Era: Seven money-losing girls? They're trying to trick me into having a daughter again!

"Mom, be gentle..."

Fang Chunyang couldn't help but grit his teeth, his scalp throbbing painfully from Wu Shaoli's tugging.

"Bear with it."

As Wu Shaoli spoke, the pressure she applied while combing her hair lessened.

She divided Fang Chunyang's hair into three sections, and her fingers deftly braided two braids, tying the ends of the braids into two neat bows with red ribbons.

When it was Fang Yunxue's turn, the girl screamed incessantly, as if her hair was about to be ripped out.

Wu Shaoli put down the comb, looked at her two daughters' clean faces and neat braids, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"Wait."

She turned and went into the room, taking out the two pink outfits she had already worn once from the closet.

Fang Chunyang and Fang Yunxue's eyes lit up immediately when they saw it.

Wu Shaoli squatted down, first helping her eldest daughter put on her clothes, then tugged at the hem to smooth out the wrinkles.

When it was Yunxue's turn, the girl couldn't wait any longer. She grabbed the clothes and started putting them on, but she buttoned them up wrong. Wu Shaoli lightly flicked her forehead and laughed, "What's the rush?"

Fang Wei walked in, wearing a clean dark blue cloth shirt and carrying two military green canvas backpacks.

"Chunyang, Yunxue, come here."

The two girls turned around and immediately ran over when they saw what he was carrying.

Fang Wei put the backpacks on their backs, checked the length of the straps, stepped back, looked his two daughters over carefully, and grinned.

They really do look like two little bamboo shoots that have just sprouted from the ground!

"Let's go, let's go to school!"

Fang Wei took Fang Chunyang's hand in one hand and Fang Yunxue's hand in the other, and stepped out of his own courtyard gate.

Wu Shaoli watched his back as he led his two daughters out of the courtyard gate and chuckled silently.

The father and his two daughters walked along the long dirt road in Laotang Village.

Fang Chunyang felt the gazes directed at him, and his palms began to sweat. Fang Yunxue was no longer as lively as she had been when she left home.

"look up,"

Fang Wei squeezed his two daughters' hands and said in a low voice, "Stand up straight and walk forward."

The plump woman returned from the riverbank carrying a wooden basin. Seeing the father and his two daughters, a hint of envy flashed in her eyes: "Dawei, are you taking your daughter to school today?"

"Um."

"it is good."

The plump daughter-in-law nodded vigorously and smiled, "That's good. If we learn more, maybe we can get a government job in the future."

She envied the girls who could go to school, but unfortunately she was too old to go.

……

Outside the red brick gate of the town's primary school, parents and students who had come to register had already crowded in.

Some came by bicycle, some by oxcart, and some, like Fang Wei, walked.

A row of vendors selling candied hawthorns and roasted peanuts squatted along the base of the walls on both sides of the school gate, shouting their wares at the top of their lungs.

Fang Wei led his two daughters around the crowd, glanced around, and headed straight for the first-grade registration area.

The registration area was located at the end of the corridor on the first floor of the teaching building, with a long table and two chairs.

The teacher in charge of registration was a middle-aged woman wearing black-rimmed glasses, a blue Lenin suit, and her hair was neatly combed and pinned up at the back of her head.

A thick register lay open in front of her, with two stacks of brand-new textbooks beside her.

The line was very long, and by the time it was Fang Wei's turn, it was almost 10 a.m.

"Should I enroll my child?"

The middle-aged female teacher looked up, her gaze lingering on Fang Wei for a moment before glancing down at the two little girls in pink dresses beside him. She asked, "Both of them?"

"All reports."

"What's your name?"

Fang Wei took out his household registration booklet and handed it over, saying, "One is named Fang Chunyang, and the other is named Fang Yunxue."

The female teacher took the household registration booklet, glanced at it, wrote two names on the register, and read aloud, "Fang Chunyang, is that you?"

"right!"

Upon hearing his name called, Fang Chunyang immediately straightened up and shouted back.

"Wow, you've got a pretty loud voice."

The female teacher smiled, then looked at Fang Yunxue and said, "So you must be Fang Yuxue, right?"

"yes!"

Fang Yunxue, imitating her sister, also replied loudly.

"They really are sisters, both with very cheerful personalities."

The female teacher took out several sets of brand-new textbooks from the cardboard box behind her and placed them on the table, saying, "Tuition and miscellaneous fees are four yuan per person, and textbook fees are six yuan per person, totaling twenty yuan for two people."

"I see your family is from Laotang Village. Will you be a day student or a boarding student?"

She looked at Fang Wei and explained, "Most of the children in your village are boarders, but a few are day students."

"I see your two daughters aren't very young. Do you want to enroll them in boarding school? It costs five yuan a month for food, but it would be more convenient for them to go to school."

"No."

Fang Wei shook his head, took out twenty yuan and put it on the table, "Both of my daughters are day students."

"OK."

The female teacher wasn't surprised. She took the money, checked it off in the register, and then pushed the textbook in front of the two girls.

"Take this carefully, don't lose it, or you'll have to buy a new one."

She pointed to the classroom next door and said, "This is the classroom where you will have your classes. Go in."

It's already rare to see people in the countryside willing to spend tens of yuan to send two girls to school, let alone pay a few yuan a month for their food.

It's just a pity for these children, they're so young, and they have to walk two or three hours every day.

"Thank you, teacher."

Fang Chunyang stretched out both hands and carefully picked up the textbook. The cover of the new textbook was very smooth and felt cool to the touch.

She brought the textbook to her nose and smelled it, then looked up at Fang Wei: "Dad..."

Fang Yunxue followed her sister's example, holding her textbook and staring blankly at her father.

Fang Wei pulled his two daughters aside, squatted down, and hugged them in his arms, saying with a smile, "From now on, you will be learned scholars, so you can't cry so easily anymore."

Fang Chunyang buried her face in his shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "I...I didn't cry..."

Fang Wei patted her on the back and said slowly, "You must listen to your teachers at school. Dad will pick you up after school. Your lunch is in your schoolbag. Eat when you're hungry."

"Um."

"If you encounter any unfamiliar words, just ask. Your teacher is here to teach you to recognize words, so why not ask?"

"Um."

"Don't fight with your classmates, but if anyone dares to bully you..."

Fang Wei narrowed his eyes and continued, "Then you should fight back. Dad will take responsibility for anything that happens."

Fang Chunyang nodded vigorously.

Fang Wei stood up and watched his two daughters walk into the classroom with their textbooks and sit down at the two old desks before turning to leave.

After leaving school, he did not return to the village immediately, but went directly to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Sister Liu, who had bought things from Fang Wei several times before, immediately put down the rag she was holding when she saw him walk in, and greeted him with a smile, "Oh, Little Fang is here again? What would you like to buy today?"