Chapter 86: She’s Too Ordinary to Teach Such Smart Kids

Chapter 86: She's Too Ordinary to Teach Such Smart Kids

Fu Zhengtu understood their excitement.

Because every time he ate something made by Su Taotao, he felt the same way.

Even her home-cooked meals were exceptional.

I wonder what she will make once the oven is ready?

"Zhengtu?" the Deputy Director asked.

Fu Zhengtu, for the first time during a meeting, zoned out and strategically cleared his throat. "No need to doubt, I eat what she makes every day."

The Deputy Director thought to himself, yes, before Fu Zhengtu wouldn’t even go home for meals when he wasn’t on external assignments, and he even found it a waste of time to go home to sleep.

Now, it’s said that he goes home for all three meals a day and sometimes even brings food back with him.

The Deputy Director and the Head of Accounting exchanged glances. "If we don’t open a small workshop but instead start a food factory under the base’s name, would Comrade Su have the confidence to generate substantial revenue for the base?"

After eating the coconut candy, she went from "Little Su" to "Comrade Su."

No one would turn down more funding, but while they excelled in research, economics wasn’t their strong suit. They had tried numerous projects, but all had ended in failure.

It was rare to find a talent like Su Taotao, who understood economics, products, and even design. She was the well of talent they had been thirsting for.

Fu Zhengtu seemed to have anticipated their question and replied calmly, "Comrade Su's idea is that you can’t eat an elephant in one bite. One must learn to walk before running. Her strategic blueprint is clear; the workshop is just the beginning, and adjustments will be made as it develops.

If you start with too big a plan, without sufficient manpower, resources, or finances, everything will fall apart."

Fu Zhengtu changed his reference from "my wife" to "Comrade Su." Su Taotao was not his accessory; she was an independent individual, "Comrade Su." In the future, she might become "Director Su" or "Boss Su," not just "Fu Zhengtu’s wife."

The Deputy Director calmed down, realizing he had been overly eager in pursuing research funding. He understood the dangers of rushing and failing.

He nodded. "You’re right. Comrade Su has thought this through thoroughly. Let’s have her come over sometime and discuss it in person."

The Deputy Director patted Fu Zhengtu on the shoulder. "Zhengtu, if Comrade Su can help us solve the funding issue, the base will be immensely grateful to her."

Fu Zhengtu didn’t want them to place such a huge responsibility on Su Taotao and said lightly, "Her original goal was to address her own employment needs because the base couldn't. She found her own solution and, in the process, helped some family members with their employment issues.

She’ll give her best effort, but success also depends on timing and circumstances beyond her control."

Fu Zhengtu rarely said so much. During meetings, he usually just highlighted key points and never said anything extra. Today had been the most he had ever spoken.

The Deputy Director nodded. "I understand. Don’t worry, we won’t put pressure on her. Just have Comrade Su come over as soon as possible."

…

At that moment, Su Taotao was at home, providing early education to a child.

The child enjoyed saying words in short bursts, so teaching him the Three Character Classic was perfect.

She only taught a few sentences a day, and it would take one or two months to finish the 1,000-character text.

Children often remembered things quickly but forgot them just as fast. They might forget what you taught them right after learning it.

So today, Su Taotao first taught him the first eight sentences.

The little guy's memory was exceptionally good. After Su Taotao taught him just once or twice, he remembered it. She taught him the first eight sentences and then let him go play with Bai Bai.

After an hour, she decided to test him when he wasn’t expecting it.

Actually, the little guy didn’t understand the meaning at all. Su Taotao hadn’t explained it to him.

To her surprise, he opened his mouth and recited it fluently.

Su Taotao: “……”

Su Taotao then started from "Formerly, Mother Meng" and taught him another eight sentences.

After learning them, the child went to play with Bai Bai again.

Su Taotao went to prepare dinner.

When it was almost ready, she came out again to test the child.

And again, the child remembered.

“Chenchen, do you still remember what I taught you earlier?”

The child slowly nodded, reciting in a sing-song, babyish voice, “People at birth, are naturally good...”

“Teaching five sons, their names all famous...”

After reciting, Chenchen tilted his little head and blinked his round eyes, looking at Su Taotao with an expression that said, “Mom, come on and praise me!”

Su Taotao: “……”

She gently patted Chenchen’s head. “Chenchen is amazing. You didn’t get a single word wrong. I’ll reward you with an extra piece of pork knuckle for dinner.”

Su Taotao seriously doubted that even if she taught him a few hundred sentences in one day, he would still remember.

She felt unworthy.

Her ordinary talent didn’t qualify her to teach such a smart child.

Su Taotao didn’t advocate for rote learning. She preferred joyful education and planned to test him again before bedtime and tomorrow.

However, the chances of Chenchen forgetting after waking up were slim. Once he remembered something, he usually retained it for a long time without forgetting.

Huang Po gave Auntie Zhong some seedlings today. She took advantage of the setting sun to quickly till the soil and plant vegetables.

The summer here was suitable for growing melons and fruits. Auntie Zhong gave her a few seedlings of eggplants, squashes, tomatoes, and peppers. The plot of land outside Su Taotao’s yard wasn’t very large, and planting these would be enough.

In the winter, she planned to plant some leeks, scallions, and garlic along the edges.

Auntie Zhong worked very efficiently and finished planting in no time. After watering thoroughly, she headed home with her buckets.

She didn’t disturb Su Taotao in the slightest.

After spending time together, she had come to understand Su Taotao somewhat.

She noticed that Su Taotao preferred solitude, avoiding group gatherings, casual visits, and gossip. In short, she was different from them.

She is honest and kind-hearted, and definitely not a petty person.

She can’t farm the land herself, so if she lets someone else use it, she makes it clear that it will be returned to the family elders when they arrive.

Despite making such a precious cake at home, she didn’t hesitate to let Fu Yuanhang give a large piece to Uncle Mu.

Auntie Zhong is pretty sharp; she steers clear of anything that might annoy others and always keeps Su Taotao’s kindness in mind.

So she never goes out of her way to bother Su Taotao.

Unless Su Taotao reaches out to her first, she’s more than happy to chat.

Fu Zhengtu and Fu Yuanhang bumped into each other at the street corner downstairs, accompanied by Mo Jialin, who was practically glued to Fu Yuanhang.

The two brothers were taken aback to find crops growing in the empty lot in front of the house.

Fu Yuanhang remarked, “Sis-in-law doesn’t know how to farm, so it’s probably not her handiwork.”

Mo Jialin added, “It must have been Mom. She said Sis-in-law is such a nice person, she gave her the land to farm. Mom was thrilled about it for days.”

Fu Yuanhang thought to himself, that checks out.

Upon hearing Mo Jialin’s explanation, Fu Zhengtu’s furrowed brows eased.

He couldn’t picture Su Taotao, with her soft skin, slaving away under the sun.

The smell of braised pig trotters with peanuts and fermented tofu wafted outside.

Mo Jialin took a deep breath, his mouth watering, and sighed, “Man, I’m so jealous. Sis-in-law must’ve whipped up something amazing again. Smells incredible!”

Auntie Zhong’s cooking was as terrible as usual, so Mo Jialin started praying that his mom wouldn’t cook and that his dad would bring home dinner from the cafeteria.