amaotonovel Chapter 1249 is a good patriarch, but not a good father.
Chapter 1249 is a good patriarch, but not a good father.
Chapter 1249 is a good patriarch, but not a good father.
Bai Ling cried until she was hoarse, but she just didn't want to have her feet bound. Bai Zhaoshi wanted to force her, but Qin Hao stopped her: "Grandma, the Qing Dynasty has been gone for many years. It's no longer fashionable for wealthy families to bind their girls' feet."
Bai Zhao was unconvinced and said, "If foot binding is not in fashion, then what is in fashion?"
Seeing that someone could protect her, Bai Ling quickly hid behind Qin Hao. Qin Hao said seriously, "Education is in fashion nowadays. The wealthy families in Xi'an all send their daughters to new-style schools."
Bai Zhao curled her lips and said, "I'm just an old country woman, and I haven't been to Xi'an many times, so don't try to fool me."
Qin Hao winked at Leng Qiuyue, who understood: "Grandma, what Hao said is true. Several of his female classmates come from prominent families in Xi'an. The eldest daughter of Deyi Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. is Hao's classmate."
Bai Jiaxuan echoed, "Mom, I know Deyi Foreign Company. It was this company that bought our braids. I have seen all the girls in their family, and they definitely didn't have their feet bound."
Seeing that everyone was standing against her, Bai Zhao couldn't help but feel a little angry: "Okay, you are all good people, and I am the only bad person. I don't care about it. If this girl can't get married in the future, you will regret it."
Bai Ling looked at her grandmother's angry back and burst into laughter. She finally didn't have to bind her feet anymore.
Xiancao stretched out her hand and took her little daughter into her arms, sighing, "This child has a wild temper. Maybe foot binding will calm her down a bit."
Upon hearing this, Bai Ling immediately struggled to jump out of Xiancao's arms and hid behind Qin Hao: "Brother, my mother is bad."
Qin Hao burst out laughing. This girl is so realistic.
Without the worries of foot binding, Bai Ling completely let herself go.
She was like a happy little animal, running around the village all day long. It was common for her to climb trees to rob bird nests, crawl into wheat fields to catch frogs, and chase the village dogs all over the streets. What bothered Bai Jiaxuan the most was that she would fight with the children in the village at any time, and her attacks were particularly cruel.
"Jiaxuan, look how your Bai Ling beat my silly kid!" Bai Xinger brought his son to complain. The silly kid had two scratches on his face and was crying with tears and snot.
Bai Jiaxuan had a dark face and dragged Bai Ling out from the backyard: "Did you fight again?"
Bai Ling stiffened her neck and said confidently: "He scolded me first!"
"What did you scold you for?"
"He said that girls are all money-losing goods, and that if I don't bind my feet, no one will want me even if I give it to him for free!" Bai Ling said angrily: "I'll let him know that a girl can also beat him to a pulp!"
Bai Jiaxuan was so angry that his temples were throbbing. He turned around and smiled at Bai Xing'er: "Bai Xing'er, I'm sorry, I will discipline her properly later..."
Bai Xinger snorted coldly: "Jiaxuan, I'm telling you, if you don't take care of this girl, she will cause a disaster sooner or later!"
After sending Bai Xing'er away, Bai Jiaxuan sat in the main hall and sighed. Xiancao brought tea and whispered, "How about... finding a stricter private school teacher for her?"
Bai Jiaxuan shook his head: "How can the private school teacher control her? This girl is even wilder than the boy!"
Just when he was worrying, Qin Hao came back from the ammunition factory and saw his father with a sad face as soon as he entered the door.
"Da, what's wrong?"
When Bai Jiaxuan told Qin Hao about Bai Ling, he couldn't help laughing: "This girl is really ruthless."
Bai Jiaxuan glared at him: "You're still laughing! If we don't take care of her, she'll beat up all the kids in the village!"
Xiancao thought for a moment and said, "How about... sending her to a girls' school in Xi'an?"
Qin Hao shook his head and laughed: "Aunt, if you really send her to Xi'an, that would be exactly what she wants. With her temper, without restraint, who knows what kind of trouble she might get into."
Bai Jiaxuan frowned: "Then what do you say we should do?"
Qin Hao pondered for a moment and said, "Why not let her go to the village school first?"
Bai Jiaxuan was stunned: "No girl in the village has ever been to school..."
Qin Hao smiled and said, "Da, times have changed. Our village now has a new-style school that teaches arithmetic, geography, and science, not the old-fashioned 'women are virtuous if they have no talent'. Letting her study can not only control her temper, but also help her learn some real skills, which is better than fighting all day long."
Bai Jiaxuan hesitated for a while, and finally nodded: "Okay, I'll do as you say."
The next day, Bai Ling was taken to the village school.
When the children in the school saw her, their eyes widened - a girl can also go to school?
The teacher was invited by Qin Hao from Xi'an. When he saw Bai Ling coming in, he smiled and waved at her: "Come, sit here."
Bai Ling was not at all stage-frightened. She walked to the front row and sat down, even making a face at the boys behind her.
The first lesson was arithmetic. As soon as the teacher wrote "1+1=2" on the blackboard, Bai Ling raised her hand and said, "Teacher, this is too easy! My elder brother taught me this a long time ago!"
The gentleman smiled and said, "Then tell me, what is 3+5?"
Bai Ling blurted out: "8!"
The gentleman nodded in surprise: "Not bad! Then calculate again, how about 7+9?"
Bai Ling thought for a moment and said, "16!"
The children in the school were in an uproar, and even the teacher couldn't help but praise her: "What a clever girl!"
After class, the boys in the village came up to her and asked her, "Bai Ling, how come you are so good?"
Bai Ling raised her chin proudly: "My sister-in-law taught her. She is very smart. Not only can she do arithmetic, but she can also treat diseases..."
"Of course, my eldest brother is more capable. My sister-in-law said that he is the most knowledgeable person besides my uncle and knows everything. Unfortunately, he is too busy and has no time to teach me."
Even Qin Hao didn't expect that Bai Ling had become the "top student" in the class less than three months after entering school. Those children who entered school a year earlier than her did not perform as well as her.
Bai Jiaxuan was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He hugged his daughter and kissed and praised her, which made Bai Xiaowen jealous.
"What's so great about that? I already knew how to do such a simple math problem."
Bai Ling made a face at him and said, "When you were a kid, you cried because you couldn't do it. Don't think I don't know."
"You're talking nonsense. How old were you then? How do you know?" Bai Xiaowen became anxious.
"Hmph, that's what Third Brother said." Bai Ling wrinkled her nose and snorted.
Bai Xiaowen immediately turned around and glared at Bai Xiaowu: "Why do you talk nonsense to her about everything?"
Bai Xiaowu shrank his neck.
Bai Jiaxuan glared at Bai Xiaowen and scolded him, "You only know how to bully your brother. If you have the ability, you can get first place in the big class. You are always suppressed by Lu Zhaohai, and you still don't let anyone say anything."
Bai Xiaowen lost his temper instantly. Ever since Lu Zhaohai was recommended by the teacher of the small class to move to the big class, he has never won first place.
Compared to the incompatibility between Bai Xiaowen and Lu Zhaohai, Bai Ling gets along very well with Lu Zhaohai and they often make appointments to play together after school.
After school that day, Bai Ling and Lu Zhaohai squatted under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, counting ants out of boredom.
"It's so boring. Every day I just go to school, memorize lessons, and go home. There's nothing new to do." Bai Ling held her cheek with her hand, her little face full of impatience.
Lu Zhaohai rolled his eyes and lowered his voice and said, "How about... we go to the back mountain? I heard there are wild rabbits there, and we can pick sour jujubes."
Bai Ling's eyes lit up, but then she hesitated: "My elder brother said that we can't just go to the back mountain casually..."
"What are you afraid of? We're not going far, we're just going to take a walk around the foot of the mountain." Lu Zhaohai urged, "Besides, your eldest brother is busy with factory affairs right now, so how can he have time to take care of us?"
Bai Ling gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go!"
The two little guys crouched down, avoiding the sight of the villagers, and trotted all the way to the back mountain. At first, they just picked wild fruits and chased butterflies at the foot of the mountain, having a lot of fun. But gradually, Bai Ling became bolder.
"Zhao Hai, look over there!" She pointed to a cave not far away, "Is that my eldest brother's factory?"
Lu Zhaohai was also a little curious: "I heard that the factory is very secretive and even adults are not allowed to get close to it."
Bai Ling smiled slyly: "Then let's go and take a look secretly?"
The two climbed up the hillside, going deeper and deeper, until they were less than a hundred meters away from the factory. Suddenly, two men in gray clothes flashed out from behind the trees and shouted, "Stop! Who asked you to come here?"
Bai Ling was startled, and Lu Zhaohai hid directly behind her.
"I, I am Bai Ling, Bai Hao is my elder brother!" Bai Ling shouted bravely.
The two men looked at each other, their expressions slightly relaxed, but they still said seriously: "No matter who it is, you are not allowed to get close here! You wait here, I will go and inform."
After a while, Heiwa came over with a gloomy face. When he saw Bai Ling and Lu Zhaohai, his brows were twisted into knots.
"You two are really brave!" Hei Wa said angrily, "Do you know where this is? If something happens, how am I going to explain it to Hao Ge'er?"
Bai Ling shrank her neck and muttered softly: "We are just curious..."
Hei Wa snorted coldly, turned around and scolded the sentry behind him: "What do you do for a living? You can't even stop two children? You all have to practice extra tonight!"
The news soon reached Qin Hao. He looked at Lu Zhaohai and Bai Ling with both anger and amusement: "How did you avoid the sentry inspection?"
"There is a small path at the foot of the mountain. The grass is very deep. We are small, so maybe they didn't see us." Lu Zhaohai said in a low voice.
Qin Hao turned around and glared at Hei Wa: "Did you hear everything?"
Heiwa's already dark face became even darker now: "Well, I'll have people increase patrols right away."
Qin Hao then turned around and said to the two little adults, "Don't tell anyone the location of the factory. Remember?"
"Remember!" they said in unison.
Bai Ling's eyes rolled, and she suddenly came forward, pulling Qin Hao's sleeve and acting coquettishly: "Brother, can I make a small request?"
Qin Hao raised his eyebrows: "You still dare to make a request?"
Bai Ling said with a smile: "You have been mean to us before... I want a set of school uniforms for girls in Xi'an, the kind in Sister Qiuyue's closet!"
"Sister Qiuyue's school uniform is so pretty! A blue jacket, a black skirt, and little leather shoes!" Bai Ling's eyes sparkled. "Those homespun clothes in the village are so ugly, I don't want to wear them!"
Qin Hao was helpless. This girl was good at bargaining. He pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, I can buy it for you, but you have to promise me that you will never go near the factory again."
Bai Ling immediately raised her hand and swore: "I promise! There is no fun here at all. I don't want to come here!"
Lu Zhaohai was laughing secretly, but Qin Hao glared at him and he quickly stopped laughing.
A few days later, Qin Hao brought back two sets of girls' school uniforms from Xi'an. Bai Ling was so happy that she wore them to school the next day, which immediately caused a sensation.
"Tsk tsk, how can a girl dress like this?"
"That's right, the girls in the Bai family are becoming more and more unruly."
Bai Xiaowen listened to his classmates' discussions and looked unhappy. After school, he ran home and saw Bai Ling's washed school uniform hanging out to dry. He went to Xiancao's room in a rage, picked up a pair of scissors and cut the uniform into pieces.
This scene happened to be seen by Bai Ling who was returning home from school.
When Bai Ling came back and saw her beloved school uniform was destroyed, she was furious. She screamed and rushed over to scratch Bai Xiaowen's face.
"Bai Xiaowen! I'm going to fight you!"
Bai Xiaowen didn't expect her to react so violently, and several bloodstains appeared on his face instantly. Xiancao rushed over after hearing the sound, but couldn't pull them apart no matter how hard she tried. She stamped her feet anxiously: "Stop hitting me! You are going to piss me off to death!"
In the end, Bai Jiaxuan came over after hearing the news and separated the two. He looked at the wound on Bai Xiaowen's face, then looked at Bai Ling's angry look, and frowned and said, "Xiaowen, you are the brother, how can you fight with your sister?"
Bai Xiaowen felt very aggrieved: "She was the one who scratched me first!"
Bai Jiaxuan glared: "Then you can't cut her clothes!"
Qin Hao stood aside, secretly shaking his head. Bai Jiaxuan had always been partial to Bai Ling in educating his children, and too strict with Bai Xiaowen. Over time, Bai Jiaxuan could not escape the blame for Bai Xiaowen's cowardice and hypocrisy.
He stepped forward and interrupted Bai Jiaxuan's reprimand: "Xiao Wen, why did you cut Bai Ling's school uniform?"
Bai Xiaowen lowered his head, his voice choked with sobs: "Everyone in the village is laughing at her... and they are laughing at me too..."
Qin Hao said in a deep voice: "They laughed at your sister, but not only did you not stand up for her, but you went home and cut her clothes? Is this how you act as a brother?"
Bai Xiaowen was speechless.
Bai Ling was about to be proud, but Qin Hao turned to her and said, "Your second brother was wrong to cut your school uniform. But is it right for you to scratch him? Look at his face, what has it become after you scratched it? If he really wants to fight back, can you beat him?"
Bai Ling pouted and kept silent.
Qin Hao continued, "He would rather be tickled by you than fight back, which shows that he still cares about the brother-sister relationship. But what about you? When you attacked, did you ever think about the fact that he is your second brother?"
Bai Ling's eyes turned red, and she muttered softly: "I know I was wrong..."
"What's wrong?"
"I shouldn't have fought with my second brother..."
Qin Hao nodded and looked at Bai Xiaowen: "What about you?"
Bai Xiaowen took a deep breath and said, "I shouldn't have cut my sister's school uniform."
Qin Hao shook his head: "No, your biggest mistake was not cutting the school uniform, but not standing up to defend your sister when outsiders laughed at your family! Remember, in the eyes of outsiders, you represent the Bai family. No matter how much your family quarrels, you can solve it behind closed doors, but outside, you must be united in front of the outside world!"
Bai Xiaowen and Bai Ling looked at each other and nodded silently.
Afterwards, Bai Xiaowen secretly found Bai Xiaowu, borrowed a month's pocket money, and asked Qin Hao to buy a new school uniform for Bai Ling.
When Bai Ling received the new school uniform, she was surprised and guilty. She thought about it and ran to ask Leng Qiuyue: "Sister Qiuyue, can you give my second brother some medicine? I scratched his face..."
Leng Qiuyue smiled and touched her head: "Do you know how to feel sorry for your brother?"
Bai Ling stuck out her tongue embarrassedly.
That night, Bai Xiaowen was sitting in the yard in a daze. Bai Ling tiptoed over and stuffed a box of ointment into his hand.
"Brother, this... won't leave scars after you apply it."
Bai Xiaowen was stunned for a moment, then took the ointment and raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "Thank you."
Under the moonlight, the brother and sister smiled at each other, and the barriers that once separated them quietly melted away at this moment.
Seeing this scene, Bai Jiaxuan couldn't help but reflect on whether he was too harsh on his second son.