After crossing, I was forced to hold on to my thighs and build a kingdom

Chapter 39 Reciprocity

Jin Chu had a good night's sleep and woke up refreshed early the next morning. Zhao'er was sleeping soundly next to him.

She quietly got dressed and got out of bed, went to the west kitchen to wash up briefly, and then prepared to make breakfast.

The last few steamed buns I asked for from Sun were eaten, but there were still some pickles left.

Jin Chu thought for a moment, opened the bag of rice she had bought last night, grabbed a few handfuls, washed them, and poured them into the pot. She lit the stove and prepared to make a pot of thick rice to serve with the leftover pickles as breakfast.

When the unique fragrance of rice wafted out, Jinchu dealt with the firewood at the bottom of the stove, got up and called Zhaoer to get up.

The little guy rubbed his eyes sleepily and walked lazily into the west kitchen. When he smelled the fragrance of rice in the kitchen, his eyes suddenly widened and all the sleepiness in his body disappeared.

"Sister, it smells so good!" Zhao'er sniffed and reached out to lift the lid of the pot.

Jin Chu held his little hand and pointed to the side: "Don't touch it, go wash up!"

Zhao'er quickly scooped up some water and washed up, then couldn't wait to sit down next to the stove, in front of a wooden board that served as a table.

Jin Chu placed a bowl of thick rice in front of him and said with a smile, "We won't be eating steamed bread this morning. Let's eat white rice!"

Zhao'er nodded repeatedly, and with her sister's reminder of "be careful of the heat", she buried her head in the bowl and began to eat her meal diligently.

Zhao'er ate two bowls of white rice with pickles with relish, until his stomach was full, and then he put down his bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction.

Jinchu cleaned up the kitchen and added hay to the little gray rabbit.

Then she returned to the main room, picked up the "Three Character Classic" she bought for Zhao'er yesterday, and called him over. The two siblings sat opposite each other. Jinchu followed the teaching method of her elementary school teacher, leading her brother step by step, and began the bumpy first lesson.

She first read the text with Zhao'er, then briefly explained the content of the textbook to Zhao'er, and finally, after reading it with him three or five times, she wanted Zhao'er to try to recite a part of it.

Unexpectedly, after reading it for the third time, Zhao'er could recite it fluently.

It seems that this child is really smart, at least his memory is not bad.

Jin Chu was delighted. He had originally planned to only learn the part of 'The way of teaching is to be specialized' today, but because of the child's intelligence, he ended up teaching the part of 'If the teaching is not strict, it is the teacher's laziness'.

Even so, if Jinchu hadn't insisted on biting off more than she could chew and refused to teach more, Zhao'er would have wanted her sister to teach her another ten or eight sentences later!

Seeing that the child really had more potential to learn, Jinchu sat down again and read the rest of the content aloud with Zhaoer.

Then I told him to memorize what he had learned today first, and then understand its meaning word by word, and today's teaching work would be completed.

Following the four-item order of "listening, speaking, reading and writing", Jinchu first asked Zhaoer to complete the first three items today.

It was because she was careless and only cared about buying books for Zhaoer, but forgot to buy stationery for the child.

Now they have nothing but pens, ink, paper and inkstone.

Jin Chu slapped her head and smiled at her brother: "It's all my fault for being so careless. I only remembered to buy textbooks yesterday, but forgot to buy you pens and ink. Let's memorize the textbooks first, and then I'll go to the capital in a few days and buy them specifically for Zhao'er, okay?"

The little boy nodded obediently and said with a smile: "Okay, Zhao'er, don't worry, sister doesn't have to worry either."

Jin Chu smiled and rubbed his brother's head, but heard footsteps outside the door.

The two looked up and saw Huizhen rushing in. She immediately saw the book on Jinchu's lap and teased with a smile, "You two siblings are really serious about studying. You've started studying so early in the morning!"

Jinchu gave Zhaoer a few more words to ask him to review his lessons seriously, then he pulled Huizhen out of the main house and went to the west kitchen to sit down and chat.

"Is this how you treat guests? You ask me to sit in the kitchen?" Huizhen raised her eyebrows and pretended to be angry.

Jin Chu spread her hands and said shamelessly, "The main house is so small, and Zhao'er still has to memorize his lessons. In order not to hinder him and not affect our conversation, I can only bring you here!"

She smiled at Huizhen and asked, "How about I take you to the yard to talk?"

"No, no, no, this place is great. Although it's the kitchen, it's independent and quiet enough." Huizhen waved her hand and laughed.

The two of them exchanged a few jokes and then got down to business.

Huizhen took out the jewelry box containing the white jade bracelet and pushed it towards Jinchu, saying sternly, "Jin'er, if it weren't for you yesterday, I would have been humiliated, let alone getting those earrings!"

She paused, her face slightly red. "But that earring is indeed my favorite, so I kept it for myself. This bracelet should belong to you."

"Huizhen, I made it very clear yesterday. I don't want those earrings, and I don't want this bracelet either!"

Jinchu pushed the box containing the bracelet back toward Huizhen. "You know I'm not short of money, but it's just a matter of time, so I can't show off my wealth! In that case, what's the point of giving this bracelet to you? Why don't you keep it for yourself? Or do you think it's worthless?"

"How could that be! Although this bracelet is delicate, it is made of the finest white jade and would cost at least ten taels of silver. How dare I look down on such an expensive piece of jewelry!" Huizhen hurriedly explained.

"Since you like it, then you should accept it. When I took the bracelet, I noticed that you looked at it several times, so I thought you liked it, so I took it. If I knew you didn't like it, I wouldn't have touched it! I personally don't have much interest in this bracelet." Jin Chu said frankly.

"How can that be? I can't just take all the benefits for you after you help me vent my anger. That's too unfair to you!" Huizhen still refused.

Jin Chu thought for a moment and said, "Back when we were at Jin Yu Zhai, I said I would give you a piece of jewelry as a gift. It was because I saw that you liked this bracelet that I took it. Why don't you think of it as a gift from me as a good sister!"

Seeing Huizhen still hesitating, Jinchu suddenly had an idea: "It just so happens that I also need your help with something."

"What's the matter? Tell me!" Huizhen suddenly became alert.

"It's all my fault for being careless. Yesterday, I was so busy choosing books for Zhao'er's early childhood that I forgot to buy him some writing brushes, inkstone, and paper. I remember you said you had a younger brother who was a few years older than Zhao'er, right?"

Seeing Huizhen nod, Jinchu smiled and said, "I wonder if he has any unused brushes, inkstones, and paper? If so, could he lend them to us for a few days?"

"Yes, wait for me, I'll get it for you soon!" Huizhen said as she stood up and prepared to leave. Jinchu quickly grabbed her and handed her the bracelet. "I won't be polite with you, and you shouldn't be polite with me either. If you really consider me a sister, take this bracelet back, otherwise I will really be angry."

Seeing that Jinchu really wanted to give it to her, Huizhen no longer refused. She reached out and took the bracelet: "Okay, I'll be back soon. Please wait for me for a while."

After about a cup of tea, Huizhen came back with a bag. When she opened it, she saw a brand new set of four treasures of the study inside.

Jin Chu was stunned and asked hurriedly, "Why is it a new set? This looks too expensive. It's inconvenient for us to borrow it."

Huizhen smiled shrewdly: "I didn't treat you politely just now, and you can't treat me politely now! Since we are good sisters, this set of things can be regarded as a gift from me, the elder sister, to my little brother Zhao'er to help him start his education!"

Seeing that Jinchu still refused to accept it, Huizhen frowned and said, "If you continue like this, it means you don't treat me as a sister, and I will be angry too."

He used the same words Jin Chu had just said to respond to her.

Jin Chu shook his head helplessly: "Okay, I'll accept it for Zhao'er, and I'll have him come to thank you in person later. But if you take it, what will happen to your younger brother Yue at home?"

"This is a New Year's gift my eldest brother bought for my younger brother Yue a few days ago. Yue brother needs it now. I'll ask my eldest brother to buy him another set later. Zhao'er is in the prime of learning calligraphy now, so don't waste any more time."

Jinchu finally felt relieved and called Zhaoer to come and thank Huizhen.

She thought to herself that next time she went to Lincheng, she would give some practical gifts to Huizhen's brother.