Chapter 60 Ignorance is Like Boiling Eggs in Warm Water

Guo's mother didn't know that Fan Yani had any particular preferences, so she did what she knew. These diapers were made from cloth that Fan Yani had found, and some she had borrowed from other people. Fan Yani wanted to use disposable diapers for the baby, but there were none available, so she had to use these cloth diapers.

Children's skin is quite sensitive, so these diapers need to be handled properly, otherwise, it can easily cause diaper rash.

"I'll do as you say," Yue Hongwei said. "This is my first child with Yani, and we have no experience with it, so we don't know how to do it properly."

Yue Hongwei reached out and touched the diapers. He felt they were all dry, but Guo's mother still thought they weren't dry enough. Yue Hongwei thought about how meticulous Guo's mother was, and how he, a grown man, wasn't meticulous enough, and that he couldn't do many things as well as she did.

"Go and ladle out the stewing chicken soup for Yani," Guo's mother said. "I also bought some thin noodles. I'll scoop some noodles into the chicken soup later. Let her eat the meat first; she has to eat the meat, just drinking the soup won't do."

Guo's mother had already started stewing the chicken so that Fan Yani could eat it sooner.

“I’ll go to Sheng,” Yue Hongwei said.

Qin Yizhou and his family returned home in the afternoon. Instead of delivering the eggs to Fan Yani's house, they planned to wait until the next morning. Some people are particular about tradition; deliveries shouldn't be made in the afternoon, but rather in the morning. Qin Yizhou and his wife naturally followed this custom, rather than doing it whenever they pleased.

"Why can't we go in the afternoon?" Qin Zihang knew that his family was going to deliver eggs, and he still wanted to go.

“It’s the custom, most people do it this way, so we just follow the majority,” Song Fenglan said. “Sometimes, being unconventional is okay, but sometimes it’s wrong, you know?”

"Why?" Qin Zihang didn't understand. "Sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's not."

"The established rules, just like your class, also have certain regulations," Song Fenglan said. "Every matter is different; some are good, some are bad, and some are neutral. If we can avoid trouble, we should avoid trouble and follow the crowd; we won't lose anything."

“But I want to go now,” Qin Zihang said.

“Don’t rush. You need to learn to be patient. You can’t do everything according to your heart,” Song Fenglan said.

Song Fenglan recalled some parts of the original novel. Her son was clearly very capable and had achieved great success, yet he became cannon fodder. Her son didn't like the female lead and wasn't even a male supporting character; he was merely a contrasting element. While others gained love, her son only had cold, hard money and no human connection.

“We live in this society, and we have many things to consider.” Song Fenglan thought that the reason her son became that way in the original story was related to what he experienced during that special era, and also to what he experienced afterward. Song Fenglan couldn't let her son become like that. Now she dotes on her son, but she also teaches him some things, letting him know that there are still many good people around, and that they are not always being bullied. “If others don't make things easy for you, are you happy?”

"I'm not happy." Qin Zihang shook his head.

"That's right," Song Fenglan nodded. "We can't just focus on..."

You should think about others when you're happy. For example, if you and Xiaohu are friends, wouldn't you also want Xiaohu to be happy?

"Yes, I also want Xiaohu to be happy." Qin Zihang and Zhang Xiaohu have a very good relationship. "I want to be happy, and Xiaohu should be happy too."

“That’s right, that’s exactly it,” Song Fenglan said. “It’s a small matter, it doesn’t affect us, and we can still handle it.”

My son is smart, but we still need to talk to him about these social interactions. We can't let him be completely ignorant. If he doesn't understand anything, he'll suffer in the future.

Song Fenglan didn't want her child to become a cold and aloof person; her child deserved a happy and fulfilling life. Being too cold and aloof would only make his life miserable.

"Mom, you know so much!" Qin Zihang said.

“Because Mom is older than you,” Song Fenglan said. “Mom has been through a lot, so Mom understands these things. When our Hangbao grows up a bit, he will understand these things too.”

"If there's a baby, will that baby be as well-behaved as Hangbao?" Qin Zihang asked.

“Every child is different, just like you and Xiaohu, none of them are exactly the same,” Song Fenglan said.

"I have to go to school tomorrow, so I can't deliver the eggs," Qin Zihang said, puzzled.

“You can go see the baby when you have your vacation. The baby was just born not long ago, and when you go to see the baby, the baby will be sleeping with its eyes closed,” Song Fenglan said.

"Was I like that when I was a child?" Qin Zihang asked.

“Yes, when you were little, you were such a tiny little thing. When your mother looked at you, she was so happy, her heart melted.” Song Fenglan said, “When life was dark, a little light appeared ahead, and I thought about doing more for our Hangbao, being a good mother, doing so many things, and persevering.”

After becoming pregnant with Qin Zihang, Song Fenglan was already feeling very depressed. Her family lived on a farm, and she herself was often criticized for her "bad class background." Song Fenglan's experiences during that period were far from pleasant. Of course, she wanted a better life, but it wasn't something she could simply wish for.

Song Fenglan thought that Qin Zihang in the original novel would become that way, and that was largely due to her own experience as his mother.

“Our precious child needs to understand that there are many times when we can’t always do as we please.” Song Fenglan patted Qin Zihang’s head.

"Mmm." Qin Zihang nodded. Although he didn't quite understand, his mother was right and he should just listen to her.

The weather was rather cold, not very warm, so the eggs wouldn't spoil easily. However, Song Fenglan still delivered the eggs to Fan Yani's house early the next morning, and also to check on Fan Yani. Song Fenglan had originally planned to come back another day if Fan Yani didn't wake up, but since Fan Yani was awake, Song Fenglan decided to check on her.

"Are you alright?" Song Fenglan asked.

"It's alright," Fan Yani said. "I had a natural birth, so I'm in good health and there are no problems."

"That's good." Song Fenglan nodded. "The eggs are here. Eat more. I have to go to work now."

"Go quickly, go quickly," Fan Yani said. "I'm fine here. My mom is taking care of me, so don't worry about me."

Song Fenglan went to work; she didn't stay at Fan Yani's house any longer. Song Fenglan and her husband brought twenty eggs, in pairs, which looked nice in pairs.

Guo's mother brought the boiled eggs into the room and couldn't help but sigh, "I counted them, twenty eggs, that's quite a lot."

"So many?" Fan Yani was surprised. In this era, eggs were a precious commodity, let alone so many eggs.

"Yes," said Guo's mother. "This is because she was worried you wouldn't have enough eggs to eat, so she brought you these eggs."

“Sister-in-law Fenglan has always been a very good person. She also takes good care of the two children next door,” Fan Yani said. “She is a very kind person.”

“A good person like him is rare,” said Guo’s mother.

“It’s very rare,” Fan Yani said. “Fenglan’s family members were once sent to a farm, but she was lucky enough to stay in the city. Fenglan didn’t complain and still did her job very well.”

"That makes it even more precious," Guo's mother sighed. They lived in the countryside, where intellectuals lived in cowsheds. Nobody dared to associate with the people living in the cowsheds, for fear of being implicated. When those people got sick, it was difficult for them to get medicine, and some of them died from their illnesses.

It was clearly treatable, but no one dared to go there; those people had to find the herbs themselves. Those who were doctors could find the herbs, but what about those who weren't doctors, who didn't recognize the herbs? Where were they supposed to find them?

Li Hui didn't come over again. She asked Guo Peng to bring some eggs over so that people wouldn't say she, as the sister-in-law, was unwilling to give eggs. It was just a few eggs; she could afford to give them.

However, Li Hui and her husband didn't give as many eggs as Song Fenglan, so Guo's mother returned a few eggs as usual. Guo's mother originally wanted to return eggs to Song Fenglan, but Song Fenglan said it wasn't necessary and told Fan Yani to eat all the eggs. So Guo's mother didn't give them back, and since Song Fenglan had to go to work, Guo's mother couldn't return the salted duck eggs.

Guo's mother planned to wait a while, then take the salted duck eggs out, wash them, and send them over. She also gave Guo Peng some salted duck eggs to take back with him. This was something Guo's mother had agreed upon with Fan Yani; they should go back now, so as not to upset Li Hui. Guo Peng was, after all, a married man, and many things were different from before, so it was better to be more careful.

Fan Yani doesn't need those few eggs, so why make everyone unhappy? Just send the things over, and that's it.

Guo Peng didn't think much of it; he knew it was a custom, so he took the eggs home. Guo Peng didn't go to the army base today; instead, he rested and could spend some time with Li Hui.

When Li Hui saw the eggs Guo Peng brought back, she counted them briefly. Fan Yani had only received six eggs, four chicken eggs, and four salted duck eggs, totaling eight. This meant that Fan Yani had only received two eggs from Guo Peng and his wife.

"Did your mom and the others say anything?" Li Hui asked.

"What are they going to say?" Guo Peng asked, puzzled.

"Did they say we didn't give enough eggs?" Li Hui said. "Giving this many eggs is already quite good. They didn't put them away themselves, so they can't blame us."

If Fan Yani really takes all the eggs away, Li Hui will definitely scold her, saying that Fan Yani must have never seen eggs in her past life, and that she has to take them away in this life. According to custom, Fan Yani cannot take all the eggs away.

“Mom didn’t say we sent too few eggs, and neither did Yani,” Guo Peng said. “Don’t worry, neither of them said anything.”

"I didn't say it, but I was thinking it," Li Hui said.

“No, they don’t think that way,” Guo Peng said. “We don’t need to think about it.”

“It’s good enough that they’re giving us eggs. I… I’ll have a hard time getting pregnant in the future. If I don’t have children, they don’t need to give us eggs. We’re the ones who are at a disadvantage.” Li Hui rolled her eyes. “We’ll have to give that child a red envelope during the New Year. No matter how you look at it, we’re the ones who are at a disadvantage.”

"Yes, we are the ones who suffer losses," Guo Peng said. "Suffering losses is also a kind of blessing."

"What kind of blessing?" Li Hui didn't think it was a blessing.

Fatty's sister-in-law brought some eggs to visit Fan Yani. She also told Guo's mother to put all the eggs away. As for returning salted duck eggs, four would be enough, one for each of the four family members. There was no need to return any more eggs.

“Salted duck eggs go well with rice or porridge, especially salted duck eggs made with red wine lees,” the plump woman said with a smile, looking at Fan Yani lying on the bed. “We’re such familiar people, there’s no need to be so polite. You need to take good care of your health at this time, you can eat a few more eggs a day.”

“We can’t absorb that much,” Fan Yani said.

"Whether you can absorb it or not, just eat as much as you want," said the plump woman. "Eat, eat as much as you can. If you don't eat now, when will you?"

"Mmm." Fan Yani nodded. "I'm eating."

"Eat more," said the plump woman. "When I had my two children, there wasn't as much food available back then. I had my husband get chickens and eggs. If a woman doesn't take good care of herself during postpartum confinement, she'll suffer a lot when she's old. It's not that the men suffer, they don't care, but we women have to be careful and not think about saving a little money."

“We won’t try to save money,” Fan Yani said. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to try to save this little bit of money; we still need to eat.”

“That’s right,” said the plump woman. “If you need anything, just tell us. We’re neighbors, and we’ll lend a hand if we can.”

The plump woman stayed there for a while before leaving, taking four salted duck eggs with her. Guo's mother went with her; she was going to return salted duck eggs to Song Fenglan's family. She brought six salted duck eggs; since Song Fenglan's family had given away many eggs, she naturally returned more.

"Fenglan is truly generous; she's very magnanimous." When the plump woman heard that Song Fenglan had given so many eggs, she felt that Song Fenglan was quite generous, even though the plump woman herself hadn't bought that many eggs to send over.

The eggs that Fatty Sister gave her were from her own hens. Before giving them these eggs, Fatty Sister hadn't even cooked any for Zhang Xiaohu. Zhang Xiaohu was yelling and complaining that he could eat eggs since he had them at home.

There is one hen in the house that needs to incubate eggs, and another hen that is laying eggs. The rate at which eggs are laid cannot keep up with the rate at which eggs are eaten.

Of course, Sister-in-law Pang wanted to control her spending so she wouldn't have to buy eggs and have them delivered, which would cost a fortune. She figured she should save as much as possible; the eggs from her own hens were just as good.

“You all like her very much.” Guo’s mother had met Song Fenglan a few times, but they hadn’t spoken much. Song Fenglan was always very busy, leaving early and returning late, so the time they spent together was very short.

"We really like her," Sister-in-law Pang nodded. "Fenglan is good, of course we like her. To be honest, our two boys, plus their father, eat a lot..."

"There's a lot going on. I don't have a formal job, so I have to stay home and take care of them. We consume a lot of food. The kids also need clothes, school supplies, and everything costs money. Xiaohu plays with Zihang, and sometimes Xiaohu even gets some food at Zihang's house."

The plump woman sighed, "Xiao Hu, a boy, has quite an appetite. He ate a little yesterday, a little today, a little tomorrow, and it adds up to a lot over a month. It's only because Feng Lan's family didn't kick Xiao Hu out; any other family wouldn't have been able to provide that much food. Not to mention Xiao Hu, even his older brother has eaten some."

Although Song Fenglan didn't treat other people's children that way, Fatty's sister-in-law still felt that Song Fenglan was quite nice, and that her family had benefited. At least her own Xiaohu could play with Zihang, and she could lend a hand sometimes. The others hadn't done anything, so it was unreasonable for them to still want to take advantage of her.

"That would consume a lot of grain," said Guo's mother. Everyone valued their family's food supply; no one wanted to go hungry. Just because Song Fenglan and her husband both had jobs and could afford to buy grain with their own money and ration coupons didn't mean they had to give their grain away to others. No wonder Fan Yani always spoke highly of Song Fenglan.

"We're here," said the plump woman as they reached Song Fenglan's doorstep. "I'll head back first."

"Okay," said Guo's mother.

Just as Madam Su brought Qin Zihang back, she ran into Guo's mother. Upon learning that Guo's mother had come to deliver salted duck eggs, Madam Su quickly invited her in to sit down.

"Fenglan sent a lot of eggs," said Guo's mother, "but she only gave back these few salted duck eggs..."

"That's enough," Madam Su said with a smile. "Fenglan just wants Ya Ni to eat well; childbirth is too painful for women. Sit here for a while, I'll go pour some tea."

"No, no need. I have to go back to take care of Yani," said Guo's mother. "Yani can't stay home alone without someone to take care of her. I just wanted to deliver the things and get back quickly."

“Alright, you can go back now,” Madam Su said.

After seeing Guo's mother off, Madam Su prepared to have Qin Zihang wash his hands, which Qin Zihang did himself.

"I washed them." Qin Zihang spread his hands.

"Wash with cold water? Isn't it cold?" Before Madam Su could pour hot water for Qin Zihang, he washed with cold water.

The kettle was filled with boiling water, but Qin Zihang was too young to pour it. Song Fenglan always told the child not to pour the boiling water and to be careful not to get burned.

"It's not cold." Qin Zihang rubbed his hands together. "My hands are warm."

"Come on, dinner's ready." Madam Su had prepared the food before going to fetch Qin Zihang. The food was either in a pot or covered with an upside-down plate.

Madam Su prepared scrambled eggs, stir-fried lean meat, and green vegetables, as well as a tofu soup. She took great care of Qin Zihang. Qin Zihang sat and ate obediently without Madam Su feeding him. Sometimes Madam Su would take a handkerchief and wipe the corners of Qin Zihang's mouth. After Qin Zihang finished eating, she would let him rest for a while before letting him go to sleep.

If Qin Zihang wants to watch TV, he can turn it on by himself; he doesn't need anyone else to turn it on for him.

“Watch for ten minutes,” Mrs. Su said.

"Okay, just ten minutes." Qin Zihang nodded. He was going to become like his mother in the future, so he couldn't watch TV all the time. Watching TV for too long would make a person stupid, and he didn't want to become a fool.

Qin Yizhou and the others all told Qin Zihang that watching TV for too long would slowly turn a person into a fool, into an unwanted child. Children should watch TV in moderation and learn to plan their time.

When his parents weren't around, Qin Zihang didn't whine to Mrs. Su about wanting to watch TV dramas. In this respect, Qin Zihang knew what to do, listening to his parents and not causing his aunt any worry.

Fan Yani's family didn't have a refrigerator, so the eggs couldn't be kept fresh. However, not many family members brought her eggs; besides Li Hui and her husband, Song Fenglan and Sister-in-law Pang, Mrs. Zhao, representing the Women's Federation, came to deliver some eggs to the military wives.

In general, there weren't many eggs. Fan Yani ate more than two eggs a day; Guo's mother could cook five or six eggs for Fan Yani a day, so these eggs wouldn't keep for very long.

Fan Yani ate diligently, agreeing with what her older sister-in-law said: regardless of whether she could digest it or not, she would eat it. If she said she couldn't digest it and couldn't eat like this, would she have nothing to eat when she had another baby? Although Yue Hongwei wasn't that kind of person and wouldn't skimp on Fan Yani's food, she still had to be careful; men can change their minds in an instant.

Some of what she had seen and heard in her past life taught Fan Yani that she shouldn't have too much of a romanticized view of soldiers; she still needed to be careful. She was living her own life, not someone else's, so she had to think more about herself.

Fan Yani gave birth to a son as her first child, which Gao Xiuxiu greatly envied.

Gao Xiuxiu did not deliver eggs to Fan Yani. The two families had only a so-so relationship, not to the point of delivering eggs.

"Look at her, her first child was a son. And you, you had two daughters." Grandma Fang looked at Gao Xiuxiu eating, thinking how disappointing Gao Xiuxiu's belly was.

"I'll bring my own lunch to the restaurant tomorrow," Gao Xiuxiu said. "It's cold..."

"The food will get cold," Grandma Fang said. "You don't work far away; you're just around here. It's so much better to come back for dinner."

Grandma Fang knew that Gao Xiuxiu wanted to avoid her; she had two children at home. Even if Gao Xiuxiu came back briefly, the children wouldn't cause too much trouble.

"You've had two daughters, and you don't need to prepare a dowry for your son, so why are you in such a hurry?" Grandma Fang said. "If you have a son, you'll have to prepare a dowry for him when he gets married, and that's when you'll need to prepare a lot of things."

“I don’t have a son now, but I will in the future,” Gao Xiuxiu said. “I still have to work and prepare.”

"The fat lady next door is still at home," Grandma Fang said.

"That's why their family is so stingy," Gao Xiuxiu said. "If I stay at home, you'll have nothing to do. Are you going back to your hometown?"

“I just said one thing to you, and you say this. Fine, you bring your own food. You're the one eating cold food, not me,” Grandma Fang said. “You still have to have children, preferably a son. If you don’t have a son, people will laugh at you.”

"I know." Gao Xiuxiu knew what people were saying about her behind her back. They all said she couldn't have a son and that she could only have daughters.

Gao Xiuxiu didn't want people to talk about her like that; she was determined to have a son.

"I brewed some medicine for you, drink some," Grandma Fang said. "It's to help you regulate your body, not for you to drink every day. Don't throw it away, it's all good medicine."

To help Gao Xiuxiu conceive and give birth to a son, Grandma Fang worked especially hard to brew the medicine. Gao Xiuxiu disliked drinking those bitter medicines, so Grandma Fang wouldn't let her add sugar to ensure the medicine's effectiveness.

Sugar is a precious commodity; it cannot be placed so casually.

Grandma Fang also liked to watch Gao Xiuxiu drink her medicine, so Gao Xiuxiu didn't have a chance to throw the medicine away and had to drink it.

“If you don’t come back at noon, you’ll have to take your medicine at night from now on,” Grandma Fang said.

"How long do I have to drink this?" Gao Xiuxiu asked. They'd been drinking it for several days now. Gao Xiuxiu really didn't want to take the medicine anymore; it tasted awful.

"You have to drink it for at least a month," Grandma Fang said. "If you don't drink it for this long, how can it have any effect? ​​You've already been drinking it for several days, you can't just drink it for nothing, keep at it, for your son's sake."

Grandma Fang believed she had worried herself sick over her eldest son. If it weren't for wanting him to have an heir, she wouldn't have gotten those medicines for Gao Xiuxiu.

Gao Xiuxiu had no choice but to continue drinking.

Qin Zihang was especially happy at school today. Song Fenglan's university acceptance letter had arrived during his winter break. Qin Zihang hadn't yet told all the children in his class that his mother had been accepted to Nancheng University, but now that school had started and everyone was in the classroom, he wanted to tell the other children.

"My mother went to Nancheng University, you know? It's the best university in this province."

"What? You don't know? Don't you want to get into the best university in the province?"

“Mom said that Dad is here, and our whole family is here, so she took the entrance exam for Nancheng University. My mom could have taken the entrance exam for a university in the capital, but she didn’t go.”

“I’m not lying to you. My mom really can go to university in the capital. We’ve been in the capital for many years. My mom just said she wants to stay in the south of the city.”

...

Some children don't understand these things, and one child stubbornly believes that Song Fenglan's college entrance examination scores were not particularly good, so Song Fenglan can only go to a university in Nancheng.

"Your mother isn't that amazing; you've been fooled by her."

"Your mother's grades are not good"

"Okay, that means your mother can only study in the south of the city and can't go to the capital."

"Your mother is terrible, absolutely terrible!"

...

Qin Zihang had never encountered anyone who spoke ill of his mother, so he felt that it was unacceptable for that little boy to say such things about her. Then, Qin Zihang insisted on confronting the little boy, who became enraged and threatened to hit him. Qin Zihang followed suit, and then Zhang Xiaohu joined in.

Zhang Xiaohu was thinking that his younger brother Zihang was being bullied, so he had to help him.

Fortunately, the teacher noticed quickly and pulled them apart, telling them to stop fighting.

When the teacher learned what had happened, she didn't know what to say. Although Qin Zihang was telling the truth, first-graders might not understand those things; those children were still very young.

“I didn’t lie.” Qin Zihang emphasized to his teacher, “My mother got a very high score, she could have gone to university in the capital, but she didn’t go. She wanted to go with me and my father.”

“Nonsense, you’re talking nonsense,” the child would say again.

“Zihang is right, his mother scored very high on the college entrance exam.” The teacher lived nearby, so she knew how high Song Fenglan’s score was. She was the top scorer in the city and ranked third in the province. “Her mother didn’t want to go to a university in the capital, which is why she didn’t go.”

The teacher explained to the child that it was necessary to explain; this wasn't a matter of assigning blame to both sides, but rather that it could easily lead the child to have a misunderstanding. This kind of thing needed to be clarified so the child would know which dish was the most authentic.

"Zihang, everyone knows your mom is amazing. We're all so happy for her," the teacher said. "Zihang, you don't need to say anything more. Nobody's mom is as amazing as yours, and they would be very sad."

"What's there to be sad about? We need to face reality," Qin Zihang said. "One is one, two is two. Mom may not be good at this, but she can be very good at others. My mom has said it before, whatever the profession, it can produce top talents."

Qin Zihang doesn't remember that long saying: "Every profession can produce an expert."

"He's still a primary school student and doesn't know about the college entrance exam, so Zihang won't hold it against him," the teacher said.

The teacher comforted the two children and made them apologize to each other. No, there was also Zhang Xiaohu.

The three of them apologized to each other and said sorry.

This simple matter has been resolved and is now concluded.

After dinner, Qin Zihang told Song Fenglan about what had happened at school.

“The teacher said that the others are too young to understand,” Qin Zihang said. “I said I was right. My mother could have gone to a good university in the capital, but she didn’t.”

“The children are still young and don’t understand,” Song Fenglan said with a smile. “You shouldn’t talk to them about it anymore. These are all things of the past. We need to look forward, you know? We need to see what the future holds.”

"I won't talk about university anymore." Qin Zihang waved his hand. "Even if I told them, they wouldn't understand. It's really exhausting."

Qin Zihang wanted people to agree with him, and those people knew about those things, but those children were too young.

“They are all so ignorant,” Qin Zihang said.

“It’s not that they’re ignorant, it’s that they’re young,” Song Fenglan explained. “You only understand because your parents explain it to you.”

"Don't their parents explain this to them?" Qin Zihang didn't understand.

“It’s not that their parents don’t want to explain to them; their parents might not know either,” Song Fenglan said. “We can’t keep telling them they don’t know; it will make them feel very bad. It’s enough that our Hangbao knows.”

"But they never seem to know, doesn't that make them look silly?" Qin Zihang said.

“They’ll understand as they grow up,” Song Fenglan said. “The more they read, the more they’ll know. Just like how you know more when you’re in elementary school than when you’re in kindergarten.”

“Yes, I know more than kindergarten kids,” Qin Zihang said.

Qin Zihang always says that others are children, and he himself is a child too, since he is not that old.

Song Fenglan glanced at Qin Yizhou, who immediately understood, "Has Hangbao finished his homework?"

"I'm done. I finished while my aunt was cooking," Qin Zihang said. "I finished that little bit of homework very quickly."

"Yes, it's very fast," Qin Yizhou said. "Then practice writing and make sure your handwriting is neat."

"Okay," Qin Zihang said.

When Zhang Xiaohu arrived, he saw Qin Zihang practicing calligraphy and was about to turn away. Qin Zihang immediately called out to Zhang Xiaohu, "Brother Xiaohu, let's practice calligraphy together."

Then, Zhang Xiaohu went to write with Qin Zihang. Zihang was already calling him "brother," so he had to act like a brother.

While the two children were practicing their calligraphy, Qin Yizhou looked at Song Fenglan and asked her to go to her room. He had something to give her. Qin Yizhou had bought Song Fenglan a hair clip. Song Fenglan didn't have bangs; her hair was long, and sometimes strands would fall down her forehead. Her old hair clips were worn out, so Qin Yizhou had specially bought her a new one, along with a silk scarf.

This silk scarf is perfect for wearing around the neck at this time of year, and many women love it.

Previously, Qin Zihang said that Qin Yizhou hadn't prepared a gift for Song Fenglan, but Qin Yizhou had prepared one, he just hadn't taken it out yet.

A hair clip was too cheap and unsuitable, so Qin Yizhou paired it with a silk scarf, which wasn't cheap. The scarf was light blue, but the shop assistant recommended a pink one. Qin Yizhou didn't buy the pink one; he knew Song Fenglan didn't particularly like pink, so he simply bought the sky-blue one.

Song Fenglan studies airplanes, and the color of the blue sky matches her perfectly.

"It wasn't Zihang who said it; I prepared it for you myself." Qin Yizhou was afraid his wife would misunderstand.

“Zihang is young,” Song Fenglan said. “Why are you still arguing with him about this?”

"He's said a lot of bad things about me in front of you," Qin Yizhou said. "Am I really that bad?"

"No, no." Song Fenglan chuckled.

“In his eyes, his mother is the most amazing one,” Qin Yizhou said.

"Jealous?" Song Fenglan raised an eyebrow. "Zihang used to be with me, he..."

The next moment, Qin Yizhou hugged Song Fenglan tightly, "I'm not jealous of him, I'm just afraid you won't like me."

Song Fenglan felt Qin Yizhou's strong body and quietly leaned against him. How could she not like him? She didn't like anyone else, nor did she dislike Qin Yizhou. As long as Qin Yizhou did his job well and ensured their family lived happily together, she would naturally continue to like him.

Qin Yizhou knew Song Fenglan's thoughts. Song Fenglan liked him to some extent, but not deeply enough. Qin Yizhou also knew that for someone like Song Fenglan to like him to some extent was already quite remarkable. However, he was greedy and wanted Song Fenglan to love him even more; he would love her even more than she loved him.

After a while, Qin Yizhou gently released Song Fenglan. As Song Fenglan was about to go to the living room, Qin Yizhou made her put on a silk scarf.

"Let Zihang take a look." Qin Yizhou helped Song Fenglan tidy her hair.

"Okay," Song Fenglan said with a smile.

Qin Zihang adored his mother, and he immediately noticed any changes in her.

“Mom, you have a scarf!” Qin Zihang said.

“Your father bought it,” Song Fenglan emphasized. “It’s a gift from your father to your mother.”

After saying this, Song Fenglan glanced at Qin Yizhou again. "Qin Yizhou, are you satisfied now?" Qin Yizhou's lips curled slightly. "Yes, this is the scarf I gave to my wife. Our son saw it, didn't he?"

"Oh." Qin Zihang pouted. He looked at his father and saw the smile on his father's face.

"Did you see that?" Qin Yizhou coughed lightly. "Is it pretty?"

“Mom looks good,” Qin Zihang said. “The scarf looks better when Mom wears it.”

"You little rascal," Qin Yizhou said.

"So, can Brother Xiaohu and I watch TV for a while?" Qin Zihang asked. "We didn't secretly turn on the TV while we were writing."

"Look," Qin Yizhou said, turning on the TV so the two children could watch.

One reason Zhang Xiaohu was willing to stay by Qin Zihang's side to practice writing was because they could watch TV together afterward. Even Aunt Pang thought Zhang Xiaohu's handwriting had improved significantly; she thought that without Qin Zihang, Zhang Xiaohu's grades would be a complete disaster.

With Qin Zihang around, Zhang Xiaohu has become much more enthusiastic about learning.

When Zhang Xiaohu returned from Song Fenglan's house, he specifically told his mother that he had practiced writing.

"And you, you go there to eat, and you even use other people's pencils and notebooks," said the plump woman. "You've used them all for nothing."

"Mom, you buy some, I'll take them with me," Zhang Xiaohu said. "After my brother Zihang and I finished writing, we watched TV. Auntie even praised us, saying our handwriting was pretty good."

“You should learn from Zihang, study more, and get better grades so you won’t have to do such hard work in the future,” said the plump woman. She had a low level of education, but she knew that a high level of education was beneficial, just like Song Fenglan, who had someone escort her to and from get off work and someone to protect her when she went out.

The plump woman looked at Song Fenglan with envy. She didn't expect Zhang Xiaohu to be better than Qin Zihang in the future; she just hoped Zhang Xiaohu wouldn't end up like her, so clueless about this and that. Women who don't understand these things can still do housework, but it's truly bad when men don't. If a woman doesn't understand, she's deceiving herself. The traditional roles of men as breadwinners and women as homemakers are often misunderstood, but women also want to be strong.

Don't let the fact that Auntie Pang always stays at home doing housework fool you; she also has a lot on her mind.

She had some ideas, but unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough. Unlike Song Fenglan, Fatty Sister-in-law could only focus on managing the household affairs and hoping her two children would be more capable.

"You only learned from your brother Zihang; it was through him that you learned the ways of your sister-in-law. If you had to learn on your own, it would have been difficult."

Zhang Xiaohu's older brother, Zhang Wen, didn't do very well in school. Even though he studied diligently at home, what difference did it make? Sometimes, effort alone isn't enough, but not trying is also unacceptable. His wife, Fatty, didn't understand these things herself and couldn't teach Zhang Wen.

"I've learned it," Zhang Xiaohu said. "Mom, can we have eggs tomorrow?"

"All you ever think about is eating eggs," said the plump woman. "Alright, tomorrow I'll give you and your brother an egg each, a boiled egg."

"Can I have a fried egg?" Zhang Xiaohu asked. "Fried eggs are delicious, a whole one, round."

“Okay, as long as you study hard, you can eat,” said the plump woman. “We don’t have any eggs at home, but I’ll go out and buy some for you.”

Sister-in-law Pang also needed to check on how the hen was incubating the eggs; she had been doing it for several days now. She didn't want Zhang Xiaohu to keep watching, fearing it would frighten the hen and prevent her from properly incubating the eggs. Sister-in-law Pang also needed to take out the eggs and examine them by candlelight. If any eggs weren't developing well, she would move them to a different spot so the hen could incubate them more effectively.

It takes about twenty days for a hen to incubate the eggs. Sister-in-law Pang has to keep an eye on them, because with so many eggs, it would be best if all of them hatched into chicks.

While Fatty was looking at the eggs, Zhang Xiaohu secretly followed behind. When Fatty turned around and saw Zhang Xiaohu, she was almost startled.

"These are for hatching chicks, you can't eat them." The plump woman glared at her youngest son. She knew some people ate balut, which were eggs that a hen had incubated for a while. The plump woman found those baluts terrifying, and she couldn't let her family eat them. "Don't look at them. You can look at them when the chicks hatch. Don't forget, you promised Zihang you'd give him chicks."

"Let me check, it wasn't touched," Zhang Xiaohu said.

The plump woman held the egg up to the light of the candle, while Zhang Xiaohu watched closely. She also poured warm water over the egg to check its condition.

"Mom, are you boiling eggs in lukewarm water?" Zhang Xiaohu stared at his mother, saying that it wasn't boiling eggs, but hot water!