The two chatted and drank water, and before they knew it, time passed quickly and it was already past ten o'clock.
Seeing her looking at her watch from time to time, Jia Shuangqi couldn't help but tease her, "What? Do you have something else to do? Do you know what it means to keep looking at your watch when guests come? Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"No." Chen Xingling explained, "Xiao Huzi finishes school at 10:30, and I have to remember to pick him up. Now his father always takes him to school in the morning and then goes to work. There are only two or three classes in the morning in elementary school, and school usually ends at 10:30. His father gets off work at 11:30 and is too late to pick him up, so for the time being, I am the one."
Jia Shuangqi asked worriedly: "What should we do? We will start school next week!"
"Let's talk about it later." Chen Xingling explained: "My uncle's wife hasn't started work yet. When we start class, I'll ask her to help pick us up."
Jia Shuangxi couldn't help asking, "What about your mother-in-law? She shouldn't be working, right? The shipyard is so close to here, it shouldn't be difficult to ask her to help pick up the kids after school, and you guys take care of their schooling, right?"
Chen Xingling smiled bitterly: "If she is reliable, even a sow can climb a tree. Since Xiao Huzi was a child, she has never washed his diaper or fed him a single bite of food. Xiao Huzi doesn't like to follow her, and she is not trustworthy."
"Can't trust it?" Jia Shuangqi asked suspiciously, "What do you mean? Xiao Huzi is her grandson, she wouldn't abuse him, right?"
Chen Xingling shook his head: "That won't happen. Xiao Huzi is the eldest grandson of their family, and his last name is 'Gu'. He is different from me, my last name is 'Chen'."
The mother-in-law always treated her daughter-in-law as an outsider. Even though she had been married to Gu Qi for several years, her thoughts and attitudes had never changed. She loved Xiao Huzi, but she was just too lazy to take care of him, but she didn't abuse him.
She explained: "My mother-in-law is an unreliable person. She forgets things as soon as she turns around. Moreover, she complains about this and that whenever she is asked to do something. I don't trust her at all to take care of the child."
Jia Shuangqi was horrified when she heard this, and secretly worried that if she got pregnant after marriage, she and her cousin would have to go to school and work respectively, and they would have to ask their parents-in-law to take care of the child. And who knows what her uncle would do next.
Chen Xingling smiled bitterly: "Actually, this road is not far, and there are not many cars. The child can just walk home by himself. Other children don't have parents to pick them up. But Xiaohu is still too young, I am really worried."
"That's right!" Jia Shuangqi laughed, "Other children start primary school at the age of seven, but your child is already in the third grade at the age of three - too young!"
At half past ten, Chen Xingling rode her bicycle to Shuiyue Primary School to pick up her son.
Unexpectedly, when he was not far from the front door, he saw his son walking towards the house, chatting with four or five boys in their teens.
The small team was moving forward in a mighty manner. He was standing at the front, carrying the small schoolbag she had prepared for him. He was talking to everyone with his chubby little face full of a confident smile.
Chen Xingling was stunned for a moment and squeezed the handle to brake.
"Little Tiger!"
Gu Yinmo raised his head and waved with a smile: "Mom!"
Then he ran across the road.
Several little boys hurriedly followed him and gathered around little Tiger.
Chen Xingling was confused and asked, "Why did you come back by yourself? Didn't mom ask you to wait under the big tree at the school gate?"
"No." Little Tiger shook his hand: "Mom, other children go home by themselves, I can go home by myself too."
Chen Xingling didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The other kids are at least eight or nine years old, and you're not even four!"
This was what she was most worried about. The little guy was too opinionated and smart, and had already started to make his own decisions.
Little Tiger smiled and pointed at the older brother next to him and introduced him: "Mom, they are all my classmates. They admire me and like me. Their homes are all here. I asked them to take me home and they all agreed. I also promised them that if they encounter questions when doing homework, they can come to me."
After saying this, he patted his fleshy little chest with his chubby little hands.
Chen Xingling: “…”
Four or five boys were too embarrassed to laugh, and one or two brave ones whispered, "Hello, Auntie."
Chen Xingling quickly greeted them, "Hello, kids! That—that's our home in front, let's go in and play for a while."
Little Tiger waved enthusiastically and shouted, "Come on! My home is the garden with the wall in front! There are two words 'Sanyuan' written on it! My father wrote it himself! But I gave it the name!"
The children were a little shy and only stayed at the door for a while before going back home.
Before leaving, Chen Xingling gave each of them a candy to thank them for sending Xiaohu back.
Out of an old mother's instinct, she explained to them that Xiaohu was too young, and that they were all his classmates and his older brothers and sisters, and she hoped that they would take good care of Xiaohu in the future.
A few children took the candies with a smile and ran home.
Xiao Huzi glanced at her unhappily and turned to walk into the house.
Chen Xingling couldn't help but asked with a smile: "Hey! Gu Yinmo! What was that look in your eyes just now?!"
Little Tiger stopped, his little face full of depression.
"Mom, why did you say that to the kids? Why don't you believe me? I can really go to and from school by myself."
Chen Xingling explained helplessly: "You are too young. If you were the same age as the older brothers——"
"I'm in the same class with them!" Little Tiger said angrily, "They don't know the words I can recognize. I can solve the math problems in your textbook, but they can't even understand them!"
"You can't compare them like that." Chen Xingling corrected: "They are older than you, stronger than you, and taller than you. If they encounter bad guys who come to kidnap children, they can run faster than you. I let them take care of you and protect you, do you think it's not good?"
"...Okay." Xiao Huzi's "arrogance" instantly dropped a lot: "Of course I think it's good. I was just worried that you would worry too much about me, so I came back with them. I asked all the classmates in the class, and they are the only ones who live in this place. I told them that there is strength in numbers, and if we go home together, the bad guys will be scared when they see so many people, and they won't kidnap us."
"So smart!" Jia Shuangqi, who was standing on the steps, applauded and praised with a smile: "As expected of Ling Ling's son! Smart, well-reasoned, and logical!"
Little Tiger narrowed his eyes and smiled, and shouted crisply: "Hello, Aunt Jia!"
Chen Xingling was still worried and said, "Remember what mom said. If you are alone, don't run around on your own. Bad guys love to attack children who are alone."
"I know!" Xiao Huzi explained, "I made an appointment with them. The class starts at 2pm. They will set out at 1:30pm to wait for me at the door of our house. Then we will go to school together and go home together after school."
Chen Xingling rolled his eyes at him: "They are all children. How can they know what time it is without a watch?"
Watches are rare items, and being able to wear a watch is a symbol of economic status.
Wealthier families would have some clocks to tell time at home, most of which needed to be wound, most once a day, some once every three days. If it was a large clock, it would be wound once a month.
Most poor or ordinary families do not have clocks, and usually guess the approximate time by looking at the weather.
The child didn’t have a watch and had no concept of time, so how could he possibly be waiting for him at the door at 1:30 on time!
Little Huzi tilted his round head and looked at her with complicated eyes, "Are you okay? Is your IQ still okay?"
"Mom, are you okay? The shipyard will ring the bell at 1:30 to start work, and the sound of the bell can be heard very far away. We can hear it clearly here, and other children also said they can hear it. I told them to pick me up here when they hear the bell. They have all agreed."
Chen Xingling: “…”
Jia Shuangqi on the side was already bent over with laughter!
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