Chapter 64: To the Brick and Tile Factory
Wang Lianhua and Xifeng arrived a bit late, after Shen Meng and Xie Jinghao had already finished eating with the kids. They had hesitated to leave home, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
If they were coming to help with the chores, they would have surely left early. But going to someone’s house for a meal, for some reason, they just couldn’t pick up their feet to head over. They initially didn’t want to bring the kids with them, especially since Shen Meng had mentioned ahead of time about making pork trotter soup in the evening. Going by themselves was fine, but bringing the kids along just wasn’t appropriate.
Last night, Yaoyao and Gao Gao clung to their mother and wouldn’t let go, asking to be held, while Daqing and Erqing ran out after dinner to play with Mingyang’s kids. Today was the first day of the new term. Daqing was the only one who had entered the third grade, which made him look more important among all the children. Even Mingyang was more polite to him, as his mother had said that schooling costs a lot of money.
They gathered together, taking branches to write and draw on the ground in the yard, with Ming Liang even putting on the airs of a little teacher, and Shen Meng following along in the learning.
The original host had attended literacy classes and recognized a few characters but not many. Shen Meng thought of having Mingyang and the others teach her what they learned every evening. Over time, she could go to the county to buy a couple of books to keep up appearances, so when it was time to show her abilities, no one would be suspicious.
"They’re all playing!" Xifeng said joyfully while holding Gao Gao, giving Wang Lianhua a tug on the way.
The latter held Yaoyao without speaking, her expression somewhat unnatural.
Shen Meng quickly stood up and moved chairs for the two of them, "Sit down, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time, how come you only arrived now?"