Chapter 250: Chapter 250: Good News—School Has Started

Zhong Luoning had two pieces of good news to share.

First, after repeated evaluations by Xiao Zhuo, it was confirmed that Youran’s autism had greatly improved. With continued effort, it was believed that Youran would be able to live a normal life in the future.

In her spare time, Zhong Luoning had intentionally started teaching her daughter to play the piano. If Youran turned out to have talent, then even if she remained introverted, she’d always have a way to support herself.

After spending some time together, Zhong Luoning noticed something unusual about her daughter—she seemed to have perfect pitch!

Zhong Luoning tested her several times. While she couldn’t say for certain that Youran had perfect pitch, she was sure of one thing: her daughter had an extraordinary gift for music.

Youran was still very young, so it was mostly speculation for now, but it was definitely good news. It meant her daughter had inherited her musical talent.

Zhong Luoning suddenly found a new sense of purpose in life: first, to work hard and provide for the two of them, and second, to nurture her daughter’s talent and not let it go to waste.

When God closes a door, He always opens a window. Everyone has their own strengths.

Gu Qinghuan was genuinely happy for the mother and daughter, and wrote back to send her best wishes.

She also thought she should send them some more beef jerky when she had the chance, and not forget Xiao Zhuo either—after all, he’d done them a huge favor.

Even though Xiao Zhuo’s motives weren’t entirely selfless, she still had to thank him.

She also needed to send some to the Fang family, He Qiang, and Xu Lei. Even though she hadn’t returned to Beijing, some relationships shouldn’t be allowed to fade.

After washing up, Gu Qinghuan lay down on the big bed in the villa and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning.

Gu Qinghuan went to find Zhong Zijun first thing and told her about her plan to teach at the town school.

She’d meant to talk about this the night before, but Jiang Xue’s accident had thrown off her plans.

Although spring hadn’t arrived yet, Zhong Zijun was already busy with work every day. Hearing that her daughter’s job would be easier made her happy.

After chatting for a bit, Gu Qinghuan left—she still had a lot to do today.

She was going to the school to help out, not to teach classes.

Lately, whenever she had something to do, she’d send the two kids to Chen Fengqin’s house. Even though she always brought food as thanks, she still felt a bit embarrassed.

So today, she decided to just bring the kids along.

There would be a lot of people at school registration before the semester started, and she didn’t feel comfortable letting the kids run around. Gu Qinghuan decided to lock them in the dorm to review their homework.

After breakfast, she heated up ten steamed buns and ten large meat buns, packed some spicy pickled cabbage and cold rabbit, and brought a jar of homemade chili sauce. That would be their meals for the day.

She also grabbed a bag of vegetables from the cellar. Since the new semester was just starting and things were hectic, she figured she wouldn’t be coming home at night for a few days—she’d wait until the weekend to return.

Once everything was packed, the family set off with bags in tow.

Passing by the cowshed, she greeted Ji Linhai and asked him to keep an eye on the house for her.

Ji Linhai readily agreed, and also asked her for a favor.

“When you come back from the commune, could you bring me a box of that hand cream you women use? What’s it called again?” Ji Linhai wasn’t too familiar with such things.

As one of the “stinking intellectuals” in the cowshed, it was hard for him to get to the commune, so he could only ask Gu Qinghuan for help.

Now that the weather was warming up, he was not only working but also hunting again. Most of the game he caught, he had Gu Qinghuan help process—he needed the money.

“Clam oil hand cream?”

“Yes, that’s the one.” Ji Linhai remembered seeing someone use it before.

Gu Qinghuan wondered why he wanted to buy that. Was it for Zhong Zijun? Oh well, she was in a hurry and didn’t have time to speculate.

“Alright, I’ll be back this weekend.” With that, Gu Qinghuan hopped on her bike and rode off.

Ji Linhai had already set traps in the mountains early that morning and would collect them in the evening.

Now he had to get to work.

Most families in the village were still “wintering,” doing odd jobs at home since the ground was frozen and couldn’t be dug or planted.

But people like him couldn’t rest. He was responsible for clearing the snow-covered roads in the village every day to prevent people and livestock from slipping.

After finishing his own work, he’d go help Zhong Zijun. She’d recently been assigned to compost duty, which was hard, dirty, and smelly work—dealing with manure every day.

Even though their lives were a mess, he still saw Zhong Zijun as a rare orchid blooming in a secluded valley.

He didn’t want her to do such work, but she wouldn’t let him do it alone.

So every day, he finished his own tasks as quickly as possible, then went to help her, hoping to lighten her load.

He also had his own little selfish reason—he wanted to see her every day.

After more than forty years, this was the first time he’d ever liked someone. Of course his feelings were deep and passionate!

—

When Gu Qinghuan arrived at the school, Lin Xiaomeng was already there.

She’d also brought Dacheng along.

The two of them quickly agreed to lock all three kids in Gu Qinghuan’s dorm and set them up with homework.

The three could do their assignments and play together.

“Dacheng, be nice to your little brother and sister. No bullying,” Lin Xiaomeng reminded him, a bit embarrassed because of what had happened before.

Thinking back to what she’d said then, she still felt awkward—she didn’t know what had gotten into her.

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried—not because she trusted Dacheng, but because she trusted Dabao. He wouldn’t let himself or his sister be bullied.

The time Dabao managed to flip Dacheng over wasn’t a fluke—he really had a knack for fighting and could easily hold his own against Dacheng.

Now, with better nutrition, he’d grown taller and stronger. Who would bully whom was anyone’s guess.

So Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried at all.

Kids need to socialize, so she let them work things out on their own.

Under Lin Xiaomeng’s careful guidance, Dacheng had become much more well-behaved and sensible, a far cry from the unruly child he’d once been.

Gu Qinghuan knew what Dacheng had been like in the book—he didn’t care about anyone, not even his own mother, and was often beaten and scolded.

For him to change this much was already a huge improvement, and she was genuinely happy for Lin Xiaomeng.

She’d been reborn, and through her own efforts, had changed her son’s fate and was working hard to change her own. Everything was moving in a positive direction.

See? Even without the blessing of the “fortune spring,” you could still accomplish a lot.

The two of them locked the door and hurried to the school meeting room, arriving neither early nor late, and found an inconspicuous seat.

When Wan Rong saw them come in, she shot them a fierce glare, then turned to whisper to the teacher beside her.

The two of them pretended not to notice.

The teaching staff at the commune school was mostly middle-aged and older. There were some young people, but not many—most were in their thirties or forties, with even a few teachers in their fifties.

There was also a gender imbalance—more male teachers than female. Besides the two of them, there were only a few other female teachers, including Wan Rong and Chen Fang.

No wonder everyone had looked so surprised yesterday when the school hired two new female teachers at once—especially two so attractive.

Once everyone had arrived, it was about 8:30.

The principal gave a brief speech and began assigning tasks.

Homeroom teachers were mainly responsible for student registration, while subject teachers assisted as needed.

The most important task was collecting tuition fees—there could be no mistakes with that."

"Chapter 251: Lin Muyang, the Student Who Owes Tuition