In school, Ashan performed quite well, especially in writing and drawing, and even won some awards in class. He had many friends, but his closest friends were not his classmates; instead, they were Zhou Dachuan and Wang Jingmei.
Zhou Dachuan was a warm-hearted kid and, since they lived together, he took great care of Ashan and was very kind to him. Besides helping Ashan integrate with the local children, he often protected him from being bullied by others.
One time after school, Dachuan and Ashan were walking home along the old street of Sanxia when they were suddenly surrounded by some older kids. One of them angrily shouted at Ashan, "You're the kid from the mainland, aren't you? My uncle was killed by people like you from the mainland. I'm here to settle the score with you!"
Poor Ashan had no idea what was going on. At this moment, Dachuan stepped forward and fearlessly confronted the older kids, saying loudly, "Although Ashan is from the mainland, he is not what you call an 'A-Shan.' (*) He is my good friend, and he can speak our Taiwanese dialect. Our ancestors also came from the mainland, so does that make us 'A-Shan'? As long as he lives in Sanxia, eats the same rice, drinks the same water, and speaks the same language, he is a Sanxia person. My father was also killed by people from the mainland, but I know it has nothing to do with him. If you have the guts, go after the real culprits, not bullying the small and weak, which disgraces us Sanxia people."
Strangely enough, after Dachuan's righteous and firm words, the older kids left reluctantly and did not trouble Ashan again.
Wang Jingmei was the child of Ashan's neighbor, and her father sold herbal medicine. For some unknown reason, Jingmei and her brother were not very healthy children. Although Jingmei was pretty and cute, she couldn’t speak, reportedly due to a fever that wasn't properly treated, which left her mute. Her younger brother, Wang Huotu, was a bit mentally challenged but quite strong. Because they were neighbors, everyone knew each other well. The sweaters the two children wore were knitted by Ashan's mother. Ashan often went to Jingmei's house to drink a free bowl of herbal tea when he was thirsty from playing.
Jingmei was two years younger than Ashan. In the countryside, children played together without considering gender. In summer, everyone would take off their clothes and play in the river with water buffaloes. In the evenings, they would catch fireflies together, and in autumn, they would raise silkworms. Since the mountains were abundant with mulberry trees, they often raised thousands of silkworms, cleaning and organizing them with brushes. However, when the number of silkworms became too overwhelming to handle and even giving them away at school wasn’t an option, they had to stop.
* Note: In early Taiwan, local people referred to those from other provinces as "A-Shan," which was actually a derogatory term at the time.
阿三在學校裏功課還不錯，尤其是作文及圖畫，也曾在班上得過獎。好朋友也不少，但是最要好的卻不是班上的同學，反而是周大川、王靜美兩人。
周大川是熱心腸的孩子，又因為是住在一起，所以大川對阿三非常照顧，也真的很夠意思。除了引著阿三融入當地小孩子圈外，還常常護著阿三不被別的孩子們欺負。
有一次放學後，大川及阿三沿著三峽的老街走路回家時，突然被幾個大孩子圍住。其中一個兇巴巴地對著阿三大聲嚷著：「你就是那個外省囡仔，對不對？我的叔叔就是被你們這些外省人殺死的。我要找你算帳！」
可憐的阿三根本不知道怎麼一回事。這時候大川挺身而出了，他毫不畏懼地面對這些大孩子大聲地說道：「阿三雖然是外省人，但是他不是你們所說的 “外省阿山” (*)。他是我的好朋友，他可以說我們的台灣話。我們祖先也是從大陸來的，那麼我們是不是 “阿山”？只要他住在三峽，跟我們吃一樣的米，喝一樣的水，能說一樣的話，他就是三峽人。我的爸爸也是被外省人殺死的，但是我很清楚與他毫無關係。有種就去找真正該負責的外省人，不要以大欺小，有失我們三峽人的面子。」
說也奇怪，那幾個大孩子居然在大川義正辭嚴的一番話後，就悻悻地離去，沒有再為難阿三。
王靜美是阿三鄰居的孩子，爸爸是賣草藥的。不知道確實的原因，王靜美跟他的弟弟都不是很健全的孩子。阿美雖然長得清秀可愛，但是不會說話，聽說是發燒生病後沒有醫好，而失去了說話的能力。弟弟王火土有點痴呆，但是滿結實的。因為是鄰居，所以大家都很熟。倆人身上穿的毛衣，也是阿三媽打的。阿三也常常玩的口渴時，去阿美家喝一碗免費的青草茶。
阿美比阿三小兩歲。在鄉下，孩子們玩在一起，根本就不分男女。夏天大家脫了衣服，在河裏與老牛一起玩水。晚上一起捉螢火蟲，秋天裏一起養蠶。因為山上有豐盛的桑樹，所以常常一養就養出成千的蠶寶寶，大家就用毛筆把蠶寶寶清理及分窩。只是最後蠶寶寶在多到無法處理，拿到學校送人都沒人要後，才作罷。
* 註：早期臺灣籍人士稱外省人「阿山仔」，在當時其實是一種不禮貌稱呼。
(Children raising silkworms, experiencing life. 小朋友養蠶，體驗生命。)