Chapter 41: Little Worker 3/3

The idea of ​​letting Zhao Xiaodou help take care of Damao and Ermao was mentioned by Li Qingzhi to Li Laogen in the morning.

Li Laogen was deeply moved at the time.

Li Laogen, like Jin Xiaoye, felt that Damao and Ermao didn’t need someone to take care of them at all.

So Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye said this just to take care of Zhao Xiaodou, right?

Their family ate so well; if Zhao Xiaodou came to their house, he could eat white rice and meat!

Li Qingzhi also planned to teach Zhao Xiaodou how to read… to learn to read in the county would cost a lot of money each year, but Li Qingzhi? He wouldn’t charge any money!

Li Laogen felt that Li Qingzhi proposed such a suggestion because he wanted to take care of Zhao Xiaodou for his sake.

“My Ah Qing is very knowledgeable. Damao and Ermao are just a little bit older, and they already know a lot. Letting Xiaodou study with them in the future will definitely not be inferior,” Li Laogen grinned, showing the few yellow teeth he had left. “Laosan, Ah Qing is willing to let Xiaodou come over because of me.”

After Zhao Laosan arrived, he originally wanted to inquire with Li Qingzhi about the Hong family, but before he could speak, he learned of such good news.

So what if the Hong family is wealthy? Even if his son goes there, he’ll still be serving others for the time being, having to attend to a simpleton. But coming to Li Qingzhi’s place is different; there’s no need to work and one can still study alongside!

Zhao Laosan only has one child, whom he values greatly. Naturally, he hopes his son will have a bright future, and in that case… even a simpleton knows which option to choose.

“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?” Zhao Laosan was very anxious.

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Ah Qing is my son!” Li Lao root said proudly.

Li Qingzhi also added, “Uncle San, I’ve taken on some copying jobs. I’ll need to do some copying at home in the future, and I thought it would be good to have someone help me look after Damao and Ermao. If Xiaodou is willing to come, that would be great.”

“Xiaodou would definitely be willing to come!” Zhao Laosan replied without hesitation.

He also knew that Li Laogen root wasn’t very reliable, but in his opinion, Li Laogen root was not a bad person, and he was also affectionate towards Xiaodou.

As for Li Qingzhi… he wasn’t very familiar with him, but he thought Li Qingzhi was a good person.

As for Jin Xiaoye, there’s no need to mention her. Although she had a bit of a temper, her heart was good! This could be seen from the fact that his brother never came to their house for a free meal over the years.

“In that case, Xiaodou can come in the morning and go back in the evening. Uncle Laosan, you can drop him off.” Li Qingzhi said.

“There’s no need for dropping off. Xiaodou can go by himself. He usually wanders around anyway,” Zhao Laosan said. “Ah Qing, rest assured, Xiaodou will definitely take good care of Damao and Ermao. He’s the most obedient!”

Once they settled on this matter, other helpers also arrived.

Jin’s mother let them have porridge and then started preparing the next meal.

Li Qingzhi’s house only had one pot, plus cooking on a clay stove… cooking was indeed troublesome.

However, Jin’s mother had always been responsible for cooking at the Jin family, and she had to do many other things. While helping with cooking here, she didn’t feel tired at all. On the contrary, she felt too relaxed and ate too well, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Jin’s mother could only try to make the dishes taste better.

On the other hand, Zhao Laosan worked particularly hard.

Li Qingzhi wanted to teach his son how to read, so Zhao Laosan would certainly help him with work.

As for that young master from the Hong family… he had long forgotten about that matter.

Earning five hundred coins a month was indeed not a small amount, but Li Qingzhi could read, and he could earn a silver coin a day!

And the Li family ate so well. In these two days his son was at the Li family, as long as he played with Damao and Ermao, he could eat meat at every meal. Zhao Laosan felt that his life was almost as good as that of a young master.

When he returned home at night, Zhao Laosan told Zhao Xiaodou about this matter.

Zhao Xiaodou was extremely excited: “Can I go to Uncle’s house every day in the future?”

Uncle’s house really had good food!

Their family basically ate rice and vegetables cooked together every day, but his uncle’s family always ate white rice!

As for taking care of Damao and Ermao, Zhao Xiaodou didn’t see it as a big deal at all.

He didn’t even feel like he was taking care of them; he was just playing with two younger kids.

“Of course!” Zhao Laosan said. “When the time comes, you’ll come in the morning and go back in the evening. Your uncle Li will teach you how to read. Study well, and maybe you’ll become a shopkeeper in the county in the future…”

Zhao Xiaodou had known for a long time that he would have to go out to work for a living in the future, so he nodded seriously at the words.

After returning home happily, the father and son, upon arrival, noticed a messenger waiting at their door. It was then that Zhao Laosan remembered the matter concerning the Hong family.

Yesterday, he had hesitated for a moment, but today he didn’t hesitate at all: “My son cannot go to the Hong family. My nephew asked him to go over there and learn to read with him.”

The messenger was stunned.

The Hong family had asked for assistance in finding a suitable person, promising a high introduction fee, but the chosen individual declined… The messenger, in a bad mood, made a few sarcastic remarks before leaving.

Zhao Laosan felt a bit embarrassed by the comments, but as long as he thought about his son learning to read in the future, he became happy again.

Zhao Laosan’s wife, knowing about this, was also delighted. The next day, she specially prepared a basket of eggs and picked some vegetables that the Li family didn’t plant to send to the Li family.

The matter of Zhao Xiaodou was settled like this. However, because the house was in chaos, Li Qingzhi temporarily didn’t teach them how to read, only letting them memorize poems and telling them stories during their free time.

To Li Qingzhi, this wasn’t a big deal, but when Zhao Laosan took Zhao Xiaodou home and heard him reciting poetry, he felt so happy that he wanted to jump for joy.

His son could recite poetry already!

In the future, his son would learn to read and write, and even do accounting…

Zhao Laosan was so excited that he lifted his son up and kissed him.

He had never kissed his son before; it had never occurred to him.

He rarely hugged children. When they were young, he was busy, and his stepchildren helped take care of them. When they grew up… they were already grown up; why would they need to be hugged?

But Li Qingzhi, being an educated man, hugged his child, so why couldn’t he?

Subconsciously imitating Li Qingzhi, after he kissed his son, Zhao Xiaodou’s eyes lit up, happily looking at his father while covering his face.

“Dad’s Xiaodou, you’re going to become a scholar in the future!” Zhao Laosan said with great joy. If his son wasn’t already a bit too big, he would’ve wanted to carry him on his neck and go home like that.

After being reminded by Jin Moli, she would occasionally pay attention to Zhao Laosan and his son.

She remembered that Zhao Xiaodou went to the Hong family just before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Shouldn’t Zhao Laosan have come to inquire after being introduced to the work by the middleman at the Hong family? Why hadn’t he come?

Jin Moli couldn’t understand it, but seeing Zhao Xiaodou happily playing at the Li family every day, she let go of her worries.

However, when she saw the house that the Li family was about to finish building, she felt uncomfortable again. In her previous life, she had such a miserable life after marrying Li Qingzhi. How come Jin Xiaoye’s life was getting better and better?