The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 203 - 202: Daya Goes to School

"It’s not your fault you’ve never been to school. We’ll just take it slow and learn together. The only thing is, given your situation, you probably can’t be in the same grade as kids your own age. You’ll have to start from the beginning, in elementary school. That means you’d be going with Ruanruan."

Ruanruan was starting first grade in September, too. I just don’t know if the school will accept someone as old as Daya.

Xue Yue discussed it with He Lang, and they decided to try and have Daya start first grade with Ruanruan. Daya had no foundation whatsoever, so she had to start from scratch. Even if she wanted to learn a skill later on, being able to read was essential.

Xue Yue and He Lang went to all the elementary schools near their house. It was enrollment season, but as soon as they mentioned Daya’s age...

"We don’t accept students that old."

No matter how much Xue Yue and He Lang pleaded and reasoned, the schools refused to accept her.

They tried several schools, but they all said Daya was too old and fell outside their enrollment criteria.

Xue Yue started to get anxious. "Then what should we do? Daya really wants to go to school, and I already promised her."

He Lang didn’t have a solution either. "Maybe we should just wait and see."

’What good would waiting do? The schools won’t take her.’

That is, until Guan Wenwen told them, "I’ve heard that a lot of the returned educated youth have started their own home tutoring sessions. As long as you pay the fee, they should take anyone. They don’t care about the student’s age."

"Home tutoring sessions?" It was the first time Xue Yue had ever heard of such a thing.

Guan Wenwen nodded. "That’s right. A lot of the returned educated youth have trouble finding jobs, so they started these on their own. There’s a girl in our complex who goes to one for tutoring. If you’re interested, I can ask around for you."

Xue Yue thought it was a great idea. "Okay."

The next day, Guan Wenwen told them that the tutors didn’t care about age and would take anyone. However, the fee was a bit expensive, as they charged by the hour.

"Where are they located? I want to go check it out first."

Guan Wenwen told her, "There’s one not far from our shop."

Xue Yue couldn’t be bothered with selling clothes anymore and had Guan Wenwen take her there right away.

When they arrived, she saw that it was in a courtyard. Several of the "educated youth" were there. They offered one-on-one tutoring, which was a bit more expensive, as well as group sessions. Most of the students, however, were in middle or high school.

"We’ve never had a student starting from scratch before, but it’s not that we can’t take her. It’s just that it might be a bit of a struggle for a student like that to learn, and it will probably take more time."

Xue Yue asked, "So, how do you charge?"

"For one-on-one tutoring, it’s sixty yuan a month for four hours a day."

Xue Yue thought for a moment. "That’s acceptable. But I’d like to bring the child over another day to take a look. If she feels it’s a good fit, then we have a deal."

"Alright. We start class at eight every morning. You can have her come by while class is in session."

Xue Yue nodded.

The next day, Xue Yue took Daya to the tutoring session. Daya stared for a long time, watching everyone read while a teacher instructed them.

Xue Yue asked her, "What do you think?"

Daya nodded.

"Alright then, we’ll sign you up."

She paid for half a month upfront and arranged for Daya to start the next day. The tutors didn’t provide textbooks, however, so she had to buy them herself. They recommended a few to Xue Yue—all basic books for learning characters and Pinyin.

After leaving the tutoring place, Xue Yue took Daya to a bookstore.

She bought a few books, along with some pens and notebooks.

Daya clutched her new school supplies tightly, a spring in her step and her eyes filled with excitement. Seeing her so happy made Xue Yue happy too.

Back at the shop, Little Chen teased her, "Daya, what’s this? Are you planning to take the university entrance exams?"

Daya laughed. "Brother Xiao Chen, don’t tease me. My ambitions aren’t that grand. I just want to learn how to read. Otherwise, I can’t even read the destination on a bus when I go out."

It was true; being able to read was a necessity.

Lately, Daya had been watching Ruanruan write and draw every day, and she had picked up a little bit on her own. But it was only a little, which made her all the more envious and eager to learn properly.

After they got home, Shiyi and Ruanruan found out that Daya was going to school too.

Shiyi hugged Daya’s leg. "Big Sister Daya, can you take me with you when you go to school?"

Daya shook her head. "I can’t, Shiyi. You have to go to school too, but we won’t be at the same one. How about I pick you up every day after my classes are done?"

Shiyi looked at Xue Yue. "Mom, is that true?"

Xue Yue ruffled his hair. "That’s right, our Shiyi is going to school soon too. Don’t you want to go?"

Shiyi shook his head. "Mom, I want to be with Big Sister Daya."

"You can’t do that, sweetie. Our Shiyi has his own school—the one your sister used to go to. Didn’t you say you liked that school?"

"Then can I go to the same school as my sister?"

Xue Yue blinked. "Your sister is starting elementary school now."

’Three kids, three different schools.’ Xue Yue suddenly felt exhausted just thinking about it. ’How am I supposed to manage all of them?’

Daya must have noticed Xue Yue’s anxiety. "Auntie, my classes are only in the morning anyway. I can pick up Shiyi and Ruanruan in the afternoon when I get back. It won’t get in the way of making dinner."

Xue Yue pressed her lips together. "Let me think about it."

Her mind was a jumble.

That evening, she brought it up with He Lang. "We have to drop off and pick up three kids from school every day. I don’t have enough time. Can you handle it on your end?"

He Lang lay down, propping his head on his arm. "I’ll have to make it work. I was planning to open another shop, but I guess that’ll have to wait."

Xue Yue looked at him. "Another one?"

He Lang nodded. "I want to sell home appliances. The profit margin is much bigger."

"You’ve got your eyes on everything. Why don’t you just open a department store and be done with it?" Xue Yue joked.

A grin spread across He Lang’s face. "You know, that’s not a bad idea."

Over the past six months, He Lang had gotten the hang of doing business, and his ambitions had grown.

Xue Yue let out a small laugh. "Let’s focus on figuring out the kids’ school situation first. I’m about to die from all the worrying."

Clearly, they needed one person dedicated to dropping off and picking up the three children. Xue Yue wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having Daya take the bus back alone, only to then go pick up the two younger ones. Child abductions weren’t uncommon these days.

"We still have time," He Lang said. "If we have to, I’ll handle the drop-offs and pick-ups for now, until we can find someone suitable."

Xue Yue nodded. "I guess that’s our only option for now."

Daya started her classes the very next day. Xue Yue would sometimes take the two younger children to the shop with her, where they’d stay for the entire day, or she’d take them out to play. In short, with Daya gone, she had to dedicate all her attention to looking after the two little ones.

One day, a letter suddenly arrived from their hometown. It was from He Nan.

Mr. He had been feeling a dull ache in his leg since last winter, but thankfully, it didn’t affect his ability to walk. He hadn’t mentioned it to He Lang and the others when they visited for the New Year.

He figured he’d just caught a chill and that it would get better once the weather warmed up. But unexpectedly, it got even worse in the spring. Now, he couldn’t even get out of bed.