Ning Shu’s period was nearing its end. During her period, she typically experienced bloating and discomfort in the first few days, but the latter part of her period usually didn’t cause any issues.

However, the breakfasts she had been getting from the state-run restaurant—always either buns or buns—were getting tiresome.

Since she was feeling better today, she decided to get up shortly after Lin Guodong did, wanting something light and warm rather than greasy buns.

Lin Guodong usually got up very early; it was still dark when he rose, and even before the rooster crowed if he were in the countryside.

Ning Shu wasn’t able to wake up so early to prepare breakfast for him.

Fortunately, Lin Guodong was easygoing and didn’t mind; he usually had breakfast at the mess hall.

At home, Ning Shu made cabbage porridge and fried a few eggs.

The eggs from the family quarters were already used up, so she took out the eggs she had bought in bulk.

To avoid taking them all at once, she would check the type of eggs she bought, as getting a batch of the same kind would mean taking all of them out.

It was convenient to have eggs ready in the morning kitchen when it was just one person.

When the three children woke up and saw Ning Shu making breakfast, they were surprised.

“Mom, why are you up so early today? Are you feeling okay?” Yibao asked with concern.

“I’m feeling fine now,” Ning Shu replied. Hearing her son’s considerate words, she felt genuinely better. “The porridge is almost ready, but the eggs aren’t done yet. Are you going to exercise early this morning?”

“Yes,” the three siblings replied in unison.

“If you pass by the market on your way to exercise, could you bring back some vegetables?” The only vegetables at home were cabbage and radishes, and they were getting bland.

“What vegetables do you want?” Erbao asked with bright eyes.

“We need to go to the market and deliver the fish to the pig farm uncle,” Yibao said. “We should go to the market first, buy the vegetables, and then go for our morning exercise. If we go too late, the vegetables might be all sold out.”

“Then go now. See what’s available at the market, buy some vegetables, and if you see any meat or other things, get those too,” Ning Shu said, handing Yibao money and tickets from the drawer.

“Got it.” Yibao took the money, grabbed the two remaining fish from yesterday, and headed to the market with Erbao and Sanbao.

Although it was still early, around six o’clock, the market was bustling, especially in a big city like the capital, where it was crowded.

The three children first went to the meat vendor’s stall, where they saw the uncle from the pig farm sitting and looking around.

His stall was already cleaned up.

The meat stall was always the first to wind down.

Of course, it was also the busiest spot when the market opened.

“Uncle…” The three children squeezed through some elderly women and arrived at the meat stall.

“Oh? It’s you again? Do you want more pig intestines today?” The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, immediately recognizing the children and assuming they were there for more pig intestines.

A small piece of pig intestine was no problem for him.

Yibao remembered the competition with Zhang Jingwu today and thought that while pig intestines were desirable, asking for them again after already receiving some yesterday might be a bit awkward.

Therefore, he didn’t mention it and instead said, “We came to deliver the fish we promised you yesterday. We caught these fish yesterday and brought them for you.” He instructed Erbao to bring out the wooden bucket.

The fish, still alive and lively, jumped energetically in the bucket.

The middle-aged man, who was joking earlier, hadn’t expected that the children would actually catch fish.

Honestly, even if they had caught fish, he hadn’t expected them to deliver it to him.

The fish weren’t very large—together they probably weighed less than a pound—but fish are rare in winter, and these two would be enough for a soup.

Besides, fish meat, despite being just meat, is nutritious.

As the person in charge of the meat stall, he was never short of meat.

Good meat required tickets, which his family didn’t have much of, but meat bones, intestines, and other less desirable parts didn’t need tickets.

This meant if he were willing, he could buy them every day without anyone saying anything.

Selling to others or to him made no difference.

Therefore, he usually wouldn’t bother with such fish.

But seeing that it was the children who brought them and understanding their goodwill made him very pleased.

However, he still didn’t want to accept them: “No need, you can take these back and eat them yourselves.” He felt embarrassed accepting the fish from them.

Although the children’s clothes indicated that their family was likely not poor, he still felt it was inappropriate to accept the gift.

“That’s for you,” Erbao said as he placed the bucket on the meat stall. “Our parents taught us to keep our promises. This is what we specifically saved for you yesterday. We’ll be fishing again today, so we’ll bring more food.”

“Ha ha,” someone nearby chuckled and teased, “Old Zhu, just accept it. The kids’ intentions are good.”

The middle-aged man, surnamed Zhu and nicknamed Old Pig due to his meat stall, saw the children’s sincerity and accepted the two fish, despite initially being reluctant.

He also cut a piece of pig intestine, similar in size to the one given yesterday, from the remaining parts.

He wasn’t being stingy; the fish were enough for now.

He handed the pig intestines to the children and said, “If you need meat in the future, come find me. Although meat also requires tickets, if you let me know in advance, I can set some aside for you every ten days or so. You won’t have to wake up early. And for meat bones and the like, which don’t need tickets, I can also keep some for you occasionally.” Of course, if he saved meat for them, his own family would go without, but he wasn’t worried about missing a few pieces.

“Really?” The children’s eyes lit up.

Yibao then asked, “Uncle, is there any meat today? We brought money and tickets.”

Old Pig responded, “The meat is all gone, but I do have some meat bones. There are about three pounds, and they cost fifty cents. Do you want them? There’s not much meat, just some bones.” He presented the bones, which were mostly ribs with a bit of meat on them.

“Yes, we’ll take them.” Yibao quickly took out the money. “Uncle, here’s the payment.”

“Making soup? The bone soup my mother makes is delicious too,” Yibao said. “Mom always says that drinking bone soup is good for calcium, which helps us grow taller and makes our bones stronger.”

He asked his mother what calcium was, and she explained that it’s a type of nutrient necessary for the body, just like water and salt.

Old Pig gave Yibao the leftover bones: “Good luck with your fishing today.”

“Thank you, Uncle!” The three siblings expressed their thanks and happily left.

After buying the bones, they started thinking about what vegetables to buy.

Erbao asked, “Brother, what vegetables should we get?”

Yibao replied, “Let’s get some green vegetables and celery. Mom likes those.”

Erbao said, “I like eggplants. Mom makes delicious eggplants.”

Sanbao added, “Mom also likes cucumbers.”

Yibao then asked, “Sanbao, what do you like to eat?”

“I like everything,” Sanbao answered.

He was never picky with food and ate whatever his mother made.

In fact, all three brothers were like that—they didn’t fuss over their food.

When Erbao mentioned he liked eggplants, it was just a dish he wanted to eat the most at that moment.

Yibao thought for a moment and said, “Then buy green vegetables, celery, cucumbers, and eggplants today.”

“Brother, look, there are cucumbers over there.” Erbao, while speaking, had already squeezed through the crowd and reached the front of the stall.

At the front, Erbao said, “Auntie, I’d like six cucumbers.”

Buying meat required standing in line, but buying vegetables didn’t.

Meat vendors had long lines due to high demand, so people had to queue to avoid chaos.

Vegetable vendors, on the other hand, were less crowded, except towards closing time.

The vegetable stall was mostly attended by women—elderly ladies and middle-aged women.

When a young boy like Erbao came to buy cucumbers, it drew their attention.

“Oh my, a young boy buying cucumbers?”

“It’s unusual to see such a young boy at the market buying vegetables.”

Indeed, while men did come to the market, boys as young as Erbao were quite rare.

Erbao smiled at everyone and said, “Yes, we’re here to buy vegetables. Brother… Sanbao, come over here.”

“We’re coming,” Yibao and Sanbao replied as they joined him.

There were still plenty of cucumbers, so the vendor let the three brothers buy them first and watched with interest.

The three brothers were a unique sight at the market today.

They attracted a lot of attention at every stall they visited.

Even after they left, some people continued to watch them.

At home, Erbao shouted as they reached the door, “Mom, we’re back!”

Ning Shu came out and asked, “What did you buy?” She noticed they were carrying quite a few items.

Yibao replied, “We got green vegetables, celery, cucumbers, eggplants, and some meat bones.”

Ning Shu was curious, “How did you manage to get meat bones?” She was amazed that her three children, on their first trip to the market, managed to get meat bones.

The three brothers explained the whole story.

Ning Shu, after hearing everything, was surprised. “I didn’t even open the neighborhood circle, and you three have already made connections in the capital. From now on, you’ll be in charge of buying vegetables.”

Erbao puffed out his chest and promised, “We’ll make sure to get it done!”