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.
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