Shen Qingqing had also visited the Li family's old house, but the Li family's old house, including the main room and kitchen, had a total of six rooms.
In addition to the chicken coop and a small bamboo grove behind it, the old house was quite large for its time.
Although she also thought the old house was dilapidated, she didn't know how to describe Chen Manyu's house now.
The stools in their house were also made by themselves using bamboo weaving; they were small and short.
The guests were seated on the only small sofa, while the elderly couple sat on bamboo stools.
Li Xunli couldn't let the old couple do that, but she couldn't dissuade them and sat down on the small sofa.
“Aunt Huifen, Uncle, Manyu is not yet an adult. In principle, I cannot take him in. Employing child labor is illegal…”
Li Xunli had just started to explain the seriousness of the matter to Li Huifen and her husband when Li Huifen hurriedly cut her off.
“Xunli! No need to hire him, no need to pay him, just provide him with two meals a day. We two old folks can earn the money ourselves. When Manyu is more sensible in the future, you can let him find work elsewhere!”
“It still needs to be made clear, Aunt Huifen.” Li Xunli wasn’t annoyed that she was being silenced. She just waited patiently for Li Huifen to finish speaking before carefully telling her about Chen Manyu’s situation and the apprenticeship.
“Until Manyu turns eighteen, I’ll consider it helping out. I’ll provide him with three meals a day. After he turns eighteen, if he’s willing, we’ll see if he signs an apprenticeship contract. We’re doing a proper job. Whether he does well or not, there needs to be some kind of proof. It’s not just about neighborly relations…”
Shen Qingqing watched her mother patiently and firmly talk to Aunt Huifen about Chen Manyu's future, then looked at Chen Manyu sitting quietly next to Uncle Li, glancing at her mother and then at Aunt Huifen.
Okay, she admits she's cold-blooded, but since her mother is willing to lend a helping hand to this family, she has to change her previous somewhat hesitant attitude towards them.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Qingqing stood up, walked behind Chen Manyu, and gently patted him.
Chen Manyu was startled. He turned his head and saw Shen Qingqing smiling at him, then pointing outside.
He understood; this meant he was being told to leave.
However, Chen Manyu hesitated. Although his sister was very small, he also had younger siblings who tricked him into going to a secluded place, where they would surround him, beat him, and scold him.
He turned around and looked at Aunt Li, who was still talking to her grandmother. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to go out with his sister.
Shen Qingqing was standing outside, bending over to look at the vegetable patch planted by the door. The cabbages in the field were all plump and fresh.
"Sister, why did you call me out?" Chen Manyu walked nervously to Shen Qingqing's side and mustered up his courage to ask first.
Shen Qingqing straightened up instantly from her bent-over position.
Chen Manyu was startled and immediately took a few steps back, looking at Shen Qingqing warily.
Shen Qingqing: ?
"I don't mean anything by it. It's just that you'll be helping out at my family's porcelain kiln in the future, so I want to get to know you better first!" Shen Qingqing spread her hands.
Chen Manyu was wary, but he was also genuinely trusting. Hearing Shen Qingqing's words, he obediently said "Oh," and then slowly moved back to his seat. "What do you want to familiarize yourself with?"
Shen Qingqing thought for a while and then started chatting with him about everyday things, starting from elementary school.
Before long, Shen Qingqing had already learned a lot about Chen Manyu from him.
For example, he stopped studying in the fourth grade of elementary school, meaning he didn't graduate from elementary school, but he didn't forget the knowledge he already had, such as how to write and read characters.
However, he doesn't know the things he hasn't learned.
After Li Xunli finished chatting with the elderly couple inside, Shen Qingqing was pleasantly surprised to find that Chen Manyu still had the ability to learn, but he forgot very quickly. Often, he would be repeating after her one second, but the next second he would not be able to repeat it anymore. It would take repeated practice to slow down his forgetting.
Amidst the elderly couple's profuse thanks, Li Xunli emerged and told them not to see her off any further. "Qingqing, goodbye!"
When Shen Qingqing heard her mother calling her, she immediately said "Goodbye" and ran away.
Chen Manyu watched with red eyes as Li Xunli and Shen Qingqing, one tall and one short, walked away into the distance.
Li Huifen walked over to him and found him crying. She quickly asked him what was wrong and whether Shen Qingqing had bullied him.
“No, Grandma…” Chen Manyu raised his arm to cover his eyes, choking back tears as he said, “My sister didn’t bully me. She just chatted with me and taught me a lot of things I didn’t know. She… she’s just as good as Aunt Li…”
Li Huifen felt heartbroken after hearing this.
As the elderly couple grew older, they were afraid that their only grandson would be led astray and that they couldn't protect him, so they always asked him to give way to others. However, they never expected that this would cause their grandson to be bullied more and more.
But they had no other way to protect him, so they could only keep him hiding at home. Trying to get him to go out and find a job was also a way to keep him hiding outside.
Unexpectedly, Chen Manyu knew all this, which is why he cried because of Shen Qingqing's normal treatment.
On the other side, Shen Qingqing skipped and hopped around her mother's side on the way back to the porcelain kiln with Li Xunli, telling her what she had learned from Chen Manyu.
"Mom, actually, Brother Manyu isn't really stupid. He just can't remember things. I can teach him more in the future, so that if he stays with us to help out when he grows up, he can be of more help!"
Li Xunli looked at Shen Qingqing with some surprise, "Didn't you always want me to accept him?"
Shen Qingqing pouted, "Then what's the use of me not wanting to? Even Dad can't persuade you, so I can only accept it."
"Besides, he'll be helping out at the porcelain kiln. If I don't teach him more, what if he causes you trouble?"
Li Xunli poked her: "I don't know if others will cause me trouble, but you little thing will definitely cause me a lot of trouble!"
Shen Qingqing giggled and joked as she went back with Li Xunli.
And so, Chen Manyu was officially kept at the porcelain kiln to help out. Shen Qingqing really did as she had told Li Xunli, and whenever she had free time, she would come over and teach Chen Manyu to recognize more characters.
The three-day New Year's Day holiday flew by. On the afternoon of the 3rd, Principal Mo and the second-grade Chinese teacher drove to her house to pick her up and take her to the city.
She still gets carsick, but for Shen Qingqing, it's no longer a problem.
On the morning of the 4th, Principal Mo and her teachers took her to the final battleground of the city-level competition.
After the first two rounds of selection, only thirty people remained in the city-level finals. They wore different school uniforms from various elementary schools and lined up to enter the same examination room to compete for the five spots in the provincial competition.
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