Chapter 66: The temperature is almost 98 degrees today

Before sending the little bun to the nursery, Jiang Xueyi asked He Chengze to go to the nursery to inquire about the details.

He Chengze had just returned from training and was too tired to move. He waved his hand and said, "What are you asking about? This nursery is co-run by the military, and most of the teachers there are military wives."

Jiang Xueyi breathed a sigh of relief. The quality of military wives is relatively high.

Although there are some weirdos like Hu Genhua and Xue Jun, most people are very kind.

Most importantly, love cleanliness.

He Chengze saw that she looked relieved and smiled, "Are you that worried?"

"Of course I'm worried," Jiang Xueyi rolled her eyes. "What if the teacher who teaches Baozi isn't a clean person and likes to chew up his food before feeding it to him?"

He Chengze's face froze: "No way?"

He thought back and realized that when he went to the countryside before, he had indeed seen some old women who liked to feed their grandchildren in this way...

Jiang Xueyi asked, "Also, do we need to wipe our mouths after eating? What if one mouth cloth wipes the entire class?"

He Chengze's face froze again, and he started to walk away.

Jiang Xueyi shouted from behind: "Where are you going?"

He Chengze said without even turning his head: "I'll go to the nursery to take a look."

No matter how the new parents fuss over the daycare arrangements, the little one still happily strolls downstairs every day and plays chase with Xiaomi.

Until September 1st.

Although I have already told the little one that he will go to nursery.

But on the day of school, He Chengze still squatted down with a worried look on his face and said to him again: "Little Baozi, we will go to the nursery later. You have to stay there for the whole day. Is that okay?"

The little bun nodded confusedly and pointed at Xiaomi and said, "Xiaomi!"

He Chengze shook his head: "I can't bring Xiaomi."

The little boy's cute and handsome face was deflated.

He Chengze changed the subject: "But there are teachers there, and there are many children to play with you."

The little bun's eyes lit up: "Little friend!"

He Chengze smiled and said, "Yes, kid, they will play handkerchief dropping and grid stepping with you. You should get along well with the other kids."

The little bun nodded heavily: "Hey."

After He Chengze finished giving his instructions, Jiang Xueyi changed him into a new set of clothes: a white top with a panda head embroidered on it, with the ears sewn separately, and a pair of black pants.

The little boy loved this outfit and kept pulling the panda's ears with his hands.

Jiang Xueyi put a mini schoolbag on his back, which she had borrowed from Captain Zhao's house to sew with a sewing machine. It also had a panda pattern and was in black and white.

The little bun was wearing a panda coat, carrying a panda bag, and jumped twice on the spot. He was so cute.

Xiaomi ran over and rubbed the little bun's trouser leg with her head reluctantly.

The little bun was not even as tall as Xiaomi. He stood on tiptoe and hugged Xiaomi's neck, saying loudly, "Xiaomi, I will miss you."

Xiaomi: "Woof woof!"

Little Baozi: "Xiaomi, you must miss me even when you are at home."

Xiaomi: “Woof woof woof!!”

The two brothers looked like they were about to be separated by life and death.

Jiang Xueyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's not like she's gone missing. You can still see Xiaomi after school this afternoon."

The little bun nodded seriously, "Okay." He held out his little hand, "Let's go to the nursery."

The nursery is in the town, about three blocks away from the Women's Federation, which is not far.

It was the first time that the little boy went back to the nursery, and He Chengze went with him.

When we arrived at the nursery, a female teacher was already waiting at the door to greet us.

The female teacher was wearing a white dress, had fair skin, and looked very quiet.

Jiang Xueyi's eyes moved around her fingernails. They were neatly trimmed. Well, not bad, she was very clean.

She smiled and nodded to the teacher: "Hello, teacher, we are here to send our children to school."

The female teacher also smiled and said, "Hello, parents. My last name is Qiu. You can just call me Teacher Qiu. This is He An, right?"

Jiang Xueyi was stunned for a moment before she reacted: "Yes."

It’s no wonder she was slow to react. She was used to calling him Little Baozi, Little Baozi at home and almost forgot that Little Baozi’s real name was He An. She had to correct it quickly.

The little bun tilted his head in surprise and said crisply, "Teacher, I'm not He An, I'm little bun."

He Chengze was amused and said to him: "Yes, your full name is He An, which is my last name, and your nickname is Xiao Baozi."

The little bun continued to tilt his head: "Whose last name is 'Xiao'? Is my mother's last name 'Xiao'?"

He spoke word by word in a baby voice, which was very cute.

Teacher Qiu was standing next to us and could hardly hold back his laughter.

Jiang Xueyi was embarrassed. She didn't expect that the first problem she encountered when sending the little boy to nursery was to correct his name.

Teacher Qiu said: "Parents should call their children by their full names more often, otherwise they will not be able to tell the difference." She also said, "Some grandmothers like to tell their children to 'open their mouths' when feeding them. Over time, the children really think that they are the ones saying 'open their mouths'."

Jiang Xueyi: "...Puff!"

Teacher Qiu's face turned serious. "Once a child has established a certain mindset, it's very difficult to correct it. Parents must take this issue seriously."

He Chengze responded awkwardly: "Okay."

The little bun tugged at the hem of He Chengze's pants: "Dad, you haven't told me yet, whose surname is 'Xiao'? Is grandpa and grandma's surname 'Xiao'?"

He Chengze patted his head and said, "No one in our family has the last name 'Xiao'. Xiao Baozi is your nickname. It's the nickname your family gave you. When you were born, your face was round and plump, and you were white and fat, just like a bun. That's why your mother gave you the nickname 'Xiao Baozi'."

Jiang Xueyi continued, "I also named Xiaomi. Xiaomi is the millet in the millet porridge you usually drink. Because the millet ears are yellow, it looks especially like millet, so I gave it this name." She added, "Your full name is He An. Usually, the teachers and other children will call you by your full name, but you can tell them your nickname is 'Little Baozi', and they can call you by your nickname too."

Teacher Qiu was quite surprised to see He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi patiently explaining to the little bun.

There have been cases in the past where children couldn't tell the difference between their full and full names, but parents would just impatiently remind them to remember their full names. There was no one who explained it to their children as seriously as He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi did.

Looking at the two men's attire again, He Chengze was going to the military camp soon, and he was wearing a military uniform. The green uniform looked particularly fitting on him, and his height and long legs showed his military temperament.

Looking at Jiang Xueyi, she had already finished explaining to the little bun: "Mom has to go to work. I'll pick you up after work this afternoon and we'll go home together."

When he heard the word "go to work" and saw the open-collar dress Jiang Xueyi was wearing, Teacher Qiu suddenly realized that she was a female cadre.

A soldier and a cadre, no wonder the children he brought up are so polite.

The little bun waved his little hands: "Dad, Mom, goodbye~"

He didn't look reluctant at all, and his face was full of anticipation to play with the children.

Jiang Xueyi laughed and scolded: "This little heartless guy."

Having said that, she still kept looking back at the little bun.

He Chengze pushed her away helplessly and said with a smile: "Just like you advised me, it's not like he's missing. You came to pick him up after work, and you met the little bun faster than me."

Jiang Xueyi retracted her gaze and said with a smile: "Okay, you should go to the military camp quickly, don't delay."

After saying goodbye to He Chengze, Jiang Xueyi rode her bicycle to the Women's Federation.

It was exactly half past eight when she arrived. She parked her bicycle in the parking shed, went upstairs, entered the office, boiled water and made tea, all in one go.

At 9:15, someone came to notify us of the meeting.

Jiang Xueyi has become accustomed to the regular Monday meetings.

She drank the last sip of tea, went to the bathroom, and then followed the crowd into the meeting room.

Director Xie was already there, so the others didn't dare to make any noise and had to hurry up and sit down.

After everyone arrived, Director Xie smiled and said, "The first thing to do in today's meeting is to praise everyone. The first literacy and skills training class was quite successful. □□ also knew about it and praised me a lot during the meeting. She praised our colleagues in the Women's Federation for their ability to get things done and for doing good things. This is inseparable from everyone's efforts."

Everyone applauded: "Good!!"

Director Xie raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet. "I'd like to specifically praise a colleague here." She looked at Jiang Xueyi, "Xiao Jiang, who do you think I want to praise?"

Jiang Xueyi's heart skipped a beat, and she smiled and said, "Everyone has contributed. I'm not surprised at all who you want to praise."

Director Xie nodded at her and said, "You little rascal." He then added, "I want to commend you. You've made a great effort in organizing this literacy and skills training class. From drafting the proposal to its implementation, every step has your influence. I can say that the success of this class is in no way without your contribution."

Jiang Xueyi said seriously, "Director Xie, you're too kind."

The more Director Xie praised her, the more nervous she became.

When a leader praises someone, it is definitely not a good thing.

Maybe he wanted her to continue working.

As expected, Director Xie continued, "As you all know, quite a few people have come to our Women's Federation recently to ask whether this literacy and skills training class should continue. I've discussed it with my superiors and we're thinking of running a second session, with Xiao Jiang continuing to lead it. What do you think?"

Section Chief You smiled and said, "First time is first time, second time is second time. Xiao Jiang is pretty good, let's go with her."

Xu Shanshan also said, "The students all have great trust in Teacher Jiang, so it's a perfect fit for Xiao Jiang to continue teaching the class."

No one had any objections, so Director Xie made the final decision.

After the meeting, she specifically asked Jiang Xueyi to stay and said while making tea, "Why, you don't seem very happy?"

The initial excitement has passed. Who would be happy to work for nothing?

Although she was thinking this in her heart, Jiang Xueyi's face was serious: "How could it be? It is my responsibility and obligation to contribute to the organization."

Director Xie nodded at her again and said, "I'm not wrong to say you're a little rascal." He then said, "How about this, I'll give you a raise. Tell me loudly, can you arrange for this second semester for me?"

A salary increase?!

Jiang Xueyi's eyes lit up and she said loudly, "Yes!"

Director Xie smiled and shook his head.

Jiang Xueyi's face was full of smiles: "I will give you the new plan within this week."

Director Xie waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

Jiang Xueyi returned to the office with a mission. As soon as she came back, Section Chief You asked her, "What did Director Xie say when he asked you to stay?"

Jiang Xueyi simply told everyone the details about the one-level salary increase. The payroll was transparent, and she couldn't hide it when the salary was paid.

Xu Shanshan was even more excited than Jiang Xueyi: "Great, we can eat out again."

Section Chief You had seen all of Jiang Xueyi's hard work during this period. Her small face, originally only the size of a palm, had become even thinner. He smiled and said, "You deserve a raise."

Jiang Xueyi: "There's one more thing. Director Xie asked me to make a plan for the second phase of literacy and skills training." She smiled and said, "Sister You, I think you should teach the afternoon skills training class for the second phase. Practice makes perfect."

Section Chief You thought for a moment and said, "That's fine, but what will this second-term class be training on? Will it still be training on how to paste matchboxes?"

Jiang Xueyi shook her head. "I've already thought about this. Why not train everyone to make velvet flowers? Velvet flowers have many uses. Young girls and wives like to buy them and wear them on their heads. At weddings, brides wear red velvet flowers on their heads. There's also a tradition of wearing velvet flowers on festive occasions. We won't have to worry about having nowhere to sell them after making them."

This had been mentioned before, and Section Chief You was mentally prepared: "Okay, I happen to have a few sisters who can make this velvet flower, I'll go learn from them later."

An entire afternoon was spent writing the plan.

At four o'clock, the wall clock chimed.

Jiang Xueyi stretched her body, put the things on the table away, went downstairs, rode her bike, and went to the nursery.

When we arrived at the nursery, Teacher Qiu was already waiting at the door with the little bun.

As soon as the little bun saw Jiang Xueyi, he rushed over: "Mom!"

Jiang Xueyi hugged him tightly, feeling as if a piece of emptiness in her heart had been filled. She kissed his little face and said, "Hey!"

The little bun said aggrievedly: "I miss my mother."

Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "I miss Xiao Baozi too."

The little bun looked behind her and asked, "Where's Daddy?"

Jiang Xueyi: "Dad is still in the military camp. We will be able to see him when we get home later."

The little bun nodded and said, "Oh, I can see Xiaomi too."

Jiang Xueyi asked him: "What did you eat for lunch at the nursery today?"

The little bun thought for a moment and said logically, "I had fried pumpkin and vegetable buns for lunch."

Jiang Xueyi asked him again: "Do you drink water three times a day?"

Little Baozi took off his panda backpack and took out a water bottle from it to show her: "Yes, I drank all the water in my little bottle."

The parents standing by saw that the little boy answered Jiang Xueyi's questions in such an orderly manner and he knew a lot. For a child of this age, he actually knew everything about fried pumpkin and vegetable buns, and he could even match them up.

She couldn't help but enviously ask, "Your child speaks very well. How did you teach him?"

Her child is in the senior kindergarten and is two years older than the little bun. He doesn't speak as fluently as the little bun and can only say simple words like "okay" and "no".

Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Talk to him more often and have conversations with him more often. Over time, he will become like a little adult and understand everything."

The parent nodded, not quite understanding.

Jiang Xueyi asked Teacher Qiu again: "Teacher, He An was in the nursery today. Did he cause you any trouble?"

Teacher Qiu smiled and said, "No, He An is very well behaved and obedient. At lunch, he doesn't even need the teacher to feed him. He can just grab a spoon and eat it by himself, and he eats quite steadily."

When I want to go to the toilet, I raise my hand politely and tell the teacher that I want to go to the toilet.

Teacher Qiu: "I have never seen a baby as well-behaved as him. Ultimately, it's all thanks to his good parents."

Jiang Xueyi patted the little bun's head and praised him generously, "Good boy." She added, "To reward you, I'll take you to the vegetable market later. You can pick whatever you want to eat."

The little bun showed his white baby teeth: "I want big bones, Xiaomi likes to eat them."

Jiang Xueyi: "Okay, I'll make you some kelp and bone soup."

She said, "Wave goodbye to the teacher."

The little boy stretched out his chubby little hand and waved, saying in a baby voice, "Goodbye, teacher~"

"Hey." Teacher Qiu responded, "Goodbye, He An."

Looking at the little bun's back as he left, she couldn't help but think, if only every student was as well-behaved as him, the teachers would have less to worry about.

Jiang Xueyi carried the little boy to the child seat that had been installed on the bicycle long ago, and the little boy held the handrail steadily.

Seeing that he was ready, Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Let's go."

The little bun nodded his head: "Let's go!"

I rode my bike all the way to the vegetable market, where people were setting up stalls everywhere.

There were too many people, so Jiang Xueyi simply picked up the little bun with one hand to prevent others from stepping on him.

The little bun is much heavier than when he was one year old.

Jiang Xueyi weighed him. Since she often held the little boy in her arms, she felt that her arms were much stronger than before she gave birth to him.

Walk and stroll.

An old man selling watermelons shouted, "Sandy watermelons, two cents a pound, guaranteed sweet!"

Jiang Xueyi picked one and paid for it.

Seeing Jiang Xueyi carrying the watermelon, the little boy took the initiative to get off her: "I don't want mom to hold me anymore, I can walk by myself."

Jiang Xueyi felt warm in her heart and said, "Okay, then you have to be careful and hold my hand well."

The little bun nodded heavily and held Jiang Xueyi's hand tightly.

Then I went to a seafood stall to buy some kelp, picked out a large leg bone from the pork stall, and bought two pounds of pork.

Jiang Xueyi prepared to buy some more lotus roots and then went home.

It is best to eat lotus root in this season, which can clear away heat, cool blood, strengthen the stomach and spleen.

The sales were very fast. Jiang Xueyi walked around twice before she found a stall selling lotus roots in a corner of the vegetable market.

Jiang Xueyi: "How much do you sell this lotus root for?"

The lotus root stall owner was a woman. She glanced at Jiang Xueyi and said, "One cent per pound. Do you want it with mud on or washed?"

Jiang Xueyi said, "The ones with mud, the ones with mud are fresh."

She picked out a few lotus roots that were yellowish-white and a bit muddy and put them in the bag. "I'll take these. Please weigh them for me."

The female stall owner responded, "Okay."

It hasn't rained in the past few days and the weather is extremely hot. The vegetable market is so crowded and noisy, like a big steamer.

Just by walking for a while, Jiang Xueyi's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat and her back was also wet.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and said, "It's really hot today."

The female stall owner put the lotus root on the scale and responded, "Yeah, it's almost 98 degrees today."

The little bun tilted his head and asked, "Mom, how many degrees is ninety-eight?"

Jiang Xueyi frowned, suspecting that she had heard it wrong.

The female stall owner's heart skipped a beat. She laughed awkwardly and said, "Look at me, I've lost my way in business. I meant 38, 38 degrees."

Jiang Xueyi: "Oh..."

The female stall owner handed the weighed lotus root to Jiang Xueyi: "A total of 20 cents."

Jiang Xueyi took out some money from her pocket, counted out two cents and gave it to the female stall owner, taking the opportunity to look her up and down.

The female stall owner was very young, about twenty years old. She wore a blue cloth shirt on the upper body and black pants on the lower body. Both were made of homespun cloth. She looked like a country girl. There was a circle of thin hemp rope tied around the trouser legs to prevent mud. However, the knot was tied the wrong way. Only someone who had not done much farm work would tie it wrong.

She was quite pretty, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, fair skin, and fingers so slender that they didn't look like those of a worker, and there wasn't even a speck of dirt between her nails.

Recalling her clumsy movements when she stepped on the scale... Jiang Xueyi was in no hurry to leave. She stood in front of the stall and chatted with the female stall owner: "You are new here, right? I have never seen you before. The lotus roots you sell are of very good quality. My wife and I both like to drink lotus root soup and eat lotus root fried with meat. I will come to buy from you next time. Please give me a discount."

When the female stall owner heard Jiang Xueyi asking her if she was new to the stall, she couldn't help but feel a little alert. Then when she heard that she just wanted a discount, she secretly curled her lips in disdain. It turned out that she was just a cheapskate.

She said indifferently, "Let's talk about it later."

Jiang Xueyi glanced at the lotus roots on the stall: "You are from Beitang, right? Most of the lotus roots there have nine holes."

The female stall owner paused for a second as she peeled the lotus root, the knife leaving a white mark on the lotus root. "Hmm...it's from Beitang."

A dark light flashed in Jiang Xueyi's eyes. The lotus roots in Beitang clearly have seven holes. She deliberately said it wrong, but this woman couldn't tell the difference.

Anyone who really knows how to dig lotus roots can figure out the number of holes with their eyes closed. How could they make such a mistake?

Maybe she was thinking wrongly?

This lotus root was just bought by the female stall owner and then sold at the vegetable market.

Jiang Xueyi thought for a moment and then asked, "Did your family dig this lotus root?"

A customer arrived at the stall, and the female stall owner, while selecting lotus roots for the customer, casually replied, "I dug these lotus roots by myself at the lake."

Jiang Xueyi's face suddenly changed. This was not right. Looking at the number of lotus roots she was selling at the stall, unless the whole family dug them, one person could not dig that many even if he dug from dawn to dusk.

Moreover, digging lotus roots is a strenuous job, and the female stall owner is just a young girl, how can she do it?

Furthermore, there was no dirt in the cracks of her nails, and it didn't look like she had dug lotus roots at all.

Even if you dig the lotus roots with gloves on, you still have to clean them with a brush. In the process, some dirt will inevitably get on them.

Besides, her skin is really too white. Digging lotus roots requires working under the scorching sun, so it is impossible not to get tanned at all.

Jiang Xueyi's heart sank, and she took the little bun's hand and left the vegetable market.

I was thinking about this all the way while riding my bike. The more I thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. There was something strange about the female stall owner.

He Chengze returned home and was thrown into the arms of the little bun.

He kissed the little boy's smooth face: "Where's mom?"

The little bun said crisply, "In the kitchen."

He Chengze walked into the kitchen and saw Jiang Xueyi holding the lotus root but not peeling it. He didn't know what she was thinking.