Eat My Childless Life: The Little Fisher Girl is Poor and Fierce

Chapter 114 You want Shao'an to be your teacher

Lin Chang'er knew they were embarrassed, but they had put in the effort, and since she had offered them a meal, there was no reason for her to treat them differently.

Shaking his head, he moved two long benches to the backyard, and then he and Xu Gun'er carried out the lid of the water vat and put it on top, which became a simple table.

He then filled a plate with each dish and carried it out, saying politely, "I've only been in charge of the household for a short time and have no experience. I didn't know we were short of tables and chairs. I'm sorry to trouble you ladies today. Please eat whatever you like. We've prepared plenty of food. You can get more later when you're done eating. Don't worry about saving it for me."

The women told her they wouldn't stand on ceremony with her and urged her to eat as soon as possible.

Lin Chang'er naturally knew that what they were saying was just polite talk. In the countryside, eating more at a banquet was something that people would say.

So, while Sister-in-law Xiaohua and Sister-in-law Zhou and the others verbally agreed, they didn't actually do anything.

Fortunately, Lin Chang'er had anticipated this and brought serving chopsticks.

She first waved to Xiao Zhoumu, "Xiao Bao, come to Auntie's."

The little guy was holding a wooden bowl and a wooden spoon. When she called his name, he looked at his mother first. Zhou San's sister-in-law was thinking that her little one would learn to read with Lin Chang'er in the future!

Naturally, she was happy for Zhou Mu to spend more time with Lin Chang'er, so she nodded to her son, "Your aunt is calling you, go ahead!"

Zhou Mu then ran up to Lin Chang'er with the bowl in his hand and called out in a childish voice, "Auntie."

Lin Chang'er patted the little guy's head, "What does Xiao Bao like to eat?"

Zhou Mu tilted his head and looked at his mother again. When Lin Chang'er saw this, she tapped his nose and said, "You don't need to look at your mother, Auntie will put some on your plate."

Zhou Mu blinked, "Meatball."

Lin Chang'er glanced at the dishes on the table. What they were eating was not entirely the same as what they were serving to guests. As a country family, they were already tired of eating rustic dishes, and wild game was not as satisfying as pork.

So, Lin Chang'er also cooked a large pot of braised pork, replaced the loach stew with tofu with braised duck, and didn't ask for rice noodle cakes. She served the stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork as a dish, and replaced the noodle dumplings with mussel soup. Because there were many children, Lin Chang'er also specially made steamed clams with eggs.

Lin Chang'er placed three pieces of braised pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat on his plate. "How about you eat some vegetables and drink some soup after you finish the meat?"

Zhou Mu looked at the three large pieces of meat in the bowl, his eyes almost squinting with happiness. He nodded, and Grandma said, "Okay, eat the vegetables and drink the soup."

Lin Chang'er rubbed his head again, "Yes, you have to eat a little bit of everything so you can grow up quickly."

Zhou Mu scooped up a spoonful of soup, mixed it with rice, and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling, "Yes, grow up."

After settling the little one down, Lin Chang'er called over the calf, the little mountain, the little tree, and the big head. The four of them were all six or seven years old, so they didn't need Lin Chang'er to help them pick up food.

They were only hesitant and timid because their mothers had given them instructions.

Lin Chang'er didn't say much, only saying, "Today, your sister-in-law has given you a task: to help her finish all the dishes on this table. Can you do it?"

Xiao Niu, Xiao Shan, Xiao Shu, and Da Tou were taken aback at first, but then nodded hurriedly, "Yes, sister-in-law, don't worry!"

After saying that, they each went over and pulled their mothers over to eat.

Zhou Mu was originally eating quietly next to his mother, but when he saw his brothers pulling their mother, he found it amusing and started nagging his sister-in-law to come over too.

After pulling his mother to the table, Zhou Xiaoniu took the initiative to invite Zhou San's wife and Zhou Mu.

Everyone, young and old, finally gathered around the makeshift table and dared to use their chopsticks.

Lin Chang'er finally felt relieved and was about to go back for dinner when she saw Wu Qingfeng come out of the back door of the kitchen, carrying two bowls of rice.

Lin Chang'er was taken aback. Wu Qingfeng walked over and handed her a bowl with more vegetables than rice, saying, "Aunt Gu was afraid you'd be too busy to eat."

"Thank you!" Lin Chang'er took the food and generously picked up a fried small fish and stuffed it into her mouth.

Wu Qingfeng also picked up his food and started eating. Although he came from a prominent family, he had also been to the northern frontier battlefield with his uncle.

There were times when he had to stand, squat, or even go without food for several days, so he wasn't that dramatic.

But then, the air suddenly fell silent.

Lin Chang'er doesn't believe in the saying "one should not talk while eating or sleeping." In the countryside, meals are meant to be lively and bustling.

Feeling a bit awkward, she changed the subject, asking, "Why weren't you at the restaurant today?"

Wu Qingfeng said, "I'm busy with some things."

Lin Chang'er nodded and said, "Oh!"

The conversation seemed to have died out, or perhaps, aside from business topics, she didn't know what else to talk about.

Seeing this, Wu Qingfeng offered, "I'll bring you the paper I mentioned earlier another day. Also, could you tell me how many tables and chairs you'd like?"

Lin Chang'er paused, then waved her hand, "The table and chairs are no longer needed. I'll figure out a way to handle them myself later." The five gluttonous guests claimed that Uncle Pei had given them the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

But Lin Chang'er knew that it was Wu Qingfeng who reminded her through Uncle Pei's words.

It touched her heart, but she still had her pride and felt embarrassed, so she kept asking for this and that.

Wu Qingfeng saw through her thoughts and chuckled, "It's not worth much, don't be so polite with me."

Lin Chang'er thought for a moment, then turned to look at him, "It's not that I'm being polite, but as you can see from my third brother's situation, there's nowhere to put it."

"So I'm thinking of waiting until I have a little more money to discuss with Uncle Village Head whether there's any space in the village that can be set up as a temporary school."

"but……"

She sighed again at this point and didn't continue for a moment.

"But what?" Wu Qingfeng asked.

Lin Chang'er lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then turned to him and said, "Actually, I originally just wanted to teach the children to recognize characters myself, I never thought that other people's children would come."

"Now that they're in school, their parents must want them to pursue a career in government."

"But I'm good at teaching them to recognize characters and do arithmetic. If they really want to take the imperial examinations, we still need to ask a teacher to properly open the door for them. Otherwise, wouldn't that be delaying their studies?"

"Moreover, when I get busy, I don't have enough time. I can't work three days and rest two days at a time."

Wu Qingfeng paused, then understood. "Do you need me to help you find someone?"

Lin Chang'er's eyes lit up. Bai Shaoan had passed the imperial examination in the Golden Hall, so he seemed quite learned. Although she was too embarrassed to ask, Bai Shaoan looked so obedient that he must be quite capable.

But he certainly wasn't short of tuition money, so Lin Chang'er didn't set her sights on him. She simply asked, "Third Brother, does Brother Shao'an have a lot of free time?" Anyway, she saw him almost every time she went to the Sihai Restaurant.

Wu Qingfeng looked at her, feeling inexplicably uneasy, and asked, "Do you want Shao'an to be the children's teacher?"