“Didn’t you say we were making bricks? I made two thousand yesterday. You make two thousand today.”
Shen Linghua walked over, snatched the rapeseed from Li Wenbin’s hands, and tossed it to Lin Qiuman.
“Teacher Lin, Li Wenbin came here to help me, not to be your slave.”
Good heavens—Lin Qiuman clearly smelled jealousy in the air.
She couldn’t help curling her lips into a smile. After putting the rapeseed in the dormitory, she returned to the classroom to begin teaching.
She set aside half an hour in the morning for reading practice. Since students were more clear-headed in the morning, she focused on teaching math and Chinese.
In the afternoon, she didn’t lecture new material. Instead, she reviewed exercises and taught minor subjects.
Ten minutes before school ended, Lin Qiuman gathered all the students in the study room and summarized what they had learned that morning. She talked through the material in a casual, conversational way to deepen the students’ impressions.
Although they were in different grades studying different things, the older students didn’t have a very solid grasp of earlier knowledge either.
So by summarizing each grade’s lessons, everyone could review together.
“Teacher, are we making ice again at noon today?” asked the student responsible for collecting wooden sticks. He was very dedicated and asked the same question every day after class.
“We’re not making ice this afternoon,” Lin Qiuman said with a mysterious smile. “But you still need to prepare the sticks. We’re going to make something else fun.”
With that, she grabbed her textbook and walked out, not giving the students a chance to ask questions.
The more mysterious she was, the more curious the students became. As they left the school, they excitedly discussed what fun thing Teacher Lin might prepare.
“Kangkang, wait a moment before you go,” Lin Qiuman said, waving to Shen Lingkang and pointing toward Shen Linghua, who was boiling water to scald chicken feathers.
“Wow! Shen Lingkang’s brother is helping Teacher Lin kill a chicken! Does that mean Shen Lingkang gets to eat with Teacher Lin?”
“Shen Lingkang is amazing! I’m so jealous he can eat with Teacher Lin!”
Several students lingered at the entrance of the elementary school, unwilling to leave.
“Third Uncle! Little Uncle!” Shen Zhichun shouted as he tugged on his younger brother Shen Zhicun’s arm, the two of them happily approaching.
Their third uncle hadn’t brought chicken home for a long time. Today, no matter what, they planned to stay here for dinner at Teacher Lin’s place.
Staying here meant not only eating chicken—but also making their classmates jealous of their connection with Teacher Lin.
“School’s over. Why aren’t you going home?” Shen Linghua asked with a faint smile. He made no move to invite them to stay for dinner.
Shen Zhichun was the same age as Shen Lingkang and understood hints well enough. But with his classmates watching, if he couldn’t stay for dinner, he would definitely be laughed at.
“Hehe… I’ll go back later.”
As he spoke, Shen Zhichun squatted beside Shen Linghua to watch him pluck chicken feathers.
Meanwhile, Lin Qiuman poured a basin of water for Shen Lingkang to wash his hands, then brought him into the dormitory and measured his body.
She completely ignored Shen Zhichun.
She didn’t like Shen Zhichun’s upbringing at all.
As a teacher, she treated students equally in education. But privately, she wished Shen Zhichun would stay far away.
“Teacher Lin… why are you… so good to me?” Shen Lingkang asked, his eyes turning red.
Watching Lin Qiuman repeatedly hold fabric against his body while thinking about what style of clothes to make for him made him want to cry.
Usually, only when his third brother was home would his two sisters-in-law patch up his torn clothes.
“Kangkang, I want a younger brother like you,” Lin Qiuman said softly, rubbing his head with a gentle smile.
“I want to give the best things in the world to my little brother.
Besides, your third brother already has a new set of clothes, but you only have this one outfit. That’s not fair.”
“Teacher Lin, how did you know I only have one set of clothes?” Shen Lingkang asked in surprise.
“Last time my third brother bought fabric for me. My eldest sister-in-law said she would make clothes for me. But after my third brother left, the finished clothes were given to Zhicun.”
She knew everything Shen Lingkang had suffered… and exactly how he had been bullied.
“I guess your third brother is just careless,” Lin Qiuman said.
After all, Shen Linghua was a man. Small matters like these weren’t something he paid much attention to.
Besides, he felt grateful to his eldest sister-in-law for breastfeeding Kangkang when he was little—otherwise the child might not have survived.
“Shen Zhichun, hurry home for dinner. Your mother will be looking for you soon.”
Lin Qiuman stepped outside and urged the two brothers to go home.
“Third Uncle… we’re leaving then?” Shen Zhichun asked, looking at Shen Linghua, hoping he would invite them to stay for dinner.
But Shen Linghua was busy chopping chicken loudly, not saying a word.
Reluctantly, Shen Zhichun left.
On the way home, they ran into several classmates who mocked him for not being allowed to stay at Teacher Lin’s house for dinner.
“Brother, why does Teacher Lin like Shen Lingkang but not us?” Shen Zhicun asked. He was three years younger and had always followed Shen Zhichun around.
“It must be because of Mom,” Shen Zhichun suddenly realized.
“Teacher Lin said Mom called her shameless before.”
Suddenly it all made sense to him.
He was chubby, fair, and cute—yet Teacher Lin preferred Shen Lingkang, that dark little runt!
It had to be because his mother had scolded Teacher Lin.
Thinking of this, he hurried home. As soon as he entered the yard, he kicked over the wooden bucket.
“What’s wrong? Why are you so angry?” Meng Xia asked with a doting smile, resting in the shade.
“You’re the one who made me this angry!”
Shen Zhichun plopped down on the ground and shouted loudly.
“Why did you scold our Teacher Lin? Nobody is allowed to scold our Teacher Lin!”
“Did Lin Qiuman tell you to make trouble for me?” Meng Xia snorted. She knew that vixen Lin Qiuman must have bad intentions.
“I want Teacher Lin to be my third aunt! Go apologize to Teacher Lin right now, or I’ll beat you!”
Shen Zhichun’s chest heaved with anger. He clenched his fists tightly and occasionally slammed them against the ground to show his rage.
“Don’t get angry, don’t get angry,” Meng Xia said quickly, seeing his lips turning purple as she crouched down and rubbed his chest.
“Whenever you get angry, you can’t breathe properly. If something happens to you, how would I live?”
“Then why did you scold Teacher Lin?” Shen Zhichun roared, swinging his fist toward Meng Xia.
“I told you not to! Go apologize to Teacher Lin! If Teacher Lin doesn’t like me, I won’t go to school anymore!”
“Alright, alright. Mom will go apologize to Teacher Lin. Don’t be angry. Look at your lips—they’ve turned purple,” Meng Xia said.
Though she hated Lin Qiuman deeply in her heart, she could only agree for now.
Shen Zhichun continued gasping heavily before gradually calming down.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, the second sister-in-law Liu Aiping listened to the shouting outside and secretly felt delighted.
Ever since she married into the Shen family, she had given birth to two daughters in a row. Without a son, she had no standing and could only be ordered around by Meng Xia.
In the scorching heat, Meng Xia lounged comfortably in the shade while she had to squeeze into the tiny kitchen to cook over the fire.
Wasn’t Meng Xia only arrogant because she had given the Shen family two grandsons?
So what?
Her son was barely ten years old yet already cursed at her like that. When he grew older, wouldn’t he ride on her neck and treat her even worse?
A son like that—so ill-mannered—
Even if someone offered him to her, she wouldn’t want him.