Chapter 42 Doing Big Things

Wan Baocai was a little discouraged. He never imagined that the children in Lanhua Village were so hardworking. They played hard when they played, and they studied hard when they studied. They made the most of their time.

He suddenly felt that his previous ways of playing were too boring!

He, the young master of the Wan family, must not lose to these poor farm boys!

After helping Zhao Uncle, the four guards rushed over when they learned that their young master had come to the private school with Shen Nian. As soon as they reached the classroom door, they saw their young master sitting next to Shen Nian, reading aloud with great enthusiasm.

The four guards thought they were hallucinating, they rubbed their eyes vigorously and looked again.

Good heavens! The young master was really reading seriously.

“Young, young, young master is actually reading, am I seeing things?”

“No, you’re not seeing things, he’s really reading!”

“This must be a dream, pinch me!”

“Ouch! It hurts! You said to pinch me, so you really pinched me! And you pinched my butt! You stinky rascal!”

“It’s not a dream, the young master is really reading, and he looks very serious!”

“If the master knew, he would be overjoyed.”

“What’s so charming about this poor private school that it makes the young master so well-behaved?”

“It’s not the private school that’s charming, it’s that little girl from the Shen family who’s capable.”

“Don’t say it, although this private school in Lanhua Village is dilapidated, the learning atmosphere is very good, and the children’s reading voices are very pleasant to hear. I feel like joining in and reading too!”

“…”

It wasn’t until Shen Shi San Ke (3 pm) when school was dismissed that Wan Baocai realized that he had actually, for the first time ever, read for an hour and a half in this dilapidated private school in Lanhua Village.

Was he possessed?

Compared to Wan Baocai’s shock, the four guards beside him were relieved.

The young master has grown up! The young master will work hard! The master can finally rest assured!

They cast grateful glances at Shen Nian.

Shen Nian didn’t receive these glances. She patted her little belly, pulled Shen Feng and Wan Baocai and walked away: “Let’s go, let’s go, I’m hungry, I want to go home and eat duck!”

…

Zhao Uncle’s roast duck was ready. The aroma was even more intense than the roast duck from the Wan family. As soon as they reached the gate, Shen Nian and the other children smelled the aroma, they were instantly shocked and rushed towards the house.

When they went inside, they found that Shen Dong and the others had returned. They were all gathered around the simple oven, taking deep breaths, their expressions were extremely enjoyable and hungry.

“Oh my goodness! This is a delicacy!” Shen Cai praised endlessly.

“Father, Big Brother, Second Brother, you’re back!” Shen Nian ran over happily and threw herself into Shen Dong’s arms: “You’ve worked hard today!”

Shen Dong hugged her tightly and handed her the money bag: “Good daughter, take it and count it!”

Shen Nian’s eyes lit up. She greeted everyone present and then, like a little magpie, happily went into the house.

Wan Baocai followed her in.

Wei Shi was wiping the table. Seeing Shen Nian come in, she quickly asked her to come over and sit down.

Shen Nian happily called out to her mother, sat down, and then poured all the copper coins from the money bag onto the table. Then, like a little miser, she started counting the copper coins.

“One, two, three…”

Wan Baocai frowned: “There are only so few copper coins, what’s the point of counting them?”

A pile of copper coins together was not as practical as a silver note.

Shen Nian looked up at him: “You don’t understand the joy of counting money. Although Father and my brothers sold the scallion pancakes, I also participated in making the pancake dough. In other words, this money is also mine. I feel very proud to be able to count the money I earned.”

She smiled: “Brother Baocai, don’t look at how little these copper coins are, it’s still not easy to count them accurately. Don’t believe me? Try it.”

Wan Baocai rolled up his sleeves: “Try it, try it. It’s just a few copper coins, I can count them quickly.”

“One, two…”

The four guards came in. Seeing Wan Baocai counting copper coins, they all stood silently in place.

“Thirteen, eighteen…” Wan Baocai counted more and more incorrectly.

Shen Nian corrected him: “Brother Baocai, after thirteen comes fourteen, not eighteen.”

Wan Baocai’s chubby face turned red: “I know, don’t interrupt me. Huh? Where did I count to? It’s all your fault, you made me forget where I counted to. Let’s start again.”

“One, two… eleven, thirteen…”

“You counted wrong again!”

“Let’s try again, one… seventeen, twenty…”

“Wrong again!”

“… nineteen… twenty-two…”

After repeating this several times, Wan Baocai still couldn’t count the copper coins correctly.

He was annoyed and embarrassed: “I’m not counting anymore! These copper coins are not as easy to count as silver notes.”

Shen Nian pulled the copper coins over and counted them carefully. After a while, she counted them correctly: “There are 740 copper coins in total.”

Wan Baocai blushed with shame.

If it had been anyone else showing off their counting skills in front of him, he would have had his guards beat them up with sticks. But now he was facing Shen Nian, a three-year-old sprout.

Not only did he not dare to hit her, he also felt ashamed.

He was such a useless person, he couldn’t even count properly, he was worse than a three-year-old.

He wouldn’t dare to play with her anymore!

“Brother Baocai, you can’t do this. You’re a rich man, but you don’t know how to manage money. You’re easy to be tricked!”

Shen Nian seriously and solemnly educated Wan Baocai: “I’m only telling you this because we’re friends. You have so much to learn. You’re so smart, if you just try to study hard, you’ll definitely be very capable. Brother Baocai, I have high hopes for you, don’t let me down!”

Wan Baocai said blankly: “Do you really think I’m smart?”

Shen Nian said: “Yes, you’re very smart. If you weren’t smart, why would so many people be afraid of you and respect you? Don’t believe me? Ask the four guard uncles, do they dare to say you’re not smart?”

The four guards quickly agreed.

“The young master is the smartest child I’ve ever met!”

“The young master is extraordinary, as long as he works hard, he can be even more capable than the master!”

Wan Baocai regained some confidence.

Shen Nian smiled: “Brother Baocai, if you want people to admire you more, you have to work hard and do something great.”

Wan Baocai asked: “What counts as doing something great?”

Shen Nian said: “Well, you have to think about what you like to do besides playing.”

“My brother likes to read, he wants to pass the imperial examination in the future, that’s his big goal. Second Brother likes woodworking, he wants to be a skilled carpenter in the future, that’s also a big deal… I like farming, I want to grow enough food to eat, the best fruits, the most delicious vegetables. I also like making money, raising livestock, and practicing martial arts… I like many things, these are all the big things I want to do. I will work hard, work hard, and work even harder for these goals!”

The four guards were shocked.

They never imagined that such a small person like Shen Nian would have such big goals.

Her determination was not something ordinary people could compare to.

Wan Baocai was also surprised: “You want to do so many big things? You’re really fickle!”

Shen Nian snorted: “You’re the one who’s fickle! I have big ambitions. I’m not going to talk to you anymore, I’m going to eat!”

She said as she put all the copper coins back into the money bag, jumped off the stool, went to Wei Shi, gave her the money bag, and then walked towards her brothers with a proud stride.

Wan Baocai looked at her small figure and stroked his chubby chin thoughtfully.

Do something great?

What can he do?

He started thinking about life for the first time.

Before he could figure it out, he was attracted by the aroma of roast duck. He immediately forgot about thinking about life and went to the courtyard, drooling.

Wow, wow, wow! There’s delicious food!

Forget about thinking about life, go away!