Read Novel Full Chapter 2286: Children at This Age
Chapter 2286: Chapter 2286: Children at This Age
The ones asking whether they could rent a house were mostly families with comfortable means.
For children from farming households, their parents all had work to do, where would they find the time to stay here and accompany their children in their studies, let alone pick them up and drop them off every day? So they had no such concerns, and simply left their children at the academy.
When the ten-day rest day came, they would come and take their children home for a day.
So what they focused on instead was the tuition issue. After hearing that there was a discount on tuition the first year, and that the price was more or less the same as those schools out there, they quickly lined up.
At this moment, the ones at the very front of the line turned out to be them.
Wealthy families had more options, more worries, and more questions. In the end, there were even a few families who shook their heads and walked away.
That little chubby boy, though, aside from fussing over the laundry issue, had no problem with anything else. No one knew what he was turning over in his head, but a moment later he directly dragged his parents over to line up.
The enrollment officially began. After registering names, ages, and basic information, students were grouped ten to a team, and were led by Shurui and other students, along with their parents, to tour the academy classrooms, dorms, cafeteria, and so on.
Right after that little chubby boy finished registering, his eyes rolled around and he spotted a boy ahead of him about the same age, but dressed very simply. Without another word he hopped over to his side and asked, “Do you know how to wash clothes? How about this, you wash my clothes for me later and I’ll pay you?”
Everyone, “…”
The chubby boy’s parents’ faces changed even more. Little ancestor, at least lower your voice when you say something like that. Didn’t you see Mountain Master Meng looking over this way?
They cautiously snuck a look at Meng Yunzheng’s expression, afraid their child would be thrown out right after signing up.
Who knew Meng Yunzheng only smiled, withdrew his gaze lightly, and showed no sign of stepping in.
The pair of parents were stunned. If Mountain Master Meng wasn’t intervening, did that mean this was actually acceptable?
They looked at the boy who had been asked. He clearly came from a poorer family—just from his clothes, and the washed-until-white garments on the father who’d brought him, you could tell.
If his family needed money, they really could provide some.
Yet the next moment, they heard the child say softly, “I—I don’t know how to wash clothes either.”
The little chubby boy let out an “Ah?” looking very disappointed.
Wasn’t it said that rural kids could do everything?
Unfortunately, he didn’t understand that even for farm children, washing clothes was not something boys did. With mothers and sisters at home, chores like washing and starching clothes and cooking over the fire were women’s work.
The little chubby boy sighed. “Then what do you usually do at home?”
“We have a cow at home. I have to take the cow out to graze, and I have to cut pig grass. Sometimes I go up the mountain with my friends to set traps for pheasants.”
The little chubby boy’s eyes lit up with a whoosh. “Set traps? You guys are amazing. Do you have to dig a pit in the ground with your hands for that? Isn’t the soil in the mountains really hard? Do you have shovels?”
The boy shook his head. “No. Our family won’t let us kids play with hoes or shovels. Setting traps doesn’t have to mean digging pits. Even if we dig, we can’t dig very deep. We can use rope instead…”
Their voices grew more and more distant as they talked, and Mr. Huai’an smiled at Mr. Hejiang. “Children this age are at their most open and innocent.”
Mr. Hejiang nodded. “Earlier I was worried that once the sons of wealthy families and children from poor households lived together in the dorms, they’d split into two camps and bullying would break out. But now it seems…”