Ning Tang said, "Be good. It's getting late. If you keep playing, Da Hu's mother will come looking for us."
Unexpectedly, Da Hu wasn't too happy either. He smiled shyly and said, "It's okay, Aunt Ning. My mom won't be back from work soon. Just listen to Da Wa and play for a while before going back."
Not to mention Da Wa and Da Hu, Er Niu and San Wa didn't want to leave either. They each clung to Ning Tang's thighs and said coquettishly, "Let's play for a while longer."
Ning Tang was amused and had to scare them, "No, we have to go home, because Captain Shen is coming home. If Captain Shen comes home and finds that we are not studying at home but playing outside, he will think that we sneaked out to play as soon as he left. Then Erniu, Sanwa and I will be fine, but Dawa's bottom will be in trouble."
The eldest child thought about it and felt that this was very likely. He quickly said, "Then let's go home. Before Dad gets ahead of us."
As soon as he heard that Da Wa was going to be beaten, Da Hu said quickly, "Then let's go back quickly."
Sanwa was unhappy. His kite had always taken off later than his brothers and sisters, and he was having a great time. But when he was suddenly told to go home, he sat down on the sand and shouted, "I'm not going home."
Big Baby shouted, "You just want to see my butt burst open."
Sanwa said with a smile, "It's okay, it's your butt, not mine."
The eldest boy didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and snorted, "You really are my brother."
"Okay, stop joking." Ning Tang said, "Let's send Dahu home first, and then go back to ours."
When they heard that Da Hu was going to be sent home, Da Wa and San Wa stopped making a fuss.
After sending Dahu home, it turned out to be just as he said, Zeng Xinlan had not returned home yet, but Captain Qi was at home.
Ning Tang handed Da Hu to him, told him about their trip to the beach to fly kites in the afternoon, and then took Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa home.
When he got back to the door, the eldest son was very nervous. Like a thief, he first looked into the yard.
The second-floor building was dark and the lights were off. It seemed that Chen Lie had not returned home yet.
Big Brother breathed a sigh of relief.
Ning Tang found his expression very funny, "Don't worry, Captain Shen told me that he won't be home until eight o'clock at the earliest."
The eldest child patted his chest and said, "Mom, why didn't you tell me earlier?" He thought for a moment and realized something was wrong. "When did Dad tell you that he would be home at eight o'clock at the earliest?"
Erniu responded, "That's right, we didn't hear it?"
"He told me that before we went to bed last night." Ning Tang said.
The eldest child said, "Since Dad won't be back until eight o'clock, why don't we fly the kite a little later?"
"Because..." Ning Tang stretched out his voice, "It's almost dark. If we don't go home, are we going to fly kites in the dark? Even if you like it, I don't. It's pitch dark, and no one can see us."
As he was speaking, Ning Tang suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
Looking back, it was Ning Xue who looked exhausted.
Ning Xue's tired eyes swept over Ning Tang and the three children, and she keenly noticed the kites in the hands of the three children.
At first glance, it's obvious that he just came back from playing outside.
Ning Xue was looking at Ning Tang, and Ning Tang was also looking at her.
Ning Tang hadn't seen her for several days. There was nothing he could do as they had different schedules.
Ning Xue has now joined the Women's Committee as an officer. At the request of the Women's Committee, she has to go to work at 7:30 every morning. Going to work at 7:30 means she has to go out at 7:00 at the latest.
Although she normally gets off work at six in the afternoon, because she had just started the job, there were many things she didn't understand and she often had to ask other staff for help. Naturally, her work efficiency was low. In addition, there was too much paperwork, so it was normal for her to get off work late.
It would be fine if I just had to go to work, but after work I still have to serve the big boss Su Junyan, Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu.
1? After enduring for several weeks, even an iron man like Ning Xue couldn't bear it anymore.
At this moment, she had two thick dark circles under her eyes, her face was pale, and her steps were unsteady. If you didn't know her, you would think she had just had a serious illness.
On the other hand, Ning Tang sleeps until he wakes up naturally every day, and Chen Lie and the three children help with shopping, cooking and housework. When he has nothing to do, he goes to visit Luo Saozi's house or Zeng Xinlan's house to relax, or like today, he takes the eldest, second and third children to fly kites.
Our life is so comfortable that even a god wouldn’t change it.
The advantage of this is that her complexion is rosy and she looks energetic, which is in stark contrast to Ning Xue, who is almost exhausted, tired and bored.
Da Wa also saw Ning Xue. He was startled and patted his chest, "Aunt, why didn't you say anything? You scared us to death."
Ning Xue felt that it was unlucky for Da Wa to keep talking about death.
She is unhappy with herself and doesn't like everyone.
She curled her lips and answered irrelevantly, "Big Boy, I heard that you only scored 60 points in Chinese on your final exam. You still have the mind to fly a kite? Why don't you learn from your two cousins and study hard to improve your grades?"
You are really bringing up something that is not related to the topic!
Big Wa was furious and wanted to curse at Ning Xue.
Ning Tang held him back and smiled, "Sixty points? What's wrong? I think sixty points for Da Wa is pretty good."
Ning Xue glanced at Ning Tang oddly, thinking she was mad with anger, or perhaps just trying to save face. "Fine? Haha, if Guangzong and Yaozu had scored 60 points, I would have beaten them to death."
Ning Tang curled her lips and said, "Come on, forget it. With your precious Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu being like this, let alone getting 60 points, even if they got 10 points, I guess she wouldn't be willing to touch a finger for the twins. She would just keep an extra watch over them and urge them to study."
"I won't beat the eldest child." Ning Tang said with a smile, "What's wrong with him doing poorly on the test? I like children who do poorly on the test. You know, I've had poor academic performance since elementary school. When I see the eldest child not doing well on the test, it reminds me of my childhood. On the contrary, I will double the reward for him and buy him delicious food and fun things."
She rolled her eyes and said in a deliberately strange tone, "Besides, I'm their stepmother, not their biological mother. What does it have to do with me if they do well or poorly on the exam? I advise you not to be so nice to Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu. They are not your biological children. What if they turn out to be ungrateful? What will you do?"
Ning Tang was speaking sarcastically, but Ning Xue didn't hear a word of it.
She really thought Ning Tang thought it was a good thing that the eldest child did poorly in the exam, and she was even happier when she saw that Ning Tang did not attach importance to the child's education.
The gloom on his face was swept away, and he didn't plan to "persuade" Ning Tang anymore. He smiled and said, "Well, you are right. It's very good that you think this way. I should learn from you."
She looked at the sky. It was getting late. Su Junyan and the twins were still hungry and waiting for her to go home and cook. She quickly said, "Then I'll be leaving first."
After saying that, he took two steps and when he reached the door of his house, he turned back and said to Ning Tang, "I've suddenly come to my senses. I think your way of education is better than mine. You're right. Da Wa is still young. So what if he didn't do well on the test? You're right. You should reward him well and spoil him. You mustn't change your ways."
Ning Tang looked at her departing back with a half-smile on his face, and thought about what he had just said to Ning Xue. He felt that he still had a bit of the style of the vicious female supporting role in the control group.
Ning Xue left, and Ning Tang returned home with her three children.
After studying and playing for an entire afternoon, the three children were already hungry, and Ning Tang's stomach was also rumbling.
She simply cooked a few dishes: scrambled eggs, stewed beans with potatoes, and spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and steamed rice.
Ning Tang looked at the table full of food and nodded with satisfaction. She had finally honed her cooking skills. Although it couldn't compare to Chen Lie's, it at least tasted like home-cooked food. She had also improved a lot in her fear of oil splattering, which was a great improvement.
The three children were starving and were not picky at all. They picked up their bowls and started to eat.
The eldest boy scooped a spoonful of the sauce of stewed potatoes and green beans and poured it on the white rice. He also put an egg on top of it and quickly put the whole thing together with the rice into his mouth, saying how delicious it was as he ate.
Erniu doesn't like eating eggs. She always feels that eggs have a strange fart smell. Ning Tang doesn't bother her and just lets her eat more spicy and sour potato shreds and stewed potatoes with green beans.
After dinner, the three children took the initiative to help clean up the dishes.
After washing the dishes, Da Wa sat at the table and took out the math book that he had not finished studying in the afternoon.
Ning Tang hadn't expected him to be so diligent. He blinked and said, "No need to study anymore. I've already made up for today's lessons."
Unexpectedly, the eldest child didn't put the book away, but pursed his lips and said, "No, I want to learn."
He was stimulated by Ning Xue's words just now.
Even though Ning Tang said that he didn't mind him doing poorly on the exam.
Da Wa was also unhappy because others said that he was not as good as Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu.
Others would do this? They would think that Ning Tang didn’t teach well.
Just like others compare him with Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu, some people will also compare Ning Tang with Ning Xue.
Ning Tang was stunned for a moment, then her mind suddenly turned and she guessed what Da Wa was thinking. She curled her lips and said, "Okay, you can learn it, but--" She stretched out her voice.
Seeing the eldest child looking over, she continued seriously, "But you have to remember, learning is not for others, but for yourself. Similarly, doing well on the test doesn't mean you're a good student. The essence of learning is actually to deepen our understanding of the world. Simply put, it allows us to figure out what something is and why it happens."
Da Wa murmured Ning Tang's words again and again, very puzzled, and continued to look at Ning Tang with doubt.
Ning Tang saw his confusion. "It's like, if you learn Chinese well, you can read storybooks. You learn Chinese because you want to understand storybooks, not because someone tells you to. Do you understand the relationship between the two?"
Big Boy nodded, then shook his head.
Ning Tang was amused and didn't force an explanation on him. Instead, he said, "Learning is endless. Just keep learning. One day you'll understand what I'm saying."
Although Da Wa didn't understand, he understood Ning Tang's encouragement for him to continue studying, so he continued to immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge.
Ning Tang was about to take a shower. Just as she turned around, she saw Erniu tugging at her clothes and shyly said, "Mom, I want to learn too."
Ning Tang stroked her pigtails and praised her generously, "Hey, Erniu, you're so good. I'll give you some Chinese characters to learn, okay?"
Erniu nodded vigorously and replied, "Okay!"
Ning Tang flipped through Da Wa's first-grade Chinese textbook and picked out eleven characters: "tens, hundreds, thousands, and millions" and "heaven, earth, man, you, me, and him." She asked Er Niu to trace them, saying she would come out after taking a bath to check.
Finally, there was only one little baby left.
The third child flew kites all afternoon, running and shouting, and was so tired that he felt he could not even lift his hands. He didn't want to learn at all. The eldest child and the second girl wrote and drew, and played with wooden toy cars nearby.
Ning Tang came out of a comfortable hot bath. While drying his hair, he was thinking, since his two older children worked so hard, should he give them some reward?
Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard the sound of the door opening.
It was Chen Lie who came home.
Chen Lie had been in a meeting for an entire afternoon and an evening, and his butt was numb from sitting.
I was in a very depressed mood at first, but when I came back and saw that Da Wa and Er Niu were studying, my mood took a complete turn from being overcast to being clear and bright.
Ning Tang said, "I'm back. Are you hungry? Do you want something for a midnight snack?"
Chen Lie waved his hand. "It's late at night. Don't bother. I'll just grab some dried shrimp and seaweed to fill my stomach."
Ning Tang took some dried shrimps and seaweed from the kitchen chest and gave them to him.
Chen Lie, while carrying a plate and eating snacks, walked over to Da Wa and Er Niu and said, "I'm still learning."
Big Baby was speechless, "You know we are studying, yet you come to disturb us?"
Chen Lie sneered, "You can do it."
He turned to Erniu and found that she was actually writing the eleven characters Ning Tang had assigned her: "Tens, Hundreds, Thousands, and Millions" and "Heaven, Earth, Man, You, Me, and Him." He was very surprised. "Not bad, Erniu, you write well."
Erniu's face turned red when she was praised. She didn't respond, but just wrote harder.
The more Chen Lie looked at it, the more he thought Erniu's handwriting was excellent, and he praised her generously, "It seems our Erniu will become a talented young woman in the future."
After all, Erniu is just starting to learn, and her handwriting still has a lot of flaws. Is Chen Lie just having an eye attack from her biological father?
But Chen Lie couldn't help but think that his daughter was perfect in every way, and he praised her profusely again.
The more I praised Erniu, the more I felt that I was really capable of learning it, and I became more confident.
After praising Erniu, Chen Lie returned to Da Wa and saw him studying math. He then glanced at Ning Tang's multiplication table taped to the wall and whispered to Ning Tang, "Are you really planning on giving him a intensive math class?"
"Of course." Ning Tang said, "My words are as solid as my words. Big Boy is talented in math, so why doesn't he study hard?"
She thought for a moment and added, "I'm also tutoring Da Wa in Chinese today, so stop finding fault with us."
Chen Lie was amused. "Why would I find fault with you? It's a good thing that Da Wa can sit down and study. I don't care what subject he studies. Chinese... forget it. As long as he doesn't come back with a red lantern, that's fine."
It seems that Chen Lie has come to terms with it.
Seeing that Da Wa had almost finished his studies, Chen Lie picked up the exercise book in front of him and asked him a few questions. Seeing that Da Wa had answered them all, he nodded and said, "Well, you are really putting in the effort to study."
The eldest child was so excited that his tail was almost up in the air. "I studied at home all day and didn't go out. This is the reward for hard work."
Chen Lie raised an eyebrow, his eyes flicking to the shoe cabinet at the door. "Did you really not go out all day today and just stay at home to study? And you're still studying till this point?"
The eldest boy rolled his eyes and said loudly without any guilt, "Of course."
Erniu was not as shameless as him. She ran her pencil outside the paper and became restless.
Shen Lie put the cleaned plate on the table and said, "Well, Shen Dawa, explain to me where the sand on your shoes came from."
This sand looks like it was just stuck there.
When you go to the beach and your shoes are covered with sea water, and then you step on the sand, the sand won't all fall off in the short term. When you get home and let your shoes air out for a while, the sea water will dry up, and there will be a lot of dried sand scattered around the shoes.
Big Baby was like a deflated ball, he suddenly deflated and looked at Ning Tang anxiously, looking for help.
Ning Tang quickly gave Chen Lie a thumbs up, "As expected of Captain Shen, you have a sharp eye."
Chen Lie sneered, "Stop flattering me."
Having said that, judging from the rising ending tone of his voice, he still seems to be enjoying it.
Ning Tang coughed. "After you left, I took Da Wa and the other two to school until almost four o'clock. Seeing that they were studying so hard, I took them to the beach to fly kites and relax their eyes. It was a good way to combine work and rest."
Then he quickly said, "If you don't believe me, you can ask Da Hu. He came to play with Da Wa, but Da Wa had to study, so he didn't go out with him. So Da Hu stayed and studied with us until almost four o'clock, and then we went out to fly kites together."
The eldest child continued, "We only played for a little over an hour, and then it got dark, so we went home to eat. After dinner, we didn't even take a shower, and we continued studying."
After listening to the whole story, Chen Lie nodded and said, "It seems I was wrong about you."
"But..." Chen Lie stretched out his voice and looked at Da Wa, "If you haven't learned, you haven't learned. If you have learned, you have learned. You don't have to study just to fool me, and don't lie to me and say you studied all day. Just tell me honestly that you are tired from studying and went out to fly a kite, and I won't say anything to you."
The eldest child finally realized that he was wrong, lowered his head and whispered, "Dad, I was wrong..."
Chen Lie smiled and patted his head. "What's wrong with you? You're not wrong. No matter how long it takes, as long as you can learn, it's a good thing. I shouldn't blame you, I should praise you."
Seeing that Chen Lie didn't blame them, Da Wa breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Lie tutted his words and said, "Oh right, you said you went to fly kites this afternoon. I remember the supply and marketing cooperative on the island didn't sell kites. Where did you get your kites?"
Speaking of this, the eldest child became excited and ran to the cabinet in the living room to take out the kite they made and presented it to Chen Lie. "Dad, we made this kite ourselves. It's so fun."
Chen Lie took the kite and took a look. There were three styles: a puppy, a butterfly, and a little tiger.
The puppy and butterfly in the front are obviously drawn by Da Wa and Er Niu, and they are in line with their level of skill, but the tiger in the back...
Chen Lie asked in surprise, "Whose little tiger kite is this?"
Sanwa quickly raised his hand and shouted, "It's mine!"
Shen Lie asked him, "Did you draw this?"
Sanwa nodded vigorously.
Chen Lie sneered, "I'll ask you again."
Sanwa's voice weakened, "Okay, Mom helped me draw it."
Chen Lie was even more surprised and looked at Ning Tang, "Did you draw this?"
Da Wa and the other three kids couldn't see it, but Chen Lie was different. He could see that anyone who could draw such a majestic and lifelike tiger must have a certain level of painting skills.
Chen Lie looked Ning Tang up and down, as if he had just met her for the first time.
Ning Tang coughed and said, "Why are you looking at me? Are you surprised?"
Chen Lie said, "Don't even mention being surprised. It's no different from seeing a sow climbing a tree."
Ning Tang really wanted to beat him up, "Can you? Can you? Speak?"
Chen Lie coughed and said, "No, I still don't believe it. Draw another one for me to see."
Ning Tang took the draft paper used by Erniu and casually drew a picture of a tiger catching a rabbit.
On the grass, a little rabbit with two long ears was chewing grass intently. Behind it, a ferocious tiger suddenly appeared. The tiger opened its mouth wide and wanted to eat the cute little rabbit. Unfortunately, the little rabbit didn't notice it at all. People who saw this picture couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for the little rabbit.
The painting is so realistic that the shapes and spirits of the tiger and the rabbit are all captured. The tiger's ferocity and the rabbit's timidity and cuteness are so lifelike.
And it was completed in such a short time, which is enough to show Ning Tang's painting skills.
Shen Lie took the draft paper and marveled.
The eldest and his friends also came over to take a look. After seeing it, they really liked the picture of a tiger catching a rabbit, and the three children gathered around to grab it.
The third child wanted it, but the eldest child said, "I drew you a tiger kite this afternoon, and now you still want this one? Are you greedy? Shame on you."
The third child let go, and it was Erniu's turn. Erniu didn't get the kite Ning Tang drew that afternoon. The eldest child was at a loss and continued to negotiate, "Give me this picture first, and ask me to draw it for you next time."
Erniu curled her lips and said, "You're always right. No, this is drawn on my scratch paper, so it belongs to me. I don't care. I want this drawing. I like this little rabbit."
Da Wa thought for a moment and said, "I also like the big tiger on top. How about this, we can each take half."
Erniu thinks it’s okay and that this distribution is fair.
But when it was their turn to tear it apart, Da Wa and Er Niu felt reluctant.
The picture of a tiger catching a rabbit is a coherent painting. If either the tiger or the rabbit is missing, the painting will lack perfection and charm.
Ning Tang stepped forward to make the decision. "How about this: we hang this painting in the living room so everyone can see it? Okay?"
The three children looked at each other and said in unison, "Okay."
Finally it was solved, Ning Tang wiped the sweat off his forehead.
It is not easy to raise three children. I am always worried that I cannot treat them equally.
I wonder what it’s like for Chen Lie to take care of three kids alone?
Ning Tang thought about it and looked at Chen Lie.
Chen Lie didn't know why Ning Tang was looking at him, so he asked, "Oh, by the way, I haven't asked you yet, how come you're so good at painting? Who did you learn from?"
There shouldn’t be any artists in Shangang Village, right?
Ning Tang lied to him casually, "I've had a talent for painting since I was a kid. Ning Xue always complained that my grades were bad, but it was because I put all my focus on painting. I spent every moment in class drawing instead of studying, so I didn't even get into high school. Of course, I definitely couldn't have produced such good paintings by self-study alone. A few years ago, a great Chinese painting master was transferred to our village, and I studied with him for a few years."
Of course these words were meant to lie to Chen Lie.
Ning Tang wasn't afraid of Chen Lie investigating. If asked, he would just say that the so-called "Chinese painting master" had been rehabilitated and returned to the city. Alas, he just couldn't be found anyway.
Chen Lie didn't know whether he believed it or not, he nodded and said, "You have to be made for it to be able to draw so well.
Then he said, "Hey, draw me one too. One of those foreign-made portraits, they're called portraits or something. It should be super realistic, like it was taken with a camera."
Ning Tang glanced at Chen Lie and said, "Sure, I can draw a bust of you in your navy uniform."
Chen Lie listened, grinned, and straightened the navy collar on his clothes, "So, when will you help me draw?"
Ning Tang said casually, "It depends on my mood. I'll draw for you if I'm in a good mood."
Chen Lie curled his lips. "That's what you said last time I asked you to make clothes for me." He sighed, "I always feel like I'll never see a day in my life when you're in a good mood."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com