The Comeback of the Charming Farmer's Wife

Why would a child over three years old need to start learning to write so early?

My two children started listening to the Three Character Classic when they were just over one month old.

Upon hearing this, Ruoqiu was dumbfounded, "Aren’t you rushing things a bit?"

"It’s not that I’m in a hurry, I had no choice, Brother An used to read to the children every day at home, and they got into the habit; now if I don’t read to them on time, they start crying loudly. So I just went along with it, reading at home every day."

Ruoqiu’s lips twitched in amusement, "Brother An himself is a runner-up in the imperial examinations, does he want to raise two more runners-up now?"

I must say, you’ve hit the nail on the head, young lady.

What Yang Chuxia was too embarrassed to say was that what the father of the children aimed for was not a runner-up, but a champion.

Ms. Liu Junior, listening by the side, was filled with envy; having a father who was an official really made a difference.

She then thought about sending her own son to study when he grew up.

After a while, voices came from outside, it seemed like Ms. Liu Junior’s maternal family had arrived. Ms. Liu Junior went out to greet them.

The visitors included Ms. Liu Junior’s mother, a sister, a sister-in-law, a younger sibling, and several of Ms. Liu Junior’s aunts and cousins—a substantial group, more than a dozen people.

"Look at you, second sister, how come your courtyard has gotten bigger? Did you rebuild it?" The speaker was Ms. Liu Junior’s sister.

She had been there once when Ms. Liu Junior got married, which was over a year ago. Land Officer Yang’s house had been reorganized that summer.

"My brother and sister-in-law are planning to move back in the next couple of years, and my father-in-law thought the current house wouldn’t be spacious enough, so he expanded the courtyard and built a few more rooms."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Liu Junior’s sister became incredibly envious; her family couldn’t even afford to build two thatched cottages.

Even Ms. Liu Junior’s mother felt the same. Initially, she thought the thirty taels of various wedding gifts were a lot when Ms. Liu Junior got married. Now looking back, it seemed too little; she should have asked for more.

But it was too late for regrets now, the daughter’s mother-in-law was a formidable figure, and they couldn’t take advantage of her even if they wanted to.

Ms. Liu Junior didn’t notice her mother’s and sister’s expressions; she was quite happy seeing so many people from her maternal family, feeling it gave her face.

However, thinking about the valuable gifts given on her husband’s side, she wondered what her maternal family had prepared.

She quietly asked, "Mother, what have you prepared for Qingkang’s full moon celebration?"

She wasn’t craving for substantial gifts from her maternal family, but she was afraid that the light gifts from her maternal side would cause them to lose face in front of her in-laws.

"We’ve prepared a set of clothes, socks, and shoes, plus fifty eggs and ten pounds of flour," Ms. Liu Junior’s mother said. After pausing, she added, "Your sister brought a piece of cloth, prepared a set of clothes, and also brought two pounds of brown sugar."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Liu Junior felt uneasy; compared to the gifts at her in-laws’ side, this was nothing. She thought about putting the gifts from her maternal family in the room next door instead of mixing them with the gifts from people like Ms. Wang. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if relatives made fun of them after a comparison.

Ms. Liu Junior was intent on preventing her maternal family from losing face, but ironically, Ms. Liu Junior’s sister felt her gifts were quite generous and wanted to show off.

Seeing Ms. Liu Junior asked them to put the gifts in the side room, she said, "Second sister, why put it in this room? It’s crowded today; we shouldn’t risk something being stolen. Better take it to your room."

She thought that by putting the gifts in her sister’s room, everyone who came to see the baby could see them, but who would notice if they were in the side room?

Without paying attention to Ms. Liu Junior, she straightforwardly carried the items into Ms. Liu Junior’s room.