The Lin family's little boy returns to being eight years old, taking his family to new heights.

As March arrives, the weather in Northeast China is caught between spring and winter, with howling north winds one moment and bright sunshine the next.

Lin Xi also ushered in the first stop of the National Mathematical Olympiad.

Today is the city-level competition, and the examination venue is the Danbei City Cultural Center.

She and Su Youcai got into the car with the encouraging look in the old principal's eyes.

In the car, Su Youcai shared his experience from participating in the competition with Lin Xi.

Tell Lin Xi not to be nervous and to just perform normally.

With her skill level, a top-three finish is a certainty.

"Teacher Su, don't worry, I'll get you first place."

Just kidding, I did ten math olympiad problems, plus the principal's private tutoring and my own high school level of knowledge.

It would be an injustice if we didn't come in first.

She patted Su Youcai on the shoulder, signaling him not to worry, and then confidently stepped into the examination room.

When the test papers were handed out, she glanced at them briefly and thought, "Not bad, all of them are within range."

She finished the two-hour exam in half an hour.

After checking it and confirming there were no mistakes, she raised her hand and asked, "Teacher, can I hand in my paper now?"

The examiners were not surprised; every year, these competitions produce a few exceptional students who finish early.

"can."

The little boy behind Lin Xi was a bit surprised; he thought he would be the first to hand in his paper.

When Su Youcai saw Lin Xi come out, he hurriedly asked, "Did you finish answering so quickly? How was it?"

"It's very simple."

Seeing how calm she was, Su Youcai didn't ask any more questions, since the results would be out in the afternoon anyway.

Ten minutes later, a fair-skinned little boy walked straight up to Lin Xi and said, "Hello, my name is Lin Zixuan, and I sit behind you in the exam room."

Lin Xi always liked polite and well-behaved children, so she smiled and introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Lin Xi."

"Can I discuss the last question with you?"

"of course can."

Lin Zixuan took out paper and pen, sat in the empty seat next to Lin Xi, and said generously, "Although I solved this problem, the method I used was very clumsy. How did you solve it?"

Lin Xi picked up a pen and began to write and draw while patiently explaining to him, going over all the methods she could think of.

Seeing how detailed her explanation was, Lin Zixuan couldn't help but feel even more favorably disposed towards her.

After explaining the questions, there was still a long time before the exam ended and the results were announced.

Two bored kids got together and started chatting.

Su Youcai was left out like a lonely old man, waiting anxiously for the exam results to come out.

"By the way, why did you come alone?"

The children participating in the competition were all very young and were accompanied by teachers or parents.

But after talking for so long, she didn't see anyone come looking for the little boy.

"My dad works at the Transportation Bureau and doesn't have time, and my mom is a senior high school homeroom teacher, so her time is even tighter."

Anyway, it's very close to my house, so I came by myself.

Hearing him say that, Lin Xi's eyes darted around, and an idea came to her mind.

The exam was about to end, and the waiting room was getting more and more crowded. Everyone was discussing the questions, and it was as noisy as a market.

Two hours later, as names and scores gradually appeared on the big screen, everyone quieted down and searched for their own names on the scrolling screen.

Ten minutes later, the screen froze.

Lin Xi is in the first position, a perfect score.

Lin Zixuan, second place, full marks.

Su Youcai was not surprised when he saw the results; he simply nodded in satisfaction.

Well, he had already foreseen this ending.

However, after leaving the examination room, he made a phone call to the former principal and his younger brother respectively.

Su Yushan was in a great mood and immediately went to the broadcasting room to announce the good news to all the teachers and students in the school.

Su Youcheng was both happy and jealous. If Xiaoxi hadn't skipped a grade, he would be the one showing off everywhere now.

As soon as Lin Xi arrived at the classroom door, enthusiastic applause erupted. Even Su Wan'er, who had always looked down on Lin Xi, clapped with admiration.

After all this time, she could see that the other person was really amazing. Didn't she notice that Teacher Su and Teacher Li learned their problem-solving methods from Lin Xi?

I used to think Lin Jing was just bragging and exaggerating.

Lin Xi ran back to her seat, feeling embarrassed, and soon immersed herself in studying.

Seeing her calm and composed demeanor, Lin Jing secretly admired her. She was smart and eager to learn; if she wasn't number one, who would be?

The entire school was cheering for Lin Xi's achievements, but the Lin family members didn't react much.

First place in the competition? Isn't that normal? It would be strange if we weren't first.

The main reason is that since the new store opened a few days ago, they have been so busy that they have to squeeze in time to go to the toilet.

Otherwise, given Lin Guiying's personality, she might have slaughtered a chicken or a goose to celebrate.

Lin Xi looked at the dinner in front of her, feeling like crying. It was just boiled noodles again.

Even though income has increased, why has the standard of living declined?

"Xiao Xi, just have this for now, I'll make you something delicious tomorrow."

After saying that, Lin Guiying put on her coat and hurriedly left.

Oh, Grandma, you said the same thing yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that...

Lin's Malatang is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., but the dishes are always sold out before 10 p.m.

Lin Guiying gets up at five o'clock every morning to prepare vegetables, and even as the number of customers increases, she insists on buying and selling fresh vegetables every day.

During business hours, Lin Dayuan cooks, Liu Erli collects money and wipes the tables, Lin Guojun delivers meals, and Lin Guiying washes dishes.

But as they continued, things went awry.

When they ran out of bowls, Liu Erli helped wash them.

When no one was collecting the money, Lin Guojun put down the food he was delivering and helped collect the money.

Soon, customers kept urging her to order, so Lin Guiying had to help her son cook the spicy hot pot.

But no one's washing the dishes...

In short, it was utter chaos.

This was the first time Lin Xi had come to the shop since it opened, and this was the scene she saw.

The family was like they were at war; the kitchen was like a battlefield, a complete mess, with everything overturned and disorganized.

I really don't know how everyone managed to persevere for so many days.

That evening, seeing her family members looking listless, Lin Xi suggested hiring someone.

However, it was met with collective opposition.

It's normal for it to be crowded since it's just opened. What if it gets less crowded in a couple of days?

Lin Xi shook her head helplessly.

That's too naive; the population will only continue to grow.

Then they'll realize how wise their suggestion was.

The next day, Lin Xi took a rare day off from Su Youcai, explaining the reason truthfully: her family was too busy, and no one was doing laundry or cooking.

She needs to go to the city to buy some household appliances.

After all, she was very busy and didn't want to waste time cleaning.

Su Youcai was taken aback at first, but then quickly approved the leave and asked if he wanted to go with her.

Lin Xi waved her hands repeatedly.

And so, nine-year-old Lin Xi went to the city alone for the first time.

I hadn't noticed before, but when I got to the mall, I realized that I was missing a lot of things at home.

They don't have almost any household appliances.

I bought the washing machine first, since I needed it most urgently, so I wouldn't have to use a washboard to scrub things.

With rice cookers and induction cookers, we won't need to burn firewood for cooking anymore.

With the refrigerator, I can now stock up on my favorite ice cream and popsicles.

Finally, I saw flip phones in the store and bought four in one go, one for each of us, so it will be easier to contact each other in the future.

That's right, I'm going to receive Grandma's loving baptism again tonight...