Let's go ahead.
Qin Ling, who was wringing clothes, was poked by a finger out of nowhere and almost stumbled: "You are so slow even when washing clothes, what else can you do? Oh, you are good at pretending, you fall backwards when a finger touches you, why don't you fall backwards for me to see?"
Qin Ling shrank subconsciously, but held the clothes tightly in her hands and lowered her head, allowing the woman in front of her to beat and scold her. She reminded herself again and again in her mind not to open her mouth and not to explain. If an explanation would be useful, why would she still be beaten for no reason? Although she didn't understand it at the beginning, she has finally seen through it in the past six months. As long as she opens her mouth, every word she says could become a reason for someone to beat her. It would be better to be a saw-mouthed gourd and let her finish the job early. This is the experience her wife taught her, and it has worked wonders in recent months.
Liu Rong cursed and twisted the clothes, but after a while he felt bored, so he clapped his hands and said condescendingly: "Hurry up and wash these clothes. Your dad has something to tell you..."
Qin Ling responded while enduring the burning pain in her ears, and struggled to wring out the clothes in her hands. Are you crying? How could she have time to cry? Believe it or not, as soon as her tears came out, the elusive Wang Qiang would report her to the police, and then there would be a new round of beatings and scolding.
After washing the clothes, she moved a stool and hung the clothes one by one on the clothesline. Then she got down from the stool, grabbed the corners of the clothes and smoothed them out with her hands. There was no other way. Last time she went up and didn't stretch it, Liu Rong not only beat her up, but also threw all her clothes on the ground. She washed them again and finished them according to the requirements. My wife said that every failure makes you wiser. I can't avoid being beaten, but I should learn from it every time I get beaten.
After everything was tidied up, Qin Ling walked to the door of the west room and stood there. Then she took a deep breath and whispered, "Mom, I've finished washing the clothes."
"You've finished washing, and you told me you were waiting for me to praise you. If I dare to praise you, do you have the nerve to continue? What kind of girl at your age doesn't know anything? You're praised for washing a few pieces of clothes..."
Qin Ling had expected this, and she listened quietly without changing her expression.
"Okay, okay, Lingling, come in..." This was Qin Wenqing's voice.
Qin Ling heard her father's voice with a calm expression. She answered "OK" and carefully lifted the door curtain. She counted "one, two" in her mind, stood still and lowered her head. I didn't dare go any further, for fear that people would accuse me of being cheap and ruining the house.
"Do you want to go to school?" Qin Wenqing asked straight to the point when he saw her come in.
Is this something she could have imagined? Qin Ling complained in her heart, but she looked honest and whispered, "I will listen to my father..."
Qin Wenqing was satisfied and raised his eyebrows at Liu Rong. He said Qin Ling was an honest child, how could she instigate her grandmother, see!
Liu Rong turned a blind eye and just concentrated on cutting his nails. There was only the quiet clicking sound in the room.
"Well, I've discussed it with your mom, and you're going to school tomorrow. But letting you go to school doesn't mean you don't have to do anything. You have to help with housework after school. Is that okay?"
Qin Ling felt a ripple in her heart. It would be a lie to say that you don’t want to go to school. Today, Yu Yu and the others were laughing and dancing, and she was hiding aside, secretly envious. All the sisters in the village went to school, even the orphan Erhuzi who helped his grandfather herd sheep went to school, but what could she do?
She thought she would never go to school again, but her father suddenly came out and told her to go to school. Qin Ling was of course happy, but this happiness was mixed with fear. She knew that Liu Rong would not allow her to go to school, but she agreed against her own will. What was waiting for her?
This complex emotion was intertwined in Qin Ling's young heart, and the expression on her face was indeed motionless.
Liu Rong had been observing Qin Ling's expression since Qin Wenqing finished speaking. He couldn't help but frowned suspiciously, "What's wrong? Are you not happy when I asked you to go to school?"
Qin Ling's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She quickly adjusted her expression to pretend to be shocked and grateful. She raised her eyes timidly to look at the two people on the kang, then quickly lowered her head and said, "Can I really go to school, Dad? Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I will do my housework well..."
Qin Wenqing nodded in satisfaction, and then taught: "Not only do you have to work hard, you also have to be discerning and active. Don't always wait for adults to point your finger at you before you move."
Qin Ling nodded in agreement: "I understand, Dad..."
Qin Wenqing then waved his hand and mercifully let Qin Ling go.
Qin Ling still maintained the expression on her face, carefully retreated, then ran all the way to the bathroom before carefully exhaling.
…
The next day, Qin Ling had a lot on her mind but she had to pretend to be happy and nervous, allowing Chen Xiulian to hold her arm and walk to school.
"Sister Lingling, you're here?"
Qin Yu saw Qin Ling from afar and waved happily.
Qin Ling also raised the corner of her mouth and waved.
"Aunt, Lingling..." Yang Xiu also greeted the two of them with a smile.
"Lingling can't even remember her school days. She missed it yesterday. Wenqing asked me to bring her here in the morning..." Chen Xiulian talked to herself.
What could Yang Xiu do? He could only smile and smooth things over: "It's okay. There's still time today..."
Qin Ling was speechless for a moment, and couldn't help pursing her lips when she heard her grandmother's harsh voice. Qin Yu glanced at her quickly, stretched out his arm to hold his sister and said with a smile: "Mom, grandma, you are too slow, I want to walk ahead with my sister..."
Qin Ling broke free from her grandmother's hand and ran to the front in coordination with her sister.
…
"Tsk...from what she said, she must have paid for Lingling's tuition and even tutored Wenqing..." Hu Yufeng couldn't help but sneer when she heard Yang Xiu say that.
Yang Xiu smiled and said, "No matter who gives birth, as long as Lingling can go to school, it's good." She was really happy for Qin Ling. Ever since she started setting up the stall, she has become more and more aware of the importance of being educated. We don’t need to go to high school or college, as long as we can recognize some common characters.
"Hey, Mom, how did Liu Rong finally agree?" Yang Xiu couldn't help but be curious.
"How dare she disagree? In our village, even Erhuzi, who has no parents, is in school. If Lingling doesn't go, everyone in the village will say it's her stepmother's fault!"
"She cares about this?" Looking at Liu Rong's attitude in the past six months, he doesn't seem to be someone who cares about face.
"Who doesn't care? Don't just look at her scolding your aunt. Some people in the village say she is bad, but some people also say your aunt. It's inevitable that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law don't quarrel. But try Lingling. She is only eight years old. You can beat and scold the child normally, but try not to let her go to school?" Hu Yufeng understood the psychology of the people around her very well. As for scolding the mother-in-law, which daughter-in-law dares to say that she doesn't scold her at all? But if you cut off your child's path to school, you will be the only one in the village and the target of public criticism. Who won't call you a vicious stepmother when you go out? No matter how thick-skinned Liu Rong is, he can't withstand the scolding behind his back by the whole village, right?
What's more, Liu Rong is a smart person. He didn't let us register yesterday because he was angry and testing us. How could he not know the seriousness of this matter?
"Wenli was in a hurry last night. He must have gone to talk to your eldest brother, right?" Hu Yufeng looked at Yang Xiu knowingly.
Yang Xiu nodded embarrassedly, "But if he didn't go last night, the result would be the same today..."
Hu Yufeng shook her head. "That's different. At least I have a clear conscience. Otherwise, if the child doesn't live well in the future, I will always regret not standing up for myself..."
Yang Xiu thought about it and couldn't help but nodded, her admiration for her mother-in-law deepened.
…
The children started school smoothly, and Lao Qin's fried dough twist stall also welcomed an old friend, Xizi.
"Aunt, sister-in-law, I missed you so much. I finally sent those two brats to school!" Before the tricycle had even stopped, Xizi jumped down and took two steps forward to hug Hu Yufeng. With one effort, he lifted her off the ground and turned her around.
Hu Yufeng, who was so happy that she turned frightened, slapped her arm and said, "Put me down, put me down, what are you doing so recklessly, kid..." Oh, what's wrong with her? She hugs everyone she sees, and she almost fainted.
Xizi smiled and put down the unhappy Hu Yufeng, then smiled while holding Yang Xiu's arm.
Yang Xiu also smiled and let her lean on him.
"This time, you can't help like you did the last few times. You can't laugh and joke around anymore. You have to study hard. When you can stand on your own, I'll set up a stall for you and you can sell your products yourself..."
At the dinner table, Hu Yufeng said to Xizi solemnly.
Xizi was so worried that he could only scratch his head: "Aunt, I can't do it. How about I share the stall with my sister-in-law, and you can do it alone..."
Seeing that Hu Yufeng's eyes were becoming increasingly stern, Xizi tactfully swallowed the words he had not yet said.
Yang Xiu patted her shoulder: "It's okay, don't get discouraged before you even start. Auntie wants you to study hard, not to leave right away. Besides, you can't handle it alone, so find someone else for you two to do it together..."
Xizi let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and patted his chest, "That's good, that's good... Sister-in-law, where is the person you are looking for?"
Hu Yufeng was moved and asked Yang Xiu, "Xizi is here, is there any news about Huizi you mentioned before?"
Yang Xiu shook her head, "My mother said that she had told him that the illness had been cured. Alas, I don't know if the illness has not been cured yet..." Or even, is the person still alive?
Hu Yufeng was also worried, and if all else failed, she turned to Li Lanhua. But Lanhua has three children and raises livestock at home, and she has no mother-in-law or father-in-law to help her, so she can't leave for the time being!
"If all else fails, look around the team to see which wife is free..."
Yang Xiu nodded. This was the only way. He couldn't put his hopes on someone whose life was not even known.
…
When Xizi arrived, Yang Xiu and Hu Yufeng felt relieved and had time to look for help.
"Da Wu's wife? No, Da Wu is still setting up a stall, she can't leave home..."
"My cousin's wife? She is actually honest and steady, but she is not so efficient at work..."
Hu Yufeng quickly shook her head and said, "No, you can't look for anyone else, not the Wang family's sister-in-law, no matter how good your wife is."
"Honglan? Honglan is actually OK too, it all depends on my second aunt..."
Wow, wow, wow. Hu Yufeng got a headache when she heard the word "second sister". I must be crazy. Why did I think Fu Honglan looked okay and wrote her in the list?
Yang Xiu crossed out the name and looked at the next one... After writing and crossing out, finally only one name was left on the paper: Liu Shehong.
"Then Shehong? I'll go ask her tomorrow?"
Hu Yufeng nodded.
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