After seeing off Chen Ping, Lin Chuxia took advantage of the empty house to add some spiritual spring water into the water tank.
Because of Mr. Qin’s health, Lin Chuxia would secretly add some spiritual spring water to the tank whenever convenient, to help regulate Mr. Qin’s health.
Over the past year, Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin’s health had indeed improved remarkably.
She always drank spiritual spring water herself and was most aware of its benefits.
Yesterday, when she fought those thugs, her strength and skills were even better than when she confronted Jia Liang and his people a year ago.
There was some noise in the yard; it was Mrs. Qin coming back with Little Zhuangzhuang.
Mrs. Qin, seeing Mr. Chen had left, casually asked about it and then went to the backyard to feed the chickens.
Little Zhuangzhuang was left alone in the yard, his two eyes red, pouting his little mouth.
He had been so happy when he left the house just a moment ago.
“What happened?”
Lin Chuxia liked children, and Zhuangzhuang was so endearing that she truly doted on her nephew.
Zhuangzhuang didn’t regard Lin Chuxia as an outsider and, with his pouted mouth, complained, “I was playing nicely with Niuniu just now, but Tie Dan came and took Niuniu away. He said he’s going to primary school in two months and that he can already count to 20 without having started school yet, claiming he’s a child prodigy. He said I can’t count, that I’m too dumb, and would not let Niuniu play with me, saying that stupidity is contagious and if Niuniu keeps playing with me, she will catch the dumbness too.”
After finishing, he looked up at Lin Chuxia with folded arms, “Auntie Shao, am I really a dummy?”
Lin Chuxia replied with a question instead, “Does Zhuangzhuang think he’s a dummy?”
“I’m not dumb; mom and dad and grandma all say I’m the smartest, and grandpa also says I’m as smart as Uncle.”
“That’s right, isn’t it? Auntie Shao tells you, being dumb might not be contagious, but intelligence can be inherited. Your uncle is so smart, your dad and he are real brothers, you must have inherited smart genes too.”
Hearing this, Zhuangzhuang’s little face immediately brightened, “Then can I go to college like Uncle?”
“Of course, you can,” Lin Chuxia nodded without hesitation.
Zhuangzhuang was happy for a while, then his face fell again, “But I can’t yet count to 20; how can I go to college?”
Lin Chuxia knew the little guy had suffered a setback today and if he didn’t understand, this obstacle could linger in his heart for a long time.
She stretched out her hand to embrace his little body in her arms, gently stroking his plump little arms, and explained gently to him.
“Being able to count to 20 is nothing, it’s just that no one has taught you before. People can’t be born knowing everything, otherwise, what’s the point of going to school? If Tie Dan can count to 20 it’s definitely because someone taught him. So, Auntie Shao will teach you to count right now, and we won’t just count to 20, we’ll count to 100, how does that sound? Are you confident?”
Zhuangzhuang immediately widened his eyes and nodded vigorously, “Mhm, I’m confident.”
Zhuangzhuang was also five years old this year, usually brought up by Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin.
Mr. Qin was busy with farm work, and Mrs. Qin was illiterate; in the end, it was because Qin Han and his wife were busy with the Bun Shop and had neglected Zhuangzhuang’s education.
Zhuangzhuang was a smart and bright child; Lin Chuxia really didn’t want this little one to develop a psychological shadow over this.
Since there was nothing to do today, she simply grabbed some paper and a pen to teach Zhuangzhuang to recognize and understand numbers.
Mrs. Qin, after feeding chickens and picking vegetables, saw two figures—one big, one small—under the big tree, counting something seriously.
Lin Chuxia would say a number, and Zhuangzhuang would follow; and as she got closer, she heard they were counting numbers.
Zhuangzhuang was learning very earnestly, having counted to 29, Lin Chuxia would just remind him, and he could immediately count numbers above 30.
Upon reaching 39, Lin Chuxia reminded him once more, and then continued to count numbers above 40. When she got to 49, this time without Lin Chuxia’s reminder, he began counting 50, 51, 52…
He continued all the way to 99, and Lin Chuxia smiled and clapped her hands, “100, Zhuangzhuang, you are really amazing. Auntie only taught you once, and you can count to 100 already. You’re truly a little prodigy.”
Zhuangzhuang’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Is counting really this easy?”
“Counting is not necessarily easy, but it is easy for Zhuangzhuang, right? So Zhuangzhuang is definitely not a dummy.”
Zhuangzhuang nodded in agreement, “Tie Dan can only count to 20, and he still calls himself a genius. I’m going to find Tie Dan later and compete in counting with him to see who the real dummy is.”
“Hmm, sure, we should not only know how to count but also how to write. How about Auntie teaches you how to write now?”
“Yes, I want to learn.”
He wanted to secretly learn to count and write numbers to surprise all his little friends.
Lin Chuxia first wrote the numbers 1 to 10 for him to recognize and then held his small hand to start writing.
Although the writing was a bit crooked, Zhuangzhuang learned very quickly and was able to write after a short while.
This result was within Lin Chuxia’s expectations.
Yuan Bao became smarter than the average dog after drinking the spiritual spring water, and Zhuangzhuang usually eats and drinks with Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin.
It’s just that the concentration of the spiritual spring water in the water jar is low, so the effect might not be as noticeable.
Mrs. Qin had been watching for a while when she finally said with a chuckle, “Xiaxia, you like children so much, you should consider having one with Yangyang. When the time comes, Mom will help you take care of the child.”
She already knew that Lin Chuxia and Qin Yang had not gotten pregnant because they were practicing contraception. She understood that Lin Chuxia was busy with her business and could not think about having children, but she still hoped that the couple would have a child sooner rather than later.
Lin Chuxia looked at Little Zhuangzhuang concentrating on writing and nodded with a smile, “Mom, we’ll think about it.”
Now, she indeed had fewer concerns about having children.
Counting the days, it had been over a week since Jia Yuanliang left. If she didn’t go to the Northwest soon, she would miss the opening of Jia Yuanliang’s Bun Shop.
………
In the city, Jia Liang returned from outside and the workers had already started to get busy.
Their bun shops all have a uniform decorating style, and Jia Liang wanted to ensure that the workers could replicate the storefront exactly like the blueprints, so he came to the shop nearly every day to keep an eye on them.
After scanning the room and not finding the person he was looking for, he called Feng Zhong over from where he was busy, “Where’s Zhuzi?”
Feng Zhong and Tian Jinzhu had been staying with him at the shop since they arrived in the city.
They hadn’t found a place to stay when they first came to the city, and they said that staying at the bun shop would allow them to watch the workers and the progress of the work, and they could also learn more from following Jia Liang.
Tian Jinzhu was usually unreliable, but hearing him say this, Jia Liang suddenly felt that his kid had grown up and become sensible, so he agreed.
Feng Zhong put down his work and wiped off some sweat, “Someone came looking for him just now, seemed like an emergency. He went back to get a bag and then left. I asked him but he didn’t say, only mentioned going back to An City.”
“Back to An City? Is there something with his family?”
Tian Jinzhu was also from An City, but what kind of family matter could it be that they would need to find him? If not family, who else could it be?
Feng Zhong shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“Alright, I got it,” Jia Liang waved his hand and quickly stopped Feng Zhong again, “By the way, did he mention when the batch of timber would arrive when he left?”