At noon, Xiaodoudou accompanied Qin Shi to wash clothes for others. He had never done this before and was quite clumsy, but he still tried his best to learn.
Qin had a headache and hand pain for a while, and even almost fainted, which frightened Xiaodoudou. She quickly helped her to sit down and rest, and then washed a large basin of clothes herself.
Qin found a big tree to rest under, and when her son wasn't looking, she took out some dried meat from her pocket and ate it.
Educating children is one thing, but you can't make yourself suffer.
Little Bean spent the entire afternoon washing clothes; it was her first time doing so, and they turned out surprisingly clean.
Qin praised him and asked him how he did it. He said, "That aunt gave me steamed buns to eat. She's a good person. I washed them for her to clean as a way of repaying her!"
After saying that, Little Bean smiled happily, waiting for his mother to praise him.
Unexpectedly, Qin's face darkened, and she asked, "If a stranger gives you a dry steamed bun, you will know to be grateful. So why is it that your third uncle and aunt treat you so well, preparing everything for you, giving you the best food and things, yet you don't know how to be grateful and even curse people all the time?"
Little Bean paused, then fell silent.
Because those things have been there since he can remember, he felt they were his due and that he was entitled to them, so he never thought of being grateful.
On the contrary, his third aunt has been urging his mother to send him to school recently. He hates her because of this and often speaks rudely. His third aunt doesn't get angry, so he becomes even more demanding.
Hearing his mother say this now, he finally felt a pang of guilt.
Oh well, I can always apologize to her another time!
However, I am still struggling to make ends meet, and everything in the general's mansion is so unattainable. I don't know if I will ever have the chance to meet him again.
Thinking of this, he sighed, gritted his teeth, and carried a large basin of clothes back to settle his wages.
Qin followed behind him, walking very slowly, pretending to be very unwell.
Actually, it wasn't entirely an act. I've been used to a life of luxury these past few years and haven't done any hard or strenuous work. Suddenly doing it all felt really tiring.
Fortunately, she was smart enough to let her son do all the work and slack off whenever possible, which allowed her to manage for a while.
The wages for washing clothes were fifteen copper coins. In the past, that wouldn't have been enough to buy him a snack, but now it was enough to cover the food expenses for the mother and daughter for the next few days.
As long as he can't find a proper job, he can only live off these few coins.
If that were the case, it would be understandable, but his mother seemed listless the whole way. He asked if she was too tired, and she said, "It's probably because the sun was too strong and I got sick from the sun. It's nothing, I'll be fine after resting for a couple of days."
Looking at his mother's sickly appearance as she tried to comfort him, Xiaodoudou suddenly felt a lump in his throat and realized that he was the one who had caused his mother to suffer along with him.
"Mother, I'll take you to see a doctor."
Although they didn't have much money, they insisted on seeing a doctor when their mother was sick.
"Mother is fine," Qin Shi said, since she wasn't really sick, and naturally refused to go, making excuses, "We only have so little money, not enough to see a doctor, let's not waste money."
"Then I'll go get some medicine for Mother!"
Madam Qin smiled lovingly, "Silly child, even if we get medicine, it won't be enough. Mother is really fine, let's go back. We worked so hard to earn this money, we need to save it for food, how can we waste it like this?"
Little Bean, with tears in her eyes, had never known that seeing a doctor could be so expensive.
However, he guessed that his mother must be hungry too, so he spent five copper coins to buy some pancakes, and the mother and son went back to the slum together.
Suddenly, a little beggar ran up to him, bumped into him, and then reached out and took away his remaining ten copper coins!
Little Bean screamed, "They're robbing us! Don't run!"
Without thinking, he was about to chase after them, but Qin grabbed him and cried, "Don't bother, Dou Dou, you're no match for them. They have accomplices, and I can't bear to see you get beaten by them again."
Little Bean cried too, her voice exceptionally pitiful: "But that's the money I earned, waaaaaah..."
"Once your father comes, someone will protect us, and our lives will be easier, okay?"
Qin held the child in her arms, and the mother and child cried together, a heartbreaking sight to behold.
The only thing Little Bean was hoping for was for her father to come, but in reality, her father was busy with the work of increasing grain production and knew nothing about what was happening here, nor would he come.
The next morning, in the general's mansion, Jiang Jiuniang listened to the servants' report about the Qin mother and son, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Second sister-in-law is really amazing! It seems that there will be significant results in just a few days."
"Here's an idea for your second sister-in-law: find an opportunity to quietly tell her that we'll help her, and the effect will be better."
The servants' eyes lit up when they heard this. They could participate too! How fun! They immediately went to tell the Second Madam!
Ruozheng couldn't help but laugh when he saw her like this: "How old are you? What's the point of bullying a child like this?"
"How can this be called bullying? I'm helping delinquent teenagers get back on the right path!"
Jiang Jiuniang spoke with conviction.
Ruozheng rolled her eyes and bluntly exposed her: "I think you're just tired of explaining medical knowledge to people, so you go and torture your naughty kids at home to relax."
"Sigh, who can argue with that? Popularizing science can always drive people crazy."
Jiang Jiuniang sighed. Medical school hadn't even started yet, and she was already having second thoughts. It was just too exhausting.
But thinking about my original intention in doing all this, I suddenly felt motivated again.
"Let's go. Which clinic's doctor is it today? Let's go early and come back early so we can get a good night's sleep tonight."
Jiang Jiuniang felt like a fake time traveler. Even though she had arrived in ancient times, she never went to bed early one night. She was always worrying about all sorts of things. It was really tough for her.
Seeing her like this, Ruozheng couldn't help but advise, "If you can't take a day off, you can go tomorrow. It's the same anyway, and we don't need to make an appointment in advance. We can just go directly when the time comes."
"Never mind, it's better to finish it sooner rather than later. I have other things to do afterwards!"
Jiang Jiuniang stood up, took Ruozheng's arm, and walked out.
Ruozheng shook his head: "You're the workaholic, but you always pin the blame on me."
The two went out together. Qin Shi also received the message from Jiang Jiu Niang. Her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "As expected of my third sister-in-law. Just do it this way. You can find an opportunity to make your move yourselves."
Jiang Jiuniang's method was to make Xiaodoudou understand the dangers of the world and the disadvantages of being uneducated, so that he would learn a lesson and know that although studying is not the only way out, it is an essential stepping stone. People with some knowledge are respected in any industry.
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