As she spoke, Shen Cui imitated the original’s demeanor, raising her chin, “Besides, I am in charge at the Mu family. Do I still have to come back and be bullied by my sister-in-law?”

The silent struggle between the eldest daughter-in-law’s eyebrows had long been seen by Zheng Shi, who now furrowed her brows and snorted softly, “Would she dare?!”

But after speaking, Zheng Shi knew that Shen Cui was right.

She could ignore Chen Shi thoughts, but Chen Shi still had children under her. If things really escalated, it would hurt the children’s hearts, and it might even affect the relationship between her and her grandson.

“My daughter has really changed now, and she even knows to think of me. How about this, I’ll send you money regularly every month?”

Mu Er Pang has been studying for so long, and Shen Cui has never spent any money on this. Those teaching aids were all provided by the system.

She didn’t want to make money off the system and Mrs. Zheng, so she waved her hand and said that she had enough money on hand. If she really needed money later, she would come to the old couple then.

Mrs. Zheng looked at her suspiciously, as if she almost didn’t recognize her.

Her own daughter refused money?

Shen Cui knew that with more contact, she couldn’t hide her changes from the original owner’s mother, so she simply said, “I told you before, after my illness, I figured out a lot of things. I’m not deceiving you.”

Afraid that Mrs. Zheng wouldn’t believe her, Shen Cui added, “And these days, I’ve been accompanying Er Pang to study, listening to him read a few words here and there, and I’ve gained some insights as well, so my temperament has changed.”

Mrs. Zheng still looked at her with suspicion, but by the time she finished speaking, Shen Cui had already taken off her shoes, leaned on the kang, and assumed the most comfortable position to lie down.

On this sunny day, she lounged on the kang.

She lay there like that, and she was still that same daughter!

And Mrs. Zheng also thought, of course, her daughter had changed from before, but the change was not as great as her grandson’s. Mrs. Zheng really believed that studying could make a big difference in a person.

After accepting this, Mrs. Zheng said again, “Since you don’t want money, you must be lacking something else? Your father and I are in the city, which is more convenient than the village. Tell me if you need anything.”

Just as Mrs. Zheng asked this, Chen Shi coughing could be heard from outside.

There’s no such thing as being so coincidental in this world. Mrs. Zheng snorted coldly and immediately went out to find Chen Shi.

Quarreling on the first day of the new year would bring bad luck for the whole year.

So after Mrs. Zheng went out, she didn’t scold Chen Shi. She just glared at her fiercely.

Mrs. Chen shrank her neck and went back to her room.

Afterwards, Shen Cui was afraid of causing trouble if she stayed longer, so she said that Er Pang still needed to go back to study and write, and it wouldn’t be good to delay. They would come back another day.

Mother and son held hands and returned to Shuiyun Village before dark.

Mu Er Pang was still enthusiastic about practicing calligraphy. When he arrived home, the daylight was just right, so he quickly leaned on the table and started writing.

Shen Cui leaned beside him, still thinking about what Mrs. Zheng had said. She really did have a need now—

Mu Er Pang had been practicing calligraphy on the table all day yesterday, without even using his own desk.

Maybe one day or half a day wouldn’t matter much, but over time, it would definitely be bad for his health. Especially at his age, when his bones were still developing, if he ended up with cervical spondylosis or lumbar spondylosis later, it would be a lifelong issue.

The Mu family used to have a simple wooden desk, but when the original owner drove Mu Yunchuan away, he had taken it away.

And Shen Cui didn’t want something unsuitable. She wanted to get a good desk for her son, so she had to go for the kind of small desk and chair designed according to the child’s size in later generations, which could also correct the child’s sitting posture.

But this idea was indeed too extravagant. Ordinary wood was easy to find, and she could go into the mountains to chop it herself.

But the price of a craftsman was expensive. To make a set of desk and chair, without a few coins for the labor cost, her cheap husband Mu Cheng wouldn’t be able to afford it.

This was just for once, because it was purely handmade, and it would take a lot of time to make a desk. Mu Yunchuan’s desk had also been polished by Mu Cheng himself for half a month when he was still at home.

There were furniture stores in the city, but what they sold was generally for weddings, and they were expensive and not suitable for Mu Er Pang’s size now.

Just then, the system popped up a window for Shen Cui again.

【Item Name: Special Learning Desk and Chair】

【Item Description: A set of desks and chairs suitable for all ages, made of special materials, made into wood table styles suitable for this world. Reading and practicing calligraphy on this can focus your mind and be twice as effective, and you can adjust the height and width with your height and weight without charge each time.】

【Price: 500 points.】

I have to say, the system really had Shen Cui in its grasp again. A set of desks and chairs that could adjust the height along with Mu Er Pang, obviously could be used for many years. Not to mention that reading and practicing calligraphy on it would also have a gain effect.

It’s just the price… Shen Cui looked at the remaining two hundred points in her account and couldn’t help but think: 【I said…】

The system answered with a smile in its voice, “Host, don’t think like that. You still have a calligraphy tutoring task on hand. Upgrade your cooking skills, and you’ll be able to afford it soon!”

As they were talking, Mu Er Pang finished writing a few words and was uncomfortably tilting his chubby head to move his neck.

Shen Cui, who cared about her child’s health education expenses, said when she saw him, “How about this, can I owe you first, and then pay you back after I finish the task?”

“No, host, according to the Interstellar Fairness Principle, you need to contribute labor, complete tasks, and help this system collect data to earn shopping points to buy things that are useful to you.”

This Interstellar fairness Principle had appeared in the content presented by the system more than once, indicating that it was something ingrained in its nature.

After pondering for a while, Shen Cui suddenly changed the subject and asked a different question, “Can you know all my thoughts?”

The system, although puzzled by the quick topic change, patiently explained, “No, host, although you are serving the system, this is a cooperative relationship, and the system will also protect the host’s privacy. Only when the host thinks about things related to the imperial examination task, will the system detect it. Like now, I can only detect that the host’s brain waves are very active, but I don’t know exactly what the host is thinking.”

“Then can you hear what I say to others?”

“Not really, if it involves personal privacy, the host can think in their mind to block the system. As long as it does not violate the system’s rules, the system will not perceive it.”

While they were conversing, Shen Cui was also flipping through the system’s last update log, and she really saw the item “Upgraded Host Privacy Regulations” this time.

Last time, she just glanced at it and had a general impression, but this time she read it carefully again.

It turned out that this system was like the monitoring system in future online games. When she wanted to block the system, as long as specific forbidden words were not used, the system would not issue an alert to intervene.

And the list of forbidden words was long. Shen Cui read it for almost two quarters of an hour before she finished reading the specific content.

“Sigh, speaking of which, we’ve known each other for several days, and I still don’t know your name.”

“I don’t have a name, only a number. My number is 962464.”

Shen Cui suddenly smiled, first blocking the system, then waving her hand to beckon Mu Er Pang to come over and whispered to him for a moment.

Mu Er Pang was puzzled, but he quickly followed suit.

Mu Er Pang knelt down with a thump and shouted, “Happy New Year to Uncle 962464! Er Pang is here to pay his respects to you!”

Then there were three thumps.

After kowtowing, Mu Er Pang was puzzled again, “Mom, who is 962464? Can kowtowing to this number really make me smarter?”

Shen Cui told him not to ask questions for now, and then continued to communicate with the system, saying, “Okay, 962464, Er Pang has paid his respects to you. According to the rules of this world, elders should give children red envelopes as a reward. I don’t want much, just three knocks so let’s make it three hundred shopping points! Of course, your system can dominate over this world, so you don’t have to follow the customs here. But adhering to the Interstellar Fairness Principle, you should also have Er Pang kowtow three times in return. Oh, it’s written in the update log, the system is only upgraded to voice service now, and it needs more energy to upgrade its physical form. You uphold the ‘Interstellar Fairness Principle’ and don’t accept credit, so you can’t owe Er Pang three knocks. Oh dear, what should we do?”

The system: “…”