C5 The World of Children

There were a lot of children on the street, girls would usually be leaning against the walls to talk while the boys would run over. They were all young kids, and when they were older, when they went to school, they would help the family with their work. They would carry firewood, gather pigweed, or go to their own living areas to do their own chores, and they heard that the village was going to set up a red class, so it wasn't very safe for the children to play on the street all day. It was just unknown when the red class would be able to be able to recruit students.

Min He held Min Qian's hand and walked her out onto the street. A few familiar little boys called out, "Min He, you're here. Hurry, it's about to start."

Min He said with some difficulty, "But I still need to see my sister."

One of the boys said, "Aiya, let your sister go play with my sister. All the girls are over there."

Minqian looked at a few little girls sitting in front of a wall on the side of the street. Some were five or six years old while others were even smaller than her. She squatted down and said, "Qianqian, can you sit over there and watch your brother act out this war for you?"

Seeing that the girls were sitting on some green bricks, Minqian nodded her head. A little boy called out, "Ernie, Ernie, come over here and bring Qianqian over to sit down. Help me take a look."

A little girl wearing a blue jacket stood up and ran over, laughing. She held Min Qianqian's hand and said, "Qianqian, come over and sit with me. We'll watch our brothers fight."

Min Qian looked at this round faced little girl and smiled as she looked at her. Nodding, Min He said worriedly, "Ernie, my sister is young and has a fever. You have to watch over her for me."

Ernie impatiently said to Min He, "Aiya, why are you so long-winded. I can see that you're still worried about your child."

Ernie's brother said in a daze, "That's right, my little sister has the best child care. Look at how many kids in our village like playing with my little sister. Don't worry, we'll be starting soon."

Ernie held Min Qian's hand and walked to the wall. She gave Min Qian the blue brick she had been sitting on and said, "You sit here. I'll hold you while you sit down later." These bricks were brought here by everyone. Min Qian looked at Ernie and said softly, "Thank you, big sister."

When Ernie heard this, she said in surprise, "Aiya, so you actually know how to speak, Qianqian. Why is it that everyone says you don't know how to speak?"

The other girls were very interested in Ernie's words. Everyone came over and started talking back and forth, and Minqian just smiled as she listened to them. The boys on the street split into two groups, and after they were shears and carrying hammers, they decided who was good and who was bad.

She used to sit on a brick, letting Min Qian sit on her lap. Min Qian was already over 20 years old, and being hugged by a little girl like this was a little embarrassing. On the other hand, she sat on her lap, and gently put her arm around Min Qian's shoulders and said, "Qianqian, you have to eat a lot. Look at you're so thin, I don't feel heavy from hugging you. I heard my brother say that you had a fever a few days ago, now it's fine." As he spoke, he placed his hand on top of Minqian's forehead to test it out. Then, he nodded and said, "Yes, it looks like it's done. It's not hot at all.

Seeing Ernie treat Min Qian like this, a little girl wrinkled her nose and said to Ernie, "Liu Ernie, what's up with you treating a landowner's son so well?"

When Er Ni heard this, she was stunned for a moment before saying, "What do you mean by 'what happened'? You don't need to be on the line here with me. What? Are you still going to drag me along?"

When the girl heard this, she became a little less arrogant and said: "I'm just afraid that you'll make a mistake. Their Gu family is a big landowner, it's better if us poor farmers don't get in touch with their family. Otherwise they'll make some mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Minqian felt that although these children looked young, their mental states were actually quite mature. The oldest was at least five or six years old, yet they had already begun to talk about class battles.

Ernie said, "Our family has a good composition, and we haven't even released our grandfather yet. Although my grandfather doesn't work as a secretary anymore, he's still a production team leader now. Li Xiaohua, it's none of my business who I like to play with, don't meddle in my business."

The little girl looked a little older than Ernie, and hearing her say this, she couldn't keep her face straight. She stood up and pointed at Ernie, "You, you, don't not know what's good for you. I'm just giving you a good reminder. Then, he bent down and picked up the half piece of the ground he was sitting on and turned his head. He didn't even turn his head back as he walked away.

When Li Xiaohua left, a little girl said to Ernie, "Ernie, what if Li Xiaohua complains to you?"

When Ernie heard this, she gave a cold snort and said, "Complaint?" "What's the matter? Their family is poor farmers, but their family is not active in their work, so I didn't mind spending some time with her."

Listening up to here, Minqian knew that Li Xiaohua probably felt jealous that she was being treated like this by Ernie. Although the world of children was simple, there were still contradictions like this.

A little girl said, "I heard that Li Xiaohua's elder sister is very familiar with the village's Zhiqing. My mother said that Li Dahua is trying to find someone who knows him."

A little girl beside her said in embarrassment, "Aiya, look at you. What are you talking about? You're only a few years old, yet you're already looking for a man?"

The little girl said unhappily, "So what if you're looking for a man? Li Da Hua is already so old, so you can't look for a wife. But her father wanted to use her to exchange for a betrothal gift, saying that without money, you can't marry his daughter. Their family's four daughters, how many betrothal gifts would they have to exchange for?"

Ernie said, "Alright, alright. This is all someone else's problem. Let's not bother with it anymore. Who cares if she's the one looking for Zhiqing or something."

Min Qian now felt this Ernie, although she was just a child, she was still quite magnanimous when it came to doing things. Moreover, Ernie was the leader of these children, and these little girls all listened to her.

The boy was full of energy. After playing for a while, he finally came over. Min He pulled Min Qian and said to Erlang who was still in a daze, "I'll take Qianqian to my Third Young Madam's house."

"Then do you want to come and play tonight?" Erlang Shen asked.

Min He thought for a moment and said, "It's better if I don't come. I have to stay at home with Qianqian. Qianqian is sick, and I think she needs me to stay with her. I'm going, you guys should hurry home."

Min He held Min Qian's hand and walked slowly towards Third Young Madam's house. When they arrived at Hu Tong's, Min He purposely took light steps and walked quickly over to Second Aunt's house. When Min Qian saw this, she felt sad.

The door to Third Aunt's house was covered. Min He pushed it open. Min He held Min Qian's hand as they stood outside the door. They called out to the house, "Third Young Madam, Third Young Madam!"

Third Young Madam answered loudly and walked out of the house. "Min He, what are you doing? Look at your body covered in dirt."

Min He smiled and said, "I'm taking Qianqian out to play on the streets. Qianqian is with Ernie, and I'm playing war with Ernis, who told me earlier that Qianqian would thank her elder sister. Third Young Madam, when Qianqian gets better, I'll take her out to the streets to play every day. That way, she'll be able to learn a lot of things."

Third Young Madam patted Min He's head and said, "You really are a good brother. Come, Third Young Madam, check out those words you learned yesterday."

Min He said, "Third Young Madam, I remember. Just now, I read through all the familiar words with my family's red book. Third Young Madam, I heard from Er Hen that a Yu Hong Class would be built in the village, but I don't know when it would be completed." There was a hint of longing in his words. He wanted to go to school.

Third Young Madam said, "Min He, you're already five years old. Why don't you go to the first grade?"

Min He shook his head. "Third Young Madam, I have to look after Qianqian at home. What if I go to school with Qianqian? "When the Yu Hong class is ready, I will take Qianqian with me and we will go to primary school together."

Third Young Madam said, "Aren't you two years older than Qianqian? How could you be in the same class?"

Min He said, "Why not? "Erlang Shen said that his elder brother and his elder sister are in the same class, and that his elder brother had also made his elder sister two years older."

The children in the village were similar in age, so they went together and took care of each other. Some were only ten years old, while others entered the first grade at the age of five because of their older brother or older sister. As for the school, there were teachers in every village, and when the year came to the end of the year, they would go to the village together with the people in the village to get food, which was equal for both of them. The children in the village had to go to the ancestral halls or the temples, while some of the children in the village had to clear out the bricks and go to the small rooms in the village.

Third Young Madam said, "Then you better follow Third Young Madam and read properly. Once Qianqian gets a little older, you two might even be able to enter the first grade."

Min He thought for a moment and said, "That's fine, but we can still save a lot of tuition fees this way. Third Young Madam, hurry, let's hurry up and continue reading. You not only have to teach me, but you also have to teach Qianqian. When we're in the same class, I won't be able to read many words."

When Third Young Madam heard this, she smiled and said, "Qianqian just started speaking and you're already teaching her how to read. Is that alright?"

Min He said, "Qianqian is very smart. She will definitely be able to do it."