TSWPF -Chapter 64 Passing

Li Qingling glanced at Liu Zhimou but didn’t say anything more. She knew that if she spoke now, he would oppose it, so it was better to wait until she started building the house before trying to convince him.

After all, she planned to build not just her house, but also the Liu family’s house. They had the money at home, so it was feasible.

Once the snow completely stopped and the weather gradually improved, Li Qingling began the preparations for building the house.

She spent quite some time persuading Liu Zhimou, explaining everything step by step, and only then did he agree to build a house for their families.

However, it wasn’t two separate houses—they decided to merge into one.

Before construction could start, they had to go to the village chief to purchase the land.

Previously, Li Qingling and her family had been essentially borrowing the house—they didn’t own it. To build a new house there, they had to buy the land first.

Li Qingling had Liu Zhimou take Li Qingfeng to see the village chief to handle this.

When the village chief heard they wanted to buy the land, he agreed without hesitation, even offering a small discount.

After all, the land was at the foot of the mountain and somewhat remote, so it was reasonable to sell it cheaper.

Once the land was purchased, the next step was finding workers to build the house.

Li Qingling knew that most villagers could help with construction. She thought of Zeng Tietou, who had helped her before and was a good person, and discussed it with Liu Zhimou.

Liu Zhimou also thought Zeng Tietou was trustworthy and agreed. He went to ask Zeng Tietou to gather some capable and hardworking people to help with construction. The daily wage was twenty wen, excluding food, the same as for previous short-term work.

At the beginning of spring, twenty wen a day was considered quite good pay.

Zeng Tietou was grateful for the opportunity and conscientiously recruited diligent workers.

When the villagers heard about the daily wage of twenty wen, everyone wanted to join.

Some lazier people, however, still wanted the job, so they tried to curry favor with Zeng Tietou. He told them he already had enough people.

Failing to gain favor with Zeng Tietou, they went to Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou, hoping they would intervene.

Li Qingling and Liu Zhimou were not so wealthy that they could indulge these requests—they all firmly refused, maintaining the same answer: they already had enough workers.

Those who didn’t get the job were unhappy and started spreading rumors to ruin Li Qingling’s reputation.

Zeng Tietou and the others were furious, feeling it was unfair that people would resort to such petty tactics when they couldn’t find work.

Li Qingling and her family paid them no mind—they were busy preparing Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan for school.

“Make sure you behave well in front of the teacher, understand?” Li Qingling adjusted their robes and, seeing their eager faces, nodded in satisfaction.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan nodded back, promising they would do their best and not disappoint them.

Attending school had always been their dream, and now that it was coming true, they would cherish the opportunity.

“All right, let’s go!” Liu Zhimou gathered their tuition payment and led the two children out.

Li Qingling watched them walk away before closing the yard gate and returning to take care of the two younger ones.

Li Qingning could crawl now, so she had to keep an eye on her to prevent her from falling off the bed.

“Little sister, come here!” Liu Zhirou clapped her hands and called to Li Qingning with a smile. “Crawl over to me.”

Li Qingning, drooling and showing her toothless grin, quickly crawled over like a tiny animal.

She reached Liu Zhirou, grabbed her, and smeared drool all over her face.

Liu Zhirou laughed, hugged Li Qingning, and kissed her little face several times.

“What are the two little beauties playing that’s so much fun?” Li Qingling asked as she entered the room, seeing the two children laughing and squealing. A smile naturally appeared on her face.

She treated them truly like her own daughters, spoiling them as she always did.

Seeing Li Qingling, Liu Zhirou cheerfully called out, “Sister…”

“Ah… ah…” Li Qingning reached out with her tiny hands, babbling, wanting Li Qingling to pick her up.

Li Qingling lifted her up, kissed her twice, and wiped away the drool. Seeing her plump little sister, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

“You’re such a little drooling kitty,” Liu Zhirou teased while rolling around on the bed, “I don’t drool, so I’m not a kitty!”

Li Qingling helped the little one onto the bed, tickled Liu Zhirou’s sides, making her laugh hysterically as she scrambled to escape to the end of the bed, only stopping when she was out of reach.

Li Qingling put her sister on the bed, pointing to Liu Zhirou, encouraging the little one to crawl over and catch her.

Li Qingning looked at Li Qingling with round eyes, then, when encouraged again, crawled toward Liu Zhirou, drooling all the way.

Liu Zhirou teased her to hurry up, and just as Li Qingning neared, she scuttled away again.

The children played this game tirelessly for a long time. When Li Qingling saw them sweating, she called a stop.

She ran out for a basin of water to clean the two little ones and then patted their little bottoms to encourage them to sleep.

After so much play, the two children quickly fell asleep.

Li Qingling, feeling tired herself, lay down beside her sister to rest.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhimou took Li Qingfeng to see Teacher Dai, explaining the purpose of their visit.

Teacher Dai gave them some questions to solve, and if they answered correctly, he would accept them.

When they started answering, Teacher Dai asked Liu Zhimou if he wanted to continue studying.

Liu Zhimou gently shook his head. If he continued school, the family would rely solely on Li Qingling, which would be too exhausting—he couldn’t bear it.

“Is it a tuition issue?” Teacher Dai asked, knowing Liu Zhimou’s parents had passed away, which might explain his withdrawal.

“Not exactly. Even if I continued school, the family could afford it. My sister is still small, and I need to take care of her.”

“That’s a pity,” Teacher Dai said regretfully, then bought two books for Liu Zhimou. “Read these often, don’t waste your learning. If you get another chance, you can continue school!”

Liu Zhimou, who had talent, would have a bright future if he continued his studies. Such a waste…

Seeing the books, Liu Zhimou felt a surge of gratitude. He stood, bowed to Teacher Dai, and thanked him sincerely.

With these books, he could review carefully and prepare for the “Tongsheng” exam.

If he passed, he could proceed to the “Xiucai” exam—something he had always wanted. Now, the opportunity was in front of him, and he would seize it.

Teacher Dai patted his shoulder, encouraging him to study hard and ask anytime if he had questions.

Liu Zhimou, grateful, bowed once more and thanked him formally.

Teacher Dai waved his hand, saying there was no need for thanks.

By now, Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan had finished writing their papers and presented them to Teacher Dai.

Teacher Dai carefully examined their work, his eyes lighting up. These were two promising students who, if nurtured well, could achieve great things.

“Good, good. You two can stay!” he said, thrilled to have found two more talented students.

Upon hearing they had passed, Liu Zhimou smiled and patted their heads, telling them to thank Teacher Dai.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan bowed excitedly and said, “Thank you, Teacher.”

“You’re welcome. Tomorrow, be on time for class,” Teacher Dai said, stroking his beard. “Remember to bring your writing materials.”

“Okay…” they replied in unison.

Liu Zhimou thanked Teacher Dai again before leading the two children to buy paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones, then some meat, before heading home.

As soon as they returned, Li Qingling eagerly asked if they had passed Teacher Dai’s test.

She had been worrying all day at home, afraid one of them might fail, which would have been unfortunate.

Li Qingfeng ran to Li Qingling, nodding heavily, saying they had all passed and could start school the next day.

“Really?” Li Qingling jumped up in joy. Seeing Liu Zhimou nod, she smiled and gave the children a thumbs-up. “You did great.”

Since both children passed, it was perfect—they would have companions at school.

Li Qingfeng scratched his head, grinning foolishly. He was truly grateful to his sister. Without her, attending school would have been impossible.