After dinner, she indicated that she couldn’t eat the sweet potato and would save it to eat when she got ho in the evening.
Glancing at the breakfast diner’s clock, she dared not delay any further and quickly returned to school. It was exactly 7:30 when she arrived, and the first class was Chinese. She took out her book and continued to morize and recite. To deepen her mory, she also wrote it out quietly in her notebook.
"You’re very conscientious, and your handwriting is beautiful."
This was the first ti her desk mate, Chang Fei, had spoken. His Mandarin was not quite standard. Zhou Yiyi turned to look at him and noticed that his ears had turned red under her gaze.
She couldn’t help but laugh, "Thank you. I’m new here and not familiar with everyone, so studying is the only thing I can do."
Chang Fei, probably in the throes of adolescence, had a face spattered with the blemishes of youthful beauty. "No worries, you’ll get to know us soon enough. My na is Chang Fei."
"I know. It’s written on your notebook. My na is Zhou Yiyi. Please take care of , desk mate."
"Definitely, definitely. Your English pronunciation is so nice to listen to, even better than our teacher’s. If it weren’t for you being a transfer student, you would have been able to get into class one."
Zhou Yiyi shook her head, "That’s an exaggeration. I missed the initial placent test, so I won’t know the overall strength of our school until after the exams this month. I’ve only heard about it, but since coming here, I’ve realized that as a key school, even the slower classes have a great study atmosphere. Let’s work hard together!"
Chang Fei hesitated for a mont before asking her, "Um, Zhou Yiyi, could you help with my English? I’m struggling with so grammar points, and I also can’t find a good way to rember vocabulary. It’s all a ss. If it weren’t for English, I’m sure I could have made it into the faster classes, not to ntion class one, but even class two."
Zhou Yiyi couldn’t refuse and asked Chang Fei several detailed questions, realizing that he had quite a few issues. After thinking it over, she said to him,
"Alright, I’ll organize so notes for you tonight, outlining the grammar we use in middle school. Then we can go over each point together."
"Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?"
"Not at all, not at all."
"Then, how about I bring you breakfast tomorrow? My mom’s peanut brittle is really tasty."
Chang Fei also seed to be a kid who didn’t like owing favors, and she couldn’t reject his insistence. She could only awkwardly accept.
Perhaps it was this initial exchange that made interactions between them less awkward from then on.
The only hassle was that the school building didn’t have a hot water dispenser; she had to go to the teacher’s office to get a drink of water, and the restroom was a long distance away. It was okay on normal days, but during her nstrual period, it was terribly awkward, indeed. She wouldn’t skimp on certain things, always using the brand of sanitary pads she was familiar with. However, the few stores she visited didn’t have any good brands, nor any with extra length for night use. She even saw many girls still padding with toilet paper.
Only at those tis did she truly miss her Space Mall, even regretting a little that in her past life she had so many children she didn’t even have ti to farm.
It started raining after school, and the commuting students like Chang Fei chose not to go ho, but Zhou Yiyi didn’t stay.
"It’s fine, I brought a raincoat."
The raincoat, an item from the past, had been stored in the space and ca out without much effort.
With the raincoat on, she made her way back to the Wenlian Courtyard, unhindered by the wind and rain. Perhaps because of the rain, everyone had left early.
She looked at the sky, didn’t rush to do chores, but went to the market with her umbrella. She bought ten yuan worth of eggs, ten yuan worth of baked buns, and also so condints, tofu, tofu skin, kelp, chili, potatoes, bean sprouts, and a large lump of pickled vegetables. Only then did she return to the dormitory with her groceries.
She didn’t forget to eat today. At noon, she spent two yuan on a bowl of noodles outside and didn’t co back. This evening’s al was probably the only one she could make herself. She bought so many baked buns today to make braised dishes.
Braised tofu skin, tofu, kelp, and eggs in one pot made for a delicious al. When eating, she’d slice the baked buns in half, spread so Chili Sauce and sweet bean sauce in the middle, and stuff the braised food inside. It was very tasty, and when thirsty, she’d drink spiritual spring water, not even needing soup.
As for the lump of pickled vegetables, after washing it, she could stir-fry it with chili and make nearly half a pot, storing it in a lunch box. With the space’s preservation function, she could eat it for more than ten days.
Four buns for one yuan, forty for ten yuan, and the tofu and kelp also cost less than ten yuan. After calculating, it was still more cost-effective than buying food outside.
Because with these ingredients, the total cost was only about thirty yuan. Yet, with these forty buns and pickles, she could eat for at least half a month, ensuring nutrition, which was still a bit cheaper compared to eating outside.
Outside, breakfast cost one yuan, lunch ranged from two to three yuan, and dinner was one to two yuan. It all ca to five or six yuan a day. Although it was more expensive than what she made, there was more variety. Her own cooking was sowhat monotonous, and it could beco tireso after a while.
But for now, things were still fresh to her. When she got tired of it, she would switch to another cooking thod.
After the al, she started cleaning up. By the ti she finished, it was almost seven o’clock. At seven sharp, she quickly started her howork, writing until nine. By then, it was getting late.
To save ti, she entered the space at nine to Practice Writing in large characters. After practicing, she did yoga, washed up, and finally sat down to organize English notes for Chang Fei.
She wasn’t sure what ti she finished, but if it had been outside, it must have been the early hours of the morning. When sleepiness finally attacked, she lay down in the space.
Then ca another cyclical day.
Because she left early and returned late from school these days, she hadn’t seen much of her colleagues, but she kept her writing well preserved, waiting for the weekend to get feedback at the teacher’s house.
Moreover, her colleagues had noticed that since Yiyi had joined, everyone had an easier ti. The office was always clean and tidy, and it lifted everyone’s spirits considerably.
Yiyi would go to Zheng’s house every Sunday afternoon to learn and receive howork to practice back ho. Naturally, the first week was about assessing her level, so the teacher didn’t have many expectations. She could write whatever she liked, as long as she captured the essence of Practice Writing. To achieve this, she even brought out the perseverance she had for calligraphy in ancient tis.
Nowadays, she wrote two to three large characters every day, starting with familiarization, then ramping up to four sheets once she got the hang of it.
After all, she had to write both clerical and Regular script. Her OCD made her keep things fair, practicing two pages of each script.
After a week’s worth of classes, she was already familiar with the school’s teaching progress and had an initial understanding of each teacher. Although she felt uncomfortable with the accents, she found the rest acceptable since they were responsible enough, countless tis better than the future’s teachers who relied on the parents for everything.
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