Chapter 36: Xiao Zhongling is a Dummy at School?

“Aoe…” Xiao Zhongling recited in a sweet, babyish voice as she practiced her newly learned pinyin.

He Yashu listened to her daughter’s accurate pronunciation and thought it was time to begin her formal education.

“Lingling, would you like Mama to teach you some words? That way, when you go to Brother Xuan’s house, you’ll be able to read his books.” She recalled how her daughter had returned home complaining that she couldn’t read, with such an adorably wronged expression.

“Yes, yes! I want to learn!” Xiao Zhongling clapped her hands joyfully at the thought of learning characters.

“We’ll start with these today: 一 (one), 大 (big), 上 (up), 下 (down),” He Yashu said, pointing at the characters she had written.

“Is ‘一’ the same as the one in ‘a single one’?” Xiao Zhongling asked innocently.

“Yes! Very smart, Lingling.” He Yashu was pleased at her daughter’s ability to associate meanings. She carefully explained the use of the four characters, then let her daughter practice on her own.

After a few minutes of focused study, Xiao Zhongling grew restless, wiggling in her seat. These characters were too easy—she already knew them!

Seeing this, He Yashu wrote a few numbers for her. The moment she had something new to learn, Xiao Zhongling settled down again. But just minutes later, her little bottom began shifting again.

“Lingling, come here. Let Mama test you,” He Yashu said, pointing at a character.

“Shàng (上),” Xiao Zhongling said confidently. That was easy.

“Look again. What character is this?” He Yashu raised an eyebrow. That was “shàng”?

“Yī (一)?” she replied, now unsure.

“See how the stroke points downward? That’s ‘xià’ (下).” He Yashu reminded herself to be patient—her daughter was only three.

She tried a few more characters, only to realize her daughter was just guessing. Everything got jumbled in her little head. At least she still recognized the numbers.

Looking at her innocent daughter, He Yashu decided that when Xiao Zhongling started school, homework would be Dad’s problem. Otherwise, she’d die of frustration.

“Mama, can I go play now?” Xiao Zhongling asked, tilting her head.

“Go on, go. But don’t roll on the ground. If your clothes get dirty, you’ll wash them yourself,” He Yashu sighed, watching her daughter grow wilder by the day. This wasn’t what she imagined. She thought her child would be a little lady, but she came home muddy every time.

As she watched her daughter bouncing away, her annoyance lasted only a second. Then she smiled. If her child was happy, that was enough.

When Zhong Youliang came home, He Yashu told him about Lingling’s attempts at learning characters. He refused to believe his daughter couldn’t recognize such simple words. He sat her down to test her himself.

“Lingling, tell Daddy what this is,” he asked confidently after a short teaching session.

“Dà (大),” Xiao Zhongling hesitated. These characters kept changing; she couldn’t remember them clearly.

“That’s ‘shàng’ (上)!” Zhong Youliang was in disbelief. He pointed to another character—only to have her get it wrong again.

He Yashu, watching her husband’s defeated expression, couldn’t help but laugh, remembering her own earlier frustration.

To Zhong Youliang, his daughter was clever and articulate, so studying should’ve been easy. But discovering she was a school dummy hit him hard. He needed a moment to recover.

“Daddy, are you okay? Want some water?” Xiao Zhongling asked sweetly, offering him tea.

“I’m fine… just tired,” Zhong Youliang said, watching his daughter’s innocent face. As long as they didn’t talk about school, they were a loving father-daughter duo.

“Is it that serious?” He Yashu chuckled.

Zhong Youliang looked at his wife with a wounded expression. Of course it is—our daughter’s a school dummy! I’m not tutoring anymore.