Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

Xiao Tingnan began to adapt to her new living environment.

My lame uncle is always in a bad mood and finds fault with everything. He rarely goes out, and when he does, it's to buy alcohol. He gets drunk easily and likes to hit people when he's drunk, so you have to avoid him.

If there was no way to avoid it, he would run to stay next to his maternal grandmother, because although his eldest uncle had a fiery temper, he was very filial and listened to his mother very much.

My aunt was a punching bag; she was often beaten. She rarely cried and always habitually grinned with her yellow teeth.

Aunt Yi Dani, who seems a bit silly, is actually very kind. Perhaps it's because her two daughters died young, and her maternal instincts kicked in. Her eyes often follow Tingnan, and she'll secretly give little Tingnan a boiled egg.

Perhaps in her subconscious, eggs were a very nutritious food, and that feeding them to her child would prevent him from dying. Of course, she only knew how to boil eggs.

Besides adding the right amount of water, you also need to control the heat when cooking rice. She burned the rice twice, and once almost burned down the kitchen. After being severely beaten once, she was forbidden from cooking.

The days passed by in Xiao Tingnan's dreams of her mother taking her home.

At first, things weren't too difficult. Uncle also had his good days. He had injured his foot, but he was very skillful and would make little things for Xiao Tingnan. The frogs he folded could jump, and the butterflies could fly. Watching Xiao Tingnan laughing and chasing after them, he would smile too.

Song Wanli also makes some bamboo products, such as bamboo baskets and bamboo frames, which can earn him some money. He saves it all, hoping that Tingnan can bring him a son.

After Grandma finishes her work, she will give Xiaotingnan lessons, teaching her according to the upbringing methods she learned at home.

Practice sitting posture: Kneel with your hands together, feet together, look straight ahead, and place your hands between your knees. Keep a certain distance between your back and the chair, meaning you can sit on the edge of the chair a little bit.

Standing posture: Stand with legs straight and together, heels touching, toes slightly apart, and body weight centered on both feet. Keep your torso straight, chest out, abdomen in, and buttocks lifted.

Walk with your head held high and chest out, keep your body upright, and keep your head and neck straight, without swaying...

There is also etiquette to knocking on a door. When knocking, we should knock once, pause, and then knock twice. This is to let the person inside hear us and show respect, and to give the host time to tidy up their appearance.

When eating, one should sit as close to the table as possible; when not eating, one should sit as far back as possible, a posture known as "sitting with an empty posture." When distinguished guests arrive, one should immediately stand up to greet them.

These rules are too early for a two-year-old child, but the grandmother, who has lost two granddaughters, is anxious because she can't find anyone to pass them on. Now that she has Tingnan, she thought she would teach her first and told Tingnan to remember them and practice slowly.

Later, I heard that Nan's dignified, generous, and graceful image was cultivated during this period.

My maternal grandmother, Qian Shuzhen, was good at both cooking and needlework. When she was cooking, Tingnan would stand on a stool by the stove and watch, often tasting the food first.

There were no good ingredients or seasonings back then. They just used vegetables from their own garden, like winter melon and pumpkin, with a little oil and salt. It wasn't difficult for my grandmother.

Even after starting a family, Tingnan often reminisces about those days, those simple dishes.

My grandmother was also very skilled at needlework, sewing, and crocheting sweaters, and she had her own unique little patterns.

When her grandmother was busy, Tingnan would do it herself. She wore the same two pairs of blue pants for several springs, summers, autumns and winters. In spring and autumn, she would wear thermal underwear underneath; in winter, she would wear thermal underwear and wool or cotton pants underneath; and in summer, she would wear them alone without anything underneath.

Tingnan used the skills she learned from her grandmother, along with some fancy tricks, to lengthen her trouser legs several times, and no one could tell the difference.

The housekeeper was literate and good at arithmetic. Xiao Tingnan was very good at mental arithmetic. Later, when she went into business, she bought and sold bamboo products on her own and used "kickbacks" to build her own slush fund. Her accounts were never wrong.

Even when faced with his uncle's stern and demanding account reconciliation, he remained calm and composed, all thanks to his early enlightenment from learning from his grandmother when he was young.

My uncle, Song Wanxing, has a high nose bridge, fair skin, and thin lips; he is very refined.

He loves books and is always surrounded by them. His room is filled with books, with the words written vertically. He doesn't allow anyone to touch them, including his aunt Zhao Xiaojuan.

Ting Nan felt that her uncle, Song Wanxing, seemed easygoing, but was not easy to approach.

It was very hot in the summer, and everyone would go outside to cool off in the evenings. Song Wanxing would ask Tingnan to fan him, and in exchange, he would tell stories.

Tingnan was also clever. The little girl got tired after fanning herself dozens of times, so she called over her friends to take turns fanning her and listening to the story together.

Aunt Zhao Xiaojuan is a gentle woman, almost to the point of being weak. Song Wanxing is her everything.

She adored the sensible and precocious Tingnan. When Tingnan was scolded, she would find an excuse to call her away before she was beaten. When Tingnan had to go to work, she would take her with her, teach her how to do the work, help her complete her tasks, and secretly hide some treats for her.