Chapter 66 Every leaky window is a testament to the power of teaching by example.
Qin Erjie stayed at her parents' home for a while and discovered that the two children really did resemble Tian Keshu. The two children were very good at judging people and treating them differently, and they had become like that at such a young age. Even towards their own mother, the two children were the same.
Tian Keshu's family had a spy, which ruined their reputation.
The two children already understood the need to sever ties with their biological mother. Calling her "stepmother" wasn't wrong, but how they treated their own mother was appalling. The two children told their biological mother, "We don't have a mother like you."
This is also what Tian Keshu taught by example. How Tian Keshu treated Song Fenglan in the past, how she spoke ill of Song Fenglan in front of her children, all those sins have now come back to haunt Tian Keshu.
Yes, it's understandable that Tian Keshu is disliked, but those two children are just too unruly. Their biological mother treated them so well, and they just abandoned her like that.
"Mom, to be honest, you really should keep an eye on them," said Qin Erjie. "Don't expect your sister-in-law to manage them. She's not their biological mother, so how can she manage them? If she's too strict, you'll be unhappy, and people will say she's a wicked stepmother. If she's too lenient, she won't be able to guide them onto the right path. So, it still depends on you, your eldest brother, and Dad. You all need to keep an eye on them."
"They're fine." Qin's mother didn't think there was anything seriously wrong with the two children; they seemed alright in her presence.
"Alright?" Second Sister Qin scoffed. She didn't know where her mother got the idea that the two children were alright. Second Sister Qin didn't think the two children were alright; they were terrible. "They are alright," Qin's mother said again.
"How badly they treat their own mother, don't you care?" Qin Erjie asked.
“Their mother’s side shouldn’t have been kind to the Tian family in the first place,” Qin’s mother said. “It’s all because of Tian Keshu that our family has become like this, and your eldest brother’s career has also been affected.”
"Hehe." Second Sister Qin didn't know what to say. She had put it this way, and Qin's mother still thought the two children were alright. Let them spoil the two children and see what they become in the future.
Fortunately, those two children weren't her own. If she had children like that, she would rather not have them.
"Why are you bringing up the two children when you're talking about the Qin family?" Qin's mother frowned. "They're still young and haven't grown up yet. They're like this now, but they won't be like this later."
"Heh heh." Sister Qin sneered.
You Yun sat silently to the side. Just as Qin Erjie had said, You Yun couldn't interfere with her stepson and stepdaughter. You Yun herself was heavily pregnant; how could she take care of those two children? If they were unhappy, they would complain to their elders. You Yun felt that she hadn't yet gained a firm foothold in her husband's family. Even if she did, there were things she could manage, and things she didn't need to.
Those two kids can do whatever they want; You Yun can't control that anyway.
"..." Seeing Qin Erjie like this, Qin's mother felt heartbroken.
"Second sister, have some oranges," You Yun said.
"This orange is still quite sweet, but it's starting to taste a bit off," said Sister Qin. "You should eat fewer oranges and try other fruits instead. It was fine before you got pregnant, but now that you're pregnant, you have to be more careful. If you don't have money to buy fruit, ask your husband or your parents. Tian Keshu not only dares to ask her parents, she can also skimp on her younger siblings' money."
"..." You Yun smiled. She would naturally ask if she had no money. She couldn't possibly spend all the money she had, so she would ask her husband and in-laws to contribute money to buy food.
"Do you think we would let her unborn child go hungry?" Qin's mother said.
"Who knows?" said Sister Qin. "The two older ones still want to eat."
You Yun's daughter was a little more sensible; she didn't try to take You Yun's food. Even with her biological mother protecting her, the little girl could sense that people around her weren't treating her as well as they wanted. Even with her own mother, she was still living under someone else's roof, so she naturally became more cautious. As for the two children left behind by Tian Keshu, they only saw You Yun as an outsider and treated her rudely.
You Yun knew that Qin Erjie was simply dissatisfied with Qin's mother; Qin Erjie wasn't trying to speak up for You Yun. It was a matter between Qin's mother and her daughter, Qin Erjie, and she didn't concern herself with such things. Why bother? It would be useless; it would only make her look bad.
A mother and daughter can reconcile later, but it's not so easy for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to reconcile.
You Yun rarely did those things in front of Brother Qin; she wasn't foolish enough to think he would speak well of her. Being a second-marriage couple, not a first marriage, meant many things were different, and everyone had more reservations.
After the incident with the pastries, Li Hui bought some pastries to take home, and she also took some to give to Guo's mother. When Li Hui went there, she deliberately let others see that she had brought pastries, because Guo's mother wouldn't let her eat them, so she bought them herself.
"Here, don't say we're stingy," Li Hui said. "It was bought on the street outside, it costs money. Yani can't eat it, so here's a few yuan for you to eat yourself."
Li Hui said these words while standing at the front door of Fan Yani's house; she didn't go inside. Passersby could see Li Hui's actions, and naturally, they would say that Li Hui was filial. Those pastries cost a lot of money, and few people bought them.
"Eat up, eat up," Li Hui said. "The pastries we buy ourselves are always better than those given to us by others, and we won't owe anyone a favor."
Guo's mother held the pastries, feeling disgusted but helpless; that's just how Li Hui is.
"Okay, would you like to come in and sit down?" Guo's mother asked.
"No, I have to go back." After giving the pastries to Guo's mother, Li Hui turned and left.
Li Hui had already divided the pastries into portions, naturally eating more for herself and giving less to Guo's mother. Li Hui didn't think she had done anything wrong; after all, Guo's mother had taken the pastries away earlier.
Guo's mother watched Li Hui's departing figure and sighed.
Fan Yani didn't just lie down; she got up and walked around a bit. If she didn't move, her blood wouldn't circulate properly, which could easily lead to blood clots. Fan Yani didn't go out into the yard because it was windy there; staying inside would help her avoid the wind.
Women are the ones who need to be in postpartum confinement, and they need to take care of themselves.
Fan Yani suddenly remembered a news story she had seen in her past life: women give birth, and men observe the postpartum period. This custom was utterly terrible. Men didn't suffer much at all; it was the women who suffered. Women couldn't observe the postpartum period after giving birth and still had to do chores.
Fan Yani's male colleague once mentioned this local custom in front of everyone. That colleague strongly agreed that men should observe postpartum confinement, saying that men also suffer, that women's moods change during pregnancy, and men have to constantly appease them, and so on, offering a whole host of reasons. He also said he didn't oppose women observing postpartum confinement, but there was nothing wrong with men doing so either.
Fan Yani disliked that male colleague. When things were good, men would fight with women for them; when things were bad, men didn't care whether women suffered or not, they all thought women deserved it.
"Mom." Fan Yani saw Guo's mother return and noticed the things in her hands. "Did your sister-in-law bring you something?"
"She sent over a few pastries, saying she bought them so we wouldn't owe her any favors," said Guo's mother.
“She…that’s just how my sister-in-law is,” Fan Yani said. “She just doesn’t want others to think badly of her, so she deliberately gave it to you at the door. She even said those things. Does anyone give her pastries? Her interpersonal relationships are so bad that many people don’t want to have much contact with her.”
"Is that so?" Guo's mother asked.
“You can sense from your conversations here that many people don’t like her,” Fan Yani said. “Her cousin and cousin-in-law were originally here too, but later, her cousin-in-law was transferred to the Northwest. Nancheng is such a good place, and her cousin-in-law was transferred there for a promotion. If the family members are not good, it will still affect them.”
Fan Yani thought that if Staff Officer Xu hadn't married Shi Guilan, his future would definitely be better. With a wife like Shi Guilan, Staff Officer Xu's future was clearly predictable; it couldn't be any better. Guo Peng felt the same way; Li Hui's personality was what it was, and others even thought she had character flaws—that such a person couldn't be a good wife.
It's not that Fan Yani insists that military wives be virtuous wives. It's okay if they can't be virtuous wives, but they shouldn't do things that drag their men down.
"Yes, you're right to say that," Guo's mother sighed. "I'm just worried about your older brother... what if he..."
“Don’t worry, even if my brother isn’t in the army, he can still get a good job after leaving the military,” Fan Yani said. “He doesn’t need to go back to the countryside to farm. Farming in the countryside isn’t easy, and it’s not easy to make a lot of money by farming. In the next year or two, the land… should change.”
Fan Yani thought of the household responsibility system. Although her grades weren't great, she understood some things in real life. She believed that once the system was implemented, everyone would be more motivated and could earn some money from farming, so things wouldn't be as difficult as before.
“We have to wait,” said Guo’s mother. “Everyone is working together, but many people are slacking off and don’t want to work. They say they all get the same work points, so whether you work more or less, you still get the same work points. Many men are slacking off, not to mention the women. Our village is considered better; in some villages, people just lie around and won’t work. They’re sure no one else will starve to death.”
"..." Fan Yani searched the original owner's memories and found that such a person did indeed exist.
In Fan Yani's biological mother's village, the people were even lazier; some would rather let weeds grow on the ground than cultivate the land. The original owner rarely visited her biological parents' village. Why would she go? She took her biological father's surname, but that was for the Guo family to distinguish them. A child bride naturally couldn't share the same surname as her husband; having the same surname would just make them seem different. Different surnames would make them seem less like siblings, which would be much better.
Some families have adopted children. When they want to raise a girl as a child bride, they still won't let her have the same surname as their biological son. She might take her mother-in-law's surname or just choose any surname.
When Song Erge, Song's father, and Song's mother were coming, Qin Zihang specifically told Madam Su about it, and also told Zhang Xiaohu and the others, just so that others would know that his uncle and maternal grandparents were coming.
Qin Zihang was very happy and excited. He even went to check on the empty room and asked his father to make the bed quickly.
After Qin Yizhou finished making the bed, Qin Zihang climbed up to check it out. He touched every corner—table corners, wall corners—to see if there was any dust. Dust would make them a laughingstock; they needed to make sure everything was done properly.
"Are you done?" Qin Yizhou asked, seeing Qin Zihang go to check on the empty room again.
"Okay, okay," Qin Zihang said. "Dad, you still need to tidy up my room for me. The blankets need to be aired out, and the table needs to be wiped. I can wipe it myself, I can use a small bucket to wipe it, I..."
"Go wipe it, wipe it all," Qin Yizhou said.
"Dad, did you wipe it carefully?" Qin Zihang asked again. "Grandpa and Grandma's home in the capital is so beautiful. Our current home is not as nice as their home in the capital."
Qin Zihang could still distinguish between good and bad; the conditions in Nancheng were much worse.
"I wonder if my grandparents will like it here," Qin Zihang said.
“They’ll like it,” Qin Yizhou said. “Your grandparents used to live on a farm, and the living conditions there were… not good.”
Qin Yizhou didn't bring up whether Song's parents had slept in a cowshed. Those things were in the past, and there was no need to discuss them in front of a child as young as Qin Zihang. No one wanted to dwell on the painful past; everyone hoped for a brighter future.
"How bad is it?" Qin Zihang asked.
“It’s drafty everywhere,” Qin Yizhou said. “It’s like when you’re sleeping, the wind is blowing up from under the bed.”
"There's no wind under the bed," Qin Zihang said.
"That's because your bed is made of solid wood. Some bed boards have gaps between them, so the wind blows up from the front of the boards and it gets very cold," Qin Yizhou said. "If there's draft everywhere, it's from all directions, not just under the bed."
"Oh no, won't we get cold? We'll get a runny nose," Qin Zihang said. "A runny nose is really uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable, especially uncomfortable."
“Yes, it’s not pleasant.” Qin Yizhou nodded. “That’s why your maternal grandparents won’t look down on us.”
"That's good." Qin Zihang gently patted his chest.
I'm worried that if they don't like it, they might not stay with us anymore, or they might want to go back as soon as possible.
“They were only going to stay for a few days, not for very long,” Qin Yizhou said.
"Can't they stay here indefinitely?" Qin Zihang asked.
“They need to work; their homes are in the capital, they need to go back,” Qin Yizhou said.
"We originally lived in the capital, so will we have to go back there in the future?" Qin Zihang asked again.
“We have to go back, we’ll have to go back sooner or later,” Qin Yizhou said. “Many of the people your parents know are in the capital, your grandparents are there too, and we want to go back.”
"When are we going back?" Qin Zihang had many questions.
"We'll go back when the time is right," Qin Yizhou said. "Don't think about it too much."
"When is the right time...?"
"Stop asking. If you keep asking, you'll only end up with more questions," Qin Yizhou said. "These questions aren't important. You should ask important questions, not waste time on unnecessary things. Zihang, you're a boy. If you want to become as capable as your mother in the future, you have to do important things, understand?"
"What..." Qin Zihang immediately covered his mouth, "I have something important to do."
Song Fenglan had just come out of her room, which was now being used as her study. There were no confidential items in her study, and the bed was just the right size for her parents to sleep in. She would put the bed away after her parents returned.
Normally, the study is empty unless Song Fenglan goes there. The desk doesn't need to be moved; the room is large enough that the bed can be placed there directly.
"What important thing is it?" Song Fenglan asked, peeking out.
“We were talking about my grandparents,” Qin Zihang said. “Do you think they’ll like it here?”
"Yes, they will," Song Fenglan said with a smile. "Your grandparents won't say anything bad about this place."
However, in the eyes of the Song family, the houses here were indeed not good, not as good as their own homes. But the Song family had been through many storms; they had lived in even worse houses, and their resilience was now much stronger.
“Little Tiger asked me when my second uncle and the others would arrive,” Qin Zihang said. “I told him that my second uncle had arrived and I could hear him. Little Tiger knows that. We live so close by, he can see what my second uncle looks like as soon as he comes out.”
"Yes." Song Fenglan nodded. "Your second uncle and the others have boarded the train and will be arriving soon."
"Are you going to pick them up?" Qin Zihang asked. "I can go pick them up."
"You have class," Qin Yizhou said.
"Huh? Do I have to go to class?" Qin Zihang asked. "Can't I ask for leave?"
"No." Qin Yizhou didn't say no, it was Song Fenglan who said no, "You have to go to class, you can't skip class."
Now, Qin Zihang is asking for leave to pick up his grandparents, then he'll ask for leave to drop them off, and then there will be all sorts of other reasons for taking leave. Song Fenglan can't let Qin Zihang develop the bad habit of taking leave at will, even if Qin Zihang's grades are good.
If Qin Zihang is sick, then he definitely needs to take leave. Not only that, but he has to wait until he's much better. It's impossible for him to go back to school the day after his fever subsides, and for the teacher to give him medicine.
Teachers have so many students to manage; they can't possibly keep an eye on just one child all the time. If a child catches a cold and has a fever, it can easily turn into pneumonia, which is no small matter.
"Okay." Qin Zihang thought he could ask for leave. "When can I ask for leave?"
“You can’t ask for leave just to play,” Song Fenglan said. “You can only ask for leave at important moments.”
"Isn't it important that your maternal grandparents come?" Qin Zihang asked. "It's rare for them to come."
“That won’t work either.” Song Fenglan rejected Qin Zihang’s reason for asking for leave, “With your father here, even if he doesn’t pick you up, they know the address and can come over.”
Song Fenglan wasn't worried that her parents wouldn't be able to find her on the ground. If her parents couldn't find her, how could her second brother not find her?
According to the train schedule, the Song family would arrive in Nancheng around Friday afternoon. The Song family deliberately chose this time because they thought the children wouldn't have school on the weekend, and Song Fenglan might also be off work.
The Song family knew that Song Fenglan's work was very important, and it was unlikely that she could take time off to be with them. That didn't matter; they could spend more time with little Qin Zihang. Little Hangbao was adorable, and the Song family thought they could also go out and explore on their own and buy some things for him.
Even if Qin Yizhou didn't go to pick up the Song family, he could arrange for someone else to do so.
This is a small matter, it doesn't need to involve any particular person.
Qin Zihang's announcement made many people aware that Song Fenglan's family was coming. Other families in the compound also had relatives visiting; some even had parents who still lived there.
Knowing that Song Fenglan's parents were coming, Fatty was wondering what kind of person Song's mother would be. Song Fenglan always said that her mother taught her how to make pastries and do embroidery, which made Fatty very curious. Fatty thought that Song's mother must be a very nice person, so she prepared a pumpkin to give to Song Fenglan.
There wasn't much at home, and Sister-in-law Pang didn't have anything else to give, so she thought of giving this golden pumpkin. Pumpkins keep for a relatively long time and taste good.
On Thursday evening, Fatty Sister took a pumpkin to Song Fenglan's house.
"Not yet, we'll have to wait until tomorrow," Song Fenglan said. "It's still early."
"Tomorrow is coming soon," said the plump woman. "Prepare things early, so that we don't have to make preparations at the last minute when they arrive. It's not good to have your parents busy with that."
“That’s not necessarily true,” Song Fenglan said. “When my mother comes back, she might start doing all sorts of things.”
"So particular?" the plump woman asked, puzzled.
“It’s not that I’m particular, it’s just that she feels we haven’t kept the house clean enough,” Song Fenglan said. “My mom is very clean. When I was little, she always told me I wasn’t careful and that I should pay more attention.”
At that time, Song Fenglan felt that things weren't so easy to be careful about. For example, if a little water was spilled on the ground, she would simply stomp on it to spread it out, and the water would dry quickly. When Song's mother saw Song Fenglan doing this, she would scold her, saying that her daughter was too lazy.
It wasn't just things like that; there were other things too. Recalling those past incidents, Song Fenglan realized she used to be quite mischievous. Spreading water out with the soles of her shoes—was that washing the soles? No wonder her mother was angry; her mother thought she was making the floor even dirtier.
“My house is much dirtier than yours,” said the plump woman. “With two kids, I never thought about making it any cleaner. Even if I cleaned it, it would get dirty again soon. It’s better to let it be a little dirty; I can just wipe it down and we can manage.”
Fatty isn't afraid of people saying she's unclean; her house is relatively clean, while other people's houses are even dirtier, with all sorts of things piled up together.
"They're about the same," Song Fenglan said. "With kids at home, how clean can the house be? Even without kids, I don't think about cleaning the house every day; it's too tiring."
If only we had robot vacuums.
But robot vacuums won't be available right now; they'll have to wait a while, and that's still quite some time. Even if technology advances rapidly these days, it will still take at least twenty years.
"This pumpkin is quite heavy, it's pretty big." Song Fenglan glanced at the pumpkin on the ground.
"The pumpkins are growing very well, but I don't know what seeds fell there and they grew on their own, producing several pumpkins. This pumpkin is relatively small, not very big," said the plump woman. "I dried the bigger pumpkins into pumpkin jerky. I didn't buy them much fruit, so this is what they eat as dried fruit."
Sister-in-law Pang steamed all the pumpkins until cooked and then put them out to dry. She added some sugar while steaming to make the pumpkins sweeter. Sister-in-law Pang is a diligent person; besides dried pumpkin, she also made sauerkraut and other things.
Radishes, taro, and the like are dried in the sun and then soaked in the water used to make fermented bean curd. They can be taken out and eaten when you want to eat them.
Song Fenglan didn't make these things herself; it was mostly Fatty Sister who brought them food. Song Fenglan's family preferred to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. It wasn't that Fatty Sister was wrong; Song Fenglan thought Fatty Sister did a good job.
"That's really good," Song Fenglan said. "You're very skillful."
“That’s what I used to do back in my hometown. We’d dry any leftovers and eat them when we ran out of food,” said the plump woman. “I’ll leave the food here and go back first.”
When Fatty Sister turned around, she saw Zhang Xiaohu. Zhang Xiaohu wanted to come over and play with Qin Zihang, and he also wanted to watch TV.
"I...I wanted to play with my little brother Zihang." Zhang Xiaohu looked a little guilty when he saw his mother.
"Go ahead and play, I didn't tell you not to," said the plump woman. "Remember to come home."
"I remember, I remember, I definitely remember," Zhang Xiaohu quickly replied.
"You scared Xiaohu," Song Fenglan joked.
"Not yet"
"Because he fell down on his own, now he's afraid of me," said Sister-in-law Fatty. "I told him to be careful, to be careful, but he wouldn't listen. Now that he's like this, he's finally afraid."
Zhang Xiaohu really wanted his leg to get better quickly, but it wouldn't happen that fast, and he still had to be careful.
"Watch out, watch out, watch out!" Zhang Xiaohu said.
"Go have fun." Fatty went back home, too lazy to keep an eye on Zhang Xiaohu.
Zhang Xiaohu breathed a sigh of relief when his mother left. He looked at Song Fenglan and asked, "Auntie, was my mother very scary?"
“She did it all for you,” Song Fenglan said. “Go inside, Zihang is at home, you can play together.”
Fan Yani still has a few days left in her postpartum confinement period. She wasn't surprised to hear that Song Fenglan's family was coming.
“Her family knew to let her stay in the city, and she also knew to help her family clear their names as soon as possible,” Fan Yani said. “Their family relationship is very good.”
"It should be very good." Yue Hongwei nodded. He sat on the edge of the bed to look at the child and keep his wife company.
“It’s enviable,” Fan Yani said. “However… their family has suffered a lot. Most people might not be able to endure it.”
Despite her envy, Fan Yani wasn't jealous. She knew she couldn't do what Song Fenglan had done.
After Fan Yani transmigrated into this world, she increasingly felt that the people living in this era were remarkable, able to survive. However, Fan Yani also felt that many things in this era were difficult and inconvenient. Not only did you need money to buy things, but you also needed coupons, which was too difficult for people who were bad at math. Wouldn't it be so much better to just buy one item at a time?
To make ends meet, Fan Yani had to be mindful of money and ration coupons, figuring out how to make life a little easier. Fan Yani couldn't sew clothes herself, unlike the original owner of the body who could. Even when she tried to make clothes based on the original owner's memories, she still didn't do a very good job, so she could only buy ready-made clothes.
Yue Hongwei's clothes were fine; the army issued him uniforms, and he wore them. As for Fan Yani's own clothes, she had to buy some herself, so the children could wear hand-me-downs from other children, which would save some money.
“I can’t go out until I’m out of postpartum confinement,” Fan Yani said.
"You want to see them?" Yue Hongwei asked.
"It's not that I'm overthinking it, I'm just a little curious," Fan Yani said.
Just then, the hen at Fatty's house hatched eggs. Zhang Xiaohu, who had previously said he wanted to watch, no longer did. Zhang Xiaohu was thinking about eating the eggs and chicken legs, not about watching the chicks emerge from the eggs. He was waiting for the chicks to grow up so he could eat chicken later.
Two eggs failed to hatch, so Sister-in-law Pang told the hen to incubate them for a couple more days. If it still didn't work, she would just throw the two eggs away.
The chicks have just hatched and can't eat large corn kernels yet. Aunt Pang is reluctant to feed them rice grains; she can feed them rice grains for the first day or two, but not anymore. She's thinking of buying cornmeal to feed the chicks, along with rice bran, so they can eat more different kinds of food when they grow a bit bigger.
“Your son was thinking of asking Zihang to come and see the chicks, but now he doesn’t even mention it,” said the plump woman.
“Chicks are nothing new,” Zhang Chenghai said. “They’ve hatched. We’ll catch a few and take them over in a few days.”
“I remember, I haven’t forgotten,” said the plump woman. “Your son ate so much of their food, we can only give them so little in return. We still need to raise the chicks a bit bigger so they’ll have a better chance of surviving.”
“Yes, you see.” Zhang Chenghai had no objections; he trusted that Sister-in-law Pang could handle these matters.
While Tang Lu was undergoing closed training at the training base, these people could call home, but it wasn't something they could do casually. When the Song family came to Nancheng, Aunt Song didn't call Tang Lu. She had already told the Song family that Tang Lu was a member of the Tang family and that they shouldn't interfere.
At this moment, Tang Lu is in class. She trains during the day and has classes in the evening.
"It's so difficult," Jian Lili sighed.
During the break, Jian Lili couldn't help but say that the content was different from what they learned in high school; it was much more complex. Jian Lili and the others had never been near airplanes before, let alone fighter jets, so they had no idea what was going on. There was so much to learn now.
They not only had to learn about fighter jets, but also foreign languages. They weren't just required to fly one type of fighter jet, but also others. Some fighter jet manuals were in foreign languages, and the control panel also used alphabetical notation.
“I used to think flying a fighter jet was cool, but now I realize how cool it could be. There’s so much to learn, so much to learn. I feel like I’m going crazy. How can there be so much?” Jian Lili said. “Besides seeing the new fighter jet when I came here, I haven’t even touched it yet.”
"Wait, there will be a chance to touch it eventually," Tang Lu said.
"The instructor said that if any of us fail, we'll be sent back," Jian Lili said.
“Then I’ll try my best to make myself qualified,” Tang Lu replied. “Man proposes, God disposes.”
“Yes, all we can do is try our best.” Jian Lili nodded. “If you are sent back, my parents will definitely say: ‘Look, look, we told you a long time ago to study something else, but you refused to believe us and insisted on studying this. Now that you’ve been sent back, you can only study something else, right? You’ve taken so many detours, are you happy now?’”
Jian Lili frowned and sighed, mimicking the expressions her parents would make perfectly.
"Would your parents really say that?" Tang Lu asked.
“Yes, absolutely. I know they’ll say that even if I had a brain. They’ll go around telling everyone, and then all my relatives will know I chose the wrong major. They’ll all think I’m too naive, that I’m too presumptuous. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I’ve tried. If I’ve tried and it still doesn’t work, then I won’t regret it.”
Jian Lili was unwilling to give up without trying. After arriving, she indeed discovered the difficulties involved. Becoming a pilot was not as simple as it seemed. Pilots also had to learn how to operate aircraft, study aircraft-related matters, and learn foreign languages. It wasn't like driving a toy wooden car without having to learn those operations.
There's no one pushing the fighter jet from behind; once it's airborne, it's mostly up to the pilot to see how he flies.
“You won’t regret coming here,” Tang Lu said firmly. “Me too. Just like you said, if you try your best, you won’t regret it. The worst thing is not trying and not knowing anything, then you’ll regret it.”
“That’s right,” Jian Lili said. “No matter how difficult it is, we must keep learning, keep studying!”
Jian Lili clenched her fists. They had to study hard, and one day they would become professional pilots.
Pilot training is undoubtedly arduous. The instructors have said that if anyone can't persevere, they can drop out early so as not to waste everyone's time. Those students have come all this way; they genuinely want to become pilots, so they're not about to give up easily. No matter how many difficulties lie ahead, they must persevere and strive harder.
Right now, Qin Zihang was wiping the table in his room with a small bucket, not even missing the drawers. Qin Zihang had often hidden food in his room, and he wanted to find the uneaten food to keep the ants out of his room.
"Didn't we already mop the floor?" Song Fenglan saw Qin Zihang and Zhang Xiaohu watching TV for a while, and then Qin Zihang took a small bucket into the room.
Zhang Xiaohu also came over, leaning on his crutch beside him, wishing he could go up and help clean as well.
“There are other places too.” Qin Zihang took out a few candies from the drawer.
"When was it put in?" Song Fenglan asked.
"It was put in during the Chinese New Year," Qin Zihang said. "We didn't eat it."
"Is it not tasty?" Song Fenglan hadn't expected Qin Zihang to hide the candy for so long.
"There's something else to eat. Eating too much candy will cause cavities." Qin Zihang was worried about cavities, so he didn't dare eat too much candy in a day. If he had any extra candy, he would put it in a drawer. It had been there for more than a month. "The candy is still edible, it's all fine. Here, have some, Little Tiger Brother."
"..." Song Fenglan's lips twitched slightly. Qin Zihang was afraid of getting cavities and didn't eat candy, so he gave the candy to Zhang Xiaohu. Wasn't he afraid that Zhang Xiaohu would get cavities?
"Take one a day, don't eat too many," Qin Zihang instructed Zhang Xiaohu. "I also have some toys, do you want them?"
"I want it!" Zhang Xiaohu was so envious of Qin Zihang, who had so many toys.
"Mom, can I give this to Brother Xiaohu?" Qin Zihang asked.
"Aren't you going to play anymore?" Song Fenglan asked.
"We're not playing with some of the toys anymore, let's give some to Little Tiger Brother to play with," Qin Zihang said. "There are also some things we need to tidy up."
"Go ahead and do it." Song Fenglan wanted to see what other tricks Qin Zihang could come up with.
"Mom, where's the apron?" Qin Zihang was still thinking about putting one on.
Skirts, without aprons, will get clothes dirty, and dirty clothes are hard to wash. "And you also need to wear arm sleeves."
“Okay, I’ll bring them all to you,” Song Fenglan said.
While Song Fenglan went to get her things, Qin Zihang was tidying up. He still had his old schoolbag, which his mother had made for him, and he couldn't give it to Zhang Xiaohu. He didn't want some of the toys they had bought; he put them aside and gave them to Zhang Xiaohu.
Qin Zihang had packed everything neatly, and when Song Fenglan came over, she noticed several toys nearby. Song Fenglan didn't say that Qin Zihang couldn't give them to Zhang Xiaohu, but she wondered if he should pack them up, since Zhang Xiaohu's legs wouldn't allow him to carry them properly.
"Yizhou, take Xiaohu back later and give him those toys to take with him," Song Fenglan said. "Your son isn't playing with them anymore."
"My second uncle said he'd bring me new toys," Qin Zihang said. "I need to make room for them."
Qin Zihang has many toys. When Song's parents send things over, they also send toys. Song Fenglan and her husband sometimes buy toys for Qin Zihang as well. Qin Zihang has more things than other children his age.
When Qin Zihang lived at his aunt's house, he didn't have many toys to play with. Now, he has a huge collection of toys and plenty of things to do.
"Do you think Xiaohu is a garbage dump? A recycling center?" Qin Yizhou was a little embarrassed; these were all toys his son had played with. What Song Fenglan hadn't said, Qin Yizhou said aloud.
“These toys are all in good condition, they’re not trash,” Zhang Xiaohu quickly said, afraid that Qin Yizhou would really throw them into the trash.
"It's fine," Song Fenglan said. "I'll have your uncle help you take it back in a bit."
"Mom, should we tidy up the wardrobe?" Qin Zihang asked.
"What are you packing?" Song Fenglan opened the wardrobe to take a look.
"My second uncle also needs to put his clothes away," Qin Zihang said.
“Your second uncle can just put the clothes on the stool next to him; you don’t need to tidy up so much space,” Song Fenglan said.
When the fat woman and her husband saw Qin Yizhou bringing Zhang Xiaohu over, they were surprised to see that he had also brought toys.
“Isn’t this Zihang’s toy?” said the chubby woman.
“Zihang doesn’t want it anymore, give it to Xiaohu,” Qin Yizhou said. “He’s waiting for his uncle to bring him a new gift.”
"These toys are all still very new, they're all in good condition." The plump woman looked at the toys; they were such nice things.
“He still has toys in his room, so he gave them to Xiaohu,” Qin Yizhou said. “He needs to make room for his uncle.”
If Qin Yizhou didn't know his son's personality, he would have thought his son wanted Song Erge to buy more toys.
"Thank you all," Zhang Chenghai said.
The fat woman looked at Zhang Xiaohu, whose eyes were full of longing. Naturally, the fat woman couldn't say no, "You're lucky."
"Yay!" Zhang Xiaohu was very happy. He knew about the toys his parents had left behind. He could wear other people's old clothes, so naturally he could play with other people's old toys. His little brother Zihang's toys weren't old either; they were all very good.
Friday afternoon arrived quickly. Qin Yizhou arranged for someone to drive and pick up the Song family. When the Song family arrived in Nancheng, they could feel that Nancheng was far inferior to the capital.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
