Chapter 243 (First Update) Educating children is not an easy task...

Tang Mingli really misses the advanced internet of decades later.

Although it's filled with all sorts of messy and irrelevant information, it's still very convenient when you need to search.

For example, right now, she really wants to search for how to educate and guide a seven-year-old child with an overly strong sense of justice.

Thinking too much is useless; there's no internet right now.

When will families have internet access?

Tang Mingli didn't know, but it should be soon.

Didn't the Chinese internet really start in the 1990s?

Tang Mingli was preoccupied with her daughter. She intended to go to a nearby bookstore to find a parenting book, but following her instincts, she ended up walking home.

She was already downstairs, so she didn't want to go to the bookstore anymore and went straight home.

The three elders were all at home, clearly waiting for Tang Mingli to return.

Upon seeing Tang Mingli, Fu's mother was the first to stand up and anxiously asked, "How did it go? Did the teacher criticize our Fu Yu?"

"No, the teacher specifically asked the parents to come in mainly because..."

Tang Mingli succinctly explained why Teacher Wu had contacted her.

After hearing this, the three elders finally felt relieved.

"So the teacher was worried that Fu Yu's strong sense of justice might hurt herself." Fu's mother felt grateful to Teacher Wu and deeply agreed with Teacher Wu's concerns.

Tang Mingli said, "That's right, our Xiaoyu has met a good teacher."

Or rather, most teachers in this era are like Teacher Wu.

"So how should we teach Xiaoyu not to be so reckless in the future?" Fu's mother asked her daughter-in-law, and also asked the others.

Tang Mingli said with a worried look, "I've been thinking about this problem the whole way back."

Mrs. Fu asked, "Have you thought of a solution?"

Tang Mingli shook her head.

Fu's mother comforted her, "It's okay, we'll figure something out together as a family."

Madam Fu also said, "Yes, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. If we think about it together, we're sure we can come up with a good idea."

However, educating children is not so simple. Tang Mingli and the other three racked their brains but still couldn't come up with a good solution.

It was almost time for the children to get out of school again, and Fu's mother, feeling sorry for her tired daughter-in-law, took her husband to pick up the children.

Fu Yu was unaware that her elders were worried about her. As soon as she saw her grandparents, she couldn't wait to ask them, "Grandpa, Grandma, do you know if the teacher praised me in front of Mom this afternoon?"

Mrs. Fu was almost laughing at the little baby.

The whole family is so worried they've gotten more wrinkles, but this silly child still thinks the teacher calling her parents over is to praise her.

Her carefree nature is indeed similar to Mingli's. However, Fu's mother doesn't see this as a flaw.

Fu's mother couldn't bear to discourage her granddaughter, but she also didn't want to lie and inflate the child's confidence in her bravery.

She said, "The teacher said that Fu Yu is very kind and brave."

If Fu Yu had a long tail, she would probably be beaming with pride at such praise.

"But..." Mrs. Fu paused, pondering how to put it.

This really worried Fu Yu a lot.

"Grandma, but what?"

“But…” Fu’s mother looked at her husband with pleading eyes.

He always boasted that he was a regimental commander in the army, leading a regiment of soldiers, and how awesome he was. Now he has a chance to prove himself.

He can train soldiers, Fu Cheng'an knows how. But when it comes to educating children, he really doesn't know how.

He was afraid of saying the wrong thing, that in a moment of passion he might lead his granddaughter astray.

Looking at her husband's cowardly appearance, Fu's mother really wanted to punch him in public.

Helpless, Fu's mother could only say to her granddaughter, "Grandma doesn't know how to explain it either. How about Mom tells you when we get home?"

After saying that, she silently apologized to her daughter-in-law in her heart, "I'm sorry, Mingli. I believe you can definitely say it better than I can."

Fu Yu was in a hurry and could only speed up her pace to get home.

However, when she arrived home, she suddenly felt a little timid.

A worry crept into my mind: what if the teacher criticized me in front of my mother?

Realizing this possibility, Fu Yu quickly grabbed her grandmother's trouser leg and asked pitifully, "Grandma, did Xiao Yu get scolded by the teacher?"

The two elderly people were heartbroken to see their pitiful appearance.

The mother-in-law didn't even bother to open the door, and quickly squatted down to comfort her granddaughter's young heart: "No, no, our Xiaoyu is such a good girl, she pays attention in class and answers questions actively, how could the teacher criticize you?"

With a click, the door opened.

Tang Mingli, who was inside the house, heard the noise outside and opened the door to see what was going on. She saw an old woman and a child squatting on the ground and asked with a smile, "Mom, what's wrong with you two?"

Mrs. Fu stood up and gave an awkward smile: "It's nothing."

Fu Yu relaxed at her mother's smile and quickly said, "Mom, Grandma said that the teacher told you I'm kind and brave, right?"

"Yes." Tang Mingli's voice softened whenever she spoke to her daughter.

She answered her daughter as she let her in.

Fu Yu raised her head and pressed, "But Grandma said 'but'."

"But what?"

Grandma said, 'But…'

Fu Yu tried to imitate her mother's tone, but children and the elderly are worlds apart, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't capture her mother's helplessness.

Tang Mingli was completely confused.

"But what?"

This question was already directed at the mother-in-law.

Mother Fu coughed and walked to her daughter-in-law's side, whispering, "I originally wanted to tell Xiaoyu not to do this or that in the future, but I was afraid that I wouldn't say it well and the child would misunderstand."

When saying those few words, Fu's mother, fearing her daughter-in-law wouldn't understand, even waved her fist.

Now Tang Mingli understood completely.

She gave her mother-in-law a reassuring look before saying to her daughter, "Don't rush, let's wash our hands first, sit down and talk slowly."

"All right."

The first thing Fu Yu does when she comes back from outside is to wash her hands; she has picked up this habit from her own experience.

She rushed to the kitchen to wash her hands, and after washing them clean, she rushed out again, spreading her hands out in front of her mother for her to inspect.

"Mom, I'm all clean now. Can I say 'Mom' now?"

"Okay." Tang Mingli cleared her throat, as if she was about to launch into a long speech, "The teacher said that you are very kind and brave, but it was too reckless of you to stand up against several older students by yourself."

"Mom, what is recklessness?"

Tang Mingli was stumped by the question.

She knew what recklessness meant, but couldn't put it into words.

Seeing this, Fu Cheng'an briefly revealed his knowledge and explained, "Rashness means acting without careful consideration, being hasty and impulsive."

"Grandpa, what does 'hasty' mean?"

Fu Cheng'an: "..."

He instantly understood how difficult it was to teach children, and obediently shut his mouth.

At this moment, Tang Mingli stepped forward to save everyone from disaster.

"Honey, when you threw your fists at those older students, did you do it without even thinking?"

"right."

Fu Yu answered crisply and loudly.

"To act without thinking is reckless."

"Ah..." Fu Yu was caught off guard.

Fu Cheng'an listened with great admiration; his daughter-in-law really had a knack for teaching children, and what she said was something the children understood.

Tang Mingli patted her daughter's head to comfort her before continuing, "There are some things we can do without thinking, but there are some things we must think about before we do."

This is so complicated, Fu Yu is confused.

But don't worry, Tang Mingli will tell her in simple, straightforward language what she can ignore and what she must think about.

"For example, if you don't understand something, you can just ask your teacher for help and do it without thinking. But if you have a conflict with someone, you have to think about it."

"But Mom, if I want to, the kitten will get hit."

Tang Mingli felt ashamed; when it came to helping the weak and vulnerable, she was destined to be less pure than her daughter.

"That's true, but honey, if someone hits you, Mommy will be heartbroken."

“Grandma will be heartbroken too,” Madam Fu quickly added, followed closely by Old Madam Fu and Fu Cheng’an.

"If you get hit, everyone will be heartbroken. Do you understand why?"

"I understand, because you love Xiaoyu."

The child truly understood, and the three elders were deeply moved.

However, Tang Mingli couldn't be moved yet; she had to make her daughter understand that other classmates were the same. If they were beaten at school, their families would also be sad.

At this point, Fu Yu seemed to understand but not quite.

She lowered her head and pondered.

His dejected look was heartbreaking to see.

After a long pause, she looked up as if she had understood something, and said firmly, "Mom, I understand what you mean. Whether it's me or the other classmates, our families love us very much, so if we are bullied at school, our families will be very sad."

Tang Mingli nodded vigorously.

That's right, that's exactly what I mean.

"But cats also have parents, and their parents can be sad too."

Tang Mingli: "..."

She understood the helplessness parents felt when educating their children.

It's not that the child is disobedient or immature; it's that the child still retains that sense of truth, goodness, and beauty.

They are the ones who truly treat all life equally.

She was afraid that if she continued talking, she would hurt her daughter's feelings.

"Mom understands what you mean, and it's right for you to protect small animals. But can you promise Mom that no matter what happens at school, you'll report it to your teacher first? Let the teacher handle it. Teachers are adults, and adults are more capable of judging how to handle things."

See? Today she became one of those adults who, unable to reason with her child, resorted to rigid demands.

Fortunately, Fu Yu is an obedient girl, and she agreed, though her emotions were somewhat affected.

To help her daughter recover from her disappointment, Tang Mingli decided that the whole family would go out for a nice meal tonight.

How about we eat Western food?

For someone who loves to eat, there's no sadness that a delicious meal can't soothe.

Sure enough, Fu Yu's mood instantly brightened upon hearing about Western food.

When are you going?

Tang Mingli smiled and said, "I'll call Dad first to ask if he'll be home for dinner tonight."

“Okay.” Fu Yu naturally wanted her father to come along too, so she urged, “Mom, call him quickly.”

"good."

Tang Mingli immediately called the garment factory, but unfortunately, Fu Ci was not there.

She called the electronics factory again, but luckily, Fu was there and was about to leave work.

I get off work at this time so I can come home for dinner.

"Let's go out for Western food tonight."

Fu Ci smiled and said, "Sure, I should be back around 6:30."

He was unaware of the reason for the meal, but his tone was very cheerful.

"Okay, then we'll wait for you."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Mingli told her daughter, "Dad won't be home until 6:30. We'll go out after he gets back."

"Six-thirty." Fu Yu looked at the wall clock. "Does both the short and long clocks have the same hand pointing to 6?"

"That's right."

Next, it's just a matter of waiting.

Fu Yu turned on the TV to watch cartoons.

Every time I watch TV for a while, I always glance at the clock.

When it was 5:45, she exclaimed happily, "Mom, the shorter hand is pointing between 5 and 6. It's about to reach 6, faster than the longer one."

A seven-year-old child doesn't quite know how to tell time yet, and the way they describe it is especially adorable.