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n

n

nAt this, Daddy glanced toward the window and smiled at me.

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nHe continued, “Shanbai Village is our hometown. It does not only belong to us, but also our children. In the future, their descendants will also be born and grow up here. I hope that they can all live in a beautiful environment like this. Every day, they will be able to see flowers, trees, clear river water, and play happily on the grass…”

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nWhen Daddy finished talking, no one else said anything. None of the uncles reacted.

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nI think Daddy said it very well. I leaned out the window and clapped.

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nThe other children clapped along with me.

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nAll the uncles in the room turned to look at us, then started clapping too.

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nI think Daddy was too great for coming up with such a good reason to let me play in the fields.

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nIn the end, Zhang Xiaohan placed this essay in an envelope. She prepared to mail it to her classmate in the county town, to get him to help submit it for the competition.

n

n…

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nAfter Xie Chaochao arrived at school, she was being pestered by someone.

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nXu Shan had a bitter expression on his face as he complained to Xie Chaochao, “Little girl, do you know that my father beat me up exceptionally badly this time? You are part of the reason too!”

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nXie Chaochao responded coldly, “Isn’t it because you did exceptionally poorly?”

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nXu Shan choked for a moment from being flustered. He straightened his neck and shouted, “Of course not. My previous examination results were not much different from this time either. My father had only given me a few symbolic spanks previously. It did not even hurt much! But do you know how terrible it was for me this time? After I went back, my father didn’t give me a chance to refute at all. He just pinned me down on the chair and gave me a violent spank. My butt is still hurting!”

n

n“What has this got to do with me?”

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n“That’s because you got first place in the cohort. My father somehow found out about this news and when he saw my result slip, he became even angrier. That’s why he hit me so hard!”

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nXu Shan imitated his father’s tone and imitated what his father had said to Xie Chaochao. “Look at Chaochao, then look at yourself. She ranked first in the cohort, but you ranked last. Don’t you feel embarrassed playing with Chaochao all day long? I’m even afraid that you’ve led Chaochao astray. Let me warn you, if Chaochao’s results drop because of you, watch how I deal with you!”

n

nAfter saying that, Xu Shan became even more depressed. “Little girl, how am I going to live like this in the future!”

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nFatty comforted him, “Aiyah, you can slowly get used to this kind of thing. Let me tell you, this is how I lived through it. In primary school, every time there was an examination, Sister Chaochao would rank first. When I ranked last in the examination, my father would hang me up and beat me. His words were similar to what your father said. After so many years, I’ve gotten used to it! You’ll get used to being beaten by your father after a few more times! It’s not a big deal!”

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nXu Shan looked at Fatty and did not say anything for a long time.

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nAfterwards, Xu Shan looked at Xie Chaochao with an embarrassed expression. “Little girl, can… Can you tutor me?”

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n“You’re in second grade now, and I’m in first grade. How can I tutor you?”

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nXu Shan was even more embarrassed by the question. “I… I haven’t listened in class ever since secondary school. I don’t know anything about what I learned in first grade either.”

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nXie Chaochao didn’t think too much about it and agreed. “Alright, I can tutor you, but you have to complete the learning tasks I assign you seriously. Otherwise, it will be a waste of our time!”

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nXu Shan nodded solemnly. “Alright, I’ll definitely listen to you!”

n

nFatty listened to their conversation and was momentarily speechless.

n

n“Hey, Xu Shan, why are you suddenly starting to learn? Are you afraid that your father will beat you up again?”

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nWhen Xu Shan heard that, he could not help but recall his experience at home the past two days.

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nWhen he reached home on Sunday, he had just handed his result slip to his father when he got beaten up by his father. Xu Shan did not feel sad. He was still thinking that after this beating, the matter of him ranking last in the examination would be resolved.

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nHowever, what his father said next made him suddenly very upset.

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n“Chaochao has good results and is promising. The people she meets in the future will definitely be people who are as capable as she is. If you continue to live like this, the gap between you and her will only increase. At that time, you yourself will feel that you are not worthy enough to be Chaochao’s friend!”

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nXu Shan imagined this scene.

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nAs they slowly grew up, Xie Chaochao became even more dazzling. She was surrounded by many elites and many pursuers. However, he was still a hooligan. He had no right to stand beside Xie Chaochao anymore.

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nNo matter how much Fatty asked, Xu Shan was unwilling to say the real reason he wanted to improve his results with tutoring.

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n“I’m not afraid! I’ve been beaten many times over the years. If I truly wanted to learn because I was afraid of being beaten, I would have definitely ranked first in the cohort by now!”

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