Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Double Blessings for Zhu Chunlin, School Landslide

Working in the fields means facing the earth all day, back to the sky—hot, exhausting, dirty, and tough.

But the workers making soap only need to sit in the workshop every day. The work itself is simple, just physically demanding.

So, it’s actually a pretty good job.

People lined up in droves to sign up.

Soap making mainly tests your physical strength—nothing else. After a simple strength test, Xu Huainian temporarily picked just three people.

Two of them were among the strongest men in the village, the kind who always earned full work points.

The other was Zhu Chunlin, a “zhiqing” (educated youth sent to the countryside).

Since the zhiqing were also part of the collective, there was no restriction on them signing up.

Everyone assumed the zhiqing were all weaklings, but they overlooked Zhu Chunlin, the big, honest guy.

It was just the right timing—Zhu Chunlin had been getting up early and working late every day to build his house, and now it was finally finished and he’d moved in.

Then, with the village recruiting for workers, he came straight over.

All that house-building had made him stronger than ever, and he stood out among the other men.

Xu Huainian knew him—he was the only zhiqing whose work he actually approved of. He never slacked off, was careful in his tasks, just a bit simple-minded, but that was just fine.

So Xu Huainian made the decision on the spot to hire him.

A lot of people in the village grumbled about this, thinking he was favoring outsiders over his own people by picking a zhiqing.

But Xu Huainian was the factory director, so what he said went. No amount of backdoor pleading would change his mind.

And he was proven right—Zhu Chunlin, at least, was educated, and while he worked hard, he also paid attention and learned quickly.

During the trial period, it turned out Zhu Chunlin’s soap was more evenly made and faster than the other two men’s. He picked up the key points right away.

He was meticulous and attentive—a great choice for the job.

With Xu Huainian leading his five-person team, working overtime and dividing up tasks, efficiency improved a lot.

He also gradually figured out some tricks for management and division of labor.

Zhu Chunlin and Lin Shengnan’s new house was finished. They only invited a few close zhiqing friends and some village officials.

Gu Qinghuan was also invited.

She brought a generous pile of gifts: a wall clock, a new flashlight, a stylish tea set with a teapot and ten cups, all looking quite fancy.

There were also bed sheets, a bolt of cloth, and some cotton for making new quilts—Gu Qinghuan had noticed last time that their old quilt was small and thin, definitely not warm enough for winter.

Lin Shengnan was due to give birth later in the year, and would need to keep warm.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t spent a penny on these gifts.

The couple were honest to a fault—since they’d agreed to split the profits from selling loaches, every time Zhu Chunlin came to sell, he’d leave half the money with her.

Over time, Gu Qinghuan had helped them save nearly a hundred yuan.

She used some of that money to buy these gifts, and there was still plenty left.

Gu Qinghuan decided that when Lin Shengnan gave birth later in the year, she’d use the rest to buy things for her postpartum recovery and for the baby.

Of course, she brought all these gifts over quietly, not letting anyone else know.

At first, they didn’t want to accept them, but after Gu Qinghuan’s repeated persuasion, they finally did.

Thanks to the extra income from selling loaches and eels with Gu Qinghuan, and with the house built, they even had some savings—not exactly struggling anymore.

The new house had all the basic furniture, made by Xu the carpenter—sturdy and durable.

With Gu Qinghuan’s gifts arranged, the place finally felt like a real home.

The meal wasn’t fancy, but it was decent.

Zhu Chunlin specially bought a pound of pork to make a big pot of pork and beans, and caught some carp from the river to stew with tofu—delicious and fresh.

There were also local favorites: raw veggies to dip in sauce.

A plate of egg sauce on the table, a bunch of dishes spread out, and it was time to eat.

Any family doing well in the village would make their own soybean paste, and this was the season for it.

After getting married, Lin Shengnan had become more and more skilled at running a household, and this year she joined the other women in making soybean paste.

When she first came to the northeast, she couldn’t get used to the salty paste, but now she liked it.

Every year, in the twelfth and second lunar months, people make the base for the paste, and after it ferments, they pick a day in early, mid, or late April to finish it.

There’s nothing fancy or high-tech about this paste, but it’s fragrant and tasty, and everyone’s version tastes a little different.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t get used to anyone else’s paste—she didn’t like Chen Fengqin’s, for example.

But she found Lin Shengnan’s paste surprisingly good, and the more she ate, the more she liked it.

She ended up eating all the cucumbers on the table with the paste.

Lin Shengnan laughed, “I invited you for a meal, and you just gnawed on cucumbers!”

“It’s because your paste is so good!” Gu Qinghuan said, holding up a cucumber innocently.

“If you like it, come over anytime—there’s plenty in the jar.”

“Great, I won’t stand on ceremony. And you shouldn’t either. I’ve got some kimchi at my place—you said it whets your appetite, right? Come get some whenever you want.” Gu Qinghuan smiled.

“Deal! Ever since I got pregnant, my tastes have changed—I love sour and spicy stuff. Your kimchi is great. Teach me how to make it sometime. Next year I’ll make a couple jars myself—it’s even better than sauerkraut!”

As they chatted, Chen Jianghe, sitting across from them, kept staring at Gu Qinghuan.

He hadn’t seen her in a while.

She seemed to shine brighter and brighter, while he grew more and more gloomy.

He still hadn’t dared tell his family about his marriage. Xu Meiling was due to give birth in a couple of months and was making a fuss at home, wanting him to write to his family about it.

He had to work for work points and take care of Xu Meiling—the house was a mess, and he was at his wit’s end.

His former sidekick and roommate, Zhu Chunlin, was now doing better than him.

A new house, a pregnant wife, the two of them working together to keep their home in order, handling everything as a team.

Chen Jianghe was deeply envious.

Only after experiencing things do you realize what you truly want. He used to have big ambitions, thinking he deserved the best.

Life had played a cruel joke on him. Now, all he wanted was an ordinary life, but he couldn’t even have that.

Looking at someone else’s wife, then at his own “pig” at home, he wanted nothing more than to throw himself into the river and drown.

Sometimes he wondered: what if he’d married Gu Qinghuan? How different would things be?

Anyway, anything would be better than now.

Gu Qinghuan shot him a glare and kept chatting with Lin Shengnan.

With a new house and a decent job, Zhu Chunlin truly had double blessings.

Lin Shengnan finally felt at ease, believing their life would only get better from here.

Everyone enjoyed the meal—except Chen Jianghe.

With three new soap workers, Xu Huainian led the team to successfully fulfill an order for 10,000 bars of soap, earning 1,500 yuan.

This time, Gu Qinghuan didn’t even need to remind him.

He started stocking up on his own, filling the warehouse with soap, ready to supply at any time.

The factory’s business was finally on track.

Gu Qinghuan left it alone—she’d paved the way, and as long as Xu Huainian wasn’t foolish, he’d know what to do.

End of May

It rained for half a month straight, and Gu Qinghuan had to stay at the school.

One night, she was woken by a loud bang.

She got up to check what was going on.

Lin Xiaomeng got up too, and the two of them went out together.

As soon as they reached the front yard, they heard someone shouting, “Quick, the girls’ dorm wall collapsed! Get help!”

Their hearts pounding, they rushed out into the rainy night with just a flashlight, not even bothering with umbrellas.

There were still so many students in the dorm—if something happened, it would be a disaster.

The girls’ dorm was built against the mountain and was pretty old. Because of the prolonged rain, there had been a landslide—rocks tumbled down and smashed into the already fragile wall, which collapsed.

When Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng arrived, several teachers were already there. In the emergency, even the male teachers rushed in, not caring about propriety.

The girls were crying and shouting, checking on each other—chaos everywhere.

Luckily, the rocks hit the middle of the wall, and the beds were on either side, so there were no major casualties.

Only two girls whose beds were near the wall were injured by the falling bricks.

Gu Qinghuan kept calm, directing the uninjured girls to follow Lin Xiaomeng to a safe place to calm down.

She comforted the two injured girls and had two male teachers carry them out—this place was no longer safe.

Principal Chen and other teachers soon arrived and began moving the rest of the students to safety.

With nowhere else to go in the middle of the night, Gu Qinghuan brought the two injured girls to her own dorm.

She gave them clean clothes, a cup of spiritual spring water, checked their injuries, cleaned and bandaged their wounds, and made sure there were no broken bones before relaxing.

Lin Xiaomeng took the frightened girls to her dorm and made them ginger tea.

Only then did the two of them have time to change out of their own soaked clothes.

When it rains, it pours—who could have expected this?

Luckily, everyone was evacuated in time, because later that night, a few more dorm rooms were crushed by falling rocks.

No one got any sleep that night.

Early the next morning, the two injured girls were sent to the county hospital for treatment.

Principal Chen called a meeting to brainstorm solutions.

After the disaster, it was clear the girls’ dorm was no longer safe.

Fortunately, the teachers had risked their safety to retrieve the girls’ belongings.

Some helpful family members were organizing fires to dry the girls’ wet bedding.

Principal Chen was in a tough spot.

The school had no money to repair, let alone rebuild, the dorms.

Even repairs wouldn’t work—if more rocks fell, it would still be dangerous.

In the end, the meeting didn’t produce any answers. After all, you can’t cook without rice—without money, nothing could be done.

Principal Chen could only have the logistics teacher clear out two unused classrooms for the girls to stay in for now.

As for the dorms, they’d have to take it one step at a time.

Luckily, the weather was warm, so it didn’t matter much where they slept.

When Gu Qinghuan learned of Principal Chen’s predicament, she had an idea.

She’d gotten Old Wang’s treasure before—now was the time to put it to use. It would be a good deed for Old Wang’s family, helping them accumulate merit and hopefully reincarnate soon.

Gu Qinghuan wrote a letter to Principal Chen with her left hand, saying she was voluntarily donating two gold bars to help the school rebuild.

She signed the letter as Wang Zhiyuan, with his seal.

Principal Chen thought it was a prank at first, but when he checked, there really were two gold bars in the envelope.

Whoever Wang Zhiyuan was, those two gold bars had solved the school’s urgent crisis."

"Chapter 274: ""Why Not Eat Meat Porridge?"" — Wang Ruolan

No matter when, gold bars are always hard currency.

With them, the school’s financial pressure could be eased, and the children’s dormitory problem could be solved.

Principal Chen was deeply grateful to Wang Zhiyuan, but after asking around, he couldn’t find any information about him, so he let it go.

The school began to relocate and build new dormitories. Soon, the children would have new rooms to live in.

Mid-June.

The children finished their final exams for junior high and graduated.

Gu Qinghuan was assigned to the county for two days as an exam proctor, staying at the county guesthouse for a few days to grade papers.

Each exam paper represented a child’s hope, and she felt a nervousness reminiscent of her own student days.

When the results came out, even someone as calm as Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but tear up.

The two classes she taught set a new record for Chinese scores, with the children performing exceptionally well. Their commune ranked first in the county for Chinese.

At the school meeting, Principal Chen specifically praised her by name.

Lin Muyang also ended his teaching career at the commune’s elementary school on a perfect note. His students’ math scores were excellent, with Wang Qingchuan earning the county’s top score—a perfect mark.

Out of over 120 students in the two classes, more than 70 were admitted to the county high school.

In the best previous year, only 50 made it, and in the worst, barely a dozen.

Such results were unprecedented, setting a new record. The county meeting also gave special recognition to their school.

But this kind of achievement couldn’t be easily replicated. This year, it was a perfect combination of timing, location, and people—both main subjects had excellent teachers.

Principal Chen decided to give all the teachers of these two classes an extra half-jin of meat coupons.

By all rights, Lin Muyang should have been delighted with these results, but he didn’t seem happy.

Gu Qinghuan was puzzled.

“Mr. Lin, why do you look dissatisfied? These results are already excellent.”

Lin Muyang shook his head. “It’s not that I’m dissatisfied. On the contrary, I’m very proud of these kids.

I just feel sorry for those who didn’t get in. For most of them, the rest of their lives will probably be spent toiling in the fields. But there’s nothing we can do.

That’s just how this world works—survival of the fittest.

And even for those who did get in, who knows how many will actually be able to attend high school?” At this, Lin Muyang let out a long sigh.

Gu Qinghuan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Even if they get in, they might not go?”

Lin Muyang knew Gu Qinghuan must have come from a good background, so it was normal for her not to understand the situation of poor families.

“Even though more than 70 got in this time, if half of them can actually go to county high school, that’s already good.

For most families, getting their kids through junior high is already the limit.

High school is even more expensive, and many families simply can’t afford it. Plus, kids this age are already the main labor force at home—they can earn work points.”

With that explanation, Gu Qinghuan finally understood.

“Don’t the parents feel it’s a pity? The kids worked so hard to get in. If they finish high school, they can get better jobs! Can’t they just push through?” She couldn’t understand their thinking.

“Ms. Gu, you’re sounding a bit like ‘why not eat meat porridge’ now.

Do you know that just the tuition for one semester of high school is ten yuan? Then there are notebooks, pens, and other fees. Room and board cost extra.

All told, sending a child to school for a semester costs the family dozens of yuan. For a year, it’s over a hundred. And high school is two years. How many rural families can afford that?”

A nearby teacher chimed in, disagreeing.

Gu Qinghuan blushed with embarrassment.

Born under the red flag, raised in the spring breeze, she had never realized that in this era, getting into high school—and actually being able to attend—was a luxury.

After all, in later generations, parents would do anything for their children’s education, pouring in money just to get them into a good high school and university.

Now she finally understood why, after the results came out, some were happy while others were sad, and even those who should have been happy didn’t show it on their faces.

They already knew their fate.

Seeing her embarrassment, Lin Muyang quickly added, “Ms. Gu, you’re a zhiqing from Beijing. It’s normal not to know how things are here.”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t even know how she made it back to her dorm. She just felt enveloped by a cloud of gloom.

She could accept adults suffering, but seeing these children suffer was especially hard for her.

If it was because they didn’t work hard or lacked talent, she could accept it.

But most of them had worked so hard, hoping to change their fate through study.

Yet even that was out of reach.

It was just too heartbreaking.

She didn’t even cook dinner, just pulled the covers over her head and slept. When the children came back from school, they thought she was sick. After checking her forehead and finding no fever, they were relieved.

The two little ones reheated some steamed buns for themselves, finished their homework, and reviewed their lessons.

Their own final exams were coming up soon.

Gu Qinghuan slept straight through until midnight.

In the stillness of the night, her stomach rumbled with hunger.

Seeing the buns the children had left on the table, she got up to fetch the kettle and pour some hot water to go with the cold buns.

Just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard a cat’s meow, startling her.

No one in this courtyard kept a cat. Why would there be a cat meowing? That didn’t make sense!

Something was up!

Gu Qinghuan quietly lifted a corner of the window paper and peeked outside.

A short figure flashed past her window.

In the moonlight, Gu Qinghuan clearly saw that the figure was… Wang Ruolan from her class.

The girl who scored second in the whole school this time. She was usually quiet, always burying herself in her studies—a very hardworking girl.

Now that the results were out, why wasn’t she home? What was she doing sneaking into the staff dormitory in the middle of the night?

With suspicion in her heart, Gu Qinghuan quietly opened a crack in the door and watched as Wang Ruolan entered one of the staff rooms.

That was… Fang Youde’s room?

Fang Youde was the older bachelor with his nose in the air, the one left after all the picking and choosing.

He taught history and usually had little to do with Gu Qinghuan.

But according to Lin Xiaomeng, he was a real smooth talker, always slicking himself up.

Late at night, a single male teacher and a young female student—no wonder her mind went to dark places, imagining all sorts of inappropriate scenarios.

She’d never heard of them being related. Even if they were, there was no reason for a child to be called over at this hour.

The more she thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. To confirm her suspicions, she tiptoed to Fang Youde’s door.

The door was already closed. She could only press her ear to it and listen.

The two seemed to be arguing over money. Their voices were low, but Gu Qinghuan caught the gist.

“Didn’t you say you’d pay for my high school?” the girl said in surprise.

“Yeah, I’ll give you ten yuan. Isn’t that enough?” the man replied carelessly.

“Ten yuan only covers one semester’s tuition. I still have to eat. You have to give me at least thirty,” the girl’s voice trembled, on the verge of tears.

“Don’t push your luck! Ten yuan is already a lot. You just have to lie down here and you’ll earn more than your parents make in a month.”

“You liar! You’re going back on your word!” the girl broke down, crying.

Fang Youde, losing patience, grabbed the girl and threw her onto the bed, pressing himself on top of her.

After that, all Gu Qinghuan heard were chaotic sounds and the girl’s muffled sobs.

She thought, This is bad! Fang Youde, that beast—how dare he!

In that instant, many thoughts flashed through her mind. If she shouted now and called everyone over,

Fang Youde might get what he deserved, but Wang Ruolan’s life would be ruined.

She was so young—she couldn’t bear the stigma of “having an affair with a teacher.”

From what she’d heard, there was some kind of transaction involved, and Wang Ruolan was clearly not willing.

Time was running out. She didn’t know exactly what was happening inside. After weighing her options, she gritted her teeth and knocked on Fang Youde’s door.

Inside, the people froze, their breathing stalling in panic. “Who is it?” came the nervous question.

Gu Qinghuan tried to keep her voice light. “Mr. Fang, are you still up? I need to borrow something—could you open the door?”

“It’s Ms. Gu? I’m already in bed. Can it wait until tomorrow?”

Fang Youde had no idea why Gu Qinghuan, who had nothing to do with him, would come knocking at this hour.

Lying desperately on the kang, her clothes pulled open, Wang Ruolan heard Gu Qinghuan’s voice and a glimmer of hope flashed in her tear-filled eyes.

She regretted it all—she wished so much that Gu Qinghuan would save her!

Fang Youde clamped his hand over her mouth, whispering in her ear, “If you dare call for help, you’ll regret it!”

Wang Ruolan fell silent. She knew that if she screamed, she’d be ruined, maybe even dragged out for public criticism.

Seeing that he was stubbornly refusing to open the door, Gu Qinghuan grew angry.

“Mr. Fang, do you want me to call someone else over?”"

"Chapter 275: You’ve Already Been Very Brave

This sentence sounded normal on the surface, but it carried many hidden meanings. Fang Youde instantly understood Gu Qinghuan’s threat.

Gu Qinghuan clearly already knew what he’d done—she was threatening him. If he didn’t open the door, she’d call everyone over to see for themselves!

Fang Youde gritted his teeth in hatred. This Gu Qinghuan—always ruining his plans.

But he could also tell that Gu Qinghuan wanted to protect this girl. The fact that she hadn’t directly called others to catch him showed she wanted to spare Wang Ruolan.

People with weaknesses aren’t scary; what’s scary is someone who’s determined to burn all bridges. That would be trouble.

Fang Youde couldn’t even be bothered to pretend anymore. He let go of Wang Ruolan, got up, and opened the door. He understood that Gu Qinghuan already knew everything.

Gu Qinghuan looked at him, this scoundrel in a scholar’s guise, and wished she could bash his head in.

But in the end, she held back her anger and walked straight into the room.

Earlier, Fang Youde had worried that turning on the light would attract attention, so he’d only lit a single candle in the corner.

By the dim candlelight, she saw Wang Ruolan curled up on the kang bed.

She was hugging herself, huddled in the corner, her tear-filled eyes looking at Gu Qinghuan—full of fear, grievance, and despair.

“Come with me,” Gu Qinghuan said gently, reaching out her hand.

Wang Ruolan hadn’t expected Teacher Gu to actually come save her. She glanced at Fang Youde, and seeing he didn’t react, she quickly scrambled off the bed and hid behind Gu Qinghuan.

Gu Qinghuan shot Fang Youde a final look and lowered her voice: “How can a school have someone as disgusting as you? Shame on you! You’d better watch yourself—if this happens again, it won’t be as simple as today.”

Fang Youde wasn’t ashamed at all. He shrugged nonchalantly. “No, even if it happens again, you’ll still cover for me, won’t you? I never force anyone. It’s all voluntary. Ask her—wasn’t it voluntary?”

Since coming to this era, Gu Qinghuan had never loathed anyone so much—she wanted to kill him. Her heart felt like it was roasting over a fire, anxious and miserable.

In a way, he’d hit her weak spot. If something like this happened again, Gu Qinghuan might still choose to protect the children’s reputations. Times were different; she couldn’t judge people by modern standards.

Wang Ruolan shook her head nervously, clutching Gu Qinghuan’s arm tightly. She didn’t want this—she’d just been forced into a corner.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t need to look back to know how tense the girl was.

“Those who do evil will meet their own destruction. Just wait and see!”

With that, she took Wang Ruolan back to her own dorm.

Wang Ruolan sat on the edge of her kang, her legs still trembling. After all, she was just a child—faced with something so big, she was terrified.

Gu Qinghuan poured her a glass of water and handed it over. “Here, drink some water and soothe your throat.”

Wang Ruolan took it, and only then did her heart finally settle.

“Thank you, Teacher Gu. If it weren’t for you, I might have…” She wouldn’t have walked out of that room—maybe never in her whole life.

At that moment, she’d already made up her mind: if she couldn’t keep studying, so be it.

Gu Qinghuan took a sip of water herself and tried to keep her tone calm. “Can you tell me why you did this? Was this the first time, or…?” Was this something that had happened many times already?

In the end, Gu Qinghuan couldn’t bring herself to ask. It would be too cruel for a young girl.

Wang Ruolan’s tears fell before she could speak, but she stubbornly wiped them away.

“My brigade is the poorest in the whole commune. In other brigades, a work point can be worth eight cents or even a dime. In ours, it’s only three cents. My parents can both earn full work points, and I help out whenever I can, but after a year, aside from grain, there’s barely any money left for us.

I have a younger brother at home. My parents said they really can’t afford to support me anymore.

Teacher Gu, if I really can’t keep up with my studies, I won’t struggle anymore.

But I really love studying. I want so badly to go to high school.” Wang Ruolan covered her mouth with a handkerchief, crying silently, afraid anyone would hear.

Seeing her pain, Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but cry as well.

After Wang Ruolan had cried enough and composed herself, she continued, “Once, he asked me to go to his dorm, saying he’d tutor me one-on-one. He got really close and even touched my hand.

Actually, I already knew what he was thinking. After that, I tried my best to avoid him.

He hinted many times that if I went along with him, he’d give me money. I refused every time.

Yesterday, I was packing to go home when he found me and said if I agreed… he’d pay for me to go to high school.

I wanted to study so much, so I agreed.

If I stop studying, I’ll probably end up getting married and having kids soon, becoming just another nobody, like my older cousin.” Wang Ruolan’s voice was a little dazed.

Gu Qinghuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief—at least things hadn’t reached the worst point.

“Thank you for saving me, Teacher Gu. When I was lying there, being bullied by him, I already regretted it.

Maybe I’ll regret this in the future, but compared to selling myself for a chance to study, not studying doesn’t seem so bad.

If you hadn’t saved me today, I don’t think I’d ever be able to face myself again.” She finished and bowed deeply to Gu Qinghuan.

Gu Qinghuan hurriedly helped her up.

“You’ve already been very brave. Even though you’re in pain and misunderstood, you still found strength in your own life.

You’re also outstanding. In such harsh conditions, under so much pressure, you still managed to get second place in the whole school.

Honestly, I really admire your courage to keep fighting and striving upward.

But this way of surviving by sacrificing yourself isn’t something I can encourage.

Let’s forget about this. I’ll pretend I never saw anything. We’ll keep this to ourselves.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to drop out. Leave everything to me. For now, just get some sleep.” Gu Qinghuan comforted her, making space at the end of the kang for her to rest.

Gu Qinghuan’s words warmed Wang Ruolan’s hopeless heart. No one had ever praised her like this—brave, outstanding—such beautiful words, words she’d almost felt unworthy of.

A new hope grew inside her.

Could she really keep studying?

That night, neither Gu Qinghuan nor Wang Ruolan could sleep. Their hearts were too troubled.

This usually shy and reserved girl told her teacher so much—things she’d never dared say aloud before.

She said her dream was to become the brigade secretary one day, to lead the villagers to work hard and earn more, to change the backward situation in her village, and to raise the value of a work point from three cents to a dime, or even a whole yuan.

She thought her teacher would laugh at her for being unrealistic, or just treat it as a joke. After all, she’d never seen a female brigade secretary anywhere.

But Teacher Gu affirmed her dream very seriously.

“Ruolan, I believe your dream will come true.

Because you not only have a dream, you’re working for it.

Success is never accidental. It takes continuous effort.

Every goal requires wisdom and hard work—there are no shortcuts.

The ordinary days you’ve lived, the energy you’ve stored, the knowledge you’ve accumulated, will one day become stars lighting your path.

One day, you’ll see the meaning of persistence and get the answer you’ve been seeking.”

Wang Ruolan couldn’t help but cry again.

At that moment, her trust in Gu Qinghuan even surpassed that in her own parents.

To be respected and affirmed like this—it felt wonderful.

From birth, she’d been fighting against the world: against her parents’ disapproval, against discrimination against girls, against those who wanted her to give up studying, against her own uncertainty and timidity.

She often asked herself: Is it worth it to keep going? Would it all end in disappointment?

But now, she had her answer.

She had to keep going. She had to prove she was right.

Later, she got into university—not only fulfilling her original dream, but even surpassing it.

She never forgot her dream. After graduating from the agricultural university, she returned home and used her expertise to support the development of local agriculture.

Once her job was stable, she brought her parents to live with her so they could enjoy their old age.

Her success inspired many people. They began to realize that girls were worth educating too.

Girls could carve out their own place in the world.

But that’s a story for another time.

As dawn approached, the two finally dozed off for a while, exhausted.

When Dabao and Beibei woke up and saw a big sister in the house, they were amazed, circling around her with questions, not wanting her to leave.

Wang Ruolan was also very fond of these polite little ones.

Gu Qinghuan got up and cooked a pot of mixed grain porridge, fried four soft-boiled eggs, and served a plate of pickled long beans. That was breakfast.

Wang Ruolan blushed and said, “Teacher Gu, I’ve troubled you long enough. I’ll go back to my dorm now.”

Gu Qinghuan pulled her back. “Eat first! One more bowl of rice won’t make a difference.”

“Are you going home today? Do you have a lot to carry? Can you manage by yourself?” Gu Qinghuan asked, seeing her just quietly drinking porridge, and gave her an egg.

Wang Ruolan took a precious little bite. She hadn’t tasted eggs in ages, let alone a fried one glistening with oil—it looked delicious.

Eggs at home were a crucial source of income for her studies. Except for the occasional one for her brother, she’d always begged her mother to save the rest to sell.

“Thank you, Teacher. I’ll head home soon—there’s a lot of work to do. Don’t worry, I may look skinny, but I’m actually very strong. I’ll be fine.” Wang Ruolan looked up and smiled, revealing two cute little tiger teeth.

Honestly, the girl looked lovely when she smiled—like an unripe fruit.

Fang Youde did have some taste, but it was all in the wrong direction.

He’d actually tried to prey on such a young girl. If murder weren’t illegal, Gu Qinghuan would have killed him herself."

"Chapter 276: Sponsoring Students, Home Visits