At 48, I Stand by My Daughter's Side as She Retakes Her Year in Maotanchang：Three

At 5:50 in the morning, I wake my daughter up. I prepare her toothpaste and get the water ready for her to wash her face, all to let her sleep a little longer since her nights are usually tough. Once breakfast is cooked, I let it cool to a temperature that's neither too hot nor too cold, ensuring she can eat quickly. After she leaves for school, I go grocery shopping, do the laundry, and prepare meals.

The cost of groceries here is relatively high, significantly more expensive than back home, which adds a considerable amount of stress. Every day, as I navigate the market from one end to the other, I often find myself unsure of what vegetables to buy. Sometimes, I directly ask my daughter for her preferences, telling her to choose the dishes, and I'll cook them. If I ask her too often, she simply responds with 'anything will do'.

After lunch, my daughter goes to her classroom to take a nap. Sometimes, I also take a short nap, sleeping until around two in the afternoon. While other children nap at home, my daughter sleeps in her classroom, a requirement set by her teacher. The teacher explained that if she were to nap outside, some parents wouldn't be able to supervise, leading to kids wandering around, and some even getting involved in romantic relationships.

At 5:05 in the afternoon, she comes home for dinner and immediately heads back to school afterward. Last year, I used to deliver dinner to her at school, but she mentioned that eating while squatting was too uncomfortable. It's manageable on sunny days, but on rainy days, she has to use an umbrella, and sometimes rainwater even drips into her bowl.

She usually gets home between 11:15 and 11:20 pm. I prepare her clothes for her, allowing her to shower and wash her hair. Sometimes, I buy her some late-night snacks. Being a girl, while she eats, I blow-dry her hair. After eating, she spends some time reading and doing her assignments. I don't understand what she writes, and I can't comprehend it. Whenever I try to look, she feels uncomfortable and doesn't want me to see. She usually goes to bed by 12:30 am at the earliest, but typically it's around 1:00 am.

While she's studying, if there's some warm water left in the heater, I use it to wash clothes. I scrub the clothes outside while she studies inside. Sometimes, if her hair isn't dry, I help her dry it before heading outside to wash clothes.

After the Lunar New Year this year, her teacher approached me, mentioning that quite a few boys in the school seemed to be hovering around my daughter. In the evenings after school, she was often seen with a group of boys. This worried me, and I began picking her up, something I hadn't done the previous year.

One night, I was quite tired and fell asleep, forgetting to pick her up. She was upset when she got home, venting her frustration at me and being irritable. I felt uneasy about it.

Many people here participate in square dancing. We pay ten yuan a month, and in the afternoons, the instructor finds a shaded spot to teach us the dance. After dinner, once I've washed the dishes, I go out to dance, returning around 7 or 8 pm. Sometimes, I spend time in the room knitting little shoes, waiting up until 11 pm."

Last year, Sundays were for resting during the day and attending classes in the evening. Since the Lunar New Year this year, we've only had two days off, and the schedule remained the same: rest during the day and classes at night. In March, during a health check-up, we made a quick trip back to our hometown. We stayed for just one night before returning. During her days off, she catches up on sleep at home, and I nap beside her. Once I wake up, I mute my phone to watch videos, careful not to make any noise. I know that any movement from me would create some noise. Most parents here are the same, hesitant to move for fear of waking their children.

I mainly use my phone to watch others dance and then try to learn the moves myself. When I come across something funny, I allow myself a chuckle. For us, watching videos on our phones is a way to relax. Going out to dance in the evening also provides a brief respite. Apart from these two periods, my time revolves around my daughter. When she's happy, I'm happy; when she's upset, I'm upset too.