Meng Zhao pushed open the school door and listened to the clear reading voice. He followed the sound to the outside of the classroom and peeked through the crack in the window. He saw that Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu were sitting upright at their desks, listening attentively to Master Wei's lecture.

Children grow up quickly; in just two months, they had already grown a lot, which softened Meng Zhao's heart.

Suddenly, there was a slight noise behind her. Meng Zhao turned around and saw Wei Jinglan. It turned out that Xiao Chuan had gone to the backyard to find her and brought her over.

Just as Wei Jinglan was about to speak, Meng Zhao quickly stopped her and pulled her to the classroom next door.

As soon as they entered the classroom, Meng Zhao took Wei Jinglan's hand and said, "Jinglan, it's been a long time. How do you feel about teaching in this school?"

Wei Jinglan patted her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just saw Xiaochuan, he's grown quite a bit taller. But you, you look thinner."

Meng Zhao waved her hand gently, "No, I'm still the same as when I left. I guess it's because when we met last time I was wearing a cotton coat, but now I've changed into a light coat, which makes me look more neat, so you think I've lost weight."

With some time still remaining before the end of class, Meng Zhao sat down to chat with Wei Jinglan, asking her how her teaching had been going recently.

Wei Jinglan had probably spent too much time in the village, and she had lost much of her former refined and elegant demeanor, becoming much more humorous in her speech.

“Teaching itself isn’t difficult; the main problem is managing the students. Many aren’t enthusiastic about going to school, so I have to keep a close eye on them. At first, I spoke softly, and many students didn’t listen to me. Later, I listened to Master Wei’s advice: if anyone disobeyed, I would scold them with a stern face. And you know what? This trick worked quite well, and gradually the classroom order improved a lot.”

Meng Zhao frowned slightly as she listened. "You've really worked hard, but don't make things difficult for yourself. You're teaching and educating people, which is a great thing. If there are any disobedient villagers who don't want to learn, you don't have to force them. Just let them leave. We're not begging them to learn."

Wei Jinglan nodded. "Don't worry, although they are difficult to manage, they are still willing to listen to me. If they really go too far, I will tell the village head."

As the two were talking, they heard the reading from the next classroom stop. Wei Jinglan smiled and said, "I guess it's time for school to end. I'll go call the two kids in. Don't make a sound yet, let's give them a surprise."

After she and Xiao Chuan went out, Meng Zhao hid behind the door.

A moment later, the door was slowly pushed open, and Shen Qingyu asked, "Brother, Master Wei said he has something for us, why don't you come in yourself?"

"I don't know either. I guess Master Wei has other things to do." The two went to the table and searched for the things Master Wei had mentioned.

Seeing their adorable appearance, Meng Zhao couldn't resist either. He came out from behind the door, stood behind the two of them, and called out with a smile, "Qingze and Qingyu!"

Upon hearing that all-too-familiar voice, the two were slightly taken aback. They exchanged a glance and then turned away, their expressions showing a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.

Seeing their expressions, Meng Zhao couldn't help but frown slightly. What was wrong? Didn't her two sweet little darlings miss her? Could it be that they had forgotten her after only two months? That shouldn't be the case.

Shen Qingyu blinked, as if trying to confirm something, then turned to Shen Qingze and asked, "Brother, have you seen sister-in-law?"

Shen Qingze nodded blankly, staring intently at Meng Zhao, and whispered, "I saw my sister-in-law, did you see her too?"

Shen Qingyu nodded in agreement. The two finally understood; it wasn't a dream, not an illusion—their sister-in-law had really returned. Their lips twitched, and their eyes instantly filled with tears.

Seeing that the two children were crying, Meng Zhao felt extremely distressed. She quickly squatted down and hugged them tightly. "Oh, don't cry, don't cry. You're making your sister-in-law feel bad!"

Shen Qingyu cried until her face was red. "Sister-in-law, I thought you didn't want me anymore."

"How could that be? How could your sister-in-law not want Qingyu? Your sister-in-law has gone out to work, Qingyu knows that. It's just like going to the new shop, only this time it's been a little longer." Meng Zhao gently stroked Shen Qingyu's back, comforting her softly.

Shen Qingze choked up and said, "Sixty-three days, sister-in-law, you've been gone for sixty-three days. A-Zhuang learned the words yesterday, and he'll forget them today. In sixty-three days, sister-in-law will also forget Qingze."

Meng Zhao listened, feeling both amused and heartbroken. "Who is A-Zhuang?"

“A-Zhuang goes to school with us.”

"That's because A-Zhuang is young, so he forgets quickly. Your sister-in-law will definitely not forget Qingze and Qingyu. Qingze and Qingyu are so well-behaved. Your sister-in-law will never forget you, no matter who else she forgets." Meng Zhao hugged the two children even tighter.

The two children hugged Meng Zhao and talked for a while, as if they wanted to pour out all the longing they had accumulated over the past two months.

School had already ended by then, and Meng Zhao carried the two of them onto the cart and sat them beside him. Along the way, Meng Dashan also learned to drive a double-horse cart, and the group returned to the county together.

Meng Zhao told Wei Jinglan to take Xiao Chuan and the two children home first. The two children refused to let go of her hand, and only left reluctantly after Meng Zhao said that they would have dinner together when they got back that night. Meng Zhao herself went home with Meng Dashan.

Meng Dashan had a loud voice. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of Meng's Butcher Shop, he shouted, "Wife, I'm back! Wife, where are you?"

Some acquaintances nearby wanted to greet them when they returned, but the father and daughter had no intention of greeting them at all. They gave a few perfunctory words and ran into the backyard.

At this moment, Xu Yunrong also came out of the house. Meng Dashan rushed forward and hugged her, lifting her up a little as he said, "Wife, you look thinner. Have you been missing me?"

Xu Yunrong almost burst into tears, but then she laughed again and patted Meng Dashan on the shoulder, "Who misses you? Even if I did, I'd miss my daughter."

Meng Zhao also stepped forward and hugged Xu Yunrong, "Mother, I'm sorry for making you worry."

Xu Yunrong wiped away her tears. "It's alright, as long as you're all safe and sound. I read the letter you sent me several times. My daughter is truly amazing. She was able to build a workshop in such a faraway place. I'm so happy for her."

The three of them helped each other into the house. Meng Zhao then asked Fang Muyun to unload the gifts that she had brought for Xu Yunrong from the car. "Mom, these are all things that Dad and I picked out for you outside. Whenever we miss you, we buy something and think about bringing it home to you, which makes us feel less sad."

Xu Yunrong had no time to look at the gifts; she only wanted to stare at her daughter. Hearing her daughter say this, she pretended to be reproachful and said, "Hmph, you must have picked them all out. With your father's attitude, he was probably thinking of buying something to bring back when he got back to the county. He wouldn't bring me anything from so far away."

Meng Dashan awkwardly scratched his head and chuckled, unable to utter a single word.

Meng Zhao couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself, "As expected of husband and wife, they can guess everything."

After expressing her longing, Xu Yunrong took out all the account books from this period. "This is the account book for delivering goods to Qinyang County. Those two shops are doing really well. They always order a lot of things. I've written down everything, just waiting for you to come back and look at it."