Chapter 568 Master and Disciple

On the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, the weather was sunny and suitable for taking exams.

Yes, today is the day of the second exam at the Midwife Academy. Since the last exam, Li San Niang has conducted a review and fill-in-the-blank exercise. This is the second exam.

The results of the last exam were not too surprising. The top spot went to Yao Qingqing, who had been literate since childhood. The second place went to Jin Zhenbao. The third place was indeed unexpected, as it went to Linglan.

Li San Niang originally thought that the third place should be Yu Xue Niang or Sun Chun Lan, but she did not expect that Ling Lan, who was raising Xiao Ping An (Jiu Niang's son) alone, was working so hard in secret.

Among these dozen or so people, the three at the bottom were Li Daya, Gao Qianniang, and Xiao Manniang.

These three women were the ones even the midwife Sun hadn't passed. Li San Niang didn't need to ask to guess that these three must have to work at home every day and not have enough to eat. It was already difficult enough for them to attend the midwife school on time every time, let alone hand in their assignments on time. They must have done their best.

As for exam results, Li San Niang couldn't force anything.

However, Li San Niang still called the three girls over separately after class. Seeing how stubbornly the three girls maintained their self-respect, Li San Niang pushed the plate of snacks in front of them.

Seeing that the three were still very reserved, Li Sanniang first smiled warmly at them before saying, "Don't be nervous. I'm not going to scold you. Your test results this time were not ideal. As long as you listen carefully in class, fill in the gaps in your knowledge, and practice makes perfect, you can improve next time."

I was afraid you'd overthink things and drive yourselves into a dead end, so I spoke with the three of you.

The three people who had been sitting tremblingly understood Li San Niang's words, and their postures relaxed, no longer so tense.

Seeing that Li Sanniang was looking at them with a faint smile, Xiao Manniang mustered up her courage, raised her head, and said to Li Sanniang, "Sir, we thought you were going to persuade us to leave, that's why we were so scared."

Li San Niang paused for a moment, then looked over with a question in her eyes: "Why would you think that? It's just a small test."

I know it's already quite an achievement that you can come to class on time. Besides, the other students in the school did learn to read earlier than you, and they also have more free time than you.

Therefore, the results are naturally different.

But these grades can be made up for with time and effort. I believe that since you enrolled here and attended classes for half a year, you will be able to improve your grades through hard work in the future.

This is just a small hurdle at this stage; you just need to work hard to get over it.

Please don't overthink it. I called you all out to talk because I was afraid you'd worry.

Xiao Manniang felt a surge of warmth in her heart, her nose tingled, and she couldn't help but want to shed tears.

Li Daya, this clumsy and rough farm girl, couldn't hold back her tears and burst into sobs on the spot. She said in a tearful voice, "I will study hard... Don't worry, sir, don't send me away... I will definitely study hard!"

After finally comforting and encouraging the three of them, Li Sanniang watched them walk out the door together.

When Li San Niang turned around and went back into the classroom, only Ling Lan and Song Fu Ling were sitting inside waiting.

Li San Niang took the stack of exam papers handed to her by Song Fu Ling; these were the exam papers for this test.

"You two have worked hard. Come on, let's go home and eat together. Dewdrop is still thinking about you two."

The two women didn't refuse, after all, they had formally become disciples, so it was perfectly normal for them to be close to Li San Niang in private.

As soon as they returned to the Li family's place and stepped into the courtyard, they saw Lu Zhu'er and Xiao Wulang running around in the yard, with three little puppies with their eyes already open following behind them.

Meanwhile, Xiao Huang, the mother, watched as her three silly sons ran around blindly following others.

Xiao Huang's three children were eventually named Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, and Xiao San by Xiao Si Lang, Lu Zhu Er, and Xiao Wu Lang.

The Li family can easily raise three more puppies now, so these three puppies naturally stayed.

Xiao Er and Xiao San were lively and adorable, and Xiao Si Lang and Xiao Wu Lang each took one of them, saying they wanted to keep them as their own dogs.

Although Xiao Yi has the title of the eldest, he is the last to open his eyes and can't even compete with Xiao Er and Xiao San for milk.

Lu Zhu'er originally wanted to keep the dog herself, but when Li San Niang brought Xiao Huang home, she said that Xiao Huang was Lu Zhu'er's dog and that Lu Zhu'er had to take good care of it.

Thus, Xiao Yi was begged by Lu Zhu'er to be raised by Li Sanlang.

After Song Fuling and Linglan had a meal at the Li family's house, Xiao Ping'an was entrusted to Li Ersao's care as usual.

In the afternoon, Li San Niang would give Song Fuling and Linglan private lessons. Since they had become her apprentices, it wouldn't be like the large class at the midwife's school; it would be one-on-two individual instruction.

"Lily of the Valley, you have a very good grasp of this. I think if we were to open a second term for the midwifery school, you could go on stage and give a lecture."

Linglan looked at Li Sanniang in shock, completely bewildered by Li Sanniang's high praise.

Li Sanniang continued, "Firstly, your time is relatively free. If you go to give lectures, you won't have to be like me, only able to give lectures on the days off each week. It took me almost half a year to finish teaching you the theory courses."

You could easily spend just three months, or even less, perhaps only two months, teaching them the theory, then giving them an exam, and then moving on to the gap-filling phase.

Only in this way can we free up more time to take people into practice.

Ultimately, being a midwife requires practical application.

"Master, can...can I do it?"

How can you not be able to do it?

"Your theoretical knowledge is already excellent. Over the next six months, I'll focus on training you and Yao Qingqing. Once you're both up and running, you two will be perfectly capable of handling any future recruitment exams at the academy."

Seeing that Li San Niang thought highly of her, Ling Lan gained confidence: "If Master thinks I can do it, then I'll go up and give it a try first."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It will probably be six months, or even a year, before they can recruit again."

Haha, you guys still have time to improve yourselves.

The master-disciple teaching continued until sunset. Linglan and Song Fuling stayed at the Li family's house for another dinner. Only after Song Dalang arrived in his carriage to pick up Song Fuling did Li Sanniang feel relieved enough to let Song Fuling go home.

Linglan lived in Changshoufang, just one street away from the Li family. Li Sanniang felt more at ease knowing that she was taking Xiao Ping'an home alone.