TSWPF -Chapter 124 A Lesson

Thus, three years passed in the blink of an eye. Over these three years, Li Qingling’s efforts had not been in vain.

Not only had she rebuilt a large house at the end of the village, she had also led the villagers to prosperity.

In these three years, Li Qingling had practically become a living Bodhisattva in the village.

The villagers all wished they could enshrine her at home.

If it weren’t for her, they wouldn’t be living such good lives now.

“Boss, we’ve had another great harvest this year—altogether, we’ve netted a thousand jin of fish.”

Zeng Tietou ran over excitedly and reported to Li Qingling, who was standing by the fish pond.

Over the past three years, he had come to admire his boss from the bottom of his heart. No one would have imagined that someone so young could accomplish so much.

Following her without hesitation back then had truly been the right choice.

Now fourteen years old, Li Qingling had fair skin and a calm, steady demeanor. At first glance, no one would think she was a village girl.

Hearing Zeng Tietou’s report, a smile appeared at the corner of her lips. “Everyone who helped today gets two fish each. Send the rest to Fuman Restaurant.” For the past three years, she had been working with Fuman Restaurant, and they had never let her down—no matter how much she sent, they could always take it all.

This saved her the trouble of finding other sales channels.

When the village children who had come to help heard her words, they immediately cheered.

They had only come to join the fun, yet each of them got two fish—what a gain.

“Thank you, Boss!” The children, following the adults at home, all called Li Qingling “Boss,” and now they shouted happily.

Seeing everyone so joyful, the smile on Li Qingling’s face deepened.

She nodded to them, gave Zeng Tietou a few more instructions, then turned and headed home.

She had appointed Zeng Tietou as the chief manager here, leaving most matters directly to him and rarely intervening.

As the saying goes, use people you trust, and trust those you use. Since she trusted Zeng Tietou’s character, she had no reason to doubt him.

And the facts proved her right. Over the past three years, Zeng Tietou had done an excellent job.

Loyal, not greedy, quick-witted—every task she assigned was handled properly and neatly.

She was very satisfied with this chief manager.

Li Qingling walked home slowly. As soon as she entered the courtyard, Ah Huang pounced over, followed by five little fellows behind him.

Five soft, squishy little ones.

“Ah Huang, were you the one staying home to look after the kids today?” Li Qingling reached out to rub Ah Huang’s big head, then squatted down to pat each of the five little ones gathered around her feet.

That’s right—these five little fellows were the offspring of Ah Huang and Ah Bai. Looking at the little tigers, whose colors ranged from deep yellow to pale yellow to pure white, she couldn’t help but laugh.

When she first saw them, she had joked that they looked like a painting done with ink that ran out at the end.

Their colors faded gradually from dark to light.

The arrival of these five little ones had also made their home livelier and livelier.

Hearing Li Qingling’s words, Ah Huang nudged her waist helplessly.

If it weren’t for his fear that Ah Bai would bite him, he would have long since carried these little brats, one by one, back to Song Mountain and let them fend for themselves.

Too many kids—it was driving him crazy.

Sensing Ah Huang’s helplessness, Li Qingling laughed and affectionately patted his head.
“It’s fine. They’ll grow up soon. Once they’re grown, you’ll be free.”

Since they lived at the end of the village, it actually made things very convenient for Ah Huang and Ah Bai. They could take the small path at the village’s edge straight to Song Mountain without worrying about being seen.

Besides, the villagers all knew their family raised two big tigers. Even if they saw them, they weren’t afraid.

Ah Huang glared at his five cubs, silently wishing they would hurry up and grow up. Once they did, he’d toss them all back to Song Mountain.

After playing with Ah Huang and his five cubs for a while, Li Qingling stood up and went inside.

As soon as she entered, she saw Liu Zhirou weaving decorative knots. Hearing footsteps, Liu Zhirou looked up, smiled when she saw her, and called out, “Elder Sister.”

“Rourou, why didn’t you go out to play?” Looking at Liu Zhirou, who resembled a refined young lady, and then thinking of her own monkey-like younger sister, Li Qingling suddenly felt that comparison really could kill.

Liu Zhirou deftly finished tying a knot and smiled. “I thought no one was home, so I stayed to watch the house.” She didn’t really like crowded places anyway—it was better to stay at home.

Li Qingling hummed in acknowledgment. Seeing that Liu Zhirou had finished the knot in her hands, she said, “I’ll stay and watch the house. You go out and play a bit, and bring Ningning back while you’re at it. That girl must be having too much fun and doesn’t want to come home.”

She felt Liu Zhirou was still young and should be more lively, not so quiet all the time.

Hearing this, Liu Zhirou agreed, put away the knots, said goodbye, and went out.

Li Qingling shook her head with a smile.
The children in her household were either far too mischievous or far too quiet—couldn’t they balance it out a bit? It really gave her a headache.

Over the past few years, raising these children had truly made her appreciate how hard parents have it.

Fortunately, the children all had good character and weren’t the kind of universally disliked little terrors.

This showed that Liu Zhimou’s education was quite good—he had taught the children well.

Honestly speaking, she was fine with earning money and supporting the family, but when it came to educating children, she really wasn’t cut out for it.

Luckily, there was such a capable person at home. She didn’t have to worry about educating the children.

Thinking of this, Li Qingling smiled unconsciously. Glancing at the time, she felt it was about time to start dinner, so she headed to the kitchen.

Just as she entered, Li Qingning’s chattering voice came from outside.

She turned on her heel and walked to the kitchen door, looking straight outside, only to see Li Qingning—like a little mud-covered child—grinning ear to ear as she carried a fish back.

Li Qingling’s eyebrow twitched. If it weren’t for her strong self-control, she might have hung this little mudball up and spanked her already.

She had warned her again and again not to go down to the pond—but what did she do? As soon as Li Qingling turned her back and went home, she tossed her words to the back of her head and ran off to play again.

Li Qingning, who had been chatting happily with Liu Zhirou, looked up and saw Li Qingling smiling at her. Her little heart trembled—oh no, she had forgotten what her sister said.

She swallowed nervously, gave Li Qingling a silly smile, and cautiously called out, “Elder Sister.”

Seeing that foolish expression, Li Qingling snorted coldly. “So you still remember I’m your elder sister? I thought you’d forgotten me completely!”

This girl was getting more and more mischievous, less and less ladylike.

Only four years old, yet she acted like a boy, running around all day and unable to sit still at home for even a moment.

Li Qingling really couldn’t understand what was so attractive outside.

Hearing this, Li Qingning’s little heart trembled even harder. This was bad—Elder Sister was really angry!

Her eyes rolled. She toddled over on her short legs, raised her little hands, and grinned foolishly.
“Elder Sister, I like you the most. Can we have braised fish tonight?”

Thinking of the taste of the braised fish her sister made, Li Qingning felt her mouth watering.

Looking down into those eager, hopeful eyes, Li Qingling’s hands behind her back clenched and unclenched several times. In the end, she couldn’t help but knock lightly on her forehead.

“Li Qingning, with your behavior, don’t even think about having braised fish tonight.”

She seriously suspected her mother had given birth to a little foodie—always thinking about food.

Li Qingning looked at Li Qingling, then at the fish in her own hands. Her mud-smeared little face scrunched up like a bun.

She really wanted to eat her sister’s braised fish. It had been so long since she last had it.

Silently scolding her as a little idiot, Liu Zhirou sighed inwardly and stepped forward. She took the fish from Li Qingning’s hands and placed it into Li Qingling’s.

“Elder Sister, I want to eat braised fish too. Can we make it tonight?”

“She’s been spoiled by all of you,” Li Qingling said, seeing through Liu Zhirou’s intentions at once. Li Qingning was the youngest in the family, and everyone indulged and spoiled her—turning her into a little wild child.

“I’ll take my little sister to bathe. I’ll leave dinner to you, Elder Sister,” Liu Zhirou said with a smile, ignoring Li Qingling’s comment. She dragged Li Qingning along and quickly went back inside.

Li Qingling pressed her temples helplessly. With so many older siblings doting on that little one, she couldn’t even properly discipline her anymore.

Should she be thankful that aside from loving to play a bit too much, the child hadn’t developed any other bad habits?

If she really turned into a full-blown little terror, Li Qingling might truly lose control and hang her up for a beating.

She had seen how terrifying unruly children could be—and she didn’t want her own kids to become like that.

“What’s wrong? Sighing again?” Liu Zhimou, who had just returned home, walked into the kitchen and smiled as he asked.

At the same time, he reached out, took the knife from her hand, and skillfully began cleaning the fish.

Li Qingling stepped aside and glanced at him.

After three years, Liu Zhimou had grown into a handsome sixteen-year-old youth. With that good-looking face of his, he attracted attention wherever he went.

“It’s Ningning again,” Li Qingling complained to her young fiancé. “I told her not to go down to the pond. She agreed so nicely, but the moment I turned my back, she forgot everything and ran off to play, coming back like a little mudball. Don’t you think she’s infuriating?”

Liu Zhimou quickly finished cleaning the fish, washed his hands, and rubbed her head, his tone indulgent. “Mm, she really is infuriating. I’ll help you teach her a lesson later.”

“Hey—hands!” Li Qingling slapped his hand away from her head and shot him a glance. “Alright. I’ll be waiting.”