"Taohua, I've come to take you to the capital this time!" Shen Zizhen's deep voice was rich and pleasant.
His words instantly petrified everyone present.
The capital?
Was it the capital they imagined?
It was a place they had heard of but could only see in picture books.
They heard it had tall city walls and magnificent palaces.
They heard the people living there were of a higher status than others.
But what had they just heard?
Teacher Shen said he was taking Taohua to the capital?
Everyone thought it was simply impossible!
However, Shen Zizhen's voice, though low, was not quiet, loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.
"I..." Su Taohua lowered her head, unsure how to answer.
She felt she was not worthy of going to a place like the capital.
What business did a country woman, and a divorced one at that, have in the capital?
If she went, perhaps everyone would mock Shen Zizhen, saying he married a second-hand woman.
Shen Zizhen smiled and said softly, "You are my wife, so naturally, you must go to the capital to live with me. Or, do you not want to take care of me anymore?"
When Su Taohua married Shen Zizhen, his health was not very good. However, after Su Taohua's care for a period, Shen Zizhen's health had improved significantly.
And Su Taohua had indeed promised to take good care of Shen Zizhen and help him live a long life.
"Taohua, we are husband and wife, we cannot be separated for long. This time, I'm not only taking you to the capital, but Xiaogang and Xiaomei will go too."
Since marrying Su Taohua, Shen Zizhen had treated her three children as his own.
Su Xiaogang and Su Xiaomei clearly hadn't expected Shen Zizhen to say he was taking them to the capital as well.
The siblings had already resigned themselves to living their own lives as long as their mother was happy.
"Uncle Shen!" Su Xiaomei looked at Shen Zizhen, asking in disbelief.
"Xiaomei, congratulations, you're going to be a university student!"
Su Xiaomei was stunned and after a while asked, "Uncle Shen, how did you..."
How did Shen Zizhen know?
"I heard your grades are very good, and I know you applied to the Agricultural University. Good child, you have a bright future."
Shen Zizhen really didn't understand why Su Xiaomei decided to attend the Agricultural University.
He had always thought it was better for girls to attend normal schools.
Becoming a teacher in the future was a respectable and relatively easy profession.
Shen Zizhen had no idea that Su Xiaomei's decision to apply to the Agricultural University was to find him.
"Uncle Shen, will I be admitted?"
Although her grades were good in the county town, the Agricultural University attracted students from all over the country. She really didn't know how her grades compared.
"Yes, your grades are very good! Xiaomei, you are an excellent child." Shen Zizhen did not hesitate to praise her. "Xiaogang, you must learn from your brother and sister. Your brother and sister are both very outstanding, and I believe you will also be an outstanding child."
Su Xiaogang had always known that he wasn't a particularly outstanding child. Both his older brother and sister were much better than him.
He hadn't expected Shen Zizhen to say he was also excellent.
Su Xiaotian looked at the family in front of her and gently tugged at Su Xiaosi and Su Xiaowu's sleeves, signaling it was time to go home.
When they returned to the old Su family home, only Grandma Su was there washing clothes.
"Grandma, we're back!" Su Xiaotian's sweet voice echoed in the yard. Grandma Su immediately looked up.
"Oh, my precious darling is back! How did you get back?"
"Grandma, we took the bus."
"Why didn't your dad and your uncle-in-law send you? What if something happened to a few little kids taking the bus?" Grandma Su muttered.
In her heart, children were still children, even if they had been away for a long time.
Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Grandma, it's okay, we walked by ourselves in the county town."
After a brief affectionate chat, Grandma Su put down the clothes she was washing and went to cook for her grandchildren.
Su Xiaotian and the others hadn't been home for several months, and everything seemed fresh again.
After carefully looking around the yard, Su Xiaotian felt there wasn't much change and nothing particularly interesting.
She then went to the kitchen to help Grandma Su.
The grandmother and granddaughter chatted happily about trivial matters.
"Grandma, Uncle Shen is back!" Su Xiaotian suddenly remembered and said.
"Who's back?"
"Uncle Shen! Uncle Shen said he's taking Aunt Taohua, Sister Xiaomei, and Brother Xiaogang to the capital."
Grandma Su, who was holding a cabbage to wash, dropped it with a splash into the basin when she heard Su Xiaotian's words.
"You mean Shen Zizhen is back?"
Grandma Su was so excited.
During this time, seeing Su Taohua being bullied and harassed by everyone because Shen Zizhen hadn't returned, she had felt immense distress.
She had even blamed Shen Zizhen for being a heartless man on several occasions.
But now Xiaotian said Shen Zizhen was back, could it be true?
"Yes, Grandma, Uncle Shen is back!"
Grandma Su looked at Su Xiaotian, overjoyed. She suddenly stepped forward, cupped Su Xiaotian's little face, and planted a kiss on it. "My precious darling, you truly are a little lucky star!"
Oh?
Su Xiaotian was very confused. What did Uncle Shen's return have to do with her being a lucky star?
That afternoon, Little Lucky Star Su Xiaotian went to the cowshed and saw Shen Zizhen there again.
Shen Zizhen was sitting on the small kang, talking with Chi Ge, Du Tonghe, and a few others.
"Old Shen, don't bother with our affairs. You finally got to go back, don't get implicated again," Chi Ge said in a deep voice.
Having lived together, it was a lie to say they weren't envious when Shen Zizhen returned.
But it was just envy, nothing more.
"No, I will continue to work hard. You are all good people, and you shouldn't be here forever."
Chi Ge smiled and said, "Actually, it's quite good here too."
Hearing this, Su Xiaotian entered and said, "Grandpa Chi, it is indeed quite good here."
"Xiaotian is here? Are you looking for Yiyuan?" Grandpa Chi asked cheerfully.
"Where is Brother Yiyuan?" Su Xiaotian was indeed looking for Chi Yiyuan, so she asked without concealment.
"He went up the mountain with your three older brothers. They said they were going to see if there were any good prey on the mountain," Chi Ge said with a smile. "They took steamed buns, so they won't be back for lunch!"
Su Xiaotian was very disappointed and regretted not asking her grandma earlier.
If she had asked clearly, she wouldn't have made this trip.
"Grandpa Chi, Grandpa, Grandma, I miss you!"
Since Chi Yiyuan wasn't there, Su Xiaotian simply climbed onto the kang and chatted with the others.
Yu Ruiyuan hugged Su Xiaotian and said, "Precious darling, your little mouth is as sweet as honey."
Du Tonghe smiled as he watched Yu Ruiyuan and Su Xiaotian being affectionate.
"Look, Old Shen, we have a granddaughter here, why must we go back?" Du Tonghe said, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
They had no relatives left in the capital. Rather than being lonely as an old couple, it was better to live with this child, Su Xiaotian.
"However, I have a premonition that this child Xiaotian will one day go to the capital," Shen Zizhen said without any doubt.
It was already a certainty that the three older boys of the Su family would go to the capital. Although Su Xiaotian was young, she was the most diligent and intelligent student, and she would surely attend the best university in the future.
And the best universities were in the capital.
This child Xiaotian would fly out of this poor mountain village in at most four or five years.
When Chi Yiyuan came down the mountain, Su Xiaotian was still in the cowshed, roasting potatoes with Yu Ruiyuan.
"Xiaotian, you're back?" Chi Yiyuan blinked, almost not believing his eyes when he saw Su Xiaotian.
"Brother Yiyuan, you're back from the mountain? Did you catch anything good today?"
Hearing this, Chi Yiyuan looked a bit guilty.
They had agreed to go up the mountain because Su Xiaotian was returning, and they intended to find something good for Su Xiaotian to eat.
But who knew that after spending the whole day on the mountain, they hadn't even caught a pheasant, which was incredibly frustrating.
Before, when they went up the mountain with Xiaotian, they never came back empty-handed. Every time they returned with a full load.
Why was there such a big difference when Xiaotian was missing?
Su Xiaotian, of course, didn't know what Chi Yiyuan was thinking. Instead, she dug out a fragrant roasted potato from the fire and said, "Brother Yiyuan, you must be cold and hungry after being on the mountain all day. Have a roasted potato quickly."
Holding the black roasted potato in her hands, it was hot.
However, Chi Yiyuan felt his heart warm.
After they finished eating the roasted potatoes, their hands were all black. Especially Su Xiaotian's face, where a patch of black soot had gotten smeared at some point.
Chi Yiyuan carefully wiped it clean for Su Xiaotian with his sleeve.
"You girl, how did you become a little calico cat?" The pampering and tenderness in his voice were undeniable.
Chi Ge couldn't help but smile as he watched the two young people interact so harmoniously.
"Old Chi, after I go back this time, I will definitely find a way to bring you and Yiyuan back."
Chi Yiyuan was also a good child. It would be a waste of talent if such a child was to stay here forever.
"I don't know if I will ever be able to go back in my lifetime, Old Shen. If you can find a way, take Xiao Yuan with you, and I will be eternally grateful!" Chi Ge naturally did not want his grandson to waste his time here forever.
Since the Su family's children started going to school, Chi Yiyuan's mood had been quite bad, which Chi Ge had noticed long ago.
But he could only pretend not to know.
He had taught for most of his life, yet at the end, he couldn't send his own grandson to school. Thinking about it was truly sad.
Shen Zizhen was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Su Xiaotian happened to overhear their conversation and said to Chi Ge with a bright smile, "Grandpa Chi, believe me, by next year at the latest, you will definitely be able to return to the capital!"
Chi Ge was surprised by Su Xiaotian's confident words.
Chi Yiyuan, who was listening nearby, said with a trembling voice, "Xiaotian, is what you're saying true?"
Unlike Chi Ge's calmness, the young man lacked a bit of composure.
He truly wanted to return to the capital, to return to school.
He also wanted to return to his normal life and live like a normal person.
"Brother Yiyuan, it's definitely true!" Su Xiaotian nodded solemnly, even adding some gestures.
Chi Yiyuan couldn't help but hug Su Xiaotian tightly.
"Xiaotian, thank you. Thank you for giving me such hope!"
After saying this, Chi Yiyuan suddenly felt that he was being foolish. Xiaotian was just a child. Her casual remark about him returning to the capital, who knew if it was true.
Yet, he believed it without hesitation.
"Brother Yiyuan, I never lie. Whatever I say, it will definitely come true."
Du Tonghe and his wife looked at Su Xiaotian speaking so resolutely and exchanged glances before asking, "Xiaotian, do you think we can go back?"
"Yes, you can," Su Xiaotian said solemnly.
In the future, they would always return to their rightful lives.
The next day, the children of the old Su family headed up the mountain in a grand procession.
There weren't many prey in the mountains at this time, but what Grandpa Su couldn't understand was why Xiaotian always brought back a lot of prey every time she went.
This day was no different. When the children came down the mountain, they had pheasants, rabbits, and a small wild boar.
Su Laoda couldn't help but laugh, "Mom always said Xiaotian is lucky, I thought it was an exaggeration, but now it seems she really is lucky."
Otherwise, why did the few bald boys come back empty-handed yesterday, but today Xiaotian went and brought back so many good things.
Grandma Su heard her eldest son say this and remembered what Su Xiaojiu had said before, about the mushrooms seeming to grow legs and run to Xiaotian.
Mushrooms didn't have legs, but wild boars and pheasants did. Perhaps they had run to Xiaotian's feet.
"Grandma, this little wild boar, let's make some dried meat and give it to Uncle Shen and them to take to the capital when they leave!" Su Xiaotian looked at the little wild boar, thinking of the preserved pork from her previous life, and said.
Grandma Su had originally planned to salt this entire wild boar into shredded meat, which would last the family for several months.
But since Su Xiaotian said so, Grandma Su felt it made sense.
Both of them had been kind to Xiaotian, and she remembered it clearly.
"Okay, we'll secretly make it tonight," Grandma Su agreed.
Tonight, the howling wind was suitable for making things that couldn't be seen or smelled by others.
For example, boiling meat was the most suitable.
Anyway, the smell would be carried away by the wind, so there was no fear of being noticed.
Unexpectedly, after dinner, it started to snow. It began with light snowflakes, and by the time it was completely dark, it was a blizzard.
Su Xiaotian looked at the heavy snow and couldn't help but feel relieved, "Fortunately, we came back. If we hadn't, the bus tomorrow probably wouldn't be able to run."
Grandma Su agreed wholeheartedly. Wasn't that true?
"It's still my precious darling's good luck. If it weren't for that, with so much snow tomorrow, wouldn't you all be stranded in the county town?"
In Grandma Su's heart, although there was a house in the county town, home was definitely the old house in Hongxin Brigade.
The grandmother and grandchildren hadn't seen each other for some time, and with the heavy snow, they probably wouldn't have anything else to do tomorrow except lie on the kang and sleep. So, Grandma Su let the children sit together and chat.
"Late has the sky turned to snow, can we have a drink? It's a pity we don't have any wine at home!" Su Xiaotian suddenly felt a bit sentimental.
"Xiaotian is right, drinking would be wonderful on a day like this. We happen to have some meat at home, let's invite Teacher Shen, Professor Chi, and Teacher Du over for dinner tomorrow." Grandpa Su's appetite was whetted by his granddaughter's words.
Of course, they had wine at home, but Su Xiaotian was a little girl, and he naturally didn't want her to drink.
Su Xiaotian didn't expect her grandpa to actually want to drink.
"Alright, it's rare for Teacher Shen to be back, let's invite Taohua and the others over for dinner tomorrow," Grandma Su also agreed.
By evening, almost everyone in the brigade knew that Su Taohua was going to the city to enjoy a good life, and Grandma Su naturally knew this as well.
With the matter settled, Grandma Su simply calculated the meat at home. She set aside what they would eat tomorrow, and the rest, as Su Xiaotian suggested, was to select lean meat for dried meat and fat for rendering oil.
Of course, they also didn't forget to set aside a small portion of the meat to stir-fry into shredded meat, which was for Chi Ge and Du Tonghe.
Su Taohua's family was different now. Grandma Su cut off a piece of meat and said, "This meat is for Taohua and them to cook and eat themselves."
After categorizing all the meat, Grandma Su and Wang Xianghua busied themselves making dried meat.
Su Xiaotian helped by doing some of the supporting tasks.
Su Shouwen and the others saw the three of them busy and came to help.
With everyone pitching in, the work went much faster.
The family worked for most of the night and finally made a lot of dried meat.
Grandma Su looked at the overflowing wooden basin of semi-hard, semi-soft dried meat, her face beaming with joy.
"The effort of most of the night wasn't wasted, we made so much!"
"Grandma, when we have a chance, we'll go up the mountain again and get a bigger wild boar." Su Xiaojiu secretly reached into the basin, took out a piece of dried meat, and put it in his mouth like a little mouse stealing oil, saying, "You're the most gluttonous. Do you think wild boars are like pigs in your sty that you raise? If you want a big one, you get a big one, if you want a small one, you get a small one?"
Su Xiaojiu nodded solemnly and said, "Grandma, really, we definitely can!"
He had too much faith in Su Xiaotian's luck. Anyway, with Su Xiaotian around, there would definitely be a good harvest.
Early the next morning, when Su Xiaotian woke up, snowflakes were still falling from the sky, and there was no sign of them stopping.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of snow, at least five or six inches deep.
"It snowed so much last night?" Su Xiaotian looked at the gloomy sky and felt that the snow might not stop for a while.
"Indeed. Your eldest uncle and second uncle went to the pig farm early this morning, and your eldest aunt went to the chicken farm."
Grandma Su was happy that her sons and daughters-in-law were busy, but she also felt a pang of sympathy.
At this time, other families were all huddled on the kang.
"Grandma, let's sweep the snow in the yard first, and then clear the snow on the roof," Su Shouwen said, holding a large broom.
[Author's Note]
New Year's Day is approaching, and 2021 is about to end. Dear readers, have you achieved your goals from the beginning of the year?