Chapter 378 Comparison
Two days before New Year's Eve, Zhou Yushi's fourth uncle Tang Fang also came back, and his big family made the whole house lively.
Because of the birth policy implemented here, Zhou Yushi's second aunt who is a professor, his third uncle who works in the army, and his third aunt who works in the government all strictly followed the policy and only had one child. However, his fourth uncle's family who is a businessman did not have so many concerns. They just paid the fine and had a third child.
With so many children coming here at once, it will be lively.
Among the three children, the eldest, Tang Yu, is 15 years old, the same age as Della. He is calm and steady, and it seems that it is time for him to take on some responsibilities, just like his three older brothers and one older sister. The second child, Tang Yu, is 10 years old. He is at an age that is disliked by everyone, and he is just like his name, which sounds very impressive. He is full of energy. On the first day he arrived, he climbed up the tree and shook flower petals for his younger sister to play with.
As for the third child, Tang Yu, she was six years old, a cute little girl with fair skin and fair skin. Della was not sure if she remembered her correctly, as everyone in the family seemed to call her "Qian Jin" and "A'e".
Zhou Yushi later explained to her and Bellinda that because Tang Yu's birth had cost a huge amount of money in fines and bribes, he gave her a nickname to represent the "precious" in her family.
"That's great," Belinda said at the time, "If we normalize our efforts for her in this way since she was young, she will definitely be a confident and ambitious child in the future."
"Yes, she will have a great life."
Della stood at the door, looking at the little girl who came with her brother Tang Yi to pick red plums. She remembered her previous reply. Looking at Tang Yi, she felt that she was shining even more. She felt a little envious and suddenly thought of Ginny and the Weasley family across the sea.
Both families have seven children, and there is a pair of twins, with a little sister who is the most favored...
Della thought about the similarities between the Tang family and the Weasley family. After thinking about the obvious, she naturally began to look for possible commonalities in each child.
A person's shortcomings can better describe that person than his or her strengths. Della habitually thinks about the five Weasley children she has met from this perspective.
She didn't notice Percy's utilitarianism, she didn't notice the twins' rebelliousness, she didn't notice Ron's stubbornness and awkwardness, she didn't notice Ginny's former inferiority complex.
As for their strengths, they are hardworking, creative, righteous and brave. She hasn't had the chance to get to know the Tang family better, so she can't make a comparison.
The reasons for observable shortcomings can often be traced back to family and environment, because even if the shortcomings are caused by one's own personality, the environment will greatly affect the extent to which these shortcomings are manifested.
The Weasley family, under the friendship and unity, is also tied to its name in poverty. Percy's utilitarianism and Ginny's inferiority are affected by this. Mrs. Weasley's control over her children aggravates the twins' rebelliousness, and the whole family's preference for the only girl makes Ron's awkwardness become a problem that is only ridiculed rather than solved.
As for the Tang family, they are wealthy, but having seven children in four families ensures that each child gets enough attention. As for the parents' desire for control... I don't know if it's due to differences in different regions, but every child Della has seen these days has a strong personality. Their parents can only sigh and discuss with them, and if they say something harsh, they will only be turned away and snorted.
"Little Fatty, you're climbing a tree again," Della was thinking when Zhou Yushi came out of the study. He spoke slowly so that Bellinda, who was learning more and more Chinese by osmosis, could understand him. "My plum tree is not as good as those old trees in the garden."
"Don't call me Xiaopang!" The younger sister giggled. Tang Yu blushed, and when he noticed that the two beautiful foreign sisters were looking at him, his face turned even redder.
"What kind do you want? Let me hold our little Qianjinzhe."
Zhou Yushi walked over and pretended to throw Tang Yu out while holding her, which made the little girl laugh even harder. Tang Yu below became anxious and kept shouting, "I'm going to do the same thing later!"
"Look at this family," Belinda walked up to Della and said with a smile, "They are always so happy."
"Yeah," Della watched Zhou Yushi skillfully make the two children laugh, and found that Zhou Yushi had something that his brothers and sisters did not show - smoothness. "Compared with Zhou's brothers and sisters," she turned to Belinda and asked, "Don't you think Zhou is too much like an adult?"
"He is 21 years old. Even if he stays in school, he is an adult." Belinda thought Della's question was strange.
"That Tang Yu is 20 years old, but he's still like the younger brothers, isn't he?" Speaking of Tang Yu, Della realized something else. She continued, "Zhou said that Yu has no talent for magic, but I think he's still very comfortable among his brothers, not like..."
"Do the magic families over there treat Squibs like that?" Belinda added. She frowned briefly, but soon the confusion in her eyes disappeared. "Because it's 'family over here', they might not take it seriously at all. Zhou said that two of his three aunts are Muggles. This seems to be quite common."
Is it really just a regional difference?
Della was a perceptive person. After spending so many days in this overly large house, she could sense that this family had some strict rules, judging from the habits of everyone at the dinner table and the fact that Zhou Yushi, the younger generation, always did things first. These strict rules were always related to the demarcation of hierarchy.
Could something, or someone, have blurred those rules and hierarchies?
At this time, the two children had picked the plum blossoms. They each held an armful of plum branches. Regardless of whether Della and Belinda understood or not, they politely waved to them, "Goodbye, sisters!"
Regardless of whether Della and Belinda could understand or not, the waving gesture and the innocent and tender voice were enough for them to understand. These days, they found that even if the language was not so common, communication was not that difficult. Now they also waved back enthusiastically and said in their strangely pronounced Chinese, "Goodbye, come and play again."
The two children walked away with a smile, and Zhou Yushi held back his laughter as he walked over to them. "It's interesting to think about it, isn't it? You guys are obviously at different stages of your studies, but your pronunciation is so consistent no matter how you teach."
"No," Della shook her head. She said seriously, "Listen carefully. Belinda swallows her voice better than I do."
"Okay, you two," Belinda pinched Della's face as Zhou Yushi laughed, "you teamed up to bully me, right?"
The three of them started to make noise, filling the courtyard with laughter.