Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 47 - 46: Martial Arts and Literacy

Chapter 47: Chapter 46: Martial Arts and Literacy
Every year during the autumn harvest when grain is collected, the village chief selects a few men from each village to transport the entire village’s grain to the county town.
This year, Liu Bai served as the leader of the Liu Family Village’s grain transport team, went to Kaiyang County, and bought a sugar-coated hawthorn stick for both Jinbao and his niece, Jinhua.
The siblings showed off around the village.
At that time, Da Lang and his siblings, who were living in poverty and neglect at home after their mother’s death and their father’s indifference, were envious of the sugar-coated hawthorn stick.
This time, not only could Da Lang and his siblings eat sugar-coated hawthorn sticks, but their father and stepmother would also take them to the city to have fun.
The four siblings woke up well-rested the next day, quickly greeted Qin Yao who was exercising in the yard, and dashed down the hill towards the village well.
Liu Jinbao and Liu Jinhua were playing there, and the four siblings approached them, saying they were going to the city in a few days.
Liu Jinbao and Liu Jinhua didn’t believe them, saying they were lying.
Da Lang said, "My father has already gone to borrow an ox cart from the village chief, it’s true."
There was a bit of boasting in his tone.
Si Niang also said, "We’ll go to the city ourselves to buy sugar-coated hawthorn sticks to eat."
The children around them were envious upon hearing this.
Someone asked Si Niang if they could get a taste of the sugar-coated hawthorn stick.
There were also requests for Da Lang and Second Lang to tell them about any delicious food or fun things they encountered in the city.
The four siblings had never been surrounded by so many peers before, in the past, no one played with them.
Except for Jinbao and Jinhua, who occasionally exchanged a few words with them due to family ties.
The truth is, children are the most pragmatic; they don’t understand adult guile and hypocrisy, speak bluntly, and their malice is often unhidden.
Now, seeing the Liu siblings living in a tiled house and their parents taking them to the county town, they all flocked over.
But children don’t hold grudges; when they’re nice to you, they’re genuinely nice.
Before long, Si Niang was playing house with her cousin Jinhua and other village girls.
The three brothers went to the riverside with Liu Jinbao and other boys, each broke a tree branch, boasting about catching fish.
The river water was much colder than it was a month ago, so they only dared to stand on stones.
Previously, Da Lang couldn’t catch any fish no matter what; this time, he actually caught one.
"Dad! Aunt!"
The three brothers dashed home, carrying the fish they speared.
Da Lang excitedly said, "I caught a fish!"
Liu Ji unexpectedly came over to take a look at the three three-finger-wide little fish, "Fry them until they’re crispy, then add some water, some vegetables, stew some green vegetable fish soup, and we’ll have another feast tonight."
He said it like he was already craving it, swallowing his saliva.
Lucky for him, his face looks good; anyone else would seem sleazy.
Qin Yao wasn’t surprised, Da Lang had the patience, and even if he couldn’t catch fish, he didn’t give up. After repeated attempts, it’s inevitable that quantity changes lead to qualitative changes.
But kids are happy, so she still praised him a bit.
Qin Yao smiled at Da Lang, "Whether our family can feast every meal from now on will depend on you."
The young boy bashfully scratched his head, then nodded vigorously, "Yeah!" He would work hard.
In the following days, Qin Yao got up early every day to exercise and specifically called Da Lang and Second Lang.
They ran two laps around the village and came back.
She, herself, was neither red-faced nor breathless, while the two younger ones were panting heavily, far behind her.
Qin Yao was already sitting at the doorstep, eating a steamed bun by the time they got to the bridge.
After their morning run, breakfast, and a short rest, the four siblings sat in a row in the main room, and Qin Yao took out a board, pulled out a burnt stick from the stove, and taught them one sentence of three words from the Three Character Classic every day.
Liu Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, knowing Qin Yao was literate, but he didn’t know she planned to teach the children literacy.
It’s not that he didn’t know the benefits of being literate, but rather he understood one principle.
If you can’t give them everything, it’s better not to let them know these things from the start.
If they remain ignorant, they won’t be painfully longing for more later.
"In a family like ours, what’s the use of being literate?" Liu Ji muttered while leaning against the kitchen door, drinking a bowl of rice soup.
Qin Yao, with sharp ears, heard him clearly, reminded Da Lang and Second Lang to focus despite the distraction, and gave Liu Ji a dangerous glance.
"Knowledge is useful everywhere, and you say it’s useless?"
Liu Ji lowered his eyes and drank his soup without responding.
Reading doesn’t have to lead to fame, right?
Then, he began to mock Qin Yao’s handwriting, implying that his writing was better than hers.
This person hadn’t been scolded for days and was getting ahead of himself.
Qin Yao threw the fire stick in her hand, hitting Liu Ji’s knee accurately, almost making him kneel on the spot.
He behaved well afterward.
Without paper and pen at home, Da Lang and his siblings each had a small stick to practice on the wooden board.
The new brains were indeed useful; the four siblings learned quite quickly.
But they forgot quickly too.
The first night before bed, Qin Yao tested them, and they could both read and write.
The next morning, upon waking, they’d forgotten.
Reading requires repeated reinforcement, so on the third day, Qin Yao went over everything from the previous two days.
Second Lang started complaining, saying he’d rather go for a run.
Qin Yao didn’t spoil him, "Then go ahead."
Second Lang: "..."
"I, I... I’d better stick to reading."
Liu Ji, who was squatting by the stove warming himself, couldn’t help but laugh.
That night, back in the room, Second Lang and the Dragon and Phoenix Twins lay on the bed, complaining about the difficulty of literacy.
Da Lang hurriedly pulled them up, speaking earnestly:
"Such opportunities are sought by others but come to us. Stepmother teaches us kung fu and literacy without holding back. If Jinbao and Jinhua found out, they’d envy us greatly, yet you don’t want to learn."
Second Lang and the other three felt it made sense, so they decided to persevere; if they could become as formidable as their stepmother, hunting bears, they’d be awesome!
With this thought, the little ones adjusted their attitudes and studied with focus, reminding each other of what they learned yesterday to reinforce their memory the next morning.
In the few days before going to the city, the four siblings had learned the sentences "At the beginning of human life, nature is inherently good, nature is similar, habits make them different."
But the meaning of these four sentences was difficult for them to understand.
Seeing Qin Yao troubled over this, Liu Ji, feeling bored, suggested, "Why not teach through our household objects? It’s easier to remember and understand."
Qin Yao immediately looked at him, yes, "You have a point, Liu Ji. You will teach from now on, and I’ll be responsible for weekly assessments of their learning progress."
The concept of a week, introduced by Qin Yao, made the family understand the idea of a seven-day cycle.
Although they didn’t grasp the origin, they trusted that whatever the stepmother said wouldn’t be wrong, and the Liu siblings had become accustomed to this term.
Liu Ji understood this as well, regretfully tapped his mouth for speaking too much!
He honestly agreed.
But when he turned around, he met the distrustful gazes of the four children.
Liu Ji let out a cold snort, initially intending to brush it off, but he suddenly changed his mind, wanting to let these unfilial children see their father’s prowess!