Chapter 121: Praising Suishu
Chapter 121: Praising Suishu
Princess Qi had a simple idea: "I may not understand, but I'll just keep praising her."
After all, children should grow up with praise and encouragement.
Especially for Suishu, who had endured so much hardship and endured countless cold and disdainful glances in the past.
So, the little girl needed even more praise and encouragement now.
With these thoughts in mind, Princess Qi opened her arms wide and gestured, "Suishu, you are sooooo smart!"
Feeling that this wasn't enough, she shook her head, then tried to widen the distance between her arms even further, "No, Suishu is even smarter than that!"
Suishu, who had been molding the charcoal, looked up at her mother's words. Her face, smudged with black and yellow stains, resembled a little flower cat that had fallen into a mud puddle, but her eyes shone brightly.
It was as if a new moon was reflected in the muddy pond, shining amidst the gloom and chaos.
Princess Qi watched with a mix of warmth and amusement.
Suishu smiled happily and held up the molded charcoal to her mother, "Look, Mother, it's a perfect circle again!"
After showing it off, Suishu placed it on the empty space next to her and carefully poked holes in it.
Suishu remembered the system's instructions—these holes were important, and she had to make sure they were done right.
So, as she poked the holes, her dumpling-shaped face was solemn with concentration.
Her small, adorable hands reached out, poked a hole, and continued until she couldn't poke any more, then she pulled out the stick and poked another.
Satisfied with the charcoal now filled with holes, Suishu set it aside and began to mold the next one.
Seeing her daughter's happiness, Princess Qi joined in the charcoal molding as well.
However, when she first touched the yellow mud, she felt a strong sense of resistance and discomfort, both physically and mentally.
Princess Qi tried her best to ignore these feelings and control herself.
Sometimes, once you get past the initial discomfort and get addicted to something, you can forget about how uncomfortable it felt at first.
After the first failed attempt at molding the charcoal, Princess Qi's competitive spirit kicked in.
The second one turned out better as she put in more effort.
From time to time, she even discussed it with Suishu, "Suishu, I think we should use less of this yellow mud, or it won't burn properly."
"But if we use too little, it won't stick together."
"I think the proportion you're using right now is pretty good, Suishu."
...
It took Princess Qi just five attempts to go from discomfort to proficiency in molding the charcoal.
As an adult and a skilled embroiderer, she quickly got the hang of this handicraft.
By the sixth charcoal mold, she had mastered the technique.
Moreover, she had figured out that using less yellow mud resulted in a more solid and long-lasting mold.
Mother and daughter enjoyed their charcoal molding session immensely.
Meanwhile, Feng Xuanrui was not having as much fun.
Today, instead of practicing horsemanship and archery, they were focusing on physical endurance.
They could choose to stand or squat in a horse stance.
And after the basics, they would have to squat in a horse stance while holding a basin with both hands.
...
Various weight-bearing exercises were not exactly enjoyable.
Feng Xuanrui had always been fidgety and lacked the patience for such training.
He had thought that his sister would come to watch him and had wanted to show off his skills as the older brother. He even imagined himself teaching her a thing or two and acting as her little tutor.
But as he waited, his sister didn't show up.
No matter how much he looked around, she was nowhere to be seen.
Where could she be? Feng Xuanrui's mood gradually turned sour.
Unfortunately, Shen Fuzi paid no heed to his student's mood and only added more exercises when he saw that Feng Xuanrui couldn't hold the stance any longer.
Feng Xuanrui: ...!
Boo hoo, where was his sister?
Feng Xuanbin was even less able to stand his ground. As a child who was not yet mature, he lacked the discipline to stay put.
So, while Sixth Brother was being scolded, Feng Xuanbin quietly tiptoed away and ran off...
Yes, he had skipped class again.
By the time Shen Fuzi noticed, his student had already run off quite a distance.
Seeing this, Shen Fuzi's anger soared.
He first smiled faintly, then roared, "Seventh Young Master, where are you going? Get back here for extra practice!!!"
Feng Xuanbin's fleeing legs trembled slightly, and he turned another corner before reluctantly returning.
Upon returning, he chuckled and tried to excuse himself, "Teacher, I was just going to the bathroom, the bathroom."
Shen Fuzi gave him a sideways glance and then mercilessly added more weight to his training.
Feng Xuanbin: ...!
Boo hoo!
I really want to run away!
The other three young masters, however, were diligently training.
Although they also wanted to skip class.
However, Feng Xuanbo was more cunning.
He usually watched the other brothers to see if anyone would test the teacher's limits.
If someone tested and found it impossible, he would resign himself to his fate.
But if he saw an opportunity, he would definitely take some subtle action.
At this moment, since Feng Xuanbin had tested the waters and found it impossible, Feng Xuanbo let the idea go.
Feng Xuanjie, on the other hand, was purely timid and dared not try.
As for Feng Xuancang, being the oldest among those present, he had to take on the responsibility of an older brother.
Even if he was extremely unwilling to train, he had to set an example for his younger brothers.
So, gritting his teeth, he tacitly accepted the teacher's decision to increase the weight.
While the brothers endured their bitter training, Suishu was happily playing with mud.
She had already made quite a few lumps of mud, but the ones that truly met the correct proportion were not many.
However, there were quite a few usable ones.
Those with a smaller proportion of yellow mud were actually usable.
But the ones with the best value were still those with a three-to-seven ratio.
Suishu had made quite a few of these, and the holes she poked were also quite decent.
However, the system was now worried that...
Princess Qi clearly didn't take these lumps of coal seriously and treated them as mere toys to entertain the child.
Moreover, even if Princess Qi discovered the usefulness of these honeycomb coals, she probably wouldn't pay much attention to them.
In a wealthy household, there is plenty of meat and wine, while outside, people freeze to death.
This was a stark reality of the class divide.
Living in abundance, one may not easily understand how valuable affordable and efficient coal could be to the common folk.
So, even if Princess Qi discovered that these coals burned better and cost less, she probably wouldn't think much of it.
Suishu, too, didn't understand the significance; she just found it fun.
The system, however, felt a sense of worry and compassion for the people.
But soon, it questioned itself—was it reasonable for a system to be so concerned about such matters?
Never mind, no use thinking about it.
It then turned its thoughts to whether it could find a cute and reliable sleep assistant for tonight.
Perhaps there were some lullabies or children's songs it could find to sing to Suishu as well.
Recently, the little girl had been humming a song about a sheep on the east and a sheep on the west.
Just as mother and daughter were having fun, Aunt Qiu came to report that the Marquis of Huguo had come to visit.
The Marquis had previously expressed his gratitude on the road, and during their conversation, he had heard about Suishu's plan to make coal briquettes and had shown some interest, saying that he would come and join her.
As he worked in the Ministry of Industry, he paid attention to such matters.
Princess Qi had thought that the Marquis was just being polite, but she hadn't expected him to actually come.
Looking at herself now, she felt rather impolite.
She quickly got up and instructed Aunt Qiu to receive the guest while she took Suishu to change her clothes.
Second Watch
(End of Chapter)
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