country bumpkin

The second day of the eighth lunar month, which falls on September 1st in the Gregorian calendar, is the start of the school year.

At Tuanjie Village Primary School, all the children who had registered for first grade entered the school one after another.

Gao Qingzhi dropped Er Ya off at the school gate and then went back home. She still had to go help out at the meat stall.

There's no need to pick Er Ya up at noon, as the journey is a bit far, so Er Ya eats lunch at school.

The children in this village all go home for lunch, as the school doesn't have a cafeteria. Er Ya has meals prepared by her mother.

Originally, Gao Qingzhi planned to rent a small single room near the school, but she had to take Daya to night school every night. So she couldn't stay with Erya in the rented room indefinitely.

She's very busy now. After dropping Er Ya off in the morning, she goes to the meat stall, goes home to cook lunch, and then takes Daya to night school in the afternoon.

Fortunately, Daya was home at noon and could help with housework. She did the laundry, swept the floor, picked vegetables, and washed the dishes.

She's already practicing cooking, and once she's mastered it, she'll be able to cook lunch. This has been a huge help to Gao Qingzhi.

Gao Qingzhi's mother-in-law was getting old and was lazy and didn't like to exercise, so she became increasingly fat and her health deteriorated.

After eating, I would lie down; if I could lie down, I wouldn't sit; if I could sit, I wouldn't stand. Basically, I was getting weaker and weaker, with no energy at all.

The current mother-in-law is completely different from the one before. She no longer has any authority over Gao Qingzhi.

Gao Qingzhi felt that her good days were just around the corner. She was just waiting for her daughter to grow up, become successful, and marry a good man, so she could finally rest easy.

Her two daughters had suffered a lot because of her. She didn't want them to follow in her footsteps.

After finishing the chores at home, I still have to pick up Er Ya in the afternoon and drop off Daya, so I'm a bit overwhelmed.

Seeing this, Daya volunteered, "Mom, I can go to night school by myself. You just need to take me to the station."

There are buses from the bus station to various towns and villages. She can take the last bus, and her mother will pick her up after school.

Looking at her sensible daughter, Gao Qingzhi felt both gratified and heartbroken. Raising a child alone is too hard; being in a single-parent family is truly exhausting.

Her son was cared for by her in-laws. Since her mother-in-law became immobile, only her father-in-law took care of him.

Her father-in-law was an honest, quiet man who listened to his wife in all matters, big and small. So he was practically invisible in the family.

When he was young, his father-in-law's family was very wealthy. At that time, his mother bought him a child bride.

So he's only in his fifties, but his wife is already 65. Because of their large age gap, they only have one son, Li Daniu.

My father-in-law is in good health now and is perfect for helping take care of the children. He also prefers boys, so he only takes care of his grandson and never interferes with his two granddaughters.

Although he was biased, he also subtly helped Gao Qingzhi. If her father-in-law had completely abandoned his responsibilities, Gao Qingzhi would have been exhausted and still wouldn't have been able to make ends meet.

Families living close to the school don't have this problem. Their children can walk to school by themselves without needing adults to pick them up or drop them off.

After lunch, Gao Qingzhi rested for a while before starting to prepare the ingredients for dinner.

After preparing dinner, Da Ya ate a little first, then I took her to the station. I put her on the bus, paid the fare, and told the driver to get off at the night school.

Then I went to pick up Er Ya, brought her back, and rushed home. By the end of the day, my whole body ached.

Back home, the family gathered around the table for dinner. The only sounds on the table were the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.

All that could be heard was the sound of my son shoveling rice into his mouth.

This son has developed a double chin from eating so much, and his belly is round and chubby like a big ball.

I have to say, the food at home is really good. After all, we sell meat, so we have meat at every meal, which is why my son ate the round ones.

The two girls and Gao Qingzhi had always eaten leftovers in the kitchen, but now that their mother-in-law no longer manages the household, they can finally eat at the dining table.

The mother-in-law knew she couldn't make the decisions anymore, so she tried to avoid seeing or worrying about it. She spent all her time lying in her room with her eyes closed, trying to rest.

Gao Qingzhi would bring her meals to the table in front of her bed, and she would groan as she got up to eat.

From a distance, it looks like a giant soybean worm that has come to life.

After dinner, Er Ya went to the living room to do her homework. Because Er Ya was a little older than her classmates, she learned very quickly.

She finished her homework in no time. Then she took the initiative to preview tomorrow's lessons.

Gao Qingzhi secretly glanced at the diligent Er Ya and felt happy, thinking that perhaps her daughter was a promising child.

Night school ends at 9 p.m., and Gao Qingzhi started riding her bike to pick up Daya at 8:30 p.m. By the time she arrived at the school gate, school had already ended.

Daya stood at the door, looking around for her mother.

Gao Qingzhi saw her daughter and waved to her. Daya, carrying her schoolbag, happily ran over, picked up the child, put her on the back seat, and they hurried home together.

The mother and daughter chatted and laughed on the way, with Daya excitedly recounting what she had learned at school.

They arrived home quickly, and Er Ya was already asleep. Da Ya quickly washed up and went to bed; she could leave her homework for tomorrow!

After a long day's work, Gao Qingzhi felt utterly exhausted. She lay down on the bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The next day, the same schedule as the previous day was repeated, and every day was so busy that I was dizzy.

On Saturdays and Sundays, all three children are off work. The two daughters stay home to do their homework and help with housework.

My son ran out to play, and neither my husband nor my father-in-law paid any attention to him. He ran off to play wildly before even finishing his homework.

Gao Qingzhi wanted to say something, but her father-in-law left immediately.

Husband Li Daniu said, "Qingzhi, don't worry about it. School is tiring enough. It's the weekend, so let our son go out and play for a while!"

Gao Qingzhi glared at him angrily, "Do whatever you want with him, I'm never going to interfere with him again!"

After finishing speaking, she tidied up the dishes and went to the kitchen.

Daya was already waiting in the kitchen. Seeing her mother carrying the dishes, she ran over and said, "Mommy, can I help you wash the dishes?"

Er Ya ran to the kitchen, grabbed a broom, and went back to the house to sweep the floor.

Looking at her two sweet little girls, Gao Qingzhi felt a sense of relief after all her hardships.

Today is the first day of school, and Sun Limei went to school too. She started kindergarten last year and is starting first grade this year.

Her school is very close to home, and she goes with other children from the neighborhood, so she doesn't need to be picked up or dropped off by adults.

Back home, she took out her new textbooks and carefully looked through the pictures on each page. Her younger brother, Sun Guoqiang, also pointed at the pictures with his little finger and tried to imitate his sister's words.

Kong Xiujuan walked over and looked at the two children's adorable appearance, which reminded her of her second daughter, Yunya, in the countryside.

By this time next year, she should be back in school.

At this moment, Yunya was playing in the mud with Caixia, singing nursery rhymes, and was very happy.

Six months ago, the village committee of Kongjia Village bought a tape recorder. Previously, they only used the loudspeaker to notify the villagers of important matters.

Now that I've bought a tape recorder, I play nursery rhymes through the loudspeaker whenever I have free time.

The children have been humming along to it since morning until night.

At this moment, Yunya and Caixia were trying their best to hum:

"Please take my song back to your home, please leave your smile behind..."