Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 554: Chapter 288: Childish Prattle (2)

Juhua smiled. ”Those bad people are treacherous and cunning. If you two achieve success and become officials someday, you’ll be taken down if you’re too rigid and inflexible. I’m not telling you to become cunning yourselves, just that you need to be strategic. Rushing about recklessly to chase empty fame will only lead to disaster. Sometimes it’s better to endure a moment of humiliation, compromise for a while, and keep a low profile. Your time to rise will come.”

Zhang Yang glanced at Little Shitou and pursed his lips. ”I need to learn more from this kid. He’s as slippery as a Ni Qiu; no one can ever pin him down. He always makes the tutor so angry he just glares.”

Juhua smiled. ”Everyone has their own strengths. You should learn from him, but don’t just blindly imitate his ways, or you’ll lose your own nature. With your personality, plus a little bit of Little Shitou’s quick-wittedness, you’ll surely have a great future. As for you, Little Shitou, don’t be *too* slippery, or a good thing will turn into a bad one.”

Little Shitou’s eyes darted around. After a moment, he said, ”Sister Juhua, don’t worry. When I become a high official, the first thing I’ll do is take care of that County Magistrate Li. Hmph, that damned bastard. How did he end up getting assigned to our Qinghui County?”

Zhang Yang said, ”There are tons of corrupt officials like him. Haven’t you heard the tutor talk about it?”

He looked at Juhua with admiration. ’She’s only read a few books—and Brother Qingmu was the one who taught her—yet she can speak such profound sense. If the tutor found out, he’d surely praise her for being clever and might even accept her as his female disciple. But Sister Juhua told me not to tell anyone she knows how to read.’

He remembered what Juhua had said earlier and added, ”We have to become officials ourselves first. And after becoming officials, we have to secure our footing in the court—a minor official is useless.”

Hearing this, Juhua looked at him with an appreciative smile.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Juhua finished combing Qing’er’s hair. She then had Little Shitou pick two bright monthly roses from the corner of the wall and pinned one on each of Qing’er’s little braids, right at the base. The child instantly looked more vibrant.

Little Shitou looked happily at his sister’s shiny, smooth hair, thinking it looked much better than when his mom did it. He said with delight, ”It looks so pretty!”

Zhao Qing jumped up, a grin on her little mouth, and looked up at her brother. ”Really? Is it as pretty as Sister Juhua’s was yesterday?”

Little Shitou nodded and smiled. ”Both are pretty.”

Just then, Huai Zi walked in carrying a Lanzi full of bamboo shoots. ”What’s so pretty?” he chimed in. Placing the Lanzi in front of Juhua, he lowered himself onto the stool Zhao Qing had just vacated. He smiled at her and said, ”I tidied up the bamboo grove, snapping off a lot of the densely packed shoots so they don’t block the airflow. We’ve got a ton of shoots this year. That bamboo Lin Zi is getting bigger and bigger.”

Juhua’s eyes lit up. ”Perfect! Mom said she was making dumplings for lunch. Adding some tender bamboo shoots to the filling will make them taste refreshing.”

When Zhao Qing saw Huai Zi sit on her stool, she hurried over to him, her little brow furrowed in displeasure. ”Brother Huai Zi, I was just sitting on that stool. There’s a rule, ’first come, first served’! How could you just sit down without a word?”

Juhua saw Huai Zi freeze and stare, wide-eyed, at the little girl. She laughed so hard she nearly fell over. ’This Zhao Qing! Little Shitou has taught her to be just as sharp-tongued as he is.’ But Juhua loved her innocent chatter the most; the girl always amused her so much she would laugh until her stomach hurt.

She finally managed to stop laughing and was about to speak when Little Shitou came flying into the room. He brought another small stool, placed it on the other side of Juhua for his sister to sit on, and said to her, ”You need to see where you are before you say things like that. This is Brother Huai Zi’s house, and this stool belongs to Brother Huai Zi, too. ’A mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake.’ How can you fight with Brother Huai Zi over a stool?”

Juhua burst out laughing again, almost losing her balance. She leaned against Huai Zi’s shoulder, shaking uncontrollably. Even Huai Zi couldn’t help but chuckle.

Zhang Yang shot Little Shitou a look. ”Is that how you teach her? I swear, by tomorrow you’ll have turned her into a swordswoman, spouting ’a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake’! You’d be better off properly teaching her to recognize a few characters.”

Little Shitou grinned sheepishly. ”I teach my sister characters every night. She already knows a lot of them, more than my dad does.”

Hearing this, Zhao Qing puffed out her little chest and said proudly, ”That’s right! I know lots of characters. I can even write my own name, and my mom and dad’s names.” She finished with a smug smile, her chubby cheeks puffing out and her tender pink lips parting to reveal a row of tiny, dense teeth that looked exceptionally white against her slightly dark skin.

When Juhua finished laughing, she gazed at the girl with adoration. She pulled over the Lanzi of bamboo shoots and said, ”Come here, Qing’er. Help me peel the shoots. That way, you’ll have helped me with my work, and I can treat you to dumplings for lunch.”

Zhao Qing heard this and picked up a bamboo shoot, struggling to peel it with her small hands. But she let out a tiny sigh and said, ”I can’t—I can’t eat dumplings here for lunch. We’re very busy at home. My brother and I have to go home soon. I have to help my mom sort vegetables and hand her things. They can’t manage without me at home!”

Juhua saw her furrowing her brow and sighing like a grown-up, looking like a little homemaker who felt she was indispensable to her family’s many chores. She couldn’t hold it in and burst into another fit of laughter, laughing so hard that tears welled up in her eyes.

’Ouch! Laughing this hard can really hurt!’

Seeing how much she adored the little child, Huai Zi felt both happy and worried.

When Juhua was done laughing, she said to Zhao Qing, ”You’re still little. In a couple of years, you’ll be able to help your mom for real.” In the countryside, girls started cooking and doing laundry by age six or seven; in some families, they started even younger.

Little Shitou was very protective of his sister. He told her, ”If you want to play, just stay here and play at Sister Juhua’s. I’ll go home and help Mom, and I’ll come get you later. Sister Juhua’s right, you’re still little and can’t help with much.”

But Zhao Qing pouted. ”Sister Juhua said I can help Mom in a couple of years, so don’t I need to learn more? Otherwise, I still won’t know how to do anything then. I can already help Mom sort and wash vegetables and feed the chickens. And can’t I sweep the floor, too?” Clearly, she was unhappy with her brother saying she wasn’t much help at home.

Zhang Huai watched the little girl, finding her very amusing. ’She’s only four years old, but she acts just like a little adult, so clever in her words and actions. A boy her age would only know how to play and would never think about helping with chores at home. No wonder people always say that a daughter is her parents’ sweet, little comfort.’

He glanced at Juhua. Sure enough, she was laughing again!