A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1415 Li Yiming: He might go to jail! (Please subscribe!)

Lin Dongzhe and Zhuang Xiaoting were overjoyed when they skipped a grade. So, the two families got together again that evening and cooked a few dishes to celebrate. The atmosphere at the dinner table was relaxed, and even Zhuang Chaoying drank a small glass of Shaoxing wine, which was quite unusual for her.

While the adults were still talking at the table, the children had already finished eating and slipped out of the yard.

In the late summer evening, before it was completely dark, the wind in the alley carried a cool breeze that felt pleasant.

"Come on, it's my treat, let's have popsicles!"

Lin Dongzhe, as the main character of the day, was praised by Song Ying during the meal. This was a rare instance of his mother praising him so much, and he was overjoyed. He waved his little hand with a rather bold air.

This time, Lin Dongzhe bought mung bean popsicles, which were a bit more expensive than the sweet soup popsicles that Hua Shier bought last time. The kids usually wouldn't eat those.

Hua Shier took one, took a bite, and the fragrance of mung beans mixed with sweetness melted in his mouth. He turned to look at Lin Dongzhe, who was shaking his head and swaying:

"These popsicles are five cents each, four of them are two mao. Dongzhe, where did you get the money?"

The question was asked casually, but Lin Dongzhe and Zhuang Tunan both froze for a moment, exchanging a glance with slightly flickering eyes.

Upon seeing this reaction, Hua Shier immediately understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

He slowly licked the popsicle, his voice calm:
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But I'll remind you, you can't do things that are wrong. Some mistakes may not seem like a big deal now, but if they develop into bad habits, they can be disastrous."

These words, coming from the mouth of an eleven-year-old, should have seemed ridiculous.

When Ke Hua spoke, his tone was so confident, and his eyes were so bright that they seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, that Lin Dongzhe and Zhuang Tunan both lowered their heads.

Zhuang Xiaoting whispered from the side, "Brother Pengfei, I know them."

"Xiaoting!" Lin Dongzhe quickly interrupted, his face flushed red.

"I'll say it myself!"

He took a deep breath, his voice barely audible:
"I... I rented out Tu Nan and Xiao Ting's summer homework to students who didn't want to do their homework. It cost one cent per person."

His voice trailed off as he spoke, and his head was almost buried in his chest.

Zhuang Xiaoting added, "They started in the second grade!"

Lin Dongzhe angrily retorted, "You traitor!"

Zhuang Xiaoting hid behind Hua Shier and snorted, "Who told you to sell my sketchbook!"

Hua Shier chuckled and said, "You've got quite a business mind. I was wondering why you'd been sneaking out a few times, and when I asked you, you'd say you were going to a classmate's house. Turns out you were selling homework!"

Lin Dongzhe was quite embarrassed and said to Hua Shier:

"Pengfei, please don't tell my mom and the others! I'll take you with me to make money next time!"

Hua Shier smiled and reached out to ruffle Lin Dongzhe's hair:
"Forget it, your business is too small, I'm not interested!"

Lin Dongzhe was quite unconvinced, pursed his lips, and seemed somewhat dismissive:
"Brother Pengfei, I admit I'm not as good as you at everything else, but when it comes to making money, I'm definitely better than you. Besides, I'm in fourth grade now, and my grades aren't much worse than yours. The day I surpass you, you'll have to call me 'Brother Dongzhe,' hehe."

As he spoke, he began to laugh, as if he could already see the scene from that day.

Hua Shier looked at his smug little face, smiled without saying a word, and felt that this little guy should be taught a lesson and let him know what it means to be "a big shot in the cotton mill."

The next day at school, Hua Shier went directly to the teachers' office.

The homeroom teacher was a woman in her forties, surnamed Zhou, who wore black-rimmed glasses.

She was somewhat surprised to see Hua Shier enter: "Xiang Pengfei? Aren't you going back for morning self-study? Is something wrong?"

"Teacher Zhou, I want to skip a grade," Hua Shier said bluntly.

Teacher Zhou was taken aback: "Skip a grade? You just started school."

"I want to try the sixth-grade curriculum."

Hua Shier asked calmly, "If possible, could you let me do a sixth-grade test?"

Teacher Zhou sized him up. He knew that this child was Teacher Zhuang's nephew, who had just transferred to the school during the summer vacation. As soon as he arrived, all the children in the alley called him "brother". It was said that he was exceptionally smart, but skipping grades was not a trivial matter.

After thinking for a moment, she went to find a set of sixth-grade final exam papers from last year:
"You really want to do it? This set of questions is not easy."

"I want to try."

Hua Shier took the exam paper, sat down at the empty desk in the office, and began to write rapidly.

Teacher Zhou originally wanted him to bring the test paper and do it at noon so as not to delay class time, but seeing how quickly he wrote, she curiously went over to take a look and was immediately surprised.

Hua Shier wrote down the answers with lightning speed, almost without thinking. The key was that all his answers were correct, which made her give up the idea of ​​stopping him and just watch Hua Shier answer the questions.

In just ten minutes, Hua Shier had neatly placed the Chinese test paper on the table, then picked up the math test paper and began writing.

In just ten minutes, the essay was finished, leaving Teacher Zhou speechless with amazement.
She picked up the test paper and looked at it. The handwriting was neater and better than hers. The answers were full, and there were almost no points deducted in the Chinese reading comprehension section. Although the essay was short, it was well-structured and logically clear. It could be used as a model essay.

Even more surprisingly, Hua Shier finished the math test faster than the Chinese test. Well, because math doesn't require writing an essay, five minutes later, the math test was placed in front of Teacher Zhou.

Teacher Zhou was speechless after checking the papers. A fourth grader doing a sixth grade test and getting perfect scores was something she had never seen before. She was amazed today.

She looked at Hua Shier: "You've taken sixth-grade courses?"

"I've read the book myself," Hua Shier said naturally. "It's all quite simple; you can learn it at a glance, it's not difficult at all!"

If Teacher Zhou were from the future, she would know that Hua Shier is in Versailles. If showing off is illegal in this world, she would have called the police by now!

Teacher Zhou nodded: "Your current level is indeed not suitable for fourth grade. Wait a moment, I'll go find Teacher Zhuang."

Zhuang Chaoying was still a little dazed when she was called to the office.

After Teacher Zhou explained the situation, he took the test paper and looked at it again and again. His expression changed from surprise to delight, and finally to an unconcealable smile.

“This child,” he shook his head and said to Teacher Zhou, “Teacher Zhou, I think Pengfei has indeed met the requirements for skipping a grade. What do you think?”

Teacher Zhou nodded and said, "I was just about to discuss this with you. Judging from the exam paper, skipping a grade shouldn't be a problem. I'll go talk to the principal about it this afternoon!"

Things went remarkably smoothly. When the principal heard that a fourth-grade student had almost gotten a perfect score on a sixth-grade test, he came to see Huashi No. 12 in person and asked a few questions that were beyond the scope of sixth grade.

Hua Shier answered calmly and deliberately, and even offered his own insights on some points.

That afternoon, the decision to skip a grade was made.

When the news reached the alley, Huang Ling and Song Ying were hanging clothes to dry in the yard.

"Really?" Huang Ling almost dropped the clothes in her hand. "Pengfei skipped a grade and went to sixth grade?"

"Really." Zhuang Chaoying couldn't hide her smile. "The principal graded it personally. Teacher Zhou said that Pengfei did better than many sixth-grade students on that test, getting a perfect score!"

Song Ying, who was listening nearby, clicked her tongue in amazement: "This child is amazing! Sister Ling, your nephew is so easy to take care of!"

Huang Ling was happy, but she had some doubts. When Hua Twelve returned that evening, she pulled him aside and asked:

"Pengfei, since you already knew sixth-grade material, why didn't you say you wanted to skip a grade sooner?"

Before Hua Shier could speak, Zhuang Xiaoting next to her raised her hand first:

"I know, I know! Lin Dongzhe was bragging to Pengfei that he's in fourth grade now and is no worse than Pengfei. He said that in a few days, Pengfei might be calling him 'Brother Dongzhe'!"

The little girl spoke with great enthusiasm, mimicking Lin Dongzhe's "bold words" almost perfectly. Of course, she cleverly omitted the part about renting homework.

After hearing this, the adults were taken aback at first, and then they all laughed.

Song Ying turned to look for her son, Lin Dongzhe, who had already hidden inside the house when Zhuang Xiaoting spoke. He was now clinging to the door frame, with half his head sticking out, looking utterly hopeless.

"Lin Dongzhe!" Song Ying was both amused and annoyed. "You've really grown up, huh? You even want Pengfei to call you 'brother'?"

Lin Dongzhe walked out with his head down, muttering under his breath, "I was just saying, everyone has ambitions."

The adults laughed again upon hearing this.

Lin Dongzhe sighed: "I'm completely convinced now!"

Song Ying then said, exasperated by his lack of ambition, "Can't you have some drive and catch up with him?"

Lin Dongzhe said dejectedly:

"All the kids in the alley have to call Pengfei 'brother.' Why? Because no one can beat him. Whether it's running, kicking shuttlecock, playing chess, or studying, they can't even beat him now that he's skipped a grade."

This kid said that on the surface, but he was still a little unconvinced in his heart. He felt that at least he could make money, which made him better than Pengfei.

A few days later, one night, Li Yiming was arrested by the joint defense team, along with his cousin Song Xiangyang.

The reason was that the two went to another city to buy goods, and got several large bags of socks, intending to sell them on Guanqian Street. However, since such small-scale vendor behavior is not allowed on the surface, the two were afraid of being caught, so they took the night bus back. As a result, they had already been spotted by the joint defense team and were arrested on the spot on their way home.

Although Song Xiangyang is Li Yiming's cousin, the two are about the same age. He works as a temporary worker in the compressor factory and is an apprentice technician trained by Lin Wufeng.

When Song Xiangyang got into trouble, the joint defense team notified his work unit. Lin Wufeng went to the joint defense team to bail him out, but they ignored him when he offered him a pack of cigarettes. Finally, Lin Wufeng took off his Shanghai brand watch and placed it on the table before they finally took Song Xiangyang out.

Because the matter was reported to his workplace, and Song Xiangyang even made a self-criticism at the factory, it couldn't be kept secret at all. Before long, the news spread to the alley.

Li Yiming was originally quite motivated, but he's been sullen these past few days.

After Hua skipped a grade to sixth grade, he became classmates with Wu Shanshan and Zhang Min.

The sixth-grade classrooms are on the second floor, with windows facing the playground.

Hua Shier sat next to Wu Shanshan by the window, where she could see the camphor trees downstairs with just a glance.

The first week of school went smoothly. Hua Shier attended classes and did his homework on time every day. Occasionally, when the teacher called on him to answer questions, he would always give answers that surprised the teacher.

Soon, all the teachers knew that this new sixth-grade student who had skipped a grade was no ordinary student.

The trouble came in the second week.

That day after school, Hua Shier packed his schoolbag and went home with Zhuang Xiaoting and Lin Dongzhe as usual. Although the two of them were no longer in the same class, they always waited for him to walk together.

Not far from the school gate, Wu Shanshan caught up from behind. She was running fast, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her ponytail swung back and forth behind her head.

"Brother Pengfei," she whispered, "be careful, Wang Lei and his gang are going to cause you trouble."

Who is Wang Lei?

Wu Shanshan was speechless: "The tall guy in the last row of our class."

She glanced behind her as she spoke:
“His brother is very powerful in the middle school, so Wang Lei is usually quite arrogant. I heard that you make the kids in the alley call you 'brother,' and he's not happy about it.”

Hua Shier followed her gaze and glanced over. Not far from the school gate, several older boys were gathered together, the one in the middle, who was dark-skinned and muscular, was looking in their direction.

"I understand." He nodded. "Thank you." Seeing his calm expression, Wu Shanshan couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid?"

"What are you afraid of?" Hua Shier slung his schoolbag over his shoulder. "He can't eat me, but I still want to thank you for coming to tell me. Thank you, Wu Shanshan!"

"You really are different from others." Seeing how formally he thanked her, Wu Shanshan blushed and reminded him, "Anyway, be careful, and if things don't go well, go find Teacher Zhuang!"

When the three of them arrived at Textile Lane 3, they saw Li Yiming sitting on his doorstep, looking dejected.

The setting sun of late summer shone on him, casting a long shadow. He looked listless and lacked his usual energy.

"Brother Yiming," the children greeted.

Li Yiming looked up and forced a smile: "School's out?"

Hua Shier walked over and squatted down next to him. "What's wrong, Yiming? You look so worried."

Li Yiming sighed and remained silent.

Hua Shier didn't ask any further questions, only saying, "After we finish eating, shall we play two rounds of kung fu?"

"No, thank you." Li Yiming waved his hand.

"I'm already in a bad mood, and if you beat me a few more times, it'll only make me feel worse."

Hua Shier smiled and said to Lin Dongzhe and Zhuang Xiaoting, "You two go back first."

After the two children left, he turned around and said, "I've heard about what happened to you. Why are you still upset?"

Li Yiming smiled wryly: "It's not that I feel bad, it's just that... I don't know what to do next."

Hua Shier leaned closer and asked with a smile, "Have you ever heard of digital watches?"

Li Yiming was taken aback: "A digital watch? You mean one that doesn't need to be wound up and just displays numbers?"

"Correct."

Hua Shier said, "They're quite popular in the South now, and they're also sold here, but they're very expensive. When I came to Suzhou during the summer vacation, I met an uncle on the train. He took good care of me since I was traveling alone. He's the sales manager of an electronics factory in Shenzhen. He said his factory produces electronic watches!"

"When I got off the bus, because we had a good chat, he gave me his contact information."

Li Yiming's eyes lit up for a moment, then he asked worriedly:
"Brother Pengfei, I got arrested even selling socks, what would happen if I were selling digital watches?"

Hua Shier interrupted with a smile:

"Throughout history, the bold have always prospered while the timid have starved. The opportunity is right in front of you; it's just a matter of whether you dare to seize it. Also, don't tell anyone about this, not even your family. You went to high school; you should know the principle that things are accomplished in secrecy and ruined by leaks!"

After he finished speaking, he stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "Think it over carefully. I'll wait for your news."

Li Yiming stared at his retreating figure as he walked into the alley, stunned for a long time, a thought popping into his mind: "Is this really a primary school student?"

He felt that Hua Shier was much more mature than him.

During the break between classes that day, Wang Lei from the class indeed came to visit.

Hua Shier was idly lying on the table, drawing little figures with a pen in his hand. A shadow fell over him, and when he looked up, Wang Lei and two other people were standing in front of the table, completely blocking out the light.

"newcomer?"

Wang Lei crossed his arms and tilted his head to look at him.

"What is it?" Hua Shier put down his pen.

"I heard you're pretty arrogant outside," Wang Lei said, sizing him up.

Hua Shier made a gesture to move aside: "Dude, you're blocking the sunlight!"

"Fine, you've got guts."

Wang Lei took a step forward, almost touching Hua Shier: "See you in the restroom after school. If you don't come, you're a coward."

Wang Lei left with his men, and Wu Shanshan leaned over and said, "Brother Pengfei, don't be afraid, I'll go tell the teacher."

"Which eye of yours saw me scared!" Hua Shier was amused: "Alright, don't worry, I can handle it myself."

He spoke with such certainty that Wu Shanshan felt he was truly unafraid. Suddenly, she sensed an indescribable aura emanating from this boy who was even younger than her.

That kind of imposing manner wasn't feigned; he genuinely didn't take Wang Lei seriously.

In the last class of the afternoon, Hua Shier listened to the lecture and took notes as usual.

As soon as the school bell rang, Hua Shier packed his schoolbag and headed straight for the school's restrooms. He felt sorry for the children; if the other party had been an adult, he would have definitely called the police and used legal means to protect himself!
Wu Shanshan hesitated for a moment, packed her schoolbag, and told Zhang Min to go first. She ran to find Teacher Zhuang.

There were already seven or eight people gathered in the boys' restroom, all of them sixth graders. Among them, besides Wang Lei and his followers, there were a few onlookers. When Hua Shier came in, everyone quieted down.

"You actually dared to come." Wang Lei leaned against the sink, arms crossed.

"Why don't you dare?"

Hua Shier put his schoolbag at the door: "Speak, what do you want?"

"Simple." Wang Lei straightened up.

"From now on, when you see me, you have to call me Brother Lei!"

Hua Shier laughed: "What if I don't agree?"

"You won't agree?" Wang Lei laughed and winked at someone. "Then let's see if you can walk out standing up."

Two boys surrounded them.

Hua Shier dislocated the two boys' joints in no time, making them scream in pain. Then he grabbed Wang Lei by the neck and, like grabbing a chick, suspended him in mid-air above the squat toilet. The squat toilet was right below him; if he let go, this guy would have to take a warm bath.

Wang Lei was so scared he almost wet his pants. Hua Shier laughed from the side, "Calling him Brother Pengfei isn't hard, is it!"

Zhuang Chaoying received a call from Wu Shanshan and, fearing something might have happened to her nephew, rushed over. She found several sixth-grade students cautiously following behind Hua Shier outside the restroom.

He asked in surprise, "Pengfei, are you alright? Shanshan came to me and said Wang Lei is going to cause you trouble."

Hua Shier quickly waved his hand with a smile: "Wu Shanshan has misunderstood. My classmate Wang Lei heard that everyone in our college calls me Brother Pengfei, and he wants to call me that too. Now he's asking me for favors. Oh dear, this is so inappropriate!"

As she spoke, she glanced behind her with a smile.

Wang Lei and the others shuddered. This guy quickly stepped forward: "Teacher Zhuang, all the kids in your alley call me Brother Pengfei. If you don't let me call him that, it means you're looking down on me."

Zhuang Chaoying was both amused and exasperated. He didn't understand what was going on either, but as long as his nephew was alright, that was all that mattered.

He waved his hand and said, "Alright, go home right after school, don't linger around the school!"

Then he said to Hua Shier, "You should go back too. I have some things to take care of here. I'll go back later!"

On the way back, Wu Shanshan asked softly, "Are you really okay?"

“It’s really nothing,” Hua Shier said. “Thank you for going to find my uncle.”

"Of course." Wu Shanshan lowered her head, her voice even softer. "Wang Lei shouldn't bother you anymore."

"Yes." Hua Shier nodded. "He wouldn't dare."

He spoke with certainty. Wu Shanshan looked up at him. The light of the setting sun shone from the other end of the alley, gilding his face with a golden edge. This boy, who was even younger than her, was clearly thin, but standing there, he seemed fearless, unlike herself, who always lived cautiously even at home. This made her feel envious.

After that day, Wang Lei indeed never caused Hua Shier any more trouble. Not only did he not cause any trouble, but he would also call out "Brother Pengfei" every time they met!

Seeing that Wang Lei had given in, none of the other sixth-grade boys dared to provoke Hua Shier.

The primary school section of the school attached to the cotton mill was thus 'sweeped away' by Hua Twelve.

After dinner, Li Yiming asked Hua Shier to go out and talk under the pretext of playing chess:
"Brother Pengfei, I've thought about it, and you're right. The bold get rich, the timid starve. How can you make money without taking some risks?"

Hua Shier laughed and said, "It's not as serious as you make it out to be. Don't worry, I've got your back, everything'll be fine!"

Li Yiming found it somewhat amusing when he saw an elementary school student saying he wanted to protect him, but subconsciously he also felt it was very reasonable.

The next day, Hua Shier used the time while going to the toilet to enter the mirror space and created a clone of himself to go to school in his place.

Hua Shier stepped out of the alley and into the mirror space, then used the Anywhere Door to go to Pengcheng.

This side of the gate is a small street in Pengcheng. At this time, Pengcheng has not yet developed, but you can already see its vigorous vitality. There are stalls selling clothes and electronic products on both sides of the street, and people are pushing carts to sell wonton noodles.

When Hua Shier appeared on the streets of Shenzhen, he had already transformed into Li Yiming.

That evening, Hua Shier went to find Li Yiming.

"Brother Yiming, are you free? I need to talk to you about something."

Li Yiming followed him to a secluded spot, where Hua Shier took out a brown paper envelope from his bag and handed it to him.

"what is this?"

"open to take a look."

Li Yiming opened the envelope, inside was a letter of introduction and a work permit.

The letter of introduction was stamped with the red seal of an electronics factory in Shenzhen, and his work ID had his name and photo on it. The person in the photo did look like him, but he couldn't remember when he had taken such a photo.

"This is..." Li Yiming was dumbfounded: "Brother Pengfei, where did you get this?"

"What a coincidence! The uncle from Pengcheng Electronics Factory that I told you about the other day was in Suzhou on business these past few days, and I happened to run into him. Their factory is a township enterprise, so I asked him to get you a temporary worker certificate!"

Hua Twelve said:

"Remember this: from now on, you are a temporary salesman at Pengcheng Electronics Factory. This identity is real, and your letter of introduction and work permit are also real. However, there will be no salary. From now on, we will get goods from him and sell them in Suzhou. We will sell a 20-yuan electronic watch for 50 yuan, and a 30-yuan electronic watch for 80 yuan!"

"Brother Pengfei," Li Yiming swallowed, "Even if these letters of introduction are genuine, it seems that cross-province sales are still not allowed!"

Hua Shier laughed: "Don't worry, I've thought it all out. I'll be waiting for you at the Magpie Bridge at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, and I'll help you take care of the last step!"

Li Yiming asked in surprise, "Aren't you supposed to go to school tomorrow?"

Hua Shier waved his hand: "Then you don't need to worry about it, just wait for me."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving Li Yiming standing alone in the alley, looking at the letter of introduction and work permit in his hand, his heart churning with turmoil.

Li Yiming felt that his life was about to change completely from this moment on; well, he might very well end up in jail.
Of course, these were all just his wild guesses. In reality, meeting Hua Shier was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him!

Thanks to 08a, Little Tiger of the Demon Realm, and Brother Li Meng of the God of Death for their donations, and thanks to the brothers who voted for monthly tickets and recommendations. Thank you so much!