Chapter 667 - 663: The Empire She Built
Everyone who saw Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao would greet them politely, each person warmer than the last.
Gu Jiaojiao would respond courteously as well.
This was a world apart from the situation she was in when she first transmigrated into the book.
Back then, her reputation had hit rock bottom. People would walk right past her and pretend not to see her. On top of her failed pursuit of Yun Hao and her attempt to seduce Leng Yuan, everyone wanted to steer clear of her.
Fortunately, she had managed to change everyone’s opinion of her, step by step. She even had a decent job now, allowing her to live quite comfortably in this era.
’This is the life I built for myself.’
Perhaps because her future was becoming clearer, Gu Jiaojiao radiated a sense of determination. It was an energy that people found particularly endearing.
Anyone who greeted Gu Jiaojiao seemed to be infected by her positive, uplifting spirit.
A few villagers stared after her, stunned.
When they came to their senses, they began to discuss her in low voices.
"Look at Gu Zhiqing. She’s really something. To become a teacher all on her own merit—that’s truly impressive."
She can build a threshing machine and beat out all the competition to become a teacher. A girl who can study like that is no worse than a son.
"Isn’t that the truth! Just you watch! The Leng Family’s life is only going to get better. The two of them are both so capable, and with that capable uncle of hers to give them a little help, they’ll soon be completely out of our league."
The two exchanged a look, both understanding that the Leng Family was about to become extraordinary.
"People used to say studying was useless, but seeing how well Gu Zhiqing does, it seems pretty useful to me."
"Right? I’m going to send my kid to school one of these days, too."
These two were thinking more clearly than most.
Everyone said studying was useless, but what good job didn’t require an education? Without one, you didn’t even have the right to compete.
Gu Jiaojiao had no idea that by simply walking past those two people, she had changed their entire perspective on education.
When she returned home, she organized a family meeting.
Since she and Leng Yuan would be coming home rather late for the foreseeable future, she suggested that the two children could come home on their own with the other village kids.
Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang had no objections.
For children their age, going to and from school alone was no problem at all.
Even the seven- and eight-year-olds who had just started school would tag along behind the older kids on their way to school.
The adults all had to go to work, so no one specifically escorted their children to school. Besides, the kids all went together in a group, so unless something unexpected happened, there were no safety concerns.
In addition to the matter of school, Gu Jiaojiao also told them she would be home late for a while. She instructed Sweet Girl to make dinner and eat with Xiao Yang first, and she reminded both of them not to go out after dark.
Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang nodded obediently.
Gu Jiaojiao brought up two matters. Then it was Leng Yuan’s turn, though he had nothing to add. After him came Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang.
Everyone had the right to express their opinion.
Gu Jiaojiao didn’t know how to raise children, but she had seen others share their parenting wisdom.
And she had picked up a few tricks.
Holding family meetings was one of them.
It allowed the children to speak freely, learn to think for themselves, handle problems independently, express their opinions, and solve issues, all while being respected as much as possible.
Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang were both exceptionally well-behaved children. They remained silent for a moment before speaking up. "Jiaojiao, we feel like the second-grade material is pretty easy. We’d like to skip to the third grade."
At her age, Sweet Girl should normally have been in the sixth grade, but since she had never attended school before, she started in the second.
But she was an older child, after all. Once she had the basics down, she had already finished all the second-grade material.
Gu Jiaojiao nodded. "I’ll go talk to your teacher about it tomorrow."
She would need to check on Sweet Girl’s progress first and then consider the matter of skipping a grade.
Seeing Gu Jiaojiao promise to help Sweet Girl, Xiao Yang immediately grew anxious.
He couldn’t speak, but his expression was full of urgency.
Gu Jiaojiao looked at him and smiled. "The same goes for you, Xiao Yang. I’ll help you talk to them, too."
Only then did Xiao Yang break into a smile.