Jiang Mianmian, having heard such praises many times before, had become immune to them and no longer felt embarrassed as before.
She cracked sunflower seeds without making a sound, knowing that the villagers were just looking for fun and good cheer; it wasn’t very important for a child like her to respond.
Having her parents there was enough.
"Oh, auntie, don’t we have an old saying, ’Dragons breed dragons and phoenixes breed phoenixes, sons of a rat can dig holes’? My daughter’s ability to study so well must be inherited from me and my wife’s intelligence. It really doesn’t have much to do with how she is taught," Jiang Changhai said with a face full of pride, making everyone want to smack him.
"You scoundrel, even daring to tease your own aunt!" the woman who had first asked about how to educate children pretended to be angry as she scolded.
Their back-and-forth banter kept everyone in the room laughing non-stop.
"Brother Changhai, Mianmian got first place this time, how much of a bonus can she get? Will there be another public accolade for San Ya at this year’s commune meet?" someone began to inquire about the prize money.
"I don’t know about that; the school hasn’t said anything yet. But definitely, there will be a bonus. As to how much, I can’t really say," replied Jiang Changhai, patting the shoulder of the man who had asked.
Lin Aibao, seeing that the villagers were only concerned about the monetary reward and completely oblivious to the significance of Mianmian’s rank, immediately spoke up loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, aunts and uncles, listen to me, this upgrade exam at the commune primary school used the same paper as the one used in the town’s schools. If Mianmian can get first place with that paper, it means she is smarter and more outstanding than all the children in the town’s schools!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers had an "aha-moment": "Gosh, San Ya is really incredible!"
Jiang family members were smug and proud; Mianmian was their child, and her achievements meant their honor as well.
Jiang Changhai however corrected, "Aibao, Mianmian didn’t score perfect marks. She scored 215 points in total for two subjects, tying for first place with two other students from the town’s primary school."
"Where did the extra 15 points come from?"
The crowd was astonished; they only knew that 100 was the highest.
Only Lin Aibao asked, "Were there extra questions?"
Jiang Changhai, with evident pride, nodded, "Right! There was an additional question on the math paper. Teacher Meng said such problems are usually solved by middle school students, but Mianmian managed to solve it. How clever is that? Plus, she was one of only three students in the entire town to solve it."
"Clever! I’ve never seen a child smarter than San Ya!"
After hearing this, the villagers started a new round of praising Mianmian.
"San Ya is too clever, even capable of solving middle school problems—definitely a prodigy among prodigies!"
"With such ability in studying, San Ya will definitely be able to go to university in the future, becoming the first college student from Stone Bridge Village."
"From what I see, San Ya will either become a leader or an official in the future. Even if she goes to work in a factory, she would be managing workers."
"San Ya really makes our village proud, outperforming even the city kids. It will be quite a boast to tell this news! With such a Little Prodigy, our village lads will have more options when choosing a bride."
The crowd kept pouring accolades on Jiang Mianmian, one after another, lifting her to the skies.
Sun Lixia finally resigned herself to her fate, not feeling a shred of competitiveness anymore; her two sons just couldn’t hold a candle to San Ya in academics.