CHAPTER 487: CHAPTER 487: SEEKING SOMETHING

After Gong Ruini finished her morning routine and headed to the living room for breakfast, she found a bowl of congee ready for her, along with some fried dough sticks, which delighted Gong Ruini.

Even though they grew soybeans themselves, which meant they could occasionally use oil for cooking, having fried dough sticks was still considered a luxury.

"Today is our first breakfast in the new house, so I made your favorite fried dough sticks. We won’t have them often." Cai Meina remarked as she saw her daughter’s joyful expression, admitting that despite the effort and the extravagance, seeing her daughter happy made it worthwhile.

"Is it delicious?" Cai Meina asked while pouring Gong Ruini a cup of soy milk, "Have some soy milk, your dad made it first thing in the morning."

Soy milk, ah, Gong Ruini wasn’t particularly fond of soybeans, always sensing their taste, but she knew drinking more soy milk was good for health.

Taking a sip, Gong Ruini’s eyes lit up, "Did you add honey?"

"Yes, your dad said you wouldn’t drink it without honey." Seeing her daughter’s bright eyes, she knew the girl liked it very much.

"You, you don’t like sugar, but love honey," Cai Meina said, completely puzzled by Gong Ruini, who disliked the taste of soy milk yet enjoyed sweet soy milk, preferring honey to sugar.

"No sugar at all is best." Cai Meina believed sugar was still better, "But you are also considerate of the family."

After all, the honey was brought back from the mountains in autumn by the men in the family, while sugar had to be bought with ration coupons.

Uh, seeing the expression on Cai Meina’s face that said her daughter was sensible, Gong Ruini felt a bit embarrassed, wanting to say honey has better nutritional value than sugar.

Even though sugar is sweeter than honey, consuming it too much can lead to weight gain. Although Gong Ruini was just a child now, she couldn’t entirely ignore the potential impact.

"Honey is good," Gong Ruini said softly, "Aunt Zhan mentioned the benefits of honey."

Listening to her daughter, Cai Meina knew the advantages of honey and thought it was pretty good, though she wasn’t fond of honey herself. Plus, collecting honey was no easy task, "If you like it, drink the honey we have at home."

For Cai Meina, she used to think about giving good things to her parents, but after breaking off with them, now she thought about giving them to her children.

"You should have some as well." Gong Ruini had advised Cai Meina to eat more, as being kids, they would have more opportunities for good food in the future.

"Mom doesn’t like it." Looking at her sensible daughter, even though she didn’t get to eat something good, Cai Meina felt as if she was drinking honey inside her heart.

"By the way, we’re going to school tomorrow for enrollment." Before, Cai Meina had asked around the village about the local school, and although she wasn’t too satisfied, it should be better than the Northeastern Rural elementary school.

Gong Ruini responded with an "Oh," while she wasn’t familiar with Beijing, based on the village’s surroundings, she knew the school might not be great, but she was only aiming to get an elementary diploma, so attending a prestigious school didn’t really matter.

Zhan Jing came out from her room and heard Cai Meina mention the school, "Don’t rush about that school, Uncle Zhuge said he would help with the school enrollment."

Zhan Jing was satisfied with the house initially because it had a large courtyard and was close to her school, making it convenient to look after the kids. However, upon further inspection, she found it less suitable.

This area was rural, so the nearby school’s educational quality couldn’t be very high. But searching for another house at this point was uncertain; fortunately, yesterday Uncle Ge mentioned Uncle Zhuge’s intentions.

Ah, Mr. Zhuge’s intentions? Cai Meina’s eyes lit up; although she didn’t know much about this person, having someone simply call him "Sir," and knowing the kitchen supplies were fully stocked, implied he had some strength to take care of Zhan Jing.

Besides, from Ge Yunkui’s words, Cai Meina gathered that this Mr. Zhuge was extremely busy, probably an exceptionally skilled doctor since people regularly visited him for medical advice, he should have substantial connections in Beijing, and recommending a hospital shouldn’t be too difficult.

"Would it be troublesome?" After her moment of delight, Cai Meina felt a bit embarrassed, knowing the help was for Zhan Jing’s sake.

She worried that the person might not be pleased about helping Zhao Xuran and Zhao Guangran, and later learning that there were also two Gong siblings involved might cause displeasure.

Cai Meina surely didn’t want such a small matter to offend someone so important.

Moreover, considering the fact that the person planned to teach Zhan Banxia and Zhan Zisu some traditional Chinese medicine, she worried her greed might result in backlash affecting Zhan Banxia’s and Zisu’s prospects, and she didn’t want small advantages to hinder their future.

Seeing Cai Meina’s anxious expression, Zhan Jing’s heart softened; not everyone was only looking for benefits, "Don’t worry, Uncle Zhuge has long wanted to meet Ni Zi."

Ah, really? How could such a prominent figure in Chinese medicine want to meet her? Gong Ruini was quite taken aback, as she was just a child without any connections to him, why would he know her and want to meet her?

If he wanted to meet Zhao Xuran and Zhao Guangran, Gong Ruini wouldn’t have been surprised, but wanting to meet her? What was going on?

Cai Meina was also rather shocked, why meet Ni Zi? Could it be that her husband praised Gong Ruini during visits, leaving a lasting impression on him?

Cai Meina believed her daughter was good, although it was normal for her husband to talk about how excellent their daughter was outside, the person was well-traveled and had met many talented children, not unlikely for them to mock Gong Tao.

Cai Meina felt conflicted; if her daughter impressed him, leading to help with recommending a better school, that would be great, but worried he might have high expectations, and later realize Ni Zi was just ordinary, would his demeanor towards them change and upset her daughter?

After thinking for a while, though it was important for her daughter to attend a better school, she couldn’t let her daughter suffer any setbacks, "Um, Ni Zi..."

"Ni Zi is wonderful." Zhan Jing was genuinely reassured about Gong Ruini, "Don’t worry, Uncle Zhuge will be very pleased with Ni Zi."

Observing Cai Meina’s mixed emotions, Gong Ruini felt a wave of warmth. Her own mother hoped for her to have a good opportunity yet worried she might face troubles because she was pampered.

"Mom, I will make sure to do well." Isn’t it just about pleasing the elderly? Gong Ruini knew she could charm everyone with her sweet words, maybe not entirely, but surely wouldn’t leave a bad impression.

Ni Zi’s graceful demeanor was indeed reassuring, Zhan Jing was satisfied with Gong Ruini, whoever she meets, neither excessively modest nor too arrogant. "We’ll go visit Uncle Zhuge’s house together the day after tomorrow."

Upon hearing even they would visit, Cai Meina felt relieved, despite knowing her feelings appeared somewhat petty, she didn’t regret them.

But just when she felt at ease, the worry resurged, thinking about preparing the proper outfit for her daughter to wear when meeting guests, causing Cai Meina various headaches.