Li Longji had asked Xiaobei and the others to come to Yizhou on the pretext that they missed him. They were currently standing in front of a house in a relatively poor area of the city.
They were asked to support the situation. The children of several neighboring families in this area wanted to negotiate with their parents, but they realized that they did not have the means to negotiate with their parents. Thus, they came to the restaurant and asked Xiaobei to help. At least, they had to maintain fairness.
Otherwise, what if they were beaten by their parents while they were negotiating? At that time, not only would they not achieve their goal, but they would also suffer losses. Wouldn't that be even worse?
Thus, Xiaobei and the others came, including the little boy who had been playing Monopoly with them at home for many days. He was a little confused from all the playing.
There were a total of five children looking for Xiaobei. All of them had the surname Chen, and they lived in the same neighborhood. They had moved from the same village and settled down here. They had a very good relationship with each other, and the neighborhood was harmonious.
The children in their families were naturally influenced by their adults. They usually stayed together at school and after school, even when they were playing. After playing for a long time, they would eat and stay at a certain house. Even if it was only a few steps away from home, they would still stay.
The five children were all boys. The oldest was ten years old, and the youngest was eight and a half years old. They could be considered to be around the same age.
They were in trouble, and it was a very big trouble for them.
Their money had been taken away by their parents, who said that they would save it for when they grew up and married.
However, they wanted to use the money now. They needed to do their own things, and not deposit it in the bank.
The five children were very good at their studies and could get scholarships every semester. They had their own accounts in the bank, where their scholarships were stored. However, their deposit certificates were now taken away by their parents, and they were not allowed to withdraw them.
Even so, they were not discouraged. They used their free time to buy snacks, and then sold some of them at school. Then, they ran to the market and set up a small stall with the gadgets they made, which they used to exchange for money.
At this time, Xiaobei was holding a toothpick box they made. It was a box at the bottom with a little bird on top. When he pressed the bird's head with his hand, the little bird would take out a toothpick from the box.
This thing did not require much skill, and Xiaobei also had one at home. However, it was not a bird, but a button. Every time he pressed it, a toothpick would come out. It was just that he did not take it out to sell.
The five boys thought of and designed and made it themselves. In addition to this thing, there was also a thing in Xiaobei's hand that could be rotated to brush the jar. As long as he put the brush into the jar, the hair on it would start to rotate, and then brush the parts of the jar that were inconvenient to use.
These two things were were part of their stalls, and there were also several other tools that were convenient for use in daily life. They were simple to make, but they were very practical.
They sold these things for money and used the money to buy other things. They were now making a model plane. In fact, it was not a plane, but a bird.
Because there were now people selling rubber bands, they wanted to use this kind of rubber band to accumulate strength. In the past, they could only use animal tendons, and the effect was very poor. Now, they felt that the new monkey rubber band could let the birds fly.
However, due to the shape of the bird, they did not succeed after a few attempts. They still needed to improve it further and buy more advanced measuring tools.
After searching, they found a shop in the city called the Magical Toy Shop. There were several measuring tools that could be sold. They were better than the ones they used in class, and they were more accurate. They were made of steel.
Then, they found a small battery-powered motor, but this thing was not for sale. They could only continue to use rubber bands to make their birds.
Tools required money. Every time they tested a broken rubber band, they needed money. Their money was taken away by the adults, and they did not even leave the money for selling the items.
When they could not think of any other way, they chose to find Xiaobei and have a righteous negotiation with their families.
Xiaobei and the ten of them arrived just like that. Furthermore, Xiaobei also understood what was going on. Although the children were young, they liked to invent and create. The adults probably felt that they were spending money recklessly, so they controlled their funds.
"You're not back yet? It's wrong for you to skip class. "Xiaobei said to a boy beside him.
This boy was called Chen Ming, a very common name. He was the only one accompanying Xiaobei and the others. The other four boys ran to find their parents. Their parents also had to work and were not at home during the day. Anyway, they ate at school and did not need the adults to take care of them. This saved their parents a lot of trouble.
Chen Ming also had an anxious expression. He looked at the end of the road and shook his head, "Not yet. I think we have to wait. We have to work at the dock and another workshop that takes half an hour to walk. Xiaobei, when my parents come back, you have to help us.
Look, we are making our own things and spending our own money. It doesn't affect our studies. Why don't they let us do it? Why do they want me to read? Didn't I read it? After reading it, I wanted to make something small. In the future, I will make something bigger and more technical to repay the Great Tang Empire.
They won't let me read. They won't allow me to use the knowledge in the books. What's the purpose of reading? It's not like it's a storybook. "
Xiaobei nodded. She also felt that the parents of the five boys were too much. Not only did their studies not affect them, they could also make money and do research. What reason did they have to stop them?
Moreover, she looked at the gadget in her hand. Although it was small, she put a lot of thought into it. She should encourage it, not restrain it.
"Why didn't the bird fly?" Xiaobei had not seen the real thing and did not know what the bird looked like. She felt that maybe she could help the five of them with some ideas.
"I'll go get it for you. It's in brother Xiao Tao's house." Chen Ming left this sentence and ran to a nearby house. The door was unlocked and one could enter by opening it.
After a while, Chen Ming came back with a face full of tears. He held a small bag in his hand and handed it to Xiaobei, sobbing, "It's broken. The bird we worked so hard to make was trampled by the adults. How could they do this when we weren't home? It's broken. The rubber band is also broken. We can't find the tool ruler, small carving knife, and pliers."
Xiaobei put down the two things in her hand and took the bag. Of course, the bamboo bird was trampled. There were even shoe prints on it.
In an instant, Xiaobei's heart was filled with anger. Too much, too much. How could there be adults like this? They treat their own children without the slightest scruple.
Xiao Yuan came over to take a look and showed a sad expression. He said indignantly, "The adults in their house never considered the children's thoughts. They used their absolute authority as parents to stifle the children's independent thoughts. They think they are always right.
If that was the case, then they shouldn't live in this place. They should live in a spacious and luxurious courtyard. Since they didn't go there, it shows that they are far inferior to those people in this society. Then what right do they have to decide the children's future? "
"Exactly." Xiaobei huffed, "They think that if the children listen to them, they will have a bright future. But they have no bright future, so what right do they have to believe that if they listen to them, the children will have a bright future?"
Xiao Hai added, "Brother and sister are the best. They never told us what to do, only told us what to do and what to do. They let us choose for ourselves. No matter what we choose, brother and sister will support us. They will help us adjust where we went wrong and analyze why we went wrong.
I know that we made many mistakes, but we never made the same mistake. Moreover, brother and sister will help us solve the problems left behind by our mistakes.
This is true care, not like Chen Ming and the others, who won't allow us to do this or that. Everyone's path is different, so why do we have to choose? I don't understand. "
"Actually … my parents are very good. When they couldn't eat meat, they would leave it for me. They even made new clothes for me. They didn't wear them themselves. But now, they are not afraid. Life is good. If you want to eat meat, you can buy some every day. I have to thank your brother and sister. "
Chen Ming suddenly spoke up for his parents. When he talked about the good life, his rosy, tear-stained face revealed a smile.
"Don't mention it, it's what we should do. After all, we are all working hard for the Tang Dynasty." Xiao Bei was modest.
Xiao Yuan comforted Chen Ming, telling him not to worry and that things would go smoothly.
While they were talking, Chen Ming's father returned with two other people. From the looks of it, they were working in the same place.
When they saw Xiao Bei's group, the three adults were very cautious. It wasn't that Xiao Bei's group wasn't cute, but that their son told them what they had to face on the way back.
Now that Xiao Bei came to them, and it was about the children, it was hard to deal with.
After a while, the other two men also arrived. The woman didn't come, presumably because the men in the family had the final say.
"Who stepped on the bird?" Xiao Bei's face didn't have a trace of kindness, asking with drooping eyelids.
"I, I am Chen Tao's father. I am Chen Kaiming." A man said carefully.
"Pei!" Xiao Bei spat, not caring about his image, "Chen Kaiming, you came up with this name. How are you open-minded? When your big foot landed on the little bird, did you become enlightened? Why don't you let them work? "
Chen Tao's father, Chen Kaiming, was very nervous. He was afraid that Xiao Bei would get angry and take him away. What would happen if he was no longer in the family?
When he heard Xiao Bei's question, he immediately answered, "I … I actually want my son to have a bright future. Xiao Bei, look at what they are doing, they are clearly craftsmen. How can craftsmen have a bright future? They should study hard and become the top scorer in the future. That's the heart of all parents. "
"Don't, don't talk about parents. My father is from the Ministry of Works, a craftsman. I don't think my father is bad, I am proud of him."
Xiao Bei didn't wait for him to finish and interrupted him.
The five men were speechless, Your father is from the Ministry of Works, but your father is also the top scorer.
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