Chapter 518: I Miss You So Much!

Chapter 518 I’ve Missed You All Like Crazy!

Long before Su Taotao became the factory director and supplied goods to the county's supply and marketing cooperative, her name had already became well-known throughout the county. At the time, coconut candies were hard to find and in high demand elsewhere, but the people in their county could easily enjoy them at a discounted price.

Later, when she took Xiao Meizi in to live with her, the villagers held her in high esteem. Not everyone who gains power is willing to help the less fortunate—this was true kindness.

Then, she was admitted to Tsinghua as the top college entrance exam scorer in the province, attracting interviews from provincial journalists, and her fame spread even further across the province.

By last year, reporters came again, announcing that after three years, their village had produced another top scorer in the capital. That was when they learned that Fu Yuanhang, following in Su Taotao’s footsteps, had also been admitted to Tsinghua as the capital’s top scorer.

Their village became the envy of everyone. If this were ancient times, they would have erected a memorial archway in honor of the top scholars and exempted them from taxes on over a hundred acres of land. Even in the 1970s, it wasn’t without benefits—the villagers held their heads high outside, their backs straighter than city folks'.

City folks think they’re so special? Can they produce top scorers? Their rural village could! Tracing back to Fu Zhengtu’s era, this was called "three prodigies from one family!" The family had already produced three top scorers!

The youngest in their family was also exceptionally bright—surely, he’d become a top scorer in the future too!

Now, people from other villages referred to theirs as the "Top Scorer Village." The young men and women of their village also gained higher status, with matchmakers visiting frequently. Marrying a girl from their village even commanded a higher dowry than elsewhere. After all, if you married a girl from the Top Scorer Village, who knew—maybe she’d bear a future top scorer to bring glory to the family? Surely, that was worth paying a little extra for?

Naturally, Su Taotao’s family, far away in the capital, knew nothing about these matters. Even if they had, they would have just brushed it off without a second thought.

This trip south was really just a detour to revisit Qinglian Village. After all, Su Taotao hadn’t lived there long, and her interactions with the villagers had been few. Yet, there was still a faint sense of a triumphant return.

"Mom, I remember this place! When I was little, you brought me here to work at the shop. I still remember Uncle Xu."

Chef Xu adored Chenchen, even lending him his own resting room and often giving him treats. Chenchen, with his extraordinary memory, never forgot the things that happened in his childhood.

It had been years since then. Looking back, it had already been nine years since Su Taotao first brought the little guy to this government-owned diner.

Chenchen had been just two years old then, unable to speak. Now, he had grown into an eleven-year-old boy, nearly as tall as she was.

Su Taotao gazed at her son, who was even more handsome than a comic book character, and beckoned to him:

"Chenchen, come here."

The handsome boy turned with a smile, just like when he was little, and ran straight to his mother without hesitation.

The cheerful, sunny boy loved to laugh, his new front teeth white and even. When his large eyes crinkled into crescents, they could melt anyone’s heart.

"What is it, Mom?"

Su Taotao hugged him, her heart melted. She shook her head. "Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to hold my sweet boy."

Chenchen’s big eyes still curved like little moons as he hugged her back tightly.

"Mom, are you tired? Let me carry your bag too."

Su Taotao released him and gently patted his back.

"It’s fine, I’m not tired. The things in the village haven’t been used in so long—eating and such will be inconvenient. Let’s drop our things at the inn first, get some food, then go take a look. We’ll stay there tonight."

The eighteen-year-old Fu Yuanhang had long since become self-reliant. He carried both the youthful energy and the steady maturity of a mature man, creating a uniquely striking presence.

How do I put this? It's like a fruit wine fermented to perfection—maybe with grapes, maybe with plums, or perhaps oranges...

Either way, it’s full of flavor that makes you want to savor it again and again.

For as long as anyone could remember, he’d handled everything, big or small, in Su Taotao's household.

When the new branch of "Four Seas, One Family" opened, from site selection to design and renovation, he was the one communicating and overseeing everything with Su Wenhan.

After Su Taotao set the general direction and provided the recipes, the subsequent operations were also handled by him and Su Wenhan.

Su Taotao happily played the hands-off boss, just checking her bank balance now and then.

The old shop in the alley mainly served as their canteen, since there were a house full of hungry mouths at home, and both Fu Yuanhang and Chenchen were at the age where they were hitting growth spurts. They could always return to their own shop to eat as much as they wanted—no risk of going hungry.

Later, it also became the canteen for Chenchen and Fu Yuanhang's classmates, all of whom were growing teenagers. The priority was hearty, tasty meals that kept them full. After all, with the new branch handling the profits, this one just needed to cover daily expenses.

The original customers gradually shifted to the new branch, turning the place into a canteen and hangout spot for the children.

After all, Chenchen and Chen Zigui had learned many of the games "invented" by Su Taotao, and whenever they felt like it, they would organize a session to play together.

Such a wonderful place was practically a paradise for the children—after all, who wouldn’t love playing with Chenchen?

Zhou Linglan became addicted to her role as the "cashier," counting money and keeping accounts every day as if she had found a new lease on life. She looked more spirited and youthful by the day.

But I’m getting off track.

Fu Yuanhang, worried that Su Taotao would be exhausted from traveling back and forth, said, "Sis, I can clean up quickly. Spending a night in the village is fine too."

Su Taotao shook her head. "Forget it. There’s nothing worth lingering over in the village—a quick look is all we need. Unless you all want to stay longer?"

Fu Yuanhang shook his head. "No, we’ll follow your arrangements."

The village held mostly bad memories for him. In contrast, he missed the southern base much more—it was where all his best memories lived.

Chenchen, of course, didn’t miss Qinglian Village much either. After all, Zhou Linglan had even taken Fu Lei’s memorial tablet with her to the capital. Once she left, she never planned to return.

No matter how hard they pleaded, she refused to come back for even a look.

Zhou Linglan was gentle in temperament but firm in resolve. Once she made up her mind, nothing could change her mind.

But since they happened to be passing by, it’d be weird not to at least stop by.

Chen Zigui, who had never been to the countryside, was pretty curious about the place.

"By the way, when’s Uncle Mu’s train getting in?" Su Taotao asked.

Fu Yuanhang checked his watch. "Around noon. We agreed that whoever gets there first waits at the guesthouse."

Su Taotao said, "I totally forgot about that earlier. We should’ve waited for them at the train station."

Fu Yuanhang shook his head. "Trains might be delayed, and the station’s packed and stuffy—terrible for waiting."

Su Taotao thought it made sense. Since they were already out, and the county town wasn’t big anyway, the biggest guesthouse was only a few blocks over.

The county guesthouse had been renovated last year and even renamed as a hotel, looking way fancier than before.

After Fu Yuanhang completed the check-in, he let Su Taotao go upstairs to rest while he grabbed Chen Zigui and Chenchen to pick up food, planning to get meals for Uncle Mu and the others as well. If they hadn’t arrived by two o’clock, they would head straight to Qinglian Village.

But just as the three of them stepped out of the hotel—

A buzz-cut, exuberant boy, even more pumped than the family’s Bai Bai, sprinted toward them at full speed, tossing his bags aside before pulling them all into a bear hug:

"Ah Hang! Chenchen! Zigui! I’ve missed you guys like crazy!"

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