He didn’t seem to realise it himself, but Lin Lan saw through him right away and decided not to comment about it. He was just a chuunibyou(3) who thought of himself as an expressionless, epic character.
(T/N: Derived from Japanese, this refers to teens who either think they are special, have extraordinary abilities or are always seeking to be at the centre of attention for some grandiose reason. Basically, it’s a teen who thinks of themselves as the main character of a shounen manga)
It wasn’t that big of a deal for children to end up fighting. There were many children of all ages in the countryside and fights broke out on a daily basis.
Many kids would play with each other nicely and the next thing you know, they would end up in a fight due to one of their words or actions coming off the wrong way. But in the end, they would make up by the next day and everything would proceed as normal.
If adults were to involve themselves, there would be endless lawsuits. Besides, what would have been resolved between the children might be escalated into a larger situation due to the interference of their parents.
Therefore, reasonable parents basically wouldn’t bother too much about this. As long as the kids weren’t gravely injured, giving them a scolding was sufficient enough.
Lin Lan would not be angry if it was any other child, but because the target was Xiaowang, she was otherworldly enraged.
If it was the mischievous Sanwang that got into a fight, she wouldn’t have much to say as his character could rub off the wrong way. However, Xiaowang never took the initiative to provoke anyone every day and never took sides to say who was right or wrong. Even when playing on the street, he either played the harmonica or sat in a daze whilst listening to the sounds around him, minding his own business.
To know that this behaviour of his was enough to set off the patience of the bullies was really painful for her.
Later, Lin Lan was still worried, which caused her to repeatedly state at the publicity meeting: No one was allowed to touch Xiaowang’s head, lightly but effectively mentioning that his hair was about to go bald with the amount of people ruffling it all the time.
The members laughed at the joke, but they did express their understanding, vowing to try to refrain from touching the boy’s head.
Then, Huo Yuan led Xiaowang to play two songs for everyone— ‘Busy Farming’ and ‘Cow-herding Child’. The tone of his instrument was clear and melodious, yet mellow and light as he played the harmonica emotionally.
The members praised him repeatedly and applauded warmly at the end.
“That small child is truly amazing, what talent!”
Those who used to say that Xiaowang was a fool didn’t dare to say anything else? as of now.
How was he a fool when even educated youths praised Xiaowang as nothing less than a genius?
Later, Lin Lan specially gave publicity classes to children as well. Not only did she teach them about hygiene and provide them information to protect themselves, but she also taught them empathy and eagerness to learn.
She taught them not to pick on someone else who seemed to appear or behave differently. Instead, they should be curious. After all, there was always something worthy of learning and appreciation from others.
Of course, she could not speak so dryly and straightforwardly if she wanted her lectures to be effective. Hence, she made up short stories and sketches to let children participate.