Meng Yao remembered the agreement she had made with Teacher Ye Lei.
“I’ll attend tutoring three times a week. After class, I’ll come find you to learn English, and I’ll bring fried peanuts for you.”
“Sounds good. Remember to memorize the vocabulary from Unit One at home. Next time you come, I’ll teach you the dialogue from the first unit, alright?” Gu Jingcheng asked with a smile.
Meng Yao was so delighted that she even forgot to ask which specific day.
Of course she agreed. Her favorable impression of Gu Jingcheng rose sharply. She had thought he would only casually teach her, but she hadn’t expected him to be this serious about it.
Meng Yao glanced at the clock on the wall and began packing her things.
“It’s getting late. I need to head back. If I’m too late, Uncle Wang’s horse cart won’t wait for me.”
Gu Jingcheng wanted to escort her back, but Meng Yao refused. She was afraid the villagers would see them together, and even more afraid that once Gu Jingcheng learned she was actually “Meng Yao,” he would no longer be willing to tutor her.
Just as Meng Yao finished packing and prepared to leave, Gu Jingcheng stopped her.
“Chen Yao, do you like candy? I happen to have a box here. I think it’s too sweet, so you can have it.”
Gu Jingcheng bent down and took out a beautifully packaged box of candy from his office drawer.
Meng Yao glanced at it.
Chocolate.
At this time, something like chocolate was still very difficult to obtain. Not only was it expensive, but it was limited and rarely circulated. In her previous life, she had only tasted it once when Song Wei received a promotion and someone had brought it as a gift.
“No thanks. It looks expensive,” Meng Yao refused directly.
Gu Jingcheng maintained the posture of handing it to her. One hand lazily rested against the table as he stared at the chocolate, clearly unable to understand her reasoning.
“So what if it’s expensive? Isn’t it still meant to be eaten? Being eaten is its value. Otherwise, no matter how expensive it is, it’s useless. Don’t think so much about meaningless things.”
Before Meng Yao could argue, he directly stuffed it into her arms.
Meng Yao: “…”
The two parted at the front gate. Meng Yao carried the chocolate away, and only after Gu Jingcheng was completely out of sight did she quickly slip into a nearby alley and store the chocolate inside her space with a thought.
She took out one piece and placed it into her mouth.
The sweet flavor instantly filled her entire mouth. As she savored the sweetness, she found herself agreeing with Gu Jingcheng’s words.
After finishing the chocolate, she suddenly realized that the two little chicks from yesterday had disappeared.
When she finally found them, Meng Yao was stunned.
After only one night, the two chicks had already grown into full-sized chickens and were now sitting beside the nest laying eggs!
It seemed that things inside the space truly could accelerate the growth of plants and animals, though the speed differed depending on what it was. Simpler things like vegetables and seeds grew extremely quickly, while animals like chickens and ducks grew a bit slower.
This discovery was an enormous surprise to her!
It basically meant she now had a way to make money in the future. The expenses for university finally had a solution, and she could also save her family a large amount of money.
Without hesitation, she exited the space and rushed toward the market selling chicks. Using the money she earned from selling vegetables today, she bought twenty chicks before finally returning home satisfied.
When she got home, there was still plenty of time before Father Meng and Mother Meng finished work. Meng Yao didn’t rush to cook dinner. Instead, she took out the books from her schoolbag and reviewed them carefully.
The moment Meng Yu stepped out of the bedroom, she saw Meng Yao deeply focused on studying.
The two had been in conflict for quite some time now, refusing to speak to each other. But after enduring it for so long, Meng Yu was the first to crack.
Without Meng Yao’s care, her quality of life had dropped dramatically.
These past few days of arguing had left Meng Yu barely able to eat properly, and she no longer carried the same stubborn pride she had before. Seeing Meng Yao studying now, she proactively approached her, her tone carrying a trace of ingratiation.
“Sis…”
Meng Yao didn’t even raise her eyelids.
Meng Yu gritted her teeth and walked a few more steps until she stood directly before her.
“Sis, are you still angry? How about we make up? I can teach you, and then we can get into university together. What do you think?”
Only then did Meng Yao slowly put down her textbook and lift her head to look at her.
Meng Yu secretly felt delighted, believing she had finally persuaded Meng Yao. She was already planning to make Meng Yao cook for her again once they reconciled.
But how could Meng Yao not understand her thoughts?
This younger sister of hers had the cruelest heart. Lowering her head now was only because she still wanted benefits from Meng Yao. Once Meng Yao lost her usefulness, Meng Yu would be the first to kick her aside without hesitation.
“No need. I don’t want to reconcile with you. I can study on my own,” Meng Yao said coldly.
Meng Yu’s expression stiffened.
She couldn’t understand why, after being reborn, this once obedient older sister had changed so drastically. Having her peace offerings rejected twice in a row, Meng Yu angrily flicked her sleeve and left.
“Then study by yourself! Let’s see how you get into university without anyone teaching you!”
“No need for your concern!”
The two once again parted on bad terms.
Meng Yao had originally assumed Meng Yu would skip dinner again today, but unexpectedly, Meng Yu had become smarter.
The moment dinner was placed on the table, Meng Yu came out of her room, washed her hands on her own, and sat at the dining table. She even unusually apologized to the two elders.
The gloomy expression on Meng Zhihong’s face gradually eased, while Zhao Meilan also looked relieved.
A harmonious family brings prosperity. No one liked seeing family members constantly cold toward one another.
Only Meng Yao secretly curled her lips into a faint smile.
This Meng Yu had probably become unable to endure the cold war after several days, which was why she shamelessly came seeking reconciliation. In her previous life, Meng Yu had been incredibly arrogant!
“Sis, where’s my rice? I want porridge too. Help me serve a bowl,” Meng Yu said while sitting properly at the table, ordering Meng Yao around just like before.
In her previous life, Meng Yao had spoiled her constantly, so this kind of thing happened often. Zhao Meilan and Meng Zhihong had long grown accustomed to it and didn’t feel anything inappropriate about it.
Meng Yu was also certain that Meng Yao would behave the same as always in front of their parents, which made her especially self-righteous. She even smugly raised an eyebrow at Meng Yao.
Meng Yao put down her chopsticks and smiled slightly.
“Meng Yu, from now on, handle your own matters yourself. Getting into university requires perseverance. If you don’t even have the perseverance to serve your own food or wash your own clothes, how dare you say you can get into university?”
Their parents immediately chimed in.
“Yuyu, your sister is right. Getting into university is difficult. You need to work hard.”
At the mention of university, Meng Yu’s face became filled with pride.
“Father, Mother, don’t worry. I’ll definitely get in this time. I already know all the textbook material. If Sister doesn’t understand something, I can even help teach her.”
Meng Yao knew she only dared say this because of memories from her previous life. She replied irritably,
“Meng Yu, I think you shouldn’t speak too soon. You’d better honestly focus on studying.”
Meng Yu ignored her completely and instead turned to flatter their parents.
“Father, Mother, just wait. Once I get into university and find a good job, the first thing I’ll do is bring you both to the city to enjoy life as city people.”
Meng Yu was extremely good at talking. Before long, she had completely charmed the two elders again.
Meng Yao watched coldly from the side.
In her previous life, she too had been deceived by Meng Yu’s sweet words.
But this lifetime, she would never fall for it again.
After dinner, Meng Yao pushed her bowl and chopsticks forward and spoke to Meng Yu.
“You wash the dishes today. From now on, if I cook, then you wash dishes. If I do laundry, then you clean the rooms. Perseverance needs to be developed over a long period of time, right, Meng Yu?”
Meng Yu wanted to argue back, but upon seeing the hopeful expressions in their parents’ eyes, she forcibly swallowed her anger.
She squeezed out a smile.
“Big Sister is right. I’ll listen to Big Sister.”
“And remember to wash the pot too. Don’t just wash the bowls.”