Fang Wenwen made up her mind, but it was Jiang Chengzhou and Yan Yuan who suffered.
To be precise, only one person suffered: Jiang Chengzhou.
Because Fang Wenwen had decided that starting today, she would teach the two children to be geniuses.
However, geniuses aren't made through teaching alone.
Yan Yuan was diligent and could barely keep up.
For Jiang Chengzhou, it was like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.
A child of seven or eight was exactly at the stage of heteronomous moral development, where they believed most in authority.
The teacher perfectly represented this authority, so even the usually mischievous Jiang Chengzhou didn't dare to cause trouble during class.
Seeing him struggle, Lin Zhilan wanted Fang Wenwen to slow down the pace.
But the boy Jiang Chengzhou was competitive. He insisted on competing with Yan Yuan and stubbornly held on.
It was now the twelfth lunar month. The temperature on the island had dropped, and at night, they even needed thick cotton quilts.
When Lin Zhilan covered him with the quilt at night, she could still hear him reciting the multiplication table in his sleep.
The day before Linlin's birthday, Su Lang still hadn't returned.
Lin Zhilan was worried but didn't show it in front of the children. Instead, she decided to make a large cake to celebrate her daughter's birthday.
Since they didn't have an oven, she would build one at home.
In her past life, Lin Zhilan was busy with work, and in her spare time, she liked to watch pastoral life videos to empty her mind.
Although her kitchen had a full set of ovens and stoves, she was very envious of the homemade cob bread oven she saw in Li Ziqi's videos.
She always felt that what was baked in the videos tasted better than what came out of her own oven.
Now her work wasn't busy, and she had no phone or computer, but she did have a spacious yard.
Lin Zhilan followed the videos she had watched and began to build a bread oven.
She bought the bricks and cement. Wang Rou asked Li Jiang to help carry the loess and gravel, and the glass bottles were discarded medicine bottles taken from the hospital.
After laying and building, she actually managed to make it.
First, she baked bread as an experiment, and it was a great success.
The crust was crispy and the inside was soft. With one bite, her mouth was filled with the fragrance of wheat.
With so much commotion in Lin Zhilan's yard, the two neighboring families both knew she was going to celebrate Linlin's birthday.
Although no one in the family courtyard had ever seen a child pampered like this, Chen Hehua and Liu Chunhua didn't say much.
That was until Lin Zhilan started making the cake, using eggs and flour, and pouring in milk and white sugar as if they cost nothing.
Chen Hehua sighed, "No wonder sponge cakes outside are so expensive. Which of these ingredients isn't valuable?"
Children didn't care about the cost. Hearing that Auntie Lin was making something delicious again, they all gathered around.
It was precisely because of the help of this group of children that Lin Zhilan's hands didn't go weak from beating the eggs.
She beat the egg whites with three chopsticks until they wouldn't flow when inverted, then mixed in lemon juice and the egg yolk batter.
The temperature for baking a cake couldn't be too high. After Lin Zhilan removed the firewood, she waited for the temperature inside the oven to cool down slightly before putting the cake batter in.
When she opened the oven, a faint milky fragrance spread out.
Mixed with the sweet aroma of baked eggs, just taking a deep breath made it feel as if they could already taste the sweetness.
Hearing the continuous sounds of children slurping their drool nearby, Lin Zhilan chuckled and made a wish for her daughter.
Health, peace, and happiness.
To live the way she likes, rather than being a foil to someone else.
Reciting this silently in her heart, Lin Zhilan began to cut the cake for everyone.
The cake wasn't large, so everyone only got a small piece.
Liu Chunhua also got a piece. The cake was moist, soft, fragrant, and sweet without being cloying. After swallowing, a faint milky aroma lingered on her lips and teeth.
She couldn't bear to waste any of it, even picking up the crumbs next to the cake and popping them into her mouth.
Looking down, her youngest son grabbed her pants and tried to climb up to see if there was any left in her bowl.
As for the two older ones, the bottoms of their bowls were as clean as if a dog had licked them.
Fortunately, everyone was eating their own food and no one noticed them, so Liu Chunhua quickly washed their bowls.
After a whole day of hard work, she finally produced a cake.
Lin Zhilan realized that pastoral life wasn't as beautiful as in the videos.
She decided it would be better to just order one from a shop next time.
In the evening, after seeing off the guests.
Lin Zhilan took the two children to organize the gifts they received today.
Chen Hehua made a pair of cloth shoes for both children, and Liu Chunhua knitted a sweater for them.
Wang Rou was generous and secretly gave Linlin a jade Buddha. This scared Lin Zhilan into hurriedly returning it, but Wang Rou pushed it back to her.
Lin Zhilan didn't dare take it out now, so she could only hide it in her spatial dimension.
Then there was Fang Wenwen, who bought Linlin a whole pile of sparkling hair accessories; it was impressive she managed to find them.
Cheng Qingshan and Tu Jing had been discharged from the hospital and returned to Beijing the day before, but today they entrusted Director Liu to bring over several jars of honey, malted milk extract, some canned fruit, and candies.
Regardless of the reason, Linlin had unknowingly changed her original fate and gained a lot of goodwill.
Lin Zhilan kissed the top of her daughter's head. She wasn't some minor supporting female character; she was the little sun of their family.
Late at night, a fierce wind suddenly blew outside, rattling the windows.
Lin Zhilan tucked her daughter in tightly and walked to the window to look. The flower pots on the terrace had been blown over by the strong wind, and the vegetable seedlings in the yard downstairs were blown askew, lying flat on the ground.
The gale was like a terrifying monster, howling endlessly outside.
Lin Zhilan quickly went downstairs to wake up Jiang Chengzhou and told him to sleep upstairs.
At this time, it started pouring rain outside, adding another layer of chill to the already cold night.
The faint shouts of men could be heard from outside.
Jiang Chengzhou rubbed his eyes. "It sounds like Uncle Ma and Uncle Li."
Lin Zhilan sent him upstairs, then opened the door and walked to the courtyard gate with an umbrella.
Sure enough, it was Ma Daniu and Li Jiang outside.
"Doctor Lin, a typhoon is hitting, and it's very likely to flood tonight. Remember to move upstairs with the kids, and it's best to bring food and water up too. Don't worry, with the troops here, everything will be fine."
As they instructed her, they led the soldiers carrying sandbags to block the entrance of her house.
"Thank you," Lin Zhilan had always lived inland and had never encountered such extreme weather. She couldn't help but feel anxious and hurriedly asked, "Regimental Commander Ma, if a typhoon is hitting, will Su Lang be in danger on the ship?"
Li Jiang paused his steps as he walked out, pretending not to hear, and led the soldiers to the next house.
Ma Daniu's personality was rougher, but even he wouldn't say anything unpleasant at a time like this. "Doctor Lin, even if anyone else gets into trouble, Su Lang won't. Just put your mind completely at ease."
The soldiers finished blocking the door with sandbags and hurried through the rain to the next house.
Lin Zhilan closed the doors and windows tightly, her heart still restless with anxiety.
According to the plot in the book, Su Lang should be fine this time.
However, her appearance had already changed many things. A butterfly flapping its wings could lead to a massive difference in the outcome.
She could no longer rely on the book's plot to predict the direction of this world.
Lin Zhilan pulled her clothes tighter around herself, feeling a chill run through her entire body.
"Auntie—"
