AYLS – Chapter 136

Commander Sheng came home a bit later than usual that night, and unexpectedly, he didn’t lose his temper.

This allowed the children, who had been tormented with anxiety all day, to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Commander Sheng looked at the children as gently as he could. “Eat first. We’ll talk about some things after the meal.”

The children immediately buried their heads into their bowls, shoveling down food in big gulps.

Sister-in-law Sheng asked, “What’s going on today? Why do all of you look so troubled?”

“We’ll talk after we eat,” Commander Sheng sighed.

He had spent a long time thinking in his office today. He’d been reflecting on how he should be educating the children.

Was treating Lanlan and Xiaojun this way actually good for them? Or bad?

He was clearly doing it for their own good, yet the children still weren’t happy.

He had always been strict with Aweng and Awu as well, but those two boys still caused chaos every day.

Comrade Lin Qiao had said children should endure hardship, but why had he, his comrades, and the older generations joined the army back then? Wasn’t it precisely so that the next generation would no longer have to suffer the same hardships?

Commander Sheng thought about it a lot. He couldn’t quite figure it out, yet he vaguely felt he had.

He also started thinking of his fallen brothers-in-arms.

Those highly disciplined old comrades—if they were still alive, how would they educate their own children?

They would certainly be strict too. After all, the peaceful days those predecessors had fought and died for weren’t meant to be indulged in; they were meant to be safeguarded, and for the next generation to build upon.

He decided that he still needed to sit down and talk properly with the children, and respect their opinions.

Lanlan and Xiaojun were good kids—nothing like his own two mischievous little rascals.

After dinner, Commander Sheng first talked things over with his wife in the courtyard.

Sister-in-law Sheng said, “I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while. Lanlan and Xiaojun are truly sensible. You won’t let them go out and do work, but they’ve never slacked off at home. They help me with the chores every day, even fighting me for the work, and they take the two little ones out to gather firewood and dig wild vegetables. If you ask me, if they genuinely want to go out and work and they’ve got the capability for it, why not let them? The day I agree to let them work, those kids would be over the moon. You’re the one who spoiled it.”

“I just couldn’t figure it out before, right?”

“And now you’ve figured it out?”

Commander Sheng nodded. “More or less.”

“Then I’ll go tell the kids right away, cheer them up a bit.”

“Let’s go together.”

Commander Sheng took her hand.

As they entered the room, the children who had been straining to eavesdrop quickly returned to their seats, pretending to read quietly.

“Alright, enough pretending. We’re going to hold a family meeting right here. Comrade Old Sheng will preside. If anyone has opinions, feel free to speak up.”

Commander Sheng glanced at several of the children. Seeing their expectant faces, he announced the decision he had already made.

The children didn’t react immediately.

It was Li Xiaojun who asked, “Uncle, is it true?”

“Of course it’s true. But not everyone can go—we still have to assess them. Otherwise, people would say we’re abusing our power. All children who want to participate must be assessed.”

Sheng Wen panicked immediately. “Does that mean my work doesn’t count?”

“Of course it doesn’t. If we want fairness, you can’t just get in automatically.”

“I was doing so well!” Sheng Wen was furious—he had finally achieved what he wanted.

Commander Sheng said, “You work every day and still get lunch, right? Nobody’s shortchanging you, are they? Or are you saying you don’t have the confidence to compete with others?”

Commander Sheng’s words hit the mark. Sheng Wen couldn’t refute them, pressing his lips together several times, feeling deeply frustrated.

Sister Xiao Qiao often said his dad treated him well—what a joke, it felt like bullying.

The next day, Sheng Wen eagerly ran to Xiao Qiao to complain, saying his dad was bullying him again.

Unfortunately, Lin Qiao didn’t take his side; she even found it amusing.

“Commander Sheng finally figured it out. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“What good is that? Doesn’t that just mean I can’t go to your place?” Sheng Wen grumbled.

Lin Qiao said, “Survival of the fittest—you should have learned that by now. We can’t be unfair. Things have to happen as they should. And are you saying you don’t have confidence in yourself?”

Sheng Wen: “…Why do you sound just like my dad?”

“Maybe your actions show a lack of confidence?”

“No way! I’m very confident,” Sheng Wen said, feeling guilty.

Lin Qiao patted his arm encouragingly. “Good job—that’s what a little man should be like. I’m glad to see your enthusiasm for raising chickens, but I hope to see you become even better.”

Sheng Wen blushed a little, embarrassed. “Really? You think I can become excellent?”

“Of course! You’re a hardworking, responsible child. A kid this sensible can definitely become excellent.”

“…“

After Sheng Wen went out to work, Lin Qiao excitedly told her partner, Su Weizhen, about it.

“From now on, our team is going to grow even bigger.”

Su Weizhen smiled. “What’s the excitement? Will the kids really get much done?”

Lin Qiao said, “It’ll be lively.”

“I don’t know why you’re so focused on the kids, but from the way you are, you’re going to be a good mother someday.”

Lin Qiao cleared her throat. “I just value children’s education. How about you? When will you have kids? You’ve been preparing for a long time.”

“Soon, soon. These things also depend on fate.”

Su Weizhen wasn’t worried; she and Xu Yuanzheng had been eating space rations long-term, and their health was excellent.

Meanwhile, Commander Sheng discussed with the logistics department about giving the children opportunities to work at the chicken farm and earn some food.

Director Hao was delighted. “You’ve figured it out?”

“Figure it out when it’s time. Why do you care so much?” Commander Sheng replied stubbornly.

“Just surprised, that’s all.”

“Nothing to be surprised about. Times are different; we need to progress.” After speaking firmly, he asked Director Hao, “Do you think I used to manage Lanlan and Xiaojun with care?”

“Isn’t that obvious? You did. They had food, schooling, clothing—treated just like your own kids.”

“Then compared to how I treat my own sons, do you see any difference? Do you think I wasn’t responsible?”

Director Hao said, “Why compare? They’re not your biological children; it’s harder to manage. If you do, they might resent you, and outsiders gossip. Your own kids are different—whatever you do, nobody complains. Don’t overthink it. Your position is already perfect.”

Commander Sheng understood the implication.

Although he didn’t admit it before, he had cared about others’ opinions. That’s why he had been lax with Lanlan, Xiaojun, and the other children.

He wouldn’t easily criticize or discipline them.

With his own sons, he instinctively corrected and educated them to become better.

With Lanlan and the others, as long as the children weren’t causing trouble, he was content.

He never taught them life lessons, nor harshly criticized them when they made mistakes.

The children had been sensible on their own. If they weren’t, under his indulgence, who knows what would happen.

Indeed, it was irresponsible.

He sighed silently. “This needs to be publicized in our regiment. Let all interested children participate. Other regiments can spread the word too. We’re not afraid of competition, only of no one competing.”

Director Hao laughed. “Alright, I’ll publicize it. I already wrote the announcement.”

Commander Sheng smirked. “You’re really ‘Old Hao.’”

Once the logistics department’s announcement was out, many children in the border garrison were excited.

But not all children liked working.

Some waved their hands. Who wants to work anyway? Not interested. Collecting bird eggs isn’t fun at all.

Another group of children were thinking—if they went, would they get to eat eggs?

Others, like Zhang Lanlan and the kids in similar situations, were thinking about fighting for this opportunity.

The children adopted in this compound were actually living quite well. At least they never had to worry about food or clothing. But the children knew how to be grateful; they knew their arrival brought extra burden to the household.

Even if no one said anything, they still thought this way in their hearts.

So they wanted to do more for the family.

If in the future, they could at least earn enough to cover their own ration and not add to the family’s burden, that would already be good. Unfortunately, right now only the chicken farm was willing to take children, and the chicken farm was small, so each time it only needed two kids. They also weren’t working full-time—only after school in the afternoons and during holidays.

But even so, many children signed up.

Some parents from other regiments even came to look for Commander Sheng to settle accounts with him.

They felt he was stirring up trouble and disturbing the children’s minds. If he really let the kids work, wouldn’t that be mistreating the children of martyrs?

Commander Sheng, rare for him, tolerated it and explained his reasoning. He ended with, “You say that like your kid is guaranteed to get selected. With so many children signing up, what makes you so sure your kid will get the spot?”

The parents who came to confront him instantly got unhappy. “Who are you looking down on? Let me tell you, when it comes to grades, we’ve never lost. Our kids are all smart.”

Once registration started, Lin Qiao got busy.

The first batch of kids signing up wasn’t small. Families here had lots of children—three or five signing up at once wasn’t unusual. And that was after she restricted the age range. Even so, the first batch still had thirty‑five kids.

But Lin Qiao didn’t need to prepare test papers at all.

Because these children were all of different ages.

She couldn’t test them on the same knowledge—that would put the younger kids at a huge disadvantage.

So she simply used their school exam rankings.

Within the same ranking tier, she compared total scores.

As for the complaint that exams of different grades had different levels of difficulty, Lin Qiao said: then you can only study harder. Even university entrance exam papers weren’t all the same in difficulty. And in the future, when the national college entrance exams resumed, the difficulty would differ across regions too.

If they fussed over this now, what would they do when applying for university later?

If nothing unexpected happened, this group of children would all have the chance to take the college entrance exam someday.

And they didn’t need to worry about losing their chance after one bad exam because the selection changed every month.

Every month’s test results counted. Even a child who had already secured a work opportunity would have to step down if their next exam score dropped. The position would be given to the child whose grades had improved. It was that realistic and that harsh.

And sure enough, since hearing it was based on grades, the kids in the compound quieted down. They all started studying seriously.

This wasn’t just competing for a job anymore—it was competing for pride. They couldn’t afford to score poorly and be laughed at.

If they managed to get selected and become the object of everyone’s envy, even better.

Sheng Wen and Sheng Wu also couldn’t go to work anymore. Absolute fairness had to be maintained.

The two of them were now at home chewing through textbooks, suffering as they studied.

Originally, the competition was just between the four of them at home. Now a whole crowd had joined.

And Sister Xiao Qiao said anyone who wanted to could keep signing up in the future—the pool would only get bigger and bigger.

Plus, the job required assessment every month. Which meant they weren’t just fighting this one time—they had to keep fighting, keep fighting…

Compared to the children’s enormous pressure, Lin Qiao was very relaxed.

With this arrangement, she was the most comfortable one. No need to make test papers, no need to supervise exams. And every month, she got ready‑made school results to recruit from. How convenient.

At home, even her tail felt like it was curling up proudly.

Gu Huayuan laughed. “You really have a way with handling kids.”

But he also felt a little sour. He thought, if Xiao Qiao had grown up in a normal household, not as someone’s little servant girl, she would definitely have been a mischievous child from the start.

Lin Qiao said smugly, “Of course. I’ve been impressive since I was little. Back at my school, during exams—”

“Hm?” Gu Huayuan looked at her.

Lin Qiao almost covered her mouth on reflex. She wanted to smack herself twice—she’d gotten carried away again. “Ahem, I mean when the young lady at my previous household went to take exams, I took them for her. I just followed the teacher’s lessons. The teachers were great at managing kids.”

Gu Huayuan made a soft “oh” and asked, “Didn’t the family you used to serve hire private tutors to teach at home?”

“…No, we went to school too. Occasionally! Ah—why are you asking so much? Why are you so interested in someone else?” Lin Qiao acted like she was jealous.

And sure enough, Gu Huayuan stopped asking. Smiling, he said, “Alright, I won’t care about anyone else. Only about our Comrade Xiao Qiao. If Xiao Qiao went to school, she’d definitely be the most mischievous kid there.”

“I would not! I’d be the most well-behaved.” Lin Qiao pinched him, and Gu Huayuan burst out laughing.