Xu Mumu got up early, and Madam Chen was instructing Qian Ying to busy herself in the kitchen.
"Mumu, you're up. Come have breakfast." Madam Chen brought out a small bowl of noodles, with a fried egg on top.
"Grandma, just for me?" Looking at the small bowl of white flour noodles that Madam Chen brought out, Xu Mumu's eyes felt a bit teary. They only had white flour during the New Year, and other times, Xu Mumu was the only one occasionally treated to it.
"Of course, hurry and eat, or else your brother will see and snatch it from you." Madam Chen looked at Xu Mumu lovingly.
"Thank you, Grandma. Next time, I'll eat the same as everyone else, no need to make something special for me." Xu Mumu said, knowing that the grandparents pampered her the most in this family.
"Don't worry, there's still a bit of white flour left in the house, eat quickly and go to school." Madam Chen said with a beaming smile. Xu Mumu, raised well by them, had a rosy complexion and looked blessed.
The taste of the noodles was the best meal she had in days.
After breakfast, with the past few days' work finished, they could rest for a few days, so many were still not up in the household.
Walking out of the Old Xu Family home, under the elm tree at the village head, a boy was already waiting.
This boy was Zhao Qing, the team leader's youngest son. The Zhao family name was quite common in the team, with many surnamed Zhao.
"Qing, you're up so early." Xu Mumu greeted with a smile, though inwardly she felt like cursing. This boy, a grade above Xu Mumu, waits every day to go to school with her.
The key point is, this boy was one of the backup options in the original character's heart. The team leader's family conditions were good, and the team leader's eldest son even worked in a city fertilizer factory as a regular worker.
"Not really. Mumu, have you had breakfast? My mom made corn cakes, want some?" Zhao Qing took out the prepared cakes from his bag.
He went to visit his brother during the last few days of the holiday and only returned last night, only then learning about Xu Mumu's incident of falling into the water. Otherwise, he would have gone to see her sooner.
"No need, Qing. I've eaten breakfast, you have it." Xu Mumu shook her head, declining. She wasn't the original owner, and didn't have a thick skin. Besides, were freebies really so tasty? Didn't one need to repay them? Clearly, this kid had intentions of pursuing her.
Honestly, the current Xu Mumu had no intention of dating, and Zhao Qing wasn't her type.
"Alright then, Mumu. I heard you fell into the water a few days ago, are you alright?" Zhao Qing put the cake away, keeping it to eat at noon since Xu Mumu didn't want it.
"I'm fine, really." Xu Mumu replied with a smile.
Walking together towards school, having someone to accompany her made the journey less dull. Xu Mumu nonchalantly asked Zhao Qing about a lot of things at school, gaining a better understanding of this world.
In the classroom, there were only about twenty or thirty students; not many. There were still three classes in the second year, but the classroom had dozens of empty seats. Those who quit did so because they either found suitable job positions at home or simply didn't wish to study anymore. Besides, these years they couldn't take college entrance exams, so studying much more felt pointless.
Xu Mumu's desk mate was a slightly chubby girl named Xue Yan. Her father was an elementary school teacher, and she was the only child in her family, living a relatively good life.
"Mumu, did you do the homework? Let me copy it." Seeing Xu Mumu arrive, Xue Yan looked at her expectantly.
Though Xue Yan's father was a teacher, she herself didn't love studying much, having grades similar to Xu Mumu's.
"There was just a little homework, and you didn't do it?" Xu Mumu was speechless; the weekend assignment left by the teacher wasn't much. She finished it in just over an hour.
"I just didn't have time. Let me see yours." Xue Yan said a bit embarrassed.
"Here you go, but just this once, next time do it yourself." Xu Mumu took out the homework from her bag.
Xue Yan quickly flipped through the homework notebook, "Mumu, your handwriting has gotten so neat, it's much more pleasing to the eye now." Xue Yan said with a cheerful smile.
Previously, Xu Mumu's handwriting was messy, her homework carelessly done, resembling scribbles.
"Of course, I worked hard on it." Xu Mumu replied calmly. Worried someone might notice, she deliberately made quite a few mistakes, which was a headache for her.
Her slightly OCD nature wanted everything she did to be correct, improving her grades was essential.
Xue Yan quickly copied the assignments. Seeing Xue Yan write, Xu Mumu quietly looked away, took out her textbooks from her bag, and began reading.
"Mumu, let us copy your homework too." A boy came over, looking at Xu Mumu.
Xu Mumu was pretty and had fair skin, so many boys in the class liked her.
"No, you do it yourselves." Xu Mumu calmly glanced at the boy named Du Yu, who sat behind her and loved to sleep during class.
Xu Mumu thought it better not to let them copy anymore; it wasn't a good habit.
"Come on, Mumu, I brought you chestnuts, want some?" Du Yu took out a small bag of candied chestnuts from his desk, looking at Xu Mumu in an ingratiating manner.
Smelling the faint sweet aroma, Xu Mumu shamefully gave in a bit. After all, there was nothing much to eat at home, and during those days in the post-apocalyptic world, she hadn't tasted such good food. The scent made her want to grab the chestnuts from Du Yu's hand.
"Chestnuts, I want some." Xue Yan's eyes lit up as she reached out to grab a few.
Du Yu moved the bag away and lightly tapped Xue Yan's hand, "These are for Mumu, you wish."
"Alright." Xu Mumu conceded. Fine, for the sake of food, as a person hungry for over half a year, using chestnuts to please her was too tempting.
Thus, one person copying homework turned into two.
Thankfully, before class started, they managed to copy most of the homework.
"Mumu, I want to eat chestnuts." Xue Yan looked longingly at the chestnuts in Xu Mumu's desk, which were emitting a tempting fragrance.
"We'll eat them at noon, class is about to start." Xu Mumu said. She also wanted to eat, but thought of the little brother at home. He even brought her bird eggs to eat, so when Du Yu gave her the chestnuts, she planned to bring some back for her little brother.