Chapter 4

Tiny bubbles rose in the hot water on the stove. Shen Cui cracked three eggs into a bowl, whisked them in one direction with chopsticks, and swiftly poured them into the swirling hot water. She then adjusted the fire in the stove, reducing it, and waited for the eggs to solidify before turning up the heat and simmering for another two minutes.

Once the eggs were fully cooked, Shen Cui added sugar to the bowl and poured the eggs and broth into it.

Sugar eggs were a common breakfast, something Shen Cui often made in her past life.

However, strangely, despite her usual skill, these sugar eggs turned out barely recognizable, almost losing their shape.

Could it be because she was using an unfamiliar earthen stove?

Glancing at Mu Er Pang’s mood value, which had dropped by another 5 points, and his state changing from (hungry) to (very hungry), Shen Cui didn’t have time to think. She quickly left the kitchen with the large bowl in hand.

Mu Er Pang, who had seemed so listless while studying just now, immediately perked up when he smelled the food.

He took the bowl and spoon, and although he could have eaten quickly, he savored every bite.

No one dislikes a child who enjoys eating. Shen Cui had been worried that her distraction would affect his appetite, but now he was eating with such enjoyment, his eyes squinting in satisfaction. It was clear her worry had been unnecessary.

Watching the child’s mood index rise rapidly, Shen Cui felt both helpless and amused.

Well, despite his mood dropping like sanity points in a horror game, he was still a child who was easy to feed!

Mu Er Pang noticed her gaze, and looked back at her.

With a serious expression, he looked at Shen Cui with his narrow eyes, then at the bowl in his hand, back at Shen Cui, and finally, with a determined look, he said, “The last egg is for you, Mom!”

Then, he pushed the bowl forward, closed his eyes, and seemed to be making a great sacrifice, ready to face death.

Just one egg, it’s not that serious, really!

Shen Cui shook her head helplessly and said, “Mom doesn’t want to eat your egg, you eat it yourself.”

Afraid that her silly son would misunderstand, Shen Cui turned away and continued to compare the data panels of the two Mu brothers.

In addition to the parameters mentioned above, the system also provided several other important information data for each person, including IQ, EQ, imagination, memory, and charm—five major attributes.

For easy viewing, these data were presented in graphical modules.

Mu Yun Chuan truly lived up to his status as the male lead of the imperial examination novels; he was like a pentagon warrior! Each attribute was close to its peak!

On the other hand, Mu Er Pang, who was enjoying his meal beside Shen Cui, had a graphical module that made Shen Cui think the system had a bug. She carefully examined it for a long time before realizing that there was a tiny dot in the center of the graph!

A dot not much bigger than a sesame seed!

All his five major attributes were close to rock bottom. Looking at the specific numbers, they were all pitifully low single digits.

No wonder he could mishear ” the beginning of man “ as ” the beginning of pig)! “

Finally, the system gave an evaluation of their current aptitude.

Mu Yunchuan’s evaluation was concise—[Exceptional talent and extraordinary aptitude]. Mu Er Pang’s evaluation…

It’s quite a bit longer than Mu Yunchuan’s, but it’s not a good comment. It’s a more euphemistic way of saying:

“The creator of this world doesn’t seem to favor this child, treating him unfairly. He is lazy, foolish, and greedy… seemingly only created as a foil to someone great and upright. But he is not without merit; he possesses a sincere heart. With time and careful nurturing, even raw jade can emit brilliance, and decayed wood can be carved into a talented individual.”

Shen Cui couldn’t help but feel three parts of affection when she looked at Mu Er Pang again. Even the system admitted that his current state was unfair treatment from this world, setting him up as a foil to the original male lead. What else could she say? She could only feel more affection for him.

At this point, Mu Er Pang finished his last sugar egg, drank up the sugar water, and burped with satisfaction. He had just recovered from a fever, so Shen Cui naturally didn’t ask him to get out of bed and move around. She let him lie back in bed.

Just as Shen Cui was about to continue studying the system, there was a sudden banging on the courtyard door. She responded while stepping out quickly to open the door.

Outside stood two women.

The one standing a half step forward wore a thick cotton padded jacket and a cloth headscarf. She was in her fifties, with not many wrinkles on her face, but the two deep lines on her cheeks seemed to have been chiseled with a knife, and her eyes were sharp and clear, without any cloudiness, giving off an unfriendly aura.

Standing behind this thin woman was a middle-aged woman, about thirty-five or six, with big round eyes and a round face. Her appearance was not outstanding, but she seemed very friendly.

Both of these women were not strangers; they were Shen Cui’s birth mother, Zheng Shi, and her sister-in-law, Li Shi.

For Shen Cui, the sudden visit of her maternal family was not good news!

knowing in the original book’s plot,

The person Shen Cui least wanted to provoke was Mu Yunchuan, ranking first, and her maternal family would definitely rank second!

Of course, the situations of these two were different.

The former, Mu Yunchuan, was cunning and feared by Shen Cui.

As for the latter, there was a huge difference between Shen Cui and the original host in temperament and nature. Perhaps Mu Er Pang, a silly son like Mu Er Pang, might not notice, but wouldn’t the family members from the mother’s side see through it?

Moreover, the original host’s mother was also a notable figure. In the original book’s plot, after Shen Cui became prosperous, her mother had contributed a lot.

However, at that time, Mrs. Zheng was already old and didn’t live much longer. So, in terms of the most hated character in the original book’s plot, it was still her daughter, Shen Cuihua.

To raise a daughter like Shen Cuihua, Mrs. Zheng was also quite a character. She had been ambitious and capable since she was young.

After marrying into the Shen family for a few years, Mrs. Zheng gained the authority of a housekeeper.

She indeed had the ability to lead a family—

Back then, Mr. Shen from the Shen family was just a peasant facing the earth, and the money he earned in a year was barely enough for the family’s food and drink.

When Mrs. Zheng took charge, she emptied the family’s savings to send her two sons to the city to learn skills.

Years later, Shen Da became a small manager in a shop, and Shen Er became the second chef in a restaurant.

The Shen family’s life suddenly became prosperous, and a few years ago, they moved from the village to the city.

Under Mrs. Zheng’s leadership, the Shen family transformed from peasants to city dwellers.

And this sister-in-law, Li Shi, was personally selected by Mrs. Zheng as a daughter-in-law. She was as gentle as could be.

The dough, but even mentioning it made Shen Cui not want to see it.

Because back then, the original body had drugged Mu Cheng with aphrodisiacs, and it was at her wedding banquet.

The original body didn’t think there was anything wrong, but now, Shen Cui, with the memories merged, felt embarrassed just seeing her, and she involuntarily clenched her fingers tightly.

When Mrs. Zheng entered, she only glanced at Shen Cui and exclaimed, “Has the sun risen from the west today? You lazy girl, you’re already up at this hour?”

The original body did sleep until the sun was high, and Shen Cui smiled awkwardly, not responding to her words, but asked, “Mother, why do you have time to come over today?”

As for Li Shi, the sister-in-law next to Mrs. Zheng, Shen Cui deliberately didn’t ask—after all, when the original body was still at home as a girl, she was so arrogant that she didn’t care about a few sisters-in-law, especially Li Shi, who was so gentle, she couldn’t impress her.

Dealing with the original body’s mother for the first time, Shen Cui could only try to imitate the original body’s words and deeds as much as possible. She just wanted to have less contact with her mother’s family in the future, and then make changes so as not to arouse suspicion.

Mrs. Zheng initially thought her daughter had changed a lot by getting up early, but seeing her arrogant look now dispelled her doubts. She replied casually, “There are many things to do at home in the twelfth month, and I haven’t seen you for almost a month. You lazy girl has become clever. If mother doesn’t have time to come and see you, will you forget the way back to your mother’s home?”

Shen Cui smiled and didn’t respond, inviting them into the house.

The wind was strong in the village, and the original body was lazy by nature. After driving away Mu Yunchuan, she never did any work at home. Later, Shen Cui came over only when she was barely recovering from her illness, so the house hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, and there was a thick layer of dust on the furniture everywhere.

Mrs. Zheng and Li Shi had seen her grow up and were not surprised. They didn’t sit in the main room but went straight to the main house.

In the main house, Mu Er Pang, who had eaten and drunk enough, was already snoring loudly.

On such a bright day, such a big child was still sleeping on the kang, which was quite embarrassing.

But Mrs. Zheng didn’t think so. When she heard Mu Er Pang’s snoring, her somewhat stern face suddenly blossomed into a smile. She sat next to Mu Er Pang, kindly tucked him in, and carefully examined his chubby face for a while before lowering her voice and saying, “Our Er Pang looks so blessed and prosperous. I can’t get enough of looking at him. Unlike the eldest son of the old Mu family, who is thin and doesn’t look joyful.”

Shen Cui was speechless.

In the original book’s characters, only Mrs. Zheng and the original body, this mother and daughter, could think that Mu Er Pang was stronger than Mu Yunchuan.

Mu Er Pang was the flesh that the original body had lost, and Mrs. Zheng… Although she had two sons and a daughter, both daughters-in-law she had were giving birth to daughters in succession. It wasn’t until Mu Er Pang was born that the Shen family added a few boys.

Mrs. Zheng regarded Mu Er Pang as a little lucky star in the family, so her affection for her grandson exceeded that for several grandsons and granddaughters.

After looking at Mu Er Pang, Mrs. Zheng took her daughter-in-law back to the main room.

Shen Cui was afraid of revealing any flaws to Mrs. Zheng, so she went to the kitchen to boil water and make tea, intending to get through today’s encounter first.

In the main room, Li Shi couldn’t bear to see the dirty and messy place, so she found a rag thrown in the corner and started cleaning.

When Shen Cui came out of the kitchen with tea, she saw that Li Shi had already wiped the tables and chairs clean.

She was already embarrassed, but with many debts, she pretended to be indifferent and put down two bowls of rough tea, saying, “Mother, have some tea, and sister-in-law, don’t work so hard. Sit down and rest.”

Shen Cuihua was lazy by nature, and Li Shi had long been used to it. It wasn’t the first or second time she had helped clean up. It was the first time she had received a bowl of hot tea, but she was still somewhat pleasantly surprised and didn’t dare to accept it. She instinctively looked at Mrs. Zheng.

Mrs. Zheng glanced at her and said impatiently, “If Cuihua asks you to rest, then rest. What are you looking at me for?”

Li Shi had been submissive under her mother-in-law’s hand for many years, and being scolded in front of her younger sister-in-law was commonplace, so she didn’t feel any displeasure. She just smiled and sat down next to Mrs. Zheng without saying a word.

Mrs. Zheng then turned to Shen Cui. Seeing her daughter, who was so much like herself, Mrs. Zheng couldn’t help but soften her expression. She went straight to the point and said, “My child, didn’t you ask what I came to talk to you about? Let me tell you some good news! You’ve encountered a huge stroke of luck!”

As long as it’s not about causing trouble for Mu Yunchuan, Shen Cui’s heart settled slightly. She slowly sipped her tea and asked, “What good news?”

“Of course, it’s the good news of remarriage!”

“Pfft—”

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