Grandpa had previously spoken to Principal Lan about Xiao Man wanting to skip directly to the fifth grade. As it happened, the county grain station in their village had just gotten a new warehouse keeper transferred in from another commune. He brought his son with him, who also needed to join the fifth grade. Principal Lan and the fifth-grade homeroom teacher, Chen Jian Country, were already preparing an exam to test the boy's abilities, so they simply made an extra copy for Xiao Man to take as well.
After the test, the teacher graded the papers on the spot. The boy barely passed, while Xiao Man, who had intentionally gotten a few questions wrong, scored an average of eighty-nine and was successfully admitted into the fifth grade.
Hearing the principal's praise, Grandpa chuckled happily, his face beaming with pride. Guan Ailan, Mo Shuixia, and Mo Linghui, who had been peeking through the classroom window the whole time, jumped for joy when they learned the results.
