Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 245: 243: Father and Son Busy Helping, Zhang Yun’s Plan

“Oh my! Sisi, are you trying to murder your husband? Just look at all the injuries on me, don’t you feel sorry for me?”

Di Yelei kept wailing with a pitiful look, but his deep eyes betrayed the joy in his heart at the moment.

Did Sisi forget about her sneaky little trip up the mountain to go hunting?

Seems like he had dodged a bullet!

“Why would I feel sorry for you? You don’t even feel sorry for yourself!”

She rolled her eyes in resentment.

Although she was tough with her words, she eventually gave in and moved her foot, feeling sorry for him.

Suddenly, a peculiar scent filled her nose…

“Oh no! My braised pork in the pot!”

Only then did Liu Sisi hurriedly try to rescue the braised pork in the pot. Seeing the partly scorched meat, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

“Look at the mess you caused, it’s all your fault! Your father’s first meal here was ruined because of you!”

“Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I’m terrible! Just scoop out the burnt bits and give them to me.”

Di Yelei wasn’t annoyed at all and still had a grin on his face.

“Enough, if others saw us like this, they might think I’m a wicked wife who mistreats you every day!”

Liu Sisi replied jokingly.

“Grandfather! You’re up too? Please wait a while, Xuan’er will fetch some water for you.”

From the hall came the conversation between Xuan’er and Elderly Mr. Di, and a new day began.

After the meal, Di Yelei went to Zhang Peng’s house and soon, the two returned together, along with Zhang Yun. They brought back a lot of cut bamboo, which they made into screens that were three meters high and one meter wide. Then they used these screens to divide YingEr’s room into two smaller partitions and used kraft paper as a temporary wall for the siblings.

“Honestly, it’s no problem for them to keep living like this. The house you built is already big enough.”

Zhang Peng said with a chuckle.

“Brother Zhang, thank you for your hard work. Please sit down and take a break. Zhang Yun, hurry up and wash your hands before eating some pancakes to fill your stomach.”

What Liu Sisi was holding were chive pancakes. As there were no chives left in the field, she used Chinese chives instead and wrapped them in flattened dough before frying them in an oil pan.

Once they were cooked, she sent some new pancakes to her father-in-law for tasting. Then she brought a bowl of plain rice porridge and some pancakes to the working crowd.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Zhang Yun quickly nailed down the last two pieces of bamboo and happily went to wash his hands.

The basin held freshly drawn hot water, which was slightly scalding but just perfect for washing hands in cold weather. Zhang Yun quickly washed his hands clean, then picked up a chive pancake and took a bite, sipping the plain porridge on the side.

“Auntie, your cooking skills are getting better and better. The pancakes taste even better now!”

“Oh! Our Zhang Yun’s mouth is getting sweeter and sweeter, getting better at talking. Brother Zhang, listen! Just a few days ago, you said Yun Er was a quiet child, but it turns out she can speak well today.” Liu Sisi praised repeatedly, with a hint of a mother-in-law looking at her prospective son-in-law.

The compliment made Zhang Yun’s face flush, and he looked down shyly.

But it made both Zhang Peng and Di Yelei nearby laugh!

Zhang Peng in particular, couldn’t close his mouth from laughing: “Sister, you better not praise him anymore, or he might get too arrogant and lose his way!”

“Big Brother Zhang, that’s not fair. Yun’er is only ten years old. You shouldn’t be so strict with him. Kids should be lively and adorable.”

Zhang Peng also finished his work and came over to wash his hands: “He’s still a kid? Look at Xuan’er, who’s two years younger than him, yet so focused on studying and so talented. Now look at Yun’er, this naughty boy! Other than hunting some game, and helping with farm work, he can’t even recognize a single character.”

Zhang Peng’s words were subtly praising Zhang Yun.

In the mountain village, it’s natural for boys to be considered capable if they can handle both mountain and fieldwork.

But in Liu Sisi’s mind, being good at mountain and fieldwork wasn’t enough; one must know at least a few characters!

She didn’t feel good about the blind leading the blind.

Thinking of this, she smiled lightly: “Yun’er is indeed capable! But I’m afraid when he sets up his own family and deals with his expenses, he might suffer a little disadvantage because of his illiteracy. I intend to send Xuan’er to the village school next spring, and Yun’er will be eleven years old by then. It would be a good idea to send him to the village school to study for two or three years.”

He should study for two or three years first. Whether he would want to continue hunting in the mountains or continue in school, they would have to wait and see.

Liu Sisi’s words clearly startled everyone. Those who had just picked up chive pancakes to eat put down their bowls and looked up at her one after another.

“Yun’er going to the village school? That… doesn’t seem suitable, does it?”

Zhang Peng was shocked! He had never thought of sending Yun’er to school.

Di Yelei didn’t expect Liu Sisi to say this either. He couldn’t help raising his head to look at her: “Yun’er has always loved hunting. Going to the village school might not be a good idea, right?”

Liu Sisi thought her idea was excellent: “Whether Yun’er wants to go to the village school should be up to him.”

“Aunt, Auntie, I want to go hunting and earn more silver… I don’t want Ying’er to suffer in the future. As for studying, I… I really can’t do it.”

As Zhang Yun spoke, he lowered his head.

Liu Sisi thought for a moment and realized that it was indeed too abrupt to bring this up today.

Like Zhang Peng, Zhang Yun had been used to working in the mountains all year round. Suddenly asking him to study would be too drastic a change, without even time to mentally prepare.

“Yun’er, you don’t have to answer right away. There’s still a long time between now and next spring. You can think about which path you want to take in the future during this time. If you decide against it, Auntie won’t force you. If you want to, you can go with Xuan’er. What do you all think about my proposal?”

Of course, Liu Sisi’s last sentence was asking everyone’s opinion.

Everyone looked at each other and finally Zhang Peng spoke up: “Let’s do as my sister-in-law suggested. When spring comes next year, if Yun’er is willing to study, we’ll send him to the village school!”

Having said that, Zhang Peng buried his head back in his bowl to drink his porridge, but his face seemed a little less cheerful and a bit more solemn.

He thought of Liu Sisi’s background as the female tutor of the Miss of the Gan Family and wondered if she really couldn’t stand Yun’er, who couldn’t recognize a single character. Maybe they should take advantage of Yun’er’s young age and let him study for two years at the village school…

He pondered silently.

Di Yelei gave Liu Sisi a deep look, not understanding why she, who usually didn’t like to talk nonsense, would propose such an embarrassing idea today of all days. But thinking that Sisi was doing it for the two children’s sake, he still swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.