The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

The dishes arrived, and everyone started eating. The Sautéed Pork Slices were decent, so Gu’er had a few extra bites.

As for the Sautéed Pork Liver, Gu’er felt it was a bit overcooked. She had two bites and then stopped.

The Double-Cooked Pork Slices came out last. Gu’er ate two pieces, but they had used too much vinegar. The sourness was overpowering, masking the sweetness, and the pork was a bit tough. She didn’t eat any more.

Lin Zheng’s eyes darted around as he watched, his little mouth shiny with oil. ’This food is so delicious,’ he thought. ’Why isn’t my new big sister eating it?’

He remembered what his mother had said—that his big sister had a very hard life at that other family’s home. ’Does that mean she’s never had meat before?’

A wave of sympathy washed over Lin Zheng. He painstakingly used his chopsticks to pick up several pieces of the Sautéed Pork Slices and the Double-Cooked Pork Slices and placed them in Gu’er’s bowl.

"Big sister, eat some meat."

Lin Zheng called out to Gu’er in his clear, crisp voice.

Looking at Lin Zheng’s adorable smile, his simple gesture filled Gu’er’s heart with emotion. She hadn’t expected this little brother to be so kind, putting meat in her bowl. She had always felt she was unlucky when it came to siblings, but at that moment, Gu’er’s opinion changed. She decided she would get along well with this little brother.

"Thank you."

Gu’er thanked Lin Zheng and gave him a sweet smile in return.

Lin Zheng blushed shyly, then lowered his head and went back to eating his meat.

Lin Shan’s eyes were filled with amusement.

Chen Fengjiao was also very happy. This was the scene she had hoped to see. She began to continuously place food onto the children’s plates.

The only one who was unhappy was Lin Sui’er. She sulked, prodding at the rice in her bowl, feeling that even the meat wasn’t as fragrant anymore.

Later, she didn’t finish the Double-Cooked Pork Slices that Chen Fengjiao had given her. It was just too sour; the acidity was making her teeth ache.

"What’s wrong? Does it not taste good?"

Chen Fengjiao asked with some concern, afraid Gu’er wasn’t used to the food.

"It’s a little sour."

Gu’er said with a smile.

"What do you mean? This dish is supposed to be sweet and sour. If you’ve never had it before, you shouldn’t complain. We give you good food and you don’t even know how to eat it."

Lin Sui’er had found an opportunity to mock Gu’er. In her mind, Gu’er was just an uncultured country bumpkin. But she seemed to have completely forgotten that the first time she met Gu’er, Gu’er was riding a bicycle and had been hired by someone to make jujube cakes. If she didn’t have real skill, would someone have hired her?

Gu’er said nothing. There was no need to argue with Lin Sui’er; she wasn’t here to compete for favor.

Back at home, Lin Sui’er and Lin Zheng grabbed their schoolbags and left again for school.

Lin Shan, however, didn’t leave. He had arranged his work for the day. It was his daughter’s first day back, and he wanted to stay home and be with her.

The three of them were left in the house, and Chen Fengjiao helped Gu’er put her things away.

In truth, Gu’er had very few belongings—just a few sets of clothes and not much else.

"What are you keeping this for? It’s all torn up. Let’s throw it out later. Mom will buy you a couple of new ones tomorrow."

Chen Fengjiao had brought in the things she bought for Gu’er and saw her staring blankly at a torn red scarf, so she commented.

"Let’s just keep it. I’m just looking at it, not wearing it."

This was the scarf Sun Jiaming had bought for her. It was later torn by Cao Qiu. Gu’er had picked it up, washed it, and kept it ever since, bringing it with her this time.

"Alright, you can decide what to do with it."

Chen Fengjiao assumed her daughter was just used to a hard life and didn’t press the issue. However, she resolved to take her daughter out to buy more clothes and other things.

After everything was put away, Chen Fengjiao was still not satisfied. She felt the room was too small and that her daughter was being shortchanged.

Gu’er, on the other hand, had to reassure her for quite a while. Only after seeing that her daughter truly didn’t feel wronged did Chen Fengjiao relax and go to make dinner.

Gu’er stared silently around the small room, lost in thought. ’From now on, this is where I’ll live? This is my home?’

Lin Shan came in. He was looking for a book to read.

"Dad."

Gu’er called out to him.

"What is it? Is there something you want to talk to your dad about?"

Lin Shan sat down on a stool, looking at Gu’er with a smile.

"Dad, next month... I want to sign up for night school. Is that okay?"

Gu’er explained her thoughts. The reason she had chosen to move to the city was not only because it was more convenient for selling her goods, but also because she wanted to attend night school.

In fact, Gu’er had this idea for a long time. In this life, she had never been to school. To others, she was completely illiterate. But that wasn’t true. In her past life, she did eventually learn some characters, though not many. She wanted to go to night school to learn more. Starting her education over from the beginning was impossible, but there was no harm in gaining more knowledge. No matter what she did in the future, having knowledge was always a good thing.

Take Sun Jiaming, for example. Even though he was from the village, he had completed a year of high school. He only stopped because of a situation at home.

In the past, Zhou Mazi would never have allowed her to study. The few characters she knew were all from her previous life. In this life, she wanted to study properly so she wouldn’t remain illiterate.

Lin Shan stared at Gu’er in a daze, his mind filled with disbelief. He thought he must have misheard. What did his eldest daughter just say? That she wanted to go to night school?

According to his investigation, Gu’er had never attended school; she should have been illiterate. When Gu’er had asked him to leave the books, saying she could look at them in her free time, he hadn’t thought much of it. But now, his daughter was actually saying she wanted to go to night school to learn.

His second daughter, Lin Sui’er, had such good opportunities, but she hated studying. Her exam results were always poor. If the school hadn’t been giving him face, they probably would have expelled her long ago. And even so, she was constantly taking days off from school, claiming she was either sleepy or had a headache the moment she picked up a book. He had worried endlessly about it, but nothing had ever changed.

His eldest daughter had no such opportunities and was past the usual school age, yet she wanted to attend night school!

"You really want to go to night school?"

Lin Shan asked again, uncertain. He felt his daughter had given him quite a shock.

"Yes. I want to study business management. Brother Jia Ming taught me some characters, though I don’t know many. It might be difficult for me at the beginning, but I’ll work hard."

Gu’er had already thought it all through. She felt business management was the most suitable for her because she planned to start a business in the future. She would study business management first, and if she had time, she would study finance and accounting as well. You can never have too many skills. The more she understood and the more she learned, the faster she could establish herself. Otherwise, with her current abilities, she would never be able to build something big.

"You certainly know what’s available."

Lin Shan hadn’t expected his daughter to have even planned out what she wanted to study. It seemed she wasn’t just saying it for fun.

"Actually, before you and Mom found me, Brother Jia Ming and I had already agreed that I would come to the city, rent a place, sell mountain goods during the day, and go to night school in the evening. There’s no harm in learning more."

Gu’er didn’t hide anything. She wanted to improve herself.

"Good. It’s good that you know what you want. Wanting to go to night school is a great thing. Your mother and I both support you. Don’t worry about the registration; I’ll take care of it for you. If you need anything else, just let me know."

Lin Shan nodded. It was a good thing his daughter was so ambitious. He truly never expected that a girl who grew up in the home of someone like Zhou Mazi could bring him so many surprises.

"Thank you, Dad."

Gu’er expressed her thanks. ’It seems this father of mine is easy to get along with after all,’ she thought.

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Thank you to Ning Zhihai for the praise, thank you to Dandan Ruliu and Pacific Stone Monkey for the monthly tickets, and thank you all for your support.