Chapter 125 Bitter Melon is Not Bitter

Chapter 125 The Bitter Melon That Wasn't Bitter

Da Ya followed behind Su He, walking for a while before suddenly feeling something was off.

She grabbed Zhuang Zhuang, who was excitedly heading toward their aunt’s house, and said, "Let's go home."

Zhuang Zhuang broke free from his sister and whined, "No! I want to go to Auntie’s house to play!"

Ya Ya whispered to him reasonably, "There are too many of us. It’s not good to always eat at Auntie’s without contributing. Grandma just told us to go home after eating the candy and not to bother her for lunch."

This showed how sensible Wu Yanhua was—she disliked exploitative behavior.

Having been taken advantage of by Chen Shufen in the past, she knew how detestable such behavior could be.

Now that her youngest son’s family had moved out, Wu Yanhua didn’t want the other Fu children to be too much for Su He.

Too many kids would be too rowdy.

Honestly, even looking after all her grandchildren alone was exhausting for Wu Yanhua.

Let alone having them all come over to Su He’s house at once.

"I can help Auntie with chores! I just want to go to her house to play—I don’t even need to eat!" Zhuang Zhuang said guiltily.

But Auntie’s cooking was so delicious... Boo hoo.

"No, it’s almost lunchtime. Auntie will feel obliged to feed us. Come home with me, and we’ll visit Auntie again in the afternoon," Da Ya said, trying to pull Zhuang Zhuang away.

"No! I don’t wanna go!"

Zhuang Zhuang struggled against his sister, about to cry.

Hearing the commotion, Su He turned around and saw the siblings arguing.

She set down the pushcart and walked back to them. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

Zhuang Zhuang looked up tearfully at Su He. "Auntie, can I do some work for you? Can I work for food?"

Su He nearly laughed at his words. She gently patted his head. "You're just a little boy. You don’t eat much—no need to work for food."

"I do eat... kind of a lot," Zhuang Zhuang said hesitantly.

He was indeed the biggest eater in the family, which is why he was so chubby.

"Hmm... Let me think. How about this—later tonight, you can go eel hunting for me? The eels can pay for the meal. Does that sound fair?" Su He offered with a smile.

Awesome! He loved going eel hunting in the fields, but Grandma wouldn’t let him go because he always got his clothes dirty.

"But what if Grandma doesn’t let me go to the fields?" Zhuang Zhuang asked.

"Why won’t she let you?"

"I’ll mess up my clothes."

Su He thought for a moment. "How about you learn to wash your own clothes?"

Zhuang Zhuang's eyes lit up—yeah, he could wash his clothes himself, and then Grandma wouldn't scold him.

So he gave Su He an eager nod.

"Come on, let's go to Auntie's house. I'll fix you something tasty."

Da Ya wanted to say something, but when she saw the gentle look in Su He's eyes, she swallowed her words.

Auntie wouldn't get tired of them, would she? Auntie was really so nice.

The group of children arrived at Su He's house, all excited.

Even though Su He's place was just a mud house, it looked run-down from the street, but Su He had kept it spotlessly clean.

The kids launched into a game of "Eagle Catches Chicks" at the front door.

Ji Liangchuan was the most enthusiastic—this game had always seemed childish to him before, but playing with the Fu family kids, he got totally into it.

"Watch yourselves, kids," Su He reminded them before heading inside to prepare lunch.

This time, Su He made three dishes plus soup: sweet and sour pork ribs, bitter melon stir-fried with eggs, hand-shredded cabbage, and a clear greens soup.

Apart from the ribs and eggs, which came from her secret stash, everything else was freshly picked from the garden.

Bitter melon wasn’t something kids usually liked, but Su He had planted some anyway.

Now was her chance to see whether the children really disliked it.

She cut the bitter melon paper-thin and soaked it in water to reduce the bitterness.

While Su He was cooking, Da Ya came in to help.

Su He's heart swelled with affection and pity at how sensible the girl was.

"Auntie, do these vegetables need washing? I’ll haul them to the backyard spigot for you," Da Ya said, already doing just that.

When it was time to eat, the children were practically drooling at the sight of the colorful, fragrant dishes on the table.

"Dig in! Everybody wash up?" Su He asked.

No sooner had she asked than the kids rushed to the backyard to line up and wash their hands.

"Auntie, these ribs are so delicious," Zhuang Zhuang said, picking up a piece.

"Have as much as you want."

With so many kids, they didn't put away much.

Seeing how they all steered clear of the bitter melon and only went for the eggs, Su He couldn’t help but say, "Give the bitter melon a try. It's good for you."

"Nuh-uh, it's yucky."

"I don't want bitter melon. Granny makes me eat it all the time, and it’s not good at all."

"Yuck, bitter."

The kids all made faces.

Su He: "......"

"Do me a favor and try it. Mine is totally different and very tasty," Su He coaxed patiently.

The children exchanged glances, but it was Da Ya who first picked up some bitter melon to eat.

Expecting only bitterness, Da Ya’s face brightened after tasting it.

"It’s not bitter at all. It’s delicious," Da Ya said.

The others eyed her doubtfully but, after some thought, decided to listen to Su He and give it a try.

"Wow, it really isn’t bitter!"

"It’s so good!"

"Auntie Su’s cooking is always the best!"

Ji Liangchuan didn’t like bitter melon either, but this time, it was genuinely tasty.

"Mom’s the best!"

Su He blushed at the praise.

"Alright, dig in. Finish all the dishes—don’t leave a bite," Su He said with a smile.

After the meal, the Fu family children had to go home, like it or not, though they didn’t want to.

Su He didn’t have extra beds for them to sleep on.

"Auntie Su, when I’m older and earn money, I’ll build you a big house so all us kids can play and sleep together," Zhuang Zhuang announced proudly before leaving.

Su He was both amused and touched by his words—already dreaming big, huh?

"Alright, Auntie will be waiting," Su He said gently, ruffling the clever boy’s hair.

Honestly, the Fu family really knows how to raise children.

Kids his age are usually in that bratty, dog-avoiding phase.

But they’re playful without going overboard, and sometimes they’re way more mature than you’d expect.

No surprise they raised a world-class surgeon like Fu Tinghua.

Their time in the countryside was coming to an end. Would Zai Zai and Niu Niu even miss it?

But there was no other choice—if they wanted to earn money, they had to go to the city.

The countryside had no real market, and no way to make real money.