Chen might as well start learning second-grade material early, otherwise it would be a waste of time.

Song Wenbin was slightly amazed but didn’t doubt his words at all. In his eyes, both of his children were intelligent.

Xu Hengzhou went without saying, and even Xiang Chen was unlike other children—smart, well-behaved, clean, and adorable, never crying or fussing. He was incredibly easy to care for.

So, after understanding the situation, Song Wenbin decisively borrowed all the textbooks from first to fifth grade for him. Sixth grade could use Xu Hengzhou’s.

In his own words, “It’s a good thing for a child to be smart and eager to learn. Parents shouldn’t hold them back.”

Coincidentally, Song Wenbin encountered some neighbors from the family residential building while carrying that stack of textbooks. Seeing him, they naturally asked a few questions.

They all knew the Song family’s two children. Seeing the books Song Wenbin carried, they all assumed they were for Xu Hengzhou.

After all, he had suddenly transferred schools and reportedly hadn’t attended school before, so falling behind was understandable.

The books Song Wenbin held, ranging from first to fifth grade, were all thought to be for Xu Hengzhou’s remedial lessons.

Of course, Song Wenbin’s words quickly disproved their assumptions.

It was a parent’s instinct to show off their children. When asked, Song Wenbin immediately chuckled and said that his child was a fast learner.

He had only been in school for a short while, had already finished his books, so he was getting some higher-grade textbooks to look at.

It was then that people realized he was talking about Xiang Chen.

Now the neighbors were astonished.

When such a young Xiang Chen was sent to school, the residents of the family building had all assumed it was because Director Song’s family had no woman to look after him, and that the school was merely being used as a daycare.

At first, some even speculated how long it would be before Xiang Chen was sent back, as no one believed he could truly learn anything.

Now that Song Wenbin said this, everyone was half-believing, half-doubting. But there were children in the family building who were in Xiang Chen’s class, so they called them over to ask.

All the reports were glowing: ‘He’s smart,’ ‘He understands everything instantly,’ ‘He answers all the teacher’s questions,’ ‘His homework is excellent,’ and so on. Only then did everyone believe it.

Director Song’s little nephew was truly a natural scholar. Look at how he was built, with a plump face—he was clearly destined for a leadership position.

Of course, not everyone believed it. Some people insisted that no child so young could read and study, let alone do better than older children.

Therefore, those books must have been for Xu Hengzhou, and Xiang Chen was merely being used to cover up his shortcomings.

These people would secretly spread such gossip.

Some believed it, some didn’t, but with enough repetition, it somehow evolved into: the Song family’s two children, the younger one is exceptionally smart, good at studying, and will become a cadre in the future. The older one is very dumb, can’t even recognize all the characters, and will probably be held back.

The Song family, upon inadvertently hearing the rumors, were speechless.

Xiang Chen: “…Pfft.”

Xu Hengzhou also found it incredibly frustrating. To think he had grown up with the reputation of a genius, only to be considered someone who might be held back one day.

Seeing Xiang Chen cover his mouth to stifle a laugh, Xu Hengzhou picked him up, feigning anger. “A cadre? Are you making fun of me?”

Xiang Chen giggled in his brother’s arms, quickly hugging him and coaxing, “Brother, you’re the smartest!”

Xu Hengzhou held him close and playfully ruffled his hair for a good while, making the child laugh so hard he gasped for breath, before finally stopping at Xiang Chen’s pleas.

Xiang Chen laughed, but he couldn’t let people speak of his brother that way. His brother was the smartest, no arguments accepted.

The solution to the rumor was simple: Xu Hengzhou just needed to score well on an exam. However, unlike later generations, students at this time didn’t have constant tests, and the next exam was still far away.

So, Xiang Chen decided to take matters into his own hands.

He told Song Wenbin that he wanted to skip a grade. This plan had been in place for a long time, originally intended for when he was a bit older, given his young age.

But now, Xiang Chen decided to act early.

Song Wenbin had often seen Xu Hengzhou teaching Xiang Chen higher-grade textbooks at home. So, when Xiang Chen said he wanted to skip a grade, he immediately agreed.

Why wouldn’t he? His child was so smart; keeping him in first grade would be a waste of his talent.

Just like that, after a brief family discussion about which grade to skip to—and no, they weren’t just skipping one grade—Song Wenbin went to the school leaders.

As an elementary school affiliated with the factory, it had close ties to the factory, and news spread quickly. Xiang Chen’s reputation as a genius was already known to the school teachers and leaders.

The leaders had even specifically asked Xiang Chen’s homeroom teacher, Zhang Xiaoman, about his academic performance.

Teacher Zhang, the homeroom teacher, praised Xiang Chen profusely. As mentioned before, she had taken Xiang Chen on out of necessity. While she hadn’t done anything against Xiang Chen, she had initially been unwilling.

But to her surprise, Xiang Chen was not only not a trouble, but a little genius! His performance at school was excellent; he was a good student, polite, and clean and adorable. What teacher wouldn’t love a student like that?

After hearing Teacher Zhang’s praise, the school leaders had a good impression of Xiang Chen.

When Song Wenbin came to arrange for Xiang Chen to skip a grade, the school leaders immediately agreed, praising Xiang Chen profusely and even commending Song Wenbin several times for his excellent guidance.

However, rules still applied. Skipping a grade required taking a placement exam, with questions covering the curriculum of the grade they wished to skip into.

Song Wenbin naturally had no problem with the school’s requirements. He had immense confidence in Xiang Chen, and after the praise from the school leaders and teachers, his confidence was absolutely soaring!

So, when the school leaders asked which grade Xiang Chen wished to skip to, Song Wenbin hesitated. They had discussed third grade at home, with the idea of skipping again later if Xiang Chen continued to perform well.

But at that moment, Song Wenbin’s mind was clouded by the school leaders’ praise, making him believe his little nephew was an unparalleled prodigy.

He had also seen Xiang Chen reading Xu Hengzhou’s books, and sometimes Xu Hengzhou even had Xiang Chen copy his homework…

In a moment of impulsive excitement, Song Wenbin told the school leaders, “Sixth grade.”

This time, the school leaders couldn’t smile. They had assumed Xiang Chen would skip to third grade at most, never expecting such ambition!

However, it was impolite to directly refuse Song Wenbin. The leaders exchanged glances. ‘Fine, if he wants to skip, let him skip,’ they thought. ‘There’s an exam anyway; if he doesn’t pass, they can’t blame us.’

A more thoughtful leader considered that if Xiang Chen took the sixth-grade exam directly and failed, wouldn’t Director Song lose face? So, they proposed taking a third-grade exam first, followed by a sixth-grade one.

What kind of person was Song Wenbin? Born a scout, he quickly understood that the school leaders didn’t truly believe Xiang Chen could pass the sixth-grade exam.

Song Wenbin felt a little frustrated; his own child was clearly so smart. So, he held his breath, thinking, ‘Just wait until after the exam and see for yourselves!’

After reaching an agreement, they scheduled the exam for the next day. Song Wenbin then rode his bicycle home.

Upon arriving home, Song Wenbin immediately called Xiang Chen over, patted his small shoulders, and told him to study hard for the exam and bring honor to his uncle.

Xiang Chen’s face immediately stiffened. He thought the school was unwilling to let him skip a grade and had upset his uncle.

So, Xiang Chen immediately patted his small chest and promised Song Wenbin that he would definitely do well on the exam and bring him honor!

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