1138 Choose One of Two

Qiao Mei looked at Li Gui quietly. She thought back to how Old Madam Li skimmed off the money Li Gui wanted to give Qiao Mei. If Old Madam Li had been honest enough to return everything that Li Gui had given Qiao Mei, the misunderstanding between her and Li Gui would not have been so deep.

Actually, Li Gui was also a victim. If she had not been forced by Old Madam Li to remarry, Qiao Mei could have had a very blissful childhood. Fortunately, she still had her grandfather and he took very good care of her. Her childhood could be considered a happy one. Now that she was married to Xia Zhe, she would also be blissful for the rest of her life.

Fate could be considered to have been kind to her.

“You’ve been so focused on me, then have you thought of saving up some school fees for my younger siblings? What if the children have to go to school from next month onwards?” Qiao Mei asked with a laugh.

Li Gui was stunned for a moment. She really had not considered this at all. Now that these children had enough food and were living in such a good environment, Li Gui had forgotten about the matter of them going to school. However, she had many ways to earn money now and she could earn money quickly too. There was enough time for her to make money to cover any kind of expenses.

The children’s school fees and the school bags and stationery they needed for school should total less than 200 dollars. Li Gui would be able to earn this amount of money within two to three days.

“There’s no hurry. They’re still young and there’s no need to send them to school so early! But there’s something which I can’t decide and I want to discuss it with you. Two days ago, Xia He came to chat with me and she asked me if I wanted to send Zhang Miao to learn dancing. I’m feeling a little jittery. No one in our village has ever learnt such a thing. Do you think there’s a future for her in this?” Li Gui said hesitantly.

Li Gui had only known Foshan Village all her life. Even after she married and moved to the city, her living conditions there were not even as good as what she was used to in the countryside!

It was already very impressive when the children could go to school. The school there did not have such specialties like art, piano, dance, violin, and so on. They did not know how it could be useful to learn all these.

Even in the capital, there were not many families who were able to let their children be schooled in these specialties. During this era, there were still very few families which wanted their children to go to school. Many families simply waited for their children to grow up and go to work in the factory to earn more money to supplement their family’s income. They did not have the spare cash to let their children go to school. Only rich families would pay attention to their children’s education.

Zhang Miao was now one year older after the new year. This was a good age to start dancing. Moreover, Xia He realized that Zhang Miao had a talent for it as well as great perseverance. If she could be taught well and nurtured from a young age, she would definitely have a bright future!

However, even in such a good place like the capital, there was no school that allowed one to study and practice dance at the same time. Zhang Miao could only choose one of the two. If she chose dance, she might fall behind in terms of culture and knowledge in the future. Other than dancing, she would have no other employment options.

Xia He only started dancing when she was in her teens. She knew very well how much effort she had put in. Every night, she would cry secretly. She only hoped that Zhang Miao would have it easier if she chose this path and would not have to put in so much effort like her.

“If Zhang Miao really likes dancing, then let her do it. But once she makes a choice, she has to persevere. She can’t come home crying every day when she can’t endure the hardship! We can’t possibly be soft-hearted and then send her back to school when that happens. Mom, if you’ve really thought it through, then send her wherever she wants,” Qiao Mei said.

For their family, money was not a concern. Qiao Mei was just worried that the children would give up halfway. Once the children developed a habit of giving up halfway, they would never be able to drop the habit. In the future, they would never succeed in whatever they did. Qiao Mei wanted to teach them to be responsible for all the decisions they made.

Even if they did not manage to achieve anything and came back to run the business with Qiao Mei, they must still have good morals. Running a business was not as easy as studying!

“Alright, then I’ll ask Zhang Miao for her opinion first before I talk to Xia He again,” Li Gui said.

Li Gui looked at Qiao Mei’s stomach and could not help but feel emotional. The two of them chatted for a long time in the room about their thoughts about the future and Li Gui shared her experiences from when she gave birth. Unknown to them, the sky had already darkened.

Qiao Mei had some free time after dinner, so she sat in the rocking chair in the main hall. Recently, she had asked Feng Hua to move the rocking chair from the inner part to a spot near the window.