After breakfast, Liuu Yuming went to her job at the clothing factory, leaving just Chen Min and Tan You at home. Chen Min wasn’t the least bit afraid of Tan You. She moved a small stool to sit beside her, listening as Tan You told her stories.

Tan You leaned against the doorframe. "Don’t tell anyone you’ve seen me. Other than you and your mother, don’t mention me to anyone else."

Chen Min didn’t understand, but she nodded her little head anyway. "Okay, I won’t tell anyone. This will be a little secret between me and Grandma."

Human cubs could be quite cute sometimes. Especially Chen Min, with her rosy lips and white teeth, who was an adorable little girl. And even though Liuu Yuming left the house a complete mess, she always looked quite glamorous when she went out.

At the very least, Tan You saw her putting on makeup before she left today. As for her drawing her eyebrows and powdering her face, Tan You pretended not to notice. Girls had the right to pursue beauty, and Tan You certainly wouldn’t criticize her for it.

Even though the attitudes of this era were very conservative—believing that girls who wore makeup were frivolous or had ulterior motives—who would still be saying that twenty years from now? Who wouldn’t wear makeup before leaving the house?

After playing with Chen Min for half the day and teaching her a few characters, Tan You saw that the sun was at its zenith. It was time to teach Chen Min how to cook for herself. She approved of raising children with abundance, but not just in a material sense.

Besides, she couldn’t provide that for them right now anyway. Given the Liuu family’s current situation, Chen Min had to grow up and learn to face the world independently.

Just as Liuu Yuming’s great-aunt arrived carrying a basket, she saw Chen Min standing on a small stool, ladling soup. A small bowl of rice sat on the stove. The great-aunt hurried over and took the ladle from Chen Min’s hand. "Why are you cooking by yourself? You should come eat at Grandma’s house."

Chen Min looked up at her great-aunt and smiled. "Thank you, Grandma Guihong. It’s not hard. I can do it myself."

The great-aunt chattered on, "You’re still so little, how can you cook for yourself? From now on, whenever your mom isn’t home, just come eat at my house."

Chen Min was a little confused, but when she saw Tan You nod at her, she smiled and said, "Okay, thank you, Grandma."

The great-aunt helped Chen Min ladle out the egg drop soup, then glanced at the rice in the pot. "The rice is cooked perfectly. Little Min already knows how to cook rice, but your cousin Jun still doesn’t."

Chen Min hugged her small bowl and just smiled at her great-aunt. Her grandma had told her that when she didn’t know what to say to people, she should just smile. If she kept smiling, they would eventually stop talking.

The great-aunt sighed and took out some stir-fried pork with long beans she had made for lunch. "We made stir-fried pork with long beans at home today. I saw you hadn’t come over to eat, so I brought some for you. Eat slowly."

Chen Min’s eyes lit up for a moment, but she was very sensible and only ate two slices of pork before focusing on the long beans. The great-aunt’s heart ached a little. "Why don’t you eat all of it?"

Chen Min put down her chopsticks. "I’m saving the rest for my mom when she comes home."

The great-aunt patted Chen Min’s head and didn’t say anything more. After helping Chen Min clean the stove, she left with her empty basket.

As soon as the great-aunt was gone, Chen Min looked toward Tan You. "Grandma..."

"You did very well," Tan You said, standing beside her. "It’s a good thing to be considerate of your family. Now, let’s talk in detail about your Grandma Guihong’s actions..."

Chen Min pouted. "One time, I heard Grandma Guihong complaining that I eat at her house every day but never go to Grandma Lanying’s house..."

Tan You said, "It’s a fact that you’ve been eating at someone else’s house. In this day and age, nobody has it easy. Since you go to your Grandma Guihong’s house to eat so often, of course she’s going to have some feelings about it."

"But even if she has her reservations, didn’t she still bring you lunch when she saw you didn’t come over to eat today?" Tan You broke the situation down for Chen Min. "Life isn’t easy for anyone. You shouldn’t focus on what people say, but on what they do."

"I don’t approve of you eating at other people’s homes for free. You should at least offer them money for food. That way, both sides can feel more at ease." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Chen Min stammered, "My mom... doesn’t earn much money."

"That’s why from now on, we’ll cook at home, and your mother needs to work hard to earn money." Tan You instilled her philosophy in the little girl. "In the future, we can be short on anything but money. It’s always best to have your own."

Chen Min nodded vigorously. "Earn money!"

Tan You smiled. "Alright. But before we can work on earning money, we have to start studying. This afternoon, I’ll teach you addition and subtraction..."

At six in the evening, Liuu Yuming dragged her weary feet home after a long day of work. The moment she walked in, she saw Tan You sitting at the northern side of the square dining table, directly facing the main door. Liuu Yuming couldn’t help but jolt.

’She didn’t know whether to be happy or scared. Happy, because her own mother was here when she got home; scared, because her mother’s status was different now...’

Tan You let out a soft laugh. "You’re back. Go wash your hands and eat. Little Min made fried rice with the leftovers from lunch. Little Min, it’s time for dinner."

Liuu Yuming set down her bag. "Little Min already knows how to cook?"

Tan You replied, "You come home after a long day of work; you can’t be left without even a hot meal. Your great-aunt brought over a bowl of stir-fried pork with long beans at noon. Little Min ate half and saved the other half for you."

Liuu Yuming glanced at the stir-fried pork on the table. "Just these few slices of meat?"

"Those few slices of meat were free. Your great-aunt gave them to you," Tan You said coldly. "When others give you something, it’s a kindness. When they don’t, it’s perfectly normal. Is it your place to be picky?"

"You should be grateful for the kindness of others."

Liuu Yuming wilted under Tan You’s lecture. "I am grateful. I never said I wasn’t thankful. Mom, why are you so full of lectures all of a sudden?"

Tan You said, "I’ve seen how your life has gotten more and more out of hand these past few years. It’s my fault for not teaching you well before. Don’t worry, I will teach you properly from now on. At the very least, you can’t make mistakes in how you conduct yourself."

A chill ran down Liuu Yuming’s spine. "Mom, I’ll be good, I promise. Can I eat now?"

Tan You wasn’t in a rush to educate Liuu Yuming right this second. "Go on and eat."

’To make someone obedient, you couldn’t just rely on lectures or brute force. You had to give them benefits, show them that listening would be profitable. Only then would the lesson be twice as effective with half the effort.’

Tan You wasn’t worried. After watching Liuu Yuming pick through the stir-fried pork with long beans, only to place most of the meat into Chen Min’s bowl, she gave a slight nod.

It seemed Liuu Yuming still had some of a loving mother’s heart for Chen Min after all.

After dinner, Liuu Yuming looked at Tan You impatiently. "Mom, you said you were going to teach me how to make money, remember?"

Tan You’s gaze drifted toward the sewing machine in the west room. "Little Min already cleaned it all for you this afternoon. We’ll start with the sewing machine."

Liuu Yuming pouted. "I already learned how to use a sewing machine a long time ago..."

Tan You gave a faint, knowing smile. "Really?"

As she spoke, she turned slightly to the side. Her right hand made a few strokes in the empty air, and a simple dress quickly materialized in front of Liuu Yuming and Chen Min.