623 Good Days Will Come
“That won’t do! You’re about to give birth! Raising children needs a lot of money! The most important thing for you now is to take good care of yourself! You’ve already helped me a lot. I can’t drag you down anymore…” Li Gui said.
“You’re my mother, so it’s only right for me to help you. I’m not going to send my younger siblings to school for free. I didn’t know how to read and write when I was young, so I hope they won’t be like me. It can be my loan to them,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
At the mention of Qiao Mei’s childhood, Li Gui had mixed feelings. She did not spend a single day by Qiao Mei’s side and it was all thanks to the heavens that the girl was able to survive. She did not expect Qiao Mei not to dwell on the past and that not only did Qiao Mei not hate her, but she also took good care of the children she had with Zhang Qian.
She had to treat Qiao Mei even better in the future. She could not let Qiao Mei feel that she favored the other four children.
Qiao Mei did not care about the past at all. Her mind was filled with the issues about the children going to school.
Since she intended to lend the children the money to go to school, they had to agree to it. Otherwise, it was only a one-sided agreement.
Qiao Mei asked the three children to come over and said seriously, “Elder sister wants to tell you something. After mom and I discussed it, we can’t afford to provide for your education now, so you can’t go to school.”
The three children all looked disappointed. The first person to look better was Zhang Wei. He forced a smile on his face and said, “Elder sister! We know that it’s not easy at home now. It doesn’t matter if we don’t go to school! Grandfather has a lot of knowledge and he can teach us.”
“That’s right, elder sister! Younger sister’s health is the most important thing now. It’s fine if we don’t go to school,” Zhang Qin said obediently.
Li Gui felt both gratified and sad to see how sensible the children were.
Qiao Mei felt incomparably proud and gratified. They all cared about their family and their siblings. No matter what happened in the future, they would not abandon one another. This was the best form of knowledge to have.
“Now, elder sister has a better idea. You can decide whether you want to go to school or not. Elder sister and brother-in-law can fork out the money to let you go to school, but you have to consider this money as a loan from us. When you grow up and earn money, you have to pay us back. Are you still willing to go to school if that’s the situation?” Qiao Mei asked.
After all, Xia Zhe was the only one in the family who had a salary at the moment. Her “small side businesses” were all unstable and she did not earn much from it anyway.
Furthermore, she had made Xia Zhe sound so scary in front of the children back then. Now was the time to make him look good in front of them! Otherwise, it would still be awkward for Xia Zhe to face the children the next time he came back.
Zhang Wei and Zhang Qin quickly agreed with Qiao Mei’s plan. Only Zhang Chao kept thinking about it. He did not want to go to school and interact with others. He just wanted to stay at home, in a place where he felt safe.
“Zhang Chao doesn’t want to go to school?” Qiao Mei asked patiently.
Zhang Chao shook his head gently.
“Don’t you like to make models and handmade mechanisms? When you go to school, you can learn more. Then in the future, you can build even more powerful ones! Don’t you want to learn?” Qiao Mei said as she looked at Zhang Chao.
Even if she went to the capital and brought back all the books about mechanics and construction, it would be useless if Zhang Chao did not know enough words and basic knowledge to read them.
Zhang Chao was a little hesitant, but he was still unwilling to come into contact with the outside world. What if someone hurt him again?
“Don’t worry! There’s eldest brother around! No one will dare to bully you!” Zhang Wei patted his chest and said confidently to Zhang Chao.
“Second brother! I’ll protect you too! Believe me! There are three of us! We can definitely defeat the bad guys!” Zhang Qin said.
“And me too! I’ll go to school too and be with all of you,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
Finally, with everyone’s encouragement, Zhang Chao agreed with Qiao Mei’s suggestion. With his siblings around, he was not afraid of being bullied.
“Mom, look! Second brother is smiling! Second brother is smiling!” Zhang Qin pointed at Zhang Chao and said happily.
Everyone turned to focus on Zhang Chao. Even Zhang Chao himself did not notice that he was smiling and his ears turned red from being the center of attention.
“Alright, alright, let’s go in and eat! The food will get cold soon!” Li Gui said.
Everyone returned to the house happily to eat. As long as they looked ahead, good days would definitely come!
