About fifteen minutes later, Hong Xiaoduo opened her eyes.
"Mom, will you be fine after just a short nap?" Tianxuan asked, sitting opposite Hong Xiaoduo. He felt that his mother was a little different than before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Hong Xiaoduo smiled and nodded, looking at the children beside her. Although she had just connected with the old man and he still hadn't unlocked the password to the original system, she was no longer so frustrated and annoyed.
So be it if it's a little later; it will give me time to focus on settling these children in properly.
The world is so vast, how could there not be a place for them to live!
Some things are really strange. I've only spent a few days with them, so why can't I let go of them?
I love watching them eat; their little faces are full of anticipation, their eyes following the waiter until the food is in front of them. They eat very seriously, even the most ordinary white porridge, they will finish it all, and they will even pick up and eat the grains of rice that accidentally fall on the table.
Therefore, she dared not think about them going back to begging and starving.
I love looking into their innocent, big eyes, and how they find everything around them so new and exciting.
Hong Xiaoduo knew that in this unknown dynasty and other parts of the country where she was currently located, there were many other pitiful children like them.
She wasn't so grand as to think about saving everyone, but she was determined to do everything she could to help these seven people. She didn't expect them to live the lives of the wealthy, but at the very least, she wanted to ensure they had enough to eat and wear.
"How about I teach you to read starting today?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.
When we get to the next town, I'll need to buy some paper and pens. I'll then be able to teach them as much as I can, for as long as it takes. I'll teach them whatever little they can learn.
In any dynasty, those who are literate will always have more opportunities to make a living, right? After all, such dynasties are never short of people who do hard labor. But similarly, those who do the lowest level of hard labor will also receive the least amount of revenge.
"Huh?" The six children in the carriage couldn't believe it when she asked.
"Mother, do you know a lot of words?" Yao Guang was the first to react, her little face full of admiration as she asked.
The other, slightly older children, looked at Hong Xiaoduo with some trepidation when they heard her ask that. How could the little girl ask her mother such a question?
Hong Xiaoduo raised an eyebrow and smiled, "It's alright, but it's enough to teach you all."
Yao Guang clapped her hands happily: "That's great! We can learn to read without going to school."
The children, who were initially worried that Hong Xiaoduo would be unhappy, were relieved to see that she showed no displeasure and became happy as well.
“But Mother, I’ve heard people say many times that girls don’t need to study and learn to read, and they can’t take the imperial examinations when they grow up. Only very wealthy families hire female tutors to teach their daughters.” Yuheng said, mustering her courage.
Hong Xiaoduo put her arm around her shoulder and whispered, "Don't worry about what others say or do. Once you learn something, it's all yours."
The child was neither too old nor too young, so Hong Xiaoduo didn't talk to her too much. What else could she say but gender equality, that women can hold up half the sky? She could only let her know a little bit.
Yuheng nodded, "Yes, what you learn will be yours."
"Big brother, Mother said she'll teach us to read and write from now on," Kaiyang said happily, patting the carriage door as he told Tianshu, who was driving the carriage outside, the good news.
Tian Shu had already heard it and replied with a smile, "Yes, then everyone should learn from Mother properly."
Inside the carriage, after Hong Xiaoduo made this decision, she thought that she would not only teach them to recognize and write characters, but also to teach them arithmetic.
Although she wouldn't be considered a top student in modern times, she was still quite good at all subjects.
Although some memories are missing, the knowledge is still clear.
We also need to buy another donkey cart, specifically for carrying things.
Brother Dong gave her a sum of money and some gold; she could even buy a horse-drawn carriage now. But she felt it wasn't necessary for the time being; money should be saved. She and the children rode in a donkey cart, which was quite stable.
Just then, Mu Zitao and his group in Liushu Town finished their breakfast and were about to mount their horses and set off when someone came looking for them on horseback.
"Your subordinate greets the young general. The old general has been unwell recently, and the old lady sent me to fetch you back." The man dismounted, stepped forward, and bowed to report.
"What? Grandfather is sick? What did the doctor say? Have the imperial physicians been consulted?" Mu Zitao asked anxiously.
"Imperial Physician Tan came by and said that the old general is getting on in years, and with the old wounds from years of fighting, he is in critical condition..." The man didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood.
Mu Zitao immediately mounted his horse and, with several attendants, rode out of the town, heading towards the capital.
Three Jin and the others on horseback involuntarily turned their heads to look in another direction, but there was no sign of the donkey cart. Their master was finally free from that childish, funny, and embarrassing situation, but why did it feel like there was just a tiny bit of a pity?
On the official road, Tian Shu looked back at the carriage several times, but never saw the men on horseback appear.
At noon, the car stopped. Hong Xiaoduo led the two girls to find a place to relieve themselves, while Tian Shu led the boys.
In just a few days, the children have developed the good habit of washing their hands before meals and after urinating.
Hong Xiaoduo looked at the map book and saw that there were no villages or towns between the next place. After having breakfast in the morning, she bought food for lunch.
She chose a flat grassy area by the roadside, and the children excitedly went to the donkey cart to unload things: felt mats, water bags, sesame cakes, dried meat, red date cakes, and so on.
She sat down with the children in a circle and ate lunch.
More pedestrians passed by on the road; it was a large horse-drawn carriage with more than twenty guards.
Inside the carriage, an elderly man in his sixties, who had been resting with his eyes closed, heard laughter coming from outside. He lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked out. He saw a young woman and a group of children sitting around eating on the yellow and green withered grass under the blue sky and white clouds.
Hmm? How long has it been since I've seen such a beautiful scene?
"Stop the car and take a rest," the old man said.
"Mom, look, those people have stopped too." Kaiyang, sitting next to Hong Xiaoduo, told her nervously.
Hong Xiaoduo had actually already seen it: "They need to stop and rest too. Eat our food, don't mind them." After saying that, she tore off a large piece of jerky and handed it to him.
Kaiyang responded verbally, taking the dried meat, but his eyes still couldn't help but drift in that direction.
“Mother, they keep looking at us,” Tianji said again.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo looked in that direction and indeed it was so.
"He's probably an official," Tian Shu analyzed...
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