Chapter 256: Youth Military Academy
Shao Xi was interested in everything, and so was Shao Dong. However, he preferred to walk around the city and take a look. He would listen to Mu Han and extract business opportunities from within.
During the entire process, Xiao Wu was the happiest. Every time he came back, he would bounce up and down, his eyes filled with stars. It was as if a new world had opened up before him. When he came back, he would also play the musical instruments that he could carry in his luggage.
Mu Jingzhe, who was thick-skinned, even took Xiao Wu to the musical instrument shop. They didn’t buy anything, but they took a look at everything. Fortunately, Xiao Wu was cute, polite, and knowledgeable. The boss smiled all the way until they left.
This trip was very meaningful. When Shao Xi returned, he started writing. He said that he wanted to write a second book about his travels from now on.
“Actually, I used to be very curious about what a big city is like. I think many people are curious about it too, so I wrote everything down for everyone to read.”
Mu Jingzhe fully expressed her support and felt that they should indeed travel around more.
They didn’t stop after that. However, this time, they didn’t go to the big city. Instead, Shao Qihai took them out. Mu Jingzhe had one style when she took them out, and Shao Qihai had another style when he did.
Although Mu Jingzhe had previously said that she could also be a father, the truth was, having an actual father was different. Shao Qihai’s existence also made it different.
The way he thought was different from Mu Jingzhe’s. He took the children to places Mu Jingzhe didn’t expect, such as to the mountains for a picnic. He even took turns taking the children to some places with the transport car.
These places weren’t necessarily big cities, but every city had its own characteristics. This also allowed the children to experience the life of a long-distance driver.
The world on the road was sometimes very dull. Occasionally, one could encounter unexpected things. It was very tiring, but it also filled one with hope.
Most of these people had retired from the army, like Shao Qihai, were tanned, and had their own stories behind their tanned faces.
They were very fond of the children, and the children also liked them very much. After they got familiar with them, the children even heard many stories, including stories from the army.
They heard stories about how hard they trained and the strict requirements they had to abide by. The children also heard a lot of Shao Qihai’s stories. They were told about how outstanding and impressive Shao Qihai was back then and how everyone had viewed him in their hearts.
Those arduous years that used to make them want to cry had now turned into wonderful memories.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the children were getting tanned to different degrees. Even Little Bei was showing signs of becoming a tomboy, but her body was also getting st.u.r.dier and taller. There were also many stories in her mind.
These trips helped them get much closer to Shao Qihai. Shao Qihai also managed to master all sorts of hair-braiding skills with a lot of difficulty.
Although Little Bei was said to be showing signs of becoming a tomboy, she still liked to look pretty deep down. She liked all sorts of hair ornaments and enjoyed having beautiful hair.
At home, there was Mu Jingzhe, but when they were out, Little Bei could only rely on Shao Qihai. Shao Qihai clumsily went from creating crooked braids to finally being able to braid her hair properly with everyone’s help.
After interacting with these people for a long time, the children also wanted to learn how to march quickly. This was because they felt that Shao Qihai and the others looked really good doing it.
Because he had only retired a short time ago, he missed his previous life very much. When Shao Qihai was with the few of them, his unintentional actions still came with some shadows.
Because Xiao Wu and the rest were curious, they even stood upright and showed them how to march quickly, looking both left and right. Their valiant looks left a deep impression on the children. When they returned, they asked Shao Qihai to teach them.
Since the kids were interested, Shao Qihai taught them. In the end, no matter how hard they tried, they didn’t look uniform doing it. Shao Dong and the others could do anything well. They couldn’t accept that they couldn’t do this well.
Seeing that the children were serious, Shao Qihai decided to get serious too. He said that he might as well let them experience it for a week.
The five kids raised their hands in agreement. Hence, the entire Shao Family seemed to become a small youth military camp. They woke up early to run and exercise. Even when they went to school, they had to walk in unison. They stood and sat with perfect posture, standing straight and sitting upright.
They were the same when it was mealtime. Right before eating, they would sing the song Shao Qihai taught them every single time.
This was the first time Mu Jingzhe had heard Shao Qihai sing. Overall, it was alright. He wasn’t out of tune, but… the song was too righteous.
At first, he only played with the children, but gradually, Shao Qihai became serious, and even the children became more serious.
He didn’t know if it was because he missed that life too, but later on, he even put on the army green clothes that had been neatly folded and treasured since he’d retired from the army.
The five kids became even more serious. They even asked for a gun that they could carry like people did in television shows. Shao Qihai had one in one photo, and they wanted the same one.
What could Shao Qihai do? He could only find a piece of wood and shave it for them to shape it like a gun before putting it in a holster. Though they clearly knew that it was fake, the children were terribly fond of it.
Seeing that they were very envious of Shao Qihai’s clothes, Mu Jingzhe recalled that there were indeed such clothes sold in stores and went to buy them some.
Although there were many fas.h.i.+onable outfits at the time, this kind of uniform was still the most popular. From the elderly to young children, everyone, regardless of whether they were adults or children, was proud of having such a set of clothes.
After their clothes were bought, they were still gesturing all day long with their hands and listening to commands while hiding around. They were having a lot of fun. They even received plastic toy pistols as a gift, one for each of them.
With the addition of this prop, they looked the part even more now. Mu Jingzhe felt that this was similar to modern specialized schools. The children attracted the envy of the other children in the village, who even wanted to join the training.
Previously, they had been very curious and would often follow Shao Qihai and the others to learn, especially the children in the same cla.s.s as them. Because they sat upright, the cla.s.s also involuntarily sat upright. The atmosphere in the cla.s.sroom was different.
They had already been looking at them enviously to begin with, so now they felt even more jealous upon seeing them in a put-together outfit.
Everyone dreamed of going to the army. In less than two days, Xiao Wu and his siblings weren’t the only ones running around. The team had grown much bigger, and there were fewer mischievous children in the village.
The villagers loved it too. They came to take a look and even learned from them. The children’s parents were both happy and troubled when they saw this, as the children were eager to get the same clothes and toy guns as Xiao Wu and his siblings.
Previously, Mu Jingzhe had already caused a small trend with the vests. Later on, the parent-child matching outfit trend had appeared, and now, there was the uniform trend. Fortunately, because of Mu Jingzhe, many parents had a bigger income now and could afford it. Otherwise, things would have been difficult for the kids’ parents.
Although the parents scolded the children a lot, they actually felt that this had helped enhance their relations.h.i.+p. Therefore, although they scolded them, they still bought them those clothes quickly.
After the market day, many children in army green clothes instantly appeared in the village. Anyone who didn’t know better might think that they were in school uniforms. After putting on that outfit, they became even more serious about their training.