Chapter 151.1

A family of three walked out of the classroom almost at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

The clear sky of autumn was clear and distant, with a brisk, cool breeze blowing, lifting the golden fallen leaves off the ground. Su Xiaoxiao and her family felt fortunate not to have missed out on this epochal autumn.

Hand in hand, the family went to the market to buy groceries. They tacitly refrained from asking each other questions or discussing their exam performances. For them, participation was the most crucial part, and the outcome was often secondary. At the moment they put pen to paper, they already knew the result.

Su Xiaoxiao asked Fantuan, “Fantuan, what would you like to eat today? Mom will make it for you.”

Fantuan is the eldest brother in the family. It is the first time for him to lead his father on the left and his mother on the right to go shopping at the market, like today. Before the birth of the twins, Xiao Doubao enjoyed this privilege. Later, it naturally became the twins’ privilege. It was also Fantuan’s first time “occupying” his parents on his own.

No matter how smart Fantuan is, he is still just a ten-year-old Xiao Fantuan. He has grown up to like wearing a white shirt and black pants. He looks like a standard and elegant young man. Generally, children as old as him don’t like to hold their parents, but Fantuan will always be the carefree and innocent Xiao Fantuan in front of them. He walked proudly, holding his parents’ hands, his eyes squinting with happiness.

Su Xiaoxiao always treated her children equally, whether it was Fantuan or Xiao Roubao. They each had the right to choose dishes once a week. Xiao Zhuzi could also choose what to eat once a week. This had been an unwritten rule in their family for many years.

Today, Fantuan enjoyed the privilege of being Mom’s favorite, so he confidently ordered, “Mom, I want sweet and sour pork with pineapple!”

This is a dish that several young children in the family love very much. They all love sour and sweet things. In the first two months, when pineapples were in season, this dish would appear on the table almost every week. In fact, in Qingfeng Town, which was close to the southernmost region, some people grew pineapples all year round. Occasionally, you could find out-of-season pineapples on the black market.

The black market was no longer called the black market; it was now referred to as the small market. People no longer hesitated to mention going to the small market to find things they couldn’t get at the supply and marketing cooperatives. Although it still couldn’t be done openly, discerning individuals knew that this situation would eventually change, just like the college entrance examination system. It was only a matter of time before the restrictions were lifted.

Five years ago, the little one who was only waist-high to Su Xiaoxiao is now as tall as her. Su Xiaoxiao affectionately rubbed the obedient child’s head. He ate well, slept well, was very active, and grew rapidly. In a few more years, if he didn’t crouch down, she wouldn’t be able to reach him.

“Okay, let’s have sweet and sour pork with pineapple. If we can’t find pineapples, we’ll use bell peppers instead. It’ll be just as delicious.”

Fantuan smiled and said, “I’ll listen to Mom.”

Su Xiaoxiao asked Old Hu to keep some meat for them yesterday, but there was only a little less than a kilogram. It wouldn’t be enough to satisfy their appetites. They would have to try their luck at the small market later.

Old Hu happily handed the meat to Su Xiaoxiao and asked Fantuan, “Fantuan hasn’t been to the market for a long time. How did you do on the exam today? Xiao Houzi said you were busy reviewing and haven’t played with him for a long time.”

Fantuan, rarely humble, replied, “Not so good. I haven’t really studied the high school textbooks, just went along for the fun.”

“It’s already impressive that you could go to take the exam. Oh, by the way, thank you for often helping me urge Xiao Houzi to study. That little rascal seems to be quite diligent in his studies now,” said Old Hu. 

Children who play well with Xiao Fantuan generally don’t perform poorly in their studies because Fantuan has never played with children who don’t like to study since he was young. So everyone knows that if you want to play with Fantuan, first of all, you have to study hard. Being dumb is fine, Fantuan will teach you hand in hand where you don’t understand, but not liking to study is not acceptable.

Old Hu said, then took out a pig’s ear from below, “Xiao Roubao loves to eat this, take it back and make it for Xiao Roubao.”

Old Hu particularly liked Xiao Roubao, thinking he looked like a little lucky star. His chubby and smiling face made him feel refreshed just by looking at it. When he got home, it was like a little god of wealth had come. In short, he was in high spirits. When he was younger, Old Hu could still bring him home for a meal, but now that he’s grown up a bit, he’s unwilling to go with him anymore.

Old Hu had no idea that Xiao Roubao’s parents restricted him from going to other people’s homes to mooch meals anymore. If Su Xiaoxiao allowed it, he would go with his “Uncle Old Hu, who has the most meat” for dinner three days a week.

Su Xiaoxiao was not polite with him either: “Thank you, then let’s calculate how much it costs.”

Old Hu subconsciously wanted to say that they didn’t need to pay him for giving Xiao Roubao this meat, but he understood Su Xiaoxiao’s family. They would definitely not accept it without paying. So, he changed his words and reported the lowest price.

Han Cheng took the meat, thanked Old Hu and the whole family went to buy other things.

When the things here were bought, Su Xiaoxiao saw that it was almost time for dinner, so she said to Han Cheng, “Han Cheng, you take the things home first, then go to Xiao Yu’s house to pick up the kids. I’ll go to the small market with Fantuan to see if we can buy pineapples.”

Han Cheng glanced at his son and said, “Don’t always spoil the kids. Didn’t we buy bell peppers already? We don’t necessarily need pineapples.”

Su Xiaoxiao held her eldest baby’s hand and with a dimple showing on her face, said, “It’s rare for me and my son to spend time together. Can’t I want to stroll around with our eldest son?”

Although Su Xiaoxiao treats every cub in the family equally, because Fantuan is the eldest and doesn’t require much care, coupled with his independence and strong opinions, she doesn’t spend as much time and attention on him as she did on the other children. Rarely having such an opportunity, Su Xiaoxiao wanted to spend more time with Fantuan.

Han Cheng was speechless.

If Xiao Fantuan had a tail, he would have wagged it at this moment: “Yeah, Dad, don’t hinder me and Mom from shopping. Bye bye…” After saying that, he pushed Su Xiaoxiao’s shoulder and walked forward.

Han Cheng looked at his son, who had grown to be as tall as Su Xiaoxiao as if this little rascal had grown up without him lifting a finger. His hands were itching again today.

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