Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 8: Crouching Dragon

The morning cooking smoke and the silence at the dining table were the unchanging melody of the Su household.

Su Ming buried his head in his bowl, quickly drinking the rice porridge so thin you could see your reflection, his movements swift like a fledgling bird afraid of having its food snatched away.

"Oh, look at our little scholar, trying to chew through the bottom of the bowl and eat the characters right into his stomach?" Wang Chuntao's voice carried its usual sharpness as she tapped her chopsticks against the rim of her bowl. "What's the use of just eating? The knowledge needs to go into your brain."

"Say less!" Mrs. Chen came out carrying a plate of pickled vegetables, glaring at her eldest daughter-in-law. She walked to Su Ming's side and transferred the boiled egg from her own bowl into his.

"Xiao Ming, eat more. Studying taxes the mind."

Su Ming's movements paused briefly, but before he could speak, his father Su Shan put down his own bowl and grunted a muffled "Hmm" from the side.

Su Ming split the egg into two halves, returning one half to his mother's bowl and burying the other in his porridge. Then he lifted the bowl and drank it all in one go.

"I'm going to school." He put down the bowl, grabbed his cloth bag, and slipped out of the courtyard like a gust of wind.

In the courtyard, Su Yang watched his younger brother's retreating back, then glanced at their father's gleamingly sharpened firewood chopper, lost in thought.

At the schoolhouse, Teacher Zhou was explaining a new short essay."...Therefore, the superior man is cautious when alone." He stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over the students below.

"Who can explain the meaning of these two characters, 'cautious when alone'?"

The children looked at each other, the children from wealthier families avoiding eye contact, afraid of being called upon.

A thin, weak hand hesitantly rose in the corner.

Teacher Zhou looked somewhat surprised as he turned to Su Ming. "Su Ming, you may speak."

Su Ming stood up, his cheeks slightly flushed as all eyes in the schoolhouse focused on him.

"Replying to Teacher, I... I think 'cautious' means to be careful, and 'alone' means by oneself. So it means even when you're by yourself, you should still be careful."

answer was almost laughable, drawing soft snickers from

Teacher Zhou didn't laugh, instead pressing

bad things." Su Ming's voice grew even softer. "Because even if no one sees, you yourself

in Teacher Zhou's eyes deepened as he looked at this youth who had been beaten for skipping school just days before. Though still somewhat awkward, there was now a hint of contemplation

a superior man's conduct and integrity should still conform to righteousness even when unsupervised. That you could grasp the

others. "Did you all hear that? Studying isn't just about recognizing characters, it's about

been snickering immediately lowered

letting out a

his mind, carrying a hint of lazy approval. "Textbook-level Concealing One's Edge. You demonstrated your 'diligent thinking'

responded mentally, "Master, I

most conspicuous one, whether the best or the worst. The middle

Night.

become his

lower! Get your butt down! Who are you showing off that high posture

relentlessly drove him on in his

autumn wind, sweat soaking through his back, flowing down his spine groove with an unbearably

I can't

a dinner party? This is replacing the keel of your broken-down

retirement insurance! This is

the horse stance time ended. Su Ming plopped down on the

could even catch his breath, Lin Yu's new command

up, lie face

"Huh?"

the ground, do fifty 'Prostrate Dragon Crawls'." Lin Yu thought to himself,

Prostrate Dragon

hands to support yourself on the ground, moving your body up and down

get knocked down in the future, you'll be able

Ming pushed up

One, two...