Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Jia saw the girls standing upright with bright eyes and irrepressible smiles on their faces. He looked at Li Yu. âAre those children going to school
Li Yu smiled and nodded. âYes! Theyâre learning needlework from Auntie Xue and Auntie Lin now. I want them to recognize a few more words and learn some arithmetic. When theyâre released in the future, theyâll be looked up to. Sigh!â Li Yu sighed again. âSomeone taught the girls needlework, but itâs too difficult for those boys to learn skills. Ruyi asked a few craftsmen, but they were unwilling to come to the farm to teach these children.â
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yuâs troubled expression and then at the children in the classroom who had changed. Thinking of how those children looked when they first came, he sighed and said, âOnly you would treat these children so sincerely and think so carefully for them. You donât have to worry about those craftsmen not being willing to teach you skills. They would learn calligraphy, arithmetic, and some methods of accounting. After learning them, itâs much better to go out and be an accountant than to be a craftsman.â
Li Yuâs eyes lit up. âThatâs right! Why didnât I think of that? Youâre still the smartest. â
Zhou Jia chuckled proudly. âOf course. Donât you know whose husband I am? Li Yu rolled her eyes at him. âYou sure know how to accept praise.â
Aunt Xue, who was standing at the side, whispered to Old Madam Yun, âMaster and Madam are really a match made in heaven!â
Old Madam Yun smiled and nodded. âThatâs right! Madam and Master are fated from their previous life!â
In the classroom, Mr. Lu and Mr. Liu finished lighting the childrenâs cinnabar moles. When the two of them saw Zhou Jia return, they hurriedly walked out of the classroom and greeted him. âGreetings, sir.â
âSirs, thereâs no need to stand on ceremony.â Zhou Jia smiled and helped the two of them up. âMadam has already prepared food and wine. Mr. Lu, Mr. Liu, follow me. Letâs celebrate.â
This was Liu Hanminâs first time interacting with Zhou Jia. Seeing that he was easy-going and amiable, he bowed with Mr. Lu excitedly and said, âYes, sir.â
Zhou Jia left with the two of them. The children came out of the classroom and pointed at the cinnabar mole on their foreheads for Li Yu and Auntie Xue to see. âMadam, Granny Xue, look at what Sir has done for us. Sir said that this is a cinnabar mole to enlighten us.â
Li Yu smiled and said to them, âYou have to study seriously. Go back and eat now. Come to the classroom on time tomorrow morning.â
âYes, Madam.â After the children agreed in unison, they followed Auntie Xue and the others back to the main room to eat.
Yangyang ran to Li Yu and pointed at the cinnabar mole on his forehead. âMother, look, I have another one. Does that count as me becoming a student twice?
Li Yu looked at the cinnabar mole on Yangyangâs forehead and held his hand as they walked back. She smiled and said, âLast time, Mr. Lu did it in order for you to become his student. This time, Mr. Liu did it. This is equivalent to acknowledging two teachers and not becoming a student twice.â
âOh!â Yangyang looked up at Li Yu and smiled proudly. âMother, Sir even said that Brother Seven Pounds and I are Brother Shuishengâs senior brothers!â
Li Yu looked at his smug expression and smiled. âAlright, after becoming a senior brother, you have to set a good example for your junior brothers. When I
call you to cultivate in the morning, you canât stay in bed anymore.â
Yangyang lowered his head and hesitated for a while. He nodded and said,
âAlright, I wonât stay in bed anymore.â
When Seven Pounds heard this from the front, he turned around and looked at
Yangyang scratching his face with his fingers. He smiled and said, âYoung
Master, you just stayed in bed yesterday morning.â
âBrother Seven Pounds, youâre so bad. You also stayed in bed last time.â Yangyang ran forward and grabbed Seven Poundsâ shy fingers. âLook, I wonât stay in bed tomorrow.â
Seven Pounds held Yangyangâs hand. âAlright, Iâll wake you tomorrow morning. You canât go back on your word.â
âYes!â Yangyang nodded heavily in agreement. The two of them ran off hand in hand.
Xiaoyu looked at their backs and turned to look at Li Yu with a smile. âMadam, Young Master is almost four years old. Why donât you give him a brother or sister?â
When Li Yu heard this, she thought to herself that she hadnât used contraception after giving birth to Yangyang. For some reason, she hadnât been pregnant in the past few years. Perhaps fate hadnât arrived yet! Li Yu smiled at Xiaoyu. âLetâs leave it to fate!â
Xiaoyu smiled and nodded. âYes! My father often said that children are fated in their previous lives. Some are here to collect debts, and some are here to repay them. My mother often said that weâre debt collectors.â Xiaoyu touched her stomach and said with a melancholic expression, âSeven Pounds is already so old, but he hasnât met the two elders and his uncle. I wonder how my father and mother are doing?â
Li Yu looked at Xiaoyuâs melancholic expression and missed Li Mei and Ah
Qing. âThey must be fine. Letâs go back and see them when we have the chance.â
Xiaoyu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked at Li Yu with a smile. âMadam, Iâm fine. I just suddenly miss them.â
Li Yu smiled and shook her hand. The two of them split up in the courtyard.
After Xiaoyu returned to the house, Ruyi saw that the corners of her eyes were red. He looked at Xiaoyu worriedly and asked repeatedly, âXiaoyu, whatâs wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Old Master hasnât returned yet. Iâll go find Master to take a look at you first.â
Xiaoyu hurriedly pulled him back and said with a smile, âIâm fine, silly. When I was chatting with Madam just now, I suddenly thought of my parents far away in Tongzhou. For some reason, my tears fell. Ruyi, ever since I got pregnant with this child, I feel that itâs different from when I was pregnant with Seven
Pounds. I think this child might be a daughter.â
Ruyi sat at the table with Xiaoyu in his arms and said happily, âHello, daughter. When you grow up, youâll be obedient and considerate. Youâll even make shoes and clothes for us. Thereâll also be old wine to drink. Youâll be unlike that brat Seven Pounds, who often runs away without a trace. Xiaoyu, donât worry about In-laws. When the child grows stronger, weâll go back and visit them when we have time.â
When Xiaoyu heard Ruyiâs words, she smiled happily. âYes! Hurry up and eat!
Did Seven Pounds follow Young Master to the main courtyard to eat again?â
Ruyi scooped a bowl of green bean porridge and placed it in front of Xiaoyu. âThe brat hurriedly drank a bowl of porridge and ran away in a hurry with an egg pancake. He said that he had an appointment with Young Master to go to the drying field and play with Shui Sheng and the others.â
âThis brat.â Xiaoyu smiled and picked up her bowl. âLetâs not care about him.
Itâs not like he wonât be able to eat his fill when we go to the main courtvard?â
Ruyi laughed too. âThatâs true.â
After Zhou Jia, Mr. Lu, and Mr. Liu ate and drank their fill, he brought the two of them to the study and said to them, âThese children in the manor will be released to start a family when they reach a certain age. Teach them how to read and calculate. Teach the boys some ability to keep track of accounts. After they reach adulthood, they will also have the ability to settle down and support their families when they leave this place.â
Mr. Lu and Mr. Liu stood up and bowed to Zhou Jia. âSir, youâre so righteous.
These lonely old people and children on the farm are all blessed..â
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