Chapter 343: Correction
Editor: Atlas Studios
In the end, Mu Shi could not stay at home for the New Year. The day after New Year’s Eve, he was called away by the military camp.
But this time, after knowing that he would be in the West Camp of Xingzhou Prefecture, everyone happily sent him off.
As for Liu Lang, ever since he said that he wanted to learn how to manage accounts from Xiuhong, he would come here every day. He would come in the morning and go back in the afternoon. In the beginning, Xiuhong could still proudly impart to him the mnemonic rhymes and teach him how to settle accounts. Unexpectedly, merely seven to eight days later, Liu Lang could already smoothly recite the rhymes. Although he wasn’t as quick as Xiuhong in using the abacus, he could now do the calculations very smoothly.
Not only Xiuhong, but even Mu Yangling was shocked. After looking at the accounts he had calculated, she smiled and said, “Cousin Lang is very talented in this aspect. No wonder Uncle Ting found him an accountant apprenticeship.”
Xiuhong nodded tiredly. “Going at this rate, Cousin Lang might be able to take over the accounts in less than half a year.”
Learning from an accountant naturally couldn’t compare to learning from them. They would teach him as much as they knew, unlike the accountant. For the sake of his job or in order to make the apprentice work for free for a few more years, the accountant would hide his knowledge. Even if he did teach him accounting skills in the end, he would only teach him 50-60% of what he knew. The rest would depend on his own ability.
Therefore, Liu Lang improved very quickly here because Xiuhong had taught him the key points the moment he arrived.
Previously, Liu Lang had followed his father to the eatery to meet the old accountant who currently had an apprentice under his wing. Although it had only been a day, he knew how bad that apprentice’s life was. Coupled with his father’s and his family’s repeated reminders to be tolerant, he knew that life as an apprentice was not easy.
Hence, he was very grateful for Xiuhong’s selflessness. However, considering Xiuhong was competitive, if he thanked her verbally, she would probably feel bad. So, he would occasionally bring her some small gifts.
He weaved grasshoppers himself and made wind chimes in his spare time. Occasionally when he saw wildflowers by the roadside, he would pluck them for her. Sometimes, he even plucked a handful of foxtail grass and placed it in a bottle for her to admire.
It couldn’t be helped. Wild flowers were too difficult to find in winter, but foxtail grass was everywhere.
Xiuhong really wanted to throw the foxtail grass in his face, but seeing that he had placed the grass nicely in the bottle, she still placed the bottle on the stone table in the courtyard. To put it nicely, it was better to enjoy it together than to enjoy it alone. Everyone could now admire the foxtail grass together!
Everyone laughed. Even Bosi and Kejia ran in circles around the stone table and shouted, “Admire the grass! Admire the grass…”
It was rare for Liu Lang to blush.
Great-aunt chased them away. “Alright, alright. Go back to the house after you’re done making a fuss. Don’t catch a flu in the cold. Bosi, Kejia, don’t run anymore. Go back to the house with your older brother to play.”
It was rare for Bosi and Kejia to be able to come out and have fun. When they heard this, they did not stop in their tracks. They turned around and rushed towards the door tacitly.
Mu Yangling quickly grabbed the back of their necks and picked them up. “Where are you running to? Listen to Great-aunt and go home.”
Bosi and Kejia struggled in Mu Yangling’s hands and shouted, “Help, help—I want to get out, I want to get out—”
When Shu Wanniang heard the cry, she ran out. When Bosi and Kejia saw their mother, they opened their arms pitifully and shouted, “Mother, help—”
Mu Yangling was originally smiling, but when she saw Shu Wanniang’s cold face, she was stunned for a moment and asked, “Mother, what’s wrong?”
Shu Wanniang pulled Bosi and Kejia down and pulled them into the house with a dark expression. She asked them to stand against the wall, “Who taught you to shout for help?”
Shu Wanniang didn’t lose her temper easily. Once she lost her temper, even Great-aunt didn’t dare to speak.
The people who entered the house fell silent for a moment and looked at Bosi and Kejia.
Bosi and Kejia immediately felt immense pressure. The two three-year-old children opened their mouths and looked at their older sister blankly.
Shu Wanniang couldn’t help but slam the table and ask in a slightly higher voice, “Let me ask you, who taught you to shout for help?”
The two children shrunk their necks and tears welled up in their eyes. They said in a trembling voice, “Outside, we’ve seen the older brothers and sisters do that.”
The children in the village liked to play war games. Sometimes, when they were in a chaotic battle, it was common for them to shout for help.
Shu Wanniang suppressed her anger and said, “Do you know what shouting for help means?”
The two children shook their heads in confusion.
Shu Wanniang said coldly, “It’s only when you’re captured, or those close to you are captured, or severely injured, that you can shout for help. Now, you’re only being grabbed by your older sister and not allowed to go out to play. Should something really happen in the future, who will believe you when it’s time to call for help?”
The two three-year-old children did not understand, but they knew in their hearts that it was wrong for them to shout for help just now. They looked at their mother with tears in their eyes.
Shu Wanniang’s heart had softened a long time ago, but she knew that three to four years old was the most important stage of a child’s personality development. In the past, when Bowen was still young and soft, she had already been able to steel her heart to teach him a lesson. Although her heart had softened by now, she still said coldly, “Do you know your mistake?”
The two children hurriedly nodded and promised, “We won’t shout for help again.”
Mu Yangling hurriedly said, “It’s not that you mustn’t shout for help, but just don’t do so easily.”
The two children quickly changed their words. Only then was Shu Wanniang satisfied and waved for them to come over.
When the twins saw that their mother had finally waved at them and they were finally not isolated on the side, they immediately plunged into their mother’s arms and wailed.
Seeing that they were crying at the top of their lungs, Shu Wanniang didn’t stop them. She just hugged them with each hand and patted their backs to calm them down. She said softly and gently, “Remember, don’t shout for help so easily in the future when your older brothers and sisters are just playing with you. If you shout for help now, when you really need help in the future, others will think that you’re playing around. What will happen then? Your mother and older siblings can’t always be by your side…”
In the end, the twins cried until they were tired and needed to rest.
The two children’s eyes were red and they would twitch from time to time. It was obvious that they had cried terribly just now. Even when they slept at night they were still groaning.
Great-aunt sighed. Only then did she understand that it wasn’t that Shu Wanniang didn’t care about taking the children in hand. It was just that she usually let the children be. However, she wouldn’t go easy on them when she felt that she needed to speak up.
At the thought of this, she became even more open with Mu Yangling and the other children. Anyway, since their mother was in charge of them, she would let them do as they pleased.
Just as Great-aunt was about to brew some calming tea for the two children, Shu Wanniang stopped her. “The two children are still young and don’t have to drink that. Besides, they’ll be fine after they’re done crying.”
The reason why Shu Wanniang made them cry so much was to let them vent the fear and grievances in their hearts. Although they were still groaning now, they would be fine after a night.
When Great-aunt heard this, she agreed. Smiling, she said, “Although I’m your elder, sometimes I’m really inferior to you in raising children.”
Shu Wanniang blushed. “Aunt, you’re too modest. Other than Bowen, you’ve helped take care of all the children. It was your idea that helped us solve the problem of Ah Ling refusing to drink milk back then. Otherwise, this child wouldn’t have survived till this age.”
Shu Wanniang had always regarded Great-aunt as her “mother-in-law”, so she was the one who made most of the decisions in the family. As long as it wasn’t a principle of issue that involved the children, she didn’t care.
On the other hand, Great-aunt had always been a little apprehensive about living under someone else’s roof. Therefore, although she was domineering in daily life, she usually listened to Mu Yangling and Shu Wanniang when it came to important matters. That was why everyone got along so well. Otherwise, if it were someone else, this family would have probably fallen apart.
Now that Great-aunt had a deeper understanding of Shu Wanniang’s other side as a mother, she felt even more at ease. She felt that although Shu Wanniang was always behind closed doors embroidering or teaching her children how to read, she didn’t lack knowledge and even had much more brilliant methods than her.
If it were her, the disobedient child would most likely be beaten up and reasoned with.