Chapter 31: Registration

Chapter 31: Registration

To take the children to register, Gu Heng took two hours off in the morning. After breakfast and a bit of tidying up, the whole family set out. Since they needed to buy groceries, Su Zhaozhao carried a basket.

Passing by Zhou Xiaojun's house, she saw the gate open and called out.

Wang Chunhua, with an apron tied around her waist, came out, "You're going so early?"

"Need to go to the market after registration. Don't forget to bring Xiaojun over for dinner tonight." Zhou's political commissar had asked Gu Heng to inform them.

"Sure, I'll come over early to help."

Her Xiaojun also needed to register, so Su Zhaozhao asked, "Want to go together?"

"I can't leave here." Wang Chunhua shrugged. She had been busy since morning, cooking, cleaning, and washing the clothes from last night. Somehow, the jar of pickles broke, and before leaving, she was still cleaning up the mess. There was still half a jar of pickles on the ground that hadn't been cleaned up.

Wang Chunhua's eyes lit up, "Why don't you take Xiaojun with you? If no one watches him, he might not get to school until who knows when."

Su Zhaozhao, of course, did not refuse, and Gu Heng nodded as well.

Wang Chunhua quickly went inside and soon came out with Xiaojun, handing him over to Su Zhaozhao, "Thanks for the trouble."

Thus, the family gained a little tail named Xiaojun.

Zhou Xiaojun was lively, much more active than the Gu siblings. With him along, the two siblings truly acted like children their age. The three kids held hands, skipping and jumping, mostly due to Zhou Xiaojun's enthusiasm.

The school wasn't far, only about a ten-minute walk. They arrived early, and there weren't many people at the school yet.

The school accepted not only children from the military but also students from nearby villages.

Even so, the school was small, with only one class per grade, each class having only about twenty students.

Gu Heng was less familiar with the school than Xiaojun, who pulled Gu Xiang and Gu Nian's hands and ran towards the third-grade classroom.

Gu Heng and Su Zhaozhao followed behind.

The third-grade homeroom teacher was a young woman with two braids, round-faced, looking very fortunate.

As soon as Xiaojun entered the classroom, he shouted, "Good morning, Teacher Zheng!"

Teacher Zheng, who had been writing at her desk, looked up, "Zhou Xiaojun, have you finished the summer homework assigned before the break? Bring it to me if you've finished; I need to check it."

Teacher Zheng lived in the residential area and often saw Zhou Xiaojun playing around. She had silently noted that she would need to check his homework carefully when school resumed.

Zhou Xiaojun was startled, "I did, I did, but I didn't bring it today."

"Remember to bring it tomorrow when classes officially start."

"Okay, okay." The lively Xiaojun suddenly lost his liveliness.

Su Zhaozhao found it amusing; throughout history, there has never been a student who wasn't afraid of their teacher.

Mr. Zheng also spotted them and stood up, "Captain Gu, right?"

Gu Heng nodded, "I've brought my two children here to register."

Mr. Zheng looked at Gu Nian and Gu Xiang, and said with a smile, "I've heard from the principal that Captain Gu and the parents can rest assured. I will definitely teach them well, but I'm not sure about their current academic progress."

Almost every year, there are children transferring from rural areas. Some claim to have attended school for a few years, but when they start classes, they struggle with many subjects and can't keep up with the curriculum. This is also due to the lagging educational resources in the countryside.

The children's school of the military, though also adjacent to the village, is not the same as the ordinary rural primary schools. With the military's endorsement, its educational resources are not inferior to those in urban areas, and sometimes can be said to be better, such as in terms of supplies.

Children from military families like Gu Xiang do not need to pay tuition fees; enrolling truly means just enrolling.

Gu Heng was unclear about the children's grades and looked towards Su Zhaozhao.

In the previous exam, Gu Nian scored two hundred points, and Gu Xiang also scored above ninety.

Upon hearing that the child's grades were so excellent, Mr. Zheng's eyes lit up.

"That's wonderful." No teacher dislikes children with good grades.

Gu Xiang and Gu Nian felt a bit shy from the praise, while Zhou Xiaojun made faces at them with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Mr. Zheng turned to look at him, "Zhou Xiaojun, you should learn from Gu Xiang and Gu Nian! Don't just focus on playing every day."

Zhou Xiaojun stood still obediently, "Teacher Zheng, I know!"

After registering, Teacher Zheng distributed the new textbooks and asked the children to arrive at school by 8:30 AM tomorrow.

"It's best to arrive at school ten minutes early," Teacher Zheng said to Gu Xiang and Gu Nian.

The siblings nodded, holding their books.

Exiting the school, Gu Heng glanced at the time and noted it was still early, "Let's go to the market together; I should be able to drop you off on the way back."

So they went to the market again, with Zhou Xiaojun following along. He had intended to run away but was caught by Su Zhaozhao. Sister Wang handed the person to her, and she had to return the person to their hands.

Sure enough, there was a long queue in front of the meat stall. Those who had purchased meat were beaming with joy, while those at the back were standing on tiptoe, anxiously peering forward, fearing that there would be none left by the time it was their turn.

Su Zhaozhao still wanted to buy some meat, "Xiao Xiang, you line up behind me and let's see if we get lucky."

Gu Xiang nodded and stood at the end of the line.

Su Zhaozhao then began to purchase other items. Tofu was definitely on the list, and surprisingly, there was a queue at the tofu stall as well?

Then did she get lucky and find some tofu available last afternoon?

Fortunately, there weren't many people, and Su Zhaozhao sent her daughter away, giving her money to buy two pieces.

No one has started growing vegetables in greenhouses yet, so the vegetables on the stalls are all seasonal, with not too many varieties, but it's not a small selection. Su Zhaozhao bought several kinds, filling her basket to the brim.

Gu Heng held the basket in his hand, which she had handed to him while selecting the vegetables, and he kept it with him ever since.

"Is this the casserole you mentioned?" Gu Heng pointed to a clay-colored pot that was a bit larger than a bowl with its lid on.

Su Zhaozhao followed his finger and said, "Yes! That's it!"

Why didn't she see it last time? Or did she just miss it?

It wasn't until she was buying it that she found out— "It only arrived yesterday."

The salesperson thought it wouldn't sell well; most people living around here were from the military, who couldn't afford an iron or aluminum pot?

Who would use a clay pot?

Not only is it fragile, but it also tends to break easily.

Su Zhaozhao became the first customer to buy the casserole.

She didn't just buy the casserole; she also got a kimchi jar.

Kimchi is the perfect match for porridge, and it can be used in dishes and soups as well.

She would have to start pickling kimchi soon.

Fortunately, she had learned how to do it on a certain app before coming here.

Gu Nian had already bought the tofu, and when Su Zhaozhao reached the meat stall, she found that she was almost next in line after Gu Xiang.

The butcher's hands moved swiftly, slicing off a neat strip with each cut, whether it was half a pound or a full pound, he never needed a second cut, no wonder it was Gu Xiang's turn so quickly.