948 Nothing Good Will Come of It



"Grandfather, why didn't you train me like this when I was young?" Qiao Mei asked as she looked at Qiao Qiang curiously.

Qiao Qiang became lost in his thoughts for a long time. Even now, he could still remember the first time he saw Qiao Mei when he returned to the village. She was such a thin and tiny child with sunken collarbone and ribs. It was as if he could break Qiao Mei's fragile bones using just a little bit of force. She was like a skinny kitten who was lying in the pigsty on her last breath.

At that time, Qiao Mei had already suffered too much. Furthermore, she was Qiao Yue's only daughter. He could not bear to let Qiao Mei go through such physical training.

Later on, however, he often wondered if he had spoiled Qiao Mei too much. Her massive size and vengeful temper made many villagers come to complain to him. Qiao Qiang would just smile and forget about it. Sometimes, when the villagers went a little too far with their comments, Qiao Qiang would even quarrel with them.

"You don't need to join the army, so why should I train you? Besides, in the entire village, who can bully you? What should I be worried about?" Qiao Qiang said matter-of-factly.

"That does make sense." Qiao Mei laughed awkwardly. The original owner of the body was famous for her violent temper.

While Qiao Mei and Qiao Qiang chatted, 10 minutes passed quickly.

"Everyone, come and stand in the courtyard! 10 minutes is up!" Zheng Peng shouted loudly.

The children had no choice but to put down everything in their hands and walk out quickly. Zhang Wei wanted things to look perfect so he packed up the things on the table before he left, thus causing some delay.

"Zhang Wei! Step forward!" Zheng Peng shouted as he looked at Zhang Wei sternly.

Zhang Wei stepped out with fear and lowered his head, not daring to look into Zheng Peng's eyes. It was as if one look from Zheng Peng could condemn him to eternal damnation. Those eagle-like eyes would definitely become a source of trauma for the children in the future.

"Do you know why I asked you to come out? If you answer correctly, you won't be punished," Zheng Peng said.

"Report! I continued to clean up the room after the time was up! I violated the rule!" Zhang Wei said softly.

Zheng Peng had no intention of reprimanding Zhang Wei. He turned and went to inspect the other children's rooms. The bedding in every room was not up to standard and the neatness did not even meet the most basic standard. The blankets that they folded were all crooked.

However, Zheng Peng did not reprimand them like before. Instead, he asked the three children to wash their hands and get ready to have their meals. Then, he brought Zhang Wei into the room.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Zheng Peng asked.

Zhang Wei thought carefully for a moment and said, "I didn't complete the mission that you gave me. I even violated the rules."

Zheng Peng shook his head and said to Zhang Wei in all seriousness, "My original intention of giving you this mission is to improve your speed and daily habits. It's not embarrassing to be unable to finish. I hope that you will strictly abide by the rules and continue to work hard to do better in the future. As long as you train again and again, there will come a time when you will meet the standard. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I'll train hard," Zhang Wei said with a smile.

Zheng Peng gave Zhang Wei a hard pat on the shoulder and asked him to join his younger siblings. It would put a serious strain on the children's bodies if he trained them before they had dinner, so it was better to wait for a while.

After dinner, Zheng Peng had classroom lessons with the children. Qiao Mei and the other women returned to the front yard to chat and do needlework. Once they were tired, they would go to bed. Such days would pass very quickly.

"Qiao Mei, come with me to look for Aunt when you're free. Yesterday, I ran into Aunt when I went to the hospital to visit Sun Juan. She's quite worried about your health," Xia He said.

Qiao Mei rejected the request without a second thought. She knew that other women would only go to the hospital when they were about to give birth. She was still a long time away from her due date. She would not have the same kind of freedom she had at home if she went to the hospital. Her diet would be fixed by someone else and there would be a lot of restrictions. She could only walk around in the small ward twice a day. Living such a life was simply a fate worse than death.

"I don't want to go. I'll go when I'm due," Qiao Mei said with a pout.

"Even if you don't want to stay there, you should at least get a checkup done. If you're disobedient, I'll have to tell Xia Zhe. Then he'll deal with you when he comes back! Nothing good will come out of it!" Xia He said smugly.