Jane Ning looked at her like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and glanced at her, "What's wrong with you?"
Ding Youtian also looked at her suspiciously.
Erlangzi turned around and left. Duan Xinyan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him. She bent down to pick up the fire stick and said casually, "Just now, a spark seemed to have splashed on my hand."
"Let me see." Jane Ning wiped her hands on her apron and reached out to check for her. She quickly put her hands behind her back and said, "No, it's okay. It's not splashed."
Because of this little incident, and feeling guilty, Duan Xinyan took the initiative to clean the yard for the next two days, and helped Qiaofeng with things within her ability for lunch and dinner. She found that these things were not as difficult as she had imagined. The key was that she liked and enjoyed the affirmation and kindness from Jian Ning.
However, her enthusiasm only lasted for two days. On the third day, she picked up the broom and swept for a while before she started shouting "Chun'er" at the top of her voice.
"What's wrong, Miss?" Chun'er was washing clothes on the porch. She looked up and saw her holding a broom and staring at the palms of her hands. She quickly scooped water from the wooden bucket to rinse her hands, then stood up and ran towards her. "Did you prick your palms with a bamboo stick?"
"No, my palms are blistered. Look, they hurt." Duan Xinyan stretched out her hands to show her, and threw away the broom. "I won't sweep anymore. This thing is causing me so much pain."
Chun Er held her palm and blew on it. "How about you take a rest? I'll sweep the floor for you after we finish washing the clothes. You won't know. You can take a rest for a few days to heal your hands."
"Good Chun'er, I knew you were good to me." Duan Xinyan smiled happily, but then she frowned, "You followed me here, and now you have to do a lot of work every day. Isn't it too tiring for you?"
Chun'er's nose felt sore when she heard this. She had served Duan Xinyan for several years, but this was the first time she heard such considerate words from her. She felt a little moved. "It's okay. Although I didn't have to do these rough jobs when I was with the young lady in the palace, I did it when I was young. I'm not as precious as the young lady, so how can you do these jobs? Let me do it from now on. You just need to pretend to be in front of the young lady every day."
"No, if my eldest sister knew, she would definitely punish me twice as much. Forget it, I'll rest for a while, and I'll do it myself later. My eldest sister is my mother's daughter, so she shouldn't be doing this kind of work. If she can do it, I can do it too."
With Jian Ning as a benchmark, Duan Xinyan always wants to catch up and not let Jian Ning look down on her!
"The eldest lady has been doing this since she was little. Why do you have to compete with her?" Chun'er blew on her palm a few more times. "Let me wrap the handkerchief around your palm. It will feel better."
After chopping wood, Erlangzi came over and saw Chun'er wrapping a handkerchief around Duan Xinyan's palm. He was stunned for a moment, then came over without saying a word, picked up the broom that Duan Xinyan had thrown aside, and silently started cleaning the yard.
Duan Xinyan thought that he had never exposed her, and seeing him helping her sweep the yard again, she said something nice, "Thank you very much."
Erlangzi cleaned the huge courtyard in less than an hour, but Duan Xinyan needed more than three hours. However, Erlangzi could not help her for a few days. Tong Bajin invited three scholars to serve as teachers in the county school. After the school was renovated, Ding Youtian asked Erlangzi to learn to read. Among the three servants, he was the only one who could not read a single word.
This really confused Erlangzi. He was a grown man sitting in a classroom with a bunch of children. He was completely depressed at the end of the day. At the dinner table, he said with a bitter face: "Sir, I still don't want to go to school to learn to read. It can recognize those big characters, but I can't. Besides, I can't sit still."
"That's right." Duan Xinyan had an idea and said quickly, "He's already so old. If you make him sit in the classroom all day, it would be torture for him. He won't be able to remember a single word. How about this, let him clean the yard with me, and I'll teach him from what I see around him. Tomorrow I'll teach him to write broom and chop wood. Maybe he can even learn a few words that way."
"That's one way," Jian Ning said. "Start by teaching things that are closely related to you. Even if you learn just one word every day, over time, it will add up to a lot. It's always good to be able to recognize a few words."
Erlangzi also said: "I think this method is feasible. I don't need to take the examination for the scholar. I can just write and read letters in the future."
"Okay." Ding Youtian's original intention was to let him learn a few words. Since Duan Xinyan was willing to teach him and he didn't want to go to school, she just let him go.
Erniu and Sanniu looked at each other and just as they were about to call out "Mom", Jian Ning said, "Stop! You two must go to school and learn to read and write. Sister Qiaofeng has gone, and so have Shopkeeper Tong's two sisters. You two must study hard and do well. If you don't do well, Daddy will beat you up, and Mom won't care."
Ding Youtian glanced at the two children. "Qiaofeng, Damei, and your aunt can all read. If you two don't want to learn, you will become illiterate in the future. When you grow up and live separately, if they write you two letters, or if you two want to write them letters, do you have to look for people to write letters for you?"
"Calm down and study hard, otherwise I will recognize you two as my daughters, but not the soles of my shoes."
In the past, Ding Youtian was often hit by the soles of his mother Meng's shoes. Most country women had this habit. Even if he became a father and his mother, as long as they had not separated and were still eating from the same pot, Meng would still take off her shoes and hit him if she was not satisfied.
Erniu and Sanniu had both seen him beaten by Meng with the soles of her shoes. The marks left on his hands and legs were painful just thinking about it. Erniu was the only one of the four little ones to have been beaten by Ding Youtian. She immediately shrank her neck and said, "I'll study hard."
Sanniu looked at Jian Ning, then at Ding Youtian, "I'll read too. When I can write a lot, I'll write letters to my brothers and sisters and to Sister A'man."
"There are also my uncle and aunt, Xiaodouzi, my brother Xiaomi Xiaomai, and, oh, my brother Xiaolu." Erniu said, and suddenly looked at Jian Ning, "Mom, Xiaodouzi has a brother, why don't we have a brother?"
"I don't have a sister either." Sanniu also shouted: "Mom, I want to be a sister, I want a sister, and I also want a brother."
Jian Ning didn't expect them to suddenly ask about this, and subconsciously looked at Ding Youtian, but met his inquiring eyes. He was also puzzled and didn't understand why Jian Ning had been silent?
"Madam." After returning to the room, Ding Youtian said, "Madam, you promised me in person on the day Tian gave birth to Xiaolu that you and I would work together to give Baoer a brother. Have you forgotten?"
"Are you suspicious that I took contraceptive soup?" Jian Ning glared at him angrily. "Do you think I'm not anxious? Sister Mei hasn't been able to get pregnant in seven years after her marriage. Having children is a matter of fate. It's not something I can just wish for."
Ding Youtian smiled and winked at Jian Ning, "Could it be that you are the same as her?"
"Bullshit!" Jane Ning glared at him viciously.
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