Chapter 091

From the Children’s Palace, Tansui was tired and satisfied.

After walking home for a while, Doudou asked her, “Are you really going to come to school every day from now on?”

At the mention of learning to dance, Dan Sui involuntarily tiptoed again.

She looked at Doudou with a happy expression and replied, “Yes, I quite like it.”

Doudou asked again, “So are you going to tell your aunt and uncle?”

Dan Sui thought for a moment, “Let’s not tell them yet, I don’t know if they’ll let me study, they always tell me to go to school and study hard, but there’s no point in studying hard, who’d waste so much time on studying.”

In school, if you want to be a class officer or grade officer, or if you want to get other awards and prizes, it’s not based on cultural achievement, but on personal political performance. In other places, it’s even more so.

In the current era, cultural knowledge is the most useless thing.

Not only is it useless, but sometimes it can even become a burden.

However, because Zhen Zhen and Shui Huai Ming would regularly check on Dan Sui’s learning.

So at school, Dan Sui still listened to and mastered all the things that were taught in the culture class.

Children naturally have secrets from each other.

Dan Sui said she didn’t want her family to know, so Doudou naturally helped her keep it a secret.

The two of them walked back to the compound, it was already evening.

They separated in the alley, each went back to their own homes, and waited for their parents to come back from work, and sat down to eat.

According to the agreement when they came back, Dan Sui and DouDou didn’t tell their families that they went out of the compound to play.

Then the next afternoon, after their parents went to work, the two quietly slipped out of the compound, went to the Children’s Palace.

***

A child’s life is always colorful.

Even if they catch a cicada, they can be happy for the whole summer.

In contrast, the life of an adult is boring and monotonous.

Especially in this age where individuality is not allowed, adults almost always repeat the same routine.

Zhen Zhen still goes to work with Wen every day, and leaves work together.

After work, she stayed at home with her family, grew vegetables, raised chickens, and lit up the world with fireworks.

If anything has changed, it is that the years are getting older and the children are growing up.

The children have grown from learning to speak in their infancy to running around the world.

There is a generation of children growing up in time, and there is a generation of people aging in time.

Zhong Minfen has aged even faster in the past few years. Nowadays, the hair on her head is all white, and she can barely pick out a few black hairs. Her back is bent, her legs are no longer straight, her teeth are starting to loosen and fall out, and her ears are getting backward.

The only thing left in her life was to watch her children grow up.

Like, watching the first sun rise in the east, watching the grass sprout.

***

Summer vacation was quickly drawing to a close.

Dan Sui and DouDou left the dance classroom at the Children’s Palace on the last day.

Before leaving, Danshui went to say to Mr. Lu, “Mr. Lu, I’m going to start school tomorrow, my parents are quite strict, I don’t dare to skip school, I may not have time to come to learn dance from you.”

Teacher Lu touched her head and said, “It’s okay, as long as you like it, you can practice at home.”

In her heart, Dan Sui still felt very reluctant and regretful, thinking that if only she could learn to dance with Mr. Lu all the time, it would be great.

Although dancing is very tiring and hard, she likes it and feels happy even when she’s tired.

She didn’t like the life in school, it felt very meaningless.

With this mood and thought, she left the Children’s Palace.

Dan Sui walked down the road kicking small stones and mumbling, “I don’t want school to start at all.”

Doudou looked at her and asked rhetorically, “Who wants school to start?”

That being said, how many people like school.

Those who said they liked school were mostly just doing it to express themselves.

Dan Sui sighed an old, heavy sigh at a young age.

After sighing, she looked at Doudou and said: “It would be better not to resume school, listening to those ideological and political education in school every day, listening to my head is big. After receiving education on ideology, and then receiving labor education, it’s really exhausting.”

Hearing Dan Sui say this, Doudou was busy looking around.

Seeing no one near or far, Doudou let out a sigh of relief and whispered, “Don’t say that kind of thing, it’s very reactionary, if someone hears it, you’ll have to go up to the stage and do a review when the school holds a critique meeting!”

Dan Sui pouted, did not say anything else.

It was still about the same time when they got home, and Dan Sui and DouDou went home separately for dinner.

At the dinner table, Zhen Zhen and Shi Huai Ming took turns telling the children at home, “Summer vacation is over, school starts tomorrow, so gather your thoughts, don’t think about playing, and be serious at school.”

Dan Tong and Xing Yu responded together, “Got it.”

After being bored for a while, Dan Sui looked at Zhen Zhen and Shi Huai Ming and tried to say, “I don’t want to go to school.”

Zhen Zhen and Servant Huai Ming both froze at that.

A moment later, Zhen Zhen asked her in a normal voice, “Then what do you want to do?”

Dan Sui looked at Zhen Zhen and added in a low voice, “Anyway, I just don’t want to go to school …… and want to learn something else ……”

Serving Huai Ming looked at her: “You are only a few years old, even the basic cultural knowledge has not yet learned well, what do you want to learn other? At your age, if you don’t go to school or study, where else can you go?”

Dan Sui looked at Servant Huai Ming and pursed her lips.

For a moment she confessed, “I want to go to the Children’s Palace to learn to dance ……”

Hearing this, Zhen Zhen and Servant Huai Ming froze again in silent agreement.

They seldom contact with artistic things, at most, they can see the performance, and know very little about this aspect.

Because of the little exposure and lack of understanding, they really hadn’t thought about letting their children develop in the arts.

Zhen Zhen returned to her senses and asked, “Why did you suddenly think of going to dance lessons?”

Since the words were already out of her mouth, Dan Sui made peace with it, “I’ve been taking lessons for a summer.”

“?”

Zhen Zhen and Squire Huai Ming were stupefied by her again.

Zhen Zhen asked in surprise and confusion, “At the Children’s Palace?”

Dan Sui looked at Zhen Zhen, “Yes, the teacher in the dance classroom, Ms. Lu, she likes me a lot, the first time she met me she said that I’m a good seedling to learn to dance, and then she let me go over there every afternoon and study with the others.”

Zhen Zhen and Servant Huai Ming silently turned their heads to look at each other.

Shocked, this child was really bold, actually doing something like this behind their backs.

Without an adult to lead him, he ran to the Youth Palace by himself to learn dance for a summer vacation, how did he do it?

Zhen Zhen and Servant Huai Ming naturally knew what kind of existence the Youth Palace was.

That is the youth extracurricular activities center, mainly training children to sing, dance and play the piano and so on, usually will engage in some performances, do not teach the cultural curriculum, and is not a serious admission of students as a school place.

The students who go to the Children’s Palace to learn art are all selected from the school and sent there.

If the school has any activities, naturally these students will perform.

So after all was said and done, going to school was still fundamental.

Servant Huai Ming looked at Dan Sui and said, “You don’t want to go to school, you just want to go to the Children’s Palace to learn how to dance, this won’t work. Even if that Mr. Lu is willing to teach you, you’re not a proper member and won’t have a chance to go on stage at all. Besides, at your age now, it’s absolutely impossible to just learn to dance without studying, so it’s better to obediently go to school.”

Hearing this, Danoho’s shoulders slumped and her face crumpled.

Seeing her like this, Zhen Zhen busily added: “You first obediently go to school, mom and dad to help you go to the school to ask, how can you go to the Children’s Palace to study, and strive to send you there to learn to dance, how about it?”

Hearing Zhen Zhen say this, Dan Sui immediately came back to the spirit.

She sat up straight and looked at Zhen Zhen and said brightly, “Thank you, mom!”

Zhen Zhen smiled, looked at her and added, “But there are still conditions, you must listen and study carefully at school.”

Dan Sui agreed decisively, “I definitely will!”

This was then considered a deal.

Dan Sui was so happy that he hid in his room after dinner and practiced for a while.

After practicing and sweating, she went to take a bath, and after lying on the bed, she happily kicked her legs for a while.

Zhen Zhen and Shui Huai Ming went back to their own rooms after washing up.

Zhen Zhen sat down at the end of the bed and said, “She’s been learning it on her own for a summer vacation, so it shouldn’t be on a whim.”

Shi Huaiming continued, “I didn’t realize that there were people in our family who could be artistic.”

Zhen Zhen looked at Shui Huaiming and smiled, “If Sui Sui really has a talent for dancing and can persist in learning, then let’s seriously cultivate her in this area, what do you think?”

Shi Huaiming: “If she really has the talent and really likes it, of course I don’t have a problem with it.”

Zhen Zhen couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “These kids are so much happier than us, when we were little we couldn’t even eat, we had nothing to eat, we were starving every day, going to school was impossible, and we couldn’t even think about anything else. It’s not like them, they are well-fed and well-dressed, and they can learn whatever they want.”

Servant Huai Ming looked at her, “Envious of these children again?”

In front of Shui Huaiming, Zhen Zhen directly asked, “You can’t envy them?”

Shui Huaiming said, “No need to envy them, if you want to learn something, I’ll find a place for you to learn it too.”

Zhen Zhen relaxed her body and lay down on the bed, saying with a sigh of relief, “I’m already so old, why should I learn? Even if I could find a place to learn, it would be for nothing. What stage in any place would let me go up there?”

Shih Huai Ming said, “Just enjoy learning it yourself, and if you want to perform, I’ll be your audience.”

Zhen Zhen felt ashamed to think about it and tugged on the sheet, saying, “Stop talking nonsense and go to sleep.”

Shi Huai Ming turned off the light and lay down next to her, “I never talk nonsense.”

Zhen Zhen smiled and dug into his waist, “Then are you going to sleep?”

Servant Huai Ming caught her hand and circled her in his arms, smiling and closing his eyes with her, “Sleep is still necessary.”

***

The school opened, the children carried their schoolbags in batches to go to school, and the compound returned to its usual calm.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, everyone continued to repeat the routine that belonged to them.

From the first day of school, Dan Sui had been thinking about going to the Children’s Palace to learn dance.

When she came back from school every night, she would also ask Zhen Zhen and Shui Huai Ming if they had helped her get it done.

One week into the school year.

Saturday afternoon.

The labor committee member distributed labor tools to everyone and organized everyone to go to work.

Dan Sui and DouDou went out of the classroom side by side with scythes.

Dan Sui said somewhat listlessly, “It’s been a week, it must be hopeless.”

Doudou comforted her, “Don’t worry, maybe we’ll let you go next week.”

Dan Sui shook her head and sighed heavily.

Before she finished sighing, she suddenly heard the homeroom teacher’s voice from behind her, calling out to her, “Serving Dan Sui.”

Dan Sui turned around at the sound of the voice and didn’t have much fear of the homeroom teacher, only asking, “What’s wrong?”

The homeroom teacher told her, “Put the sickle back and don’t go to labor.”

Dan-ho still looked like she had no energy, “Then what am I going to do?”

The homeroom teacher replied, “The school has arranged for you to go to the Children’s Palace to learn to dance, so you won’t have to go to labor in the afternoon, you’ll go to the Children’s Palace with the others who are learning to dance.”

After hearing this from the homeroom teacher, Dan Sui instantly came to life.

Her eyes let out a radiant light, she pursed her lips and couldn’t help the smile that filled her face, turning her head to look at Doudou and then back to the homeroom teacher, crisply saying, “Thank you, Mr. Zhao!”

After saying that she immediately went into the classroom to put the scythe back at the back of the classroom.

Hurrying out of the classroom, she asks the homeroom teacher again with bright eyes, “How do I get there?”

The homeroom teacher turned and waved, “Go, follow me.”

Dan Sui happily gave Dou Dou a wave and followed the homeroom teacher.

The sunlight shone on her face, tracing the tips of her eyes and the large curves at the corners of her mouth.

***

When she returned from school in the evening, Dan Sui was still bouncing with joy, almost like a different person from when she went to school.

Doudou walked beside her and said with a smile, “Still not tired after dancing all afternoon?”

Dan Sui said, “I’m not tired, I can dance for another half day.”

After jumping around and walking home, Dan Sui immediately told Zhong Minfen the good news.

She was afraid that Zhong Minfen could not hear her clearly, so she directly attached herself to Zhong Minfen’s ear and said loudly to her, “Grandma, I’ve been chosen to go to the Children’s Palace to learn how to dance! When I’m done, I’ll dance for you every day!”

Zhong Minfen heard her clearly and smiled back, “Our Spike is so pretty, he’ll definitely look good dancing!”

Dan Sui was not self-effacing, and said in a loud voice: “Mr. Lu also said I dance very well!”

Zhong Minfen: “Your teacher has good taste!”

Dan Sui was so happy that she naturally had to talk about it when she saw people.

Because she had earned this, she went to the Children’s Palace every afternoon to learn how to dance, and she studied very hard, in a completely different state from when she sat in the classroom and learned other things.

She squeezed her shoulders, pressed her legs, lowered her back, kicked her legs in front of the mirror ……

Sweat slides down her brow, the side of her forehead, her neck ……

In drop by drop of sweat, in practicing day after day, her basic skills become solid little by little.

Among the class of students in the Children’s Palace, Ms. Lu still likes her the most, but of course she is also the most strict with her.

Later on, whenever there were activities and performances in the Youth Palace, Dan Sui was always the lead dancer.

Sometimes, Ms. Lu would even arrange a solo dance for her.

At the end of today’s dance class, Dan Sui changed out of her practice clothes and packed up her things, put on her backpack and prepared to go back to school with the other students. They all had to go back to school after practicing dance, and went home after school with the students who were working.

Before leaving, Dan Sui came over with her backpack to say hello to Ms. Lu.

But instead of letting her go, Ms. Lu waved and said, “Come, come here for a moment.”

Without asking Ms. Lu what she wanted, Dan Sui directly followed her to the side.

Ms. Lu pulled a newspaper out of her bag and held it in her hand, asking Dan Sui, “Did you read the newspaper?”

Dan Sui looked at the newspaper and shook her head, “I didn’t read it, did something happen?”

Ms. Lu didn’t answer.

She flipped through the newspaper and found the section on advertisements.

Then she folded the paper up, advertisement side up, and brought it to Dan Sui.

Dan Sui took the newspaper with some confusion and lowered her head to read it.

The headline words were rather large, so naturally Dan Sui saw at a glance what Ms. Lu wanted to show her.

She took the newspaper and lowered her eyebrows as she read it out softly, “Xicheng Song and Dance Troupe Enrollment Guidelines ……”

After reading it out, she quickly skimmed through the body of the text below and then immediately raised her head to look at Teacher Lu.

Mr. Lu looked at her and said, “Why don’t you take the test?”

If she could get into the Song and Dance Troupe, she would be a professional in the future.

Right now, they were naturally amateurs, and would just be able to participate in some of the activities organized by the school and the Children’s Palace.

Dan Sui couldn’t help but be moved by Ms. Lu’s question.

She was moved and apprehensive, and looked at Mr. Lu and asked, “Can I?”

Teacher Lu said, “The rest of our class is tough enough, but I think you should be fine.”

Dan Sui’s fingers pinching the newspaper subconsciously tightened.

Then she looked at Teacher Lu and nodded, full of confidence, “Then I’ll give it a try.”

Teacher Lu reminded her, “Go home and talk to your parents.”

Speaking of which, this was no small matter, if she got in, she would enter the song and dance troupe to study in the future.

Dan Sui nodded again, “Okay.”

Mr. Lu gave Danho the newspaper.

Dan Sui folded up the newspaper, stuffed it into her own book bag and jogged back to school.

She ran in the cold late fall wind, her face flushed and hot, her two pigtails bouncing merrily on her shoulders.