Although Zhou Yunru and Zhao Jianguo lived with the old Zhou family and had the protection of her family, she always felt uneasy. Especially when Zhao Jianguo's leg injury made him unable to walk, and she was pregnant, all their food and drink came from her family. Although Zhao Jianguo had chosen to marry into her family, he was a proud man, and he always felt useless thinking about it. To earn more income, Zhou Yunru also wanted to help with farm work, but her family stopped her. Cheng You, having heard her story before, had been thinking of finding her a job. So, when she heard about learning medicine from Uncle Li, she immediately agreed.
"But am I too old?"
Cheng You said, "No one says you can't see a doctor when you're old."
Zhou Yunru smiled and tapped her head, "I'm afraid I'm too old and won't be able to learn."
Cheng You stuck out her tongue and playfully said, "If you can't learn, you can just earn some work points at Uncle Li's house. When you can identify medicinal herbs, you can go up the mountain to collect them, and then you can help me. I'll pay you then."
Zhou Yunru found her more and more endearing and squeezed her cheek. "Okay, I'll help you!" Earning money was all that mattered.
And so, Zhou Yunru, along with the people Cheng Tianhua had chosen, went to Uncle Li's house to learn. For the first few days, Uncle Li taught them how to collect, sort, and dry medicinal herbs. But after only a few days, Cheng Tao lost her patience. She had come to learn to make medicine, and she just wanted to earn money like Cheng You. She didn't want to learn to identify herbs; it was too boring. After enduring it for a few days, she couldn't anymore.
"Uncle Li, after we finish identifying the herbs, will you teach us how to make medicine?"
Uncle Li raised an eyebrow, "You want to run before you can even crawl?"
Cheng Tao said indignantly, "Then why can Cheng You?"
"She doesn't intend to learn to treat illnesses. She's primarily learning to make medicine. Plus, before she came here, she had already memorized the Compendium of Hundred Herbs and could identify the properties of various medicinal herbs. What about you?"
Cheng Tao didn't listen. "I think you just don't want to teach me."
Uncle Li ignored her and looked at the others. "What about you? Do you feel the same?"
Zhou Yunru quickly said, "Of course not! Uncle Li, we'll learn whatever you teach us. We have to take things step by step, no matter what we do. It would be best if we can master it. I don't want to be a quack doctor in the future."
The others chimed in. Uncle Li nodded in satisfaction, "As long as you are willing to learn, I will teach you everything I know. Don't try to compare yourselves to Cheng You; her learning direction is different from yours." He was hinting at Cheng Tao. Cheng Tao's face fell, displeased. She thought these people were hypocritical. She didn't believe she was the only one who wanted to make money. But she was unwilling to give up just like that.
"Uncle, then I want to learn what Cheng You is learning. Is that okay?"
Uncle Li nodded, "Of course." He went inside and took out some books. These were books Cheng You had already read and made notes on. What Cheng Tao found amusing was that she only saw Cheng You's glamorous side, not the nights she spent studying, wishing she could memorize all these books.
"Read these books yourself. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me."
Cheng Tao: "???" This was not what she had expected. Seeing her expression, Uncle Li raised an eyebrow, "What, you're still waiting for me to teach you? This is how Cheng You learned. You're not still expecting me to teach you, are you? You're not even as good as Cheng You?"
Cheng Tao's face turned ashen. How could she be worse than Cheng You! "No need, I'll read them myself!"
Uncle Li ignored her. Without a foundation, even reading the books herself wouldn't be as easy as it was for Cheng You. But Cheng Tao clearly hadn't accurately assessed her own capabilities and insisted on comparing herself to Cheng You. She had been diligently studying these past few days, and when she encountered something she didn't understand, she felt too embarrassed to ask, and her head was about to explode.
She glanced at Cheng You inside the house and couldn't help but go in. Uncle Li had specially cleared a room for Cheng You so she wouldn't be disturbed by others.
"Cheng You, do you need someone to help you? I can help you."
Cheng You smiled, "And also tell you the formulas for making medicine, right?"
Cheng Tao didn't feel embarrassed that her hidden intentions had been exposed. "If you do it alone, there will always be limitations. It's better to let me help you. I'm not greedy; I'll just take ten percent of the profits from the sales."
Cheng You scoffed, "Your calculations are so obvious that even my mother can hear them."
"I'll work too."
Cheng You rolled her eyes, "Even if you work, I don't need your help. Sister Yunru does a great job. Why would I need your help?"
Zhou Yunru again! Cheng Tao hated her from the bottom of her heart. If it weren't for Zhou Yunru, she wouldn't have lied to Wang Hongxia about being pregnant. To this day, Wang Hongxia still gave her the cold shoulder, constantly thinking about the grandson in Zhou Yunru's womb. If Cheng Tao hadn't used this opportunity to come to Uncle Li's place, she would still be tormented by Wang Hongxia at home, her hands rough from doing chores. It was precisely at this time that Zhou Yunru was also present, and Wang Hongxia started comparing them again. The more Cheng Tao thought about it, the more resentful she became, which is why she was eager to achieve something to show them.
Just then, she saw Zhou Yunru come in with medicinal herbs. "Cheng You, I've finished preparing these."
"Thank you, Sister Yunru, just put them here."
Zhou Yunru didn't leave but asked, "Is there anything else you need my help with?"
"Help me grind these herbs into powder."
Before Zhou Yunru could move, Cheng Tao had already picked up the tools, a step ahead of her. "Let me do it. Big sister-in-law, you're pregnant, so it's inconvenient."
Zhou Yunru's face stiffened, but she didn't shamelessly try to snatch the task from her. Cheng You, however, moved.
"I just said I don't need your help. Please leave." Looking at Cheng You up close, her delicate and small chin was slightly raised, and her fair, clean skin was flawless. Even with such a willful expression, she appeared adorable. Cheng Tao bit her lip, filled with jealousy. Fate was too kind to Cheng You. She turned and left indignantly.
As soon as she stepped out, Zhou Yunru took over her task. Her desire to earn money grew stronger. Cheng Tao returned home looking dejected, not as happy as she was when she first went to Uncle Li's. Zhao Yunlin saw her and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Tao snorted, "It's your big sister-in-law."
"They've already moved out. How can they still bother you?"
Cheng Tao huffed, refusing to speak to him. A moment later, Wang Hongxia came out of the kitchen with eggs. "Mom, what are you holding eggs for?"
Wang Hongxia glanced at her impatiently, "Your big sister-in-law is carrying my grandchild, of course, I have to send her some eggs to nourish her."
Cheng Tao felt a pang of bitterness but didn't dare to show it. Instead, she said, "She really needs nourishment. Big sister-in-law is working so hard at Uncle Li's. Her health was not good to begin with, and now she has to labor so hard. I don't know if it will be bad for the baby."
When Wang Hongxia heard this, she became anxious. "I told you not to go! No, I have to go and talk to her."