Chapter 411 "You fatherless bastard!"
(Thanks to Master Muyan for casting a monthly vote.)
It was the fourth day of the fourth lunar month again, and the early spring morning was still chilly, but Lijiatun was already bustling with activity.
The two little ones, nicknamed Pingping and An'an, lay side by side on the kang (a heated brick bed), fast asleep.
Jiang Huai woke up when the dog in the yard barked for the first time.
He first turned to look at Li Xiatian sleeping next to him, then got up to look at the two little ones lying on the other side.
Jiang Huai quietly got out of bed, changed the two little ones' diapers to dry ones, and put the soiled diapers into a wooden basin. Then he heard Li Xiatian wake up on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Don't get up, I've already changed their diapers."
"Sleep a little longer, and get up when your mother calls you."
Li Xiatian didn't insist. She glanced at the little ones and, seeing that they were sleeping soundly, she hummed in agreement, turned over, and went back to sleep.
Jiang Huai took the basin containing the dirty diapers out of the house, and sure enough, he saw people already busy in the kitchen when he stood in the yard.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mom. Please fetch me some hot water so I can wash these diapers and dry them while I'm at it."
Otherwise, when people come to visit their children, it wouldn't look good to leave them hanging inside.
"Just leave it there behind the door, I'll wash it later, you don't need to lift a finger."
Jiang Huai didn't respond to Zheng Meiniang's words. He had already rolled up his sleeves and put on his armbands. "Sigh, I don't usually get to do this. It's fine if you trouble your mother to wash it for me."
"Since we don't have to go to school today, I, as the father, should do some chores for the children."
Since Li Xiatian finished her postpartum confinement last year, she has moved back to the courtyard where she and Jiang Huai lived.
But after all, there are two more children, and the two new parents really can't manage them all.
Not to mention, Jiang Huai also holds the position of teacher at Lijiatun School.
Later, the school in Lijiatun added a few more students. Some children from other villages came to the school, just like Zhao Xier from Zhao You's family. They paid tuition fees and came to study and learn to read.
Therefore, in the end, Zheng Meiniang moved back to help Li Xiatian and Jiang Huai take care of the children.
Jiang Huai hadn't even finished washing the diapers for the two babies when shouts came from the gate of the yard.
After placing the still-warm goat milk jar at the door, Wang Shiqi said to Zheng Meiniang, who came out of the kitchen, "Auntie, it's freshly squeezed out. I put it at the door."
"Hey, Seventeen, slow down."
Wang Shiqi responded and got on the donkey cart, heading towards the next family that had ordered goat milk.
Wang Shiqi's whole family tended the sheep at the village's sheep farm. His father and his two older brothers had to go up the mountain to herd the sheep every day.
When it's time to shear sheep in the spring, even with the whole family working, there aren't enough people to go around, so they have to hire idle men from the village to do the work.
But there weren't enough men in the village to serve them.
Although the charcoal yard is only busy in the autumn, they still have to plant crops in the spring, and medicinal herbs are also grown on the mountain.
Not to mention the paper mill, rabbit farm, horse farm, and inn in the village, all of which required people to be at their beck and call.
Even in the last two years, every household, whether they have recently married or are still married, has had quite a few children.
However, it always takes about ten years for a child to grow up from birth.
There simply weren't enough people in the village to work with, so when it came time to shear sheep, they had to hire people from outside to do the work.
After delivering a round of goat milk, Wang Shiqi drove his donkey cart home. He had just parked the cart at the door when he saw the wolf cub living next door carrying a bow and heading up the mountain.
When Granny Wang saw her youngest son standing at the door not urging the carriage into the yard, she called out to him.
What are you looking at?
Why aren't you hurrying the car in?
Today is the first birthday banquet for the Li family's child. After you finish your meal, go to the sheep farm with your father and the others to pick out a few good sheep to send to them.
Don't delay their business!
When Granny Wang saw that Wang Shiqi was still standing at the door looking around, she kicked over and slapped him on the shoulder.
"I'm talking to you!"
You little brat!
Can't you hear me?
"Ah! Mother! It hurts! It hurts!"
Wang Shiqi rubbed his shoulder, crying out in pain, and said to Granny Wang, "I just saw that wolf cub go up the mountain with his bow again!"
"They're skilled! They can go hunting in the mountains!"
You little brat, you're not capable at all, so stop looking!
Hurry up and get to work!
The person Wang Shiqi called "wolf cub" was Wuji.
Since Wuji and Gu Lanzhi came to Lijiatun from the grasslands with Li Shiyue a year ago, they have never left.
With Li Shiyue's help, the mother and son settled down in Sanshan County.
After hearing what Li Shiyue said and learning about the merit of the mother and son in leading the way, Liu Tan not only gave them silver but also said he wanted to recruit Wuji into the army camp.
However, Gu Lanzhi declined Liu Tan's offer, citing Wuji's young age.
But Gu Lanzhi also said, "Once Wuji turns fifteen, if the general doesn't mind, then let him become a soldier for the general."
Gu Lanzhi knew that she was not suited to live in a big city, having escaped from a barbarian tribe and bringing with her a child who looked even more like a barbarian.
So she went directly to find Li Shiyue, and used the reward money Liu Tan gave her to buy a small courtyard in Lijiatun, where she settled down with Wuji.
Later, they even sent Uji to study at the village school.
However, even though Uji speaks Mandarin well, his appearance, both in terms of face and physique, is quite different from that of a Han Chinese.
Uji wore Han Chinese clothes, had a Han Chinese hairstyle, and spoke Han Chinese, but he still looked more like a barbarian!
As a result, he was ostracized by some of the children in the school.
What is this all about?
Human nature, I suppose.
Because Uji was tall, the other children didn't dare to actually cause trouble; they would just say a few unpleasant things like "bastard" after class.
Uji is a good boy. He knows that Gu Lanzhi sent him to study here so that he could live a better life and prepare for his future.
Therefore, he pretended not to hear those unpleasant words, and he never mentioned these things to Gu Lanzhi.
Because Gu Lanzhi had stayed in the barbarian tribe for a long time, she had some experience in raising horses and cattle. In Lijiatun, with such skills, she was arranged by Li's mother to work at the horse farm.
Wang Shisan also worked at the horse farm, and over time, he became acquainted with Wuji, who often came to the horse farm looking for Gu Lanzhi.
However, by then, Wang Shisan was no longer studying at the school.
Therefore, Li Shiyue only required Wang Shisan to be able to write and read, enough to meet his daily needs.
As luck would have it, Wang Shisan came to the school one day looking for Wuji, who had just finished his studies, wanting Wuji to teach him archery.
He then encountered the children from the Li family at the school, specifically Lai Xi and Lai Fu from the Eighth Uncle's clan. They pointed at Wuji's nose and cursed, "You fatherless bastard!"
Your father is a barbarian!
You're such a shrew!
I'll beat you to death, you barbarian!
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