After Wang Xiaoju and the others finished talking and left, Jiang Zhi went to see Qiaoyun.
Qiaoyun had given birth more than ten days ago. With Tan Shi and Hexiang taking care of her, and Errui also at home, Jiang Zhi no longer interfered in everything.
Just past the courtyard, we saw Madam Tan carrying an empty bowl out; this meant Qiaoyun had had an extra meal.
Now that there is no shortage of food at home, Qiaoyun always eats several meals a day.
Seeing Madam Tan approach, Jiang Zhi asked, "Has Hui-ge'er eaten his fill today?"
After the baby was born, Errui followed Xu Genqing's example and asked Xia Xiucai to name the baby with gifts.
After reciting a poem, Xia Xiucai named the child Honghui.
It corresponds to the name of the older sister, Caixia, which means morning and evening, the afterglow of dawn and the light of the sun and moon.
Hearing Xia Xiucai praise the name he had given his daughter, and that his son now had the same name as his sister, Errui was overjoyed. He thanked Xia Xiucai profusely and returned home. Thus, the little baby was given the nickname "Brother Hui".
When Jiang Zhi asked about the breast milk, Madam Tan lowered her head and said, "Young Madam has enough breast milk today, and Hui-ge'er is well-fed."
Jiang Zhi nodded. As long as there is milk, that's good. Last time, when Qiaoyun gave birth to Caixia, it was during the time of fleeing from disaster, and the conditions were tough, so there was plenty of milk.
Ironically, even though I have no worries about food and clothing now, I don't have much breast milk after giving birth. Fortunately, after a few days of recuperation, I can finally feed my baby.
Speaking of which, it was more convenient to use various herbs when living in the mountains, as we could just pick them whenever we wanted.
Living in the village is great now, except for the hassle of collecting herbs. I'll have to go back to the mountain to stay for a few days when I have time.
Just as Jiang Zhi was about to leave, she noticed that Madam Tan's expression was troubled and couldn't help but say, "Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang are all grown up now. They know what they like. They're not dissatisfied with you, their mother. Don't overthink it!"
Mrs. Tan pouted, "I know the two children are afraid of me. I used to tell them not to talk because it was for their own good. If they said something wrong and their father heard it, they would get beaten again."
Jiang Zhi said, "You know you should do what's best for the children, so just do what they want. Before, they were the ones who got beaten, but now that no one's beating them, they should naturally talk more."
On New Year's Eve, the two sisters, Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang, returned to Sishuitang from Lianhua's house to celebrate the New Year.
After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the two sisters were about to leave, which made Mrs. Tan very anxious. She wanted the two children to stay with her.
Unexpectedly, neither of the sisters agreed to stay. At that time, Xu Genqing came to Jiang Zhi's door and told her that he wanted the two girls to help Lianhua and that he would give Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang a monthly allowance this time.
Jiang Zhi naturally consulted with Da Xiaoxiang before agreeing to Xu Genqing's request.
Sishuitang doesn't need large or small incense sticks!
Although Qiaoyun needed someone to take care of her after giving birth, she had Hexiang and Tanshi at home, and she and Errui were often at home as well.
Caixia and Nini have to go to school, and Daxiang and Xiaoxiang also have to go to school for an hour every day. It would be better to let Lianhua pay to hire them.
Everyone was happy except for Madam Tan. As soon as she arrived in Xujia Village, she felt that her daughters were no longer as dependent on her as before, and now they didn't like being around her at all.
Seeing the gradually rounder faces of Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang, and the increasing smiles on their faces, Madam Tan knew that her daughters were doing well.
Now that the host family has agreed and the children are willing, she has no choice but to agree to let Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang go with the people, but she is still unhappy after so many days.
Jiang Zhi had tried to persuade her twice, but knowing that Tan Shi would eventually have to get through this, she stopped trying.
He went into the room to see Qiaoyun.
It hasn't been very warm these past few days, and although Qiaoyun has gotten out of bed, she hasn't gone out much.
The baby was sleeping after eating, while Caixia was lying next to him, touching his little hand.
"Hey, why didn't Caixia go to school? When did you come back? Are you skipping school?" Jiang Zhi said with a smile.
After Magistrate Zhang gave the first lesson, Scholar Xia began his formal classes.
As previously agreed upon by the village, there will be one hour of study time each morning and one hour of study time each afternoon, with the rest of the time being free to arrange.
There are twenty children in the village, both boys and girls, who are divided into three classes according to their academic level.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Caixia, six-year-old Nini, and Leiwa also went to school with their schoolbags. The three of them were assigned to the small class, where they only learned the first three lessons each day, and spent the rest of their time playing on the cobblestone path outside the school.
The children from the Ma and Huang families, who are also in small classes, are all starting from scratch. There's no other way; they all have to start from zero.
These children were older and naturally more sensible than Nini and the other two. The opportunity to learn was rare, and time was very tight for them. After finishing their hour of school, they still had to go back to work.
The middle class consists of Xu Qiang, Lin Xiaohu, Xu Heizi, and Chunxi, while Xu Genyou's family consists of three.
These children all have some basic knowledge; they know some arithmetic and characters, and the only thing they can learn is literacy.
To Jiang Zhi's surprise, apart from Xia Yuan, who had already received early education, the children who learned the best were actually Tian Xiaoquan and Shi Houzi.
Starting with the initial night school, more than a year has passed. The children have been learning the "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Surnames" from Xia Xiucai. Now, Xia Xiucai has made a separate schedule for these children, and they have to attend classes for three hours a day.
Jiang Zhi is saying that Cai Xia skipped class because this is the time when homework should be checked in the afternoon.
Caixia waved her hand and hurried over: "Grandma, don't talk and disturb your little brother! If he cries, Mom will want to hold him again."
Jiang Zhi patted her head: "Okay, don't disturb your brother, let your mother rest."
Qiaoyun has gained weight during this pregnancy and is now quite plump. When she heard her daughter tell her to rest more, she immediately smiled and said, "Caixia is always worried that I'll get tired."
Just then, Nini came over to find Caixia and whispered, "Little sister, Leiwa brought a crispy pastry to my house. Come and eat it."
Caixia immediately followed Nini.
Qiaoyun looked at her daughter, then at her newborn son, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
With a loving mother-in-law, a reliable and capable husband, and both a son and a daughter, she felt that her life was complete!
These past few days everyone in the village has been busy, and Qin Shi is no exception; she's building a chicken coop next to the storage room where she and Li Laoshi live.
She had come to Sishuitang before and told Jiang Zhi that she would no longer interfere in the affairs of the Lotus Couple.
Even whether Da Xiang and Xiao Xiang would help take care of the children was left to Xu Genqing and Lianhua to decide for themselves, and they would have to pay for it themselves.
Jiang Zhi laughed at her for looking like she was about to completely wean her son, saying that she now truly wanted to live a life with Li Laoshi.
Overjoyed, Li Laoshi asked for help to build another room on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Qin Shi wasn't afraid of Jiang Zhi laughing at her. She said seriously, "Lianhua is a mother now. It's better for her to take charge of the household after I leave."
Genqing and Lianhua will do the fieldwork themselves, and if they can't do it, they'll find someone else to help. Anyway, I'm going to work at the workshop.
She had planned this out in advance; Li Laoshi didn't like doing farm work, and it was annoying to force him to go to the fields.
It would be better to just run a workshop, with just the two of you raising two chickens, making money easily for retirement.
It's too early to talk about retirement, after all, they're both only in their thirties.
Jiang Zhi felt that she had learned to be smarter from Li Laoshi, and that the two of them were now going to live for themselves.
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