Ning Tang said, "Listen, it's already very late. If you keep playing, Da Hu's mother will come looking for you."

Unexpectedly, Da Hu was not happy either. He smiled shyly and said, "It's okay, Aunt Ning. My mom won't be back soon from work. Just listen to Da Wa and play for a while before going back."

Not to mention Da Wa and Da Hu, Er Niu and San Wa didn't want to leave either. They grabbed Ning Tang's thighs and said coquettishly, "Let's play for a while longer."

Ning Tang was amused and had to scare them, "No, we have to go home, because Captain Shen is coming back. If Captain Shen comes home and finds that we are not studying at home but playing outside, he will think that we sneaked out to play when he left. Then Erniu, Sanwa and I will be fine, but Dawa will be in trouble."

The eldest child thought about it and felt that this was very possible, so he quickly said, "Then let's go home, before Dad gets ahead of us."

As soon as he heard that Da Wa was going to be beaten, Da Hu said quickly, "Then let's go back quickly."

Sanwa was not happy. He had been flying kites later than his brothers and sisters, and was having a great time. But when he was suddenly told to go home, he sat down on the sand and shouted, "I'm not going home."

The eldest child shouted, "You just want to see my butt break."

Sanwa said with a smile, "It's okay, it's your butt, not mine."

The eldest boy didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and snorted, "You really are my dear brother."

"Okay, don't be stingy." Ning Tang said, "Let's send Da Hu home first, and then go back to our home."

When they heard that Da Hu was going to be sent home, Da Wa and San Wa stopped making a fuss.

After sending Dahu home, it turned out that just as he said, Zeng Xinlan had not returned home yet, but Captain Qi was at home.

Ningtang handed Dahu to him, told him about their plan to go to the beach to fly kites in the afternoon, and then took Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa back home.

When they got back to the doorstep, the eldest boy was very nervous, like a thief, and he first poked his head into the yard to look around.

The second floor of the small building was dark and the lights were off. It seemed that Shen Lie had not returned home yet.

Big Brother breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Tang found his expression very funny, "Don't worry, Captain Shen told me that he won't be home until eight o'clock at the earliest."

The eldest child patted his chest and said, "Mom, why didn't you tell me earlier?" He thought for a moment and felt something was wrong. "When did Dad tell you that he would be home at eight o'clock at the earliest?"

Erniu responded, "That's right, we didn't hear it?"

"You told me that before you went to sleep last night." Ning Tang said.

The eldest child added, "Since Dad won't be home until eight o'clock, why don't we fly the kite a little later?"

"Because..." Ning Tang stretched out his voice, "It's getting dark, if we don't go home, are we going to fly a kite in the dark? You are willing but I am not. It's pitch dark and no one can see."

As he was speaking, Ning Tang suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind him.

Looking back, it was Ning Xue who looked exhausted.

Ning Xue's tired eyes swept over Ning Tang and the three children, and she keenly noticed the kites in the hands of the three children.

At first glance, it looks like he just came back from playing outside.

Ning Xue was looking at Ning Tang, and Ning Tang was also looking at her.

Ningtang hasn't seen her for several days. There's nothing he can do as they have different schedules.

Ning Xue has now joined the Women's Committee and is doing some work. At the request of the Women's Committee, she has to go to work at 7:30 every morning. Starting work at 7:30 means she has to leave home at 7:00 at the latest.

Although she normally gets off work at six in the afternoon, because she has just started the job, there are many things she doesn't understand and she often needs to ask other assistants for help. Naturally, her work efficiency is lowered. In addition, there is too much paperwork, so it is normal for her to get off work late.

It would be fine if I just had to go to work, but after work I still have to serve the big master Su Junyan, as well as Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu.

After several weeks of this, even a tough guy like Ning Xue couldn't stand it anymore.

At this time, she had two thick dark circles under her eyes, her face was pale, and her steps were unsteady. If you didn't know her, you would have thought she had just suffered a serious illness.

On the other hand, Ning Tang sleeps until she wakes up naturally every day, and Shen Lie and the three children help her buy groceries, cook meals and do housework. When she has nothing to do, she goes to visit Luo Saozi or Zeng Xinlan's house to relax, or like today, she takes the eldest, second and third children to fly kites.

The life is so comfortable that even a god wouldn’t change it.

The advantage of this is that her face is rosy and she looks energetic, which forms a sharp contrast with Ning Xue who is almost exhausted, tired and depressed.

Da Wa also saw Ning Xue. He was startled and patted his chest, "Aunt, why didn't you say anything? You scared us to death."

Ning Xue felt that Da Wa was a very unlucky child, as he was talking about whether he would die or not.

She is not happy with her life and doesn't like anyone.

She curled her lips and answered irrelevantly, "Big boy, I heard that you only scored 60 points in Chinese in your final exam last semester. You still have the energy to fly a kite? Why don't you hurry up and learn from your two cousins? How can you study hard to improve your grades?"

You're really talking about something that doesn't make sense!

The eldest boy was furious and pointed at Ning Xue and wanted to curse her.

Ning Tang held him back and smiled, "Sixty points? What's wrong? I think sixty points for Da Wa is pretty good."

Ning Xue looked Ning Tang up and down strangely, thinking that she was angry and stupid, or just trying to save face. "Very good? Haha, if Guangzong and Yaozu got 60 points, I would beat them to death."

Ning Tang curled her lips and said, "Forget it. With your babies Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu being like this, I guess she wouldn't be willing to touch a finger for the twins even if they got 10 points, let alone 60 points. She would just keep an extra eye on them and urge them to study."

"I won't beat the eldest child." Ning Tang said with a smile, "What's wrong with him doing poorly on the test? I like children who do poorly on the test. You know, I've had poor academic performance since elementary school. When I see that the eldest child didn't do well on the test, I think of my childhood. On the contrary, I will double the reward for him and buy him delicious and fun things."

She rolled her eyes and deliberately said in a weird voice, "Besides, I am their stepmother, not their biological mother. It has nothing to do with me whether they do well or poorly in the exam. I advise you not to be so nice to Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu. They are not your biological children. What if you raise two ungrateful people?"

Ning Tang was speaking sarcastically, but Ning Xue didn't hear anything at all.

She really thought Ningtang thought it was a good thing that the eldest child did poorly in the exam, and she was even happier when she saw that Ningtang did not attach importance to the child's education.

The anger on his face disappeared in an instant, and he was not prepared to persuade Ning Tang anymore. He smiled and said, "Well, you are right. It is very good that you think this way. I should learn from you."

She looked at the sky. It was getting late. Su Junyan and the twins were still hungry and waiting for her to go home and cook. She said quickly, "Then I'll leave first."

After saying that, he took two steps and when he reached the door of his house, he turned back and said to Ning Tang, "I suddenly realized now. I think your way of education is better than mine. You are right. Da Wa is still young. What if he did not do well in the exam? You are right. You should reward him well and get used to him. You must not change him."

Ning Tang looked at her leaving back, smiling, and thought about what he had just said to Ning Xue. He felt that he had the style of a vicious female supporting role in the film.

Ning Xue left, and Ning Tang also returned home with her three children.

After studying and playing for an entire afternoon, the three children were already hungry, and Ning Tang's stomach was rumbling too.

She simply cooked a few dishes, including scrambled eggs, stewed beans with potatoes and spicy shredded potatoes, and steamed rice.

Ning Tang looked at the table full of food and nodded with satisfaction. She had finally honed her cooking skills. Although her food was not as good as Shen Lie's, it at least tasted like home-cooked food. She also improved a lot in her fear of oil splashing, which was a great improvement.

The three children were very hungry and started to eat without any complaints.

The eldest boy scooped a spoonful of the sauce of stewed potatoes and green beans and poured it on the white rice. He also put an egg on top of it and quickly ate the rice and vegetables together, saying how delicious it was as he ate.

Erniu doesn't like eating eggs. She always thinks eggs have a strange fart smell. Ningtang doesn't bother her and just lets her eat more spicy and sour potato shreds and stewed potatoes with green beans.

After dinner, the three children took the initiative to help clean up the dishes.

After washing the dishes, Da Wa sat at the table and took out the math book that he had not finished learning in the afternoon.

Ning Tang hadn't expected him to be so diligent. He blinked and said, "No need to study. Today's class has already been made up."

Unexpectedly, the eldest child did not put the book away, but pursed his lips and said, "No, I want to learn."

He was irritated by Ning Xue's words just now.

Even though Ning Tang said that she didn't mind him doing poorly on the exam.

Da Wa was also unhappy because others said he was not as good as Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu.

What would others think? It’s because Ning Tang didn’t teach well.

Just like some people compare him with Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu, some people will also compare Ning Tang with Ning Xue.

Ning Tang was stunned for a moment, then she guessed what Da Wa was thinking. She curled her lips and said, "Okay, you can learn it, but--" She stretched out her voice.

Seeing the eldest child looking over, she continued seriously, "But you have to remember that learning is not for others, but for yourself. Similarly, doing well in the exam does not mean that you have learned well. The essence of learning is actually to deepen our understanding of the world. Simply put, it is to let us figure out what something is and why it is."

Da Wa murmured Ning Tang's words again and again, very puzzled, and continued to look at Ning Tang with doubt.

Ning Tang saw his confusion, "It's just like, if you learn Chinese well, you can read storybooks. You want to understand storybooks, so you learn Chinese, not others ask you to learn Chinese, so you learn Chinese. Do you understand the relationship between the two?"

The eldest boy nodded, then shook his head.

Ning Tang was amused, and did not force him to explain, but said, "Learning is endless, you just need to keep learning, and one day you will understand what I am saying."

Although Da Wa didn't understand, he understood the meaning of Ning Tang's encouragement to continue studying, so he continued to immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge.

Ning Tang was about to take a shower. As soon as she turned around, she saw Erniu tugging at her clothes and said shyly, "Mom, I want to learn too."

Ning Tang stroked her pigtails and praised her generously, "Hey, Erniu is really good. I'll give you some Chinese characters. Can you learn them? Okay?"

Erniu nodded vigorously and said, "Okay!"

Ningtang flipped through Da Wa's first-grade Chinese textbook and picked out eleven characters, namely "one, ten, hundred, thousand, and ten thousand" and "heaven, earth, man, you, me, and him", and asked Er Niu to trace them, saying that she would come out after taking a bath to check.

Finally, there was only one little kid left.

The third child flew kites for the entire afternoon, running and shouting, and was so tired that he felt he could not even lift his hands, and had no desire to learn at all. The eldest child and the second girl wrote and drew, and played with their wooden toy cars nearby.

Ning Tang came out of a comfortable hot bath. While wiping her hair, she wondered whether she should give her two older kids some kind of reward since they worked so hard.

Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard the sound of the door opening.

It’s Shen Lie who has returned home.

Shen Lie had been in meetings for an entire afternoon and an evening, and his butt was numb from sitting.

I was in a very depressed mood at first, but when I saw that Da Wa and Er Niu were studying, my mood suddenly changed from being overcast to being clear.

Ning Tang said, "Now that I'm back, are you hungry? Do you want something for a midnight snack?"

Shen Lie waved his hands and said, "It's late at night, don't bother. I'll just get some dried shrimps and seaweed to fill my stomach."

Ning Tang took some dried shrimps and seaweed from the kitchen cabinet and gave them to him.

Shen Lie was carrying a plate and eating snacks while walking over to Da Wa and Er Niu and said, "I'm still learning."

The eldest child was speechless, "You know we are studying, yet you still come to disturb us."

Shen Lie sneered, "You can do it."

He turned to Erniu and found that she was actually writing the eleven characters Ningtang had arranged: "Tens, Hundreds, Thousands, and Millions" and "Heaven, Earth, Man, You, Me, and Him". He was very surprised, "Not bad, Erniu, you write well."

Erniu was praised and her face turned red. She didn't say anything, but just wrote harder.

The more Shen Lie read, the better he thought Erniu's handwriting was. He praised her generously, "It seems like our Erniu will become a talented girl in the future."

After all, Erniu has just started to learn, and her handwriting still has a lot of flaws. Is Shen Lie just being a father?

But Shen Lie couldn't help but think that his daughter was perfect in every way, and he started praising her fiercely again.

The more Erniu was praised, the more she felt that she was really capable of learning this skill, and she became more confident.

After Shen Lie finished praising Erniu, he returned to Da Wa and saw that Da Wa was studying math. He also scanned the multiplication table that Ning Tang had posted on the wall and whispered to Ning Tang, "Are you really going to give him a lot of math lessons?"

"Of course." Ning Tang said, "My words are as sharp as nails. Da Wa has a talent for mathematics, why doesn't he study mathematics well?"

She thought for a moment and added, "I'm also tutoring the eldest child in Chinese today, so stop finding fault with us."

Shen Lie was amused. "Why would I find fault with you? It's a good thing that Da Wa can sit down and study. I don't care what subject he studies, Chinese... Forget it, as long as he doesn't come back with a red lantern on his back, that's fine."

It seems that Shen Lie has come to terms with it.

Shen Lie saw that Da Wa had almost finished his study, so he picked up the exercise book in front of him and asked him a few questions. Seeing that Da Wa had answered all the questions, he nodded and said, "Well, you are willing to study hard."

The eldest child's tail was almost flying up to the sky, "I studied at home for a whole day and didn't go out. This is the reward for hard work."

Shen Lie raised his eyebrows and glanced at the shoe cabinet at the door. "You really didn't go out all day today. You just stayed at home to study, and you studied to this point?"

The eldest boy rolled his eyes and said loudly without any guilt, "Of course."

Erniu was not as thick-skinned as him. She drew outside the paper with her pencil and became restless.

Shen Lie put the cleaned plate on the table and said, "Well, Shen Dawa, explain to me where the sand on your shoes came from."

This sand looks like it was just stuck here.

After going to the beach, the soles of your shoes are covered with sea water, and then you step on the sand. The sand will not all fall off in a short period of time. When you get home, the shoes will be air-dried for a while, and the sea water will dry up, and there will be a lot of dried sand scattered around the shoes.

Big Baby was like a deflated ball, he suddenly stumbled down and looked at Ning Tang anxiously, asking for help.

Ning Tang quickly gave Shen Lie a thumbs up, "As expected of Captain Shen, you have a keen eye."

Shen Lie sneered, "Stop flattering me."

Having said that, judging from the upturned ending tone of his song, he seemed to be enjoying it very much.

Ning Tang coughed, "After you left, I took Da Wa and the other three to school until almost four o'clock. Seeing that they were studying too hard, I took them to the beach to fly kites and relax their eyes, combining work and rest."

Then he quickly said, "If you don't believe me, you can go ask Da Hu. He came to play with Da Wa, but Da Wa had to study, so he didn't go out with him. Da Hu stayed and studied with us until almost four o'clock, and then we went out to fly a kite together."

The eldest child replied, "We were off for just over an hour, and then it got dark, so we went home to eat. After dinner, we didn't even take a shower, and continued to study."

After listening to the whole story, Shen Lie nodded and said, "It seems that I was wrong to blame you."

"But..." Shen Lie stretched out his voice and looked at Da Wa, "If you haven't learned, you haven't learned. If you have learned, you have learned. You don't have to study just to fool me, and you don't have to lie to me and say you studied for a whole day. Just tell me honestly that you are tired from studying and go out to fly a kite, and I won't say anything to you."

The eldest child finally realized that he was wrong, lowered his head and whispered, "Dad, I was wrong..."

Shen Lie smiled and patted his head. "What's wrong with you? You are right. No matter how long it takes you to learn, as long as you can learn, it's a good thing. I shouldn't blame you, but should praise you for your talent."

Seeing that Shen Lie didn't blame them, Da Wa breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Lie sighed, "By the way, you said you went to fly a kite this afternoon. I remember that the supply and marketing cooperative on the island didn't sell kites. Where did you get your kites?"

Speaking of this, the eldest child got excited and ran to the cabinet in the living room, took out the kite they made, and presented it to Shen Lie, "Dad, we made this kite ourselves, it's so fun."

Shen Lie took the kite and took a look. There were three styles: a puppy, a butterfly, and a little tiger.

The puppy and butterfly in the front are obviously drawn by Da Wa and Er Niu, and they are in line with their level, but the tiger in the back...

Shen Lie was surprised and asked, "Whose little tiger kite is this?"

Sanwa quickly raised his hand and shouted, "It's mine!"

Shen Lie asked him, "Did you draw this?"

Sanwa nodded vigorously.

Shen Lie sneered, "Let me ask you again."

Sanwa's voice weakened, "Okay, Mom drew it for me."

Shen Lie was even more surprised and looked at Ning Tang, "Did you draw this?"

Da Wa and the other three children couldn't see it, but Shen Lie was different. He could see that the person who could draw such a majestic and lifelike tiger must have a certain level of painting skills.

Shen Lie looked Ning Tang up and down, as if he was meeting her for the first time.

Ning Tang coughed and said, "Why are you looking at me? Are you surprised?"

Shen Lie said, "Don't even mention being surprised. It's just like seeing a sow climbing a tree."

Ning Tang really wanted to beat him up, "Can you? Can you? Speak?"

Shen Lie coughed and said, "No, I still don't believe it. Draw another one for me to see."

Ningtang took the draft paper used by Erniu and casually drew a picture of a tiger catching a rabbit.

On the grass, a little rabbit with two long ears was eating grass attentively. Behind it, a ferocious tiger suddenly appeared. The tiger opened its mouth wide and wanted to eat the cute little rabbit. Unfortunately, the little rabbit didn't notice it at all. People who saw this picture couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for the little rabbit.

The painting is so realistic that the shapes and spirits of the tiger and the rabbit are clearly portrayed. The tiger's ferocity and the rabbit's timidity and cuteness are so lifelike.

Moreover, it was completed in such a short time, which is enough to show Ning Tang's painting skills.

Shen Lie held the draft paper and exclaimed in amazement.

The eldest boy and his friends also came over to take a look. After seeing the picture, they loved it so much that the three children gathered around to grab it.

The third child wanted it, but the eldest child said, "Mom drew you a tiger kite this afternoon, and now you still want this one. Are you greedy? Shame on you."

The third child let go, and it was the second child's turn. The second child didn't get the kite Ning Tang drew that afternoon, so the eldest child was at a loss and continued to discuss, "Give me this picture first, and you can ask mom to draw for you next time."

Erniu pouted, "You are always right. No, this is drawn on my sketch paper, so it belongs to me. I don't care. I want this drawing. I like this little rabbit."

Da Wa thought for a moment and said, "I also like the big tiger on top. How about this, we can each take half."

Erniu thought it was okay and that this distribution was fair.

But when it was their turn to tear it apart, Da Wa and Er Niu felt reluctant.

The picture of a tiger catching a rabbit is a coherent painting. Without the tiger or the rabbit, the painting would lack perfection and charm.

Ning Tang stepped forward and said, "How about this, we put this painting in the living room so that everyone can see it? Okay?"

The three children looked at each other and said in unison, "Okay."

Finally it was solved, Ning Tang wiped away the sweat.

It's not easy to raise three kids. I'm always worried that I won't be able to treat them equally.

I wonder what it’s like for Shen Lie to take care of three kids alone?

Ning Tang thought about it and looked at Shen Lie.

Shen Lie didn't know why Ning Tang was looking at him, so he asked, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, how come you are so good at painting, who did you learn from?"

There shouldn't be any artists in Shangang Village, right?

Ning Tang lied to him casually, "I have had a talent for painting since I was young. Ning Xuebu Lao said that my grades were not good because I put all my attention on studying into painting. I would draw as soon as I was in class and didn't study hard, so I didn't even get into high school. Of course, I couldn't paint such a good painting just by self-study. A few years ago, there was a great Chinese painting master who was transferred to our village, and I studied with him for a few years."

These words were of course meant to deceive Shen Lie.

Ning Tang was not afraid of Shen Lie's investigation. If asked, he would just say that the so-called "Chinese painting master" had been rehabilitated and returned to the city. Alas, he could not be found anyway.

Shen Lie didn't know whether he believed it or not, he nodded and said, "You have to be a good painter to be able to draw so well.

Then he said, "Hey, can you draw me a picture too? One of those foreign paintings, the kind called portraits or something, very lifelike, just like it was taken with a camera."

Ning Tang glanced at Shen Lie and said, "Sure, I can draw a half-length portrait of you in your navy uniform."

Shen Lie smiled broadly when he heard this, and adjusted the navy collar on his clothes. "Then, when will you help me draw?"

Ning Tang said casually, "It depends on my mood. I'll draw for you if I'm in a good mood."

Shen Lie pouted, "You said the same thing the last time I asked you to make clothes for me." He sighed, "I always feel like I'll never see a day in my life when you're in a good mood."