"This one has the words 'Three Character Classic' written on it, and this one has 'Practice Writing' written on it. From now on, I'll take you to learn to read characters every day. When we have money in the future, I'll let all of you go to school."
The old books didn't cost much. Perhaps in the eyes of other families, the Xia family was already so poor that buying books was just a way of being picky.
But for children who want to learn, this represents "hope" and "future".
When Da Wa saw the two books Xia Manni took out, his eyes lit up.
"Mom, is that true? I will do the housework from now on." The eldest boy was so excited that he didn't know what to say, so he just said that he would do the housework.
"Haha, Big Boy, you look so excited. Okay, from now on, you will do all the dirty work, and Mom will teach you how to read."
None of the children thought about why Xia Manni could recognize words and read.
Perhaps in their perception, they think their mother is omnipotent.
"Mom, Sanwa also wants to learn to read and martial arts." Sanwa knew that if he knew martial arts, he could protect his family, and if he knew how to read, he could earn more money.
"Sanwa, do you have anything to say this time?" Xia Manni felt that Sanwa was just a little simple-minded now, but he still knew what he should know.
"Mom, Sanwa wants to have lots of money in the future so we can buy more weapons and delicious food."
"Yes, Sanwa is right. We left in a hurry just now, and I didn't have time to give you the buns that Mom bought for you."
Originally, Xia Manni bought the buns to bring back home for the children to eat, but who would have thought that they would be robbed, so she forgot about the buns.
As soon as Sanwa said it was delicious, she remembered that she had bought some buns.
"Mom, since we have buns, let's eat them here." Erwa couldn't take his eyes off the buns.
"Mom said these are buns as a reward for me, second brother..." Sanwa was protecting the buns but unexpectedly got slapped by Erwa.
"Can second brother eat it?" Erwa threatened Sanwa.
"Ouch, it hurts. Second brother, you can eat, you can eat. At first, I want mother to eat first." Sanwa rolled his eyes and ran to Xia Manni.
Erwa was stunned for a moment, then said innocently, "Of course I have to give it to Mom."
"Okay, okay, stop making trouble. There is some water here to wash your hands and eat here." It was already past noon and they had not eaten yet.
A total of ten buns were bought. Xia Manni and Sinier only ate one, Sanwa and Dawa ate two each, and Erwa actually ate four by himself.
By the time Xia Manni found out, Erwa had already finished the last bite.
"Erwa!!! You eat so much again." Xia Manni was worried that Erwa would have indigestion after eating too much. Some children will have a fever if they have indigestion.
"Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong, hehe." It was all because the buns were too delicious.
"Erwa, you made your mother angry again. I will punish you by making you push a cart home for a while, which will help you digest your food." Dawa helped his mother teach Erwa a lesson.
When it was mentioned that Xia Manni could not get sick, Erwa became obedient.
"Si Ni'er, you haven't said anything yet?" Xia Manni ignored the naughty boys and asked Si Ni'er who was still quiet.
"Mom, Si Ni'er just wants to be able to protect you and my brothers in the future." Although Si Ni'er doesn't talk much, every time she speaks, it makes people feel very warm.
"Good Si Ni'er, mother and brothers thank you." Xia Manni picked up Si Ni'er and put her and Sanwa on the cart. She felt that she was a person who was easily satisfied.
"Mom, what about you?" Si Ni'er keenly noticed that Xia Manni was in a depressed mood.
"Mom doesn't think too much. I just want you four siblings to succeed quickly so I can take care of you in your old age. Hahaha." Xia Manni said jokingly.
After Xia Manni finished speaking, the four children fell silent. They had never heard Xia Manni say such words before. It turned out that their mother had such high expectations for them.
"Mom, Erwa will definitely be able to make a name for himself." Erwa was the first to break the silence.
"Children should stop interrupting when adults are talking." Before they knew it, the second and third children started arguing again.
"Mom, it's time for us to go back." Big Boy reminded.
"Okay, we're full now. We still have a lot to do when we get home."
The group of five went back home.
Many years later, the scene of the five of them chatting on the mound is still fresh in their memory. That was the original appearance of each of them, and it was also the dream they pursued throughout their lives.
Another half an hour later, they finally returned to the Xia family.
When I left, the cart was full, and when I came back, only the few things I bought were left.
This time when she went to the market, Xia Manni not only bought weapons, books, two meters of oilcloth, but also bought cabbage seeds that could be planted in winter.
By the way, she weighed two pounds of pork. The beginning of winter would be here in a few days, and she planned to make dumplings for the children.
This time, they spent less than two taels of silver. Including the money from selling mountain products, the family still had more than six taels of silver left. Although they only earned more than one tael of silver, Xia Manni was happy. After all, who wouldn't be happy when they have hope for the future?
Xia Manni explained the family's accounts to all the children, but in the end, only the third child was interested. He asked Xia Manni again and again how she calculated the accounts, and finally refused to give up until Xia Manni promised to teach him how to calculate accounts in the future.
Speaking of winter coming, the winter in the mountains will not be as "generous" as autumn, so there is the saying "harvest in autumn and store in winter".
So before the weather gets too cold, she has to take her children to prepare food and heating supplies for the winter.
She looked up at the sky. The winter here shouldn’t be that cold, right?
It’s better to make more preparations, so that it won’t rain heavily like the past few days.
The next day, Xia Manni found some free time and asked a bricklayer in the village to repair the roof.
"The leak in your roof isn't too serious, but your house needs some repairs."
I heard that it would cost a lot of money to renovate it, and if I have to do it, I have to wait until next year when I make money.
"Brother, just use a few more tiles to cover it tightly. We can wait until next year when we have money to repair it."
There was no wage for this job, except that the tiles cost twenty copper coins.
After the roof was repaired, Xia Manni held a meeting with the children.
"This time I'm going to hold a meeting with you. This is also the first time I'm going to hold a meeting with you. What I want to say is that winter is coming."
"Mom, what's wrong with winter coming?" Sanwa didn't understand what his mother meant, so he asked curiously.
"Sanwa, don't interrupt me. I'm in a meeting." Da Wa carried Sanwa over. Mom said that I should listen carefully during a meeting.
"I wish winter was just like any other winter." Xia Manni touched Sanwa's head.
I’m afraid it will be different from usual winters.
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