TCFSRMR |Chapter 15

Seeing that the others were also dumbfounded, Zhao Aixiang quickly got up from the ground and slapped Liang Cuiping across the face without warning:

“You dead girl, what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Mom, what are you doing?” Liang Cuiping had been pinched so hard that her eyes were twitching, but she still held her neck stiff and said, “Wasn’t it you who told me to give this dead girl candy, and have Niu Erzhu’s family come take her away while people were asleep?”

“And that little girl’s clothes and little shoes in the end, you were the one who told me to throw them into the reed marsh!”

“I, I…” Zhao Aixiang was practically scared out of her wits.

Helplessly, Liang Cuiping was like she had been possessed, still talking nonstop:

“Weren’t you the one who told me that I had to get revenge for little brother and make their whole family have no good days? Otherwise, would I have gone so far as to say I was just going to ruin some little girl…”

“You still dare say that!” Zhao Aixiang’s slap finally landed on Liang Cuiping’s face. Like a madwoman, she pinched and twisted her again and again, “You knew your little brother is your mom’s heart and soul. This matter didn’t need your mom to say it, you should have taken the initiative to do it yourself!”

“Mingwei is my life. Why should my Mingwei be locked up in prison while their family gets to live comfortably?”

“This is what Shi Guoan and Miao Xiuxiu owe us!”

“And what did I even do? I only told Niu Erzhu and his wife that that stinky girl was lucky, and if they took her back, she could bring them a son. In the end, they believed it and really came over to carry that stinky girl away. It was all them who did it, what does it have to do with me?”

The police were already dumbstruck——

Although they had taken over this case, they had thought that so many years had already passed that if they really wanted to investigate it clearly, the chances would probably be slim. In the end, they had only just come in, and these bad elements had argued and argued until they spilled all their dirty laundry themselves?

Wang Xiuju, who had been standing beside Liang Cuiping all along, was also stunned. She subconsciously tugged at Shi Dahai:

“Dahai ge, what’s wrong with Cuiping saozi and Zhao dama? Why do they seem like they’ve been possessed?”

Unexpectedly, Shi Dahai did not explain anything for that mother and daughter pair. Instead, he reached back and grabbed Wang Xiuju’s hand:

“I knew Xiuju meizi you were a good one, not like the tigress in our family, not knowing at all how to feel sorry for people.”

After he said it, Shi Dahai also realized something was off——

How had he just blurted out what he was thinking?

Wang Xiuju’s face instantly turned bright red. She hurried to shake off Shi Dahai’s hand:

“Dahai ge, are you drunk? What nonsense are you talking?”

Shi Dahai was also panicking at this point, but his mouth simply would not obey him:

“How am I talking nonsense? You really are better-tempered than our family’s tigress…”

“Dajun… Comrade police, help…” Wang Xiuju could not break free, and almost cried from anxiety.

“Shi Dahai, what are you doing!” Shi Dajun’s face turned green with anger. He came over and kicked Shi Dahai over with one blow——

Shi Dahai always liked running to their house. Shi Dajun had thought it was because they were close brothers, but now it looked like he had been going there so often purely for his wife.

The two police officers hurried over, one holding down the furious Shi Dajun, the other restraining the terrified Shi Dahai:

“What are you doing? Stop right now!”

With that thunderous shout, Shi Dahai felt as if a clap of thunder had exploded by his ear. His legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. Looking at the police officer holding him down, his face was ashen:

“I’ll confess, I’ll confess, I shouldn’t have acted like a lecher toward the little girl…”

Then, snot and tears streaming, he pleaded toward Wang Xiuju:

“…I was wrong, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have taken advantage of Xiaojuan, I won’t dare again…”

He was still going to say more, but unexpectedly Wang Xiuju, who had been staring in shock beside him, suddenly let out a roar and lunged at him——

After she had entered the family and given birth to two sons, she finally had Shi Juan as a daughter, so of course she doted on her tremendously. Earlier, when Shi Dahai said he had been acting lecherous, Wang Xiuju had thought he was going to splash filth onto her. Who would have thought it was actually related to her daughter. In a daze, she remembered that every time Shi Dahai came to their house, he had never once held their two little boys. He always went first to hold Juanjuan. And then eight times out of ten, her daughter would cry, shouting that she did not like Uncle Dahai holding her…

Wang Xiuju swayed, almost falling to the ground——

She had always thought it was because her daughter was being spoiled too much by them that she cried at the drop of a hat. Thinking about it now, that was not the case at all.

Wang Xiuju even remembered that just two nights ago, when she went into the kitchen to cook, Shi Dahai had been holding Shi Juan and sitting under the shade of the tree to keep cool. At that time, she had clearly said her husband still needed a while before he would be back, but Shi Dahai had said he would then play with Juanjuan for a bit.

At the time, Wang Xiuju had thought that Shi Dahai probably just really liked having a daughter because his family had three boys. Looking at how he treated their Juanjuan, he was almost more patient than Shi Dajun, her own biological father. Only now did she understand that it was not like that at all. So that bastard was taking advantage of her daughter.

What made Wang Xiuju even more furious was that at the time, when her daughter saw her come out, she had clearly cried and made a fuss to express that she did not want Shi Dahai holding her, but Wang Xiuju had actually scolded her, saying that her daughter was not obedient. Shi Dahai liked her, that was why he always wanted to hold her. She told her to behave and let Shi Dahai hold her, and not disturb her while she was working…

In the next moment, Wang Xiuju raised her hand and slapped herself across the face.

Just as enraged was Shi Dajun. Earlier, he had been trying hard to protect Shi Dahai, but it turned out this cousin not only had designs on his wife, he even wanted to make moves on his such a little daughter. With red eyes, he charged toward Shi Dahai:

“Beast, Shi Dahai, you beast! I’m going to kill you!”

Caught off guard, the police actually let Shi Dajun get close, and he grabbed Shi Dahai and started beating and kicking him.

In fact, it was not just Shi Dajun. After Shi Dahai said those words, several other families had also changed expressions, and subconsciously looked at the daughters who were dazed and ignorant beside them——

Shi Dahai always liked going to their houses too! And the moment he entered, he liked to hold their little daughters.

For a moment, everyone’s faces were as black as iron. They not only refused to step forward to stop Shi Dajun, they even joined the battle. Some spat on him, some took the chance to kick him…

And when everyone kicked him, they all unanimously chose the most painful spot…

By the time the two police officers and Liang Dacheng and the others finally managed to pull him out, Shi Dahai was already black and blue all over, his face beyond recognition.

“Big brother, big brother, save me…” Shi Dahai let out a series of ghostlike howls, repeatedly begging Shi Dashan, who was standing there in shame and unable to remain upright.

“Ai yo, truly a disgrace to one’s ancestors.” Shi Dashan also tremblingly gave Shi Dahai a slap, then covered his face and squeezed out through the crowd.

Over there, Liang Cuiping and Zhao Aixiang had also snapped out of it, but they were almost fainting——

Had they been possessed just now? Otherwise, how had they said out loud everything they had done?

The two police officers exchanged looks for a moment, then took out three pairs of handcuffs and cuffed all three of them——

Since entering the public security bureau, this case was truly the easiest and also the strangest one they had solved.

When it was time to get in the car, Shi Dahai caused trouble again, clutching his lower body and rolling nonstop on the ground, looking as if he would die any second from the pain.

Seeing him like that, the police officers exchanged looks, fearing a death would occur, and had no choice but to have one person accompany him to the restroom for an inspection. In the end, there was some bruising on his thigh, but nothing else could be seen.

They immediately understood that Shi Dahai was probably faking it——

As expected, he was a morally corrupt piece of trash!

They grew somewhat angry and pulled Shi Dahai up to drag him outside:

“If you dare keep making trouble and resisting the government, the crime will be compounded.”

They themselves wanted to beat up such a bastard just from looking at him!

“No, I didn’t resist the government…” Shi Dahai was still howling nonstop, his expression not only horrified but despairing. “Listen, listen, there’s still someone speaking…”

Clearly, a strange voice had been echoing by his ear the whole time, something like “chemical castration in progress…”

Why did everyone else act like they heard nothing?

And the word castration, he had heard of it too. Wasn’t that something only the old eunuchs in the imperial palace before liberation would suffer? Could it be that it meant he would also become a eunuch in the future?!

Seeing the police leave, Yin Zhaodi panicked and directly called Shi Ting and Shi Jie into the room:

“Xiao Ting, Xiao Jie, tell Mom honestly, that Shi Dahai, did he, did he, touch you…”

Shi Ting immediately shook her head, but Shi Jie was clearly a bit timid.

Yin Zhaodi was almost in tears:

“Xiao Jie, speak up!”

“No,” Shi Jie shook her head. It was just that she had once accidentally seen Shi Dahai making moves on Shi Juan.

After all, being a little older, Shi Jie already knew that what Shi Dahai was doing was not a good thing. She had even wanted to tell Yin Zhaodi when she came back, but the moment she opened her mouth, she was almost beaten by Yin Zhaodi, who even said that at such a young age, as a girl, she was already learning improper things…

“That’s great, that’s great…” Yin Zhaodi collapsed onto the bed as if all her strength had left her——

Fortunately, Shi Dahai’s couple did not get along with the eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law, and rarely came to their house. Otherwise, their Xiao Ting and Xiao Jie might also have been…

What Yin Zhaodi did not expect was that that night, she had a terrible nightmare. In the dream, she did not see the eldest brother Shi Guoan, and even eldest sister-in-law Miao Xiuxiu did not know where she had gone. Then Shi Dahai, actually under her inadvertent indulgence, had stretched out his devilish hands toward Shi Jie…

At the end of the dream, their family had gained a thin little coffin, and lying inside the coffin was none other than Shi Jie, fished out of the river at the village entrance…

The next day, while the sky was still dark, Miao Xiuxiu heard someone outside walking rustle-rustle. She thought it was her mother-in-law getting up, but when she looked outside, it was Yin Zhaodi and Shi Ting, the mother and daughter pair one busy stoking the fire, the other cutting vegetables and cooking.

Yin Zhaodi also saw Miao Xiuxiu and came over to push her back:

“Eldest sister-in-law, what are you getting up for? Hurry and go back to keep Yingying company and sleep a little longer. Yingying just came back, she probably still can’t be without you, her mom. When the meal is ready, I’ll go call you.”

“How could I be that sleepy? Besides, I’m already up.” Miao Xiuxiu said as she rolled up her sleeves, “Let Tingting go back and sleep a little more…”

As she spoke, she let out an “ah” and quickly came to the stove, grabbing Shi Ting——

At twelve or thirteen, it was exactly the age when one lacked sleep. Had Shi Ting not fallen asleep while stoking the fire?

If Miao Xiuxiu had not pulled her over quickly enough, Shi Ting’s hair would have been burned by the fire.

“Look at you, girl, you’re already so old and you still can’t even stoke a fire properly. What use are you?” Yin Zhaodi complained as she helped Shi Ting pat out the sparks that had splashed onto her.

“I’ll stoke the fire, Tingting should go sleep. The child also spent all day in the fields with us yesterday.” Among the children, Shi Ting was the most honest and obedient. Whenever an adult told her to do something, she would obediently do it.

These past few years Miao Xiuxiu had not been in good spirits. When Shi Guoan went off to work, Shi Ting was the one responsible for taking care of Shi Heng.

If it were someone else watching Shi Heng and he was ignoring people, they would definitely have run off to play somewhere else by themselves. Shi Ting was different. She practically brought her several younger sisters and followed Shi Heng every step of the way. If the weather was bad and Shi Heng refused to come back under the old willow tree, Shi Ting would arrange her younger sisters and then hurry over, staying with him the whole time. There had been many times when she simply stayed with Shi Heng while getting rained on together.

To this day Miao Xiuxiu still remembered that when it suddenly rained a few days ago, as they were returning from the fields and reached the village entrance, they saw Shi Ting herself holding a fertilizer sack over her head and also carrying a piece of plastic sheet, covering Shi Heng with it.

Every time Shi Heng threw it off, she picked it up once. Throw it off once, pick it up once, bending down over and over, but the child never looked annoyed, and she softly and patiently persuaded Shi Heng:

“Little brother, be good. Getting rained on will make you sick, and if you get sick you have to take medicine, and medicine is so bitter…”

Because of this, when her spirits were a little better, Miao Xiuxiu would always unconsciously favor this sensible niece a bit more.

“Why sleep? She’s already so big, she should set an example for her younger brothers and sisters. Sleep makes you sleepier. If you don’t sleep, then you won’t be sleepy.” Yin Zhaodi had just gone to fetch a bucket of water, and at this point she was feeling a little hot, so she then called out to Shi Ting, “Tingting, come here and pour out the water.”

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it…” Miao Xiuxiu hurried to get up from in front of the stove, but Shi Ting had already gone over and laboriously lifted the bucket, pouring the water out.

Miao Xiuxiu could only let it be. Seeing Shi Ting coming back to stoke the fire again, she urged her once more to go back and sleep a little more.

Shi Ting shook her head and smiled shyly:

“I won’t sleep. Auntie, you go sleep.”

Then she squatted beside Miao Xiuxiu and began adding branches into it.

“Right, right, Eldest Sister-in-law, you go sleep and that’s enough, let Tingting stoke the fire.” Yin Zhaodi also repeated again and again——

She truly appreciated Shi Guoan and Miao Xiuxiu from the bottom of her heart, but she did not know how to say nice words, so she could only express her feelings in this way.

Knowing that she could not persuade Shi Ting away, Miao Xiuxiu could only let it go, pulling Shi Ting over and letting her sit nearby, then taking a few potatoes and placing them at the very front of the stove cavity——

At this moment the fire was burning fiercely. If potatoes were thrown directly into the fire, they would very quickly burn to charcoal, or else their skins would be scorched black while the inside remained uncooked.

Placing them farther from the fire like this meant that by the time the rice was done, the potatoes would be about ready too. For any individual ones that were a little larger and still needed a bit of heat, they could be pulled out, buried in the embers, and they would cook through very quickly.

When the fragrance of the potatoes started drifting out, Miao Xiuxiu hurriedly used the fire tongs to pull one out, peeling it as she tossed it around in her hands while saying to Shi Ting:

“Hurry and wash your hands. Eat this potato while it’s hot…”

As the blackened outer skin was peeled off, the golden potato flesh inside was revealed, with a bit of shining, crisped edge too. It looked delicious just to see it.

Shi Ting swallowed a big mouthful of saliva, but still shook her head and sensibly said:

“Give it to little brothers and sisters to eat…”

“There are plenty of these.” Miao Xiuxiu directly stuffed the potato into Shi Ting’s mouth.

Shi Ting subconsciously opened her mouth and bit down. The tip of her tongue touched the soft, glutinous potato flesh, and surprise could not be hidden in her eyes.

“Right, sis-in-law, after the wheat rush is over, Tingting should still keep going to school…” Shi Ting was thirteen this year, more than half a year older than Shi Heng.

According to Miao Xiuxiu’s thinking, all the children in the family should go to school. Yin Zhaodi, however, did not agree, thinking that what use was reading for girls? Learning the two characters for “male” and “female” was enough, so as not to go into the wrong restroom.

It was just that because everyone in the family supported Shi Ting going to school, Yin Zhaodi’s opinion alone did not matter, so she could only let it be.

Later, when Shi Ting’s exam results were unsatisfactory and she was always at the bottom of the class, Yin Zhaodi became even more unwilling to let the child continue studying.

At that time, Miao Xiuxiu’s spirits were still good, so she found some time to tutor Shi Ting for a while, and Shi Ting’s grades really did rise to the middle. When Shi Ying disappeared, though, with Miao Xiuxiu in a dazed state, how could she continue tutoring Shi Ting?

Shi Ting’s grades naturally slipped again. After barely making it to fourth grade, Yin Zhaodi simply would not let her continue no matter what.

In fact, according to Yin Zhaodi’s thinking, the only one in the family who should be going to school was Shi Heng, that boy. The other girls had no need to study at all. Unfortunately, Shi Heng was the one with a problem in his head, so it was just right that none of the kids needed to study anymore.

They were still young now, so they could do some easy work. When they got a little older, they could all go down to the fields and work. Then the whole family could earn work points, and life would be a little more comfortable, wouldn’t it?

At this point, hearing Miao Xiuxiu bring up school again, she subconsciously wanted to object. But just as the words were about to come out, she remembered that she was supposed to be thanking Miao Xiuxiu, so she hurriedly changed her wording:

“Tingting is too stupid, she’s not cut out for studying. Sending her to school would just waste money…”

Then she thought that if Miao Xiuxiu was saying this, was she trying to have Shi Ying go to school? After all, the child was already over eight years old, and it was time for her to start school. Although Yin Zhaodi still firmly believed that there was no way anyone in this family could study well, she still added another sentence:

“Otherwise, let Yingying try school and see if they take her. If they do, then she can go study…”

If one wanted to go to school, there would also be a small test when registering. The teacher would have them count, from one to one hundred, or give a simple addition and subtraction problem.

“It’s not just Yingying,” Miao Xiuxiu said with a smile, shaking her head. “Tingting, Xiao Jie, and Hengheng, all four kids should go to school.”

“How can that be!” Yin Zhaodi was startled. “That would cost so much money!”

When Tingting was in school, Yin Zhaodi had also gone with her to register, and they charged one and a half yuan per semester. Yin Zhaodi had calculated it, and that was eighteen or nineteen eggs. If all four children went to school, wouldn’t that be sixty or seventy eggs?

Nearly seventy eggs per semester, and across a year that was one hundred and forty to fifty eggs. If they all went through primary school graduation… Oh my goodness, I’m afraid even several big vats of eggs would not be enough!

And if Yin Zhaodi were to speak honestly, it would be fine for Shi Ying to go to school, but why did Shi Heng also have to study? Although she was embarrassed to say it directly, after so many years, everyone already knew that Shi Heng was stupid.

Even with Shi Ying following along, could he really sit in the classroom and learn anything? Wasn’t that pure waste of money?

“What wasted money? Children should still study. Only by studying more can they gain knowledge, and once they have knowledge, they will have ability…” The old lady had just gotten up as well, and she took over the conversation——

Although she had not read much herself, Shi Guoan’s biological father had been a man steeped in books and learning. When the old lady was young, what she liked most to see was her husband speaking eloquently or writing with sweeping brushstrokes.

So she was no less supportive than anyone else when it came to the children going to school.

Among their branches, why had only Shi Guoan had the chance to join the army? Wasn’t it because Shi Guoan had finished junior high and also wrote a good hand?

The officer who came to recruit immediately decided that Shi Guoan was talented. Even when someone ran to tattle and said that Shi Guoan’s biological father was unknown and might possibly have been a bad element, they still made the final decision to take Shi Guoan.

It was also thanks to Shi Guoan’s allowance that the second and third sons were able to marry wives, and the youngest daughter also finished high school, then was successfully recruited into the textile factory and got to eat the government rice that everyone envied.

All these things together made the old lady firmly believe in letting the grandchildren study.

Only ever since Yingying disappeared, the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law had clearly lost their spirit.

Without the pillar of support, even getting by at home was difficult; where was there any extra energy to send the children to school? The old lady could only press that thought down.

Now that her precious granddaughter was back and the family showed signs of prosperity again, the old lady naturally raised both hands in support of Miao Xiuxiu’s suggestion.

“Mom…” Yin Zhaodi had not expected the old lady to come out and stir things up too, “There are so many children. If all of them go to school, where is the money supposed to come from? Even if the whole family tightens its belts, there still isn’t any place to squeeze out a single cent…”

Besides, to be honest, even if no eggs were eaten, it still would not be enough.

After all, it was not just one child, but a full four children. By the time Nan Nan and Bei Bei were old enough to go to school, that would be six children!

Wouldn’t they just eat people dry.

“We have so many adults here, and we still can’t afford to send a few kids to school?” The old lady cut off Yin Zhaodi’s words. “If the children really don’t want to go, then forget it. If they want to study, then we have to support them.”

“What’s so good about school?” Yin Zhaodi was unconvinced and even immediately went to ask Shi Ting, “Tingting, tell me, do you want to study?”

At the last exam, Yin Zhaodi clearly remembered that Shi Ting scored only 48 in math and came back crying for a long time. With a brain that stupid, what was there to study for!

Meeting Yin Zhaodi’s eyes, Shi Ting visibly shrank back, but after a while she still mustered the courage to say softly:

“I want to…”

Seeing Yin Zhaodi’s face turn cold, she hurriedly added another sentence:

“Mom, I, I can stop eating eggs… I won’t eat eggs ever again, okay?”

“How many eggs can you save by relying on you?” Yin Zhaodi said with some irritation.

“I, I can go catch worms and let the chickens lay more eggs…” Shi Ting was already about to cry, but she still did not want to give up, looking at Yin Zhaodi with pleading eyes.

“We can also sell strawberries.” A crisp voice rang out, and it was Shi Nan, wearing a little pair of underpants, who ran out.

“Ai yo, Nan Nan, where are your clothes?” The old lady hurriedly spread open her gray cotton jacket and wrapped the little girl up.

Shi Bei also came out of the room rubbing her eyes. The little girl’s jacket was on, but the buttons were obviously fastened wrong, so one lapel was long and the other short, and it looked absurdly funny.

Shi Nan laughed and leaned against the old lady’s arms, then raised her head toward the direction of the west room and said:

“Third sister, third sister, am I right?”

It was Shi Ying and Shi Heng who had also walked out of the room.

“Mm,” Shi Ying nodded. “Our strawberries will be ready to eat very soon.”

Seeing her son and daughter, Miao Xiuxiu’s eyes immediately lit up even more.

She beckoned them over and held Shi Ying on her lap:

“In a few more days, school will be starting. Would our Yingying like to go to school?”

Shi Ying had also heard the conversation outside just now. She had been a college student before. If she suddenly had no school to attend, wouldn’t that be too miserable? And Shi Heng, before, 001 had told her that Shi Heng had a lot of talent in math and science. As for her cousins and sisters, in this era, if girls did not study, did they still have any way out?

Not to mention that in just a year or two, the college entrance examination would be restored.

In fact, Shi Ying not only wanted everyone to study, she also wanted her mom Miao Xiuxiu and her father to study too, especially Miao Xiuxiu. She had gone to high school, and there was a high chance she could get into university.

Such a good mom, Shi Ying really could not bear to let her stay in the countryside for a lifetime.

At this moment, hearing Miao Xiuxiu ask, her head naturally nodded like a chick pecking at rice:

“Yingying wants to go to school. Mom, first teach us to recognize characters and count, okay?”

“Of course that’s fine.” Miao Xiuxiu immediately grew interested, then took a small twig and squatted on the ground, writing the character “Shi”. “How about Mom first teaches you to recognize your own names?”

“Mm.” All the little ones obediently squatted around Miao Xiuxiu. Even the introverted Shi Jie came over, looking at Miao Xiuxiu with eyes full of reverence.

“All of you find a branch.” Miao Xiuxiu said with a smile.

Everyone quickly found a branch they liked.

Shi Ying even specially broke one for Shi Heng, took Shi Heng’s hand, and made him hold it:

“Ge, let’s learn to write characters with Mom.”

Although Shi Heng took it, the way he gripped the twig was simply too strange, not at all like he was holding a pen, but more like he was clutching a gun.

“Don’t make things difficult for your brother.” Yin Zhaodi looked on with both amusement and exasperation——

He was stupid, even if you taught him a hundred times, he still could not possibly write it.

Over there, Miao Xiuxiu had already written out the character “Shi.”

On the other side, Shi Ting almost finished at the same time as Miao Xiuxiu. After finishing, she even seriously held the hand of Shi Bei, who could barely even hold a pen, and taught her to write. Shi Nan was the kind of child who could not sit still. She scribbled some crooked ghostly thing of unknown origin, then started running around to look at what others had written:

“Second sister, did you draw a flower? What kind of flower is that?”

By now she was completely familiar with Shi Ying, no longer at all as shy as before, and she bounced and shouted around Shi Ying:

“Third sister, what you wrote looks a little like what Auntie wrote…”

“Wah, big brother also wrote it…”

Yin Zhaodi was getting dizzy from her spinning around, and smiled as she went to pick her up:

“You girl, you never have a quiet moment. And you still say your brother wrote it, always fooling us. How could your brother write…”

As a result, when she turned her head, she really did see the wooden stick in Shi Heng’s hand moving. Looking more closely, that was not Shi Heng at all. It was clearly Shi Ying holding Shi Heng’s hand and repeatedly chattering to him:

“Ge, Shi, we surnamed Shi, ah. Yingying wants to write, big brother write one too, okay…”

The system had said that big brother had a lot of talent in math and science. Only Shi Ying knew that no matter how talented he was, he still had to learn characters. Otherwise, how would he read questions later, how would he go to school?

It was just that Shi Heng clearly was not focused on this. Although his hand was being held by Shi Ying, he only moved mechanically and passively. And with Shi Ying’s hand so small and her strength limited, the character “Shi” she wrote came out longer here, shorter there, looking awkward no matter how one saw it.

Instead, Miao Xiuxiu’s eyes lit up. She turned back in disbelief to look at Shi Guoan:

“Guoan, hurry and look——”

Shi Guoan’s bright eyes were full of laughter.

He had noticed earlier than his wife that Yingying learned characters unusually fast. By the second time Miao Xiuxiu said it, she was already writing in a pretty decent way.

Then she started acting as teacher for her son.

You have to know that the character “Shi” was not like numbers such as “one, two, three”. When a child writes it for the first time, how could it be that easy?

Yet his daughter still wrote it in a pretty decent way.

In fact, this was also part of Shi Ying’s plan. In her previous life, the welfare institution Shi Ying grew up in was in a province famous for the college entrance examination. Being able to get into a top-tier university amid such fierce competition, her learning ability naturally was not weak.

After she got the system, under the influence of the system’s individualized teaching, compared to that small improvement in her understanding of science, the strengthening of her memory was undoubtedly even more significant.

Now that it was time to start “studying,” of course she had to give her family some mental preparation, right?

“Ai yo, our Yingying learns so fast. Looking at this, she is just a seed for studying.” Yin Zhaodi said with a smile, “Just one thing, Yingying, don’t make things difficult for your brother again…”

“My brother can learn it.” Shi Ying said seriously, “He just learns a little slowly right now, but in the future he will definitely be able to learn it.”

001 had said that Shi Heng’s speed in math and science was much faster than hers, because he was too focused on the things he liked, and that’s why he learned characters more slowly.

“Dad, do you think what I said is right?”

“Mm.” Shi Guoan nodded. Although in his heart, his biggest wish was only that his son could be like an ordinary person, not needing to be outstanding or especially obedient, just able to smile when happy and cry when sad would be enough. But since his daughter had said it, he would definitely help her teach his son.

Isn’t it just one “Shi” character? If one day didn’t work, then two days. If two days didn’t work, then three days…

Even if it took ten years or eight years, he could wait.

“We’ll teach Hengbao together.” Miao Xiuxiu said softly.

“I can also teach little brother.” Shi Ting’s shy voice followed.

“And me, and me…” Shi Nan was already jumping up, and Shi Bei followed with a nod. Even Shi Jie made up her mind that she would learn to write her name quickly, and then teach her brother to recognize characters.

Miao Xiuxiu immediately decided that from now on, every day after coming home from work, in addition to making up for the lessons Shi Ting had missed from not going to school for over a year, she would also teach the several children to recognize characters and count numbers, so that when school started, the children could go register together.

“They’re really all going to school?” Not expecting Miao Xiuxiu to be serious, Yin Zhaodi grew a little worried. When she went back, she even kept nagging Shi Guoping, “What are we going to do about tuition then?”

“I think you should go persuade Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law, or tell Dad and Mom about it… If they really want to go, then let Yingying and Xiao Jie study for two years and that’s enough…” After recognizing a few characters, they would be able to work too.

“…As for Xiao Heng, if he goes to school, isn’t that pure waste? Letting him study, isn’t that like burning money for no reason? Besides, our family doesn’t have money either…”

“What are you daydreaming about for no reason?” Shi Guoping said as he put a straw hat on his head and walked out, “Didn’t Big Brother say it? He’ll figure out the tuition problem…”

“What method could Big Brother have? Don’t you know whether our family has money or not, or do I not know?” Earlier in the year, her maiden family had sent a message saying that her younger brother was getting married and needed to bring a full gift, and wanted her, as his older sister, to chip in some money. But what happened?

As the older sister, she only sent five yuan and twenty cents.

When she went back, she got scolded by her father, saying they had raised her for nothing all these years. It had been more than half a year since then, and every time they met, he never had a good face for her.

Yin Zhaodi cried every time she thought of it. That was why she wanted to save some money in her hands, just in case she needed it urgently and could not come up with any.

“…And don’t say I’m biased. I won’t let Tingting study either. A thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl is going to be looked over for marriage in a couple years anyway. How many more years can she stay at home? If she doesn’t take advantage of these two years to do some work at home, in a couple years she’ll be going to her husband’s family…”

“Stop talking.” Shi Guoping suddenly raised his voice a little.

Yin Zhaodi froze for a moment, and only then noticed that Shi Ting was standing at the door holding a sickle, eyes full of tears. She got a little embarrassed, but still refused to lower her head:

“So what if she heard? Back when I was at your maternal grandparents’ place, I didn’t read a single day of school… You’ve studied for several years already, isn’t that enough? If you were someone who could study, the family would keep supporting you, but don’t you look at what you score every time? If you ask me, you just don’t have the fate for studying… Better stop wasting money and come home to work instead.”

When she gave birth to Xiao Jie, her body was injured, and for these past few years she had not gotten pregnant. Yin Zhaodi had been thinking of finding an old Chinese doctor to regulate her body no matter what, because she still needed to have a son, didn’t she?

Seeing that tears were about to fall from Shi Ting’s eyes, Shi Guoping hurriedly stopped Yin Zhaodi:

“You still talk!”

Then he stepped forward and took the sickle from Shi Ting’s hand:

“Girl, don’t be upset. In our family, your mom doesn’t get the final say. If you still want to study, Dad and your uncle will let you study.”

“How come I turned into the bad guy?” Yin Zhaodi was dissatisfied. Everyone says a woman marries a man for clothes and food, and the most important thing for a woman is to marry a good family. What was the point of reading so many books?

Just like eldest sister-in-law Miao Xiuxiu, she was even a high school graduate and a city person, and now wasn’t she also like her, a wife of the Shi family, going to the fields together?

Feeling unhappy, Yin Zhaodi did not want to walk with her family anymore, and chose to go with several neighbor sisters instead.

Because of Shi Ying’s sudden return, and the entire Shi Dahai family being imprisoned, Shi Guoan’s family had now really become the village’s center of attention. Yin Zhaodi had not expected that she had merely casually complained to a few people, and soon everyone in the village knew about it. However, everyone’s attitude was the same as Yin Zhaodi’s, thinking that letting Shi Heng learn how to write was just a joke.

After all, a fool is a fool. If a fool could also write and read, then was he still a fool?

After that, almost every day people ran to Shi Guoan’s house to the Shi family to see the novelty——

Wanting to let a fool learn to write, wasn’t that a huge novelty?

Every time they went there, they saw the Shi family children all surrounding that little fool Shi Heng, holding little sticks and writing on the ground.

What was even more unexpected was that the Shi family’s little girl who had just been found actually took the fool’s hand and taught him little by little.

It’s just that after going there for a few days, everyone lost interest. After all, when they went that time, they only saw Shi Ying holding the little fool’s hand and teaching him, and never saw the little fool make a move himself.

They said so, didn’t they? A fool is a fool. No matter how you teach him, it’s useless.

When Liang Dacheng came over this day, he happened to see Shi Ying still patiently teaching Shi Heng, and he couldn’t help feeling emotional:

“I have to say, this girl really looks like she has some kind of spirit. Rarely does she also treat her brother so well…”

With such a younger sister helping him, even after Shi Guoan and his wife were gone, there would be no need to worry about their foolish son not being able to survive.

After praising Shi Ying for a while, Liang Dacheng thought of something else and then turned to Shi Guoan and said, “By the way, didn’t I go to the county for a meeting today? I happened to run into those two police officers who caught Shi Dahai and the others that day…”

The old branch secretary still had at most one month left in office, and Liang Dacheng’s taking over as village branch secretary was already a done deal. A lot of things in the village were now already being transferred to Liang Dacheng’s hands.

Today just happened to be a county meeting, and all the branch secretaries had to go. Wasn’t that why Liang Dacheng had made a trip to the county?

“Those two comrades told me that Niu Erzhu was also arrested, but his wife ran away…”

After receiving Shi Guoan’s report, the police split into two teams, one coming to Shili Pu, and the other going to Niu Erzhu’s house in Xiapo Village.

But when they got there, they could not find anyone. After asking the people in their village, they learned that on the day Yingying disappeared, Niu Erzhu’s precious son fell into a water bucket, came down with a fever, and later, because treatment was delayed, burned out his brain.

The couple had not gone to work these days at all. All day long they were just carrying their son around everywhere. At first they were seeking treatment and medicine at hospitals, but these few days they no longer even went to the hospital, and were left only carrying their son everywhere to beg gods and worship Buddhas. They looked as if they had gone crazy.

Just then the police arrived.

Hearing that the Niu Erzhu family’s eldest daughter had actually been stolen, the village branch secretary in Xiapo Village was also shocked. He immediately patted his chest and told the police that once Niu Erzhu and his wife came back, he would send the two of them over to explain the situation.

Not many days later, they really did send Niu Erzhu over. But there was no sign of Qiu Guihua. After asking, they learned that on the way to the public security bureau, Qiu Guihua shouted that her stomach hurt, and then she simply ran away.

“The two comrades also said that I should tell you to be careful during this period and guard against retaliation from the other side.”

Shi Guoan nodded, and just as he was about to say something, Shi Nan’s voice suddenly rang out:

“Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Auntie, come quickly…”

Hearing how urgently she was calling, Shi Guoan hurriedly stood up and ran that way.

Liang Dacheng was stunned for a moment, then hurried to follow, only to see Shi Guoan, who had been jogging, suddenly stop, and then his body swayed a few times.

Liang Dacheng’s heart lifted at once. Then he remembered that the one Shi Nan had clearly pointed at just now was Shi Heng. Could it be that something had happened to Shi Heng?

“Stop standing there, if it’s serious, hurry and take him to see a doctor!”

“No.” Shi Guoan only then came back to his senses, but he suddenly grabbed Liang Dacheng’s hand and shook it hard, “Dacheng, Dacheng, look, look quickly… my son, my son, can write his own name!”

It turned out that Shi Heng, who was squatting on the ground, was holding a wooden stick and crookedly writing the character “Shi.”

Shi Guoan was so excited he practically wanted to cry, his voice growing even louder:

“Dad, Mom, Xiuxiu, come over quickly, come over quickly… Xiao Heng, Xiao Heng can write now…”

“Ai yo, ai yo…” Liang Dacheng’s exclamation followed immediately. It turned out that after Shi Heng finished writing the character “Shi,” he did not stop at all, and kept on writing the character “Heng.”

Seeing him really, slowly, write out the character “Heng,” Liang Dacheng’s eyes were practically about to fall out——

Back then it had been him who went to the commune to register Shi Heng’s household record. He had only lost the slip of paper Shi Guoan gave him that had the words “Shi Heng” written on it on the way.

But that character “Heng” had left an impression on him, and he just did not know how to write it. The person responsible for registering household records wrote several versions, and none of them matched the one Liang Dacheng remembered, which nearly got Liang Dacheng kicked out in a fit of anger.

When he came back, Liang Dacheng had even blamed Shi Guoan, asking why he had to give the child such a troublesome name. The registrar had said he had never even heard of it.

And now what was he seeing? The character that even the registrar needed to search several times to get right, this little fool Shi Heng had actually really written it!