Chapter 7: Right in Front of Us

Humans are visual creatures, naturally drawn to beautiful things.

When someone looks pleasing to the eye, they feel happy, and others who see them also feel happy—it’s wonderful.

Su Taotao poked at Chenchen’s little chubby belly, completely satisfied. Such a well-behaved, good-looking child, and he’s hers—how wonderful.

After Chenchen washed his face, although it was a bit tanned and he didn’t have much flesh, his features were well-defined. He looked so obedient and soft, really making people adore him.

Su Taotao couldn’t help herself and leaned down to kiss his cheek.

Chenchen, confused and not used to her sudden closeness, puffed out his cheeks, raised his hand, and rubbed the spot where Su Taotao had kissed him. He blinked innocently and looked at her as if asking, “What are you doing?”

If Su Taotao wasn’t worried about scaring him, she would have kissed him more forcefully.

Smiling, she grabbed his little hand and brought it to the wash basin, speaking as she did:

“Mommy only kisses you because I love you. Now let’s wash our hands, rub your palms and the back of your hands, get rid of the germs and viruses. Chenchen, remember that the first thing you should do when you wake up every day is brush your teeth and wash your face, and always wash your hands before meals.”

Children in the countryside are generally raised roughly. Compared to other kids, Chenchen had been well cared for by Zhou Linglan, but she was always too busy. Plus, children were often left to roam free in those days and weren’t as particular about hygiene, unlike Su Taotao, who paid great attention to it.

Chenchen’s little brows had been furrowed since Su Taotao forcibly carried him into the bathroom. This mommy was really strange. She never used to behave like this, but Chenchen didn’t dislike it—he just wasn’t used to it.

Fu Yuanhang’s gaze had never left Chenchen. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. His sister-in-law never took care of Chenchen’s food, drink, or anything else, but today she was personally washing him. This was bad, this was bad! She must be washing Chenchen clean so she could sell him for a good price!

It had to be this way. She had been nagging and saying so many things to Chenchen—it must be a farewell!

It had to be!

Taking advantage of the fact that Su Taotao hadn’t come out yet, Fu Yuanhang quickly threw the little shovel down and rushed into the kitchen.

“Mom, I suspect that my sister-in-law wants to sell Chenchen!”

Zhou Linglan was startled by his sudden outburst and quickly looked outside. When she saw that Su Taotao was still in the bathroom, she lightly patted her younger son’s arm and lowered her voice, saying, “What are you talking about so early in the morning? Your sister-in-law would never sell her own son!”

Fu Yuanhang was so anxious he stomped his foot. “Mom, didn’t you see how nice she’s been to Chenchen today? She’s been smiling at him the whole time, washing him all clean, and talking to him so much. She’s never said so much to him since he was born. It’s really strange! Didn’t she already spend all the money Big Brother left for her? Just a few days ago, she was cursing the food at home, calling it pig food. How could she suddenly want to eat coarse grains and wild vegetables with us? She’s definitely pretending to lower our guard, planning to take Chenchen and trade him for money to go back to the city. We have to keep a close watch on him!”

Zhou Linglan’s heart began to race as she thought about the reckless things her daughter-in-law had done in the past. To be honest, she wasn’t sure that Su Taotao wouldn’t do something like this.

At that moment, Su Taotao entered holding a freshly washed Chenchen in her arms. “Mom, Yuanhang, what are we having for breakfast?”

Zhou Linglan looked at her little grandson, who was clean and neat, his hair combed and looking much more refreshed than usual. She thought about her younger son’s words, and her eyelids twitched.

She took a deep breath, calming her racing heart before replying, “Let’s have sweet potato porridge with pickles.”

Su Taotao had just checked the chicken coop. These days, every household could only keep a set number of chickens—at most two or three. In their coop, there were two hens and three tiny yellow chicks, probably just hatched.

Su Taotao thought for a moment before asking, “Do the chickens lay two eggs a day?”

Zhou Linglan nodded. “Yes, they do. Yuanhang digs worms to feed them every day, and the eggs are pretty big. The supply and marketing cooperative will buy them for eight cents each.”

Zhou Linglan’s anxiety grew. In the past, she would always collect the eggs before Su Taotao woke up—one to trade for money, and one to steam for herself and her grandson.

Eggs were valuable currency now. The cooperative would accept them, and regular-sized eggs were usually worth five or six cents, while the larger ones could fetch seven or eight.

Su Taotao had never paid attention to this before.

Su Taotao said, “From now on, let’s keep the eggs for ourselves. Don’t worry about the money; I’ll figure something out. By the way, I’m going to the county to take care of something with Chenchen later.”

“Clink!” The aluminum dish in Fu Yuanhang’s hands dropped to the floor. Without saying a word, he stormed over and grabbed Chenchen, holding him tightly in his arms, and shouted at Su Taotao, “If you’re going to the county, go by yourself. If you want to go back to the city, that’s your business, but you can’t take Chenchen! And you can’t sell him…”

“Xiao Hang!” Zhou Linglan immediately stopped him.

Fu Yuanhang, his face flushed, closed his mouth and stubbornly glared at Su Taotao.

Chenchen was his elder brother’s son, his own nephew, and one he had helped raise. If Su Taotao wanted to take Chenchen, she would have to step over his dead body!

Zhou Linglan thought back, and her face turned pale. It seemed like her younger son was right. She was both scared and surprised, looking at Su Taotao with a pleading expression. “Taotao, I can agree to everything else, but Chenchen is your and Zhengtu’s only child. Could you…”

“Mom, Yuanhang, what are you thinking?!” Su Taotao couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. She didn’t need to hear anything else. Just from the word “sell” and their defensive reactions, she knew what they were thinking.

How could she ever do something so heartless to this little one? However, the original owner’s words weren’t easy to explain.

Su Taotao decided to take out a promissory note and handed it to them. “Look, this is something my dad gave me before I came to the countryside. I plan to go to the county to ask the person on this note for the money. What are you thinking? Did you think I was talking nonsense last night? No matter how crazy I might be, I would never do what you’re imagining. I made it very clear: we’re family, and you should trust me. Let’s live our lives without suspicion.”

Zhou Linglan and Fu Yuanhang, who both knew how to read, leaned over to read the note. After looking it over from start to finish, they exchanged a glance, both feeling unsure.

Su Taotao then handed them a photo and pointed to the person in the picture. “This is my dad,” she said, then pointed to Chenchen. “Chenchen, look, this is Grandpa. I do plan to take you back to the city to visit Grandpa, but not right now.”

She then pointed to another person in the photo. “This is Comrade Cao Guohua, the one who lent money to our family. I plan to take Chenchen to the county to ask him for the money. Raising a child isn’t easy, and he won’t dare to avoid paying if I take Chenchen along. It’ll also be a good opportunity to let Chenchen see the world.”

Fu Yuanhang realized he had misunderstood her. His face turned red, and he muttered, “Sorry.”

Chenchen tilted his head, looking at the photo for a while. Then, he suddenly pointed to it and gestured towards the kitchen window.

Zhou Linglan was lost in thought and forgot about her embarrassment. She stared at the people in the photo for a while before finally asking Fu Yuanhang, “Yuanhang, don’t you think this person looks familiar? Doesn’t he look like…”

Fu Yuanhang hadn’t really looked closely earlier. He thought Chenchen was pointing at something else, so he was still looking outside the window. This time, when he took a good look, he froze. He imitated Chenchen and pointed to the small window in the kitchen. “That person? Teacher Cao?”