The adults were busy talking and didn't notice that Da Wa was standing not far away. He drank too much ginger and jujube tea and wanted to go to the toilet. The toilet was right on the path that Ning Tang and the others had to pass through, so Da Wa heard everything they said.
We ate and drank until the evening, and when it was getting late, everyone said goodbye.
The children were very reluctant to leave. Qi Dahu and Wang Zhuangzhuang held Da Wa's hands, one on each side, and said, "Dawa, we'll come and play with you next time."
Da Wa nodded in agreement and said, "Okay."
Zeng Xinlan smiled and said, "Our houses are only a few steps away from each other, so why bother about meeting again? Besides, school is about to start, and you'll see each other every day at school."
Speaking of the start of school, Zeng Xinlan thought of something, "By the way, have you finished your winter vacation homework?"
Then? Of course - no!
We spent the entire winter vacation having fun, and it happened to be the Chinese New Year period, so a group of kids had a lot of fun and almost went crazy. We didn't do a single word of our winter vacation homework.
Big Boy turned around stiffly and said, "Well? What? I went to help my dad clean the house." Then he ran away.
Zeng Xinlan then asked Da Hu and Wang Zhuangzhuang, "What about you two?"
The two children looked at each other, patted their bulging stomachs, and laughed, "Oh, I'm hungry. Let's go home and eat." Then they ran out.
Zeng Xinlan was left with a depressed look on her face. She had just eaten and drunk for the whole afternoon.
Rice candy, cat ears, rice balls..., you eat them so deliciously, why do you feel hungry again after just a short while?
Ning Tang saw Ding Ronghua and Commander Wang out. Ding Ronghua held Ning Tang's hand the whole time, saying repeatedly, "Xiao Ning, the Women's Committee is recruiting officers in early March. You must come and sign up. I'm optimistic about you. As long as you come, you will definitely pass."
Ning Tang's face almost froze with laughter, "Okay, okay, I'll discuss it with Captain Shen later." Put the blame on Chen Lie?
When Ding Ronghua heard that Ning Tang still wanted to discuss it with Chen Lie, she thought about it and agreed. After all, going out to work was a big deal. It would be unreasonable not to discuss it with Chen Lie, so she stopped trying to persuade him.
But before leaving, she reminded Ning Tang several times to make sure to register, and she would be angry if she didn't see Ning Tang's registration form.
Ning Tang finally sent Ding Ronghua away, patted her stiff face, and asked Luo Saozi, who stayed to help her clean the house, "Sister-in-law, why does Sister Ding keep encouraging me to go to their women's committee? To sign up and become an officer?"
Mrs. Luo swept the melon seed and peanut shells scattered on the ground into a pile with a broom and said with a smile, "I guess they're impressed by your ability, so they've been urging you to go."
Ning Tang was stunned. "What abilities do I have?"
Mrs. Luo said, "You forgot why Wang Di came here."
Being reminded by her, Ning Tang recalled that when distributing jackfruits, she gave a cold shoulder and let Wang Di cut in line.
Ding Ronghua is the director of the Women's Committee. Even if she was not present when the incident happened, there would be people like Secretary Xiaoling who would report the matter to her afterwards.
There was also the matter of coming up with ideas for Zeng Xinlan. Even someone as experienced as Ding Ronghua couldn't come up with an idea as good as Ning Tang's in a short period of time.
Probably because of these, Ding Ronghua felt that Ning Tang had the ability to handle problems and was suitable for this job. After all, the trivial matters and family matters that the Women's Committee dealt with every day were similar to the matter of Wang Di coming to the countryside to work and Captain Qi's subsidies to his hometown.
We all live in the same military family compound. There are no major conflicts, but there are quite a few minor frictions. This is when the Women's Committee needs to step in.
It is called the Women's Committee, but it can actually be called an office.
Mrs. Luo asked, "Xiao Ning, do you want to go? If you want to go, you will definitely be able to get in."
Ning Tang was amused. "That's not necessarily true. Didn't Sister Ding say there would be two rounds: a written test and an interview?"
Mrs. Luo said, "You've only graduated from junior high school, so the written test shouldn't be too difficult for you. Ronghua is the one who's in charge of the interviews. She's so optimistic about you, so her score shouldn't be low. I think as long as you sign up, you're basically guaranteed to get in."
Ning Tang smiled and didn't respond.
Mrs. Luo advised, "Xinlan should also sign up. If you two pass the exam together, you can become colleagues. Besides, there's a salary for joining the Women's Committee, seven yuan a month. If I were a few years younger, I would also want to go."
Ning Tang laughed and said, "Let's talk about it later. I'll go back and discuss it with our Captain Shen."
Mrs. Luo nodded and didn't persuade her any further.
The next day, Zhao Qing came to deliver the book.
When Zhao Qing came back to pay New Year's greetings, she was so preoccupied with going to Xinhua Bookstore that she didn't pay much attention to the layout of the Shen family.
This time when she walked in, she looked around and was very curious.
When Da Wa's mother was around, Zhao Qing would occasionally come to the Shen family.
Da Wa's mother is not talkative. Zhao Qing feels that the house is dead when she enters it. Over time, she no longer likes to come.
This time, I saw that the Shen family had changed a lot.
There is a white porcelain vase on the windowsill with an unknown pink flower in it. There is a beige tablecloth on the small table in the living room... It looks like there are just a few inconspicuous things, but it is full of life.
Ning Tang poured her a cup of hot water and asked her, "Where's the book?"
Zhao Qing curled her lips and took out six or seven books and an envelope of money from her leather bag. "Here, here you go. I spent seven dollars and sixty-six cents on these books, which leaves me with two dollars and thirty-four cents left."
Ning Tang didn't take the money, but took the book first.
At first glance, in addition to the "Journey to the West" and "Dream of the Red Chamber" she wanted, there were also "Red Rock", "Fortress Besieged" and "How the Steel Was Tempered".
His eyes suddenly lit up. "Thank you so much! It must have taken you a long time to find these books, right?"
Zhao Qing coughed and blushed slightly, "It's okay."
In fact, I put in a lot of effort. I not only went to three Xinhua Bookstores, but also went to all the mobile book stalls in Jiang City.
These days there are no televisions or computers, and even movies are rare. Everyone takes pride in reading in their spare time.
Reading a good book quietly under an incandescent light is the best way to kill time.
Even if you don't like reading, if you walk on the street with a collection of quotations or famous works tucked under your arm, others will respect you as a cultured person.
Gradually, a reading craze arose, and sometimes it was difficult to find a book.
That book, "How the Steel Was Tempered", was a foreign book, so when we found it, several classmates were vying for it.
Finally, Zhao Qing said that she bought the book for someone else and there were three children waiting to read it, so everyone gave the book to her.
After delivering the book, Zhao Qing drank the hot boiled water Ning Tang gave her in one gulp and prepared to leave.
Ning Tang quickly stopped her and said, "Don't be anxious, take this." Then he stuffed something into Zhao Qing's hand.
Zhao Qing looked closely and saw that Ning Tang gave her nothing but the money left over from her book purchase. She asked curiously, "What are you doing with it?"
Ning Tang raised an eyebrow. "It's your labor fee. You can consider it as travel expenses."
The boat ticket from Hailang Island to Jiang City cost fifty cents. The two dollars, thirty-four cents that Ning Tang gave was not much.
Zhao Qing returned the money to Ning Tang, "I don't want it."
"Keep it, this is what you deserve." Ning Tang said.
Zhao Qing helped her find so many books, which was a great help to her.
"Take it and buy other books you want to read." Ning Tang added.
Zhao Qing did have some books she wanted to buy, but Mrs. Luo and Political Commissar Zhao kept a close eye on her, and she didn't have much money, so she couldn't buy the books she wanted to read.
From another perspective, the two yuan that Ning Tang gave her was also a great help to her.
Zhao Qing pursed her lips and said in a mosquito-like voice, "Thank you...thank you."
Ning Tang waved his hand. "Oh, it's no big deal. Next time you go to Xinhua Bookstore, tell me. I have some books I want you to buy for me."
Zhao Qing nodded. When she reached the door, she suddenly turned around and said, "Actually, you're a pretty good person. If you weren't such a queen, I think we could be good friends."
Ning Tang was amused. What a weird little girl!
"If I weren't stepmother, I'd still be farming in Shangang Village in the north. How could you be my friend?"
Zhao Qing's face turned sour, and she said, "Too lazy? I don't care about you." and ran away.
Ning Tang looked at her back and reminded her, "Remember, next time you go to Xinhua Bookstore, come and tell me."
Zhao Qing, who was far away, heard it and twisted her foot as if she had sprained it.
After the Chinese New Year comes the Lantern Festival. A family of five cooks dumplings to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
All the dumplings were made by Chen Lie himself. He made two kinds. One was the ordinary dumplings with white skin and black sesame filling, and the other was the small dumplings without filling made at Ning Tang's request.
Ning Tang doesn't like to eat the kind of glutinous rice balls with sesame filling. Instead, she likes the thumb-sized small dumplings without sesame filling. Ning Tang calls them pearl dumplings. Eating them always reminds her of the pearl milk tea she drank in her previous life.
There were ordinary glutinous rice balls in Da Wa's bowl. He scooped up a round glutinous rice ball with a white porcelain spoon and took a bite. It was soft and sticky with the fragrance of black sesame.
He ate half of the glutinous rice balls in the bowl and rolled his eyes. "Stepmother, are your glutinous rice balls delicious?"
Ning Tang was amused. He didn't answer directly, but teased him deliberately, "Guess."
Chen Lie laughed at him, "I always feel that what's in other people's bowls tastes better than what's in my own bowl."
Big Boy curled his lips and refused to guess. He jumped off the stool and went to scoop the pearl balls by himself.
Chen Lie glanced at Erniu who was eating the dumplings obediently, and suddenly remembered that Erniu was six years old, and the children on the island were usually sent to the education class at the age of three or four.
Da Wa's mother didn't care about Er Niu's schooling at all. Chen Lie was busy with work and also ignored this matter. Not to mention Er Niu, the same thing happened when Da Wa went to school.
As a result, Erniu was six years old and had not yet gone to the Yuhong class, while other children of the same age on the island had been in the Yuhong class for at least one or two years.
He asked Ning Tang, "After the New Year, should we send Er Niu to a red education class? It's not a good idea for her to not go to school and just play around at home every day."
He was frightened by the eldest daughter's Chinese test results. What if the second daughter was like her brother and came back with nothing in her first grade?
It would be better to send them to the Yuhong class earlier. The teachers in the Yuhong class can also enlighten the children and teach them some simple words and arithmetic, so that they will not be unprepared when they enter elementary school.
Ning Tang really wanted to scold him. You only remembered to send Er Niu to the Yuhong class now. What were you doing before?
However, he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips. After all, this matter could not be entirely blamed on Chen Lie.
"After the New Year, send the third child to the Yuhong class. As for the second daughter, she will not be sent to the Yuhong class. She will be sent directly to the first grade in September." Ning Tang said.
Some children start school early and enter the first grade at the age of six, which means they graduate a year earlier than their peers.
Chen Lie thought it was okay, "Okay."
Sanwa tilted his head and asked, "Stepmother, what is the Red Education Class?"
"It's a place where you can play games with teachers and other children. You can make a lot of good friends there." Ning Tang said, "It's just like going to school."
Sanwa's eyes lit up, "Then? I'll go."
As Chen Lie was clearing away the dishes, he caught a glimpse of two red envelopes on the cabinet at the entrance. Curious, he asked Ning Tang, "Whose red envelopes are left here?"
"It wasn't dropped by anyone." Ning Tang said, "Those two red envelopes were originally intended for Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu."
Mentioning Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu, Shen Lie remembered that Ning Tang and Ning Xue were cousins, and their family was still related to the Su family. Strictly speaking, Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu were cousins of Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa.
——Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu are two months older than Da Wa.
These two red envelopes were prepared by Ning Tang a long time ago.
Even because of their kinship, the amount of the red envelope Ning Tang prepared for Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu was much more generous than the one he gave to Zhao Qing, the son of Political Commissar Zhao from Luo's wife's family, Qi Dahu, the son of Battalion Commander Qi from Zeng Xinlan's family, and Wang Zhuangzhuang, the son of Commander Wang from Ding Ronghua's family.
Ning Tang originally planned to give the twins red envelopes when Ning Xue and Su Junyan brought the twins to visit for the New Year.
With Ning Tang's personality, she couldn't wait for others to come and pay New Year's greetings, but Ning Xue was different. If Ning Tang went to the Su family to pay New Year's greetings rashly, it was possible that the Su family had not prepared anything. It would be very embarrassing to go there, and she would be rejected. After all, no one from his family was seen out and about throughout the New Year.
As expected, Ning Xue hadn't come to the Shen family even after she turned fifteen, and she had hardly even left the house.
Ning Tang was very puzzled, but it was not easy for him to go to the door.
The two red envelopes for Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu were never given out and were placed on the entrance cabinet.
After hearing Ning Tang's words, Chen Lie asked Da Wa, "Have you been playing with the twins next door recently?"
The eldest child blinked and said, "No, I haven't played with them for a long time."
Shen Lie was surprised, "Why don't you play together anymore? Are you having a conflict?"
Everything was fine before. Big Wa even said that Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu asked him to go over and play. When he saw the crispy chicken legs, Big Wa came back and made a fuss.
Moreover, the two families lived close to each other and were relatives. When Ning Xue first came, she often let the twins play with the eldest child and often invited the eldest child to their house.
Therefore, Chen Lie always thought that the eldest child had a good relationship with the twins.
The eldest child pursed his lips and said, "No, we're not quarreling."
"Then? Why don't you play together?" Shen Lie asked.
Er Niu tugged at her pigtails and raised her hands, saying, "I know."
Chen Lie was amused and patted Er Niu's head. "You know, then tell me."
The second girl said in a crisp voice, "Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu said that big brother is stupid. He only scored 60 points in the first grade Chinese test. Stupidity is contagious. They can't play together, otherwise they will become as stupid as big brother!"
Shen Lie almost spit out a rage, “Who are you talking about? They are the ones who are stupid.”
But he didn't have the confidence to say this.
Chen Lie knew that the twins had both scored 100 points in the exam before the New Year - Su Junyan kept nagging him about it.
Everyone assumes that getting high scores means being smart.
So it’s not wrong to say that Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu are smarter than Dawa.
Chen Lie carefully glanced at Da Wa's face and found that Da Wa didn't seem to care much, so he felt a little relieved.
The eldest child said proudly, "If you don't want to play with me, then don't play with me. I don't need these two playmates. They say stupidity is contagious, that's a lie. Liu Xiaoliu only scored ten points higher than me in Chinese, and they both played with him just the same."
That? It’s because Liu Xiaoliu is Li Yun’s son, Ning Xue has a good relationship with Li Yun, and the twins also have a good relationship with Liu Xiaoliu.
If the twins said in front of Ning Xue that Liu Xiaoliu had poor grades and was stupid and they didn't want to play with him, even if Ning Xue had a good temper, she would scold the twins.
Moreover, Ning Tang had every reason to suspect that Ning Xue was the one who instigated the twins to isolate the eldest child.
A child who is only in the first grade, what does it mean to "play with smart ones and stupid ones with stupid ones"?
The most likely possibility is that Ning Xue told the twins not to play with the eldest child. After all, the eldest child's mind is not focused on studying, and she is afraid that the eldest child will lead them astray.
This stupidity is contagious, it's just an excuse.
Of course, there is another possibility. Ning Xue and the twins really believe that stupidity is contagious.
If that's the case, don't say Ning Xue doesn't allow the twins to play with the eldest child.
Ning Tang also doesn't want the eldest child to play with the twins. After all, stupidity is contagious!
Shen Lie cleaned up the table and the surface was empty.
Ning Tang spread the books Zhao Qing bought for her on the table. Chen Lie picked up one at random and said, "Wow, Journey to the West. Where did you get this from?"
"On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Zhao Qing went to Xinhua Bookstore. I asked her to buy books for me. She bought several books." Ning Tang said.
The three little ones came over, and the third child looked up and said, "Stepmother, what is this?"
"Well, a storybook." Ning Tang said casually.
The three children are still young, so how can they know what it is famous or not? If you say it is a storybook, they might be even more interested in it. And from another perspective, it is not wrong to say it is a storybook.
Er Niu asked, "Is it bought for us?"
They were used to Ning Tang coming back from shopping every few days.
Ning Tang pinched Er Niu's face and said, "No, I bought it mainly for me and your dad to see. With your three current educational levels, you won't be able to understand it for now."
Seeing Er Niu's puffy face, Ning Tang added, "If you want to read it, come to me and your dad, and we'll read the story in the book to you."
The eldest child's eyes lit up. "The story in the book? Is this the story that Teacher Zhou tells about 'the first burst of energy, the second weakens, and the third bursts of energy'?"
He looked at the book on the table. The exquisite cover was very similar to the one he saw at Teacher Zhou's place, and just as beautiful.
"Yeah." Ning Tang said, "Almost."
She was not deliberately trying to fool Big Brother, but even if she explained to Big Brother, Big Brother would not listen or understand.
She said to Chen Lie, "After the New Year, go find a carpenter and have him build a bookshelf for us and put it in the corner of the living room."
It felt a bit like a reading corner. Chen Lie's eyes lit up and he agreed.
Da Wa picked up a copy of How the Steel Was Tempered and put it in Ning Tang's hand. "Stepmother, I want to hear a story right now. Tell it to me."
Ning Tang was amused. "If you want to hear it, I have to tell you."
The eldest child shouted, "But you just said it yourself. If we want to see it, we can come to you and dad."
This is a storybook! It contains countless interesting and fun stories. It might even be more interesting than Teacher Zhou's story about "the first burst of energy, the second weakening, and the third exhaustion." Of course, Big Baby couldn't wait to hear it.
He still remembers the "story" that Teacher Zhou told him last time.
"Well, let me add a premise. If you three behave well, I will read you a story once a week." Ning Tang said.
"Ah——" Big Baby's face fell in disappointment.
Ning Tang pinched his little face and said, "If you think it's too slow, you can learn by yourself and learn more words. Then you won't have to bother me and your dad. You can read storybooks by yourself and even read them to Erniu and Sanwa."
These "storybooks" not only enrich their family's daily life, but also have another use, which is to help the eldest child with his studies.
Ever since Chen Lie asked Ning Tang to help Da Wa with Chinese, Ning Tang started thinking about it.
If we force the eldest child to study, especially the Chinese language, which he hates the most, then he will definitely not be happy.
What will be the result? On the contrary, you don’t have to wait until you are in senior year, maybe you can come back with a red lantern next year.
But it's different when there's a "storybook" hanging around. In order to read the stories in the "storybook", the eldest child will take the initiative to learn words without Ning Tang urging him.
Kill two birds with one stone.
As expected, the eldest child said decisively, "Stepmother, please teach me how to read. I want to read storybooks by myself."
After reading it, he can tell it to Erniu and Sanwa to show off his power as a little teacher.
Ning Tang was happy, "Okay, I'll teach you tomorrow." He then asked Er Niu and San Wa, "Do you two want to learn?"
Er Niu and San Wa also wanted to read the storybook by themselves, and they shouted in unison, "Learn!"
It was the first time Chen Lie had seen Da Wa so enthusiastic about learning. He couldn't help but give Ning Tang a thumbs up, "Comrade Xiao Ning, you still have a way."
On March 7th, Chen Lie enrolled Sanwa in a red education class. On March 10th, the elementary school started, and the two brothers went to school together, carrying their small schoolbags.
The eldest and third children went to school, Chen Lie went to the army, and only Ning Tang and Erniu were at home.
Ning Tang sent them out, then came back and collapsed on the bed, saying to Er Niu, "Wait until September, when I send you off to first grade, and then I'll be completely free."
Er Niu made a face at her and said in a long voice, "Impossible—I heard from Sister Luo that you are going to work too."
Work??
Ning Tang realized that they were probably talking about the Women's Committee.
"Nonsense, I'm not going."
She really didn't want to go, and she hadn't even mentioned it to Chen Lie.
Er Niu was curious, "Isn't work fun?"
Why is my stepmother so resistant?
According to Mrs. Luo, working is actually similar to studying, leaving home early and coming back late, but you get paid.
It’s good to have money. You can buy delicious snacks and fun toys.
If it were Erniu, she would also want to go to work.
"Fun?" Ning Tang sneered, "Remember, there's nothing fun about work. If you do this job, you have to be responsible for it."
Ning Tang thought she was not capable of doing this job well. Most importantly, this was not the job she wanted to do, so she laughed it off in front of Mrs. Luo and Ding Ronghua.
She planned to find a time in a few days to clearly refuse.
She even thought of a reason - the eldest, second, third and fourth children are still young and need her care.
With this reason, Ding Ronghua would definitely not force her to work as an officer in the Women's Committee.
Then she can stay at home peacefully and lie down!
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