Chapter 104 Chapter 104 Bedtime Story.
Liu Suqin has devoted herself to work in the past two years, and has used her limited free time to accompany her family and enjoy life. She has left all the housework to her mother and Aunt Zhang, and she basically has nothing to do at home.
Compared to her, Lin Nanjiang is more family-oriented.
He was also very busy, but he could also be very idle during the off-season. The good thing about being your own boss was that you could arrange your time however you wanted. So while he was busy with business, he also took care of the family. From time to time, he would bring back some seasonal seafood and imported fruits that Qian Juxiang was reluctant to buy to improve the meals, and he would cook himself when the mood struck him.
My mother-in-law and Aunt Zhang’s cooking skills are impeccable, but unfortunately they lack innovation. They use the same methods over and over again. If you eat them every day and year after year, you will get tired of them no matter how delicious they are. Fortunately, for some reason, my wife can come up with so many new and fresh foods in her little head. The mere description of them is enough to make one’s mouth water.
Since his wife was too busy to cook, Lin Nanjiang followed her instructions and tried to replicate them. He has already tried various dry pot dishes including spicy hot pot, garlic spare ribs, Maoxuewang, cumin lamb chops, dry pot shrimp and dry pot pork intestines. These were almost the first times Lin Nanjiang made them, and they were well received by the whole family. He also added them all to his signature menu.
But Lin Nanjiang also had to admit that this thing was very delicious, but the preparation method was too cumbersome and complicated. The various seasonings and aromas required alone were dazzling. Every time he cooked, he would show it to his mother-in-law and Aunt Zhang seriously and without holding back. The two of them learned very hard, but they still haven't mastered the steps and ingredients 100%, so that the food they made always felt a little bit lacking. The taste was delicious, but it seemed to lack that unforgettable feeling.
Therefore, what Qian Juxiang and Aunt Zhang did could only be considered substitutes. When Lin Nanjiang found time, he would rather personally satisfy the appetites of the whole family, especially his wife and children.
Psychology says that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Lin Nanjiang has maintained this habit for more than two years, long enough for him to form the stereotype that "wife is not good at housework". That's why he rushed to the supermarket to buy vegetables today, and after buying the vegetables, he put on an apron and started cooking without stopping.
He really had no intention of establishing himself as a good man and a good husband in front of his wife's friends. These were all subconscious actions.
After dinner, Lin Nanjiang cleaned up the dishes as usual and took the lead to the kitchen to wash them. Liu Suqin followed him in and wiped the table, stove and kitchen walls with a rag. After wiping, she also took the mop to mop the floor. Lin Nanjiang still urged her not to move, "Just mop the kitchen floor, I'll take care of the rest."
Liu Suqin reminded, "Don't you still have to take Zhu Li and A Feng back to the dormitory? They also have to go back and pack up, and they have to go to work tomorrow. Don't keep them waiting for too long."
Lin Nanjiang nodded. "Yeah, I'll take them there after I finish washing the dishes. But it's a quick drive back and forth. Anyway, just wait for me to come back and clean up."
"Okay, okay." Liu Suqin thought that she would unconditionally meet such a request. So the couple finished cleaning the kitchen together. When Lin Nanjiang went to see the guests off, Liu Suqin also carried Fangfang downstairs with them. She stood outside the car and taught the child to wave goodbye, "Come, say goodbye to uncle and auntie."
The little girl not only said goodbye to her uncles and aunts in a crisp manner, but also reminded her father to drive safely. She learned all this from her grandmother and others. Xiao Fangfang is so smart.
The mother and daughter watched the car slowly drive away, and held hands for a walk in the community. Then they went back upstairs and took Xiao Fangfang to take a bath.
When Lin Nanjiang came back after sending the people away, Xiao Fangfang was already wearing brand new pajamas and the unique milky scent of children's shower gel. She was lying in the children's room that had been prepared for her for a long time, listening to her mother telling stories to coax her to sleep with a well-behaved look on her face.
Liu Suqin hasn't told her children a bedtime story for more than 20 years, or perhaps she doesn't even know what a bedtime story is. When she was taking care of her daughter in her previous life, she was a new mother who had to take care of the child alone, be both a father and a mother, and also have to do the laundry, cook, and farm. She really didn't have the leisure time. Let alone telling stories to put her daughter to sleep at night, she often went to bed earlier than her daughter and slept more soundly than her. At most, when the little girl was really noisy, she would hum a few songs to coax her.
Later, when she had a son, it was actually easier to take care of two children than one. Except for herself who was a little familiar with things the first time, Fangfang was already seven years old at that time and had become a good helper to her mother. Not to mention helping with laundry and cooking, but she could also help look after her younger brother after school, wash his diapers, and help her mother wash and pick vegetables. She did these things quite well.
Life became easier, and Liu Suqin was in the mood to coax her son. There were many young mothers around her. When they communicated with each other on a daily basis, she found out that some children had to listen to bedtime stories before going to bed. After thinking about it, she arranged it for her younger son as well.
Although she still couldn't tell stories, she knew how to read. At first, she used her daughter's textbooks to read stories to her son to put him to sleep, and found that the boy fell asleep obediently after listening to them. Later, when she saw children's storybooks in the county, she bought two and took them home to give him as bedtime reading materials.
It was already the millennium then, and life was relatively convenient. The family had also built their own house, so there was no pressure in life for the time being. Of the money Lin Nanjiang sent back every month, she could basically spend half and save the other half. So Liu Suqin, who had just turned 30, still had a very young mentality. Every two or three months, she would find an opportunity to go to the county to buy herself some clothes and bring some snacks and toys for the children.
The discovery of children's storybooks came after hearing that city kids, in addition to attending classes, also had to do homework at home, and were incredibly diligent in their studies. Meanwhile, her daughter's village primary school's teachers often refused to assign homework, leaving her to choose whether to study or not. One of her second-grade classmates even spelled her own name wrong, and the girl told this joke after school. Liu Suqin felt a pang of despair. With such a school and teachers, what future could her daughter have, even if she topped the exams?
At that time, Liu Suqin had the idea of wanting her sons to become successful and her daughters to become outstanding. The mothers who raised their children together in the village later entrusted their weaned children to the care of their parents-in-law and went to work in the sweater factory in Wancheng. It was said that her salary was two thousand. However, she gave up these easy incomes and concentrated on taking care of her two children in her hometown. She must have made a name for herself in their studies, especially since her daughter was born smart. She was an excellent student as soon as she entered school and was always in the top three in the class in every exam. There was only one class in each grade in their school, which meant that her daughter was in the top three in the whole school.
The villagers often teased her about the child's academic performance, saying that their family might be able to produce a college student. Liu Suqin was not like other parents. She was obviously grinning from ear to ear, but kept being humble and even self-deprecating, saying that it was just luck and that he/she was not destined to have such a life. Liu Suqin always smiled and thanked the other party for the good wishes, and said that if that day really came, she would definitely invite them to sit in the seat of honor at the graduation banquet. She lowered her head and asked the siblings to remember the blessings of their uncle and aunt.
In short, Liu Suqin never concealed her expectations for the children. She encouraged and educated them the same way in front of others and behind their backs. She also learned the reward mechanism on her own. For example, if they got a certain score or ranking in the midterm or final exams, she would unconditionally meet any of their requests.
When she heard the "joke" told by her daughter, Liu Suqin realized how perfunctory the teaching in her daughter's school was. At that time, she did two things. She found out the address of the head teacher and went to the door with fruits to humbly bargain for methods of educating her child. Her real intention was to hope that the teacher would pay more attention to her child's study.
My daughter was originally a top student. The initial good impression was not low. With her sincere advice, she immediately became the student that the teacher paid the most attention to. Later, this girl came home with a bitter face and complained that the head teacher didn't know why he called her out every day to answer questions and always assigned her homework alone, which resulted in her having no time to jump rubber rope with her classmates after class.
Liu Suqin smiled without saying anything, keeping her achievements and fame to herself.
Having tasted the sweetness, when her daughter changed her class teacher or went to junior high school, Liu Suqin followed the same method, carrying a bag of fruit to visit the homes of all the main teachers. No matter how many teachers this girl changed, she would always become one of their favorite students. In addition to her daughter's own efforts, Liu Suqin felt that she also had a share of the credit.
Unfortunately, this trick no longer worked when she reached high school. The teachers at the county's key middle school had seen a lot of the world and neither accepted gifts nor fell for moral blackmail. They said they would do their job impartially and treat everyone equally. Fangfang no longer received special treatment, but her grades were there and she was not treated unfairly.
Let's get back to buying books. Liu Suqin visited Fangfang's class teacher for the first time, and found out that she could buy tutoring books at Xinhua Bookstore. She immediately went to the city to buy materials for her daughter. She accidentally saw storybooks, and thinking that she had a bedtime story, she bought two for her youngest son.
It's strange that when she bought the two storybooks and took them home to look through them, she thought of her youngest son. But when she passed by a bookstore that day and saw the familiar cover, what suddenly flashed through her mind was the image of her daughter caressing it lovingly.
She had come across this scene by chance in her previous life and didn't take it to heart. But when she thought about it in this life, she inexplicably cared about it. The scene appeared again and again and couldn't be shaken off. Liu Suqin, who had walked hundreds of meters away, finally turned back to the bookstore and paid for the book. She thought that since she had owed someone in the past, she should make up for it one by one in this life. Although not everything could be perfect, at least she had to make up for the regrets in her heart.
So I bought this book and brought it home for more than half a year. This year, the little one finally turned three years old and can sleep independently, so the storybook can come in handy.
When Xiao Fangfang heard her mother say she was going to tell a story, she became very excited and couldn't wait to lie down in her own little bed and cover herself with the quilt. She kept saying "I'm ready" and "I'm closing my eyes", but in fact she would open one eye from time to time and quietly look at her mother who was sitting beside the bed.
Liu Suqin thought about it and ignored her little movements. She held the book and read slowly word by word. Because she wanted to read, she left a bedside lamp on in the room. Lin Nanjiang, who quietly pushed the door open, could see the scene in the room at a glance. By the way, he also looked into the eyes of his daughter lying on the bed. There was excitement, anticipation and joy in his big eyes, but there was no trace of sleepiness.
Lin Nanjiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He thought that he didn't have to worry about waking his daughter up, so he pushed the door open and walked in, asking softly, "Why is Fangfang in the children's room? Aren't you going to sleep with Mom and Dad today?"
Xiao Fangfang shook her head. "I'm a big kid now. From today on, I'm going to sleep on my own."
Liu Suqin also laughed and said, "There's nothing I can do. I did too much ideological work some time ago. As soon as she came home, she couldn't wait to be independent."
Children's thoughts are often influenced by their parents, especially a smart and precocious child like Xiao Fangfang. She can understand a lot of what adults say, so she is more affected. In order to make her adapt to independent life, they deliberately instilled this concept in her a few months ago, saying that the smartest and best children all sleep alone, and when they go to kindergarten, children who need adults to accompany them even when they sleep will not be popular. This successfully fooled Xiao Fangfang, and she equated sleeping alone with growing up. Not only is she not afraid, she is also a little impatient.
So they had originally planned to wait until after the Chinese New Year, when Qian Juxiang and her family returned from their hometown, to arrange for the children to sleep in separate rooms, but she herself requested to be independent now.
Lin Nanjiang thought that if the child hadn't acted like this, she would have had to sleep between him and his wife for more than a week, acting as a little light bulb. He quickly praised her, "It doesn't matter if it's a few days earlier or later. It's a good thing that Fangfang is so brave."
Xiao Fangfang nodded happily. She was indeed the bravest child.
Liu Suqin glanced at him, but didn't expose him. Instead, she asked, "Now that you're back, do you want to tell your daughter a bedtime story?"
As he spoke, he raised the cover in his hand, indicating that one should just read it and not worry about not telling the story well.
Before Lin Nanjiang could say anything, the child, who had just been happy to be praised by his father, shook his head and refused, "No, Dad, Mommy tells me a story!"
Lin Nanjiang, who was about to refuse, was now unhappy. "Why don't you want daddy? You are biased."
Xiao Fangfang: ...
At the age of three, Xiao Fangfang was accused of favoritism by her father. She was completely speechless and felt wronged. She was torn between her conscience and her own. Finally, she pouted and reluctantly took a step back. "Okay, then, Mommy will tell the story today, and Daddy will tell the story tomorrow. Is that okay?"
Lin Nanjiang still refused to give in. "Why do you look so forced? Did you pick up Dad from the trash can?"
The child who had already taken a step back also felt aggrieved, "Mom, Xiangxiang." She, Xiao Fangfang, liked to cling to Xiangxiang's beautiful mother. Was there anything wrong with that?
Lin Nanjiang: ...
What nonsense are you talking about.
Liu Suqin also gave him a warning look, indicating that enough was enough. Lin Nanjiang quickly took advantage of the situation and said, "Okay, okay, you two can kiss each other slowly. No, tell a story. I'll go outside and mop the floor."
After saying that, she quickly closed the door and left, giving the mother and daughter some quiet space. Liu Suqin also opened the book again and made three rules, "From now on, Fangfang will listen to your mother's story while closing your eyes and trying to fall asleep. Okay?"
When the child came home in the afternoon, Liu Suqin only let him sleep for half an hour and then woke him up early to prepare for dinner. It was just a short nap and did not affect her early bedtime. Besides, it took almost nine o'clock for the child to fall asleep from the time he was feeling sleepy to the time he actually fell asleep, so this time was not too long.
Xiao Fangfang nodded seriously, "I'll listen to Mom!"
Then he closed his eyes obediently, and this time he didn't open his eyes secretly to look at his mother's position. Sure enough, in less than half an hour, the sound of even breathing was heard in the room.
Liu Suqin closed the book, tucked the corner of the quilt for her, gently turned off the light and left, then went to the living room to meet Lin Nanjiang who had finished cleaning. The two began to count the spoils brought back from the port city.
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