Learn one small skill every day

“My dad told me that he’s a policeman and has been busy with these things for the past two months. I’m telling you, he’s even going to come to our school to give a safety lecture.”

At this point, Lin Shanshan proudly puffed out her chest.

Just then, Bai Miao heard the sound of high heels outside the door. A female teacher wearing a red coat, high heels, and light makeup walked into the classroom carrying a stack of books.

The chaotic classroom fell silent in an instant, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

No one dared to say another word.

The teacher on the podium was clearly dissatisfied. She looked around the classroom and yelled, "I can hear you talking in the hallway! You're the noisiest class on the whole floor! You're the worst class I've ever taught!"

Bai Miao immediately felt that it was to his liking.

The homeroom teacher's surname was Guo. Bai Miao remembered being very afraid of her. She had a bad temper and seemed to often beat and scold students who did not do well in their studies.

Yes, the era...

Bai Miao had observed this classroom; it was very simple, with no clock on the walls, and a few rickety ceiling fans and incandescent light bulbs on the ceiling.

Looking down at the textbook on the table, it was the small version of the People's Education Press textbook that Bai Miao had studied when he was a child, at least ten years different from the large books of today.

Based on my student ID number starting with 2004, I can deduce that I am a second-year student, which is roughly the first semester of 2005.

In those days, it was not uncommon for elementary school teachers to hit, scold, or physically punish students, unlike now where they dare not scold them for fear of trouble from the students' parents.

As for whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, Bai Miao couldn't say for sure.

But given his current situation, a harsh teacher would definitely not be a good thing for him.

If someone is injured by physical punishment or verbal abuse, their mortality rate will increase.

After scolding his students, Teacher Guo said with satisfaction, "Our school is fortunate to have invited police officers from the county public security bureau to give us a safety lecture. Everyone be quiet later. Anyone who dares to talk out of turn, look around, or sit improperly will have to stay after school to write an 800-word self-criticism!"

Being kept after school to write a self-criticism is nothing short of torture for second-year students. So everyone immediately straightened up and placed their hands neatly on the table, which is the standard sitting posture taught.

Bai Miao didn't dare to be the first to stand out, so he also sat up.

You must listen carefully to the safety lectures, and take notes if necessary.

You might die suddenly if you violate the rules taught in the safety lecture.

"When the police officer comes in, remember to clap your hands and say 'Hello, police officer!' After the police officer finishes speaking, say 'Thank you, police officer!' Got it?"

"remember!"

A few minutes later, Teacher Guo led a middle-aged man in a police uniform into the classroom. At the teacher's signal, the whole class applauded.

"Hello, police officer!!"

The arriving police officer smiled awkwardly and waved, then began a very official presentation.

The safety lecture covered various aspects, including electricity use, food, hygiene, recreation, and social ethics. Bai Miao tore off a piece of homework paper and wrote down each point one by one.

For him, these were rules he had to remember.

Only Bai Miao considered this safety lecture as important as his own life.

However, after the police finished their lecture and left, the homeroom teacher said to Bai Miao from the podium, "Bai An, come to my office. Everyone else, get out of class is over!"

Lin Shanshan cast a sympathetic glance at Bai Miao.

Bai Miao thought to himself that he hadn't done anything out of line. Why was the homeroom teacher calling him over? Was there something he wanted to tell him privately?

Bai Miao thought about his family situation. His parents could not be considered unemployed, but they were very close to being idle people in society. What would they need the homeroom teacher to notify them of?

With these questions in mind, Bai Miao followed the homeroom teacher into the office.

The teaching building is basically divided into floors according to each grade. The higher up the building, the larger the grade becomes. Each grade has about four or five hundred students, which is close to eight classes, with each class crammed with sixty or seventy students.

The teachers' offices are also on the same floor as the grade they teach.

After the homeroom teacher sat down, she pointed to the empty space next to her seat and said somewhat coldly, "Come here!"

Bai Miao sensed something was wrong, but he still obediently walked over.

Before Bai Miao could get closer, the homeroom teacher reached out and grabbed Bai Miao's ear, which Bai Miao instinctively dodged.

The homeroom teacher was somewhat shocked when he failed to catch Bai Miao. He wasn't surprised that Bai Miao could dodge, but rather that he dared to dodge.

"You dare to hide?! Did you not listen to a word I said before the lecture? You even dared to scribble and draw on the floor during the lecture. Now bring me your masterpiece, I want to promote it in class."

Bai Miao suddenly realized.

So, in this homeroom teacher's eyes, his taking notes during the lecture turned into him scribbling and drawing randomly during the lecture?

But Bai Miao soon realized that, for a homeroom teacher, it would be a miracle if a student who had just entered the second year of high school could be so self-motivated as to take notes during a safety lecture!

My behavior is clearly inappropriate for my age group.

Fortunately, it wasn't anything serious; as long as I brought out my own notes, the misunderstanding could be cleared up.

But then Bai Miao realized something else that was absolutely critical.

As a second-grade student, where did I get such a strong dictation ability?

Many of the words in the safety lecture were words that second-grade students couldn't write! They couldn't even read them!

Not to mention taking notes in a lecture setting!

This is something a second-grade student could never do!

To put it bluntly, this lecture is just a way for the school to find an excuse to say that they have already given safety education and that the students themselves did not listen if something happens to them, thus shirking some responsibility.

Faced with the choice between revealing his knowledge beyond his years and causing more trouble, and being scolded by his teacher and forced to write a self-criticism, Bai Miao chose the latter.

At least the consequences are controllable.

Bai Miao dared not test what would happen if he continued to behave at a level far beyond that of a child.

This cannot be excused by reasons such as genius.

After all, their family circumstances make it impossible to hire a tutor to provide supplementary lessons during the summer vacation.

To make writing the self-criticism feel better, Bai Miao took the math homework and explained that he was actually doing math homework.

The homeroom teacher teaches math, so she is more accepting of Bai Miao doing math homework during the lecture.

So after criticizing Bai Miao, she didn't even make him write a self-criticism before letting him go home.

Lin Shanshan greatly admired Bai Miao's survival; she had never seen many people emerge unscathed from a teacher's office.

Of course, this excludes the class representatives and class committee members who collect and distribute homework.

"How did you manage to get Teacher Guo to let you off the hook?"

"I don't know either... Maybe Teacher Guo is in a better mood today."

Lin Shanshan has a big mouth, so revealing too much to her isn't a good thing.

In the early 2000s, primary schools generally only taught Chinese and math. Some schools might have added English, but the No. 1 Experimental Primary School in the county where Bai Miao lived clearly did not have such conditions.

There are five periods of Chinese and math in the morning, and two periods of Chinese and math in the afternoon.

In those days, there were no extended after-school services; school ended on time.

At 4:30 p.m., the school bell rang throughout the school, announcing the end of the school day.

Except for the students on duty who had to stay behind to clean the classroom, all the other students couldn't wait to carry their backpacks and run towards the school gate.

This piece of music hasn't changed in ten years.

As Bai Miao listened to the familiar melody and watched the carefree elementary school students running around in the sunset, a sense of déjà vu rose in his heart.

I was sent back to elementary school by a dungeon right after finishing the college entrance exam, and I have no idea how long I'll be stuck here...

Growing up safely... This mission objective is truly amazing.

In Bai Miao's memory, the place where he lived was about one or two kilometers away from the school. It was a small county town, and it would take about twenty minutes to walk there.

On his way home, Bai Miao constantly reminded himself to pay attention to his surroundings.

Having gone through the Crimson-level trials, Bai Miao is quite experienced in dealing with unexpected incidents.

In conjunction with the content of the safety lecture, Bai Miao was quite cautious throughout the journey, making sure he didn't go astray or fail to follow the rules properly.

Even when strangers asked for directions, Bai Miao would pretend not to see them and run away.

Bai Miao's home is located in an apartment building that is about eight stories high, with four households on each floor and no elevator.

The lights in the hallway were also intermittent, working sometimes and not at all.

One side of the apartment faces the road outside, while the other side borders the inner courtyard of the residential complex.

However, Bai Miao and his family could not enter this inner courtyard residential area. This area was a family quarters, where legitimate employees' families lived. In other words, Bai Miao's apartment building was considered the "outer wall" of this residential area.

Bai Miao's home is near this part of the community, so he often remembers watching the children in the community play together from his window, while he could only watch enviously from above.

When Bai Miao got downstairs, he saw a familiar old man sitting at the entrance.

Grandma.

Grandma's hair was gray and her face was full of wrinkles. She sat motionless at the gate downstairs.

But upon seeing Bai Miao, she reached into her coat pocket, pulled out something, and held it out to Bai Miao.

Bai Miao instinctively took it, only to find out upon closer inspection that it was a White Rabbit milk candy.

"Thank you, grandma."

Bai Miao didn't eat it directly, but stuffed it into his pocket, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and went upstairs.

Bai Miao lived on the seventh floor. Fortunately, he still had plenty of energy and quickly climbed to the seventh floor. Before taking out his keys, Bai Miao looked around to make sure that no strangers were coming upstairs with him before opening the door and going home.

The floor is made of fairly common gray terrazzo tiles, and the walls are simply painted with a layer of white powder. All the furniture inside exudes a 90s and 00s vibe.

Entering the house from the main door, there is a long and narrow entryway. You can only see the dining room directly opposite and a bedroom with its door tightly closed.

This door is almost identical to the one Bai Miao saw before he came in.

There is a height chart marked with a black marker on it.

That room was Bai Miao's room.

"Two doors facing each other? They must be incredibly stubborn, huh?"

The structural design of this house is truly an eyesore.

It seems no one has returned home yet, so Bai Miao plans to finish his homework first and wait for his parents to come home.