After crossing, I was forced to hold on to my thighs and build a kingdom

The next day, the brother and sister got up early. Jinchu heated up the two remaining steamed buns and quickly finished a simple breakfast. She then took Zhao'er by the hand and gave him some instructions. After that, she patted his shoulder and encouraged him, "Don't worry, I'll wait for you to come back!"

Zhao'er nodded heavily, ran out of the yard and headed towards the Sun family yard not far away.

About a quarter of an hour later, faint footsteps were heard outside the door.

Jin Chu looked up and saw Zhao'er holding a bag tightly in both hands and moving slowly forward. Perhaps the things on his back were too heavy, causing his tender shoulders to twist to one side and his small body to hunch.

"Sister, look what I brought back!" Seeing Jinchu, Zhaoer quickened her pace and shouted excitedly.

A thin layer of sweat seeped out of his forehead, and his red little face was full of excitement and joy.

Jin Chu took a few steps forward, took the bag from his brother's back with one hand, and gently wiped his sweaty forehead with the other hand.

"Sister, you're amazing! Zhao'er told Sun everything you taught her, and she was so angry she called us toads dreaming of eating swan flesh. What a wishful thinking!"

Zhao'er followed Jinchu in a hurry, her bright eyes full of admiration for her sister. "I told her what you taught her later, and she didn't dare to scold me anymore. She turned around and found us so much food."

"Zhao'er did a great job too!" Jin Chu praised the little boy with a smile.

As they talked, they entered the main hall. Jin Chu put down the bag, untied it, and saw that there were four or five plump white flour buns on the top. Her eyes lit up, and she carefully took out the buns and said with a smile, "These buns are much better than the steamed buns we eat!"

Turning the bag further down, there were four or five pounds of corn, a small jar of pickles, two radishes, a cabbage, and seven or eight steamed buns that Sun had prepared for them.

"When I went there, they happened to be having breakfast at home. These steamed buns were freshly cooked. Thinking that my sister had a sore throat and couldn't eat them, Zhao'er secretly packed a few while Sun went in to get some pickles..."

Seeing her sister's increasingly stern gaze, Zhao'er's voice became lower and lower. Obviously, she also knew that it was impolite to steal other people's things. "...But Liu Fudan found out and called his mother. Sun came out and asked me for a steamed bun, but I didn't give it to her!"

"What did they do to you?" Jin Chu asked anxiously. She looked her brother up and down, feeling a little nervous.

How could Sun, who was greedy and stingy, allow Zhao'er to take away so many big white flour buns so easily?

Zhao'er lowered his head and muttered, "It's nothing, but Liu Fudan kicked me. I lay on the ground, holding my stomach, and screamed in pain several times. Sun was a little scared, so she scolded me a few times and let me go."

He stole a glance at Jinchu and saw that her sister's eyes seemed to be spitting fire. He quickly reached out and pulled her to comfort her: "Don't worry, sister, Zhao'er is wearing a thick coat. Liu Fudan's kick didn't hurt at all. I even deliberately fell in their firewood pile. There was a lot of dry grass in it, which was very soft. Zhao'er really didn't feel any pain at all."

"Sister, sister!" Seeing that his sister didn't speak, he shook Jin Chu's arm and called her half-coquettishly.

Jin Chu felt a mixture of joy and anger. She was touched by the child's understanding and thoughtfulness, but also angry at his wrong behavior. She was even more worried that he would be kicked out and hurt. She pulled her brother and asked anxiously, "Where did you kick him?"

Zhao'er timidly pointed to his lower abdomen. Jinchu gently lifted his cotton jacket to take a look. Fortunately, there were no bruises or swelling, only a small patch of light red.

She reached out and touched it, pressed it a little, and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Zhao'er shook his head.

Then he added more pressure and asked, "How about this?"

"It doesn't hurt." Zhao'er answered obediently.

Jin Chu breathed a sigh of relief and finally felt relieved.

As an only child who has been single for 22 years, Jinchu has no experience in raising a child except occasionally taking care of younger relatives during family gatherings on holidays. She can only cross the river by feeling the stones and be careful in everything.

After confirming that Zhao'er was safe and sound, the next step was to carry out ideological education.

"Zhao'er, do you know what you did today by stealing someone else's steamed buns?" Jin Chu cleared his throat and said with a stern face, "It's taught in the books that taking without asking is a crime!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the little boy lowered his head in shame.

"I know you took the buns because you felt sorry for me, but your behavior is really unpleasant. Look at that Sun, she has a bad character and did something bad that hurt me. We all hate her, right?"

Seeing Zhao'er nod slightly, she continued: "If it wasn't for the money, she might not have done this, and naturally it wouldn't be so disgusting; similarly, if you didn't feel sorry for your sister, you probably wouldn't have done something like stealing other people's steamed buns, right?" The little boy nodded silently again.

"But no matter what the reason is, as long as you do this kind of behavior of stealing other people's steamed buns, it can be considered as bad behavior! And who would like a person with bad behavior?" Zhao'er's face was already flushed red at this time. He pursed his lips, lowered his head and said nothing.

"Zhao'er, you left home when you were less than three years old, and now you're six! For the first two years when my brother was here, you were still young, and your health wasn't great, so we never started teaching you. In the past two years, you've grown a little, and my brother left again. Living with someone else has always been a lot of inconvenience for us, and you're such a smart child. I'm worried that my careless teaching might lead you astray, so I'm thinking of finding a good teacher to teach you properly after my brother comes to pick us up."

After saying this, she looked at her brother and sighed, "Zhao'er, perhaps I'm wrong! I always felt it was too early, that the timing wasn't right, and it's ended up harming you. You don't read, you don't understand reason, and you don't know the rules. You don't care about right or wrong, you just follow your own preferences. If you keep going like this, sooner or later you'll become a willful and unruly person."

Finally, she spoke slowly and carefully, word by word, "Sister, I hope my Zhao'er will grow up to be a smart, upright, and honest young man. Even if he has to do something unavoidable, it will be for the country, the people, and the world, not just for you, a little girl like me!"

With a "wow" sound, the little boy burst into tears, tears streaming down the corners of his eyes. He raised his sleeves and wiped them randomly, trying to open his mouth to speak, but his throat seemed to be choked and he couldn't speak. All that was left was shame and regret.

Jin Chu looked at him silently, waiting for him to recover.

After a long while, Zhao'er sobbed and looked at his sister, solemnly promising: "Sister, Zhao'er knows he was wrong. Zhao'er will never take anyone else's things again, even from the Sun family, whom Zhao'er hates the most! Zhao'er will study hard in the future and become the kind of person you said you would be!"

His eyes were childish but clear, and there was deep sincerity and determination in them as he looked at his sister.

Jin Chu stood up and hugged him, feeling quite relieved: "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Zhao'er is still a good brother in my eyes!"

Looking at the little boy with red and swollen eyes, Jin Chu couldn't help but reflect again: Was it a bit of an overreaction for him to give such a harsh beating to the little guy for such a small mistake?

Forget it, let’s just shamelessly treat it as ‘a good doctor treating illness before it occurs’!