Chapter 45

Yan Xiang is indeed a smart child.

In such a short time, I taught him six words, and I didn't let him write them down, I just let him recognize them. He could remember them all.

The mother and son went to the river to pick up half a bucket of pebbles. Qiao Wei tested him and he recognized all of them correctly.

Of course, the mother kept her word and rewarded the child with a candy on the spot.

Yan Xiang held the candy in her hand, but did not eat it immediately with joy. Instead, she thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I can recognize other words. Can you give me another one as a reward if I recognize all of them?"

Qiao Wei was of course happy to hear that: "Sure."

Qiao Wei thought that a child could recognize a few words, so she said, "What words do you recognize? Tell me."

But Yan Xiang turned around and ran away happily.

Qiao Wei: "?"

Soon, Yan Xiang took out the book "The Adventures of Little Cloth Doll".

Oh, it turns out that you can find words in a book.

Yan Xiang had read this book many times in the original owner's memory, and Qiao Wei continued to read it after she came to be a child. It is not surprising that he can recognize a few words.

Qiao Wei sat at the desk with her chin in her hand, eager to see how many words Yan Xiang could recognize.

Yan Xiang first pointed to the cover and read: "Little, Cloth, Head, Qi, Encounter, Record." Her

tender and white little finger pointed to every word correctly.

Qiao Wei applauded: "Great!"

Just as she was about to take out another piece of candy for Yan Xiang, Yan Xiang suddenly opened the book.

Qiao Wei: "?"

Turning to the first page of the text, Yan Xiang pointed at the text with his little finger and began to read word by word.

Although he stuttered, but... he could basically form a sentence.

Qiao Wei: "???"

Soon, Yan Xiang finished reading the first paragraph and started reading the second paragraph.

"Wait a minute!" Qiao Wei stopped Yan Xiang in shock and asked him, "How did you learn these words?"

Yan Xiang said, "When my mother read to me, I slowly learned them."

Qiao Wei: "???"

Qiao Wei had an idea in her mind.

She picked up a piece of paper and a pen and said to Yan Xiang, "You read from the beginning, and I'll record it to see how many words you know."

Yan Xiang asked expectantly, "If you know more, can I give you another piece of candy?"

Qiao Wei grabbed a handful of candy and slapped it on the table, "If you really know a lot, all of these are for you."

Mom is a person who keeps her word, and Yan Xiang believes her.

He immediately lay on the table and prepared to read.

Qiao Wei stood up and picked him up, letting him sit on a chair so that he was a little taller.

She dragged a square wooden stool over and sat beside him, holding a piece of paper and a pen: "Let's start."

Yan Xiang began to read again, stutteringly.

As he read, Qiao Wei took notes. Sometimes when she wrote down a word, she found that it had been written before, so she crossed it out.

She didn't stop until her hands were so sore.

Yan Xiang endured the dryness of his mouth and waited for her judgment.

Qiao Wei was no longer as shocked as before, and she was much calmer. She asked: "Can you write?"

"No."

"You can recognize it when you see it, right?"

"Yes!"

"Do you recognize the slogans and signs you see outside?" "

Yes!"

Yan Xiang glanced at the pile of candies.

"Okay." Qiao Wei pushed the candy over, "They are all yours."

Yan Xiang shouted happily, threw away the book, and used his two little hands to put the candy into his trouser pockets.

After he finished, he ran away, covering his bulging trouser pockets.

He didn't want the book anymore.

He ran back to his room first. After a while, Qiao Wei saw Yan Xiang walk out of the house from the window. He first went to the small table under the eaves and picked up an enamel pot. He tilted his head back and gulped down cold boiled water.

After drinking, he wiped his mouth and let out a long breath.

The little boy was also very desperate for a few candies, and his mouth was dry.

After quenching his thirst, he finally peeled a piece of candy and stuffed it into his mouth, puffing up his cheeks, humming a tune that sounded like a nursery rhyme, picked up his small shovel and small iron bucket, and walked to the yard to dig a hole happily.

In the house, Qiao Wei held her chin and looked at the paper in her hand, lost in thought.

She wanted to count the words just now, but when she counted to about 800, she looked at the amount at the back and gave up.

The exact number is not important. Because she asked Yan Xiang to stop because her wrist was too sore. In other words, Yan Xiang's real vocabulary is much greater than this.

No one taught him. Not even Qiao Weiwei taught him.

However, when Qiao Weiwei and Qiao Wei told Yan Xiang the same story over and over again, they always held Yan Xiang in their arms, and the mother and child looked at the pages of the book together. Qiao Weiwei did this, and Qiao Wei continued her practice.

So in the repeated reading, Yan Xiang matched his mother's reading pronunciation with the specific words and memorized them.

He knew these words.

Purely self-taught.

And this is just a child in the lower grades of kindergarten.

Qiao Wei figured this out, and she could basically determine that the situation was as she had guessed just now -

Yan Xiang, might not be an ordinary child.

He might, he might very well... be a genius baby.

At the age of 7, he became the world's top hacker, making things happen in the financial market, solving national science and technology problems, etc.

But genius babies are usually found in urban romance novels. They usually don't appear in period novels, especially not in stepmother novels.

Yan Xiang, the taciturn boy in the original novel, the tool used by stepmother Lin Xixi to show her kindness, he later got admitted to a university in the capital.

But this was only mentioned briefly at the end of the main story. There was no detail.

In which year did he get admitted? It was very vague. When this was mentioned at the end, the male and female protagonists already had children and grandchildren.

It was only said that he was the first college student in the Yan family, and he set a good example for his younger brothers and sisters.

The stepson was able to get admitted to college, which once again proved that the original female protagonist was a good stepmother.

Bullshit.

Bullshit.

With the buff of a genius baby, he would definitely be able to go to college with or without a stepmother.

Maybe the stepmother even hindered his education!

Because the fact that Yan Xiang was a genius baby was not reflected in the main story. At most, he embodied "excellence", but this level of excellence did not match the setting of "genius baby" at all.

Qiao Wei got angry when she thought of this.

But then she thought, that's not necessarily true.

Why are there so few genius babies in period literature? Because it's difficult to write about the special times.

What can a genius baby do in this era? Make a TV or an atomic bomb?

Making a TV doesn't make any sense when written about. Making an atomic bomb, how can an online article involving political themes dare to write about it?

Maybe it's not Lin Xixi's fault that the attributes of a genius baby can't be reflected.

Lin Xixi herself is just a middle-aged aunt with elementary school education and a housewife background. Her specialties are housework and cooking. When Yan Lei's poor relatives from the countryside came, she could cook seven or eight dishes by herself and entertain them so well that they were full of compliments about her. When she returned home, she spread her reputation for being virtuous.

She may not have even discovered Yan Xiang's attributes of a genius baby. People in the 1990s had no concept of genius babies.

She only took care of Yan Xiang's food and clothing, and never spanked or scolded him.

In the text, as Yan Xiang grew up, he went to primary school for two years. Later, the school was too chaotic, so Yan Lei simply stopped him from going. He asked someone to buy books for him to read at home.

Yan Xiang read in his room every day.

Lin Xixi even blamed Yan Lei for forcing the child to study and tiring the child.

The educated youth who went to the countryside to work were actually students in middle schools. Yan Xiang's age was not as good as those who went to the countryside to work. When the college entrance examination was resumed, he might only be fifteen or sixteen years old.

But during his childhood and adolescence, the most important period of studying, he could not receive a systematic education due to special historical reasons.

Thinking about it this way, Lin Xixi really can't be blamed.

A genius baby born in this era is indeed helpless.

Qiao Wei is a little skeptical now. Is it possible that the original author wanted to add the element of a genius baby at the beginning, but when he started writing, he found that this element was not easy to play in the era text, so he put it aside.

I feel that this is the closest to the truth.

Now that this genius baby is in her hands, what should she do?

Qiao Wei looked at the genius baby squatting in the yard digging outside the window, biting her knuckles and thinking for a long time.

Special times, ah, special times.

At this time, I understand why the original author put the element of a genius baby aside as a leisurely pen. There is really a feeling of helplessness.

It's ridiculous. She originally planned to teach her children to recognize four or five words a day.

Qiao Wei crumpled up all the papers, stood up and twisted her waist.

Once people have experienced birth, aging, illness and death, they can see through everything. There is one advantage, which is that they are not anxious about anything.

Or you can say that they are very Buddhist.

A genius baby is a genius baby, just do your best to teach him.

Before the country's education system returns to normal, she will do her best to teach him.

The tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Especially in this special era, no one should be an extraordinary person. Being extraordinary means danger.

A genius baby is also a baby.

Babies should have a happy childhood.

Qiao Wei walked to the door, put her hands on her waist and asked, "Do you want my help?"

"No, I can do it myself." The arrogant little voice said, "I'm a man."

"Oh, okay."

Today is Tuesday. After lunch, Yan Xiang went to take a nap as usual.

Qiao Wei didn't sleep today. She was waiting for someone. Sure enough, at about the same time, someone knocked on the door.

When she opened the door, she saw two men standing outside: "Is this Captain Yan's home?"

Behind them was a flatbed cart with a few pieces of wood on it.

"Yes, we're waiting for you." Qiao Wei opened the door enthusiastically.

Only one man came in first, and he took a rough look at the situation in the yard: "Where to install it?" He took

another look: "Oh."

He drew a circle on the ground. Qiao Wei had circled the place after lunch.

The man went out again, and soon two men carried the wood in and installed the "human-powered washing machine" that Qiao Wei had been looking forward to for several days at the place Qiao Wei specified.

It was exactly the same as the picture she drew.

After the installation, one of the men took out a crumpled piece of paper from his trouser pocket: "Take a look, is it like this?"

Qiao Wei took it and opened it. It was exactly the picture she drew.

Qiao Wei was happy: "It's exactly the same. Master, you have great craftsmanship."

She prepared cool mung bean soup and cigarettes for the carpenter.

While drinking the mung bean soup, they asked: "I heard from Captain Yan that this is for washing clothes?"

Qiao Wei said happily: "Yes!"

She said: "I'll try it."

The carpenters were also curious and waited for her to try.

Qiao Wei had already soaked a basin of clothes.

The large basins for washing clothes in this era were not the small basins of later generations. After filling the clothes and water, Qiao Wei had to use a mop to drag it under the washing rack.

Fortunately, after trying it, the hanging wood was suspended a little high and entered the water too shallowly.

The carpenter untied the rope and adjusted it.

After trying again, it was smooth.

Qiao Wei grabbed the small handle and drew circles in the basin with a wooden stick.

The water swirls along.

It's just like a washing machine, and it's effortless, and it also exercises the shoulder joints.

Qiao Wei did this just to save effort when washing clothes, and she didn't expect it to be so stress-relieving when she really used it.

The sky was clear and the sun was hot, and the water swirls.

Three circles to the left and three circles to the right.

It's a pity that there are people around, so I can't twist my hips and waist.

But I was very happy, too happy.

The two carpenters drank a few bowls of sweet green bean soup, came over, and scratched their heads:

"That... let me try it?"

"Let me try it too!"