Chen Chunhua knew what Danan meant, smiled, and then went over to scratch her nose.
"What are you going to do? You have school tomorrow."
"But don't you and Dad both have to go to work tomorrow?" Lin Shuying knew that her parents had spent a lot of money on her medical treatment in the past two days.
They've been eating so well these past two days, saying they need to supplement their nutrition since they're still young, but nothing comes easy; this must be all earned through the hard work of their parents. Look at her dad; he never fell asleep so early before, probably because he was tired.
She wanted to contribute to the family. She was eight years old and the eldest. Her aunt's seventh cousin was only five and could already help with the laundry. The second youngest was only six, and he was the one who took care of the family during the day. It didn't make sense for her to just sit back and enjoy the good life.
"Mom, I can work. I can sleep even during the day when I attend classes..."
Before she could finish her words, her mother hit her on the forehead with a slap. Xiaomei, who was standing next to her, covered her head with her hands, and it looked like she was in more pain than her sister.
"If you dare to sleep in class, I'll beat you with a broom!"
Chen Chunhua cursed with a stern face. She had been extremely reluctant to scold her eldest daughter. After all, she was thankful that she was still alive. But the child's mind was now extremely dangerous, and she absolutely had to scold her until she woke up.
"Six dollars a semester is your tuition for sleeping? Do you think you'll have a bright future just because you can work? Let me tell you, there are only times in this life when you work. As long as you don't study hard, you can work 24 hours a day and still only earn enough to eat!"
Lin Shuying lowered her head and endured the scolding, tears welling up in her eyes, and she heard her mother continue to say,
"I never had the chance to go to school. Your father taught me a few words, so I'm not completely blind. People of our generation have no other options, so this is the only way. But you still have a chance. Even if your father and I have to work harder, we will send all four of you to school.
As long as you want to study, even if it's college, we will support you! If you study, you won't have to work in the fields like us for the rest of your life."
As Chen Chunhua spoke, her tone was choked with sobs. Looking at her daughter who was crying, she wiped her eyes.
"People are not all the same, smart or bad. Not everyone can get into college. That's okay. Just do your best to study. But if you waste your tuition for a few cents, I will never forgive you!
And the same goes for you three. When you study in the future, you must study hard. If anyone dares to sleep in class..."
As she spoke, Shen Chunhua raised her hand, pretending to hit someone. Several children nodded quickly, and even the youngest, Lin Shumei, hugged her sister's arm and kept repeating,
"Read books...read books..."
Lin Shugan shrank back. He had just wanted to raise his hand like his sister, indicating that he could work. Although he was being scolded, he hesitated and asked weakly.
"Mom... Well, I haven't gone to school yet. Can I go to the mountains with grandma during the day? I can help pick mushrooms."
Chen Chunhua hesitated for a moment. The mountain was not high, but it was still a little dangerous.
"You'd better not go."
Lin Shugan's face was visibly depressed. He just didn't want to stay at home alone. It was so boring.
Lin Shuchao looked at his brother and then at his mother. His second brother had just told him that it was hard to be alone during the day. Although he was also afraid of being beaten, he still helped to finish his words.
"Then can my brother come with us to the fields during the day? He doesn't want to be home alone."
Only then did Chen Chunhua understand what the second brother meant. There was actually no problem with going to the fields, but if the couple brought their three children to lunch, everyone in the team would probably have objections.
"Then follow your grandma and don't go into the mountains. If she wants to go in, stop her."
Lin Shu's eyes lit up and he nodded quickly, "I will take good care of grandma."
In the end, Chen Chunhua was still afraid that Lin Shuying would fall asleep in class, so she asked her to learn knowledge during the day and come back to teach her younger brothers and sisters at night.
"This also counts as you helping with housework, you know?"
Lin Shuying nodded obediently, and together with her mother, she took her younger brother and sister to wash up and go to bed.
Everyone has their own things to do. Her current job is to study during the day and take care of her younger siblings after school. Since her mother said this is also a job, she has to do it well.
Chen Chunhua also went to bed early and closed her eyes for a while, with something on her mind. She woke up by herself more than an hour later, walked into the main room, pulled the string, and looked at the time on the old alarm clock on the table in the light. The next second, she pulled the string again to turn off the light.
It was around ten o'clock, which was a bit early, but it was pretty good. Today was her first time, so she had to go early to check it out.
Thinking of this, she took out two dollars from the drawer and took it with her. Then she put the bamboo shoots in the small basket and the mushrooms in the branch basket at the door, put two sweet potatoes in her arms, put a pot of water in the basket, put the big basket on her back, put on her hat, took the rechargeable lamp, opened the door and went out.
She followed the route Lin Guoqing told her, turning left and right for nearly an hour before she reached the corner of the village. Just as she turned off the lights and wanted to squat in the corner to rest for a while, she bumped into someone who also didn't turn on the lights.
“Ouch!”
"oops!"
Two soft female voices rang out at the edge of the empty field. Chen Chunhua thought for a moment and called out cautiously,
"aunt?"
The woman opposite was silent for a while and replied,
"Niece-in-law?"
"Hey, it's me!" Chen Chunhua's eyes curved with laughter instantly. Her enthusiasm was exactly the same as Lin Guoqing's, making the people on the opposite side laugh in a trance. Those who didn't know her would have thought she was a real relative!
"Oh, you're here so early. I just went out. I was planning to go over there to apply some fertilizer and then come back to pick you up." Qi Caigen's wife was walking through the fields with Chen Chunhua, expressing her complicated feelings as she thought she was going to catch a cold.
"This isn't my first time here. I came a little early because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find the place. I just happened to run into my aunt. It's fate!"
Chen Chunhua was sweet-mouthed and made Qi Caigen's wife happy. He took her to the foot of the mountain.
"Let's stick to the price my husband agreed with your husband yesterday. If you want to take more, take as much as you want. Once these celery are sold, the cucumbers, eggplants, and cabbages over there will be ready."
She pointed at the land next to the greenhouse, separated by several trees. Lin Guoqing didn't see it yesterday, and Qi Caigen didn't tell him that it was also theirs and they had things planted there.
Chen Chunhua swallowed her saliva and grinned.
"Yes! Aunt, if you plant more, our relatives can have more to eat!"
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