With just a few words from Jiang Cheng, He Dan’s expression changed drastically, becoming extremely unpleasant.

Upon hearing this, Mother Lin felt somewhat tempted, but she was concerned about the six hundred yuan that He Dan had contributed, making it difficult for her to take any immediate action.

Thinking of this, Mother Lin immediately grabbed He Dan’s hand.

“Jiang Cheng, stop trying to sow discord. He Dan is like my own daughter!”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but laugh, her voice clear and strong.

“Your daughter’s title is really cheap.”

Reminded by Jiang Cheng, everyone recalled that Mother Lin had said the same thing to Jiang Cheng just yesterday.

“Mom, I believe you. We are family.”

He Dan was not foolish; her words gave Mother Lin a way to save face.

Mother Lin immediately regained her confidence and said, “Exactly, we are the real family!”

Jiang Cheng ignored Mother Lin’s sarcastic tone, turned around, and waved her hand gracefully, humming a tune.

“Fish find fish, shrimp find shrimp, turtles find mung beans—truly a family! You work hard for one, happiness for the whole family. What goes around comes around.”

With her clever words, Jiang Cheng entered the Shen family’s house, closing the door behind her and blocking the outside view.

Mother Lin was furious. She felt that Jiang Cheng was cursing and mocking her, but she couldn’t lose her temper.

Yesterday, Lin Chengyuan had told her to keep a low profile recently, otherwise, if something went wrong with his work, it would not be worth it.

Mother Lin’s pent-up anger could only be vented on the dazed Lin Jiaojiao.

“What are you staring at? Can you see flowers? You do nothing all day, just eat with your mouth open! You cook today!”

Lin Jiaojiao, startled by Mother Lin’s shout, finally snapped out of her daze.

“Mom—Jiang Cheng, she—”

“Don’t mention her to me!”

Mother Lin was dissatisfied with Lin Jiaojiao’s stupidity. If she had the ability, she should crush Jiang Cheng, but she didn’t have the capability and only ended up making a mess of herself.

Lin Jiaojiao pouted.

“Mom, how can I cook?”

“Can’t you learn if you don’t know how?”

Mother Lin shouted angrily, and another argument ensued over who should cook.

In the end, Mother Lin and He Dan cooked together, and Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t escape either.

Jiang Cheng paid no attention to these matters.

The Lin family had their own troubles to deal with!

At the Shen family’s house across the way, Jiang Cheng took out eight pieces of fruit candy, giving two each to Shen Xing, Shen Yue, and Grandma Shen, and popped one into her own mouth.

“Sweeten your mouths.”

Shen Xing and Shen Yue looked at Grandma Shen.

Grandma Shen wanted to refuse.

“Grandma Shen, you spoke up for me earlier. Now, are you refusing my token of gratitude because it’s too little?”

Grandma Shen was speechless.

Although she didn’t know Jiang Cheng very well, she felt that this girl had a way with words.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

Grandma Shen agreed, and Shen Xing and Shen Yue thanked her, taking the candies. They didn’t throw away the wrappers after opening them but treasured them by tucking them into their books.

The scent of oranges filled the small dining table, sweet and heartwarming.

For dinner, there were multigrain pancakes, cabbage soup, and pickled mustard greens.

After dinner, Grandma Shen went to wash the dishes. Seeing this, Jiang Cheng decided to watch the two children do their homework.

Shen Xing was in second grade, and Shen Yue was in preschool, about to start first grade in September.

Jiang Cheng noticed Shen Xing had made a mistake in his math problem and reminded him. After he corrected it, she nodded in approval.

“Sister Jiang Cheng, they say you never went to school. How do you know these things?”

Jiang Cheng was holding an elementary school Chinese textbook. She gently flipped a page with her index finger and said in the calmest tone:

“Because I am naturally talented and cannot abandon it.”

Shen Xing’s eyes widened, his young mind greatly shocked. Can people really praise themselves like this?

“Isn’t it ‘naturally beautiful and cannot abandon it’?”

Jiang Cheng put down the book and looked at Shen Xing seriously. “Shen Xing, let me tell you something. There are always some special people in this world.”

“For example, me. I am both beautiful and exceptionally talented. Sometimes I think, why was I born to leave no room for others? Since I exist, why are there ordinary people?”

Shen Xing forced a smile.

He was wrong.

People can not only praise themselves like this but also go even further.

“Sister is the most beautiful!”

Shen Yue, on the other hand, didn’t have as many thoughts. She simply liked Jiang Cheng’s face; it made her happy just looking at it.

Jiang Cheng’s gaze shifted to Shen Yue, and she tapped her little nose with her index finger. “You have good taste and a bright future!”

Shen Yue laughed, revealing her missing front teeth, and immediately covered her mouth with both hands, looking utterly adorable.

The three of them chatted and laughed, and when Grandma Shen returned from washing the dishes, she felt like crying.

It had been so long since the children had been this happy.

Jiang Cheng looked up and stood to face Grandma Shen.

“Grandma Shen, I need to go enroll in night school.”

“Oh? Alright! I have a flashlight here, take it with you. Come back early and take the main road.”

“Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

Jiang Cheng took the silver flashlight, slung a green shoulder bag over her shoulder, left the compound, and headed for the night school.

Jiang Cheng had never thought of hiding her talents. Not only would she not hide them, but she would also establish herself as a linguistic genius.

The sooner she could truly engage in translation work, the sooner she could contribute her part.

As far as she knew, this era was in need of translators, as many important documents required translation.

Along the way, she asked for directions and, with the help of kind and simple-hearted elderly folks, arrived at the night school entrance.

The night school was established to improve the cultural level of the populace, divided into literacy classes and advanced classes.

Literacy classes were self-explanatory, while advanced classes were mostly for workers recommended by various factories to study. After completing the courses, they would be reassigned to different jobs, and the recommendation came with free tuition.

For someone like Jiang Cheng, who came on her own, she had to pay the tuition herself and ensure there were available spots at the night school.

After some casual and friendly chatting with the gatekeeper, Jiang Cheng successfully found the office to enroll.

The person in charge of enrollment was a woman who looked Jiang Cheng up and down.

Another girl trying to find a boyfriend through her looks!
There were quite a few potential backbones studying at the night school, and some young girls came here aiming for them. How shameless.

The woman didn’t want to “aid and abet” this behavior and said, “There are no spots left.”

Jiang Cheng seemed surprised and muttered in confusion, “Uncle Wang said there are still two spots.”

Gatekeeper Uncle Wang: When did I get demoted in seniority?
Enrollment officer Zhao Na was startled. Wang?
The night school principal’s surname was Wang.

And indeed, there were still two spots left.

“Wait a moment!”

Zhao Na pretended to flip through some documents, then asked with an air of granting a huge favor, “What’s your educational background?”

“No formal education.”

Jiang Cheng’s answer made the woman’s mouth twitch downward, exuding an aura of annoyance as she casually tossed a form over.

“Literacy class, seven yuan and eighty cents per semester. Fill this out yourself.”

“Oh, I forgot you can’t read.”

The woman’s schadenfreude and condescension were evident.

“I only said I have no formal education, not that I can’t read.”

Jiang Cheng took the form, glanced at it, and said, “I don’t need the literacy class. I want to enroll in the advanced class.”

“Bang!”

“Do as you’re told. You’ve never been to school a day in your life, what makes you think you can handle the advanced class?”

The woman sneered, clearly impatient.

Jiang Cheng remained unperturbed.

“I have stated my intention to enroll and explained why I don’t need the literacy class. May I ask on what grounds you are preventing me from enrolling in the advanced class?”

“Earlier you said there were no spots, and now there are. Is the night school your personal fiefdom?”

“I am studying to contribute to our country, to help build our nation. Why are you obstructing me at every turn?”

Jiang Cheng’s words were firm and resonant. People outside were already peeking in, and Zhao Na felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

How had it come to this, with her being accused of hindering national progress???

The weight of the accusation was too heavy, suffocating her.

The air was silent for ten seconds.

Jiang Cheng gently placed the enrollment form on the table and said calmly, “You must have made a mistake. Please give me another form.”

Zhao Na gritted her teeth and forced a smile, taking the offered way out.

Jiang Cheng successfully enrolled and smiled lightly at the woman. “See you tomorrow. From now on, we are comrades progressing together.”