TSWPF -Chapter 65 Passing Through

That evening, Li Qingling cooked a delicious meal as a reward for the two children.

She also brought out the schoolbags she had sewn earlier and gave them to the children. When the children received these stylish new bags, they jumped for joy and immediately wanted to try them out.

After strapping them on and running two laps, the bags stayed firmly in place—they didn’t fall off at all.

Seeing their happiness, Li Qingling felt pleased too.

In this era, children going to school usually carried very simple bags—just enough to hold their books—not very practical.

To make the bags more useful, she had designed them based on modern styles. Fortunately, the children liked them very much, so her effort hadn’t been wasted.

“All right, hurry and pack everything you need. Go to bed early tonight; school starts first thing in the morning. Don’t be late.” Li Qingling patted Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan on the heads, urging them to pack their things. “These bags have several compartments. When you pack, you can organize things by category, so it’s easier to find them later.” If everything were thrown into a single compartment, it would be difficult to locate anything.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan happily nodded, put the bags down, and placed the pens, ink, paper, and inkstone they bought today inside.

After packing their things, they soaked their feet before climbing into bed.

Perhaps they were too excited; neither of them could fall asleep.

Li Qingfeng quietly turned over and whispered to Liu Zhiyan, “Zhiyan, are you asleep yet?” He couldn’t sleep, thinking about going to school.

Hearing Li Qingfeng, Liu Zhiyan slowly opened his eyes and replied, “Not yet!”

“You can’t sleep either?” He hadn’t expected that he could actually attend school. The excitement filled him so much that he couldn’t sleep.

He even wondered if this was a dream. Once he woke up, would he be back where he started?

His mind was a whirlwind of emotions, tossing him around and preventing him from sleeping.

Glancing at his sleeping younger sister, he carefully stepped over her and snuggled into Li Qingfeng’s blanket, whispering, “Yeah, I can’t sleep either.” Since their parents had passed away, life had been tough for their family, and he had given up hope of going to school. Yet now, he had the chance.

He felt thrilled and knew it was all thanks to Sister Xiaoling.

If it weren’t for her support, his family might still be struggling to get by.

Not to mention the opportunity to attend school.

At that moment, he was truly grateful that their father had arranged this marriage for his older brother while alive, giving him such a good sister-in-law.

He resolved in his heart to repay both his brother and Sister Xiaoling.

He definitely would…

Li Qingfeng’s eyes glimmered in the dark as she said excitedly, “When I saw Li Qingfu go to school, I envied him so much and wanted to go too. But I knew it was impossible, so I let go of the thought. I never imagined that my sister would make this wish come true for me.” For her sister, she would strive to succeed in life and ensure her sister lived comfortably, without having to work so hard.

“I’m really grateful to Sister Xiaoling too. Without her, I couldn’t go to school. I’ll repay her properly in this life.”

“Me too…”

The two little ones chattered on endlessly. Eventually, they felt sleepy and finally closed their eyes to sleep.

Li Qingling didn’t even know about this. She woke up and quickly got up to prepare breakfast.

She had planned to call her two younger brothers after finishing breakfast, but before she could, they were already awake.

Seeing the dark circles under their eyes, she frowned and asked if they hadn’t slept the night before.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan smiled sheepishly and said they were too excited to sleep.

“You two…” Li Qingling shook her head helplessly and told them to take a short nap, promising to call them when breakfast was ready.

“Sis, we’re already up and not sleepy,” Li Qingfeng said with a flattering smile. “Why don’t we help you instead?” He was too excited to sleep, so he figured helping his sister would be better.

Liu Zhiyan nodded in agreement.

Seeing that they really didn’t want to nap, Li Qingling didn’t force them. She urged them to wash up first.

While they washed, she started making egg pancakes and preparing their lunch.

The school had no cafeteria, so they had to bring their own meals.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan quickly washed up and ran back to the kitchen, asking how they could help.

Li Qingling told Li Qingfeng to watch the porridge and Liu Zhiyan to get the fire going for the large pot. Later, she would cook some potato pancakes as well.

“Sis, no need to make so much. The egg pancakes will be enough for lunch,” Liu Zhiyan said. He knew Li Qingling wanted to make extra for them to take to school, but he still felt it was too much.

Li Qingfeng quickly agreed. “Yeah, sis, just egg pancakes are fine for lunch.” If they ate like this every day, they’d finish the food at home too quickly. That wouldn’t do.

Li Qingling set aside the cooked egg pancakes and smiled at the two children. “These aren’t just for you; we’ll eat some too.” Kids needed proper nutrition, especially with all the walking. Without enough food, how could they have the energy to return home?

Besides, their family wasn’t that poor anymore. No need to be overly frugal with food.

Hearing this, Li Qingfeng hurriedly said, “Then just make enough for yourselves. We’ll be fine with just the egg pancakes.”

“Okay…” Li Qingling didn’t want to argue and nodded. She would pack extra for them anyway.

After cooking, she packed the potato pancakes and made sure the porridge was ready. She had the children serve themselves and take it to their room for breakfast.

Once the children left, she packed their lunch into small, neat containers and wrapped them in cloth before bringing them in.

“This lunch goes in the second compartment of your schoolbags. If it gets cold, you can borrow some fire from the teacher to warm it up.” There were no thermoses in this era, so this was the only solution.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan nodded eagerly while eating their porridge and potato pancakes.

“Eat first. I’ll call Brother Zhimou for breakfast, and after that, he’ll take you to school,” Li Qingling said, setting a bowl of porridge on the table to cool slightly for him.

After that, she went to the backyard and saw Liu Zhimou feeding the rabbits, calling him to have breakfast.

He responded and finished feeding the rabbits before standing up.

“The chickens, rabbits, and goats are all fed. You don’t need to feed them again, but you’ll need to clean up,” he said. He would take the children to school, so otherwise, he’d have time to clean.

“All right, thank you,” Li Qingling said, patting the straw off his clothes.

Liu Zhimou shook his head. “No trouble at all.”

Feeding the animals was simple—what’s hard about that? Li Qingling had it harder, running the household.

Their parents had died early; they had to grow up quickly and take responsibility.

He felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Li Qingling smiled and urged him to have breakfast so he could take the two children to school afterward.

He washed his hands, went in to eat, and once finished, asked if the children were ready. If so, they could leave.

Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan nodded, confirming they were ready.

“All right, I’ll take them. After dropping them off at school, I’ll come back.”

“Be careful on the way,” Li Qingling said, then reminded the children, “At school, don’t be naughty. Listen to the teacher, understand?”

“Yes!” they replied in unison.

Watching the three of them leave, Li Qingling waved. Once they were out of sight, she prepared to close the door.

Before she could, Zeng Tietou called out, “Miss, wait!”

“Miss?” Li Qingling felt a vein of frustration at the term. She waited until he came closer and smiled, saying, “Call me Xiaoling, not Miss. It feels weird to hear it.” She had only hired him a couple of times—she wasn’t really a “Miss.”

Zeng Tietou scratched his head and, holding the design plans Li Qingling gave him, pointed to areas he didn’t understand and asked her about them.

Li Qingling’s design resembled a Beijing-style courtyard house but was adapted to fit the architectural style of this era, so it wouldn’t look out of place.

She patiently explained every part he didn’t understand.

Afterward, she asked if there were any other questions, assuring him he could ask anything.

Zeng Tietou looked at the plans carefully, then shook his head—he understood everything else.

“Good. If you have any doubts while building, feel free to ask me.”

“Okay, thank you, Miss.” Zeng Tietou chuckled, “Do you want to come see? If anything seems off, you can point it out.” Since this was their first time building such a house, they were a bit nervous.

Li Qingling thought for a moment, then nodded. It would be good to check and ensure nothing was being done incorrectly.