Chapter 8 It was all a misunderstanding

  Qiu Ye ran into the house, and Qiu's father and mother also started chatting in the house.

  "Hey, why is the iron rooster bleeding today? And it's even giving the girl two cents to buy an ice pop." Qiu Dad said with a smile as he took off his outer garment and stood in the kitchen watching his wife stir-fry potato shreds.

  "Get out, you're the one who's stingy! I'm just managing the household properly, don't you understand? If it weren't for me, you three would have starved to death by now. Qiu Ma hated it when people said she was being too frugal, but she also wanted to spend money lavishly - that had to be done with some calculation, though. With only a limited income at home, if they didn't control their spending a bit, what would the kids use to pay for school? Were they supposed to just go hungry?"

  "Yes, yes, my wife is the best at managing the household. With you around, our family's life will definitely be prosperous and harmonious." Old Qiu had a bit of tracheitis and was very good at reading his wife's facial expressions. As soon as he saw something was off, he immediately started flattering her.

  "Stop nagging, you don't know, today your daughter was so capable and even helped me sweep the floor." Qiu's mother scolded Qiu's father and then happily told him about their daughter's behavior today, with a proud look on her face.

  "That's it, you don't even look at who the girl is." Old Qiu said without thinking, then reacted and asked: "Isn't that just sweeping blindly and making garbage everywhere?"

  Qiu's mother rolled her eyes at him and said unhappily, "You're just blindly sweeping around. My daughter swept much better, she even cleaned up all the potato peels on the ground and arranged the brooms neatly. She did a much better job than you." The child herself said it was okay, but if someone else said something unpleasant, she wouldn't be happy.

  Qiu's father was scolded by his daughter-in-law, but he didn't mind. What surprised him was the girl's excellent performance, "This kid has never swept the floor properly before, what's going on today?"

  "What else can we do? She's grown up, she understands things. This September, she'll be going to primary school, if you hadn't spoiled the child and refused to let her go to kindergarten, she would have learned all these things long ago." Qiu's mom conveniently forgot that she also disagreed with sending the child to kindergarten and shifted the blame onto her husband.

  "What's good about kindergarten? Every day, they just make the kids sit on small stools and have two old ladies supervise them. They don't let them do this or that, and they can't play either. They don't learn anything useful. Why make the kid suffer like that? It's better for her to stay home and play happily, doing whatever she wants. When the time comes, she'll naturally learn what she needs to know. Her brother is a boy, he's sturdy and naturally active, so we sent him to kindergarten to discipline him a bit. But my daughter can't go." Mr. Qiu loves his daughter dearly and doesn't want her to be restricted in kindergarten. He thinks it's better for her to sleep in till she wakes up naturally at home, because once she starts school, she won't be able to enjoy that anymore. Besides, who taught her brother how to sweep the floor? Didn't he learn it anyway?"

  Qiu Ye was listening to her parents' conversation in the house, and only then did she understand that it was actually her father who didn't want her to go to kindergarten. He was afraid that she would suffer if she went to kindergarten, which is why he hadn't let her go. It wasn't like what others had said - that her mother wanted to save money for her brother's education and marriage, so she wouldn't let Qiu Ye attend kindergarten. She had misunderstood her parents all along.

  In her previous life, she didn't attend kindergarten. The kids around her said that her parents didn't like girls, so they wouldn't let her go to kindergarten and would save the money for her brother's education and future marriage. At that time, she also thought that her parents were biased, favoring boys over girls, so even when she grew up, she had grievances against her parents.

  Qiu's father and mother were already late in getting married and having children. Qiu's father was 27 years old, and Qiu's mother was 26 years old when they got married. When Qiu's mother was 28 years old, she gave birth to Qiu Feng. Four years later, when Qiu's father was 33 years old and Qiu's mother was 32 years old, they unexpectedly had Qiu Ye. This can be considered a late-born daughter, so they doted on her very much. In their minds, sons should be raised in poverty, while daughters should be raised in wealth.

  However, due to various reasons, Qiu Ye misunderstood her parents.

  The little resentment in Qiu Ye's heart has completely disappeared. She understood that her father and mother originally loved her the most.

  "Old Qiu, don't just stand there getting in the way, go to the balcony and take a look, has that little monkey finished school? If you see him, call him up here, don't let him play downstairs anymore, hurry back for dinner." Qiu's mom saw Qiu's dad following her around the kitchen doing nothing helpful, just getting in the way, so she sent him to go check on their son.

  Qiu Feng was a naughty kid since he was little, after school, he would play with several boys downstairs, shooting slingshots and mud cannons. If no one watched him, he could play for an entire morning. So every time it was mealtime, they had to shout his name several times on the balcony before he would go home to eat.

  "Alright, I'll go deal with that rascal." Old Master Qiu happily accepted the task and went to the courtyard to call for someone.

  At noon, Qiu Ba's repeated invitations finally paid off, and the little overlord of the Qiu family, Qiu Feng, returned home. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted, "Mom, mom, is dinner ready? I'm starving!"

  Qiu Ye saw a little black boy, about the same height as her mother, running in. He was wearing a pair of black pants that were a bit too short, a grey sports jersey with a big crack on it, and a pair of green rubber shoes. On his chest, there were two large Chinese characters printed on his shirt. Without even changing his shoes, he rushed to the dinner table.

  The Qiu family's dining table had always been a side-standing one, only set up when eating. Just now, Mr. Qiu has already set the table, and Qiu Ye helped arrange the stools, earning a lot of praise.

  Qiu's mother saw her eldest son coming in, and without even looking up or opening his eyes, he was about to go eat. Compared to her well-behaved daughter, it was like heaven and earth. She loudly scolded: "Qiu Xiaofeng, are you trying to get yourself killed? You come into the house without taking off your shoes or washing your hands, do you want to be lazy to death? Quickly take off your shoes and wash your hands!"

  Qiu's mother always yells "Qiu Xiao Feng" when she is angry, possibly because yelling three characters can express her anger better than yelling two.

  Qiu Feng was scolded by his mother, but he didn't take it to heart. At the dinner table, he crouched down and wanted to use his dirty paws to grab the potato shreds to eat. Qiu's father slapped his dirty hand with a chopstick and said sternly: "Didn't you hear what your mom said? Hurry up and go wash your hands!"

  Qiu Feng was really afraid of his dad. When his dad hit him, it was a real beating, wherever it hurt, that's where he'd get hit. So when his dad yelled at him like this, he didn't dare not listen. He turned around and saw his little sister standing next to him, sneaking a smile. Feeling annoyed, he bared his teeth at her, then rubbed his hands together before reluctantly going to wash them.

  At noon, when eating lunch, there was only a vinegar-soaked potato sliver on the table, which was also vegetarian. The rice was sorghum rice. Qiu Ye looked at her brother eating with big mouthfuls and a sweet expression, but felt a bit sour in her heart.

  Nowadays, everyone eats rationed food, and each household is allocated a certain amount every month. Rice and flour are all in fixed quantities, so they usually buy cheaper sorghum rice, cornmeal and other staple foods to eat at home.

  As for the dishes, they are all made from winter vegetables stored during winter and can be eaten until June or July when fresh vegetables become available to occasionally change the flavor. Now at home, it's just a rotation of potatoes and Chinese cabbage.

  Qiu's mother watched the girl not move her chopsticks for a long time, thinking she was tired of potatoes, so she picked up a chopstick of potato shreds and put it in the girl's bowl.

  "Xiao Ye, eat well and take care of yourself, what are you looking at?"