I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

I don't know if it was because I was saddened to see the goose die, or because I was frightened by the bloody scene.

Anyway, when it came to crying, Chen Qi'an cried the most heartbrokenly and the loudest. But when night fell, the stewed goose, tender and flavorful, was served, making the child cry with envy again.

She ate while crying, holding the bowl, "Waaah, it's so delicious!"

Does it smell good?

"Waaah...it smells so good..."

Chapter 343 The Belt and Road Initiative

Back from the quiet Guicheng, life has become lively and regular again. Every morning I take my two little rascals to kindergarten and pick them up in the afternoon.

The kindergarten curriculum is relatively relaxed, but now that my two kids are in the middle class, it's impossible for it to be as relaxed as the lower class. In Chen Shuo's words, the lower class is just about coaxing the kids to play.

The period from three to six years old is a sensitive period for children's language development. During this time, children have a strong ability to imitate and learn languages ​​very quickly, with the speed increasing day by day.

My two kids are four and a half years old now, and they're in the language development stage. The kindergarten has started teaching them spoken English, so we're taking advantage of this age to let them master more languages.

Not only do you need to learn this, you also need to learn some math knowledge, such as addition and subtraction within ten.

There's even homework to do after school in the afternoon.

Addition and subtraction within ten is very simple. Chen Qinghan can calculate quickly and accurately. She mastered the rules early on and even learned mental arithmetic. But Chen Qi'an can't do it. He has to count one by one on his fingers.

When I don't have enough fingers, like with a problem like 57, I instinctively draw lines on my notebook and count them.

Chen Shuo didn't know whether to call the kid stupid or smart. If he said he was smart, this guy had to count on his fingers to do the math problems.

You might call him stupid, but when he doesn't have enough fingers, instead of taking off his shoes to count his toes, he knows to draw lines on his notebook instead.

However, in any case, it's good that no one is needed for tutoring yet; at least the family is harmonious and there's no chaos.

Chen Shuo still vividly remembers the days when he tutored Xiao A Miao with her homework, and thinking about it now still makes his heart ache.

The siblings were hunched over the table doing math problems, scrambling to solve them, with Chen Qi'an mainly in charge of the scrambling.

Chen Qinghan had already completed half of the questions, while he was counting on his fingers, struggling to get to the third question.

Bai Xiaoqi paced back and forth, looking at this and that, before finally suppressing her excitement and running over to Chen Shuo to show off.

"I can do all their questions, and I can get a hundred."

"You, you're so amazing."

Although he didn't understand what was so great about Chen Shuo's exaggerated tone, he still felt a sense of pride.

This isn't elementary school math; it's kindergarten math. If you can't even do this, then you're really...

Chen Shuo couldn't find the words to describe it for a moment.

"You went to watch them do their homework just now. Did you notice that Xiao Bao was slower than Da Bao?"

"correct."

"I knew it."

Although the two children are still young, their potential is already evident. As the old saying goes, "You can tell what a child will be like at three and what they will be like in old age at seven."

Chen Shuo has already discovered his son... even though he knew before that the child wasn't very bright and was somewhat simple-minded.

However, when it comes to academics, it's a different story. Some people may be a little slow-witted, but they still do quite well in their studies.

As for his own son, he is usually simple-minded and not very good at studying.

“Da Bao is like me, smart. In comparison, Xiao Bao is not so good.”

Chen Shuo shook his head with some regret. Although they were twins, it was impossible for their intelligence to be exactly the same; one would always be smarter and the other less so...

That's not entirely true. In fact, strictly speaking, Chen Qi'an can be categorized as a smart child. At less than five years old, he can already do his homework by himself with a pen and a high accuracy rate, which already surpasses many other kids his age.

But compared to Da Bao, he was immediately outshone.

“Xiao Bao is indeed not as good as…” Bai Xiaoqi said, then suddenly stopped.

Huh? What do you mean by saying that Da Bao's intelligence comes from him? Does that mean Xiao Bao's lack of intelligence comes from him?

"Xiao Bao is not as good as Da Bao, right?"

Seeing that she suddenly hesitated, Chen Shuo helped her continue, saying, "So I've thought it all out. From now on, I'll have Da Bao help take care of her younger brother. The smart one will help the less smart one, and the two of them will study together. I'll let her tutor her brother more often with his homework."

"And what about you? What are you doing?"

"Me? I'm resting." Chen Shuo said matter-of-factly.

"Aren't you going to help them with their homework? The teacher said at the parent-teacher meeting the other day that parents should help their children with their homework and not just leave them to their own devices. Educating children cannot rely solely on the school; parents also need to be involved. The education of children is a joint effort between the school and the parents..."

"Stop, stop for a moment."

Seeing her chattering away, Chen Shuo gestured for her to stop.

"Let's not discuss whether what the teacher said is right or wrong; you didn't understand my thoughts at all."

Think about it, I can tutor them now, even in elementary and middle school, but what about later? What will happen when they get to high school? High school questions are so difficult, it's not something I can teach. So instead of being clueless later, it's better to cultivate mutual help between the two children now.

Moreover, the siblings will definitely be together in the future. Whether they will be in the same class or not is uncertain, but they will definitely be in the same grade and study the same courses.

"Perfect timing! Our eldest is smart and will definitely excel in her studies. Let her help tutor her younger brother. It might be a little tiring, but there are many benefits. First, it helps her solidify what she's learned; second, it strengthens the bond between the siblings; and third, it saves us a lot of trouble. It's a win-win situation!"

"You're trying to slack off, aren't you?" Chen Shuo rattled off a long string of arguments, which were all logical and well-founded.

Bai Xiaoqi almost believed him, but almost did, because she knew this guy too well.

I just want to be lazy.

"How could that be?" Chen Shuo denied it outright. "Besides, I never said I wouldn't care at all. I can tutor Da Bao and help her grow up so she can help take care of Xiao Bao. This is called the Belt and Road Initiative, which is to let some people get rich first, in response to national policies."

"You just want to slack off." No matter how eloquently Chen Shuo spoke, Bai Xiaoqi simply didn't believe him. Although what he said made a lot of sense, it was also important to consider who was saying it.

She didn't believe what Chen Shuo said; that guy always talked nonsense and could make sense of even the most illogical things.

I've been fooled by him quite a bit over the years.

"Forget it, I can't explain it to you." Chen Shuo gave up trying to explain to her; the silly little cat didn't understand anything.

He really wanted to say, "Back when I was tutoring you with a problem, you were so clueless and didn't know anything, yet you acted like a contrarian. Have you forgotten what I went through? Do you want me to go through it all again?"

Unfortunately, I can't say these things myself, otherwise she would definitely bite me in a fit of rage.

Back when I was young, I almost failed myself while tutoring her with a problem.

It's common knowledge that tutoring little kids with their homework is incredibly tedious, and middle-aged men can't take the strain; he just wants to live a couple more years.

However, tutoring my daughter is a good option. My little darling is so smart, she'll definitely be easy to teach and will grasp things quickly.

As for the son, forget about him.

Chapter 344 Stubborn to the end

In the golden autumn of October, even with the National Day holiday approaching, the hospital was still bustling with activity; business was always good there, no matter the time of year.

Chen Shuo also brought his family to get a medical check-up.

Recently, Wu Yulan has been saying that her legs are a little sore, so this time she came mainly to help her parents with a full physical examination, and also to give the younger generation a check-up.

The elderly couple looked quite young, but their age was a factor. As people get older, not only does their energy decline, but various illnesses also follow.

After arriving at the hospital and undergoing a series of examinations, the doctor looked at the test results again and again, then pushed up his glasses. "There's nothing wrong, just some muscle strain. Tell your mother to rest more often. If things get too busy at home, you can hire a caregiver. In short, let your mother rest for a while."

Born into a society where blessings abound, young people are busy going to and from get off work every day, while their parents take care of all the housework, from picking up and dropping off the children to cooking. The bodies of middle-aged and elderly people are not as strong as those of young people, so over time, they will naturally develop muscle strain.

Many people get this disease now, and the cause is mostly this. Seeing that Chen Shuo and his family came with two children, the doctor naturally assumed that Wu Yulan's illness was also due to this reason.

But after thinking for a moment, Chen Shuo asked, "Do we really have to hire a nanny? Can't my dad help out?"

Upon hearing this, the doctor frowned. "You want your father to suffer from muscle strain as well?"

"Oh, then I'll go and discuss it with them in a bit." Chen Shuo was speechless, thinking that this matter seemed a bit difficult to handle. He had no objection to hiring a nanny, but would the old couple agree?

They're all still quite young, yet they're living the life of an elderly person being waited on by a caregiver.

This is easy to say but hard to hear.

"Is this even worth discussing? You children should make the decision; after all, it's about fulfilling your filial duty."

"Doctor, I understand everything you're saying, but the couple is a bit... well, I'm just worried they won't agree."

"I don't want to..."

The doctor understood and, after thinking for a moment, suggested, "If that doesn't work, one of you children should quit your jobs. I know you young people are all busy these days, but don't both be too busy working. At least one of you should have some free time to pick up and drop off the kids every day."

"?"

Chen Shuo paused for a moment, "We pick up and drop off the kids ourselves, and my wife and I aren't very busy; we have plenty of free time."

Hearing this, the doctor was taken aback. "So what does your mother usually do at home?"

"I just watch TV, cook, eat sunflower seeds, and do some housework."

How big is your house?

"More than 100 square meters."

"Oh, that's not that big." The doctor nodded, then asked, "Does she have OCD? She has to clean many times a day."

"I'm not a clean freak. I clean once a day at most, and if it's not dirty, I'll clean it every two days."

"How many people are in your family? How many people does she usually cook for?"

"Basically, it's just the two of us, her and my dad."

“…”

The doctor didn't say anything more. He pushed up his glasses, looked at the test results again and again. He had initially assumed that the cause of the illness was the heavy housework, but now it seemed that it wasn't at all.

He needs to sort things out.

After a pause, he asked, "Does your mother usually go to places where she gets a lot of physical activity?"

"No, she doesn't go out much except to buy groceries. She basically stays at home and just chats with people in the neighborhood at most."

"..." The doctor nodded silently, not intending to investigate the cause of the illness any further. Instead, he picked up his pen and began writing a prescription, saying, "This illness isn't anything serious. Just make sure you get plenty of rest. I'll prescribe some medicine for you. You can also find a traditional Chinese medicine doctor to help you with acupuncture; that would be even more effective."

"Oh, okay, thank you, doctor."