"Second Aunt." The one who called her was Tang Xiuqin, Tang Long's younger sister, who was a first-year high school student and had always lived at school.
Qin Xiaoyu hadn't paid much attention to the child before, only knowing that she was a shy girl who spoke softly and was tall and thin. But today, upon closer inspection, she realized that this was the most beautiful child born into the Tang family. Tang Wenwen was only considered pretty, but Tang Xiuqin was already a beauty. She had curved willow-leaf eyebrows, clear almond-shaped eyes, a delicate nose, and cherry lips. She was also naturally fair-skinned, with not a single blemish on her face. Even though she was wearing a worn-out school uniform, it couldn't hide her beauty.
Qin Xiaoyu understood her cousin-in-law's meaning after a moment's thought: she wanted Tang Xiuqin to get some extra tutoring too. She quickly called her into her room. Sure enough, genes play a big role. Tang Xiuqin was just as smart as Tang Long, and being a girl, she was more reliable with a solid foundation. When the questions were explained, she understood them immediately.
"Does your dorm have heating?" Qin Xiaoyu felt a little depressed when she heard this. Her cousin had a son and a daughter. As the children grew up, they needed to sleep in separate beds, but there was nowhere for them to sleep. The son should have lived at school, but due to the preference for sons over daughters, the daughter was left out. Thinking about this made her feel a little sorry for him.
"The one who tends the stove," Tang Xiuqin said softly.
"Wasn't it very cold in the middle of the night?" Qin Xiaoyu could imagine what it felt like to be in a house without a stove in the middle of the night during a cold winter in the north.
"There's nothing we can do. Last semester, some students in the dorm got carbon monoxide poisoning, so the school has mandated that no one can use stoves." Tang Xiuqin suddenly smiled, her two dimples flashing, and said, "Second Aunt, don't worry, my blanket is thick, I'm not cold."
"Why don't you move back in with me? This kang bed can comfortably sleep four people," Qin Xiaoyu suggested on a whim.
"Look at your second aunt, she's worried sick about you all. Let her stay there for another year. Next year, when Longlong goes to university, she can move back. Don't make things difficult for her." Her cousin-in-law walked in from outside. After hearing her say that, Qin Xiaoyu felt it was difficult to insist.
"It would be nice to have an electric blanket," Qin Xiaoyu thought, and then she remembered the electric hair-curling cap from yesterday.
Oh dear, she slapped her thigh, her mind suddenly cleared, and she got up and ran outside.
"Sister-in-law, the bicycle is fixed. Be careful when you ride it tomorrow, the brakes are too flexible, don't fall." My cousin's phone was covered in oil, he was going back to wash it.
"Brother! Hurry, I need to talk to you urgently!" Qin Xiaoyu hurriedly got the thoughts out of her head, pushed open the door to her cousin's house, and saw Tang Long and his sister-in-law occupying the table to study. She turned around and went back.
"What's wrong?" my cousin asked nervously.
"Let's talk in my room," Qin Xiaoyu said, leading the way.
"The Tang family has such good manners. It's shameful for the eldest brother-in-law to come into his young widow's sister-in-law's room all the time." The old woman flashed out from the shadows like a ghost, spat on the ground, and slammed the door as she went inside.
Qin Xiaoyu didn't care, but her cousin was timid and hesitated, not daring to move forward.
"What are you afraid of? Why can't we go into our own sister's house? Wenzhi is gone, but you are still our sister!" The cousin's wife came out of the house, picked up the conversation, and pulled her cousin with one hand and Qin Xiaoyu with the other, and walked into the house.
After Qin Xiaoyu finished explaining her ideas, her cousin had an idea. He asked for a piece of paper, drew on it for a while, nodded and said, "It can be done, and it's not difficult. Why don't I try it tomorrow? Anyway, the factory has all the materials."
"Is this okay? Wrapping wires around someone's head, won't that electrocute them? And their hair is still wet, won't it conduct electricity?" my cousin-in-law said worriedly.
"Once it's done, I'll use you as the test subject to see if you're scared." My cousin was in a rare good mood, so he teased my cousin's wife.
"Oh dear! I'm not going to be a guinea pig. What if you electrocute me? I'll be all black and smudged, and even as a ghost, I'll be ugly!" My cousin's hearty laughter flew out of the house. Hanhan and her younger sister ran over from the upper room, looked at this one and that one, and started laughing like idiots too.
"Little sister, our lives are getting better and better!" Qin Xiaoyu kissed her little sister on the cheek, then kissed her again. The little sister raised her chubby little hand and vigorously rubbed the spot where Qin Xiaoyu had kissed her a few times, which made Qin Xiaoyu stomp her feet in anger. This time, everyone laughed.
Finally, she could go to bed; Qin Xiaoyu's legs felt like they weighed a ton. Hanhan held up a small notebook in front of her; it was her homework. Hanhan's handwriting was neat, and her English was beautifully written.
"Good girl, that's great!" Qin Xiaoyu praised.
"Mom, look, this is what my little sister wrote." Hanhan turned to the second page, where a few numbers were written crookedly.
"Wow, that's really great!" Qin Xiaoyu was surprised. It seemed her little sister's intelligence was fine, but what was wrong with her not talking? Could Zhou Xing be right, it was a psychological problem?
"Hanhan, you should chat with your little sister more often in the future. Even if she ignores you, you should keep talking. Maybe one day she will be able to speak."
"Really?"
"real."
Qin Xiaoyu then tested Hanhan's oral English. He was a little shy and his pronunciation was unclear. He had to be corrected several times before he passed.
"Wait, Mom will buy you a tape recorder!" Qin Xiaoyu noticed that Hanhan's spoken English wasn't improving much. He needed to listen and practice more, and he didn't have a good language environment. A few days ago, she got Hanhan an old radio, and he listened to Voice of America every day. But then Hanhan's grandmother came over and said he was listening to enemy stations. Although this was both funny and exasperating, she couldn't ignore it; she still had to abide by the rules of the times.
"A tape recorder?" Hanhan repeated, unable to believe her ears. Tape recorders were rare items; only Tang Wenwen in the Tang family compound had bought one. Hanhan and the others had peered through the window for ages, only to see a square, silver-gray box, without even a chance to touch it. When Wenwen played disco music inside, the whole yard was buzzing with vibrations. The old lady scolded her through the window and stormed off with it.
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