People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

The next morning, Huang Ling combed Xiao Ting's hair and led her out.

At the same time, Song Ying also hurriedly dragged the sleepy-eyed Lin Dongzhe to school.

The two families are going to apply to the school leaders today to allow their two children to skip a grade.

Upon hearing this, the school leaders, after some discussion, decided to give the children a chance.

At noon, when no one was in the classroom, the principal personally supervised an exam.

The classroom was quiet, and Lin Dongzhe and Xiaoting were both focused on answering each question.

The exam results came out before school ended that day.

The two students successfully skipped a grade and will soon begin fourth grade.

Xiaoting and Lin Dongzhe stood on the podium.

"Today is Zhuang Xiaoting and Lin Dongzhe's last day in Class 2 of Grade 3. Tomorrow they will be going to Grade 4. Classmates, let's wish Zhuang Xiaoting and Lin Dongzhe all the best in their new grades and make progress every day!"

Teacher Zhang looked at Lin Dongzhe with a mixture of reluctance and relief.

Don't let his mischievous nature fool you; he's actually very perceptive, knows how to charm people, and is quite clever.

Without him, no one can liven up the atmosphere during class meetings anymore.

With tears welling in her eyes, Teacher Zhang sighed softly. "You can't be naughty in your new class, Lin Dongzhe. If I had known you had so much potential, I wouldn't have let you skip a grade!"

Hearing the teacher's praise, Lin Dongzhe felt both happy and sad. He was happy that the teacher had finally recognized him, but sad that he had to leave his familiar teacher and classmates. He couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

"Okay, don't cry."

Zhuang Xiaoting looked down and immediately saw the red scarf, then glanced at Lin Dongzhe. "Teacher Zhang, Lin Dongzhe hasn't joined the Young Pioneers yet. He doesn't even have a red scarf. People will laugh at him in fourth grade!"

Lin Dongzhe immediately stopped crying and turned his head away somewhat embarrassed. "Xiaoting!"

Teacher Zhang slapped her thigh suddenly. "Look at this! I forgot about it. I'll submit the list for you this time!"

Lin Dongzhe pouted, tears still welling in his eyes. "Teacher, I told you before, and I submitted the most dead flies! Waaah! But you still wouldn't agree!"

"Alright, who told you to be so naughty before? Your teacher didn't know you had such potential and were so smart! Stop crying! I'll get you registered right away!"

Lin Dongzhe wiped away his tears, sniffed, and nodded. "Thank you, teacher!"

"Ring ring ring!"

The school bell rang, and Lin Dongzhe and Xiaoting went home together.

"Xiaoting, thank you so much for today. If you hadn't spoken to the teacher, I definitely wouldn't have been able to wear the red scarf."

Zhuang Xiaoting raised her chin. "You're welcome. We live in the same courtyard, so we should help each other."

Lin Dongzhe walked ahead, skipping along, humming an off-key tune. "Mom, I'm back!"

Song Ying was cooking with Sister Ling in the backyard when she heard the noise. She put down the spatula, didn't even bother to take off her apron, and rushed to the front yard. "Dongzhe, Xiaoting, how is it?"

Lin Dongzhe nodded vigorously. "Starting tomorrow, Xiaoting and I will be in fourth grade!"

Song Ying's eyes welled up with tears of excitement. She hugged Lin Dongzhe tightly, exclaiming, "That's wonderful! I never imagined my son would actually skip a grade! Mom will make you something delicious today!"

When Zhuang Chaoying returned home from get off work, carrying her briefcase, she could hear the sounds coming from the courtyard from the alley entrance.

He walked into the courtyard and saw Xiaoting setting out the bowls and chopsticks.

"Dad, you're back." Xiaoting put down her chopsticks and quickly stepped forward to take Zhuang Chaoying's briefcase.

"Xiaoting, has the decision to skip a grade been made?"

Zhuang Chaoying already knew the answer in her heart, but she still wanted to hear Xiaoting say it herself.

"Yes, tomorrow I'll be in fourth grade with Lin Dongzhe."

Zhuang Chaoying scooped up Xiaoting, lifted her high above her head, and spun her around. "I knew it, our Xiaoting is quick-witted."

Xiaoting tilted her head back confidently. "That's for sure, most people can't compare to my brain!"

Zhuang Chaoying kissed Xiaoting and then walked towards the kitchen. "Song Ying, let's make crispy pork today!"

Song Ying smiled so hard her eyes narrowed into slits. "Teacher Zhuang, Dongzhe and Xiaoting skipped a grade! Let's make some delicious food to celebrate!"

Huang Ling teased from the side, "Chao Ying, you have no idea, ever since Dong Zhe came back, Song Ying's mouth has never stopped! Now, everyone in our alley knows that Dong Zhe skipped a grade."

Zhuang Chaoying looked around: "Ah Ling, are we not eating snake gourd today?"

Huang Ling replied, "I'm not eating anymore. Bring up this crispy fried pork!"

Zhuang Chaoying rolled up her sleeves: "Alright!"

The two families sat around a table in the courtyard.

Lin Dongzhe kept stirring the steamed egg custard with his spoon. "Mom, can I eat some more of this?"

Song Ying: "Sure, today is a reward for you. Lin Dongzhe, as long as you study hard and do well on your exams, Mom will cook delicious food for you every day!"

Looking at his foodie son, Lin Wufeng was overjoyed and teased him with a smile, "Others say that they find beauty in books, but our Dongzhe finds delicious food in books!"

Song Ying turned to look at Zhuang Chaoying: "Teacher Zhuang, it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, I would never have dared to dream that my Lin Dongzhe could skip a grade!"

Zhuang Chaoying raised her glass: "Dongzhe is a very clever little guy, let's have a drink, Engineer Lin!"

Lin Wufeng solemnly raised his glass, the liquid shimmering under the light. "One more," he said, tilting his head back. He took a sip, then picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, chewed it carefully, and put down his chopsticks. His expression was sincere as he said, "Teacher Zhuang, I truly admire you. Thank you! Tutoring Lin Dongzhe always gave me a headache. That kid is usually so mischievous and can't sit still. He gets distracted as soon as I start explaining problems to him, and I just can't do anything about it. Luckily, you've been there to help me tutor him, transforming a bad horse into a thoroughbred!"

As Lin Dongzhe spoke, he took another big spoonful, his cheeks bulging.

"Mom, this steamed egg custard smells so good with lard in it!"

Seeing her son's greedy expression, Song Ying said, "Don't just eat by yourself, let Xiaoting and your brother Tunan eat too!"

After listening, Tu Nan scooped a spoonful of steamed egg custard into his mouth, then looked at Xiao Ting and Lin Dongzhe and asked, "Xiao Ting, can you keep up with Dongzhe's fourth-grade course?"

Xiaoting was chewing on some crispy fried pork. After swallowing, she said, "No problem, brother. When Dad was explaining a lot of the knowledge points to Pengfei, Lin Dongzhe and I also learned along with him. We both previewed a lot of the content in advance, which is why we were able to pass the grade skipping exam smoothly this time."

Lin Dongzhe patted his chest and assured him, "Brother Tu Nan, I didn't find it difficult at all. I finished those questions very quickly, and I even think I could have done better!"

At the Zhang family's house next door, however, there was a heavy atmosphere.

Zhang Amei was gossiping behind his back again, frowning and speaking in a sour tone: "That little rascal Lin Dongzhe actually skipped a grade and is in fourth grade! I can believe Xiaoting skipped a grade, but Lin Dongzhe... Song Ying must be so smug now, wanting the whole factory and alley to know that they're neighbors with the Zhuang family! These days, being a teacher is such a coveted job, everyone's scrambling to get one! What kind of world is this!"

Old Wu remarked from the side, "Dongzhe's brain is indeed very sharp."

Zhang Amei turned to look at her daughter, Xiaomin, and was immediately furious. She thought to herself that her daughter couldn't keep up with Shanshan's studies, and now she couldn't even catch up with Lin Dongzhe. "Xiaomin, didn't I tell you to ask Teacher Zhuang if you have any questions?! All you do is play around all day! Where were you when Lin Dongzhe was studying?!"

She said that, but in reality she was just jealous of Song Ying, jealous that Song Ying lived in the same courtyard as Teacher Zhuang and had someone to help tutor her child!

Shanshan couldn't stand it and defended Xiaomin: "I explained the questions Xiaomin didn't understand!"

Zhang Amei, however, was unimpressed and glared at Shanshan: "Is it you who taught better, or Teacher Zhuang?"

Xiao Jun muttered quietly to himself, "I think my sister teaches very well!"

Zhang Amei glared at them fiercely with a stern face.

Old Wu sighed helplessly and said, "Let's eat! Stop arguing, can't we just eat in peace?"

Zhang Amei slammed her chopsticks down. "You guys eat!"

Zhang Amei got up, went back to her room, and lay down on the bed. She thought, "I have to ask Teacher Zhuang to help Xiaomin with her homework. I can't let Shanshan surpass Xiaomin!"