Zhang Hongyan listened to her daughter's elaborate explanations, feeling somewhat bewildered. She didn't know what calcium or osteoporosis was, but for some reason, these things sounded very impressive.
Moreover, it's good for both adults and children; she could understand the idea that drinking bone broth can help children grow taller.
"Qingqing, did you read all of this in a book?" Zhang Hongyan asked.
Xia Qingqing nodded: "It's all written in the books. Our bodies need many kinds of nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates. For example, we need to eat a healthy combination of foods such as rice, whole grains, vegetables, meat, bones, and fish. We can't just eat one kind of food at a time."
Pork ribs are definitely a good thing, and their nutritional value is no less than that of meat. It's just that people in this era lack food and drink, and meat may not be seen for one or two months. They don't care about nutrition at all.
Zhang Hongyan no longer had any objections to her daughter's decision to switch to pork ribs. With a smile on her face, she was once again grateful that she had sent her daughter to school.
If my daughter didn't go to school, how could she be able to articulate these things so clearly and logically, things that she doesn't understand at all?
"Sis, you know so much," Gou Dan looked at Xia Qingqing with admiration and pride. He was proud to have such an amazing older sister.
"Learn from your sister well," Xia Heping patted his son's head with a satisfied smile. With such wonderful children, what more could he ask for?
Taking the opportunity, Xia Qingqing proposed that the whole family should study together. The reform and opening up would be coming soon, and her parents were not yet 40 years old. She planned to take her parents with her to do business in the future.
Zhang Hongyan is illiterate, and Xia Heping only went to school for two years and knows some common characters. How can this be acceptable? When the business grows bigger in the future, they probably won't even be able to read an account book.
“I can’t, I’m too old,” Zhang Hongyan said, waving her hands repeatedly in refusal when her daughter asked her to study with her.
But deep down, she harbored a longing for learning.
Why was Zhang Hongyan so determined to send her daughter to school, even causing such a huge uproar in the Xia family? It was because she didn't want her daughter to end up like her, illiterate and destined to be just a rural woman for the rest of her life.
Zhang Hongyan's biological mother died when she was four years old. Her father soon remarried. Her stepmother was five or six years younger than her father and was very charming, managing to keep him completely under her thumb.
At first, before her stepmother gave birth, Zhang Hongyan had a couple of good days. But as her stepmother gave birth to two sons and a daughter in succession, Zhang Hongyan's life at home became increasingly difficult.
She took care of all the housework and looked after her younger siblings. If her younger siblings got hurt, her stepmother would go to her father and complain, and she would get a beating in return.
Even the villagers all say that the stepmother is good, that she never mistreats her stepdaughter. Ha, of course the stepmother doesn't need to lay a hand on her; she only needs to whisper a few words in her father's ear and he will take action. The stepmother can still gain a good reputation.
She finally grew up, but her stepmother started scheming about her marriage again. It was only because she made the decisive move to ask a matchmaker to find Xia Heping that she got married. Otherwise, who knows which remote mountain village her stepmother would have sold her to.
Since getting married, Zhang Hongyan has almost never returned to that home. It is said that married women are outsiders, and she is an outsider among outsiders.
......
“Why not? You and Dad are not even 40 years old yet. Let’s not talk about living to be 100. Even if you two live to be 90, you can still live for another 50 years. Isn’t 50 years enough for learning? I read a sentence in a book,” Xia Qingqing paused here.
Seeing that she was keeping everyone in suspense, the other three people all focused their attention on her, waiting for her to continue.
"Sis, hurry up and tell me, what is it?" Gou Dan urged. His sister's half-truth was driving him crazy.
Xia Qingqing and Zhang Hongyan exchanged a glance, then Xia Qingqing cleared her throat and said, "The best time to start learning is now, Mom. Actually, it's never too late to start learning; it just depends on whether you want to or not."
After listening to her daughter's words, Zhang Hongyan fell into deep thought. Yes, she had been blind for more than 30 years. Was she going to have to continue to be blind for the next few decades?
Seeing that her mother was starting to soften, Xia Qingqing continued to persuade her, "Life is getting better and better now. Who knows what life will be like in 10 or 20 years? Mom and Dad, you are still young now. Won't you regret it if you wait until you really need to use your knowledge to learn it? Won't you regret not learning when you had the chance?"
“Okay, then Qingqing, you can take some time every day to teach me to read,” Zhang Hongyan quickly made up her mind.
“No problem, I’ll take care of it. It just so happens that Gou Dan is only in first grade, so I can teach you both together,” Xia Qingqing said happily, and then turned her attention to Xia Heping: “Dad, what about you?”
Xia Heping quickly waved his hand: "I don't need to, I can still recognize a few characters."
He was actually embarrassed to study with his son and daughter-in-law; it was too inappropriate for a grown man like him.
Xia Qingqing wasn't angry when he refused; she agreed gently.
The priority now is to get her mother to catch up on her studies. Once her mother makes progress, her father will start to worry even if she doesn't mention studying.
When Gou Dan heard that Zhang Hongyan wanted to study with him, he felt utterly hopeless. Now he wouldn't be able to slack off while studying anymore, and if his mother found out, he'd be in deep trouble.
After dinner, Xia Qingqing began teaching Zhang Hongyan, while Xia Heping naturally took over the task of washing the dishes.
Xia Heping proudly stated that he fully supports his wife learning to read with their daughter.
At this time, he had no sense of crisis and was completely unaware that he would soon be hit by his own wife.
Zhang Hongyan was a little nervous about her daughter's class for the first time. She hadn't noticed anything unusual when she watched her daughter tutor Gou Dan, but now she could see a hint of teacher's authority on her daughter's face.
"In the first lesson, we will learn Pinyin. There are 63 Pinyin syllables in total, including 23 initials, 24 finals, and 16 whole-syllable recognition syllables..."
Xia Qingqing's plan was to have Zhang Hongyan learn pinyin in half a month, and then slowly teach her some simple characters.
Fortunately, Zhang Hongyan was very cooperative and did not slack off at all just because the person teaching her was her daughter. She would carefully copy the pinyin she learned into her notebook every day and then reinforce her learning again and again.
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