"And then?" Lüdou pressed.
Duoduo tilted her little head. "Then, I came out!"
"Oh right, Nanny said for us to go get the evening meal, so I came out!"
A flicker of doubt crossed Lüdou's mind.
She couldn't help but feel this Nanny Li wasn't quite like what others said.
Could it be because they were serving Nanny Li directly, that the nanny was more lenient with her and Duoduo?
Lüdou and Duoduo went to the kitchen to fetch their dinner.
Nanny Li didn't keep them to serve her, but instead told them to go eat, saying she wasn't used to having people around.
This further confirmed Lüdou's earlier perception.
Since they had to get up early the next day, once it grew dark, Lüdou urged Duoduo to bed.
Duoduo obediently took off her clothes, got under the covers, and closed her eyes.
Lüdou again picked up her needle and thread, working faster; she wanted to finish the garment in her hands before sleeping.
At mao hour (5-7 AM), Lüdou sat up yawning.
She first got dressed in the dark, then gently nudged Duoduo.
"Duoduo, wake up quickly."
"Mmm, Lüdou, I wanna sleep more." Duoduo rolled over, burying her little head in the quilt.
Lüdou got out of bed and lit a candle.
"Duoduo, have you forgotten? We have to go to Nanny's at mao hour." Lüdou reached into the quilt and dug Duoduo out.
With her eyes closed, Duoduo slumped softly against Lüdou, letting her get her dressed.
"Ah!" Duoduo let out a yawn.
"Lüdou, when did you sleep last night?" Duoduo tried hard to open her eyes.
Lüdou carried Duoduo to the bedside, covering her own mouth as she yawned too.
"I don't know either, I just slept after finishing my work." Lüdou put shoes on Duoduo.
Duoduo hopped to the floor. "I'm awake! I'll go wash up."
Lüdou smiled and turned to tidy the bed.
After washing up, Duoduo sat in front of the mirror, a worried look on her face.
"Lüdou, I don't know how to do my hair."
Lüdou had just finished her tasks. She dried her hands, walked over, and skillfully tied Duoduo's hair into two little buns.
Then, she quickly did her own hair as well.
"Let's go."
Lüdou checked herself and Duoduo for anything amiss, then took Duoduo's hand and they went out.
The room next door already had candlelight.
Lüdou knocked. "Nanny, are you awake? May this servant come in?"
"Come in."
Nanny Li's stern voice came from inside.
Lüdou pushed the door open and entered, seeing the nanny already washing up. She walked in and curtsied.
Seeing Lüdou do this, Duoduo hurriedly copied her.
Lüdou went to make the bed. Duoduo wanted to help but was stopped by Nanny Li.
"You, come here."
Curious, Duoduo followed Nanny Li to the dressing table.
Nanny Li took out a small booklet.
"Starting now, I will teach you to read characters. Ten characters a day to begin with."
"Once you've learned ten, I'll teach ten more. The next day, I will test you on the twenty characters learned the previous day."
"If you forget any the next day, you'll get one strike on the palm for each one forgotten. Do you understand?"
Hearing she could start learning characters right away, Duoduo was so happy she wanted to jump.
"I understand!" Duoduo nodded vigorously.
Lüdou pricked up her ears, listening while she worked.
Nanny Li first taught three characters, which Duoduo quickly memorized.
Nanny Li was somewhat surprised. She taught three more.
After finishing her tasks, Lüdou stood behind Nanny Li and listened.
"Go fetch breakfast," Nanny Li ordered without turning her head.
"Yes." Lüdou reluctantly walked out the door.
Duoduo stared intently at the characters in the book, trying hard to imprint their shapes and pronunciations in her mind.
Soon, she had memorized these three characters as well.
Nanny Li took out a piece of paper and casually wrote a character on it. "What character is this?"
Duoduo tilted her head and looked. "Three!"
Nanny Li wrote another. "And this one?"
"Person!" Duoduo was thrilled.
So this was what it felt like to read characters! She was so happy!
Nanny Li wrote all six characters she had just taught, and Duoduo actually answered them all correctly.
Nanny Li nodded, put down the brush, and taught four more.
After a while, Nanny Li tested her again and found Duoduo had memorized them all.
This child has good aptitude, Nanny Li thought to herself, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes.
Lüdou entered the room and placed the food box on the table.
"Nanny, breakfast is served." After setting it out, Lüdou came over and curtsied.
Nanny Li put away the booklet and was about to collect the paper she had written on when Duoduo blinked.
"Nanny, can I have this paper?"
Lüdou hastily tugged Duoduo's sleeve.
Duoduo quickly lowered her eyes. She had forgotten again to call herself "this servant."
Nanny Li's eyes swept over Lüdou.
"It was meant for you. Do you remember the way I wrote them just now?"
"This afternoon, you will practice writing these characters."
Duoduo nodded. "I remember!"
Nanny Li turned and walked towards the dining table. "Lüdou, put that paper away properly. And remember, if you're late later, I will punish you."
"Yes, this servant takes her leave!"
Lüdou carefully folded the paper, took Duoduo's hand, and they both curtsied to the nanny before leaving.
Duoduo was very pleased; this morning she had learned a full ten characters!
She held Lüdou's hand, skipping and hopping back to their room.
Lüdou, preoccupied with thoughts, opened the food box and set out her and Duoduo's breakfast on the table.
Duoduo knelt on the stool, helping too.
"Lüdou, eat quickly. Later I'll teach you the characters!"
Lüdou's eyes lit up. "Really? Is that allowed?"
Duoduo gave a big smile. "Of course it is! Did you forget? We're going to Nanny's later to study characters too?"
"If you learn them too, we can learn new characters together!"
A smile spread across Lüdou's face. "Alright then, thank you for your hard work, Duoduo. Let's eat quickly!"
"Mhm!"
Duoduo nodded with a smile.
Earlier, when she had asked for the paper with the characters, she had already decided.
The two of them ate their meal in a few bites. Not even bothering to clear the bowls, they started studying right away.
Lüdou wasn't as quick as Duoduo at memorizing characters, but she just managed to remember all ten.
Inadvertently, Lüdou looked up and saw the water clock on the shelf.
"Oh no! Hurry, we're late!"
Flustered, Lüdou grabbed Duoduo and ran towards Nanny Li's room.
Nanny Li watched as the two entered, flustered but with bright eyes.
She didn't need to guess to know what they had been doing.
"I said earlier, being late means punishment. Hold out your hands."
Lüdou held out her hand. Duoduo followed suit.
"Smack!"
Nanny Li took out a ruler and struck Lüdou's palm once.
Tears instantly welled up in Lüdou's eyes.
Duoduo shuddered in fright and quickly pulled her hand back, hiding it behind her.
"Nanny, we weren't late because we were playing! We were studying characters!" Duoduo explained.
"Hold it out!" The nanny said sternly, raising the ruler in her hand.
Duoduo looked at the nanny and didn't move.
Nanny Li looked at Duoduo and didn't move either.
"You were late today, so you must be punished!"
If you keep staying stuck like this, you'll only waste more time studying.
Duoduo pouted and stretched her hand out towards Nanny Li.
