Su Xiaosi watched her brothers and sisters leave, filled with envy and jealousy.
His task for the holiday was to stay and manage Rongfa Business.
It was one thing for the business to be unsupervised for a day or two, but if it was left unattended for too long, trouble would surely arise.
As the operator who received five percent of the net profit, Su Xiaosi had no choice but to dutifully remain at the shop.
Besides Su Xiaosi, Su Sangong and Su Xiaomei also couldn't go this time.
They were following Shen Zizhen on a research project, and now that it had reached a critical stage, they couldn't spare any time.
With the departure of the two original students from the experimental fields, the pressure on Su Sangong and Su Xiaotian had increased even further.
Since Su Xiaomei wasn't going, the family's intention was for Su Xiaotian not to go either. However, Su Xiaotian wanted to go, and how could her family persuade the determined Su Xiaotian?
With all her brothers and sisters gone, the few remaining children suddenly realized how quiet the house had become. Fortunately, they could still conduct business.
Their braised food business was not as good in the summer as it was in the winter.
However, with the introduction of jelly and cold noodles to expand their market, and the diversification of their braised dishes, the business was actually more profitable than in the winter.
As their cold noodle and jelly business became increasingly popular, the little ones wished they had no time even for homework.
Meanwhile, the group of children on the train were in high spirits.
This time, there were no adults from home accompanying them, which made certain things even more liberating.
Su Lao San had to drive his train and couldn't take them, but he was still worried about the children traveling alone.
If it weren't for their previous encounter on the train, Su Xiaotian and the others would have gone by themselves.
But the previous experience had made Su Lao San very concerned about the children's safety.
When Dong Yuanzhong learned of this situation, he arranged for one of his trusted veteran soldiers to accompany the Su family children.
In Dong Yuanzhong's words, since the children had their own aspirations to strive and achieve, he, as an elder, should support them.
Thus, at this moment, a previously unfamiliar person had joined their group.
This person's name was Yang Shulin.
When Su Xiaotian heard the name, she almost burst out laughing. It was one thing to be named Shulin, but to also have the surname Yang, the name had a certain flavor to it.
"Uncle Yang, please rest for a while. This journey is quite long."
This time, they were traveling to Rongcheng in a sleeper car.
Firstly, it was not the New Year, so there were fewer travelers.
Secondly, Dong Yuanzhong had made arrangements. In Dong Yuanzhong's words, sitting upright for several days and nights would be too much for the children!
Yang Shulin sat up straight, "My mission is to protect you. You all rest first!"
Seeing Yang Shulin's rigid demeanor, the children were instantly at a loss for words.
Fine, since the other party insisted, they wouldn't say anything more.
Su Xiaotian obediently climbed to the upper bunk, found a comfortable position, and began to read.
Recently, she had been studying a book about gourmet food.
However, this book was not a recipe book, but one specifically dedicated to meat processing.
Within this book, there were not only processing formulas and methods for braised products but also many formulas for ham and other cured meats.
Such a book, if only skimmed through, could be finished quickly.
But to study it carefully and memorize all the recipes would not be an easy task.
It was particularly difficult to take notes on the train, so Su Xiaotian could only memorize it bit by bit, engraving the content into her mind!
Su Xiaotian was a very diligent person. She knew that every book that appeared in the system's bookstore would be useful in the future, so she had to remember it.
By the time the train arrived in Rongcheng with its swaying motion, Su Xiaotian felt her mind was filled with various recipes.
However, she had only finished half of the book.
Su Xiaotian had never read a book so slowly before.
She stretched her arms to move, feeling her neck and back stiffen.
"Xiaotian, are you tired? After we get off the train, we'll rest properly," Chi Yiyuan said to Su Xiaotian with great gentleness.
His eyes and brows were filled with tenderness, which made Su Ciliang very displeased.
But he couldn't confront Chi Yiyuan directly.
He regretted not letting Xiaotian come with them, or perhaps they should have brought Su Xiaotian themselves and left Chi Yiyuan behind.
However, there wasn't much opportunity for Su Ciliang to act, as the train had already begun to slow down.
The group busied themselves, grabbing their luggage and lining up to disembark.
Chi Yiyuan consciously took Su Xiaotian's bag.
"Brother Yiyuan, I can carry it myself!" Su Xiaotian said quickly.
"Let me carry it. You're a young lady, you should be taken care of!" Chi Yiyuan treated Su Xiaotian with the warmth of the April sun.
Su Xiaotian smiled and nodded.
Although she was capable of fighting, deep down, who wasn't a little princess?
Being taken care of was only right.
Su Ciliang gnashed his teeth in anger.
Su Shouwen watched calmly and pulled Su Ciliang aside.
"Ciliang, don't interfere!"
Although none of them wanted their younger sister to marry too early, finding a high-quality man was still quite good.
Su Ciliang had no choice but to nod.
To be fair, Chi Yiyuan was indeed a good person.
Accepting him as their brother-in-law was also acceptable.
However, their sister was not of age, and they absolutely would not allow her to marry. If Chi Yiyuan was willing to wait, then let him wait.
As they got off the train, they saw Mumu waiting on the platform. He was overjoyed to see them appear.
"You're finally here! I received your telegram and have been waiting."
Mumu was so excited that he almost rushed forward to hug each of them.
In the past six months, Mumu had earned a considerable amount of money from the Su family's business. Seeing the Su family members, his excitement was unreserved.
That evening, Mumu strongly insisted that they visit his home.
Mumu's family had recently moved from their small house. Because they had been making money, in addition to paying his sister's medical expenses, he had also rented a larger house.
Now, Mumu and his sister Linlin lived together, and their lives were going quite well.
Linlin's originally frail body had recovered significantly after treatment.
She had recently been discussing with Mumu about finding a job, but Mumu, concerned about her health, did not allow it.
Linlin had heard her brother mention the Su family countless times, but this was the first time she had met them.
"Linlin, these are the Su siblings I often told you about. This is my sister, Li Linlin. She specifically made a big table of dishes knowing you were coming today," Li Mumu said proudly.
"Sister Linlin, is that right? The buns you made for us last time tasted really good," Su Xiaotian, being the only girl, immediately stepped forward to speak with Linlin.
Li Linlin was a somewhat introverted girl. Seeing the cheerful Su Xiaotian, she became shy, and a blush immediately spread across her small, pale face.