947 To Be Strict With Oneself



Xia He's expression now was the same as the one on Xia Wen's face when he saw Qiao Mei bargaining with the owner on the price when buying the house. They both found her to be unbelievable.

"Let's go, elder sister! Get in!" Qiao Mei said happily.

The stall owner and Xia He quickly moved all the groceries onto the vehicle. The back of this vehicle was the same as any other three-wheeled vehicle. The difference was that he had welded two platforms on both sides so that people could sit down on them.

Xia He did not allow Qiao Mei to sit on the platform. She was worried that Qiao Mei would fall over when the stall owner braked. It was simply too dangerous. The stall owner placed a small stool in the back of the vehicle with two layers of cushions on it so that Qiao Mei could have a comfortable seat on the way home.

"Boss, are you a local?" While they were on the way, Qiao Mei asked in a familiar manner.

"Yes, I'm a local. I'm just a peddler, not a big boss. My surname is Wang. I see that you're quite young, so you can call me Uncle Wang!" the stall owner said.

Qiao Mei quickly replied, "Oh my, how can I call you Uncle Wang. I don't think you're that old. I should call you Brother Wang! Brother Wang, you have such a big stall so why can't you be considered a boss? Your business will only get bigger in the future, Brother Wang!"

Brother Wang was so amused by Qiao Mei that he laughed out loud and said, "You're such a sweet-talker! This was originally my parent's business. I guess you can say that I inherited the family business! I don't know what else I can do."

Xia He sat at the side and watched Qiao Mei chatting with Brother Wang. By the time they reached home, Qiao Mei had already asked Brother Wang about the number of people there were in his family, his parents' health, where he lived and where his children went to school. She was just short of asking Brother Wang about all his ancestors.

The most amazing thing was that Qiao Mei did not reveal any information about herself. Other than telling Brother Wang where she lived, she did not say anything else.

"Brother Wang! Thank you so much! I'll go to your stall to buy vegetables next time! Let's keep in touch!" Qiao Mei waved goodbye to Brother Wang happily.

Xia He slowly moved all the groceries into the kitchen. This morning, she had learned something new. No wonder even Xia Wen said that he could not deal with Qiao Mei. Being someone who could deal with the entire He family alone, Qiao Mei was definitely not as obedient and nice as she looked.

That young brat, Xia Zhe, was really lucky to have married such a good wife.

Qiao Mei also wanted to help Xia He in some way, but every time she tried, Xia He would reprimand her. Later on, Qiao Mei accepted the fact that she was supposed to be "living a pampered life" and did not do anything to make Xia He angry.

The children's first round of training in the backyard had already ended. As expected, all the children were lying motionlessly on the ground. Zheng Peng simply let them do whatever they wanted. They would get up once they felt that the ground was too cold. It was not as if they were fools. Otherwise, should he provide a bed for each of them?

He disliked spoilt brats the most. When Zheng Peng was young, his father had once asked him to run outside half-naked on a snowy day. His father said that it was to train his character, but in reality, it was to punish him for stealing and eating Zheng Yuan's pastries.

Qiao Mei did not meddle with Zheng Peng's training methods and sat down with Qiao Qiang to drink tea and watch what was going on.

"Everyone, get up and stand at attention! Follow the same formation as before!" Zheng Peng shouted sternly.

The children moved very quickly and immediately lined up in a row according to their sizes. Their postures were already much better than before.

"I'll give you 10 minutes to go back to your rooms and tidy up your bedding and messy clothes. If you don't come out within 10 minutes, you will be punished by having to stand in a military posture for 30 minutes after dinner! Are you ready!" Zheng Peng shouted as he looked at the watch on his wrist.

The children straightened their backs and shouted, "Ready!"

"Go!" Zheng Peng gave the order and the four children rushed into the rooms like arrows released from a bow.

Zheng Peng did not wander around. Instead, he stood in a military posture and maintained the standard of a teacher at all times. Since he was their role model, he must also be strict with himself and set an example for them. What right did he have to ask the children to do things that even he himself could not do?

Qiao Mei's opinion of Zheng Peng had also changed a little. He was completely different from her original stereotypical impression of him. She had thought that people in the art world were more free-spirited, but she did not expect there to be an artist who would be so strict with himself.