Chu Xia, calmly stuffing ginger slices and green onion pieces into the chicken, replied, “It’s easier to cook this way.”

“There’s no meat left on this chicken carcass. Do you still want it? If not, just give it to me.”

Chu Xia looked at her with surprise.

How could she say such a thing?

“Of course I want it. There’s still some meat left after cooking.”

Grandma Chen’s smile became a bit awkward: “A chicken carcass with no meat, Xiao Xia, how did you become so stingy?”

Chu Xia nodded matter-of-factly: “I am stingy. Grandma Chen, if you’re not stingy, you can give me a chicken carcass too.”

Grandma Chen quickly walked away, ignoring Chu Xia’s comment.

Neighbors come in all types; some love to take small advantages—borrowing scallions today, garlic tomorrow.

If you don’t give, they’ll call you stingy, but if you do give, they’ll come back again.

But such neighbors are also helpful in times of need.

They will lend you things when you ask and won’t make you resent them.

If Chu Xia needed garlic, she would have given it.

But chicken was expensive, so she wasn’t going to give that away.

The chicken needed to be boiled to remove the smell, and she planned to cook the carcass along with it.

Without cooking wine, Chu Xia had bought a bottle of yellow wine specifically for removing the odor in her dishes.

After rinsing with hot water, Chuxia placed 15 grams of Poria, 15 grams of Angelica, chopped yam, and ginger slices into a clay pot, adding water and heating it over a high flame.

She had already removed the blockage from under the coal stove, so the fire was fully lit and it was a high flame.

Once the water boiled, she covered the vent of the coal stove, reducing it to a low flame for simmering.

The Poria and yam chicken needed to simmer on low heat for two hours. Since it was still early, Chuxia went into the room to find some books.

When the original owner got married, she only brought a quilt as a dowry and no other items.

However, there was a box of books belonging to Cen Zhengnian that had never been opened by the original owner.

She had never liked reading, and during high school, she just went through the motions of studying.

Back then, there weren’t many students who liked studying.

Teachers taught haphazardly, and students didn’t dare to act up.

Students had their own ideas and did whatever they pleased in class. The original owner was not outstanding, but she also didn’t study diligently.

The box had a layer of dust on it.

Chuxia wiped it clean and opened it, discovering it was filled with books—textbooks from elementary to high school, which were likely Cen Zhengnian’s.

There were also many specialized books on physics and chemistry.

Chuxia flipped through them casually; they were too specialized for her. Even with her college education, she only recognized a few terms but didn’t understand the content.

After all, she studied medicine in college, so she could easily explain medical books.

She set aside the books from elementary to high school, which were the ones she could use.

The books had a musty smell.

Chuxia thought they needed to be aired out.

But that could wait; she was very tired and needed a rest.

As time passed, the aroma of the Poria and yam chicken soup filled the entire hallway.

Chuxia sat by the door, fanning herself with a fan while reading a first-year high school book, feeling very relaxed.

Sister Li from next door came back from work and couldn’t help but smile when she saw Chuxia’s relaxed appearance.

“Chuxia, are you cooking chicken today? It smells so good!”

Sister Li was a good-natured, warm-hearted, and cheerful person, and Chuxia liked her a lot.

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, I’m making chicken soup. Both Anan and I have weak constitutions, so I thought of making some soup to nourish ourselves.”

Sister Li immediately agreed. “Yes, chicken soup is very nourishing. You both should take good care of yourselves.”

As more people came back from work, Chuxia’s chicken soup was almost done.

She used a towel to wrap the clay pot and took it inside. Then, she placed the aluminum kettle back on the coal stove, locked the door, and went to pick up Cen Huaian from the kindergarten.

To her surprise, the teacher immediately reported that Cen Huaian had been fighting with another child and had started the fight himself, making the chubby boy cry loudly.

Cen Huaian turned his head away, his face stubborn, while the chubby boy looked aggrieved, his face streaked with tears and bruises.

“Anan, tell me, why did you fight today?”

Cen Huaian also looked aggrieved, his stubbornness showing.

He pointed at the chubby boy, still very angry. “He stole my candy! I only had that one left.”

The teacher interjected, “But you can’t hit people. It’s wrong for children to fight.”

Chuxia frowned at Cen Huaian and directly asked, “Anan, did you share your candy with the other children?”

Cen Huaian fell silent, turning his head to the side and refusing to look at Chuxia.

Well, she didn’t need him to answer; she already knew that he had eaten all the candy himself.

Just as Chuxia was about to speak, a plump woman in black leather shoes ran over with a panicked expression.

“My Chenchen, what happened to you? You’re breaking your mother’s heart!”

The plump woman held the chubby boy’s face, crying dramatically as if the boy were gravely injured and hanging by a thread.

Chu Xia felt a bit embarrassed, and the teacher was at a loss.

They exchanged a glance, and Chu Xia looked away, touching her nose.

Although the little chubby boy had stolen her son’s candy, seeing him beaten up like this did evoke some sympathy.

A candy had sparked this commotion.

The teacher hurried to comfort the woman: “Chenchen’s mom, please stop crying. Chenchen’s face was just scratched by nails; it’s nothing serious.”

Chenchen’s mom didn’t listen and continued to cry: “My poor child, you’ve suffered so much. I shouldn’t have sent you to the Yuhong class.”

She stood up and, seeing Cen Huai’an and then Chu Xia, understood immediately.

She turned to Chu Xia angrily: “So it was your son who hit Chenchen! How did you raise your child? Look at what he’s done to my Chenchen! At home, neither his father nor I would ever lay a finger on him!”

“Chenchen’s mom, please calm down. This is An’an’s mom. Let’s address the issue first, okay?”

The teacher hurriedly stood between Chenchen’s mom and Chu Xia, worried that the two parents might start fighting; Chenchen’s mom looked very fierce.

“Address the issue? My son’s been beaten like this. I must get an explanation!”

“Uh… Chenchen’s mom,” the teacher said awkwardly, glancing at Chenchen’s mom and then at Chu Xia, “It was Chenchen who first stole An’an’s last milk candy. An’an got angry and then it escalated.”

“What?!” Chenchen’s mom was stunned, her face showing embarrassment.

She turned to glare at Chenchen: “Did you really steal someone’s candy?”

Chenchen, pouting, said “Mm-hmm”: “The milk candy smelled so good, I couldn’t resist.”

“What did I say at home? No more candy! Especially don’t steal from others! Looks like you didn’t listen to me, did you? You little rascal!”

With that, she gave him a hard smack on the backside.

Chenchen immediately burst into loud, pitiful cries.

Chu Xia thought: Wasn’t she supposed to not touch Chenchen at home? It turns out she was directly using her hand.

“Hey! Chenchen’s mom!” The teacher rushed to intervene, and Chu Xia added, “It’s not necessary to hit him like that.”

Cen Huai’an snorted, thinking coldly: Serves you right for stealing my candy!

However, he leaned against the wall, glanced at Chu Xia, then at Chenchen and his mother.

Thankfully, his own mother didn’t hit him; otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing.

Chenchen’s mom grabbed Chenchen by the collar and placed him in front of Cen Huai’an: “Apologize to him.”

Chenchen sniffled, wiped his nose with his arm, and said in a muffled voice, “Sorry.”

Chenchen’s mom rummaged through her bag, finally pulling out a fruit candy and handing it to Cen Huai’an.

“This is the only candy I have. Will this do?”

Chu Xia walked over, patted Cen Huai’an’s head, and said, “It’s wrong for him to steal your candy, but is it right to hit him like this?”

Cen Huai’an looked down in silence.

Chu Xia knew he was stubborn, but she didn’t realize just how stubborn.

Even if she scolded him now, he probably wouldn’t apologize to the chubby boy.

She could only give Chenchen’s mom an apologetic smile: “My son is quite stubborn. It was wrong for him to hit Chenchen. I apologize on his behalf.”

Chenchen’s mom waved her hand dismissively: “It’s fine, it’s fine. If Chenchen hadn’t been so greedy, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Chen Chen’s mother quickly turned around, carrying Chen Chen, and could still be heard scolding him from afar: “Will you still dare to be greedy?”

“Teacher, I’ll take Anan home now,” Chuxia said.

“Alright, alright,” the teacher replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead, relieved that both parents were reasonable.

Chuxia held Cen Huaian’s arm, and they walked slowly back to the apartment building in silence.

Once inside, the aroma of the chicken stew filled the room, making it irresistible and mouth-watering.

Cen Huaian’s eyes were glued to the clay pot on the table.

If Chuxia hadn’t been holding onto him, he would have pounced on it immediately.

“We’ll eat in a bit. First, let’s talk about what happened today,” Chuxia said.

Cen Huaian was too hungry to care about the discussion; he just wanted to eat.

Chuxia reminded herself not to get angry.

It was normal for Cen Huaian to be stubborn and protective of his food, especially since he had been neglected as a child.

She needed to be patient and handle this slowly.

“Don’t avoid the issue. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll stay hungry,” she said firmly.