“Mom, why have so many people come to the village recently?”
Sure enough, Mother Fu’s attention was instantly drawn away.
“Oh, you mean that? It seems they’re going to build a school. I heard some educated youth are coming down.”
“When will it be finished?”
“Who knows? That place looks quite big.”
Only then did Mother Fu remember that He Wen and the others had not gone to school. “Should we let the children go to school? They’re getting old enough.”
Previously, some people could recognize a few characters, thanks to an old man in the village who could read and write. He taught people to read whenever he had time.
Since that old man passed away, not many in the village could read. So when Mother Fu mentioned the educated youth, her tone was full of excitement.
“Look at me, I’ve been here so long and almost forgot what I was going to talk to you about.”
Mother Fu suddenly slapped her head and said, “Fu Qi caught some fish in the river. I wanted you all to go over for dinner tonight.”
Since there was nothing else to do, Fu Yuling readily agreed.
As for the few children at He Jingnan’s house, they were waiting outside. He Jingnan was not with them, and they were all staring at the door, which He Jingnan had entered a few hours ago but hadn’t come out since.
They were all waiting outside, mainly because they hadn’t forgotten the purpose of their visit today.
Inside, He Jingnan was staring at a letter for a long time before finally putting everything away and stepping outside.
When he opened the door, he saw He Wen and the others looking up at him.
He didn’t smile but softened his expression a bit.
“Why are you all squatting at the door?”
He picked up He An. He An couldn’t speak before. He Jingnan had heard from others about the changes in Fu Yuling’s family.
Now he wanted to see if He An could really talk.
“Xiao An, call Uncle.”
He An didn’t hesitate and quickly shouted, his big eyes full of energy.
He Jingnan chuckled. He wasn’t someone who talked much, so when the children surrounded him while chattering, he just listened quietly and didn’t interrupt them.
He really liked such a lively and interesting scene.
However, when their conversation turned to Fu Yuling, he couldn’t help but ask: “Is she good to you?”
He Qiu answered first, “Yes.”
Then the other three children chimed in with the same response.
Their answers were the same: yes, but the reasons varied.
Especially when He An mentioned that Fu Yuling helped him take a bath, He Jingnan laughed.
He pinched his nose and said, “You’re so big now and still can’t take a bath by yourself?”
He An shook his head. “Xiao An can do it now. I don’t need her to help me anymore. Xiao An is very obedient.”
He Jingnan noticed something, that is, none of the children called Fu Yuling “Mom”. They all referred to her as “she” instead.
Thinking this over, he asked them directly.
For children, it’s better to speak clearly.
Strangely, the children all fell silent at once.
They couldn’t really say why. It was just a subconscious choice not to call her that. They felt they preferred to use “she” instead, as if that was fairer.
When they called her “Mom”, it felt uncomfortable. There was a strong sense of discord that made them feel very distant from Fu Yuling.
This sense of distance made them feel it was the reason they could never keep her.
“She feels like a mom, but also seems not to be.”
This sentence spoken by He Wen was quite easy to understand.
After hearing it, He Jingnan didn’t know what to say.
