Huo Qingze didn’t come back at noon, Xu Xue was so depressed she felt like spitting blood, and yet no one told her.

Even though she was so down, Xu Xue still went to cook, but she quietly saved the best part of the dishes for the evening and just made something simple for lunch.

Xu Xue was great at cooking, so even with something simple, Xu Mumu still thought it tasted pretty good, although not as good as Mrs. Liu’s, it was still quite decent.

Madam Chen was quite satisfied, and during lunch, she started talking to Qian Ying about Xu Xue’s marriage.

"The second child’s family, Xu Xue is just a year younger than Mumu, and now Mumu is already married, aren’t you, as her mother, planning for her?" Madam Chen said while eating, seeing Qian Ying still feeding Kangkang.

"She doesn’t let us, as her parents, make the decision for her marriage." Qian Ying felt wronged too. Xu Xue was becoming more independent, and even if she wanted to do something, she wouldn’t discuss it with her parents, let alone her marriage, which she outright said they can’t meddle in.

"Grandma, I know what I’m doing with my marriage." Xu Xue pursed her lips slightly, recalling the unhappy times in her past life when the first family schemed for Madam Chen to marry her to a widower.

"Grandma, it’s a new era now. If she wants to find her own partner, let her find someone suitable by herself." Xu Mumu persuaded Madam Chen, almost making her grandmother’s temper flare up with Xu Xue’s words.

"Who cares about her." Madam Chen pursed her lips; even if the family was divided, she could still meddle in Xu Xue’s marriage. But now, she couldn’t be bothered with these foolish troubles.

Xu Xue lost her appetite during the meal, and Qian Ying felt the food was tasteless too. She wanted her daughter to marry soon, but unfortunately, her daughter wouldn’t listen. She was also relying on Xu Xue to help take care of Xu Wan and Kangkang more since she was so capable of making money.

Xu Mumu, on the other hand, ate with great delight. Xu Xue’s cooking compared to Second Aunt’s was simply excellent, no wonder she wanted to conquer Huo Qingze with her culinary skills, though it’s uncertain if Huo Qingze would appreciate it.

Qian Ying alone finished the work in the kitchen. Xu Mumu took a nap with her little brother. Now, she could nap with him without any pressure and wouldn’t have trouble falling asleep again.

In just a few days, the team here got electricity, and every household began installing electrical wiring.

Xu Mumu was extremely happy, finally having electricity meant she could use electric fans.

Once the electricity was on, Yin Yang brought over several electric fans.

Xu Mumu’s family installed an electric fan, and Liu Cuixia and her family specially came over to see the excitement, enjoying the fan’s breeze before going back and boasting about it.

With an electric fan, Xu Mumu felt comfortable overall, and even her little brother was much more energetic, running over to the fan every day.

It was only Madam Chen’s family who worried about the electricity bill. If it weren’t for Xu Mumu and her family insisting on turning it on, they wouldn’t even consider it, just sticking with hand fans.

The road to Red River Team was completely built, but the team was still idle for now. The word had spread that Yin Yang and Huo Qingze took over a mountain area because they started recruiting.

The pay was decent enough, attracting quite a few people to sign up for work.

Xu Xue didn’t know what they were up to now, this life was so different from her past one that there was no reference value.

However, her focus was on Huo Qingze, who was always busy now, and she could only see him at breakfast and dinner, but she was still quite happy to chat with him then, though the limited time they spent together left her somewhat dissatisfied.

Amidst this busyness, the start of the school term was approaching, and this time Xu Mumu had to go to the Imperial City by herself.

"Mumu, I’m sorry I can’t go back to the Imperial City with you this time." Yin Yang held Xu Mumu, not letting go.

"It’s okay, I’m grown up now, what are you worried about, that I’d get lost?" Xu Mumu leaned against Yin Yang’s embrace.

"Yeah, because if you got lost, who would I cry to?" Yin Yang nodded solemnly.

"Silly." Xu Mumu said with a smile.

"When you’re in the Imperial City, you need to keep an eye on your grandfather, they’re getting on in age." Yin Yang rambled on about Xu Mumu’s life after she returned to the Imperial City.

Xu Mumu listened quietly and agreed to it all, feeling a bit reluctant too.

Despite feeling reluctant, it was time for Xu Mumu to go back, taking Madam Chen’s family with her back to the provincial city.

Xu Minglei, who had been in the team for over a month, even though he had been reading, went wild playing with Xu Tao and the others to the extent that he didn’t want to leave.

"Big sis, I’m going to miss you. When will you come back next time?" Xu Jiaojiao clung to Xu Mumu’s arm, not wanting her big sister to leave.

"I don’t know yet, you’re all starting high school soon, so you can’t slack off. Make sure to study hard, okay?" Xu Mumu said with a smile.

"Big sis, you’ve said it so many times already, we’ve remembered to study hard." Xu Jiaojiao pouted. Having already tasted the benefits of doing well in school, she definitely knew the importance of maintaining good grades.

"Am I being naggy?" Xu Mumu tapped Xu Jiaojiao’s forehead before putting on a backpack. Besides clothes, it contained various dried mushrooms and fungi that Xu Jiaojiao and the others had sun-dried during this period.

"No, no." Xu Jiaojiao quickly shook her head.

Xu Mumu returned to the provincial city and the next day boarded a train with a backpack. With Yin Yang at the home village, it was comforting to have her second and fourth uncles’ families there to help care for him.

Sitting on the train without Yin Yang, Xu Mumu felt listless the entire time, mostly spending her time reading.

The books she brought back for the vacation she had already finished at home, and without bringing much back this time, she had been busy playing at home and couldn’t even think of the lab equipment there.

After more than two days of travel, she dragged her weary body back to the small yard. Xu Mumu had returned, and Professor Song and Professor Jian were both there. The two dogs bounded over enthusiastically as soon as they saw Xu Mumu.

The dogs slightly healed Xu Mumu’s gloominess, and seeing Xu Mumu made Professor Song and Professor Jian very happy.

"It’s good you’re finally back. If you didn’t come back sooner, Old Song would have been nagging to bring you all back." Professor Jian said with a laugh.

"It’s not that exaggerated; weren’t you nagging too?" Professor Song unhesitatingly exposed Professor Jian’s secret.

"Grandpa Jian, Grandpa, I missed you too." Xu Mumu said with a smile, as both professors were very nice and had taught her a lot.

"If you missed us, you would have come back sooner, not just used sweet talk to coax us." Professor Song looked at Xu Mumu with a proud glance, feeling a bit disappointed that Yin Yang hadn’t come back.

"How could I? Yin Yang is busy over there, and I also have to take care of him. But since school is starting, I’m back right away." Xu Mumu said with a smile.