Looking at the two children in front of her, Jian Xiu felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Under the dim glow of the oil lamp, the small house felt even cozier.

“Did you both remember the characters I taught you to write just now?” Jian Xiu asked Liu Tou and Qi Tou.

“Mother, we remembered!”

“And what about the math problem from earlier? Did you solve it?”

“Mother, I already figured it out. Is the answer thirty-six?” Liu Tou asked eagerly.

Hearing this, Jian Xiu didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she looked over at Qi Tou, who was still thinking. So, she remained silent.

Sure enough, after a moment, Qi Tou suddenly lifted his head and exclaimed, “Yes, yes, it’s thirty-six! I also got thirty-six!”

“That’s right, it’s thirty-six. You both did very well. Remember the multiplication table I taught you today—you must memorize it by tonight, understand?”

Indeed, today, Jian Xiu had taught the two brothers the multiplication table.

She realized that compared to Zhang Tianyi, the eldest son of the main family in the old house, Liu Tou and Qi Tou had a greater talent for studying.

Fortunately, their family had separated from the old house; otherwise, Liu Tou and Qi Tou’s potential might have been buried.

“Xiu’er, the boys are going to the academy tomorrow, but they still don’t have proper names. When they meet the teacher, we can’t just call them Liu Tou and Qi Tou, right?”

Hearing this, Jian Xiu was momentarily stunned.

“That’s right, we haven’t named them yet. Do you have any ideas?”

Zhang Zixuan pondered for a moment before suggesting, “Why not call them Fei Xuan and Fei Yi? ‘Xuan’ represents nobility, solemnity, and mystery, which is quite good, while ‘Yi’ symbolizes beauty and good fortune. These are truly good names.”

As he spoke, he looked at Jian Xiu very seriously, making her feel a little embarrassed.

To be honest, names didn’t matter much to Jian Xiu; they were just a way to address someone, and she didn’t care too much.

“Hooray! We have names now! We have names!” The two brothers shouted excitedly.

However, standing nearby, Er Ya lowered her head and remained silent, clearly feeling upset.

Liu Tou seemed to understand what Er Ya was thinking and said, “Father, Mother, what about Er Ya? Shouldn’t she also have a proper name?”

Zhang Zixuan had already noticed Er Ya’s expression. His daughter was always obedient and rarely asked for anything.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Zixuan felt sorry for her and smiled warmly. “I actually thought of Er Ya’s name a long time ago—she will be called Zhang Feilan. Er Ya, do you like this name?”

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhang Feilan immediately brightened up with joy.

Seeing this, Zhang Zixuan and Jian Xiu exchanged a glance and shook their heads helplessly.

That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Jian Xiu quietly got up and walked toward the kitchen.

She couldn’t go to Huawen Academy tomorrow empty-handed.

She had already planned it out—she would prepare something new and delicious to bring along to impress the headmaster.

Although Shopkeeper Wu had helped introduce her, whether she could make a good impression still depended on her own efforts.

After much thought, she decided to make something that didn’t exist in this place but was common in the post-apocalyptic world she had lived in before.

On the way back from Jianjia Village, she had already made up her mind—she would bake bread.

She had noticed that the county of Quanyong had many pastries, but bread was nowhere to be found.

So today, she would make bread.

Since the weather wasn’t particularly warm yet, she needed to let the dough ferment properly.

“You’re up so early to make breakfast?”

Just as she was kneading the dough with full concentration, Zhang Zixuan’s voice suddenly came from behind.

“It’s not breakfast. I’m making something new to bring to the academy tomorrow.”

“You’re making something too?” Zhang Zixuan asked curiously.

“You’re not planning to tell me that you’re going to make something as well, are you?” Jian Xiu looked at him in surprise.

At that moment, she noticed that Zhang Zixuan was also holding a bag of flour.

Clearly, he had been planning to make some pastries himself.

“Yes, I was thinking of making something delicate as a token of sincerity,” Zhang Zixuan said, putting the flour down.

“So… should we go with yours or mine?”

“Yours. Mine isn’t that special.”

“I thought so too,” Jian Xiu said bluntly.

Zhang Zixuan: “…”

He realized his wife was quite straightforward.

In fact, after saying that, Jian Xiu felt a little awkward.

She quickly changed the topic and glanced at Zhang Zixuan up and down, as if evaluating him.

Zhang Zixuan felt a little uneasy under her gaze. “Uh… do you need me to help with something?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. What I’m making is both simple and complex. It’s called bread. I need you to get me a few eggs.”

Due to time and equipment limitations, she decided to make the simplest version—a chiffon cake.

Chiffon cake could be steamed, which made things easier for her.

However, beating the egg whites into stiff peaks would be the tricky part.

Luckily, she had just observed Zhang Zixuan and concluded that he was well-suited for the task.

Soon, Zhang Zixuan came back with six eggs.

Looking at the eggs, both Zhang Zixuan and Jian Xiu felt a bit reluctant.

These eggs were a rare treasure.

She usually couldn’t bear to eat them, but now she was using six at once.

It felt like her heart was bleeding.

But thinking about Liu Tou and Qi Tou’s future, Jian Xiu gritted her teeth and took the eggs.

She carefully separated the yolks and whites into two small wooden bowls and handed Zhang Zixuan a pair of chopsticks.

“This is the egg white. You need to whip it until it becomes firm and forms stiff peaks.”

“Firm? Stiff peaks? What do you mean? How can egg whites take shape?”

“If you keep stirring, they will,” Jian Xiu said while focusing on her dough.

Hearing this, Zhang Zixuan didn’t question her. He took the chopsticks and started whisking.

“The faster you can go, the better. That way, it has a higher chance of success.”

Sure enough, after she said this, the sound of rapid stirring became even louder.

Zhang Zixuan had been using his arms a lot recently, so they had become stronger.

Even Jian Xiu was amazed by his speed.

What she didn’t know was that, internally, Zhang Zixuan was utterly bewildered.

In his mind, egg whites were transparent.

No matter how much he stirred, how could they possibly form peaks?

And they had to have sharp tips?

He was starting to suspect that Jian Xiu was just messing with him.