Rebirth of a Top Student's Handbook

Zhang Jie's friend was very efficient; the model arrived in the evening, and Zhang Jie quickly had it delivered to the back warehouse. By the time all the customers had left, it was almost dark.

Sister Zhang tallied up the day's progress and beamed with joy. Since everyone hadn't eaten all day, Sister Zhang took the two of them out for a big meal.

After finishing their meal, they returned to the store together. They dressed all ten mannequins, put on their wigs, and set them up. Sister Zhang was amazed by Zhou Min's outfits; ten different styles, each one stunning. Sister Zhang wanted to buy one of each. If Zhou Min weren't still a student, Sister Zhang truly wished she could keep Zhou Min forever.

Zhou Min, who had been busy all day, completely forgot that she was supposed to pick up her report card today. Of course, even if she remembered, she wouldn't go, since her parents, who had been looking for her frantically, might come to the school to find her today.

Zhou Min's prediction was entirely correct. Her father waited for her at school all morning and picked up her report card from last semester. Seeing that Zhou Min had almost perfect scores in every subject, her father proactively approached the homeroom teacher to inquire about Zhou Min's recent academic progress.

The homeroom teacher was also impressed with Zhou Min's recent performance and praised her father highly. Other substitute teachers who happened to pass by, upon learning that Zhou Min's father was Zhou Min, urged him to nurture her well, saying that Zhou Min was an exceptionally intelligent child who used to be playful but was now studying very hard and would definitely be able to get into a prestigious university in the future.

The teachers' praise made Zhou's father even more upset. He thought about how he had spoiled Zhou's mother all these years, and about the grievances Zhou Min had suffered. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was unworthy of being a father.

Because the Zhou family was very poor at the beginning, when Zhou's mother first married into the family, they immediately divided up all of her meager dowry. Zhou's mother, who valued her reputation, wouldn't outwardly refuse Zhou's grandmother and the others, but behind their backs, she complained bitterly to Zhou's father about their entire family. The kind and simple-minded Zhou's father felt very guilty towards Zhou's mother and tried his best to make amends to her in the days that followed.

As if she had found a way, Zhou's mother would always appear to be putting the greater good first, enduring all the grievances in front of the other members of the Zhou family, and then picking on Zhou's father. Zhou's father became increasingly guilty and indulged his wife more and more, even when she forced Zhou Min to empty the chamber pot for her maternal grandparents.

It's important to understand that no matter how Grandpa and Grandma Zhou treated Zhou's mother, Zhou Min was the little tyrant at home. The Zhou family had only had this one granddaughter for many years, so even though Grandma Zhou was somewhat sexist, she still treated Zhou Min like a treasure.

In contrast, Zhou Min's maternal grandparents' family treated the children with contempt because they had so many children. Zhou Min, for example, was considered to have a relatively high status because her mother was hardworking. It's worth noting that Zhou Min's cousin from her third maternal uncle's family sometimes only got to eat the leftovers and expired food that her maternal grandparents threw away. Unlike Zhou Min's family, where all the good food was given to Zhou Min first, and after she had eaten her fill, her uncles would fight over the rest, and only then would her grandparents eat what was left.

The Zhou family members are all rather simple-minded. Aside from doting on Zhou Min, the other brothers constantly fight over her, often resulting in major battles between Grandpa and Grandma Zhou and their sons. This is unimaginable to Zhou's strict mother.

It's important to understand that although Zhou's mother's family wasn't particularly wealthy, the patriarchal system of a feudal landlord family hadn't fundamentally changed even after the Cultural Revolution. The only difference was that instead of servants attending to the old master and empress dowager, it was now a group of children serving them.

Perhaps because the children were mostly cared for by their mothers, the children from the maternal uncles' families were less likely to be exploited; at most, they dared not anger their maternal grandparents. The eldest aunt was perhaps a bit more self-centered, so her four older siblings didn't suffer much harm; at most, they weren't well-liked by Zhou Min's maternal grandparents. The second aunt and uncle were particularly doting on their children, and their four older siblings were all quite charming and likable, so they didn't suffer much harm either.

As for my aunt, because she was the youngest child and had more education, she was less influenced by feudal ideas in her family. She was a bit like a parent in later generations, always giving the best things to her own child.

Like Zhou's mother, the aunt only had one daughter. However, because the aunt had never done any work before and didn't know how to take care of children, her daughter was often sick when she was young. Unlike Zhou's mother, who had taken care of seven or eight children for her brother's family, Zhou Min was raised well and healthy, and almost never got sick, while doing farm work and taking care of her own children.

Zhou Min's maternal grandparents probably felt that the child from Zhou Min's aunt's family had been weak since childhood, so they were particularly fond of this child. In addition, Zhou Min's aunt graduated from teachers' college and became a teacher in the town, so they looked up to her family.

Everything Zhou's mother had to fight for herself, so over the years she worked hard to be filial to Zhou Min's maternal grandparents, just to get a look of approval. Because of Zhou's mother's obsession, Zhou Min suffered greatly. The mischievous and tongue-tied Zhou Min was forced by her mother to grovel and fawn over her mother's family, which made Zhou Min deeply insecure.

Because Zhou's father was broad-minded, he never minded the cold treatment from Zhou Min's maternal grandparents. Although he would occasionally feel sorry for Zhou Min, men are generally easygoing, so he never took it to heart.

Now, the more Zhou's father thought about it, the more upset he became. When he returned home and saw Zhou's mother pacing anxiously, he not only didn't calm down, but became even angrier.

When Zhou's mother saw Zhou's father return, she quickly asked, "How was it? Did Minmin go to school today?"

"Didn't you want her to die out there? Why are you asking these questions? Since you're so filial to your parents, why did you even get married? Wouldn't it be better to go home and be their maid for the rest of your life?" Zhou's father said angrily.

Hearing Zhou's father's words, Zhou's mother was stunned. After a pause, she burst into a tirade: "Zhou Dacheng, you have no conscience! I've worked like a slave for your family for so many years, and this is how you treat me..."

"Why have you been working like a slave? What have you done? Farm work? Look at all the women in the village, they all do farm work. As for the work you do for others, do I have to beg you to do it? I won't go. You think you're so capable? You think you're so kind? Then why don't you go and do all the work for the whole village? Go ahead and do it. I want to see if those few words of praise will make you gain a few more pounds or what?"

"Zhou Dacheng, is this how you think of me? What have I worked so hard for all these years since I married into your family?" Zhou Min broke down in tears upon hearing her father's words.

"Why? Isn't it just so everyone can praise you for being capable and for the Zheng family's good upbringing? You've made your parents proud, while our Zhou family is just a bunch of roughnecks and idiots?"

Zhou's mother could hardly believe that Zhou's father had said these words. She knew that this was the first time Zhou's father and Zhou's mother had ever argued, whether in their past or present lives. Usually, it was Zhou's mother who was the one scolding Zhou's father.