Chapter 272: The Solution to End the Children’s Conflict
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Shao Qihai wasn’t in the room. He had pasted a note on the door, saying that he would leave first to busy himself with the convoy.
When Mu Jingzhe came down with the note, she found that an argument had broken out in the kitchen. Shao Xi and Shao Nan were glaring at each other. If Shao Dong hadn’t stopped them, they would probably have started fighting.
She had only been out for a short while. Why were they arguing?
However, the truth was that they were quarreling because they were choosing buns. There were seven styles but five of them. Therefore, without hesitation, they’d asked Xiao Wu and Little Bei to take two more buns. Coincidentally, Little Bei liked the little flowers and little rabbits, while Xiao Wu liked the little fish and the little circles.
After the two of them finished choosing, only the little kitten, little pig, and little hedgehog ones were left.. Surprisingly, Shao Dong liked kittens. There were people in the village who raised cats. Shao Dong would usually feed them when he saw them. Although Shao Dong wasn’t quite compatible with little kittens, he really liked them. Everyone knew that.
Previously, Mu Jingzhe had suggested raising one at home. There were many pet cats in the modern era. If they raised one at home, Shao Dong wouldn’t have to covet other people’s cats.
However, in the end, they didn’t raise one because the cats of the era weren’t like pet cats. They were cats that really caught mice. Usually, they wouldn’t let anyone get close to them, not even their owners. They would scratch on a whim, and there were cat owners that had been scratched before.
When Mu Jingzhe had heard that, she’d immediately dismissed the idea of raising a cat and asked Shao Dong to endure it for a while longer. They could talk about it when pet cats became a thing and rabies shots became widely available.
Because there was no rabies vaccine in this era, one would be worried to death if they were scratched by a cat. At the time, cats would even catch mice to eat them, which made them even more dangerous.
On the other hand, Shao Dong was very easy to talk to. He said that he didn’t intend to raise a cat either, so he listened to Mu Jingzhe. Since the plan to raise cats had failed to go through, Mu Jingzhe wanted to replace it with something else. Therefore, she had made this kitten for Shao Dong. Everyone knew that the kitten was indisputably Shao Dong’s.
The cute little kitten head made Shao Dong feel a little embarrassed, but his movements weren’t slow. In the end, only the hedgehog and the little piggy were left.
In the past, Shao Xi used to like hedgehogs the most, so Shao Nan chose the little piggy. However, Shao Xi refused. “I want a pig today.”
“Then I’ll take the hedgehog.” Shao Nan compromised. “Second Brother, you can have the little piggy.”
Looking outside, Shao Nan added, “Second Brother, if Mom hears this, she’ll be worried again. Let’s not get into a conflict.”
“You’re the only sensible one, aren’t you? Do I need you to teach me? Why are you pretending to be obedient? You’re the worst one among us. Aren’t you just pretending to be obedient and sensible to attract Mommy’s attention…”
It was at that moment that Mu Jingzhe returned. The moment she returned, both Shao Nan and Shao Xi immediately shut up and stopped quarreling. Although they both had a dark countenance, they were very happy and they cherished the steamed buns Mu Jingzhe had specifically made for them as they ate them.
Shao Xi and Shao Nan finally weren’t puffed up with anger anymore and now looked happier. However, this conflict had finally come up. Neither of them looked at the other or spoke.
In the past, the five siblings didn’t use to fight so much. Now that two of them were suddenly in a conflict, the atmosphere was different.
At noon, the conflict between the two of them escalated. Finally, they got into a serious quarrel and announced that they would never talk to each other again.
Mu Jingzhe: “…”
At this point, she suddenly remembered something. It seemed like she had never dealt with such a problem before.
It was said that as long as one wasn’t an only child and was in a family with two or more children, they would always face all kinds of problems. Children would quarrel in all sorts of ways, and the adults would have to resolve the issue in different ways. This would easily lead to accusations of being biased or something similar.
Although Mu Jingzhe had been told that she wasn’t completely fair to all five of them previously, and at the time that had indeed been the case, things weren’t like this anymore.
The five siblings had always had a good relationship. Xiao Wu hadn’t gotten along with them at first, but such a major conflict had never arisen. Other than the fact that the children were smart and weren’t like other children, they also needed to huddle together to keep warm in order to survive.
Therefore, they hadn’t fought much previously or quarreled.
But now, the situation had changed, leading to conflicts like this. This was considered normal, right? Compared to other families, the frequency at which it happened was considered quite low.
Mu Jingzhe comforted herself this way, her mind frantically trying to think of a solution. After thinking for a while, she called the children over and asked them about their conflict. She reasoned with them and told them not to quarrel. In the end, she called Shao Nan and Shao Xi out alone and said something that made a lot of sense.
This was what Mu Jingzhe had learned from many people. It was seen on television and in novels and it was quite effective. The two children finally made up after holding hands.
However, at night, Mu Jingzhe turned out to be too naive. They had simply reconciled on her account. They understood the logic behind it but still threw a tantrum.
After a day, the conflict deepened in the evening. In fact, it got even worse. Harsh words like ‘I never want to see you’ were said. Judging from the way they were glaring at each other, if Shao Dong hadn’t stopped them, they would have started fighting.
No, they had already started fighting. Shao Dong was even hit on the head while trying to stop the fight.
After hitting Shao Dong, Shao Xi and Shao Nan were shocked. They quickly apologized to Shao Dong, causing Mu Jingzhe’s expression to darken.
“Are you alright?” Mu Jingzhe quickly looked at Shao Dong.
“I’m fine.” Shao Dong shook his head.
Mu Jingzhe felt that she had to deal with the root of the problem. She called Shao Xi and Shao Nan over and sighed as she looked at the two of them, who refused to look at each other.
“Looks like ordinary methods can no longer make you guys reconcile. If I don’t think of something soon, you are going to fight. Everyone says that a quarrel shouldn’t last overnight. If it does, it will hurt your relationship. Now that the sky is getting dark, I can only use some special methods.”
Shao Xi snorted. “No need, Mommy. You don’t have to worry. I’m fine losing him as a brother.”
“That’s right, Mommy. You don’t have to worry about us. It’s fine. I won’t be calculative.” Even though he was the younger one, Shao Nan sounded like the older sibling. However, this agitated Shao Xi again. He wondered if Shao Nan was deliberately doing this to provoke him.
This made Shao Xi explode. “You’re not going to be calculative? How are you not calculative? If you were not, why would I want to beat you up? Stop pretending to be a good person!”
“Alright.” Mu Jingzhe couldn’t take it anymore. She looked at the two smart children and racked her brains for a solution. When she looked down at their feet, an idea suddenly struck her. “Got it. Got it.”
“I won’t hold his hand childishly and reconcile with him,” Shao Xi immediately replied.
“I don’t need you to hold each other’s hands. You can just hold each other’s legs.” Mu Jingzhe waved her hand. “You have to go wash your feet first.”
Shao Xi and Shao Nan were baffled when they were suddenly asked to wash their feet.
Mu Jingzhe brought in a basin and poured hot water for them. “Shao Xi, Shao Nan, bring the chairs over to wash your feet.”
“Mommy, I don’t want to wash with him. I want to wash with Big Brother.” Shao Xi moved a chair over and, while refusing, pulled Xiao Wu closer. “Let Xiao Wu wash with him.”
“I don’t want to wash with him either.” Shao Nan also refused. “Anyone else is fine.”
Because boiling water was troublesome to get, they usually washed their feet in pairs. In the past, it hadn’t mattered. They had always washed their feet together and played with the water, but not today.
Shao Xi and Shao Nan were unwilling, but Mu Jingzhe insisted. “No, you have to wash your feet together tonight. You also have to wash each other’s feet.”