Sanxin Hope Primary School
As May draws to a close, the weather is getting hotter every day, and Li Ming hasn't gone out these past few days.
Wu Feng, the granddaughter of Grandma Wu next door, went to her aunt's house, and no one came to play with Li Ming anymore.
On the other side, Lin Sishu’s son, Erpangzi, was the same age as Li Ming. But boys and girls usually don’t have many common interests and rarely play together. Erpangzi, however, often followed his older brother Dajun around, although he was often ruthlessly left behind.
As for her twins, they usually played more with the three boys from the Luo family in the front yard. The eldest Luo boy was a year older than the twins, and each of the other boys was two years younger. However, the three Luo brothers were too fierce, and the twins always suffered losses and were often bullied. Therefore, when they were young, their mother often strictly forbade the twins from having close contact with the three Luo brothers to prevent any danger.
Now Li Ming is wondering what he was doing back then, but he has no answer.
Li Ming had just recovered from his shock and was in a bad mood these past few days. Too lazy to be a busybody, he simply forbade the three Luo brothers, especially the eldest and second eldest, from visiting. So the house has been very quiet these past few days.
Seeing that the two little ones were getting restless and jumping around, Li Ming sighed. "Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it," he said, taking the two children to a small hill on the south side of the village that resembled a children's playground.
After thinking it over carefully, Li Ming realized that since their family had a dream of becoming an adult, whether it was real or not, they couldn't just drift through life like before. Putting aside the future, there was something right now that made her very unhappy.
Why did she have to delay starting school for a year because of her two younger children, thus missing the last train for the state-assigned jobs for college graduates? This caused her to be busy and insecure for years after graduation. No, this has to be changed.
But how can I change it? First of all, I have to go to school. I have to catch this bus no matter what, but I don't know if I can still catch that old bus with my old ticket.
Li Ming sat on a large rock, watching the twins chasing butterflies and grasshoppers in the grass on the small mound, and felt a headache coming on.
Now, she and her two little brats are in the same boat.
No wonder her mom won't let her go to school. Who's going to take care of these two little devils?
My maternal grandparents' family is always busy. My paternal grandparents passed away early. They can't rely on anyone.
None of the villages nearby have preschools or kindergartens. The only kindergarten in town is quite far from their home, and it would cost extra.
It seems they're really stuck in her hands and she can't get rid of them.
Watching the twins running around energetically, Li Ming realized they weren't much younger than him. They were incredibly strong, always much stronger than him. And from a young age, they'd always eaten and drunk more than him. They'd eat two cornbreads and three steamed buns at each meal.
Actually, the other two were only a little over a year younger than Li Ming. Because of his mother's pregnancy, Li Ming was only breastfed for a few months as a baby and was also weak from a young age. Judging by appearance alone, the three children were about the same age. Perhaps because he had to help take care of the children from a young age, Li Ming was more mature than the other two.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Li Ming, and he had an idea.
There are still more than three months left. I don't know if it will be enough time, but I'll give it a try first.
So, Li Ming found a piece of white talc at home and, in addition to helping with some chores every day, he started teaching his two younger children literacy skills while his parents were not at home, planning to conduct preschool training.
First, you have to attract two willing participants. Kids are always envious of others going to school with their backpacks, thinking that school is so interesting, even though they will find that it is not like that at all after they start school.
The next morning, as soon as her parents left, Li Ming gathered the two younger children together and gave each of them a piece of fruit candy, which she had secretly bought from the store the night before, intending to use as bait for fishing today.
Li Ming made the little boy with his chubby cheeks sit properly, while she herself sat on a chair on the ground and began to lure underage children:
"Hey, Xiaolin and Xiaohui, do you guys think it's fun for Uncle Lin's son, Dajun, to go to school?"
Li Lin spoke quickly: "Okay, okay, I carry a little backpack every day, I want to carry one too..."
"There were also many people going out to play together, catching lots of fish and sparrows."
Li Lianhui also quickly chimed in to add to the discussion.
In fact, Da Junzi next door really only did a few things at school. His academic performance, ever since Li Ming became aware of him, was always the kind where he would cover for others when they retreated.
Seeing that the little fish had taken the bait, Li Ming quickly increased his effort:
"That's right. Going to school means not only carrying a schoolbag, but also playing games with lots of classmates. So, do you want to go to school?"
"Yes." This time, they all said in unison; ignorance is bliss.
"It's no use thinking about it; the school won't accept you."
"Why?" Li Lianhui was drooling, and the fruit candy almost slipped out of his mouth.
"Because you can't write your own names, you can't write 12345, and you don't know how to read."
"Oh, what should we do then?" Li Lin asked, not quite seriously, as she smacked her lips at the sweet fruit candy in her mouth.
Li Ming felt a chill run down her spine. What kind of attitude was this? She knew Li Lin had never thought about anything serious since she was little. But this time, it concerned her future livelihood, and no matter what those two little brats, Li Lin and Li Lianhui, were capable of, she was determined to make them look respectable.
Therefore, the abduction continued.
"Actually, I have a way to get you into school, it just depends on whether you're determined."
The twins had no idea what determination was, and hurriedly explained:
"Yes, we are determined, many of us are."
Li Ming deliberately hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Okay, I trust you two, but you have to listen to your sister. You have to do whatever I say, and you absolutely cannot do anything I forbid, understand?"
"OK."
"Good boy/girl, if you do well, you'll get fruit candy. If you don't do well, you'll get a beating."
He brandished a small twig in his hand as a show of force.
The twins were definitely beaten by her a lot when they were little.
"Uh..." They wanted fruit candy, but they didn't want to be beaten up.
However, Li Ming wasn't giving them a chance to back out now, and announced:
"We can't tell our parents about our classes, otherwise, if anyone tells us, she won't get any candy anymore."
That day, Li Ming taught them how to write their names.
Li Lin was better off, since she didn't have many strokes. Li Lianhui, on the other hand, was in a worse situation. Not only did he have more characters, but he also had more strokes. He didn't have Li Lin's cleverness, and after struggling for a long time, he still made mistakes. Li Ming was so annoyed that he just wanted to change his name to Li Yi.
However, the twins are quite clever; they learned their own names, along with 123 numbers, in just one day.
In fact, Li Ming always thought that the twins were smarter than her, but they were good at cheating and being cunning. She knew from the fact that they both dropped out of high school after they grew up and later found rich and powerful spouses. They were definitely not ambitious young people, but she couldn't deny that they were both living quite comfortably.
Since there were no pens, she used a piece of white talcum powder to scribble and draw on the cement steps or on the stove while making lunch for them. The two younger children seemed quite happy about this organized scribbling and drawing. Anyway, it was anytime, anywhere, and she distributed three pieces of fruit candy—two for Li Lin and one for Li Lianhui—as a reward and incentive.
Li Ming was quite satisfied with the results of the first day.
If things continue like this, going to school seems promising.
After all, there are still three months left. In fact, a semester is only four and a half months. If you deduct the time for weekends, holidays and non-subject subjects, it should be less than the time they spend studying at home. Seeing the results, Li Ming's confidence soared. That night, he went to Uncle Lin's house next door to borrow first-grade textbooks from Da Junzi, who was in the third grade.
Back then, there weren't many workbooks or textbooks, and they were all small, 32mo books. Unlike now, where each book is 16mo, a much larger book with much more in-depth content, and there are countless workbooks.
Dajunzi readily agreed to borrow the book from Li Ming, but after rummaging through drawers and cabinets without finding it, his aunt helped him find it in a wooden box. Li Ming took it and almost burst out laughing. Dajunzi was indeed Dajunzi; the book was brand new. Apart from the brown paper covering with his grade and name, there was no trace of human intervention. It was a mystery what he'd been doing at school. Fortunately, education wasn't highly valued in their area at that time, so his aunt wasn't dissatisfied and even smiled.
"Xiaoming, you're going to school this year, is your mom letting you go?"
Look, all the neighbors know that she's now an indispensable, unpaid nanny in the family.
Li Ming said earnestly, "Fourth Aunt, my mom is ruining my future! You have to talk to her. If not, I'll take my two snot-nosed kids with me to school. I can't let my mom ruin my future."
Auntie Si laughed heartily: "You silly child, talking about the future? You can go to school a year later with my Erpang. It would be great if you could keep each other company."
Although Erpang is the same age as Li Ming, he is still unable to take care of himself. Boys tend to become independent later, and local boys usually start school later than girls.
Li Ming already had the twins dragging him down, how could he let Erpangzi add to his weight? He quickly said:
“No way, it’s better to do it sooner rather than later. You must help me talk to my mother, Fourth Aunt.”
"This child is like a little adult. Alright, alright, I'll tell you something when it's alright."
Seeing his aunt's perfunctory attitude, Li Ming had no choice but to sigh. At this time, at least in their area, children's education was left to their own devices. They could study whatever they could, and the adults didn't care much. They were busy making a living every day and had no time for anything else.
She received four first-grade elementary school textbooks. English wouldn't be introduced until middle school; the main subjects were math and Chinese—very simple. Li Ming treated them as new textbooks from school, flipping through them in less than ten minutes after getting home. Sitting on a small stool, she exclaimed, "Damn, these are so easy!" Judging from the textbooks, if she were to work diligently, she could finish reading both her twins' first-grade textbooks before starting school.
That's enough for them to go to school and not be returned home.
Without further ado, I prepared some simple teaching aids, planning to ask her mother for some funds to buy notebooks and pens when she had some results in a few days. For now, I'll just get some simple, inexpensive things.
When I took the twins to the children's playground on the small hill, we picked up some chalk stubs and some colored ones at the village primary school's garbage dump on the way back, though not many. Later, we even managed to find pencil stubs and erasers from time to time. The twins were quite enthusiastic about this kind of scavenging.
Li Ming then rummaged through the clutter in his house and found a small, thin wooden board, about half a square meter in size, its grayish color perfect for use as a blackboard.
Everything was ready in two days.
These past two days, Li Ming hasn't let the twins rest. Including their names, they've already learned ten characters. They've also mastered five numbers and three pinyin syllables quite well. However, they mostly practice by drawing on the ground with twigs and pebbles. It seems he needs to buy some notebooks, or maybe a few new pencils to use as prizes.
That evening, taking advantage of her mother's good mood, Li Ming made her application. To her surprise, her mother readily agreed and immediately gave her fifty cents for the expenses. Li Ming was a little surprised, as she remembered that her mother only started to pay attention to their studies after they entered junior high school. How come she's become so enlightened now?
However, when she was tidying up her teaching materials, she saw the Xinhua Dictionary in her house and suddenly understood. Later, she heard from her mother that the dictionary was bought by Li Ming's father when Li Ming was born. He used it to look up Li Ming's name, and also hoped that his child would study hard in the future. But when they were young, the adults were not at home and tore out a few pages of it to use as toilet paper.
In fact, parents still have high hopes for their children, but the burdens of life leave them no time to think too much.
Seeing Li Ming's enthusiasm for reading makes me happy, but I don't expect too much; I just treat it like children playing house. However, I still try my best to provide for their financial needs, as a way of compensating for neglecting the children in general.
Of course, Li Ming's self-rescue through teaching was not so easy.
The two younger ones were used to being free and undisciplined, and Li Ming hadn't adjusted to the time difference yet. Time was also tight, so she wasn't in the mood for any kind of fun teaching. After everything was ready, there was a fixed time for class every day. Anyone who didn't behave would get a little twig. Later, she left a mark on the younger brother's butt. She had already threatened him, but the younger sister, who was always so talkative, secretly complained to her. That night, her mother gave Li Ming a good scolding and sternly warned her not to use violence against children.
The next day, after his parents left, Li Ming checked the time, took out the small wooden board he'd been using as a blackboard, placed it on their eight-immortal table, and started tapping a screw on a piece of sheet metal. The two little ones quickly ran in from the outer room and sat down on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed). Seeing that they were sitting upright, Li Ming nodded in satisfaction and praised them:
"Good, you acted quickly. Yes, quick means fast. You have to be fast no matter what you do at school. Before class today, I have something to say. Yesterday, Li Lianhui was running around in class and I gave him a light tap, but he admitted his mistake well. Today, I'll praise him and reward him with a new pencil. Li Lin exaggerated the situation and went to her parents' house. Parents are the students' parents, and going to their parents to complain has caused disharmony between me and the parents. So, I'm criticizing her. From now on, no one should complain to their parents casually. This is not good for Li Lianhui's health or your own healthy growth. Therefore, I'm announcing that for the next week, which is seven days a week, Li Lianhui will be the class monitor. Do you understand?"
"Understood." The voices were loud and soft, one excited and the other listless.
"Therefore, from today onwards, the class monitor, Li Lianhui, will call for everyone to stand up. Okay, class is in session."
Li Lianhui excitedly jumped off the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and shouted, "Stand up!"
Li Lin pouted and slowly stood up as well.
"Okay, very good, excellent. Sit down. In today's math class, we'll first review the five numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and then we'll do some simple addition exercises. Alright, let's begin the class."
Basically, when their parents aren't home, Li Ming's carrot-and-stick approach usually keeps the two kids in line. However, even when their parents are home, there are occasional discordant notes, mainly because Li Lin has a sharp tongue and, seeing that her mother has someone to rely on at home, always likes to show off and challenge Li Ming's authority. As for Li Lianhui, who often gets disciplined, he's like a mouse—he forgets about it as soon as he's done, and there's never been a complaint.
Unfortunately, Li Ming, the nanny who was the most capable assistant to her parents, was gaining more and more power. When Li Lin occasionally made secret complaints, her mother went from criticizing her to ignoring her and finally firmly rejecting them. This made Li Lin so depressed that she ran away to college and escaped Li Ming's clutches, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
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