Chapter 74

The days of raising the cubs swiftly passed by. Truly, time waits for no one. Despite her busy and hectic schedule, her day seemed to slip away without accomplishing anything.

Su Xiaoxiao and Xiao Doubao arrived home almost at 11 o’clock.

Su Xiaoxiao made a cup of malted milk for Xiao Doubao and let him play on his own. Then she started preparing lunch.

Today’s lunch was particularly simple.

Su Xiaoxiao cleaned and blanched the pig’s trotters, then placed them directly into the leftover brine from yesterday. When the tofu is added early, it becomes softer and more flavorful. The combination of these ingredients made the dish more delicious.

Su Xiaoxiao puts the whole piece of meat in and steams it together with rice. Just before serving, she quickly blanches some vegetables.

Today, Su Xiaoxiao has less than an hour left for studying. She has to make good use of her time to study. In such a busy life, it’s really easy to forget what you learned, so she needs to constantly review; otherwise, she will forget all of her learning.

As for her future career direction, she hasn’t made a decision yet. The college entrance examination has been suspended for ten years, during the early stages of reform and opening up. There are abundant opportunities in various industries, as there is a significant shortage of talent. The key is to consider one’s interests and hobbies. After graduation, job placement is guaranteed, so employment is not a problem.

Su Xiaoxiao herself doesn’t enjoy the life of a corporate slave, but the circumstances in this life are different from the previous one. She can’t choose to lie down and be a “salty fish” ^[1]meaning someone who lives a relaxed and unambitious life In the coming decades, no matter what she does, she will have to interact with people. It’s unavoidable.

She has tentatively decided on two directions for her career. One is in the field of design. She originally studied advertising design, although nowadays there might not be a specific major for that. However, there are fields like architecture design and fashion design that are related to design, and she can easily adapt to any design-related profession. The other direction is translation. With her English foundation, she believes she can surpass more than 90% of people in this era. So, studying these two majors should be relatively easy for her.

Su Xiaoxiao flipped through Han Cheng’s high school textbook, and read Han Cheng’s annotations. This made her think of Han Cheng again.

Han Cheng has already planned his career path long ago, and Su Xiaoxiao believes that he will achieve great success in the field of medicine in the future.

“Is Comrade Su Xiaoxiao at home?”

Upon hearing the voice, Su Xiaoxiao let out a long sigh and immediately covered her face with the textbook. ‘Even Xiao Doubao knows not to disturb her, so why can’t these people give her some peace for a while? She really, really doesn’t want to socialize with outsiders.’

However, she can’t do anything about it. Su Xiaoxiao still tidied herself up and walked out.

Xiao Doubao ran over and hugged Su Xiaoxiao’s thigh. He remembered what his Father told him, since Dad is not at home, he, as a little man, has to protect his Mommy. He raised his little head proudly and said, “Protect, Mommy!”

The frustration that had just risen in Su Xiaoxiao’s heart vanished instantly. She bent down and picked up the child, saying, “You’re such a good and obedient child, but there’s no danger. It’s Auntie Jiang Xue who has come.”

Su Xiaoxiao carried the child to the door and said: “Comrade Jiang Xue, do you need something? Xiao Doubao, greet your Aunt Jiang.”

Xiao Doubao continued to clench his small fist and bite his teeth. He maintained a cautious gaze toward Jiang Xue but still refrained from greeting her.

As the child was still young, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to force him.

Jiang Xue’s gaze shifted away from Xiao Doubao. Han Cheng’s two sons both resembled him, with Xiao Doubao having more delicate and gentle features, making him a particularly beautiful child. However, it was hard to find any trace of Yang Mei’s appearance in them.

“Well, It’s like this. The organization decided to adopt your design proposal and saved us a lot of time. which saved us a lot of time. As there are many year-end activities, they allowed me to take my annual leave in advance. I’ll be going back to my hometown in a couple of days. I heard that Han Cheng went to the capital for a meeting, so I wanted to ask if you have anything to pass on to him. It can be a letter as well. I can bring it along on my way.”

‘Ahh… I see.’

Su Xiaoxiao calculated the time in her mind and found that today is already the second day of Han Cheng’s business trip. Even if Jiang Xue took the train the day after tomorrow, by the time she arrived in the capital, it would be the sixth day of Han Cheng’s trip. Perhaps on another day, Han Cheng will already be on his way back. Bringing something over wouldn’t serve much purpose.

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. “No need, thank you. If you hurry, by the time you reach the capital, Han Cheng might already be on his way back.”

Jiang Xue was taken aback; her expression became somewhat awkward. In fact, she hadn’t thought it through carefully. Upon hearing that she was on vacation, her mind was in a flurry, and she immediately came to ask Su Xiaoxiao if there was anything to bring to Han Cheng.

According to reason, she shouldn’t even know about Han Cheng’s business trip.

“I’m sorry, Comrade Su Xiaoxiao, I really don’t mean anything else, I just… “Jiang Xue sighed, feeling unable to explain herself clearly.

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, “I understand. Don’t worry, come in and have a cup of tea first.”

Jiang Xue knew that she shouldn’t have gone in. She and Han Cheng were old classmates, but in all the years she had been in the military region, she had never stepped foot into Han Cheng’s home. She should have refused, but her actions were quicker than her brain’s response. By the time she realized it, she was already inside the yard.

The clean and refreshing courtyard gave off the same comfortable feeling as Su Xiaoxiao’s presence. No unnecessary items were cluttering the space. Thin smoke rose from the rooftop, and the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen. The vegetable garden had just sprouted tender shoots, and there was a small chicken coop surrounded by a neatly maintained fence. It was clean and devoid of any mess, offering only tranquility in this earthly realm.

Jiang Xue had long since let go of any lingering feelings. She could imagine a man who had been working outside for a whole day, longing to return to such a warm home. Suddenly, she understood why Han Cheng chose to marry Su Xiaoxiao.

“Comrade Su, I suddenly remembered that I have matters that I have to attend to, so I won’t disturb you further.”

Su Xiaoxiao felt that there was something strange about Jiang Xue’s behavior, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“How about eating your lunch here before you leave? We can have our meal when the children come back.”

The braised dishes prepared at home were plentiful, and Su Xiaoxiao sincerely invited Jiang Xue.

Jiang Xue shook her head and said, “No, thank you, Comrade Su.”

Su Xiaoxiao’s eyebrows curved down. “I haven’t done anything, so why are you thanking me?”

Jiang Xue continued to shake her head, sincerely saying, “Thank you, regardless.”

Thank you for your presence, which has made me completely surrender and give up. Now I can leave here without any worries.

Jiang Xue just walked out of the door and happened to encounter two elementary school students bouncing back with their small backpacks.

Xiao Fantuan looked warily at the outsider, Jiang Xue, and said, “Aunt Jiang, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Xue saw the vigilant look in Fantuan’s eyes, which resembled Han Cheng’s, and felt an indescribable sensation. It was probably due to territorial consciousness. Even Xiao Fantuan knew that this warm home could not accommodate outsiders.

Jiang Xue shook her head and touched her pocket, but she found that she hadn’t brought any candy. She could only rub Fantuan’s head and say, “I came to see your mom about something. Now, I’m going back. Comrade Su is waiting for you to come home for lunch.”

Fantuan and Zhuzi said goodbye to Jiang Xue and quickly ran into the yard.

Xiao Fantuan didn’t put down his backpack and rushed into the kitchen, shouting, “Mom, Mom, what’s Aunt Jiang doing here?”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, “It’s nothing. She’s going back to the capital to visit her family and just asked if we have anything to pass on to your Dad.”

Xiao Fantuan looked at Su Xiaoxiao with a serious face and said, “Mom, in the future when Zhuzi and I are not at home, you absolutely cannot let anyone else in, not even female comrades. Auntie Jiang is taller than you, and if a fight breaks out, we won’t be able to help. You and Xiao Doubao won’t stand a chance.”

Su Xiaoxiao blinked. When did she ever get into a fight with someone?

“Mom, I’m serious, did you hear me?” Xiao Fantuan said with a stern face.

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the cub’s serious little face and couldn’t help but smile, “Mom heard you, I won’t get into fights with anyone.”

Xiao Fantuan: “Comrade Su Xiaoxiao, we have been ordered by Comrade Han Cheng to protect you. Please be more serious!”

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t maintain a serious demeanor and laughed so hard that she couldn’t even straighten her waist. “Alright, Comrade Han Jing, Su Xiaoxiao really understands.”

Su Xiaoxiao doesn’t know what ideas Han Cheng has been instilling in these three little cubs, and they treat her like tofu, each of them has a strong protective instinct. Even the little cub, who is not yet two years old, keeps talking about protecting his mother.

Although they had eaten braised food yesterday and might continue to eat it tomorrow, the little cubs still love it, especially pouring the braising sauce over rice. Today’s new way of eating is to crush tofu and mix it with rice. Fantuan had two big bowls of rice again.

Even Xiao Doubao had a full bowl of rice; he said he loves braised tofu the most.

Su Xiaoxiao was getting a little tired of it. She only ate braised tofu and braised eggs, hardly touching the meat. She might need to have tomatoes and scrambled eggs for dinner to relieve the monotony.

The dishes at noon were washed by the two older cubs. They insisted on washing them after the meal, saying that since Comrade Han Cheng wasn’t at home, it had become their job.

Su Xiaoxiao watched them wash with fear that they might accidentally drop the bowl. You see, even bowls can be considered fixed assets these days, and it’s not so easy to buy new ones. It’s not just about the broken bowls; she worries more about them hurting themselves.

It seems that Xiao Zhuzi has done a lot of this kind of work at home before. The two older kids cooperated well, and the task was completed without any major issues.

After a lunch break, the two cubs went to class, and Su Xiaoxiao began grading the papers.

Fantuan and Zhuzi have the best papers, with hardly any corrections needed. Their handwriting is also the best among their peers. Especially Xiao Fantuan. When effort reaches a certain level, talent shines through. He was indeed the most insightful and hardworking one.

The handwriting of the whole class is decent, at least, it is much better than when they first started, when it looked like dog scribbles.

Su Xiaoxiao gave them basic questions that she had recently taught, but only Fantuan and Zhuzi got full marks on all their papers. The others had some deductions, more or less, as everyone’s comprehension level varied. There were a few who didn’t pass, but they were in the minority.

Teacher Mo’s son, Zhou Dawei, is one of the few who failed.

After spending a long time checking their test papers, Su Xiaoxiao rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. What made her feel puzzled was that Teacher Mo’s son Teacher Mo herself is also a Chinese language teacher, and she’s teaching senior students. She didn’t understand why his son had such poor Chinese foundations, ranking third from the bottom in the class.

After assessing the students, Su Xiaoxiao had a rough idea of each student’s situation. The ones in the bottom two positions probably had some reading and writing difficulties, and she planned to spend more effort teaching them individually in the future. However, Zhou Dawei seemed normal in other aspects, but he seemed resistant to learning Chinese and didn’t show much interest in learning. It seemed that she would have to have a separate conversation with Teacher Mo tomorrow.

T/N: I am unsure about my feelings toward Jiang Yue. An extra chapter has been written for her, but I am uncertain if I should translate it. Thank you for reading~