Chapter 210 – The Baby Doesn’t Want To Do Homework
“It’s written beautifully, but when drawing the turning point, use a bit more force.”
At the Yang family’s dinner table, Yang Yi was tutoring his daughter to write on her notebook. Recently, because the children have basically adapted to kindergarten life, the teachers have also started the curriculum for the semester, which of course, was not very complicated, just learning to write.
Starting from the strokes of each character and Arabic numerals, the children began to come into contact with the field of writing.
However, what made Xixi a little unhappy was that the teachers also started assigning homework after class. Although it wasn’t too much, just copying two pages of strokes that they learned that day. However, for the little girl who usually goes home to play happily or even watch TV, it was undoubtedly a difficult shackle to accept.
“Papa, I’m tired of writing, can you help me write?” The little girl looked at her father with a pitiful expression and said in a sweet tone.
The little girl’s thoughts at this moment must be: The baby is not happy, the baby just doesn’t want to do homework…
“No, how can you let Papa write your homework for you? You told Papa the day before yesterday that Teacher Mu taught you a word. What was it?” Yang Yi refused a little mercilessly, pretending not to see Xixi’s watery, aggrieved eyes.
“It’s honesty”1 诚信:It refers to the quality of being truthful, trustworthy, and having a strong moral character. Could also be translated as Integrity, Sincerity, good faith and others with similar meaningXixi pouted and said unhappily.
“If Papa does homework for you, wouldn’t Xixi be deceiving Teacher Mu? Isn’t that a sign of dishonesty?” Yang Yi asked.
Although Xixi was not happy in her heart, she still nodded with a pout.
“So, you have to complete the homework by yourself.” Yang Yi lovingly rubbed the little girl’s head and said, “After you finish your homework, I’ll draw a little duckling for you in your notebook, okay?”
This was a typical “carrot and stick” approach, but Xixi was very receptive to it.
“Really?” The little girl looked at her father in surprise.
“Of course! And it will be on the page where you finished your homework!” Yang Yi said with a smile.
He knew his daughter’s little thoughts. The little girl especially liked to “show off” her father. Anything good that her father did, she would tell her good friends. Even a small, cute cartoon drawing could satisfy the little girl’s little bit of vanity.
“Can Papa draw one more? Can you draw it on this page too?” Xixi looked hopefully at Yang Yi, pointing to the page that was already halfway written, with Yang Yi holding her hand and teaching her how to write.
“Well, I can, but that depends on whether Xixi is doing her homework seriously or not! You can’t look around or write randomly in the middle. You have to write nicely. If you do, Papa will draw a sunflower that can spit out little suns for you!” Yang Yi said with a smile.”
“That Papa, you tell Mama that I’m going to do my homework and not to disturb Xixi.” The little girl suddenly became full of energy and pushed her father repeatedly.
“What were you talking about?” Mo Fei has just finished taking a shower and came out wearing a camisole nightgown. Her hair was wet and her cotton camisole was damp in some places and dry in others.
It was only Thursday today, but because Jin Yingming had something to do tomorrow, he has to go to school to attend a parent-teacher meeting for his son, who was in his first year of high school. In addition, Mo Fei was busy recording a program last weekend and didn’t have time to accompany Xixi. So, Mo Fei decided to take two days off for herself and Jin Yingming until Sunday before returning to the company to continue recording songs.
“We talked about Xixi’s writing.” Yang Yi stood up, gently pulling Mo Fei’s soft shoulder, and said with a gentle smile, “Come on, let’s go to the balcony and chat, so we don’t disturb Xixi.”
“Why? I want to watch Xixi do her homework!” Mo Fei was a little confused.
“Ah, don’t disturb me, you guys! Look, I can’t write well.” The little girl pouted and twisted around, unwilling to be disturbed. She was hoping to finish her writing well and then have her father draw on it!
Mo Fei had to let Yang Yi drag her hand and walk to the balcony to talk. She was still thinking about her daughter, “How is Xixi doing in kindergarten? Can she keep up with the writing and other courses?”
“Don’t worry, Xixi has always been doing well! Teacher Mu often praises Xixi, saying that she is well-behaved and smart, and she learns to write very quickly!” Yang Yi shrugged and said, “I guess it’s because Xixi knows how to draw, unlike other children who have to start learning from holding a pen.”
“That’s great!” Mo Fei couldn’t help but smile when she heard her daughter’s good news. She was used to being cold at work and could only show her smiles when she came back home with Yang Yi.
“But don’t praise her too much. This little girl has a bit of a tail-up attitude2 “翘尾巴” is a Chinese idiom that literally means “to lift one’s tail,” and figuratively means to show off or act arrogantly. and wants to act cute even when doing homework.” Yang Yi said to Mo Fei.
In the room, Xixi was writing seriously, while Yang Yi and Mo Fei chatted and watched her. The little girl’s appearance of pursing her lips and working hard to write was quite cute.
“By the way, didn’t you say that the coffee shop hired a female student to help you manage it, and she even worked hard to help you open the shop at night?” Mo Fei said, turning the topic to Ding Xiang.
“Yes, when I picked you up earlier, didn’t you already see Ding Xiang from a distance?”
“No, it’s just that when I saw Xixi doing her homework, I suddenly thought about it. I’m a little worried about her studies. She has to help you manage the coffee shop at night, so what about her own studies? Mo Fei said.
Yang Yi had to explain to Mo Fei and even listed a few time periods when there were fewer customers: “… Anyway, I don’t plan to be too strict with her. As long as she does her regular work well, she can read books or even do other things during those times.”
“From what you’re saying, she seems like a very nice girl,” Mo Fei hooked her arm around Yang Yi’s, and the two leaned against the railing, letting the night breeze blow past them.
“She is. Ding Xiang, this child. I heard from Guo Ziyi that her family lives in the mountains and is very poor. She has to earn money to pay for her own tuition. When I took Xixi to the temple fair before, I saw her selling cotton candy. She’s also extremely frugal in her daily life. When I didn’t order her a uniform before, she just wore the same decent clothes over and over again,” Yang Yi sighed as he spoke to Mo Fei.
“Well, my coffee shop has been getting more and more customers lately, and I also needed someone to help me. Guo Zi Yi recommended Ding Xiang to me, and since I knew her before and knew she was a good girl, I asked her to come work for me. I’m also giving her more money because I also want to help her out,” Yang Yi explained.
“You helped Ding Xiang, and she’s also helping you. Moreover, doing good deeds and accumulating virtue may bring good fortune to Xixi. This is a good thing.” Mo Fei’s mother believed in Buddhism, and she was somewhat influenced by it. She held Yang Yi’s hand and said emotionally.
Yang Yi smiled. He didn’t believe in Buddhism, but he also felt that what Mo Fei said was right. The concept of doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, in terms of the internet slang in his previous life, was like accumulating ‘RP’ (reputation points).
“Has Ding Xiang gone back now?” Mo Fei pulled up Yang Yi’s wrist with a watch and checked the time. It was already past 8:30. She said with some regret, “I still want to meet this girl. I don’t know if there will be a chance tomorrow.”
Yang Yi also mentioned Guo Ziyi, but Mo Fei has no interest in that chubby boy. She still wanted to meet Ding Xiang, after all, Ding Xiang is a girl…
Yang Yi also looked at his watch and smiled, saying, “We close at 8:30, and it’s already 8:40. Ding Xiang definitely hasn’t left yet. She must be cleaning up. This girl, I’ve told her so many times to go back early, but she never listens…”
TN: If you like my translations support me in ko-fi: Here.
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