As soon as Lin Shitou entered, he knelt down with a "thud," and Song Anxin, holding her book, quickly took a step back in fright.
"Stone, what are you doing? Get up right now, why are you kneeling before me?"
Lin Shitou not only didn't get up, but also kowtowed twice with a "bang bang," saying:
"Auntie, you are a benefactor to my mother and me. Thank you. Please take this rabbit. My family doesn't have anything good to thank you for, but I caught it on the mountain."
Song Anxin quickly helped him up, brushing the dust off his clothes as she asked, "Is your mother feeling better? Has your father given you any more trouble?"
"Yes, thank you so much, Auntie, for giving the money to my mother for her medical treatment and for covering for us. My mother has been taking the medicine for the past few days and she is much better now. She is no longer short of breath and has regained her strength."
"My dad saw that we had spent all the money on medicine, and there was nothing he could do." Lin Shitou smiled as he talked about his mother's condition.
But Song Anxin noticed that there were still some bruises on Lin Shitou's lips, and she knew that this drunkard Lin must have hit the stone again.
Although she felt sorry for the child, Song Anxin really didn't know what to do at the moment. Fortunately, Shi Tou's mother's health was slowly improving, which was a small help she could offer.
Song Anxin said with relief, "That's good. Your mother has been working so hard. Let her rest more. I don't want this rabbit. You can take it to nourish your mother. She needs it more than your aunt."
Lin Shitou quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, Auntie, please take it. My mother and I really want to thank you."
Song Anxin pushed the rabbit back and said, "That money originally belonged to your family. Didn't your aunt already say that you and your mother don't need to do this?"
“But without Auntie, my mother and I wouldn’t have been able to get this money at all. And, and Fengshou taught me how to catch rabbits. I heard that Auntie taught him. I caught two today, and there’s still one at home.”
Lin Shitou scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.
Song Anxin looked at Lin Fengshou, who chuckled and said, "Mother, you won't blame me for teaching them this rabbit-catching method, will you?"
Song Anxin looked at him with a bit of annoyance and said, "Would your mother be so petty? There are plenty of rabbits on this mountain. Our whole family can't catch them all. Besides, these traps aren't that effective anymore."
Lin Fengshou said, "Yes, my fourth brother and I only caught two this afternoon, Xiaohe only caught one, and Shitou was lucky enough to catch two."
Song Anxin said, "This rabbit can't be that stupid, can it?"
"Don't keep focusing on one mountain. There are mountains all around our village, so you can try going to other mountains, but don't go too far, lest you get carried away by wild animals."
Lin Fengshou slapped his forehead: "How could I not have thought of that? The rabbits on other hills have probably never seen our traps before. Mother's brain works so well, hehehe."
Song Anxin smiled and shook her head as she looked at her silly son, then said to Lin Shitou:
"Alright, I'll take this rabbit. Thank you, Auntie. Please give my regards to your mother."
Lin Shitou's expression relaxed considerably when he saw that Song Anxin had accepted the rabbit; otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to thank Aunt Lin.
Just as the Lin family's little classroom was about to begin, Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi arrived.
Lin Shitou, however, lingered there chatting with Lin Fengshou about something, unwilling to leave.
Song Anxin called out from the podium in the main room, "Fengshou, why aren't you coming in yet? Shitou, aren't you going home for dinner?"
Lin Shitou stammered, "I...I...I..."
Seeing his puzzled expression, Song Anxin noticed that the others, who were already seated in the main room, were also staring at Lin Shitou.
Seeing everyone looking at him with obvious embarrassment, Lin Shitou was even more speechless.
Lin Fengshou couldn't bear to watch any longer and said on his behalf, "Mother, Shitou wants to study with us."
Lin Shitou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lin Fengshou speak up for him, but his heart immediately jumped again.
His aunt had healed his mother, and he had nothing to repay her with, plus he wanted to go back to school... What could he possibly give his aunt in return?
But he really wanted to study! He wanted to learn to read.
Song Anxin asked Lin Shitou, "Shitou, is this what you've been stammering about?"
Lin Shitou knelt down again with a "thud": "Auntie, I know I'm troubling you again, but I really want to study."
That way I can go to town to find work. I want to earn money to pay for my mother's medical treatment. If I earn money, my mother won't have to work so hard anymore.
"Don't worry, Auntie, I'll make sure to repay your tuition fees little by little once I earn the money."
Song Anxin went over and helped him up. This child is a good one, filial and grateful, but he needs to get rid of this habit of kneeling down all the time.
She said, "If you want to study, just tell me. Studying is a good thing, and I won't charge you tuition."
Lin Shitou hadn't expected his second aunt to agree so readily. After all, the people sitting there were all his aunt's family members, so he had no reason not to pay the tuition fee.
So she said gratefully, "Thank you, Auntie. I can't not pay the tuition fee, my mother will scold me. I will definitely give you the money I earn."
Why is this kid so stubborn?
Lin Erxi, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Shitou, if you really want to pay tuition, come and help my second aunt."
You know my second aunt's family has been doing business lately, producing so many duck eggs every day that they can't even keep up with washing them all.
Upon hearing this, Lin Shitou immediately nodded and said, "Okay, I'll come first thing tomorrow morning. Auntie, please don't disagree."
He doesn't know when he'll make money, and he can't live with himself if he just stays here studying for nothing.
Song Anxin smiled helplessly. As long as the child stopped harping on the repair costs, that would be fine.
Then she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "However, you have to follow my rules if you study here, or I'll kick you out."
Upon hearing this, Lin Shitou quickly replied, "Don't worry, Auntie, I will definitely listen to you and follow your rules."
Song Anxin continued, "One of your rules is that you can't kneel down to me casually. Your auntie was quite startled by you today."
After saying that, Song Anxin couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the younger children also laughed heartily.
Lin Shitou scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
And so, the Lin family's little classroom gained another person. Song Anxin didn't have the energy to tutor Lin Shitou in the previous lessons, so she asked Lin Fenghe to tutor him in academic subjects.
Lin Fengshou will tutor them in arithmetic. Both of them are very good at both subjects and could be good teachers, which would also give them some training.
To Song Anxin's surprise, another student joined the Lin family's small classroom the very next afternoon.
That was Han Xiaohe, the grandson of Granny Han, and also a good friend of Lin Fengshou and Shi Tou.
Granny Han even brought over the rabbit that Han Xiaohe had caught, saying it was for tuition fees. Song Anxin refused to accept it, and in the end, she happily welcomed two more laborers.
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