Chapter 59 Registration Mom, are you skipping class?
Qin Yizhou came out of the kitchen. He heard his son say that he didn't know how... His son always liked to talk badly about him in front of him but not in front of his wife.
"Dad never prepares gifts for Mom." Qin Zihang didn't pay attention to whether his father came out or not. What he knew was that if he didn't do well, his father would have to do even worse, so that his mother would love him, her baby, even more.
“Our Hangbao is the best boy,” Song Fenglan said. Seeing her son comparing himself to his father like this, she had to make him happy. “Mom doesn’t need a new schoolbag. Mom is going to university and will be going to the lab at her workplace, so she might not need these bags. Our Hangbao is in elementary school, and elementary school students can use new schoolbags more often.”
When these children go to junior high and high school, they will find that schoolbags are not that important at all. What matters is how many books the schoolbag can hold. Whether it looks good or not is secondary.
“My schoolbag was also made by my mom,” Qin Zihang said. “My mom’s schoolbag is pretty.”
“Our Hangbao will continue to use the schoolbag that Mom made. Hangbao, you must work hard and get into university in the future,” Song Fenglan said.
"Yes, yes, Hangbao wants to go to university just like Mommy." Qin Zihang looked at the cloth on the table. "Mommy, this cloth..."
"Put it aside for now," Song Fenglan said.
"My mom taught me how to do it, and I learned." - Qin Zihang
road.
"Your hands are so small, they haven't grown up yet, don't touch the needle and thread." Song Fenglan was worried that her son might accidentally prick himself with the needle. She herself had been pricked many times when she was learning embroidery as a child.
At that time, Song's mother did feel sorry for Song Fenglan, but she still let Song Fenglan continue to do embroidery. In Song's mother's view, if Song Fenglan worked hard when she was young, she would have a skill when she grew up. Whether Song Fenglan wanted to make clothes for men or support her family, it was fine.
"How big does it have to be?" Qin Zihang asked.
“When you’re a little older,” Song Fenglan said, “you’ll naturally know then.”
"Mom, remember to take me with you when you register for university tomorrow." Qin Zihang didn't know how old he would be before he made schoolbags. But he knew his mother was going to register for university, and he had to go with her.
“Okay, I’ll take you there, I’ll take you there,” Song Fenglan said.
"He's been nagging you all day about wanting you to take him to university, saying he absolutely has to go," Qin Yizhou said, "as if he's afraid you won't take him."
Qin Yizhou decided to set aside his son's words for the moment. He walked over to his son, who humbly straightened his back. Qin Yizhou gently patted Qin Zihang's head; the kid was quite good at pretending.
“Let’s go together tomorrow,” Song Fenglan said with a smile. “It’s not far from here. We can take the bus, it’ll be quick. Walking will be a bit slower, it’ll take more than half an hour.”
Song Fenglan knew someone had walked that way before, and calculating the time, it should take about the same amount of time. It took about the same amount of time to walk from the research institute to Nancheng University, and also about the same time to walk from the staff quarters to Nancheng University. Since Song Fenglan wouldn't be spending much time at the university, the walking time wouldn't matter much.
"Are we walking there?" Qin Zihang asked.
“Let’s take a car,” Song Fenglan said.
There are some small hills here, and not many people live near them.
Universities and similar institutions are also built in more suburban areas, allowing for larger campuses. In the future, as cities expand, these suburban schools will gradually move closer to city centers.
Fan Yani hasn't been discharged from the hospital yet, and Song Fenglan's family hasn't delivered the eggs. It's not too late to deliver them after Fan Yani is discharged from the hospital.
Qin Yizhou told Song Fenglan about buying eggs, and Qin Zihang had something to say when he heard about it.
"There was a person who was given an egg with a rotten shell by the shopkeepers," Qin Zihang said. "Those people are so mean. It's the same price, why give someone a bad one? That's bullying."
"Did you help them?" Song Fenglan asked.
“Yes, I stepped forward.” Qin Zihang nodded. “Dad stepped forward too.”
Qin Zihang is just a child; how could those adults possibly listen to him? If Qin Yizhou hadn't been there, the shop assistants wouldn't have been able to exchange the item so quickly.
“They’re all bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong,” Qin Yizhou said.
“These sales clerks have secure jobs, but they don’t give ordinary people a friendly look when they go to buy things,” Song Fenglan said. “It’s normal for things like this to happen. It happened when you saw it, and it must have happened even when you didn’t see it.”
At this time, many salespeople were opportunistic and treated customers poorly, acting superior and indifferent. They didn't care whether customers bought or not; they figured there was no shortage of customers, and those items would sell anyway. Some customers worried that the salespeople would retaliate against them later, so they could only endure it and dared not say anything to the salespeople.
Don't even mention complaints. Who cares about your complaints? It's such a small thing, and even if you complain, nobody will listen to you.
“When we were in the capital, we encountered similar situations when we went to shops,” Song Fenglan said. “Once, I was buying flour. The quality of the flour was different; the color was different, and the texture was different. I could tell at a glance that they were giving me stale flour, and I didn’t want it. There were black bits on it, and I didn’t know what they were. The shop assistant said I was being too picky and gave me a lecture, so I didn’t buy any more.”
Given the circumstances at the time, and with the Song family still not exonerated, arguing with them was pointless and would only make things more difficult for the Song family.
So Song Fenglan could only say she wouldn't buy it. But when she didn't buy it, the shop assistant said she was wasting their time. Song Fenglan was annoyed, but she could only endure it; if she didn't, she would be the one who suffered. Song Fenglan hated that kind of situation. Even after marrying Qin Yizhou, there were still people who made things difficult for her.
In those extraordinary times, all sorts of strange and depraved things came out.
“This kind of thing can happen anywhere,” Song Fenglan said. “They don’t lack customers, they don’t have the pressure to meet sales targets, and they’re not afraid of anything.”
Those shop assistants aren't afraid to argue with customers; they'll even say things like they won't sell to a certain customer, and no one can do anything about it.
"Things will get better." Qin Yizhou gripped Song Fenglan's hand tightly, his eyes filled with heartache.
“It will get better.” Song Fenglan nodded.
This year, reform and opening up will begin, and next year, there will be officially recognized self-employed individuals. Right now, people are still buying and selling things secretly, afraid of being labeled as speculators, which would be a real problem. Once the time comes and the policies are relaxed, these people, with their hard work, will surely be able to make a lot of money.
"Mom, are you going to wear new clothes tomorrow?" Qin Zihang asked.
“When you start school, you won’t wear new clothes, so Mom won’t have to wear any either,” Song Fenglan said.
On Qin Zihang's happy first day of kindergarten, he did wear new clothes. Later, when school started again, Song Fenglan didn't specifically prepare new clothes for Qin Zihang. Song Fenglan herself didn't think about needing new clothes for the first day of school; whether she had new clothes or not was irrelevant, as she already had plenty of clothes.
"Mom is dressed up so beautifully," Qin Zihang said, "to be the most beautiful mom."
“Then you’re the most handsome little one, aren’t you?” Song Fenglan couldn’t help but rub her son’s cheek.
“Yes, I’m the coolest kid.” Qin Zihang said.
"Are you doing this for your mother or for yourself?" Qin Yizhou asked.
"For Mom's sake, and for my sake too." Qin Zihang thought for a while. "Mom, if I'm close to you, people won't say you don't like Mom or don't like Hangbao. Isn't that great?"
"..." Qin Yizhou's lips twitched slightly. Qin Zihang was indeed his precious son.
"Dad, are you unhappy?" Qin Zihang asked.
"Happy, happy," Qin Yizhou said.
“Dad, it’s okay if you’re not happy,” Qin Zihang said. “Mom and I are happy.”
"Dad is happy too, the whole family is happy." Qin Yizhou felt that after his son said that, he didn't seem to be a member of this family.
Li Hui originally didn't want to visit Fan Yani at the hospital; she wanted to wait until Fan Yani was discharged before coming. However, she worried that if she didn't come, people might say she couldn't have children herself and was just jealous that others could.
So Li Hui came, bringing a bouquet of flowers. Li Hui didn't know what Fan Yani could eat. She originally wanted to bring some fruit, but then thought better of it. If Fan Yani got an upset stomach, she didn't want to be blamed. It was better to buy a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Fan Yani wasn't particularly upset when she saw the bouquet of flowers, but Guo's mother felt it was a waste.
“Put it a little to the side. These are all new mothers. Fresh flowers have pollen, and the babies are still small, so it's not suitable for them to be exposed to pollen,” Fan Yani said. “Some people are prone to allergies.”
In her past life, when Fan Yani went to the hospital, the hospital generally didn't allow sending flowers, for fear that someone might have a pollen allergy. Now, there might not be so many rules, but Fan Yani was still worried that something might happen, so she thought of putting the flowers a little further away.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you wait a while and take it back?" Fan Yani said.
"Are you disgusted?" Li Hui frowned.
"Not really. It's the same if Mom takes it home for me," Fan Yani said. "Mom needs to go back and rest."
"If you don't want it, then don't want it," Li Hui said unhappily.
"Sister-in-law, you're not angry, are you?" Fan Yani really wanted to roll her eyes. She was the one who had just given birth, not Li Hui. "Sister-in-law, you have to be careful when giving birth. Babies have weak immune systems, so there are certain things to consider. As for the mother, she's just given birth, her body is depleted, and her immunity is lowered. Even if I don't think about myself, there are other people in this room. What if they feel uncomfortable? We have to be responsible not only for ourselves but also for others, right?"
Fan Yani thought that Li Hui hadn't thought things through properly when she came to the hospital—what she could and couldn't bring. Even bringing some fruit would have been better than bringing a bouquet. Fan Yani is a woman, and she does like bouquets, but this is a hospital, not at home. At home, for the sake of her child, Fan Yani couldn't possibly place the flowers too close to the baby.
“Sister-in-law, don’t be angry. This is how things are. You haven’t had children yet, so naturally you wouldn’t know,” Fan Yani said. “Slowly, after seeing it a few more times, you’ll eventually find out.”
Li Hui looked at Guo's mother, but Guo's mother did not look at Li Hui.
"I'm done eating, I'll head back now." Guo's mother looked at the bouquet of flowers beside her and took them home.
Li Hui stomped her foot and turned to leave.
When Fan Yani saw Li Hui like this, she was speechless. What Li Hui said was the absolute truth.
“Mom, you can stay at my house. Don’t upset my sister-in-law. She’s been unhappy these past few days,” Fan Yani said. “My sister-in-law… never mind, let’s not talk to her. Mom, go home early. Be careful on the road, stay in well-lit areas. If there’s no light, remember to turn on your flashlight.”
“You can still see it now,” Guo’s mother said. “It’s such a short distance, it’s not like you can’t see it.”
“Okay,” Fan Yani said. “Just be careful, and let me know if anything happens. I’ll be discharged from the hospital tomorrow anyway. Just put these flowers in a vase for now.”
If they throw this bouquet away, who knows what Li Huihui will think? We should keep it. We can put it in the yard instead of in the living room.
Fan Yani thought it over. It's just a bouquet of flowers. There's plenty of room in the house.
“Your sister-in-law doesn’t know these things,” Guo’s mother said. “I’ll take her back first.”
"I won't hold it against my sister-in-law, and if she doesn't hold it against me, I'll be grateful," Fan Yani said.
Guo's mother returned home with an empty food box and flowers, without chasing after Li Hui. The relationship between Guo's mother and Li Hui wasn't good; Li Hui was indifferent to Guo's mother, pretending not to hear her when she spoke. If Guo's mother said more, Li Hui would complain that she talked too much, so Guo's mother could only say less.
When Li Hui returned home and saw Guo Peng, she naturally told him what had happened at the hospital.
“I went to see Fan Yani, your sister, and all I brought was a bouquet of flowers,” Li Hui said. “I thought your sister would like them, but she said she’s allergic to pollen, and that there were babies and new mothers there, so she said she wanted to put the flowers nearby. If I hadn’t been there, would she have just thrown them away?”
“That’s a hospital… there might be a misunderstanding.” Seeing his wife’s displeasure, Guo Peng quickly said, “Yani just gave birth, she’s just too concerned about the baby.”
“I think she was just mocking me for not being able to get pregnant and for not being able to give birth.” Li Hui became angrier the more she thought about it, and the more she felt that Fan Yani had said those things on purpose. She hadn’t seen any other pregnant women say those things; it was just Fan Yani talking. “Who knows what she’s saying about me to your mother behind my back.”
"No, I don't think so," Guo Peng said.
"How could there not be?" Li Hui gritted her teeth. "If others were talking about me behind my back, would you even know?"
"I……"
“One of them is your adopted sister, your former child bride, and the other is your biological mother. You’re siding with them and don’t believe me,” Li Hui said. “Do you want to live with me or with them? Do you also dislike that I can’t have children?”
"No, no," Guo Peng quickly coaxed his wife. "It's not your fault, absolutely not your fault. It doesn't matter if we don't have children, as long as you're here. Don't argue with them, they're all from the countryside, how would they know so much?"
Guo Peng couldn't bear to hurt his wife, so he could only say these things about his biological mother.
"Really?" Li Hui glanced at Guo Peng sideways.
"Of course it's true," Guo Peng said. "We're going to be together for life, as husband and wife."
Guo Peng hugged Li Hui and comforted her for a while. He thought he still had to talk to his mother and tell her not to talk about children in front of Li Hui anymore. What era are we living in? It's not necessary to have a biological child. If that's not possible, then we can adopt a child.
"Your sister, your own mother..."
“I’ll talk to them,” Guo Peng said. “You were kind to them, they shouldn’t have acted that way.”
“You’d better explain it properly,” Li Hui said.
“Okay, I’ll go tell them in a bit,” Guo Peng said.
Then, Guo Peng actually went to see his mother, knowing that she must know that Li Hui couldn't have children.
“Mom, it’s not that Li Hui can’t have children, it’s just that she has a hard time getting pregnant.” Guo Peng looked at his mother who was knitting a sweater. “You and Yani shouldn’t rub salt into her wounds, and don’t let her misunderstand.”
Hearing Guo Peng's words, Guo's mother felt extremely uncomfortable. She hadn't said those things herself, yet her son was saying them to her.
"It's up to you," Guo's mother said weakly.
How Guo Peng and his wife will live in the future is beyond Guo's mother's control.
"You do owe Yani after all," Guo's mother said. "Yani treats you like a younger sister, but you haven't helped her or bullied her. Don't talk about your marital issues in front of Yani."
"I……"
"Just consider it a family scandal that shouldn't be aired in public," said Guo's mother. "Yani just gave birth, and she still has to take care of the baby. She didn't think about that much."
Guo's mother was worried that Guo Peng would say things he shouldn't in front of Fan Yani. It was one thing for her eldest son to say these things in front of her, but what was the point of him saying them in front of Fan Yani?
It's all the eldest son's fault. He didn't marry Fan Yani; instead, he married Li Hui, and that's why so many things have happened.
Fan Yani is so good. She grew up in the Guo family, they know her well, and she's hardworking and diligent. Guo's mother thinks it's Guo Peng's fault for missing out on Fan Yani, and that Guo Peng will definitely regret it later.
"Mom..." Guo Peng wanted to say something, but when Fan Yani's man returned, Guo Peng didn't say anything more.
"Big brother's here," Yue Hongwei said.
"I have some things to take care of, so I'll head back now," Guo Peng said.
Yue Hongwei didn't try to stop Guo Peng; he didn't like Guo Peng. Guo Peng was too biased towards Li Hui. If Li Hui were a good person, it wouldn't be so bad, but Li Hui had many flaws. It would be fine if she didn't hurt others, but unfortunately, Li Hui was someone who liked to hurt people.
Watching Guo Peng leave in such a hurry, Guo's mother looked down and saw that he had slipped two yuan into her hand. Was her eldest son giving her money to shut her up?
"Mom, I know you'll have to work hard these next few days, so please don't overwork yourself," Yue Hongwei said. "It's so late, don't knit, or you'll hurt your eyes."
"Since you have nothing to do, why not knit something?" said Guo's mother.
After Guo's mother arrived, Yue Hongwei and his wife gave her some money so she could buy groceries. They decided that when Guo's mother returned to her hometown, they would give her a large red envelope (cash gift). Guo's mother was Fan Yani's adoptive mother; even if she were her biological mother, they felt they should repay her for all the hard work she had done for them.
Yue Hongwei and his wife haven't said anything yet; they'll have to wait and see what they do. If they say anything now, it'll just be empty talk. All they can do now is give her more money for groceries, so that Guo's mother doesn't have to pay for them herself.
Li Hui was unaware of all this; she still felt that Fan Yani had spent Guo's mother's money and that Guo's mother was siding with Fan Yani.
On the first day of the new year, Qin Zihang got up early to take his mother to school for registration.
This feels so novel!
Previously, his parents would take him to school to register, but now he takes his mother to school to register.
Song Fenglan was still asleep when Qin Zihang woke up. Fortunately, Qin Zihang didn't wake Song Fenglan, allowing his mother to sleep a little longer.
Today was registration day, and Song Fenglan didn't go to the research institute to work overtime, so she naturally slept a little later. Anyway, it wasn't very far for them to go to Nancheng University, and taking the bus would be much faster. The teachers at the school wouldn't run away, and besides, even if Song Fenglan didn't meet her counselor and didn't register, someone would help her register, so she wouldn't have to run back and forth.
Song Fenglan got up around nine o'clock, washed her face, brushed her teeth, ate breakfast, and tidied up. It was almost nine forty by then.
"Mom, hurry up, hurry up!" Qin Zihang called from the doorway. "Mom, hurry up, hurry up!"
"No need to rush," Song Fenglan said.
"The car is here." Cao Fang entered the courtyard; the car belonged to the research institute. Cao Fang knew that Song Fenglan was going to register at school today, and everything was arranged so that Song Fenglan wouldn't have to take the bus.
Cao Fang is meticulous and knows how to arrange things properly.
"It'll be quick here," Cao Fang said, adding that these people didn't need to rush.
"Did you hear that? We'll be there soon." Song Fenglan looked at her son.
"What if the teacher is hungry and wants to eat early?" Qin Zihang said.
"Can't the teacher have a drink of water if she's hungry?" Song Fenglan said with amusement.
"If you drink too much water, you'll need to go to the toilet," Qin Zihang said. "Let's go there early so the teacher doesn't have to wait for us. It's wrong to make the teacher wait for us; we should be the ones waiting for the teacher."
"..." Song Fenglan looked at her son helplessly. Who was going to school anyway?
Song Fenglan took the bag, Qin Yizhou held Qin Zihang's hand, but Song Fenglan did not hold her son's hand, and Qin Zihang reached out his hand.
"Hurry up, hurry up," Qin Zihang urged.
"Alright, that's enough, let's go, let's set off," Song Fenglan said.
"Let's go," Qin Yizhou and his son said in unison.
They got into the car together and arrived at the gate of Nancheng University together.
Song Fenglan didn't let the driver take the car inside; she wanted to explore the university properly and take Qin Zihang with her. Qin Zihang had come with Song Fenglan mainly to see the school.
It wasn't just Song Fenglan who brought her husband and children to register; other people also brought their children to register.
The first college entrance examination results after the resumption of the college entrance examination were released. Many of the students were quite old, and some were already married with children. Some were planning to abandon their wives and children to find new wives, while others were thinking about bringing their families to live with them in the future. Everyone had different thoughts.
Song Fenglan and her husband arrived with their child, with Cao Fang following behind. No one else seemed to notice them with the child. They quickly arrived at the registration point, registered, and planned to discuss the rest later.
"Sign up, sign up, sign up," Qin Zihang said from the other end, walking around his mother.
"Slow down, don't rush," Song Fenglan said. "There are other people here."
Although there weren't many people ahead of her in line, Song Fenglan still reminded Qin Zihang to be careful not to bump into anyone.
"Mom, are you happy to go to school?" Qin Zihang asked.
"Happy, happy." How could Song Fenglan say that going to school was not happy? She was afraid that her son would say he was unhappy about going to school and that he didn't want to go to school anymore. "Being able to go to school is a very happy thing."
“Yes, I’m going to school now,” Qin Zihang said. “Mom goes to school, she has to do homework, read books, and learn a lot of things. Mom also has to sit in the classroom to attend classes and listen to the teacher.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Song Fenglan said.
"Teacher, teacher, please register my mom." Qin Zihang rushed over as soon as he saw the people in front of him leave.
The counselor smiled when she saw how cute Qin Zihang was.
"Bring the documents over, and register your mother," the counselor said.
"This is my mom, this is my mom." Qin Zihang tugged at Qin Yizhou's sleeve, then turned around and realized he'd grabbed the wrong one, so he tried again. This time, Qin Zihang grabbed Song Fenglan's sleeve. "That was my dad just now, this is my mom. My mom is going to university, not my dad. My mom is amazing, she got in on her own, and she's going to university."
"Yes, your mother is very capable," the counselor said.
“Your university is also very prestigious,” Qin Zihang said. “My mother went to a prestigious university.”
"That's right." The counselor found Qin Zihang's chubby little face much cuter. How could there be such an adorable child? Today was another day of being persuaded to want to have a baby.
"Mom, this is the teacher, quickly greet the teacher!" Qin Zihang was afraid that his mother hadn't greeted the teacher, and that the teacher might not like her. "Teacher, my mom is so nice. My mom will definitely study well, and she's not naughty."
"Teacher," Song Fenglan called out. She watched her son chattering away on the other end of the line. Her son really was quite the talker.
Registration went very smoothly; it was completed in no time.
Song Fenglan didn't live on campus, and the counselor gave her a few words of advice. The counselor had already been called in by the leadership and spoken to a few times, so the counselor only knew of Song Fenglan's existence. The counselor was told not to ask questions that weren't appropriate and to just focus on doing their job well.
"That's fine," the counselor said.
"Is that all? Is there anything else?" Qin Zihang couldn't help but ask again.
"That's all. You can wander around the area near the school," the counselor said.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Qin Zihang said.
"The school is very big, be careful not to get lost," the counselor reminded.
“I’m big enough now, I won’t get lost. I’ll watch over Mom so she won’t get lost,” Qin Zihang said. “I’ll walk with Mom.”
The counselor watched Song Fenglan and her family leave, and then had to process the paperwork for other students.
Qin Zihang was very happy, his eyes were almost squinting into slits from smiling.
"Mom, let's go for a walk," Qin Zihang said.
"Okay, let's walk around a bit," Song Fenglan said. "Are you tired?"
"I'm not tired, I can still walk," Qin Zihang said.
Seeing his wife and son so happy, Qin Yizhou was also in a very good mood. The family walked around Nancheng University together, taking their time to explore.
Winter temperatures in the southern part of the city are milder than in the north, and some trees still have green leaves. There are many students on the road; some are wearing scarves, some are wearing hats, and some are carrying books.
"Thick books." Qin Zihang's eyes lit up when he saw the books other people were holding. "Mom, look, thick books, university books."
Qin Zihang stood on tiptoe to get a better look, but the people on the roadside quickly walked past, and Qin Zihang watched their backs for a while.
“There’s also a library here, and the library has lots of books,” Song Fenglan said.
"Can we go in?" Qin Zihang asked curiously.
"We should be able to go in and take a look," Song Fenglan said. "But we need to be quiet in the library; everyone is reading quietly."
"Okay." Qin Zihang just wanted to wander around everywhere. He wanted to see the classrooms, the library, and many, many other places.
Song Fenglan and her husband took Qin Zihang to see the school. They first went to the classroom. The desks and chairs in the university were different from those in the primary school. The university desks and chairs consisted of a long table with several chairs behind it. Qin Zihang wanted to sit down and see if the university chairs were more comfortable.
"Be careful," Song Fenglan said.
The group arrived at the empty classroom; no one was attending classes there today.
Song Fenglan looked at Qin Zihang; the chair was about to be pulled down. Worried that Qin Zihang might accidentally get his hand caught, Song Fenglan had to stand beside him and keep a close eye on him.
"It's alright." Qin Yizhou put his arm around Song Fenglan.
Qin Zihang tried one chair, then another, and then got off the chair to look at it.
"Mom, this chair seems to be a little broken," Qin Zihang said.
With so many classrooms and so many desks and chairs, it's normal for a few chairs to be a little broken.
"Mom, you have to be careful when you sit down," Qin Zihang said. "Don't sit on a broken chair. If you sit on a broken chair, you'll fall on your bottom and it will hurt a lot."
“Okay, I definitely won’t sit on a bad chair.” Song Fenglan looked at her son. “Mom isn’t here every day.”
"School's out," Qin Zihang said.
“University is different from primary school,” Song Fenglan said. “Mom will be spending more time at work in the future and will rarely come to university.”
"You rarely come?" Qin Zihang asked, puzzled.
“Yes, studying in the research institute’s lab is still studying.” Song Fenglan worried that her son would keep saying he wanted to come to university, but then he wouldn’t be able to find her. Another thing was, if others didn’t see Song Fenglan at university, would they joke with Qin Zihang, saying, “Your mother didn’t even get into university; I didn’t see her go?”
Song Fenglan didn't want her son to be deceived by others, didn't want him to cry loudly, and didn't want him to say that she, as his mother, had lied to him, but that she hadn't lied to him.
"Wow, is it really that different?" Qin Zihang asked.
“Yes, it’s that different. You’ll understand when you go to university,” Song Fenglan said. “If someone says that Mom isn’t at university, that’s perfectly normal, because Mom went to the lab, understand?”
"Mom, university is really big, and we have to go to many places to study." Qin Zihang looked at his short legs. "There are so many roads, I can hardly walk anymore."
"Let your dad carry you," Song Fenglan said, knowing Qin Yizhou had good stamina.
Qin Yizhou even did weight training during his training sessions; he could carry very heavy things while training, let alone a small child like Qin Zihang.
Then, Qin Yizhou carried Qin Zihang, and they went to the school library. Qin Zihang stared wide-eyed at the rows and rows of books—there were just so many! He had never seen so many books before; the library was enormous.
Qin Zihang almost shouted out loud, but he quickly covered his mouth with his small hand and looked around. He managed not to yell out loud.
After leaving the library, Qin Zihang started talking non-stop again.
"Mom, there are so many books inside!" Qin Zihang said. "So many books, are we going to read them all?"
“You don’t have to read them all,” Song Fenglan said. “You can read as many books as you want.”
"If you don't finish watching it, but others do, won't those who don't watch it fall behind?" Qin Zihang asked. "If you fall behind, won't you get beaten up?"
If you fall behind, you will be attacked. If you are not attacked, it depends on whether others want to attack you.
Song Fenglan had exchanged a few words with Qin Zihang, and Qin Zihang wrote them down as he looked at his mother.
“They are trying their best to watch,” Song Fenglan said. “They are learning a lot.”
"I want to see it too," Qin Zihang said.
"Okay." Song Fenglan nodded. "You're too young to come to the library to read. How about Mom buys you some books?"
"Okay." Qin Zihang nodded.
“However, you need to learn more characters. Only when you know those characters can you understand the contents of the book. If you can’t understand those characters, you won’t know them and won’t understand the contents of the book,” Song Fenglan said. “If you don’t understand anything, it’s like you’ve read it for nothing.”
"I want to know more characters," Qin Zihang said. "I want to learn more, Mom. Please buy me more notebooks so I can practice writing."
"No problem." Song Fenglan brought Qin Zihang to the school for a visit so that Qin Zihang could study harder.
They didn't make things too difficult for Qin Zihang, nor did they insist on making him do anything specific, but some education was still necessary. They needed to make Qin Zihang understand the importance of cultural knowledge and to cultivate his own love of learning. Forcing a child to study hard is not very useful; if the child doesn't put in the effort, the knowledge fed to him will be discarded.
After a while, the group went to the school cafeteria for lunch. The school cafeteria was quite large. With so many students eating there, how could the cafeteria be too small?
"So many people are eating here." Qin Zihang looked at the other people in the cafeteria.
"Eat your food," Qin Yizhou said. His son kept staring at others like that, and he had pressed his son down several times to stop him from standing on the stool and looking at the others.
"I want to try it," Qin Zihang said. "Is the food at Mom's university good? Will Mom be eating here from now on?"
“No, I eat here occasionally,” Song Fenglan said.
Eating at the school cafeteria isn't entirely free, and the food here isn't even as good as the research institute's cafeteria. Song Fenglan, of course, eats at the research institute's cafeteria, and also at home.
"Is it because the food here isn't good?" Qin Zihang took a bite. "It's alright."
"Because it's too far," Song Fenglan said. "The school is huge, and we also have to study in the lab. We'll eat at whichever cafeteria is closer."
"Why is the school so big? Can't it be smaller?" Qin Zihang asked. "Does a university have to be this big?"
"right,
This is a university. Song Fenglan didn't even want to explain anymore; her son had asked so many questions today. After talking to her son for a while, she looked at Qin Yizhou, "Hangbao, your father also went to university. Ask him."
"Dad went to university? How come I didn't know?" Qin Zihang asked.
"Didn't I tell you this before?" Song Fenglan said.
“But I didn’t go to the university with my dad to help him register,” Qin Zihang said. “I did help my mom register.”
Qin Yizhou chuckled.
Song Fenglan glared at Qin Yizhou, telling him to go and talk to his son himself.
"Yes, he went to university before your father and mother got together," Qin Yizhou said. "He went to university before Hangbao was even born."
"So early? Dad, why don't you wait until Hangbao is born before he goes to university?" Qin Zihang asked.
"Because that would be too late, it's better to go to school early," Qin Yizhou said.
“Mom won’t be there that early,” Qin Zihang said. “Dad, do you think Mom is useless?”
"That's not true." Qin Yizhou was speechless. His son was digging a hole for him again. When had he ever said that his wife was useless? "Your mother is very useful. She is the smartest person in our family."
“Mom is the smartest, and I’m the second smartest,” Qin Zihang said. “Dad is the dumbest, he’s a complete idiot.”
"..." Qin Yizhou looked at his son. This was only in the school cafeteria. If it were at home, he would really want to spank his son a couple of times.
"Let's eat, let's eat," Song Fenglan chuckled.
After dinner, Qin Yizhou and his wife took Qin Zihang home, instead of continuing to explore the school. They'd seen enough; there would be other opportunities to visit later. If it weren't for the distance they'd walked, they could have explored more. Back home, Qin Zihang was extremely happy, overjoyed.
Song Fenglan told Qin Zihang to take a nap, but Qin Zihang didn't want to.
"Mom, when you go to university in the future, take me with you," Qin Zihang said.
“You can only go there when you have a holiday,” Song Fenglan said. “You can’t go there when you have classes, and you can’t skip classes.”
"Mom, are you skipping class?" Qin Zihang asked.
“No,” Song Fenglan said.
"What does skipping class look like?" Qin Zihang asked.
“It means your parents don’t want you and want to throw you out. What do you think skipping school is like?” Song Fenglan threatened her son.
"I won't skip class, I won't skip class," Qin Zihang said quickly. "I don't want to be a child who gets thrown out by my parents."
Qin Zihang still wants to be with his parents and not be all alone.
By this time, Fan Yani had returned home from the hospital. Instead of letting Guo's mother put the flowers Li Hui had given her in a corner, she asked Yue Hongwei to place them under the eaves in the backyard. The backyard was better; it was near a mountain, and few people went there, so the neighbors might not be able to see the flowers.
"These diapers are all washed clean," said Guo's mother. Fan Yani had prepared them. Guo's mother had originally said she would bring some from home, but Fan Yani said it wasn't necessary, so she didn't bring them. "I also put them out in the sun to dry, but the weather hasn't been very good these past few days, and the sun isn't very strong. I was thinking of getting some charcoal to dry them in a bit, since they're for the children, they need to be dried out a bit."
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