Although life in the valley had entered its winter hibernation, everyone remained busy. Uncle De and Uncle Fu, along with the elders, were constantly tending to the two vegetable greenhouses.
The grandmothers and aunts worked in the sewing shop, attaching soles, making shoes, and sewing buttons – any task that the sewing shop needed help with.
The young women and newlywed wives were even busier, participating in clothing production at the sewing shop during the day and attending evening classes at school.
Xu Mingxuan's comrades voluntarily joined the first grade for daily lessons. Those with mobility also took charge of caring for the twenty-odd cashmere goats, five pigs, and fifteen cages of rabbits. Indeed, rabbits were incredibly prolific; the valley now housed fifteen cages, each holding twelve rabbits, totaling over one hundred and eighty. It was estimated that more litters would arrive before the New Year, allowing for some of the older rabbits to be butchered, providing fresh rabbit meat for the festivities.
The three wild boar piglets Chen Lan had captured were getting along famously with the two pigs already being raised. Thanks to good feed, the three young wild boars had grown considerably. The piglets the elders had brought back from outside earlier that year had now grown into pigs weighing around a hundred to a hundred and twenty pounds. Chen Lan had no intention of slaughtering these two pigs this year; she planned to keep them for breeding.
Chen Lan was deeply gratified by her comrades’ proactive engagement in attending school. She believed that the only path for them to fundamentally change their destinies lay in continuously acquiring new knowledge and skills.
Speaking of those here, Chen Lan felt immense gratitude towards her mother and Mama Liu and Mama Cui for their constant, silent efforts on her behalf. Her mother and the others were, in essence, working year-round to care for the valley's next generation.
The only thing Chen Lan could do was to step in as a substitute kindergarten teacher whenever she had free time. Just as she finished changing Little Pumpkin, whose pants were wet, the twins and Little Douzi started to fuss. The three little ones wanted to go outside. Naturally, her mother blocked the door, preventing them from leaving, which led to the commotion. Her mother seemed on the verge of being overwhelmed.
Chen Lan found it a bit peculiar. Little Douzi, usually such a well-behaved child, was acting out today. She immediately settled Little Pumpkin and went over.
Chen Lan said to her mother, "Mom, you go sit down and rest for a bit. I'll handle these three little ones!"
With that, she crouched down and looked sternly at the three children, asking, "It's snowing heavily outside. What do you three want to go out and do?"
Jia Yao and Little Douzi lowered their heads and remained silent. Jia Hui stepped forward, threw her arms around Chen Lan's neck, and chirped, "Mommy, I want to go to school too! I want a new schoolbag."
Chen Lan felt like laughing. The child was less than two years old; what did she know about school? She wasn't even as tall as a table yet! So she asked, "Little Douzi, Jia Yao, are you two going out to go to school as well?"
The two little ones nodded adorably. Seeing that their mother wasn't angry, Jia Yao stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Chen Lan's neck, starting to act spoiled. Jia Yao opened his mouth and said, "Mommy, Little Stone brother and Tiger Head brother are both going to school, so I want to go too."
Chen Lan was a little surprised. This was the first time Jia Yao had spoken such a long sentence. Just for that, she should satisfy the children's request. So she nodded in agreement.
Chen Lan said with a smile, "Alright! You can go to school if you want, but you're not allowed to cause trouble during class, do you understand? If you cause trouble during class, Mommy will spank your little bottoms, understand?"
Seeing that Chen Lan had agreed, the three little ones bounced with joy, each rushing to find their thick coats, hats, and scarves.
After getting the three little ones dressed and ready and saying goodbye to her mother, she set off for school with the three aspiring students. The snow was too deep to walk easily, so Chen Lan had the three of them sit on a sled, and she pulled them to school.
When the three arrived at school, Chen Lan took them to Wen Qi's introductory Chinese Pinyin class. As the four of them entered the classroom, it immediately erupted. Chun Cao was also very surprised to see her son there and hurriedly asked, "Xiao Lan, was Little Douzi causing trouble at home?"
Wen Qi was also quite puzzled and asked, "Big sister, do you need something from me? How come you brought my two little nephews out on such a cold day?"
Chen Lan waved her hands, "It's nothing. These three little ones were making a fuss at home, wanting to come to school, so I brought them over. Don't mind us; you continue with your class. I'll stay here with them for a while. I expect they won't be able to sit still for too long."
However, what Chen Lan never expected was that the three little ones actually paid attention and diligently completed the entire class. After it ended, they seemed to still have an appetite for more.
Jia Hui and Jia Yao and Little Douzi were still singing, "Ah, bo, zi, de, e, fo, ge, he, yi, ji, ke, le, mo, ne."
Chen Lan was surprised that the three little ones had actually taken it in. Although they didn't understand what these fourteen Pinyin letters meant or represented, the fact that they could sing them at least indicated that they had been listening attentively during class.
Chen Lan crouched down and asked with a smile, "Little Douzi, Jia Yao, Jia Hui, class is over. Shall we go home?"
The three little ones shook their heads in unison, "We're not going back; we want to learn more."
At this moment, Chun Cao also walked over. She scooped up Little Douzi and said, "Xiao Lan, I'll take Little Douzi. It's too much for three children together."
Chen Lan didn't refuse. Managing three children was indeed a bit taxing, so she nodded in agreement.
Soon, the next class began. This class was arithmetic, taught by Wen Kai. The twins listened for a while and then couldn't sit still. Jia Hui suddenly blurted out and started singing loudly, "Ah, bo, zi, de..." Chen Lan was startled and quickly covered Jia Hui's mouth with one hand, holding up a finger from the other hand in a shushing gesture.
Chen Lan was surprised that Jia Hui’s little brain had such a good memory; she still remembered the Pinyin letters after learning them once and hadn't forgotten them.
With her mouth covered, Jia Hui naturally wouldn't have it and wanted to continue singing. Chen Lan had no choice but to forcefully wrap the twins in her large cotton coat, not even bothering to put on their outer garments, and take them home.
On the way, Chen Lan thought to herself that children’s curiosity about new things was innate, and she shouldn't stifle it. However, there were too few learning channels available now. She should buy some storybook-style children's books for the twins and the kindergarten children from the system.