Chapter Five Kindergarten

  Qiao Lianyu scooped a ladle of water from the vat and poured it into the washbasin, where Lianpeng washed his face.

  "Sister, why did you wash my face today? Isn't washing your face something you do in the morning?" Lotus stood in front of the basin, puzzled, and looked up to ask Qiao Lianyu.

  "Good, our lotus root is good, wash your face, look pretty, just now your face was like a flower cat, washing it makes you look good, teachers and classmates will all like you." After washing up, Qiao Lianou hung the towel on the washing rack and took Lotus Root's hand out the door. Before going out, Qiao Lianou didn't forget to find a straw hat to wear. Although she was still young now, her skin had to be taken care of early, if it got too dark, it would never go back.

  Qiao Lianou wore a good grass hat and also found one for Sanmei to wear, but unexpectedly, the two buns on her Xinjiang-style head were as hard as a calf's horns, making it impossible to put on the grass hat, so she had to give up. Anyway, it seemed that her skin was the kind that wouldn't get tanned no matter how much sun it got, and this little bit of sunshine wouldn't hurt her.

  "Hmm, I haven't grabbed my backpack yet." Qiao Lianpeng walked a few steps before suddenly remembering and hastily turned back to run into the house to grab a small cloth bag.

  Qiao Lian thought that such a small child would still carry what kind of school bag, took it over and took a look, it was a small bag sewn by her mother with floral fabric, long straps, a bit cute. Inside, there was a crumpled homework book, a "Little Friends" book, and a pencil case with a little white rabbit and several mushrooms on it.

  The kindergarten in the village is two miles away. Qiao Lian'ou recalled that she also went there before attending elementary school. In the past few years, when it was still a large collective, adults had to work on farms and earn work points. Since no one took care of the children from each household, they asked a young woman in the village to be their teacher, gathering these little ones together to play, sing songs, dance, and not run around everywhere, so that the adults could do their jobs with peace of mind. Therefore, it was impossible to talk about any conditions, and there were no stools either. Every time they went to kindergarten, the little friends had to bring a small stool from home, and after school, they would take the stool back home again. It was quite hard work.

  Qiao Lian'ou walked along, reminiscing about the interesting past events. Lin'er teacher's image gradually emerged in her mind. Lin'er teacher was the most beautiful girl in the big squad at that time, with big eyes, long braids and fair skin. Qiao Lian'ou liked Lin'er teacher very much and wondered if she was still teaching these children now. Qiao Lian'ou suddenly felt a little expectation. The love of beauty is common to all people, and women are no exception.

  It's actually quite interesting haha.

  Out of the door, from the alley to the north, after walking through a section of stone steps, passing through several people's courtyards, I arrived at a piece of land called "Ping Shang". Those fields were paddy fields, planted with rice, and it was the time of flowering, the ears of rice stood upright, covered with pollen, full of vitality. The view was all green, refreshing and delightful.

  These places were also occupied many years later and became houses. Take a look while it's still the most wonderful time, thought Qiao Lianyu.

  Between the rice fields, there were narrow and wide ridges. The ridges were slippery, making it difficult for Little Lotus to walk on them. Qiao Lotus Root held her hand at first, walking carefully, but later, seeing that they were moving too slowly, she let go of Little Lotus's hand and offered to carry her instead. Little Lotus was overjoyed when she heard this - all children love being carried, even when they grow up, and some still try to find opportunities to be carried by their boyfriends. So she stopped in her tracks, waiting for Qiao Lotus Root to crouch down, then excitedly jumped onto her back, almost causing Qiao Lotus Root to fall over.

  Qiao Lianyu picked up her sister on her back, which was a bit heavy, but she could still carry it. She also asked her sister to take off the grass hat from her head and put it on herself.

  "Oh, when did Lotus Root become so sensible? Bringing her little sister along so well? And even putting a hat on her head!" A woman walked towards them, about the same age as Qin Ying, but not as beautiful, with a kind face. Qiao Lotus Root felt very familiar, but couldn't think of what to call her for a moment, her head spinning rapidly, her face almost turning red, and finally remembered that she was a wife from the production team, of the same generation as her parents, and was called "Feng Mama".

  "Mrs. Feng, where are you going on such a hot day?" Qiao Lianyu still knew how to make small talk.

  "Look at this kid, so sensible, and still knows to care about Auntie Feng's affairs." When Auntie Feng brushed past, she gently patted Qiao Lianpeng's small face with her hand, saying, "I'm also sending my little Gang to kindergarten, slow down, the road is slippery, it's okay, come to my house to play, Mei sister and several others are thinking of you."

  Having said that, he walked away with a smile.

  Qiao Lian'ou responded with a murmur and continued walking forward. The greatest advantage of this countryside is that the human touch is strong, neighbors get along very harmoniously, unlike in the city where people return home, close the door and don't come out again. Some have lived for several years without knowing their neighbor's name, living conditions are good but people are very indifferent to each other.

  Out of the fields, onto the main road, in front of them were dozens of houses. Because they had been separated for too long, Qiao Lian'ou couldn't quite remember which one was hers, so she joked that her sister didn't know where it was and asked Lianpeng to show her the way. Lianpeng didn't understand Qiao Lian'ou's thoughts, thinking she was playing with him, so he enthusiastically pointed out directions on his back, turning east and west, until they arrived at someone's courtyard.

  "Here!" Chao Lian Ou saw that many small friends had already arrived, and the loach-like creature slid down from Chao Lian Ou's back and ran to play among the small friends.

  Qiao Lian'ou watched with interest these sweaty children playing, mentally ticking off one by one, who was who, what their names were, and basically still remembered most of them.

  "Come on, kids, come into the classroom, let's play a game." A crisp voice came from inside the house and a girl walked out.

  Qiao Lian Ou took a closer look, thinking it was that pretty teacher Lin Er, but it wasn't. It was another girl, because they weren't in the same production team, so she wasn't very familiar with her. She wasn't as pretty as her own teacher Lin Er either.

  Where is Lin Er teacher? Has she left already?

  Qiao Lian Ou remembered that Lin Er teacher was later taken away by a male educated youth, in today's words, it can be said that they "eloped". Eloping with the one you love is a crazy idea for many men and women who have fallen deeply in love, but often it turns out to be "Eloping is beautiful, life is cruel". If you love deeply, running away and being able to change your life through your own efforts, making yourself live comfortably, isn't so bad after all. Unfortunately, many people, after a moment of impulsiveness, have no glorious sequel, and are often tortured by life in a pitiful state. This kind of elopement is indeed "ruining one's life" elopement. However, when eloping, people generally don't think about the consequences being so miserable, if they could see the consequences, many people probably wouldn't choose that path either.

  Lin Er's teacher was not a prophet, but she was infatuated with that handsome male intellectual youth and eloped with him on a dark and windy night, leaving behind her parents and brothers. No one knew where they went. At the time, it caused quite a stir, and Lin Er's parents almost died from anger. Some of the older girls in the village were deeply moved and eager to follow suit, and if not for the adults' watchful eyes, they would have started a trend of elopement.

  However, many years later, Lin Er teacher came back. He was alone, haggard and worn out, no longer with the elegance of his youth, which made the villagers sigh endlessly.

  Qiao Lian'ou stood under the eaves, sighed for a while, and then walked back home. There were still many things to do in the afternoon. Sanmei Lianpeng would have someone come pick her up in the afternoon. So she said goodbye to the teacher, put on her straw hat, and went back home.