Du Yun was about to give birth.

In the courtyard, everyone who was home came out.

Though quarrels were common, when something happened, everyone genuinely helped.

Upon hearing the news, Jiang Cheng immediately turned back to her room.

When she came out again, she carried a small bundle of noodles and five eggs into Du Lan’s house.

Du Yun’s family occupied three rooms on the west side of the main house, adjacent to Uncle Sun’s home. The interior was divided into four bedrooms with partitions.

Du Yun had married the second son of the Li family, and the eight-member household lived together in cramped quarters.

“Auntie Li, I came to see Sister Du Yun.”

Jiang Cheng lifted the door curtain with a smile and walked in. Du Yun’s mother-in-law, Auntie Li, immediately noticed what she was carrying.

Auntie Li’s long face instantly brightened with a smile as she took the items with both hands.

“You didn’t have to bring anything.”

“It’s only right.”

Jiang Cheng followed her into the inner room, where Du Yun was lying down.

“Sister Du Yun, I brought you some noodles and eggs. I heard that eating something gives you strength. Have Auntie Li cook them for you later.”

Jiang Cheng immediately mentioned the gifts she had brought, causing Auntie Li’s smile to fade slightly.

She had been thinking of giving them to her eldest grandson, but this girl was quick to speak.

Du Yun, lying on the bed, knew her mother-in-law well. She always thought of her eldest grandson first, regardless of whether the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl.

“Sister Du Yun, I have to go to work now. You focus on giving birth, and after your confinement, come find me.”

“Alright, thank you!”

Jiang Cheng’s words genuinely comforted Du Yun, which was precisely Jiang Cheng’s intention.

A job at the recycling station was never Jiang Cheng’s goal, so there was no need to keep others in suspense.

After Jiang Cheng left, the Li family busied themselves with preparations.

Once outside the Li household, Jiang Cheng walked with Shen Yue, escorting her to school.

Before leaving in the morning, Jiang Cheng had reminded Grandma Shen to pick Shen Yue up after school if possible.

Grandma Shen knew Jiang Cheng wouldn’t say such things without reason, so she agreed without asking further.

At the recycling station, Jiang Cheng chatted with everyone as usual, tidied the office, and worked.

Even though Sister Wang hadn’t been around these past few days, Jiang Cheng kept up with the record-keeping tasks, even speeding up a bit.

When the director came to check on the progress in the morning, he left with a smile on his face.

Seeing this, Du Yun’s distant relative pursed her lips, plotting to visit Du Yun’s house at noon.

At lunch, Jiang Cheng entered the cafeteria with her lunchbox and happened to make eye contact with Sister Kong.

Sister Kong, however, nervously averted her gaze, acting as if she had something to hide.

Jiang Cheng pretended not to notice. Those with guilty consciences would eventually reveal themselves. She ordered a dish and a steamed bun as usual.

Back in the office, while eating alone, Jiang Cheng openly treated herself to an extra meal.

Beef!

Lemon boneless chicken feet!

And a bottle of ice-cold cola!

Refreshing!

After eating and drinking her fill, Jiang Cheng chewed some gum, rinsed her mouth with plain water, and fanned away the smell with a paper fan before continuing her work.

Around three in the afternoon, Jiang Cheng got up to use the restroom.

The recycling station’s restroom was located in the east side of the backyard. It was a pit latrine, divided into men’s and women’s sections.

Fortunately, it was kept clean, so Jiang Cheng could tolerate it.

After using the restroom, Jiang Cheng walked back, hugging the wall, when she suddenly heard voices outside.

“Zei si nei… A yi ga du…”

R language?

Jiang Cheng understood R language.

She quickly crouched down, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she silently pulled out a notepad from her space.

She gently wrote down what she had heard, including the tone and voice, and added the time, location, and her mental analysis at that moment.

The two outside were speaking quickly and were about to part ways.

Jiang Cheng retreated to the latrine and continued to crouch.

About ten minutes later, she returned to the office and rewrote what she had recorded on a paper.

At half-past four, Jiang Cheng rushed off work as usual.

This time, it was the director who stood at the door, praising her, “Comrade Jiang is truly diligent and eager to learn.”

The director’s admiration for her had skyrocketed since yesterday, mainly because the public security officer had returned the bicycle and expressed sincere gratitude to him.

“Comrade Jiang Cheng said that if it weren’t for your advice, she wouldn’t have come today.”

“You have no idea how successful today’s safety construction was. Thank you so much!”

The director was overjoyed. Comrade Jiang Cheng was such a simple and good comrade, praising him behind his back.

After the public security officer left, he muttered to himself, “I said everything Comrade Jiang taught me. She promised to tell me about other methods for dealing with kidnappers, right?”

At night school, Jiang Cheng greeted everyone and took the meal Principal Wang had prepared.

This time, however, she wasn’t in a hurry to eat. Instead, she headed straight to the office.

At the night school entrance, Principal Wang and Uncle Wang exchanged glances and nodded with deep emotion.

“Comrade Jiang is the smartest and most diligent student I’ve ever met.”

“Absolutely, this kid is truly genuine.”

After Uncle Wang spoke, Principal Wang’s mouth twitched.

The words “genuine” and Jiang Cheng didn’t seem to match at all.

With a “ding,” Zhao Chengde got off his bicycle, nodded to the principal, and silently went to lock his bike before heading upstairs to study.

Seeing this, Principal Wang asked gossipily, “Uncle, has Zhao Chengde been coming early recently?”

“Hmm—about ten minutes later than Jiang Cheng, but still quite early.”

Principal Wang nodded.

“He’s been motivated.”

Zhao Chengde had indeed been motivated.

After leaving the office that day, he had been pumped up by Jiang Cheng’s words for three days.

Only after three days did he slowly come back to his senses.

Had he been… fooled?

When Zhao Chengde realized this, he felt stuck.

Was Jiang Cheng wrong?

No.

Shouldn’t he be studying?

Of course, he should!

So, whether he had been fooled or not, he should still be doing this.

But why did he feel so uneasy?

Perhaps it was the frustration building up, but Zhao Chengde studied even harder, truly burning the midnight oil.

Not just for the sake of winning, but for his own pride—he had to give it a try and find out exactly where the gap between him and Jiang Cheng lay!

Today was the day Zhao Chengde saw some results from his studies.

He brought a translated article to find Teacher Lü.

No matter how smart Jiang Cheng was, she was still a beginner and hadn’t even started learning translation.

Zhao Chengde reached the office door.

With a “clang,” the door was pulled open from inside.

Teacher Lü walked out with a slightly anxious expression, holding a piece of paper.

“Jiang Cheng, study on your own.”

“Alright, Teacher. Take care.”

Jiang Cheng watched as Teacher Lü left with the paper she had written, then turned to Zhao Chengde, who had been ignored.

“Comrade Zhao, are you looking for Teacher Lü?”

Zhao Chengde instinctively straightened his back and nodded. “I translated an article and wanted Teacher Lü to take a look.”

Zhao Chengde glanced at Jiang Cheng, hoping to see envy on her face.

Unfortunately, there was none.

“Is it urgent?”

Jiang Cheng asked, and Zhao Chengde nodded with mixed emotions.

“In that case… wait a moment.”

Jiang Cheng ran out of the office.

Two minutes later, she returned with Principal Wang.

Zhao Chengde: What does this mean?