Chapter 85: Being Imitated

Chapter 85 Unwanted Imitation

After Fu Tinghua left, the house felt emptier without him.

Thinking of the lingering sadness in his gaze when he departed, Su He couldn’t help but feel that he really did love the kids.

Niu Niu was playing with the Barbie doll her father had bought for her, and she’d already forgotten her sadness from Daddy leaving.

The Barbie doll Fu Tinghua had bought came with several sets of clothes, and Niu Niu kept changing its outfits over and over.

"Mommy, why don’t I have any pretty dresses?" Niu Niu suddenly asked after changing the doll into yet another outfit.

Uh...

Living in the village, where they often went to the fields or up the mountains, Su He had never dressed Niu Niu in frilly skirts.

But while she opted for practicality, she hadn’t realized that all little girls love dressing up—even someone as young as Niu Niu was no exception.

"You do have dresses. If you want to wear one, I can change you into one now."

Niu Niu thought for a moment but shook her head, saying, "I’ll wear one when we visit Daddy in the city. Daddy looks so handsome."

Meaning that since Daddy looked so handsome, she wanted to look beautiful too in a pretty little dress.

After saying this, Niu Niu glanced at Su He and added, "Mommy, wear a dress too when we go to the city, okay?"

"Mommy’s not pretty in dresses," Su He replied helplessly.

"Mommy’s the prettiest ever! Right, Brother?" Niu Niu tugged at Zai Zai beside her and asked excitedly.

"Yeah, Mommy, you’re the prettiest ever!"

Su He: "..."

She wasn’t done losing weight! What was the point of wearing a dress?

In truth, to outsiders, Su He’s weight loss had been wildly successful.

She hadn’t followed any strict exercise routine or prepared special diet meals—she had simply reduced her portions and let her stretched stomach return to normal.

Yet, even so, the speed at which she had slimmed down was astonishing.

Now, Su He could only be described as a bit curvy, but she still hadn’t reached her own ideal body shape.

She basically had to swap out her clothes every week—there was no helping it, as her old clothes had become far too loose.

Su He and the two children spent two peaceful days at home, during which they took some time to check on the durian tree.

They saw that the durian tree was already dripping with durians, though they weren’t very big yet. It was likely that in a little more time, they could be harvested for sale.

Taking advantage of her trip to the city the following week, Su He planned to find a good spot at the market’s fruit stalls to set up and sell the durians.

Soon, it was town market day again. Su He had already prepared the fried dough in advance and stored it in her space, ready to be taken out when it was time to set up her stall.

Once again, she set off with her usual load of cookware in tow. Early in the morning, Su He and the two children bantered and giggled with Aunt Niu as they hurried to the market.

"Miss Su, no offense, but now that you’ve slimmed down, you’re real pretty," Aunt Niu said, unable to stop staring at Su He’s face.

And it wasn’t an exaggeration—Miss Su’s appearance after losing weight was gorgeous.

Her delicate features are truly pleasing to the eye.

Especially those big, round eyes—how does she get her lashes so long and curly?

Then there’s her straight nose and small, delicate mouth, perfectly arranged on her fair face, making her exceptionally charming.

Every time she sees this, Aunt Niu burns with curiosity, wondering what secret trick Su He uses to keep her lips so pink and tempting.

But she’s too embarrassed to ask—why even ask about such things? Yet she can’t help but stare.

Moreover, Su He's skin is absolutely flawless. That snow-white complexion is so smooth, you can hardly see a single pore. And even though she’s often out working in the fields or hills, her skin hasn’t darkened at all from the sun. How does she do it? Aunt Niu wonders silently.

No wonder she's city-bred—she’s just different from us country folk. Even her vibe is different, nothing like a village girl.

"I’m doing alright now, not as fat as before, but still a little plump," Su He replied with a smile.

She loves being complimented on her weight loss—the more praise the better.

"Oh, you’re not fat at all! What’s that saying again? Perfect figure—yes, that's the word!"

"Heh, something like that."

By Su He's standards, her current figure still doesn’t meet her own expectations, but in this era, skinny isn't considered attractive—people think it’s bad for health and childbearing.

"You and Jia Tinghua are such a perfect match now. You have no idea, every time I see Jia Tinghua, I can barely look directly at him—he's ridiculously handsome!" Aunt Niu exaggerated.

Su He burst into laughter, thoroughly amused.

But Fu Tinghua really is the kind of person who stands out in a crowd—he's ridiculously handsome, making everyone else look ordinary.

When they arrived in town, however, Su He found that the spot she and Aunt Niu had used before was already taken.

To make matters worse, the newcomers were copying her—they had also started selling fried dough.

So, people are already jealous? It didn’t take long for imitators to appear.

Aunt Niu saw it too. The pair appeared to be a thirty-something couple, and everything—from the spot they occupied to their setup—was a carbon copy of Su He's last time.

If any returning customers came to buy, they’d surely think these were the same vendors as before.

"Isn’t this disgusting? Stealing your technique and taking your spot—aren’t they just trying to trick your customers into thinking they bought from them before? No, I’m going to tell them off!" Aunt Niu fumed, rolling up her sleeves like she meant business.

Seeing this, Su He quickly stopped her.

"No, no, Auntie, this spot wasn't ours to keep. Finders keepers—that's the rule.

Besides, what I make is really easy to copy.

I knew people would imitate me the moment I started selling while frying.

Right now, the authorities are clamping down on trouble—let’s not make waves and risk losing our chance to do business.

Come on, their business won’t last long anyway. Let’s find another spot."

With that, Su He pulled Aunt Niu away.

They found an even better location than before and got to work.

To be honest, the previous spot wasn't really that great, but since it was where they set up their stall for the first time, they still went back there the second time.

For the next two times, they arrived earlier than the first time, so they managed to secure slightly better spots.

"I'm going to buy charcoal, Aunt. Can you watch the stall for me?"

Su He looked at the two kids and said, "It's still too early. Stay here with Mom for now, and later you can go play with Ji Liangchuan."

"Got it, Mom," the two kids replied obediently.

Su He went back to the same shop as before, paid three yuan for a big bag of charcoal, and then headed back to the stall.