Chapter 27 - Afraid to kiss

As Grandma Liu took Liu Yusheng away, Axiu chased after them to the door.

"Sheng Sheng, literacy and martial arts learning must be consistent every day."

Yes, Liu Yusheng nodded sweetly, "Brother Axiu, I know! I'll come every day! See you tomorrow!"

It's God's providence.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Axiu echoed, his hands repeatedly tightening in his pant legs as he looked over at Grandma Liu, "…Grandma, see you tomorrow."

Grandma Liu hissed, is this his way of reminding her in fear that she would prohibit her from coming back tomorrow?

She had been here for a long time but the little boy hadn't said a word to her from start to finish.

She's merely a stain against her granddaughter's light.

Amused and affronted, she waved her hand, "We're leaving, no need to send us. Grandma will bring you more vegetables tomorrow."

Axiu paused while a smile slowly suffused his small face.

He watched until the backs of the two disappeared before turning around, only to find his mother behind him, looking at him with complicated eyes.

"Xiu'er, if you want to play with Nannan, you need to be more careful with your words and deeds. Just now, you shouldn't have mentioned those, it's too compelling…."

"Mother," he interrupted her stubbornly, "I'm not afraid of them. Even if I'm found out, they won't dare to kill me. They won't get anything if I die."

A glimmer of pain floated under the woman's eyes, "Xiu'er, they don't dare to kill you, but they will torture you and keep you alive, which is even more painful than death."

If it was only to stay alive, she wouldn't have taken him far away and escaped here.

Axiu's eyes slowly dropped and walked to the sandy ground, looking at the words on the ground for a long time.

Then crouched down and wrote another word in front of his name, followed by a wave of his hand, and the sand returned to its original state, leaving no half trace.

After dinner at the Liu courtyard, when the family was all gathered, Grandma Liu spoke of the day's events.

"Does Nannan want to learn how to read and write?" Grandpa Liu asked.

"Want." Liu Yusheng replied loudly.

"Then learn!" The old man laughed, "Literacy is a good thing. Let's not take after others. What woman's virtue is to have no talent. Girls should also be knowledgeable, so that they can distinguish right and wrong better."

Liu Yusheng's little legs clicked together and ran over and arched into Grandpa Liu's arms.

In this life, she's really lucky.

In this family, she is not a worthless commodity, nor one that can only be exchanged later for a bride price.

Even when the belief that a woman's virtue is to have no talent is deeply ingrained in her family, they are all supportive when she expresses her longings. That alone is enough for her to love and cherish them.

Grandma Liu also laughed on the side, "Our Nannan is so broad-minded, not only does she want to learn to read and write, but she also says she needs to learn to recognize herbs with Wanrong. She's so young but she's filled with tons of ideas."

The old man was displeased hearing his granddaughter being criticized the most, nor her being the butt of jokes, "What's wrong with our baby having a lot of thoughts? It only shows that our Nannan is smart! Have you ever seen any girl in the village like our Nannan? No thoughts means no motivation to move forward, all you can do in life is face the earth with your back facing the heavens. Are you willing to let our Nannan labor like that in the future? Anyway, this old man can't."

"Look at you, are you mad at me for just cracking a joke? Can I not care about Nannan?" Grandma Liu snorted at Grandpa Liu, then looked at Liu Yusheng, "Nannan, since you've decided to learn something, let's make a deal, stick to it to the end. You can't just stop learning once the freshness passes. Can you do it?"

"Nannan can do it!" Liu Yusheng nodded.

"Mother, can that boy named Axiu really teach Nannan? He's not much older, is he?" Although Liu Dalin didn't object, he was skeptical about that little teacher.

"He's almost the same age as Zhixia and Zhiqiu, but that little boy is really a little capable," Reminded of the long string of things that Axiu had listed in the morning to convince herself, Grandma Liu lost her smile. "He said he has learned the Three Character Classic, something about The Analects, something else like The Poetry Classic, and a whole bunch of books that I could hardly understand. Teaching Nannan how to read and write for the time being should be no problem."

The two boys of the Liu Family, who were ignored for a long time, were unconvinced, "He's blowing smoke, how could he have finished reading the Four Books and Five Classics when he's so young? Could he have started learning at birth? Besides, if it's just teaching Nannan how to read, we can do it too!"

After a year at school, can't they even teach Nannan a few words?

Liu Yusheng merely sneered and smiled without refuting. She sprinted to the kitchen to get a dry branch that hadn't been burned, and came back to write a word on the empty ground in front of the family.

The farmers had had an early dinner and the light outside had yet to disappear. So, the words on the ground could be read clearly.

"What is this word?" Liu Yusheng asked the two brothers with a smirk.

"....." The brothers scratched their ears and scrutinized it for half a day without recognizing it. Their teacher hasn't taught them these characters yet!

Liu Yusheng scratched two characters in front of that word, and read them together, "Liu Yusheng, my name!"

Her little chin was arched lightly and the corners of her eyes looked down at them, the little model of arrogance, "Brother Xiu taught me how to write this today!"

Game over! The two brothers thinks their sister has been robbed.

Compared to the wilted brothers, the rest of the family are elated.

"Yo, Nannan has learned how to write her name within a morning, better than your two older brothers, not bad!"

"Our Nannaan is smart, much better than the two boys! Learn, learn with Axiu!"

"We went to their hut today and discovered that Wanrong and Axiu didn't even have a vegetable patch. I'll pick another basket and send it to them later."

"That hut has been abandoned for more than ten years, it's barely livable. When I and Erlin are free, we'll go and help repair the courtyard walls and roofs and whatnot, and make friends along the way."

The family was absorbed in a heated discussion, leaving the two brothers behind with deep grudges against Axiu.

You would only die of anger when you compare yourself to others.

That night, Liu Yusheng slept soundly and laughed in her dreams.

The fertile land in her space is densely packed with medicinal herbs. All these valuable medicinal materials are the result of more than ten years of collecting spent in her previous life.

As long as she studies in the cabin for a period of time, she would be able to take the herbs out bit by bit and use them, doing more and more for the family.

No need to wait until she grows up.

When one is suddenly in the throes of extreme happiness, he'll be afraid, and that's how she's feeling right now.

She's not afraid of poverty nor suffering. She's afraid that while she's growing up, her family would suffer.

Early the next morning, Grandma Liu arrived with Liu Yusheng as promised.

Before they could even reach the foot of Luofu Mountain, under the ancient elm tree at the entrance of the village, a small figure standing next to a boulder at the foot of the mountain could be seen from afar.

Grandma Liu couldn't help but laugh. That boy, was he afraid they wouldn't come?

It's still too early. The sun had just risen, and the morning mist has yet to evaporate. The little boy must have stood long, waiting there, because his messy hair was dampened by the morning mist.