After dinner, Xia Liang went to make her daughters' beds. They slept in this bedroom before coming home for vacation. The two sisters were close, and Xia Liang had considered separating them to avoid disturbing each other, but the two little ones objected. So, she put two 1.5-meter beds side-by-side, with a desk next to each bed so they could do their homework together after school. Seeing her daughters playing games together, Xia Liang said, "You two should take a bath and go to bed." The two little ones, laughing and giggling, went to the bathroom. When they came out, their hair was still dripping wet. Xia Liang took a dry towel and dried their hair, saying, "Dry your hair quickly after washing, or you'll have headaches later." The two little ones nodded obediently. After drying their hair, Xia Liang put down the towel and said, "Go to sleep now, Mom will turn off the lights." But Xiao Yuanzhi protested and ran away... She stepped forward and hugged her leg, saying, "Mommy, I want to sleep with you, I missed you." Xia Liang pulled her along, saying, "Okay, come with me!" Then she looked at her eldest daughter sitting on the bed, "Da Bao, do you want to sleep with Mommy? Mommy missed you too." Little Gu Yunxi blushed and said, "Okay." She followed her mother and sister out of the room. When they got to Xia Liang's room, the two sisters jumped onto the big bed. Xia Liang's bed was the biggest in the whole room, two meters wide. Little Yuanzhi jumped and played on it, while little Yunxi sat and watched her sister jump. Xia Liang ignored them and went to wash up. Business at the shop had been pretty good these past few days, and she had been busy every day, so she was quite tired.
When she finished washing up and returned to the room, the two little ones were already asleep. Xia Liang put the two children on either side, climbed up and lay down in the middle, holding one in each arm. Looking at her daughters' peaceful sleeping faces, Xia Liang felt extremely satisfied. She kissed her daughters' foreheads and then slowly fell asleep herself.
The next morning, when Xia Liang woke up, her two children were still asleep. She tiptoed out, careful not to disturb their sleep. She saw Chen Yanling and her three fellow disciples already practicing in the courtyard. Xia Liang asked, "Why are you up so early?" Chen Yanling answered first, "We're used to it. When we were little, our master taught us, and now we teach our junior brothers and sisters." Speaking of junior brothers and sisters, Xia Liang thought it would be good for her two daughters to learn some martial arts, so they wouldn't be unable to fight off someone with ill intentions. Thinking this, Xia Liang blurted out, "Could you teach my daughters a little while you're at it?" She immediately regretted asking, wondering what if they had some rule against teaching outsiders? Before she could even speak to stop her, Duan Wenchun said, "Why not? It's not some secret technique. We'll teach anyone who wants to learn." Xia Liang was overjoyed and said, "That's wonderful! I'll wake them up right now and have them practice." She turned and went back to her room, where she saw her eldest daughter already awake, sitting on the bed in a daze, her eyes unfocused. Xia Liang knew she was just back and not used to things yet, so she put her arm around her thin shoulders and said, "Da Bao, would you like to learn some martial arts with your Aunt Chen and the others?" Hearing her mother say she wanted to learn martial arts, Gu Yunxi was overjoyed and immediately jumped up, saying, "I'd love to, Mom!" Who doesn't dream of being a female knight-errant? This opportunity was perfect, and Xia Liang, seeing that her daughter had agreed, said, "Then hurry up and get dressed, go out and practice! I'll wake your little sister up so she can come with us." Little Yunxi nodded, "Okay, Mom." After saying that, she obediently got dressed and went out to wash up. Xia Liang gently shook her little daughter, trying to wake her up. The little one, disturbed from her sleep, stretched out her chubby hands to rub her eyes. After waking up a little, she looked at her mother with her eyes narrowed into slits and said, "Mom, did you wake me up?" Xia Liang felt bad for waking her daughter, but thinking about waking her up to practice, she didn't feel guilty and said, "Sweetie, do you want to practice some martial arts with Aunt Chen and the others?" She repeated the question she had asked her older daughter to her younger daughter. The younger daughter, who had always been restless and mischievous, happily said, "I do!" Xia Liang picked her up, dressed her, and took her to the bathroom to wash her face.
Xia Liang brought her younger daughter, who had already gotten ready, to the yard. She saw her older daughter already practicing the horse stance, so Xia Liang pushed the little one over. Before the adults could even speak, the little one went over to her sister and squatted down in the horse stance, her posture perfectly perfect. Tian Longhui was surprised and asked, "Has Xiao Yuanzhi practiced? She squats so perfectly." If she hadn't practiced, she'd be a genius. Before Xia Liang could answer, Xiao Yuanzhi said, "I practiced Tai Chi with my grandfather." Tian Longhui looked at her with an expression of nostalgia. Without saying much, he continued practicing with the two children. Seeing that her two daughters were very interested, Xia Liang went out to buy groceries, feeling relieved.
When Xia Liang returned, it wasn't just her two daughters practicing martial arts anymore; even her brother and two nephews were joining in. This made Xia Liang want to join in too. After all she had been through, she knew that she needed to be capable to protect herself. She hadn't realized this in her previous life, but since coming here, she had encountered three serious incidents: first, human trafficking; then, an ambush in her previous life; and finally, a robbery recently. If she had some martial arts skills, she wouldn't be so passive sometimes. After making this decision, Xia Liang planned to ask Ji Xiao to help her find a cook so that she could cook and take care of her two daughters, and she could practice martial arts while doing her business.
After dinner, the group went straight to the clothing store. Chen Yanling and her three fellow apprentices wandered around outside, not wanting people to think she was some kind of gangster with bodyguards, which might deter them from shopping. Gu Yunxi and Gu Yuanzhi, seeing their mother's clothing store, couldn't help but exclaim, "Mom, did you make all these beautiful clothes?" Xia Liang shook her head, looking at her daughters with doting eyes, and said, "Some of them were made by Mom, and the rest I bought from Yangcheng." Gu Yunxi asked curiously, "Mom, where is Yangcheng? Is it far? Can you take me there next time you go?" Before Xia Liang could answer her eldest daughter, her younger daughter asked, "Mom, are there many sheep in Yangcheng?" Xia Rong, who was drinking water nearby, choked and spat it out, patting her chest repeatedly. Xia Liang smiled and explained the origin of the name Yangcheng to her younger daughter, adding that she would take them to Yangcheng sometime.
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