"Mom, are you worried that these children will fight and complain about one another like other siblings in our village?" Qiao Mei said.
Li Gui sighed deeply. She had experienced such a thing before, so she did not want to see her children suffer in the same way.
Every child's temper and personality were different. Each of them would get along differently with a different person. If Zhang Wei was left to make the decision and something went wrong, it would not be worth it if the children quarreled over money.
"I think we should leave this matter to Zhang Wei. There are actually times when adults are biased too. Don't you also like Zhang Wei a little more?" Qiao Mei said with a smile.
This question stunned Li Gui. Among the four children, did she treat each and every one of them fairly and wholeheartedly?
Of course not…
She would usually give all the delicious food to Zhang Wei first before she gave the other children. She had to go out every day to earn money to support the family and she left it to Zhang Wei to worry about the things at home. He was like the "father" of the family.
Li Gui felt more sorry for Zhang Wei. He was so young and yet he had to take care of his younger siblings, so she took extra care of him. However… could this be considered a form of favoritism?
"I… I just want Zhang Wei to eat more. He still has to take care of his younger siblings. I think he's really too tired, so I want him to have more nourishment," Li Gui said.
"Actually, the person who does the most work at home is Zhang Qin. Boys are usually careless so most of the time, Zhang Qin is the one who takes care of their daily living. You don't know this yet, but Zhang Qin knows how to cook. That day, she stood on a small stool to fry vegetables. Sometimes, Zhang Wei is too busy with other chores at home, so Zhang Qin is the one who takes care of their basic needs," Qiao Mei said.
Li Gui lowered her head deeply. She did not know about these things and had never even heard of this. It was really hard for her to imagine how a young child like Zhang Qin knew how to fry vegetables in a wok.
It seemed that she was also an unfair mother who gave more care to Zhang Wei and ignored the other children. In fact, during the time she went out to earn money, all the children had a hard time. They all needed to help out and take care of one another.
There was no such thing as one of them doing more than the other. When everyone was in a bad mood, Zhang Miao would even liven up the atmosphere! Zhang Chao would also solve problems that Zhang Qin and Zhang Wei did not understand.
They took care of one another.
"I understand now…" Li Gui said.
"Just let them be. Some brothers get along better after they fight. Besides, are you still worried about Zhang Wei's character? What you're worried about won't happen," Qiao Mei said relaxedly.
She did not understand what it was like to fight with siblings. She was the sole daughter of Li Gui and Qiao Yue and she did not meet any other children when she was young. She and her grandfather only had each other to rely on, so she had never experienced these things and did not understand them.
However, the four children would definitely not quarrel over money. In this family, they did not lack money at all. Moreover, they had all worked hard to earn their pocket money.
They knew very well how difficult it was to earn money. Moreover, they were much richer than ordinary children, and perhaps even richer than adults, so they would not plunder other people's money out of greed.
Li Gui also knew that this was her own sore point and had nothing to do with the children. If Qiao Mei had siblings, she would be equally worried about Qiao Mei.
So be it. Whether this matter was good or bad, it all depended on how the children resolved it themselves.
Li Gui turned around and saw the half-finished product that Qiao Mei was sewing. She had prepared a set of clothes for the children and Xu Lan had prepared even more. She wondered why Qiao Mei was still making clothes.
"Why are you still making clothes for the children? The kids will grow up very fast in two to three months. The things we have prepared are already enough for these two children to wear every day," Li Gui said.
Qiao Mei picked up the tiny clothes and said, "I don't feel at ease and I keep feeling that I should be more prepared. Anyway, I don't have anything to do at home. Now, those people are all keeping an eye on me and not letting me go out."
Qiao Mei's courtyard house was surrounded by the Xia family's spies. There were even spies from the He family. They all had their own concerns about Qiao Mei getting into trouble.