As evening fell, Cheng You began to test them one by one.
She was like a teacher, patiently reviewing the knowledge they had acquired throughout the day.
These people genuinely wanted to learn, and most were very serious.
Some of the questions Cheng You asked required thought, but most of them could be answered correctly.
Jiang Wanrou dawdled, ending up last in line.
When Cheng You finally asked her questions, Jiang Wanrou knew nothing.
"Cousin, didn't you remember anything I taught today?"
Jiang Wanrou hesitated, her mind filled with thoughts of who was at the neighboring educated youth point.
She hadn't really paid attention to the medicinal herb knowledge Cheng You had shared.
It was too dry.
What was the point of learning this?
Cheng You sighed helplessly, "Alright, you can all go back now."
Jiang Wanrou had no intention of learning; Cheng You couldn't force her.
As they were leaving, she stopped Jiang Wanrou, "If you truly don't want to learn, I can tell Second Aunt that you don't need to come anymore."
Jiang Wanrou quickly replied, "No, I still want to come! I wasn't feeling well today, so I was distracted. I promise to pass the assessment tomorrow."
Cheng You nodded but didn't take her words to heart.
Let her be.
That evening, she told Qi Chengyan about the day's events.
Qi Chengyan chuckled, "She wants to get married, not learn."
A sharp observation.
Cheng You leaned against his chest and sighed, "I genuinely want to help her. With just some basic pharmacological knowledge, I can recommend her to the pharmaceutical factory. Isn't that good?"
Even if she got married, having a stable job would make her family-in-law value her more.
Cheng You truly couldn't understand Jiang Wanrou's mindset.
Qi Chengyan kissed the top of her head and said softly, "Alright, let's sleep."
No matter how much she worried, others wouldn't appreciate it.
Cheng You temporarily set aside Jiang Wanrou's matter. After all, if she failed the assessment in half a month, she would simply be dismissed.
However, in the following days, Jiang Wanrou's performance was quite good, gradually changing Cheng You's perception. She thought Jiang Wanrou had truly changed and was now wholeheartedly devoted to her studies.
Unexpectedly, after only a few days, rumors about Jiang Wanrou began to spread in the village.
Sun Xiaowan and Duan Liping came to find Cheng You and pulled her aside.
"Have you heard about your cousin?"
"Heard what?"
Sun Xiaowan pouted, "She's dating Yuan He."
Yuan He had come to the countryside even earlier than Qi Chengyan's batch of educated youths and was now twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
He hadn't been married, but he had been in a relationship before, and it had caused quite a stir at the time.
Cheng You was young then and vaguely remembered hearing some things.
It was said that Yuan He was dating a girl from the neighboring village, and they were on the verge of marriage.
The girl was pregnant before marriage.
Yuan He, thinking he had her cornered, didn't want to pay the fifty yuan betrothal gift or spend money on a wedding banquet. He suggested the girl simply find a place outside to live, and that would be considered marriage.
The girl refused to endure such humiliation, resolutely decided to have an abortion, and later married a divorced soldier, becoming a young stepmother and moving with him.
From then on, matchmakers in the village avoided Yuan He, daring not to arrange any marriage for him.
He hadn't returned to the city, and girls from the city would certainly not be willing to marry him, so his marriage prospects were delayed.
Cheng You bit her lip, "Could it be a misunderstanding?"
Jiang Wanrou's taste in men wasn't that bad.
Then she thought of Qian Dazhi...
Looking at it this way, Jiang Wanrou's taste in men seemed to be that poor.
Duan Liping said worriedly, "San Leng even saw them kissing."
Cheng You's face stiffened. If San Leng saw it, it was likely true.
She couldn't help but hold her forehead. They had only known each other for a few days, and she was already dating. She was truly something else.
"You should tell your Second Aunt about this. Don't handle it yourself, lest you get blamed," Duan Liping advised.
Cheng You nodded, "Thank you for reminding me."
Sun Xiaowan pouted, "We're only telling you because she's your cousin. Otherwise, I wouldn't care about this."
Hearing that Jiang Wanrou had even offered to wash clothes for Song Jingtang last time made her feel disgusted.
Cheng You smiled and patted her shoulder, "Alright, I know. I'll give you two more jars of Qizi Gao later."
Sun Xiaowan quickly said, "I still have Qizi Gao. Could you make some acne removal products? I got a pimple on my face the day before yesterday, and it still hurts."
Cheng You readily agreed and took it to heart.
Following Duan Liping's advice, she didn't mention it to Jiang Wanrou directly. Instead, she pretended to be unaware.
The next day, while Jiang Wanrou was out, she went to tell her Second Aunt about the matter.
Second Aunt couldn't hide her disappointment. How had the child she had raised so diligently turned out like this?
"Youyou, Auntie thanks you. Wanrou might not be able to come to your place anymore."
Cheng You smiled and shook her head, "It's alright. I'll still be recruiting people later, so there's no shortage."
Second Aunt covered her face and wept. Cheng You's mother had passed away early but was much more sensible than Jiang Wanrou.
She now only prayed that Jiang Wanrou and that Yuan He hadn't done anything outrageous.
That day, Jiang Wanrou returned home. The next day, she was no longer seen in Wujing Village.
Cheng You stopped paying attention to her affairs and could focus on teaching the newly recruited individuals.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Cheng You prepared an assessment for these thirty people.
The results were better than she had anticipated. Ten were eliminated, and twenty were retained.
Concurrently, the pharmaceutical factory began construction, and Lin Yunian started visiting Cheng You frequently, still concerned about the medicinal formulas.
He felt that with the factory being built, it needed to have a flagship product.
However, he always left disappointed.
Cheng You was very helpless about this. It wasn't that she didn't want to provide them, but she simply didn't have any.
By the end of December, Qi Chengyan received a letter.
Cheng You read it with him and realized it was from his parents in Yancheng.
One was a reprimand for marrying without his parents' consent, warning that he would regret it later.
The second was about Zhou Qi's matter.
Zhou Qi, having been rebuffed by Cheng You, would naturally report back.
Qi's parents treated their adopted son, Zhou Qi, as their own child... no, they even valued him more than their own son.
They wanted Qi Chengyan to personally write a letter of apology to Zhou Qi.
Cheng You sneered and, in her anger, tore the letter to shreds.
"Apologize? What the hell is he!"
Qi Chengyan, instead of getting angry, chuckled, finding her swearing so adorable.
"Don't be angry." There was nothing to be angry about.
It had always been like this since he was young. He didn't care about those parents and, naturally, didn't care about their words.
Cheng You bit her lip. She knew what it felt like to not be loved by one's parents, and she knew what it felt like to have biased parents.
Precisely because she knew, she felt even more heartbroken.
She embraced him with her small frame, trying to convey warmth.
"They don't love you, but I do! I will cherish you well, only you."
Qi Chengyan leaned down and clasped her waist, lifting her so her feet dangled in the air.
Cheng You gasped and quickly held onto his shoulders, meeting his gaze.
Their foreheads touched, their dark eyes filled with tender affection.
"Me too, I only cherish Youyou."