The weather is getting hotter and hotter, entering a scorching summer.

  Dabao was on summer vacation at that time, and there wasn't much homework to do during the summer break. Every day, he would take off his shirt, wear just a pair of shorts, and play wildly with several boys from the village who were about the same age as him. In the morning, after eating a few mouthfuls of food, he would disappear without a trace. He wouldn't be seen again until lunchtime when he would return home to eat, and then he wouldn't be seen again until nightfall.

  Zhao Yuzhen couldn't control him, so she simply followed him, thinking that every family's second child wasn't like this. It was useless to expect Dabao to do something for himself, but he insisted on taking Xiaobao out to play too.

  Dabao reluctantly took the little tailgater out, but in ten times, Xiaobao returned home five times, complaining that his brother only played by himself and ignored him.

  Zhao Yuzhen had no choice but to let Zhou Xiaoyun take Xiao Bao with her.

  Zhou Xiaoyun obediently agreed, she has been behaving very well in front of her parents lately, knowing that her father goes out every day to find business to earn tuition fees for her.

  But at this time, few families slaughter pigs, and meat is easy to spoil in the summer. Every family waits until winter, when it's time for Chinese New Year, to fatten up their pigs before slaughtering them. Unless there are special occasions such as a wedding or an elderly person's birthday or funeral, they wouldn't bear to slaughter the pig that has been raised for half a year but is still not fat.

  So Zhou Fu didn't have a big harvest and his face didn't look good when he got home. On a hot day, wandering around outside all day often resulted in returning home empty-handed, which made him even more annoyed.

  Zhou Xiaoyun was very thoughtful and hadn't waited for Zhou Father to sit down, a towel with cold water had already been handed over to him to wipe away his sweat.

  Just after wiping the sweat, a glass of icy boiled water was handed to Zhou's father again. Zhou's father had already dissipated more than half of his anger, and after drinking a cup of cold tea, all his unhappiness flew away, and he began to enthusiastically plan where to go the next day.

  Zhou's father said to Zhao Yu Zhen behind his back: "She's really sensible, I think even Xiao Xia is not as good as her." Xiao Xia and Da Bao are of the same age, she is the eldest daughter of Zhou Guo Fu, Zhou's older brother.

  Zhao Yuzhen nodded in agreement, and didn't suspect that her daughter was any different from before. She just thought that her daughter had never been short, and when she spoke and acted, she looked like a 7 or 8 year old.

  "Maybe the child has grown up and become more sensible, besides girls are always more mature than boys at a younger age. Da Bao is already nine years old but still doesn't understand anything, whereas Da Ya is just like her sister."

  The couple chatted and laughed for a while, and came to the conclusion that Dà Yā is a sensible good kid, don't worry too much about her, but should take good care of the other kids especially Dà Bǎo.

  Zhou Xiaoyun naturally didn't know what her parents were thinking, and she would never have thought that her good behavior would make her parents pay less attention to her, only to regret it later.

  She is now immersed in the joy of her upcoming school days, and every day after finishing breakfast, she doesn't wait for Zhao Yu's instructions, and takes her younger brother Xiaobao to let out the ducks.

  She also brought a first-grade textbook that Dabao had used to the pond and read it. After the ducks entered the pond, she put down the bamboo pole, found a shaded place with her back to the sun, and let Xiaobao play around nearby. She herself picked up the long-unused textbook and started reading.

  Fortunately, there were several children herding ducks, and Xiaobao soon found a playmate, a boy from the same village named Liu's nickname Xiao Shitou, playing happily together.

  The textbook was long worn out by Dabao, and the drawings of cats and dogs were all over the place. It's hard to believe that Dabao actually has some talent for drawing.

  Zhou Xiaoyun had an idea flash through her mind, why not guide her brother's hobby upwards and let him also stabilize his temperament.

  His elder brother in his previous life went to school for three days and fished for two days, loved to fight and escape from school, and barely read until the second year of junior high school before refusing to go to school again.

  Grew up and hung out with three or four friends, didn't get married until 26 to an old maid from a neighboring village. After marriage, the couple's quarrels were a daily occurrence, making the whole family uneasy.

  Dabao has already shown this tendency, and it's better to curb his personality while he's still young. If we wait a few more years, it will be too late. However, this needs to be done gradually, and we need to plan carefully.

  Having made up her mind, Zhou Xiaoyun focused her attention on the textbooks. A math textbook was nothing more than recognizing numbers and simple addition and subtraction, which shouldn't be difficult for herself. It was the Chinese pinyin in the language textbook that she hadn't touched for years, which felt a bit unfamiliar.

  “aoe……”

  She read softly to herself, thinking that no matter what, she had to thoroughly read the book before school started. In her previous life, she was only an average student and rarely received praise from teachers. Now, she must study hard and get high scores every time to satisfy her vanity.

  "Big sister, big sister," a loud slap on the back, turned around to see that it was actually her cousin Zhou Xiaoxia: "What are you looking at? I called out to you several times and you didn't hear me."

  Zhou Xiaoxia is also nine years old, two months older than Dabao, and in the same class. Zhou Xiaoxia is half a head taller than Zhou Xiaoyun, wearing a cotton floral skirt, with two braids on her head, and a pair of new sandals on her feet, looking delicate and lovely.

  Zhou Xiaoyun looked at her old short-sleeved shirt and shorts, plus a pair of slightly small sandals, and felt a little self-conscious.

  The eldest uncle was good at carpentry and often made furniture for others, occasionally making some finished products to sell. The family's situation was much better than his own. Apart from Zhou Xiaoxia, there was also a seven-year-old boy named Hai Zi, whose full name was Zhou Zhihai.

  Zhou Xiaoyun has been wearing her older sister Zhou Xiaoxia's hand-me-downs since she was a child, until she turned 14 and surpassed her sister in height, earning the right to have new clothes.

  Zhou Xiaoyun handed the book in her hand to Zhou Xiaoxia: "I'm looking at Dabao's textbook, I'll also go to first grade when school starts, my dad and mom have promised me."

  "Really?" Zhou Xiaoxia became interested, found a slightly cleaner place and sat down carefully: "You're three years younger than me, one year younger than my brother Haizi. He didn't want to go to school at all, my dad even said let him start first grade, but he refused and made a fuss at home for a long time, saying he'll only go next year. My dad had no choice but to follow his wishes. Why do you want to go to school? It's more fun to play at home for two more years, going to school is so boring."

  Zhou Xiaoxia pouted, feeling a bit unbelievable.