Chapter 69.1

Su Xiaoxiao thought about Han Cheng going to the capital for a meeting and decided to prepare some snacks for him to eat on the train. In the morning, Su Xiaoxiao bought some meat and cooked tomato scrambled eggs for lunch, keeping the meat for later.

Su Xiaoxiao kneaded the dough and let it rest while soaking some preserved mustard greens as a backup ingredient. After thinking for a moment, she decided to make a trip to the market to see if there were any good deals or leftovers that could be salvaged.

“Xiao Doubao, shall we go to the market to buy vegetables?”

Xiao Doubao was still playing with Huahua. Just as he was about to get up, Huahua flapped its wings, as if it were about to fly. Xiao Doubao looked at it, clapped happily, and said: “Huahua, great~~~!”

Suddenly Xiao Doubao blinked a few times, “Eh”, and squatted back. He picked up a warm egg from the place where Huahua had just squatted. Xiao Doubao was so happy that he ran to his mother, “Mama, Hua Hua, eggs~~~”

Xiao Doubao hears his older brothers talking about why Huahua doesn’t lay eggs every day. As a result, the little one starts staring at Huahua every day, hoping to catch it laying an egg. As a result, today it actually happened! How could the little one not be overjoyed?

“Oh!” The egg was quite big, and Xiao Doubao couldn’t hold it with just one hand. Su Xiaoxiao was afraid that the little one might accidentally drop the egg, so he quickly took it from Xiao Doubao’s hand. The color of the egg was also very good.

Su Xiaoxiao was also very happy. Han Cheng had given medicine to Hua Hua before, and his tail was also coated with medicine. His illness seemed to have been cured, and the hair on his tail began to grow back slowly, making him look much more energetic.

Zhuzi said that feeding worms can make Huahua lay eggs, but Su Xiaoxiao didn’t pay much attention to it. Nowadays, it’s a common practice for households with children to go worm hunting and feed the chickens, as there are always some hens that don’t lay eggs regularly. Su Xiaoxiao took Zhuzi’s suggestion with a grain of salt. However, to their surprise, Huahua indeed started laying eggs again.

“That’s great Xiao Doubao, let’s save this egg, and when Huahua lays more eggs, we’ll go ask Grandma Zhang how to hatch chicks, and let Huahua hatch chicks too, okay?”

Xiao Doubao tilted his head and looked curiously at the egg, saying, “Little chicken? Fan?”

Su Xiaoxiao picked up the cub and prepared to go out: “Yes, Zhou, Fen, Mian, and Fan all came out of eggs.”

Xiao Doubao’s eyes looked at the egg and he clapped his hands. “Okay~~~”

Su Xiaoxiao kissed the cub’s face and said, “Let’s go, Dad is going on a business trip tomorrow. Let’s go to the market and see if there are any other good things to buy.”

When Su Xiaoxiao arrived at the meat processing factory, the workers had already done a good job in cleaning up and the factory was about to close. Su Xiaoxiao noticed two grass carp in the water tank, flipping on their backs but with their gills still moving. Curiously, Su Xiaoxiao asked Old Hu, “Old Hu, are those fish not for sale?”

Old Hu sighed and said with a helpless expression, “The people from the state-run restaurant suddenly requested fish, saying that some leader was coming and wanted to eat fish. So we had them brought over from another town. But when the leader arrived, they said that being in a coastal town, they naturally wanted to have seafood, and they already had grass carp at their location. We couldn’t do anything about it. The state-run restaurant didn’t have any other customers for their reception, so they had to return the fish to us. People in our coastal town don’t really like eating grass carp as it has a muddy taste. It’s already this late, and no one is coming out to buy groceries. Since these two fish won’t be sold, I’ll just buy them myself and make dried fish at home.”

Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself: Coming here was not in vain.

Su Xiaoxiao asked Old Hu, “Can I buy them from you? Han Cheng is going on a business trip tomorrow, and I want to prepare some for him to eat on the train.”

Old Hu was more than happy to agree and said, “Of course, you can buy them! So Head Han is going on a business trip, huh? Then why not buy some more meat in the morning?”

Su Xiaoxiao replied, “We don’t have many meat tickets at home. It’s already good enough if we can have meat once a week. I can’t afford to buy more.”

Old Hu smiled and nodded. “During your mother’s visit here, did you use more meat tickets than usual? With so many children in your family, those meat coupons won’t last for many meals. Next time, if there’s any leftover meat that doesn’t require coupons, I’ll save some for you. I’ll drop by on my way home from work and bring it to your place.”

Old Hu genuinely wanted to express his gratitude to Su Xiaoxiao. His son, Xiao Houzi, lived up to his name in the past, causing chaos at home and refusing to do homework even after they broke a broom just to push him to study. His handwriting was as ugly as a dog’s crawl. However, ever since Su Xiaoxiao started teaching Chinese in their class, the mischievous boy would come home every day and talk about his teacher, “Teacher Su” “Xiao Fantuan” or “Xiao Zhuzi.” Surprisingly, that mischievous boy started voluntarily doing his homework and practicing handwriting. He said, “Xiao Fantuan doesn’t like being friends with students who have poor academic performance,” “Xiao Fantuan doesn’t play with those who have bad handwriting,” “Teacher Su said that the student’s primary task is to study, and they can play after completing their homework. Xiao Fantuan and Xiao Zhuzi followed what Teacher Su said.

Not only his son, but he sells meat here every day, and Old Hu also had conversations with many parents of first-grade students. When talking about Su Xiaoxiao and Xiao Fantuan, and Xiao Zhuzi, they all gave a thumbs up. Since they arrived, the entire class of children seemed to have been reborn. They played when it was time to play, and they studied when it was time to study. It was incredibly reassuring for the parents.

They wanted to express their gratitude to Su Xiaoxiao and her family but didn’t know where to start. What is leaving some meat as help worth?

Su Xiaoxiao hesitated a bit and said: “I’m afraid this is inappropriate?”

Old Hu deliberately put on a stern face and said, “What’s wrong with that? Did you not pay or did you not get the ticket? I sell to whoever wants to buy. Can’t I sell to you? Besides, Director Han is going on a business trip. Are you so free to come to the market? Don’t worry, on my way home from work, I’ll pass by your yard and directly hang the latch on your door. We can settle the account once a month. If you want to buy the ones that need a ticket, just let me know in advance, and I’ll help deliver it to you.”
Old Hu is quite reasonable. Whoever sells meat also sells it. He should give money and tickets, and Old Hu would just drop them off on the way.

Old Hu’s words do make sense. Selling her the meat is just like any other transaction. If payment is required, then it should be made, and if a ticket is necessary, it should be provided. Old Hu is simply offering to help along the way.

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Thank you so much, Old Hu. How about this? When I come to the market, and come here to greet you, it means I’ve bought enough for the day, and you don’t need to keep anything for me. On the days I can’t come, please set aside some meat for me, just enough amount for a dinner, and if I need anything extra, I’ll let you know in advance.”

Old Hu nodded and said, “Alright, you can let Fantuan tell Xiao Houzi if you want extra meat. Your Fantuan and Zhuzi are great students.” Old Hu raised his thumb and said, “They are really good role models. All the kids in the class behaved well when they started following them. My Xiao Houzi is also very well-behaved.”

The cubs at home are indeed good children, and Su Xiaoxiao didn’t act humble: “They are indeed good children, and Xiao Houzi is also good, but his handwriting is a bit poor. You should pay attention to it.”

While they were talking, Old Hu had already cleaned the fish for Su Xiaoxiao and asked her how she wanted it sliced. He took the opportunity to help her with the slicing as well.

Su Xiaoxiao wanted to make smoked fish, so she asked Old Hu to fillet the fish but keep the head and tail intact. The rest of the fish should be cut into one-inch thick slices.

Su Xiaoxiao handed over the money and said, “By the way, Old Hu, if there’s any supply of lamb, please remember to set aside two pounds for me.”

Old Hu replied, “Sure, the weather is getting cooler day by day. I estimate that it won’t be long before we have the supply.”

Su Xiaoxiao took the fish and handed Lao Hu a large sum of money. However, Lao Hu tried to give her the change, but she pushed it back and said, “You keep a record of it, deduct it slowly from there, and at the end of the month, we can settle any differences. Thank you for your trouble, Old Hu.”

As Su Xiaoxiao walked away, Old Hu snapped back to reality and smiled as he watched her receding figure. He thought to himself, ‘Su Teacher is truly amazing. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t be so willing to do such a thankless task. Sometimes, even when you lend money and put in the effort to help others, they might think you gained some personal benefits from it. But Teacher Su is different. She pays in advance and treats people differently. People are indeed different from one another.’

Humming a little tune, Old Hu felt grateful that his Xiao Houzi had such a wonderful teacher to guide him. With a teacher like Su Xiaoxiao, he didn’t have to worry about his son’s future.

………