Meng Yao remembered her agreement with Teacher Ye Lei.
“I’ll have three tutoring sessions a week. After those, I’ll come to you for English lessons, and I’ll bring you some fried peanuts then.”
“Sounds good. Remember to memorize the vocabulary from the first unit at home. Next time you come, I’ll teach you the dialogues from the first unit. How does that sound?” Gu Jingcheng asked her with a smile.
Overjoyed, she even forgot to ask which specific day.
Meng Yao naturally agreed, her fondness for Gu Jingcheng soaring. She had thought he was just casually teaching her, but she hadn’t expected him to be so serious.
Meng Yao glanced at the time on the wall, stood up, and began packing her things. “It’s getting late. I should head back. If it’s too late, Uncle Wang’s carriage won’t wait.”
Gu Jingcheng offered to walk her home, but Meng Yao refused, afraid of being seen by people in the village and even more afraid that if Gu Jingcheng found out she was “Meng Yao,” he might not want to tutor her anymore.
As Meng Yao finished packing and was about to leave, Gu Jingcheng called out to her.
“Chen Yao, do you like candy? I happen to have a pack here. I find it too sweet, so you can have it.” Gu Jingcheng bent down and pulled a beautifully packaged box of candy from his desk drawer.
Meng Yao took a look—it was chocolate.
At this time, things like chocolate were quite hard to come by. Not only were they expensive, but they were also rationed and not widely available. In her previous life, she had only tasted it once when someone brought it as a gift after Song Wei got promoted.
“No, thank you. This looks very expensive,” Meng Yao directly refused.
Gu Jingcheng kept his hand extended, holding the candy, while his other hand rested lazily on the desk. Staring at the chocolate in his hand, he seemed puzzled by Meng Yao’s words. “What does it matter how expensive something is? It’s meant to be eaten. Being eaten is its value. Otherwise, no matter how expensive it is, it’s useless. Don’t overthink it.”
This time, he didn’t give Meng Yao a chance to argue and simply stuffed it into her arms.
Meng Yao: “…”
The two parted ways at the main gate. Meng Yao left with the chocolate, and once Gu Jingcheng was out of sight, she quickly ducked into a nearby alley and used her thoughts to store the chocolate in her Space.
She took one piece and put it in her mouth. The sweet flavor filled her entire mouth, and as she savored the sweetness, she found herself agreeing with Gu Jingcheng’s words.
After finishing the chocolate, she suddenly noticed that the two little chicks from yesterday were gone.
When she found them, Meng Yao was stunned.
Overnight, the two little chicks had grown into full-sized chickens and were now nesting in the nearby chicken coop, incubating eggs!
It seemed that things in the Space could indeed accelerate the growth of plants and animals, but it varied depending on the situation. For example, simple plants like vegetable seeds grew quickly, while animals like chickens and ducks grew a bit slower.
This news was an absolute delight to her!
This meant she now had a way to earn money, secure funds for college, and save some money for her family.
She immediately left the Space and hurried to the market selling chicks. Using the money she had made from selling vegetables that day, she exchanged it for twenty little chicks, finally returning home satisfied.
When she arrived home, it was still early before her parents returned from work. Meng Yao wasn’t in a hurry to cook. Instead, she took out the books from her backpack and reviewed them.
Meng Yu, who had just come out of the bedroom, saw Meng Yao deep in thought as soon as she stepped out.
During this period, the two of them were at odds, neither speaking to the other. As time passed, Meng Yu was the first to grow impatient. After all, without Meng Yao’s care, her standard of living had plummeted.
After quarreling for the past couple of days, Meng Yu hadn’t even been able to eat her fill. The stubbornness she had shown a few days earlier had long since vanished. Seeing Meng Yao studying now, she took the initiative to approach, her tone tinged with flattery.
“Sis…”
Meng Yao didn’t even lift her eyelids.
Gritting her teeth, Meng Yu took a few steps forward and stood before her. “Sis, are you still angry? How about we make up? I can teach you, and then we can go to university together. How does that sound?”
Only then did Meng Yao put down the textbook in her hand and slowly look up at her. Meng Yu felt a surge of joy, thinking Meng Yao had been swayed by her words. She was already planning to have Meng Yao cook once they made up.
How could Meng Yao not know her thoughts? Her younger sister had the cruelest heart. Bowing her head now was merely to gain benefits from her. Once Meng Yao lost her usefulness, she would be the first to be kicked aside.
“No need. I don’t want to make up with you. I can study on my own,” Meng Yao said coldly.
Meng Yu’s expression stiffened. She didn’t understand why, after her Rebirth, this former sister of hers had changed so much. Having been rejected twice after taking the initiative to reconcile, Meng Yu turned and left in a huff.
“Then study on your own! Let’s see how you’ll get into university without anyone to teach you!”
“No need for your concern!”
Once again, they parted on bad terms.
Meng Yao had thought Meng Yu would skip dinner again today, but unexpectedly, Meng Yu had grown wiser.
As soon as dinner was served, Meng Yu emerged from her room, washed her hands on her own, and sat down at the table. She even, quite unusually, apologized to their parents.
Meng Zhihong’s face, which had been gloomy for days, gradually softened, and Zhao Meilan also looked pleased.
Harmony in the family leads to prosperity in all endeavors. No one liked a family where everyone wore a cold expression day after day.
Only Meng Yao secretly curled her lips. This Meng Yu had probably grown tired of the cold war after a few days, which was why she was shamelessly seeking reconciliation. After all, in her previous life, Meng Yu had been incredibly arrogant!
“Sis, why isn’t there any food for me? I want some porridge too. Could you serve me a bowl?” Meng Yu sat upright at the table, ordering Meng Yao around as usual.
In her previous life, Meng Yao had doted on her, and such things happened frequently. Zhao Meilan and Meng Zhihong had grown accustomed to it and saw nothing wrong.
Meng Yu was also certain that Meng Yao would act as usual in front of their parents, so she spoke with utter confidence, even raising an eyebrow at her triumphantly.
Meng Yao put down her chopsticks and smiled faintly. “Meng Yu, from now on, do your own things yourself. Getting into university requires perseverance. If you don’t even have the willpower to serve yourself food or do laundry, how can you claim you’ll get into university?”
Their parents chimed in from the side, “Yu Yu, your sister is right. Getting into university is tough. You really need to work hard.”
Mentioning university, Meng Yu wore a proud expression. “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. I’m definitely going to get in this time. I already know everything in the textbooks. If there’s anything Sis doesn’t understand, I can even help her!”
Meng Yao knew she dared say this only because of her memories from her previous life. She retorted irritably, “Meng Yu, I think you shouldn’t speak too soon. It’s better to study diligently and honestly.”
Meng Yu ignored her and turned to coax their parents at the table. “Dad, Mom, just relax. Once I get into university and land a good job, I’ll bring you to the city right away to enjoy life and become city folks.”
Meng Yu was quite the smooth talker, and in no time she had their parents wrapped around her finger. Meng Yao watched coldly from the side. In her past life, she too had been charmed by Meng Yu like this, but this time she wouldn’t be fooled again.
After the meal, Meng Yao pushed her bowl and chopsticks forward and said to Meng Yu, “You’ll wash the dishes today. From now on, if I cook, you wash the dishes. If I do the laundry, you clean the rooms. After all, perseverance takes time to cultivate, right, Meng Yu?”
Meng Yu wanted to argue, but under her parents’ expectant gazes, she gritted her teeth and held back.
Forcing a smile, she said, “Sister is right. I’ll do as Sister says.”
“Remember to scrub the pot too, not just the dishes.”