Chapter 161: Old Peng and Xiufen

Qiao Qiao's eyes were filled with tears.

Great-Uncle Seven, however, was satisfied: "Good child, good child... Don't you worry, Great-Uncle Seven is your master now, and I will help you protect your Dabai!"

"Really?" Qiao Qiao finally let the tears fall, feeling wronged: "I don't believe you."

Great-Uncle Seven:...

He tried hard to ignore the old woman snickering on the side, and promised solemnly: "You must believe me, Master would never lie to you."

Qiao Qiao shrugged his shoulders, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and then sniffled: "I don't believe it. Mom, Dad, and Sister never say they'll kill Dabai, only you do. Great-Uncle Seven, you just like bullying children."

Great-Uncle Seven:... He was speechless.

He had just brought it up on a whim, wanting to test the child's temperament, hadn't he?

Who knew the apprentice would be so satisfied with the test—filial, firm, and good-tempered. Even at his most anxious and heartbroken moment, he never said he'd take a knife to anyone—

Anyone familiar with the kitchen handles a knife like an ordinary person plays with a stick; Great-Uncle Seven was afraid of a sudden outburst of rage and loss of control.

Now he was satisfied with his apprentice, who had both heart and persistence, but he himself had failed to satisfy his apprentice.

This, this, this...

Song Tan sat in the courtyard, listening to Great-Uncle Seven's various questions, and couldn't help but laugh.

Oh my, she had always felt Qiao Qiao was the cutest treasure in the world, but she was afraid of the "parents think their own children are best" bias, so she had held back from bragging.

Now, as luck would have it, hadn't Qiao Qiao's excellent nature been discovered by Great-Uncle Seven?

Hehehe.

After sending her messages and answering a few from the group members, she picked up a hoe and headed up the mountain.

After all, today was a sunny day unsuitable for planting, and they had to hurry to get all the watermelon seedlings planted before the sun became scorching.

For this reason, there were more people working this morning than last time, and everyone was putting in their best effort!

Meanwhile, in Yuncheng, the aunts who saw Song Tan's recruitment notice were indeed quite interested in this job position:

"Oh my, it doesn't require a certificate or any work experience; this job is pretty good, isn't it? Why don't I tell my niece to go? She's at home preparing for that teacher qualification exam; wouldn't it be great for her to earn some extra money and get some practice?"

The aunts had their own selfish motives—

Teaching Qiao Qiao would take a few hours at most a day, and the rest of the time could be used for review and preparation.

Plus, there was room and board and a salary; how cost-effective!

As expected of them, they spotted the highlight at once!

"That's actually a good idea. I've seen that child Qiao Qiao; although he's a bit slow, he can do addition and subtraction within a hundred now, and he's well-behaved, so he definitely won't be hard to manage."

"Don't you go making random arrangements! No matter how easy he is to teach, Qiao Qiao is a grown man after all. A young girl living alone in the countryside, and having to teach someone like that... You aren't afraid, but I am!"

If Song Tan heard this, she would probably sigh: "Human nature."

She actually wanted to specify "male only" when recruiting, because Qiao Qiao was an adult man, and if it were a young girl, she was afraid of a misunderstanding happening in a moment of carelessness.

Furthermore, out of safety considerations, for a girl to live alone in the countryside at someone else's house, from the other party's perspective, it really wasn't safe.

But she still hoped, what if an older woman could patiently educate him?

And so, the aunts thought about it, and now they were whispering to each other:

Yes, even if they were acquaintances, it was still living in someone else's house; it wasn't stable.

However, Qiao Qiao's reputation was indeed quite good, and after a moment of thought, the aunts figured: if a young girl isn't convenient, what about a man?!

Don't all the children at home studying for civil service or teacher exams need a place where they can earn money and study?

If one of their own family members got the job, wouldn't they be able to cut the line when buying vegetables and good things in the future?

The aunts exchanged secret glances, and for a moment, their enthusiasm soared!

When Aunt Xiufen got home and saw her husband had picked up their granddaughter Yuanyuan, she couldn't help but nudge him:

"Tell me, you used to be a teacher, are you still taking students now?"

"No, no!"

Her husband, Peng Jianguo, was practically oozing resistance from every pore:

"Taking students? You're trying to be the death of me!"

He was getting old and couldn't stand the chattering and noise of children. Old Peng used to teach elementary school students; otherwise, he could have opened a daycare and earned money at home.

Except for his own granddaughter, Xiufen thought every child looked like a little devil, but right now...

"It's not about the money. Look at Yuanyuan's little face, hasn't she gotten a bit thinner lately?"

Old Peng looked at his granddaughter watching TV in the living room: her little face was pink, white, and round; she hadn't gotten thinner.

"She's thinner!"

Xiufen insisted: "Do you know why? That family selling vegetables at the market doesn't have any left to sell lately. They're eating from their stock at home, and I have to calculate the time to cook. The child isn't eating well; look at her, hasn't she gotten haggard?"

In all honesty, Yuanyuan used to be a picky eater, with a pointed chin and big eyes, looking thin and pitiful.

But for the past month or so, she'd eat two big bowls at every meal; hadn't her body puffed up rapidly? Now she looked like a normal baby, with chubby little arms and legs, and a round face; she couldn't be more adorable.

Old Peng swore to heaven: she really hadn't gotten thinner!

Xiufen kept nagging: "Think about it, the child has to calculate the time to eat, and we adults aren't eating well either. Let me ask you, how long has it been since you tasted a bite of those high-priced vegetables?"

Old Peng:...

It was truly heartbreaking to mention this: ever since the last batch of bamboo shoots, Old Peng hadn't seen any good vegetables from that family on the dinner table; every meal was prepared separately for his granddaughter according to portion.

He glared at Xiufen: "What exactly are you trying to do by beating around the bush? Are you trying to open a daycare to earn money? I'm telling you, it's really not possible."

Xiufen rolled her eyes: "What daycare? I'm thinking that since Yuanyuan is in kindergarten now, you don't need to watch her at home every day. Why don't you go teach a student? We don't need much salary; just convert it all into their family's vegetables every month."

As she spoke, she opened the recruitment message on her phone to show him:

"Look, it's not those screeching children, it's the child who sells vegetables, the one I told you about who is very handsome but not quite right in the head. He's always very well-behaved when buying vegetables at the market; he definitely won't make a big fuss."

"Look at you, you're a grown man, and they'll treat you well with good food and drink. You just have to watch one child. I'll go see you once a week and bring back some vegetables... Isn't that great?"

If it were that family...

*Cough. *

Old Peng indicated: It seems... it might not be impossible.

Mainly because their family's vegetables were really too delicious; he thought about them even in his dreams.

He feigned reserve: "I'll consider it."

Just as they were talking, his phone suddenly *dinged*.

He opened it and found it was a post just made by a member of the fishing group—

"Fishing buddies! Look at this haul 【Photo of fish trap. jpg】, can you believe it was just one night? Mountain village pond, free fishing, and a free boxed lunch provided. Ten fishing spots available daily, book fast! Whoever has the smallest haul before 5 PM daily must pull weeds in the mountains for the host for one day."

Old Peng put away his phone, looking very serious:

"Forget it, I don't have teaching experience in this area, I can't delay the child." ===== CHAPTER 162 =====