Chapter 331
Soon, all nine of Second Child's little white rabbits were snatched up.
Not only did his classmates want them, but students from other classes also caught wind of it and rushed over to buy his wild rabbits.
Upon returning home, Second Child immediately handed the money over to Si Nian.
He proudly announced that all his little rabbits were sold out.
He also added that the next litter of little rabbits had already been pre-ordered by students from other classes.
In his notebook, he had even written down things like So-and-so from Class X pre-ordered one little rabbit.
Si Nian found it highly amusing.
This was fine, too. Rather than selling them at the farmer's market to be made into spicy diced rabbit, it was better to sell them to other children who also loved animals.
It would help foster the children's compassion.
She accepted the money, claiming it was to help him save up for a wife in the future.
Second Child was overjoyed, saying that he finally had as much money to marry a wife as his older brother did.
He declared that when he grew up, he would definitely marry a wife as beautiful as his mother.
Si Nian had an exam on Wednesday, so she took a day off.
After finishing her morning classes, she prepared to head home.
Just as she was about to return to the office to pack her things, she heard singing coming from inside.
It was a radio. Since she often needed it to teach English, the school had assigned her one, and she had bought quite a few cassette tapes for it.
However, it was obvious that what she was hearing right now wasn't from a tape, but rather sounded like a foreign radio station.
She had heard that the school's radios were all imported and of the highest specifications.
But she had never tuned into a foreign station before. It was too much trouble anyway; using tapes was much easier.
Si Nian initially thought another teacher was listening to it.
Yet, when she opened the office door and walked in, she saw that the sound was coming directly from her own desk.
Looking up, she saw Yaoyao standing in front of the desk, with only the top half of her little head visible over the edge.
Her two little pigtails stuck high up in the air, and one chubby little hand was pressing buttons on the radio, switching to another station after just a short while.
Si Nian was taken aback for a moment. Beside her, Wang Xiaoli saw her return and smiled, "Teacher Si, are your classes over? Yaoyao has been very good today as usual. I didn't even have to look after her; she's just been playing with your radio all by herself all morning."
Then, sounding somewhat puzzled, she added, "But how come your radio has so many functions? I saw your Yaoyao switching between so many stations, and she seems to really love listening to them. Teach me how to do it next time, so I can go back and set it up for my daughter to listen to tomorrow."
Si Nian opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Radios were such antiques. She had only encountered them back when she was in middle school, but as she grew up, they had gradually become obsolete.
It was only after coming to this era that she started learning how to use one.
Normally, she only used it to play tapes.
Even with the radio at home, she only knew how to tune into the local city stations.
She had absolutely no idea how to tune into foreign ones.
She coughed awkwardly and said, "I'm not too sure either. Yaoyao probably just pressed the buttons randomly."
After saying that, she walked over, picked Yaoyao up, and turned off the radio.
Yaoyao had been humming along to the song on the radio, only to be interrupted.
Seeing it was Si Nian, she immediately hugged her neck happily. "Mama, you're done with class!"
Si Nian smiled and pinched her little cheek. "Yes, I am. What has Yaoyao been up to?"
Sitting in her arms, Yaoyao counted on her fingers. "Yaoyao listened to lots of songs. They were Michael's songs, they sounded so good! Mama, do you know Michael?"
After saying that, she moved her little feet to the beat. "Boom, clap, boom, clap, boom, clap... Not my lover Billie Jean is not my lover..."
Her milky little voice rang out rhythmically, instantly making Wang Xiaoli burst into laughter.
"Teacher Si, your Yaoyao is just too cute!"
Si Nian was once again shocked internally. Of course she had heard this song; it was Michael's classic hit.
The easygoing Wang Xiaoli simply assumed Si Nian had taught her and didn't think much of it.
After all, Yaoyao followed Si Nian to class every day, and sometimes even sat in on other teachers' classes, so it wasn't strange that she had picked up a few things.
Normally, she would often sit at Si Nian's desk, humming songs and drawing pictures.
So it seemed even less out of the ordinary.
Si Nian took a deep breath and asked Yaoyao, "Then how did Yaoyao tune into the station?"
Could it really have been random button pressing?
Yaoyao shook her head and said, "No, Mama, I learned it from Teacher Wu."
There was a Teacher Wu in the office. She heard her brother say he was Dr. Turtle, who came from a foreign country.
He was also very nice to her and would give her candy to eat.
When Mama wasn't around, he would come over and talk to her.
That day, when Teacher Wang went to get her food, she saw Teacher Wu come back carrying a radio. Then he pressed a few buttons, and a sound completely different from the one on Mama's radio came out.
He could even switch between them easily, which was super fun.
So she learned how to do it, and to her surprise, she really managed to make a lot of foreigners' voices play.
It was so much fun.
As Yaoyao talked about this, her eyes brightened, as if she had discovered a whole new world.
However, afraid that Mama would be angry, she only secretly listened to it when Mama wasn't around.
She just hadn't expected Mama to come back so early today.
After hearing this, Si Nian breathed a slight sigh of relief. So it was Wu Ren'ai who had taught her.
That was fine then. Otherwise, if the child had figured out how to tune it all by herself, it would have been truly unimaginable.
Si Nian packed up her things and prepared to take her home.
Just as they stepped out of the office, they bumped into Wu Ren'ai, who had just finished his class.
Wu Ren'ai's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly straightened his suit to greet her. "Nian... ahem... Teacher Si, heading home?"
Si Nian nodded, polite but distant. "Yes, I have no classes this afternoon, so I'm heading back early."
Just as Wu Ren'ai was about to say something, he heard her add, "Thank you for teaching my Yaoyao how to use the radio, so she wouldn't be so bored alone in the office."
Wu Ren'ai was a bit bewildered, question marks practically popping up over his head. "Radio?"
Si Nian nodded and said, "Yes. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
Even after she had left, Wu Ren'ai still hadn't recovered his wits. When had he ever taught Yaoyao how to tune a radio?
As soon as he returned to the office, Wang Xiaoli immediately came over and said, "Teacher Wu, could you... could you teach me how to tune into foreign radio stations? I can't figure this thing out. I see Yaoyao listening to it every day, and she's even learned quite a few songs. I was thinking of playing it for my daughter when I get home."
Wu Ren'ai was even more dumbfounded. "Foreign radio stations?"
"Yes, I just heard little Yaoyao say that you were the one who taught her."
Wu Ren'ai finally snapped back to reality, but he truly had never taught Yaoyao how to tune a radio.
Because of the special requirements of his work, the radios they bought were not ordinary ones and could tune into foreign stations. Of course, he mainly used it for his own studies; it certainly wouldn't be needed for regular classes.
Having developed the habit of listening to the radio while abroad, he would also tune in when he was free after coming back.
Only now did he realize what they meant.
He had indeed played it in the office once before. At the time, seeing the little one, Yaoyao, standing at Si Nian's desk and staring at him eagerly, he thought the child was hungry. Feeling sorry for her, he even bought her some candy to eat.
So she wasn't staring at him because she was hungry, but because she was curious about the radio station he was listening to?
But he had only listened to it that one time. How did the child learn how to do it?
Wasn't she only three years old?
Wu Ren'ai's mind was filled with giant question marks.
Si Nian also brought the radio back into the house.
She figured it was a good thing that her child loved listening to it.
Of course, she was also curious about how exactly Yaoyao had tuned it.
The radio they had at home was an old-fashioned model and didn't have these features.
She had to admit, American products were indeed a bit more advanced.
Once inside, she asked Yaoyao to give her a demonstration.
Sure enough, Yaoyao pressed her little fingers here and there, and then, to Si Nian's utter bewilderment, she picked up the signal of a foreign radio station.
Si Nian quickly accepted the fact that she was just an ordinary person.
Seeing how much her daughter liked it, she let her keep listening.
She then went downstairs to cook.
In the afternoon.
As soon as Fang Hui returned home, she heard a familiar English song drifting over from next door.
She subconsciously looked toward her neighbor's house and saw a radio that looked anything but cheap sitting on the desk in Si Nian's study.
She had seen this kind of radio at an elementary school in Beijing; she heard it was imported from abroad and incredibly expensive.
Ordinary people couldn't even buy one.
Recently, Fang Hui had enrolled her son in quite a few tutoring classes and even hired a private tutor to come to the house, which had cost her a lot of money.
She was truly reluctant to spend money on such a radio.
But the thought that Si Nian's family had one made her grit her teeth, grab some money, and head out.
Before long, Fang Hui returned carrying a brand-new radio.
Si Nian was standing at the courtyard gate and happened to see Fang Hui carrying the exact same model of radio. Upon seeing her, Fang Hui lifted her chin and greeted, "Comrade Si, you finished classes so early today?"
Si Nian gave a casual response and didn't say much else.
Fang Hui didn't add anything either and happily carried her radio home.
However, when she turned the radio on, she discovered that no matter how many cassette tapes she played or how she tuned it, she couldn't get the same audio as Si Nian's radio.
Fang Hui was furious, thinking she had bought a fake.
...
On Wednesday, Si Nian asked Zhou Yueshen to take Yaoyao with him.
Because she had an exam to take, there was no one to look after Yaoyao.
Zhou Yueshen was a bit worried and asked if he should escort her to the exam.
Si Nian said there was no need.
Zhou Yueshen took Yaoyao and Da Huang to the pig farm.
As soon as Yaoyao arrived, she was surrounded by a bunch of grown men who stared at Zhou Yueshen with sheer envy. They simply couldn't believe that their fierce, rugged-looking boss could have such an adorably soft and sweet daughter.
"Come here, little darling Yaoyao, let Uncle give you a hug."
"So cute, I want to have a daughter too."
"How about Uncle takes you out to play?"
A group of older men stared at Yaoyao with fawning expressions.
Just as Yaoyao was about to reach out her hands, Zhou Yueshen pressed her into his embrace and swept a murderous gaze over his group of sleazy subordinates.
Zhou Yueshen's eyes and brows clearly showed a look of disgust as he said unhappily, "You guys stink too much. Stay away from my daughter."
Everyone subconsciously raised their arms to sniff themselves, saying, "I don't stink, I just took a shower yesterday."
Zhou Yueshen couldn't be bothered with them and took long, purposeful strides toward his office with his daughter in his arms.
Meanwhile, Si Nian rode her bicycle to the No. 2 Middle School.
The exam was scheduled for exactly nine o'clock.
She didn't arrive early, either.
By the time she got there, a dozen or so people were already waiting outside.
Aside from students repeating the year, there were also transfer students.
Si Nian had previously attended No. 1 Middle School. The invigilator was a senior year homeroom teacher, who called roll and announced which school each student had come from.
When it was her turn, the teacher glanced at her. "No. 1 Middle School, huh? How come a student from No. 1 Middle School is coming to our school instead of going back there?"
It was well known that No. 1 Middle School was the best high school in the entire city, having always firmly suppressed them in rankings.
Moreover, the students from No. 1 Middle School were proud and completely looked down on any other school.
Their reputation as the eternal second place was quite famous in the city.
Si Nian didn't hide the truth, saying, "Because the school wouldn't accept me."
She knew that these schools would definitely verify the reasons, and lying would only bring trouble upon herself.
Her words caused several teachers to pause in surprise.
Then, they looked at her with sympathy. "No. 1 Middle School is a bit harsh, but don't worry. If they won't keep you, there's always a place that will. Our school will never give up on any student who works hard and strives to learn."
They assumed that Si Nian's grades were too poor, which was why the school hadn't accepted her.
After all, anyone with decent grades could repeat a year, even at No. 1 Middle School.
But if No. 1 Middle School refused to take her, it must have been out of fear that her poor grades would drag down their college admission rates.
In this day and age, there weren't many who could make it into a university anyway.
Although their school had requirements too, they weren't nearly as strict. As long as a student was willing to put in the effort and their grades weren't outrageously bad, they were willing to give the kid a chance.
Thus, Si Nian successfully earned the sympathetic gazes of a group of teachers.
Most of the others were from this school, with only a few from other schools, along with the transfer students.
Since they were all in their senior year, they were tested together.
Soon, Si Nian followed the group into the classroom to prepare for the exam.
There were only a dozen or so people, so everyone's seats were spaced far apart to prevent cheating.
Si Nian was assigned a seat in the middle.
Not long after she sat down, the test papers were handed out.
Upon receiving her paper, Si Nian first looked it over and found that it generally wasn't difficult.
She picked up her pen and began to write.
She already had a solid foundation, and coupled with her extensive reading, she barely had to think about these questions.
Si Nian also wanted to finish the exam as quickly as possible.
Because grades were her stepping stone; only by getting in could she negotiate terms with the school.
If she didn't even have good grades, the school would never accept a student like her who skipped classes to self-study at home.
Although the principal of the Foreign Language Elementary School had said he would help her, Si Nian still gave up on the idea of using the back door.
She had the ability, so there was no need to pull strings.
To avoid trouble, she chose to handle everything herself.
Several teachers paced back and forth, invigilating the exam.
It was extremely strict.
The other students were sweating profusely, but Si Nian felt completely at ease.
After all, she had been a teacher herself, so her mental fortitude was much stronger than that of the average person.
However, just as she was about to finish writing, an accident occurred.
A boy who had raised his hand to go to the restroom suddenly tossed a small slip of paper to the examinee sitting in front of her.
Who knew that the paper would roll right next to Si Nian.
The boy in front of her turned pale, completely at a loss for what to do.
Before Si Nian could even react, she saw a teacher walking toward her with a stern expression.
The teacher then picked up the slip of paper from the floor and asked severely, "You there, stand up. What is the meaning of this?"
Si Nian was also stunned.
She had no idea where this piece of paper came from; she had been entirely engrossed in answering the questions.
However, seeing everyone looking at her, she stood up anyway.
The other teachers hurried over and opened the slip of paper. Sure enough, there were answers written inside.
Their expressions instantly changed.
They stared at Si Nian in disbelief.
They truly hadn't expected that she would cheat.
Just a moment ago, they had felt sorry for her plight because No. 1 Middle School refused to take her.
To think she turned out to be this kind of person.
The teachers' faces instantly turned grim.