Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

Wang Qing'er took some flour, salt, and brown sugar from the kitchen to the backyard.

She carefully poured the mulberries into a wooden basin, added water, salt, and flour, soaked them for fifteen minutes, then washed them clean and cut off the stems.

She glanced at the man who had been following her around, looking helpless and somewhat pitiful. Wang Qing'er said irritably, "Start a fire."

She wasn't someone who got angry easily, and after venting her frustrations on Mu Nan, she felt much better.

"Okay, wife." Mu Nan happily agreed and then hurriedly started stuffing firewood into the stove.

The fire in the stove was lit, and Wang Qing'er poured the mulberries into the pot and added brown sugar. Since there was no rock sugar, she could only add some brown sugar to cook together.

After a while, the mulberry juice was extracted.

Making jam requires simmering over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pot.

Wang Qing'er felt her hands getting sore after stirring for only a short while.

She glanced at the man standing dumbfounded to the side and said, "You try to stir things up."

Her tone remained somewhat cold, which she did on purpose. She felt that she couldn't easily forgive someone, even if she wasn't angry anymore, she still had to put on an act.

"Okay, wife!" Mu Nan had wanted to help her stir it for a while, but his wife hadn't said anything, and he was afraid she would be unhappy, so he didn't dare to ask. He just watched carefully from the side, afraid that his wife would get burned.

Fifteen minutes later, the mulberry jam was cooked and placed directly in the pot to cool. Once completely cooled, it was poured into small jars that had been prepared beforehand, sealed tightly, and hung in a well to keep for a long time.

She filled two jars with jam, and there was still some left in the pot. She put it in a bowl and took it to the front yard to make a bowl of mulberry water for each of the children.

"Mom, this sweet water is so delicious!" Mu Yao couldn't help but lick her lips after finishing the water infused with mulberry jam.

"It's delicious, but you can't drink it today. I'll make it for you again tomorrow, okay?" Wang Qing'er coaxed Mu Yao gently.

"Okay!" Mu Yao replied obediently.

Wang Qing'er hugged Mu Yao and tapped her little nose, saying, "Yao'er is so good. This jam can also be spread on cakes. When I have time, I'll make you a big cake and spread some jam in the middle. It will taste delicious."

“Okay, Yao’er wants to eat a big cake, a big cake with jam on it. Yao’er loves Mother the most.” After saying that, Yao’er kissed Wang Qing’er on the cheek. “Mother, it smells so good.”

"Mother loves Yao'er too, and Yao'er smells so good." Wang Qing'er hugged her daughter and kept kissing her on the face.

"Hehe...Mother."

After finishing a bowl of mulberry juice, Muqin asked, "Sister-in-law, did you pick these mulberries on the back hill? Are there any more there? Let's go pick some more, this juice is so delicious!"

"Ask your older brother." Wang Qing'er was a little angry again when she thought of the mulberries that Mu Nan had shaken to the ground.

"Did my older brother pick them? I'll ask him later." Mu Qin thought her older brother had picked them and was going to ask him later.

This is usually the time when Wang Qing'er checks Yao'er and Ziyuan's homework.

It was also the time when Muqin and Zitong started doing their homework.

So she said to Muqin and Zitong, "Muqin, Zitong, after you finish drinking, go and review the lessons I gave you recently. I will check them tomorrow."

"Okay, sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law, I'll go right away."

After the two girls finished cleaning up all the dishes, they went back to their room to review their lessons.

"Yao'er, Yuan'er, recite the lesson you learned today for me."

"Yes, Mother, Yao'er can do it."

"Mother..." Ziyuan called out "Mother," then suddenly realized her mistake, quickly covered her mouth and giggled foolishly, then corrected herself, "Oh, no, it's sister-in-law, sister-in-law, I can do it all too."

Wang Qing'er was amused by Xiao Ziyuan's adorable expression, "Haha... Xiao Ziyuan, you're so funny."

Yao'er calls her "Mother," and Ziyuan is often influenced by Muyao to call her "Mother" as well. The little one can't tell them apart anymore.

"Since you both know how to do it, Yao'er can go first. Ready, begin."

"Hmm... what was the first sentence again?" Yao'er suddenly forgot what the first sentence was. She stood there pouting, touching the two little buns on her head with her little hands, and began to think hard.

Today she wore her hair in cute buns. Unmarried girls here usually wear two buns, while married girls wear one bun.

Wang Qing'er would sometimes style Yao'er's hair in other cute ways.

"Mu Yao, didn't you say you knew it? How come you can't remember the first sentence?" Wang Qing'er usually doted on Yao'er, but she was still very strict with her when it came to her studies.

Seeing her mother's displeasure, Mu Yao's little brain started working quickly. A flash of inspiration struck her, and she said with a smile, "Mother, don't be angry. Yao'er remembers it. Yao'er will recite it right away."

"Then let's get started!"

“Rhyming song, cloud to rain, snow to wind, flower to tree, bird to insect, mountain…” Yao’er’s little mouth seemed to have been blessed, and she recited the text fluently.

"Yes, Yao'er is great, Mommy gives you a thumbs up." Wang Qing'er smiled and nodded, giving Mu Yao a thumbs-up on the forehead.

"Now, Yuan'er, come on!"

“Rhyming songs, clouds to rain, snow to wind, flowers…” Ziyuan is a very smart child, and she can memorize every text taught.

"Yes, Yuan'er is great, your sister-in-law gives you a thumbs up too." Wang Qing'er hugged Ziyuan and stamped her forehead with her thumb.

After the memorization test, the writing test will be held.

Today, Wang Qing'er taught them the four characters: "sun, moon, water, and fire".

Before long, Ziyuan brought the written words to Wang Qing'er for inspection.

"Hmm, Yuan'er wrote well. That's all for today, Yuan'er can go find your mother now."

The notebooks they used for writing were specially bound by Wang Qing'er, and each page was filled with grids drawn from memory.

We started by teaching simple strokes, and then moved on to simple characters.

Ziyuan has a great talent for writing. Every time I teach her, she can write it out herself, and it's very neat.

As for Mu Yao, her handwriting is rather "exuberant," with her characters always flying out of the grid and forming some strange shapes—in short, it's hard to describe.

"Bring it here!" Mu Yao stood at a distance, holding the words she had written, hesitating whether to come over.

Yao'er looked at the large characters in her hand and sighed. She was sure she was going to get a beating on the hand again.

Wang Qing'er took the calligraphy practice book handed to her and glanced at her daughter standing beside her with her hands hidden behind her back.

He shook his head helplessly. Oh well! Oh well! There's no way to correct his daughter's handwriting.

She's the type who learns quickly but fails miserably when she tries to practice.

It seems we need to find another way to get her to be willing to learn.

Wang Qing'er pointed to Mu Yao's notebook and asked, "Yao'er, look at your own handwriting, do you think it's pretty?"

"No, it doesn't look good," Mu Yao admitted, her head down.

"Then why don't you write properly? Didn't you write very well when I was teaching you? Why is it like this when you write on your own?"

Mu Yao "..."

Mother, I don't know either. If I knew, I could have written it well!

Wang Qing'er picked up Mu Yao and placed her on her lap. "Yao'er, Mother is asking you, do you like writing?"

"No, I don't like it," Mu Yao answered honestly.

"You don't like writing, right? Okay, then tomorrow we won't write anything, we'll just recite our lessons, okay?"

Mu Yao was somewhat skeptical, and looked up earnestly to ask, "Mother, is it really okay not to write?"

"Of course you can. If our Yao'er doesn't like writing, then she doesn't have to," Wang Qing'er said, pinching her daughter's cheek.

Until we can find a way to get her to want to learn to write on her own, let's stop for now!

She's only four years old, she's still very young, we can't push her too hard.

As for Ziyuan, we'll ask her tomorrow if she's willing to write; if not, then none of us will write.

"Yay, I don't have to write anymore! Thank you, Mommy, Mommy is so good!" Mu Yao happily snuggled in Wang Qing'er's arms.