The Female General Dominates All After Transmigration-Chapter 196 - 193: Home Visit

On the second day, Sunday, only Hongling had to go to class, while everyone else stayed home to rest.

Early in the morning, Xiaoyu, together with Hongbing and Xiaoxing, started doing some cleaning. After tidying up each room, they took brooms and swept the yard, even rearranging the pile of wood at the entrance.

Compared to the serious attitude of the children, the parents, Wang Liansheng and Ling Chengyan, were much more laid-back. According to the plan, they changed the bed sheets and pillowcases, which Wang Liansheng then took out to soak in a big basin, ready to wash them.

Ling Chengyan took out the candy box and washed a few apples and pears, arranged them on a fruit plate, and placed it all on the small dining table.

Once she finished these tasks, the children had already dashed to clean the front gate.

Wang Liansheng went out, took over the brooms from the kids, and shooed them inside: "That’s enough, you all go inside to get warm."

It was New Year’s Day, basically the coldest season of the year. The group of kids had been busy in the courtyard for over half an hour, and although their bodies might not feel cold, their hands and feet were numb. As soon as they were shoed inside, they ran to the furnace with playful screams to warm up.

Ling Chengyan stopped the kids who went straight to the fire and mixed a half-basin of moderately warm water for them to wash their hands with: "Rub them hard, then warm up gradually."

This was her accumulated experience from guarding the border in Northern Border. When hands and feet are numb from cold, you can’t warm them directly by fire. If there’s snow, rubbing with snow is best, if not, use moderately warm water... Doing this effectively prevents frostbite.

Once the children were warmed up, Ling Chengyan shooed them back to their rooms to do their homework. Even the youngest, Shi Tou, got a drawing book and crayons to go and draw.

Inside the house were only Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng left. Ling Chengyan also filled a basin with water, Wang Liansheng scrubbed the sheets clean with a washing board, and Ling Chengyan rinsed them with clear water, wrung them out, and hung them on the clothesline in the yard.

It was too cold; the damp bedsheets hung in the yard would freeze stiff in no time, cracking when touched.

The two worked quickly, and by the time Xiaoxing’s homeroom teacher arrived, Ling Chengyan was rinsing the last sheet.

A message came from the gate to let someone know they needed to go to bring the guest in.

Ling Chengyan said, "You go and greet them."

Wang Liansheng carried out the dirty water, dumped it out, and said while wiping his hands, "Once you’re done washing, leave the water, I’ll dump it when I get back."

Agreeing, Ling Chengyan swiftly finished rinsing, but instead of immediately hanging the items to dry, she dumped the dirty water first and then mopped up the wet spots in the house.

Just as she finished, Wang Liansheng brought a young female teacher in her twenties through the gate.

Ling Chengyan was just hanging the sheet on the clothesline when she saw the guest come in, and she quickly went forward to greet her: "Ms. Liu, please come in."

Watching his wife greet the guest, Wang Liansheng deftly pulled the sheet to hang it properly before following them inside.

Ling Chengyan already had Ms. Liu seated in the small living room and had made tea.

When they moved in, the government provided them with some furniture. The small living room had a set of loveseats. As the family grew, they added a few folding chairs, which they used during meals and put away at other times.

Ling Chengyan sat with Ms. Liu on the small sofa while Wang Liansheng, coming in, grabbed a folding chair for himself and sat next to them.

When Xiaoxing heard the teacher was there, she came out to greet and was then rushed back to her room to do her homework.

Ms. Liu accepted the candy offered by Ling Chengyan and waved with a smile, "No need to stand on ceremony, Wang Wenjin’s mom."

With a smile, Ling Chengyan made small talk, saying, "Thank you for taking care of our child at school."

Ms. Liu laughed, "Wang Wenjin is doing well at school, studying diligently, respecting teachers, and getting along with classmates... I’m not here to complain..."

All three of them laughed.

After the laughter, Ms. Liu continued, "I’m here firstly to meet the parents and get to know each other. Secondly, with the winter break coming up, the school and the district youth center are planning a winter camp to nurture extracurricular hobbies. We want to discuss with parents whether they’re interested in having their children participate, and if yes, in which programs..."

The subsequent home visit was pleasant and relaxed. Ms. Liu didn’t immediately request parents to decide but gave a detailed introduction of the winter camp projects and activities, asking parents to discuss with the kids and decide.

After covering the main topics, Ms. Liu did mention one small issue: "Wang Wenjin’s performance is usually good, but the only slight flaw is having a bit too many small movements during class. You gave her a new pencil case recently, right? The novelty of the new stationery has caught her attention, so she sometimes plays with it during class..."

Ling Chengyan turned to exchange a look with Wang Liansheng.

After seeing the teacher out, Wang Liansheng said a bit sheepishly, "I didn’t expect the kid would play with the pencil case..."

The new pencil case Xiaoxing received was a gift from Elder Lian, brought from abroad. A large plastic stationery box, not only beautiful but it also had a pencil sharpener and contained a mechanical pencil and eraser from abroad, very novel and attractive... Xiaoxing loved it so much she even slept with it by her pillow at night.

Elder Lian gave a whole set of backpack and stationery. In return, Wang Liansheng sent two big boxes of rabbit meat and dried fish and shrimp to Elder Lian, knowing from his interactions with him that these were his favorites.

Xiaoxing’s backpack and pencil case were still good, and Ling Chengyan originally didn’t want to change them for new ones. But Wang Liansheng couldn’t resist. Xiaoxing came in first place in the midterm exam in her class, and he gave her the pencil case as a prize.

Ling Chengyan gave him a look, smiled, and shook her head, "It’s natural for kids to be playful, but we should correct it a bit. We need to polish her restless nature and not let it go unchecked."

Then, changing the topic, Ling Chengyan said, "Let’s sign her up for calligraphy at the winter camp."

Wang Liansheng glanced at his wife and thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed, "Calligraphy is good, a great way to temper her spirit."

When they returned inside, Xiaoxing was peeking out from the inner room door, and when she saw her parents, the little girl gave up trying to hide and came out with a bit of apprehension: "What did the teacher say?"

Wang Liansheng looked at his daughter with amusement, "Did you make a silly mistake at school?"

"No, I didn’t." Xiaoxing instinctively denied.

Wang Liansheng and Ling Chengyan didn’t speak, just looked at her with smiles.

Feeling their gazes, Xiaoxing couldn’t hold out and soon lowered her head and muttered, "I sharpened pencils during class..."

Ling Chengyan and Wang Liansheng exchanged a glance, and Ling Chengyan asked, "Should I switch your pencil case back to the old one?"

Xiaoxing looked up, her eyes a bit red, pitifully looking at her mom and dad, and softly pleaded, "I’ll pay attention in class from now on... Can we not change it?"

Wang Liansheng pressed his lips tight, not daring to look too much at his daughter’s gradually reddening eyes.

Ling Chengyan kept a calm face, yet she carried a certain aura: "Can you promise to do so?"

"I can, I promise to accomplish the task." Xiaoxing immediately stood up straight, but hurriedly wiped her eyes with a hand.

Still calm, Ling Chengyan said, "Alright, I give you one chance. If it happens again, changing the pencil case will be the least of your worries."

Wang Wenjin instinctively shrank her neck but straightened up instantly, "Yes, if it happens again, I’ll accept any consequence."

Ling Chengyan softly snorted while Wang Liansheng couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, your mom and I will remember what you said today and see how you do."

Once Ling Chengyan gave the nod, Xiaoxing’s grievance dissipated mostly, and upon seeing her father laugh, the child quickly latched on, laughing along, "I’ll absolutely give you no... opportunity."

With that said, she darted into her room with a whoosh and shut the door.