Chapter 10: Winning Over the Hearts of the Whole Family

Chapter 10: Winning Over the Hearts of the Whole Family

Guohua Cao walked with a determined gaze, keeping his eyes forward and maintaining a steady three-meter distance in front of Su Taotao.

Su Taotao couldn’t figure out how her father, a factory worker, had befriended someone like him.

The two reached a deserted little hill, and without further preamble, Su Taotao handed him the promissory note and photo.

"Teacher Cao, do you remember this? I'm Su Taotao, daughter of Su Donghan and wife of Zhengtu Fu. I know you're in a tough spot right now, but we're really struggling to make ends meet at home. If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t be coming to you. I just want to ask if you have any way to repay this money. You don’t need to worry about the interest; just paying back the principal would be enough, or if you can repay part of it, that would help us get by for now."

Guohua Cao took the promissory note and photo, and after reading them, he looked at Su Taotao in surprise. He hadn't expected that the educated youth bride from the Fu family, who had a bad reputation, was actually Su Donghan’s daughter.

Although she had large eyes, her demeanor didn’t seem as unreliable as the rumors suggested. It seemed the rumors had some exaggerations.

Indeed, a daughter raised by someone like Su Donghan wouldn’t be too bad.

If Su Taotao knew what he was thinking, she would definitely have some complaints—the original owner had really let herself go.

Realizing this, Guohua Cao felt a sense of relief and nodded. Then he shook his head again. "I did borrow this money from your father. A man keeps his word, and I’ll make sure to repay what I owe."

Su Taotao remained silent, thinking to herself, *Of course, I don't mind. If you dare to give me 520, I'll dare to take it. After all, I'm poor.*

Guohua Cao raised his hand to interrupt her. "I've already prepared the money. Did you bring paper and a pen?"

As it happened, Su Taotao had indeed brought them. In her previous life, she had studied design, and the habit of carrying paper and a pen was practically etched into her DNA.

Guohua Cao wrote an address, enclosed a letter, and handed it to Su Taotao along with his signature. "Go to this address and find a man named Chen Sihai. He will give you the money."

Su Taotao looked at the address. It wasn’t far, just within the county town.

"Is your father doing well?" Guohua Cao asked.

Su Taotao couldn’t answer. In the original owner’s memories, apart from returning home during the first year of the countryside movement, things had ended unhappily. Later, when she insisted on getting married, her family had almost disowned her. After the marriage, she had never gone back, only writing letters home to report her safety during the birth of her child. The only thing the original owner had done with any pride was not asking her family for financial help.

"I suppose so," Su Taotao replied. What else could she say?

Guohua Cao nodded, not a man of many words, but he still added, "The Fu family are good people. You..."

There were too many rumors about Su Taotao in the work unit, and it was hard to discern what was true and what was false. He didn’t have the position or the right to say more.

But Su Taotao understood what he meant and smiled. "I know. I wasn’t very sensible before, but I won’t be like that anymore."

Guohua Cao didn’t say anything further and nodded once more, leaving with the words, "Zhengtu will come back."

"Teacher Cao, don’t give up no matter what. Hold on a little longer, and you’ll soon see the dawn. If you run into any trouble, feel free to reach out. I’ll do what I can to help."

She couldn’t tell him that they would be rehabilitated and allowed to return to the city in just a few years, so she left it unsaid.

Guohua Cao’s back straightened even more as he walked away without looking back. He simply said, "Go back. If you see me again, pretend you don’t know me."

As she watched his tall, upright figure disappear into the distance, Su Taotao felt a wave of sadness wash over her. A person like him shouldn’t have to endure such treatment. But she also believed that nothing could bend his spirit.

After returning from the hill, Su Taotao felt much more at ease.

Zhengtu would be back in another half year, and with this money, it would be enough for their family to get through these six months. However, they couldn’t just sit and consume their savings. She wasn’t the type to ask a man for money either. Even when Zhengtu returned, she would still need to find a stable source of income.

She would take it slow. For now, the priority was to get the money back.

Feeling reassured, Su Taotao felt much lighter and even hummed a tune while making lunch.

She had spent some time living in the countryside with her grandmother as a child; otherwise, she’d have been lost with the big rural stove.

However, since the Fu family had a small household, they used smaller stoves, charcoal burners, and iron pots more often.

They had sweet potato porridge for breakfast, so for lunch, Su Taotao used a small clay pot to cook taro rice, with a roughly one-to-one ratio of rice to coarse grains, unlike Zhou Linglan, who used mostly coarse grains.

When the clay pot began to bubble, Su Taotao opened the lid and poked a few holes in the rice with chopsticks. She then removed the firewood from the small stove, transferred the charcoal to the small charcoal stove, placed the clay pot on it, and let the rice cook through with the residual heat of the charcoal.

Not sure about Fu Yuanhang's appetite, she also put a few sweet potatoes in the small charcoal stove to bake.

Taking the opportunity, she headed to the small vegetable garden to pick some tomatoes, planning to make tomato scrambled eggs for lunch.

Zhou Linglan was truly good at growing vegetables; the fruits and vegetables in the small garden were abundant and thriving.

Su Taotao, already salivating at the sight of the round, red tomatoes, couldn’t resist. She picked the biggest and reddest one without even washing it, just rubbed it on her clothes, and took a crunchy bite.

As she had expected, it was sweet and juicy, soft and sandy. Even when she lived with her grandmother in the countryside in her previous life, she had never tasted such delicious tomatoes. It was exactly to her taste!

Su Taotao couldn’t stop until she had eaten three. She picked several more tomatoes to eat as fruit, along with two cucumbers, planning to make smashed cucumber salad for lunch, and also picked some chilies and eggplants for dinner.

If there was one thing to be happy about in returning to the 1970s, it was getting to eat these pure, natural, and pesticide-free goodies every day.

Su Taotao thought that if she ate like this every day, she might live several more years.

Returning with the fruits and vegetables, the courtyard was already filled with the aroma of taro rice. Rice cooked in a clay pot just smelled so good.

She first went to the small vegetable patch in the courtyard to pull some cilantro and green onions, washed them for later use, then went to Zhou Linglan's room to grab two eggs and started making the smashed cucumber salad.

There was no skill required in making smashed cucumber salad, but it did need some time to absorb the flavors. After smashing the cucumbers, she added garlic, cilantro, and green onions. Since Chenchen was also going to eat it, Su Taotao didn’t add any chilies. She then added salt, sugar, and black vinegar for seasoning. If we had them, a little sesame oil and chicken powder would make it even better.

With the smashed cucumber salad set aside, Su Taotao began making the tomato scrambled eggs.

There wasn’t much oil at home, so Su Taotao only used a little to fry the eggs, saving the oil by not even washing the pan. She added a little sugar to the tomatoes to enhance the flavor, and once they released their juices, she added the eggs back in. Since she planned to pour it over the taro rice, she added a bit of water to prevent the rice from being too dry and making it hard to swallow, adding a bit more salt and soy sauce than usual to let the tomatoes and eggs absorb the sauce. After a few more stirs, she turned off the heat, didn’t even bother to keep the charcoal going, nor did she move the food out of the pot.

Su Taotao found three rice bowls and Chenchen's special small bowl, distributing the taro rice into four bowls, leaving the crispy rice at the bottom in the clay pot.

Just as she finished serving the rice, Zhou Linglan came back from work, with Fu Yuanhang carrying Chenchen behind her.

Su Taotao, holding a rice spoon, poked her head out of the kitchen and gave them a big smile. "You came back just in time. Lunch is about to be served. Go wash your hands and get ready to eat."

As they entered the courtyard, they were greeted by a particularly strong aroma of food. Fu Yuanhang, a growing teenager who was always hungry, could hardly contain his curiosity about what his elder sister-in-law had cooked that smelled so good!

Even Zhou Linglan couldn’t help but ask, "I could smell it as soon as I got to the door. What did you make, Taotao?"

Without turning around, Su Taotao, who was spooning some soupy tomato scrambled eggs over each bowl of rice, replied, "Taro rice, tomato scrambled eggs, and smashed cucumber salad."

These were common rural dishes that Zhou Linglan often made, but they never smelled this good.

Seeing the crispy rice in the clay pot, Zhou Linglan was momentarily stunned. "You used a clay pot to cook the rice? No wonder it smells so good," she said, then furrowed her brow slightly. "We don't have much fine grain left. Your sister-in-law and I..."

"Mom!" Su Taotao interrupted. "Did you forget what I told you this morning? Don't worry, I've already talked to Teacher Cao. I'll be able to get the money back. Anyway, whatever I cook, just enjoy it. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Both children were growing, and Zhou Linglan did heavy farm work. If they didn’t eat well, their health would suffer. Su Taotao had never thought of skimping on food, and she planned to find ways to earn money in the future to ensure that the whole family would be well-fed and clothed.

The kids came back after washing their hands, sat down in a row, and looked at the food with curiosity and excitement. Chenchen, with his big, curious eyes, gazed at the food in front of him. The red tomatoes and golden eggs were drizzled over white rice, and even the two grayish taro pieces were topped with tempting sauce.

Coarse grains are not easy to digest for young children, and Su Taotao was also worried that the taro might choke Chenchen, so she only picked two pieces that were less powdery for him to try, drenching them in sauce to make sure he wouldn’t choke.

It was the first time Chenchen had seen such a wonderful color combination, and he stared at it for a long time, reluctant to look away.

"Chenchen, will you eat by yourself or have your mom feed you?"

"Myself..." Chenchen picked up his own small spoon and subconsciously replied to Su Taotao before starting to scoop the rice.

As soon as he put a spoonful into his mouth, the little guy’s big eyes lit up, and he continued to scoop another spoonful, eating with great relish, faster than usual.

Su Taotao gave him some smashed cucumber salad, smiling as she said, "Chenchen, eat slowly so you don’t choke. No one’s competing with you. If you like it, I’ll make more for you tomorrow."

Chenchen obediently nodded and continued to bury his head in the meal.

Su Taotao affectionately patted the little guy’s head, thinking how well-behaved and easy to raise this child was.

Zhou Linglan and Fu Yuanhang still had expressions of surprise and joy, but no one asked Chenchen any more questions, afraid that asking too much might make him clam up again. Letting things happen naturally was best.

Zhou Linglan snapped out of her thoughts and realized there was a large spoonful of tomato scrambled eggs drenched over her bowl. She wanted to say she couldn’t finish it and offer more to them, but she held back. Su Taotao had a mind of her own, and Zhou Linglan didn’t want to risk upsetting her.

This was hands down the best meal she had eaten in years. She hadn’t expected Su Taotao’s cooking to be so good. It was the same ingredients, but Su Taotao’s version was so delicious that she could barely stop herself from swallowing her tongue. Even the smashed cucumber salad was perfectly seasoned.

"Taotao, after eating the meals you cooked, I feel like I’ve wasted ingredients all these years. Your cooking is amazing."

Fu Yuanhang was nodding non-stop, his bowl already empty, his eyes still eagerly fixed on the rice crust in the small clay pot.

Su Taotao didn’t like eating the rice crust, but the children loved it. She gave Fu Yuanhang the largest portion, but at his age, a child’s stomach was like a bottomless pit, especially in these lean times when there wasn’t much oil in the food, making it hard to feel "full."

"Yuanhang, go eat the crust in the pot. There’s some sauce left in the big pot; pour it in so you don’t choke."

Fu Yuanhang’s face turned red, a little embarrassed, but he still said softly, "Thank you, sister-in-law," before taking the small clay pot to pour all the sauce from the big pot in, returning contentedly. He munched on it with relish and even gave a piece to Chenchen to chew on slowly.

Su Taotao added, "There are a few sweet potatoes warming in the small charcoal stove. If you want to eat them, go ahead, or you can take them with you for your afternoon work or school. They’ll be there if you get hungry."

Fu Yuanhang continued nodding. He had a lot of physical activity and got hungry quickly. He usually started feeling hungry by the time the first afternoon class rolled around. Zhou Linglan would also prepare some coarse grains for him to take along.

This was the most satisfying lunch Fu Yuanhang had ever had. Usually, lunch was just something to get by, and if he didn’t get full, he’d just eat a few more sweet potatoes. This was what lunch was supposed to be like. His sister-in-law was really stepping up!

After the meal, Fu Yuanhang washed the dishes, and Su Taotao took Chenchen to rinse his mouth, wash his hands, and face. She couldn’t let such a cute little guy stay dirty. She was determined to cultivate the little guy’s hygiene awareness.

Chenchen no longer resisted Su Taotao and obediently let her carry him away.

Su Taotao couldn’t help but kiss him several times. The little guy’s confused and helpless expression made Su Taotao chuckle.

Su Taotao didn’t know that such a simple meal had already won over the stomachs of the whole family. If she had known, she’d probably say, "This is just the start. Wait till I get more ingredients, and I’ll show you what real cooking is all about."