Chapter 68: Come Over to Play

Chapter 68: Coming Over to Play

Two days passed quickly, and with the diligent efforts of her sisters-in-law, the durian trees were finally planted.

During these two days, meals were prepared at Su He's home. She stuck to cooking and didn’t go up the mountain to plant trees anymore.

Su He kind of felt bad about this, as she was the one who had called for the tree planting but ended up not doing the work herself.

However, because Su He’s cooking was so delicious, they didn’t want to overstay their welcome.

So, her sisters-in-law preferred to take on the planting work themselves and left the cooking task to her.

Su He had no objections to cooking, as it was a very simple task for her.

Meanwhile, Wu Yanhua kept bringing over tons of food to Su He’s home these past two days, which made Su He feel awkward.

Their two families couldn’t possibly finish all that food in just two days.

But Wu Yanhua didn’t care—she just dumped the food at Su He’s place and refused to take any of it back, no matter how Su He tried to persuade her.

The Fu kids had gotten used to Su He’s tasty cooking over these two days.

When they returned home and ate their bland home-cooked meals, they couldn’t help but miss the dishes from their aunt’s house.

However, Grandma Wu Yanhua had strictly forbidden them from bothering Su He—what kind of manners were those, always mooching off someone else?

Earlier, while on the mountain, Su He had checked the previously planted durian trees, which had already borne fruit and were growing very well.

The space’s customer service rep hadn’t lied to her—these specially bred durian saplings could indeed thrive even in the north.

In another month, Su He would be able to sell durians.

However, durians weren’t a fruit that everyone enjoyed, so she would need to target the right buyers when the time came.

It seemed that before selling the durians, she would have to head into town to prepare for the follow-up work.

"Mom, mom, aren’t Zhuang Zhuang and them coming to our house today?" Niu Niu asked while eating the boiled egg breakfast Su He had prepared for them.

"No, they’re eating at their own home today."

Just as she spoke, a car rumbled up outside.

A car? Cars were a rare sight back then, and one was pulling up to her house? Could it be Xie Yunxin?

Su He thought, heading for the door.

Then came a surprise visitor.

"Aunt Su!" Ji Liangchuan shouted excitedly as he stepped out of the car.

"Liangchuan!" Su He exclaimed in surprise.

At that moment, Ji Liangchuan’s grandmother, Ms. Zhou, also got out of the car. She smiled at Su He and said, "My grandson kept saying he wanted to visit your home and was moping around. Since we had some free time today, I went ahead and brought him. I hope we’re not disturbing your family?"

"Not at all! We’re free today anyway," Su He quickly replied.

Hearing the commotion, Zai Zai and Niu Niu rushed out of the house. When Niu Niu saw Ji Liangchuan, she squealed, "Liangchuan!"

"Niu Niu, Zai Zai." Ji Liangchuan suddenly became a little shy, as he was a guest in someone else’s home and felt a little out of place.

"Have you had breakfast yet? We're just eating, would you like to join us?" Su He said quickly.

"No need, we already ate before heading over. It’s not far at all—just a 20- to 30-minute drive," Ms. Zhou replied.

After speaking, she went to the trunk of the car, opened it, and took out two chickens and some vegetables.

"Miss Su, I’m so sorry to drop by unannounced. Chuan raved about your mushroom chicken, so I brought some chicken and mushrooms. Sorry to trouble you."

Ms. Zhou steeled herself to say this—honestly, it was the first time in her life she had ever been so bold.

Was it even okay to show up uninvited and ask for a meal?

Su He, however, felt even more embarrassed. Guests shouldn’t have to bring their own food!

"No need, no need. We still have chicken at home. I’ll take the mushrooms, though—we don’t have those."

But Ms. Zhou wouldn’t take no for an answer. She had come all this way with two chickens—how could she possibly take them back?

After some polite arguing, Su He finally gave in.

Su He did still have one chicken at home, kept in the yard.

She’d bought two chickens on a trip to town earlier. Fu Tinghua had slaughtered one when he returned, and she had been reluctant to kill the other.

Now it looked like they’d be slaughtering another chicken.

After placing the two chickens Ms. Zhou had brought in the yard, Su He stepped outside and saw the three children already playing together.

Zai Zai shared one of his toy bows and arrows with Ji Liangchuan, and the two were going "pew pew!" while playing. Niu Niu sat quietly nearby, waiting for Su He to braid her hair.

Meanwhile, Ms. Zhou lingered at the gate, surveying the village. When she saw Su He come out, she remarked, "Your village folks sure are hardworking. Look at all the people in the fields."

Crops meant a family’s livelihood for the whole year, and the people of Shangyao Village took it very seriously.

"Yes, everyone here is diligent about farming. But with hardly any land here, I don’t farm myself," Su He said with a smile.

"With your business thriving, why sweat over farming?"

Ms. Zhou, sharp as ever, understood that while farming was important in this era, individual businesses would soon rise in prominence.

"True. With little land at home, I had no choice but to go into business."

While chatting, Su He started braiding Niu Niu’s hair.

Knowing her daughter was all about looking cute, she styled several beautiful little braids for her this time.

Once the braids were done, Niu Niu ran up to Ji Liangchuan and asked, "Brother Chuan, do you think my hair looks nice?"

Su He facepalmed. Even though they were children, who just bluntly asked others if they looked good?

The day was overcast, no sun in sight.

"Strange. The sky was clear as could be when we left," Ms. Zhou muttered as she sat by the front gate.

"Mom, mom, since there’s no strong sun, can we take Brother Chuan eel hunting in the fields?" Niu Niu asked excitedly.

Su He glanced at the nearby fields and nodded. "Sure, but stick close by."

The children eagerly ran toward the fields. To ease Ms. Zhou’s worries, Su He reassured her, "They’re right nearby—nothing to worry about."

Ms. Zhou was moved by her kindness and grew even more convinced of Su He’s good character.

Putting everything else aside, just the care she showed for her two children proved she was a good person.

"I’m not worried. Chuan hasn’t gotten to cut loose like this in ages—I was afraid he’d grow too stifled at my place," Ms. Zhou sighed.