On the way back, Su Xiaotian, seizing the moment when no one was around, hid in a corner and placed an order to redeem some ingredients.
When she returned to the original spot carrying two baskets, Su Taohua, Yu Ruiyuan, and others were already waiting impatiently.
Su Taohua and Yu Ruiyuan, in particular, were extremely anxious.
Seeing her approach, Yu Ruiyuan quickly patted her chest, muttering something.
"I'm back!"
"Xiaotian, why did you take so long? Did something happen?" Yu Ruiyuan asked worriedly.
"Xiaomei went to look for you but couldn't find you," Su Taohua said nervously.
Although Su Xiaotian was clever, in everyone's hearts, she was just a little child.
Being new to the city, if she got lost, where would they find her in such a big capital?
"Xiaotian, we were almost scared to death, do you know that!" Su Shouwen said with a stern face.
This little girl definitely didn't go to the restroom. She wondered what she had been doing at this time.
As the eldest brother, he was the one who could say things others couldn't to the little girl.
But if one listened carefully, one would find that although Su Shouwen's face was stern, his tone was not harsh when he spoke.
Su Xiaotian knew she had been reckless today and quickly waved her hands to show them the baskets in her hands.
"I just came out of the restroom and happened to see two people carrying meat, saying they bought it ahead and didn't need tickets," Su Xiaotian said this in a very small voice.
"You shouldn't have gone to look by yourself. What if you met a bad person?" Yu Ruiyuan also said with a stern face.
"I know, it's just that I was used to it back in my hometown. I thought there were no bad people, so I went to take a look," Su Xiaotian quickly put on a pleasing expression towards Yu Ruiyuan.
"You actually managed to buy meat without tickets?" Su Xiaomei asked in surprise.
How come she never encountered meat without tickets?
Back in Hongxin Brigade, she didn't think tickets were important. Since arriving in the capital, she realized that without tickets, one couldn't move an inch.
Fortunately, Uncle Shen's treatment was relatively good, so their family could live a prosperous life.
Ordinary families could only get new clothes after saving for two years, and their monthly meat ration would be gone before the end of the month.
Yu Ruiyuan saw that Su Xiaotian was carrying two baskets, and the baskets were filled with quite a few things.
Did she really buy so much meat?
"Xiaotian, you bought so much?"
How much money could this child have on her to buy so much meat at once?
No, this money couldn't be paid by Xiaotian herself; they had to reimburse Xiaotian.
"It was rare to not need tickets, so I bought it all," Su Xiaotian said with a smile.
She wasn't particularly short of tickets, but at this time, this was the best excuse.
"This silly child, buying so much. The weather is hot, and if it spoils, it will be wasted," Du Tonghe chuckled, his tone filled with affection.
If he had been considering whether to adopt a child to inherit the family business before, he had completely given up that idea now. He also planned to dote on Su Xiaotian like his own granddaughter from now on.
"It's not much. If we divide it among three families, it won't be much," Su Xiaotian said as a matter of course.
Three families?
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they remembered that it wasn't just three families; the Chi family had also returned.
"Let's hurry back. It's getting late. We'll cook these foods and send them to Uncle Chi's family," Su Taohua readily agreed.
The Chi family only had a grandfather and grandson, neither of whom could cook. Rather than sending raw food, it was better to cook it and send it over.
"Alright."
The group quickly returned to Du Tonghe's house.
The reason was simple: Du Tonghe lived in a siheyuan, which was spacious and much more convenient than Shen Zizhen's apartment.
As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw two people, one leaning against the wall, and the other sitting on a large bluestone slab beside the main gate.
It could only be Chi Ge and Chi Yiyuan.
"Old Chi, you're here?" Du Tonghe hurried to greet him.
"You're finally back. If you hadn't returned, we would have planned to go back first," Chi Ge said, standing up with a smile.
As for Chi Yiyuan, the moment he saw Su Xiaotian, he had already rushed forward to talk to her.
Unfortunately, Su Ciliang was there and immediately took Chi Yiyuan's hand to catch up.
This action stunned everyone else.
When did these two become so close?
"Second Brother, you guys have such a good relationship?" Su San Gong asked in surprise.
As far as he remembered, although Second Brother was Grandpa Chi's disciple, his relationship with Chi Yiyuan was not that good.
"We haven't seen each other for a long time. Don't you know that proximity breeds contempt?" Su Ciliang said in all seriousness.
Chi Yiyuan couldn't help but roll his eyes. It had been so many years; couldn't Su Ciliang be more mature?
Su Shouwen probably saw something. Upon recalling, he remembered that Su Ciliang had strongly opposed Chi Yiyuan pursuing Xiaotian back then.
He thoughtfully looked back and forth between his younger sister and Chi Yiyuan, and couldn't help but sigh that Su Ciliang was indeed smart, at least smarter than him.
With a thought, Su Shouwen immediately stepped forward and stood on Chi Yiyuan's other side, talking to Chi Yiyuan familiarly, with an indescribable closeness.
Anyone who didn't know would probably think they were biological brothers.
Du Tonghe watched this scene and said with a smile, "These young brothers have a really good relationship."
Hearing this, Chi Yiyuan almost wanted to vomit blood.
What did he mean by "these young brothers have a really good relationship"?
He didn't want to have a good relationship with these young brothers; he only wanted to talk to Su Xiaotian and have a good relationship with Su Xiaotian.
When they were in the Northwest, he didn't have time to talk to Su Xiaotian when she went to school.
He had originally thought that upon arriving in the capital, he would definitely play the host well, entertain Su Xiaotian, and take her out to play every day.
But now, with so many people guarding her, he could barely even speak!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but cast a resentful glance at Su Shouwen and Su Ciliang.
However, no matter how much he thought, being surrounded by the two of them, he had no chance to get close to Su Xiaotian.
The others didn't know about the hidden thoughts among the three and let them talk.
Du Tonghe greeted Chi Ge and then invited the others inside.
After a day of sightseeing, it was impossible not to be tired; their legs were sore, especially Du Tonghe, the elder, who was exhausted.
After everyone else had gone in, and they were sure their conversation couldn't be overheard, Su Ciliang hooked Chi Yiyuan's shoulder.
Chi Yiyuan squirmed uncomfortably, trying to break free from Su Ciliang.
But Su Ciliang was strong, and his struggles were meaningless.
"Yiyuan, you should stay away from my little sister. How old is she? What nonsense is she thinking about all day?"
His tone was full of disdain, as if a parent had caught a child in an early relationship.
Chi Yiyuan's youthful thoughts were exposed, and a fleeting blush appeared on his face.
When did he start thinking about such nonsense?
He clearly wanted to be good to Su Xiaotian!
Su Shouwen also spoke without politeness.
"Xiaotian is still young, only twelve this year. If you have any improper thoughts about her, don't blame me for being impolite!"
As he said this, the dangerous aura emanating from Su Shouwen was undeniable.
If they hadn't lived together for several years, Chi Yiyuan would have suspected that the person before him was an heir cultivated by a wealthy family.
Even Chi Yiyuan was intimidated by the aura of the Su family's eldest brother.
Chi Yiyuan was mature for his age, but he was still only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.
Being spoken to like this by the two Su brothers, he didn't know how to respond.
"No, you've misunderstood. I consider Xiaotian a sister," he said in a steady tone after a long pause.
"It's good that you consider her a sister!" Su Ciliang snorted coldly.
Did they think he was a fool?
Was that the look a brother gave his sister?
He had never looked at Xiaotian like that. This Chi Yiyuan was too cunning!
"You'd better consider her a sister until she's twenty!"
Su Shouwen said this coldly and strode into the house.
"Remember, before twenty, okay, or maybe before twenty-four?" Su Ciliang pondered for a moment and added.
After saying that, he felt that twenty-four might be a bit too old.
Would it delay their little sister?
But just thinking of their own tender little cabbage being snatched by a pig at such a young age made him uncomfortable.
Twenty-four, yes, twenty-four.
After all, with so many brothers, could they not afford to raise one sister?
He had to write to Little Five about this later.
Their sister was still so young, and her brothers had to worry about such things.
Having a beautiful sister was really troublesome.
Especially this brat Chi Yiyuan, he was even more troublesome.
Su Ciliang glanced at Chi Yiyuan again, his disdain evident.
The two Su brothers entered the house one after another, leaving Chi Yiyuan stunned in place.
Chi Yiyuan sighed.
Twenty-four years old?
Were these two overbearing brothers planning to waste their sister's best youthful years?
Why had he never realized that these two were so foolish?
Chi Yiyuan slowly followed.
He was also very conflicted, unsure of his feelings for Su Xiaotian.
If it was the feeling of a brother towards a sister, it didn't seem to be.
But he couldn't quite articulate what kind of affection it was.
The undercurrents among the young men were unknown to the others.
Chi Ge, Du Tonghe, and Shen Zizhen sat in the main room drinking tea and chatting.
"The way we are now is like being back in Hongxin Brigade."
"We just miss Uncle Su!" Shen Zizhen sighed.
"We've eaten and drunk at the Su family's place quite a bit over the years," Chi Ge also sighed.
"I wonder when Old Brother Su and his wife will be able to come to the capital."
"It's probably difficult. It's hard to leave one's homeland; they probably can't bear to," Shen Zizhen shook his head.
"I don't think so. Xiaotian will be going to high school when she returns. After two years for the college entrance examination, perhaps their whole family will come to the capital then," Du Tonghe said with a smile after taking a sip of tea.
The Su family's elders doted on this granddaughter immensely.
Xiaotian was also young, so they would definitely be worried.
"Time flies so fast. When I first went to Hongxin Brigade, Xiaotian was just this big," Chi Ge said, smiling and gesturing a height. "Back then, she looked like an ordinary child. Who knew that a girl changes dramatically with age? It's true!"
In the kitchen, Su Taohua, Yu Ruiyuan, Su Xiaomei, and Su Xiaotian were busy cooking.
"Aunt Yu, you should rest first. You must be exhausted after running around all day," Su Taohua said considerately.
All of them were tired, let alone an elder nearly seventy years old.
Yu Ruiyuan was indeed tired, but as the host, she couldn't rest while the guests were busy in the kitchen.
She found a small stool and sat down to pick vegetables.
"I'll sit here and pick vegetables, and the rest is up to you all! I'm old and can't help but admit it!"
"Grandma, you're not old at all; you still have decades to live!" Su Xiaotian said with a giggle.
In her heart, she had already decided to buy some medicinal herbs tomorrow and prepare some medicinal meals for Du Tonghe, Yu Ruiyuan, and Chi Ge to recuperate.
She knew many medicinal meal recipes from books.
She had no doubt about the efficacy of these medicinal meals.
Based on her experience over the past few years, anything produced by the system was of high quality and could not be wrong.
"Living for decades more would make me an old monster?" Yu Ruiyuan said with a hearty laugh.
"Not at all!" Su Xiaotian affectionately hugged Yu Ruiyuan's arm and acted spoiled.
"Aunt Yu, anyone who doesn't know would think you are biological grandmother and granddaughter."
"Of course, she is my biological granddaughter! My Tiantian is my biological granddaughter!" Yu Ruiyuan said proudly. "We even had a banquet back then."
A faint smile crossed Su Taohua's lips.
This child Xiaotian was truly lovable.
She took out the two baskets of items Su Xiaotian had bought, which included chicken, fish, and beef.
"Oh my, this is truly a feast."
Su Xiaotian glanced at the meat on the chopping board and suddenly wondered if she had redeemed too much.
Fortunately, Su Taohua didn't ask any further questions but spoke on her own, "Let's stew a chicken soup tonight. Aunt Yu, how do you want the fish cooked? Steamed or braised?"
"Steamed. This is sea bass. Steaming it brings out the freshest flavor of the sea bass."
Yu Ruiyuan glanced at the sea bass on the chopping board, but she wondered how sea bass suddenly appeared on the market.
Sea bass was rare, especially such fresh sea bass.
As soon as it appeared, it would likely be snapped up. Those with connections and influence wouldn't miss such a delicacy.
"Alright, then we'll make it steamed. What about this beef? Shall we make braised beef tonight?"
Braised beef took time. If they braised it tonight, it would be flavorful by tomorrow morning.
Yu Ruiyuan readily agreed with a smile.
"Perfect. When Chen Zi'an and Manxiu come tomorrow, their family will also have a treat."
Out of love for Su Xiaotian, Yu Ruiyuan now liked everyone in the Su family, including Chen Zi'an's family.
"I was thinking of queuing up early tomorrow to buy some meat to entertain guests, but I didn't expect Xiaotian to have already solved it," Su Taohua said with a smile.
"Xiaotian is indeed blessed; her luck is always better than others," Su Xiaomei said with a smile while cutting the chicken into pieces.
Yu Ruiyuan had heard about Su Xiaotian's good luck before but hadn't taken it too seriously.
Now that she heard it, she became a little more interested.
"What do you mean by that?" she couldn't help but ask Su Xiaomei curiously.
"Grandma Yu, the mountain behind our brigade. Others go up and might not catch any game, but as long as Xiaotian goes up the mountain, she never comes back empty-handed."
She truly envied Su Xiaotian, but luck was something that couldn't be envied.
Yu Ruiyuan only knew that they had eaten a lot of game those two years and had thought there was just a lot of game in the mountains.
She didn't know that all this game was hunted because of Su Xiaotian's good luck.
"Are you telling the truth? Is it that mysterious?"
"Of course! I wouldn't dare say it for those two years, but now that we're in the capital, there's nothing we can't say. That year, Manxiu's aunt's husband went up the mountain for a day and also returned empty-handed."
Thinking of this, Su Xiaomei found it amusing.
Chen's aunt's husband had been to the battlefield and even had a gun, yet he returned empty-handed.
This showed how incredibly lucky Xiaotian was.
"It was just a coincidence!" Su Xiaotian quickly said.
If people heard these words, would they think she was a monster?
What if they took her to a laboratory for slicing and observation?
"This is something we only talk about among ourselves. We absolutely must not tell outsiders!" Su Taohua quickly cautioned Su Xiaomei.
"Mom, don't I know this?" Su Xiaomei quickly replied. "Outside, I wouldn't say a word."
She was indeed very careful to protect her, and she couldn't bring trouble to Xiaotian because of herself.
Yu Ruiyuan listened to this and recalled again. It seemed that this child's luck was indeed very good.
She then smiled and said, "No wonder I've never encountered meat without tickets, but Xiaotian managed to get so much back at once."
She didn't know if luck truly existed in the world, but it seemed to.
Some people were born lucky, while others were born unlucky.
It was very mysterious and hard to explain.
"Grandma, don't listen to Sister Xiaomei; it was just a coincidence," Su Xiaotian said, seeing Yu Ruiyuan in thought.
Yu Ruiyuan wiped her hands, patted Su Xiaotian's hair, and said, "They say that girls who are kind-hearted and smile a lot are always lucky. My Tiantian is so cheerful and kind, so it's only natural for her to have good luck."
Her words were strongly agreed upon by Su Taohua.
"Aunt Yu, you're right. Xiaotian has been sweet since she was little and likes to help others."
Su Xiaomei was very doubtful, was it really like that?
She also liked to smile and was kind-hearted, but her luck didn't seem too good.
However, in just an instant, she felt that her luck was actually quite good.
She was originally a village girl from the countryside, but now she could stay in the capital and go to college. What could be luckier than this?
Strictly speaking, people who were close to Xiaotian seemed to have good luck too.
Not to mention the Su family, even the village chief's family and their own families were the same.
Amidst laughter and chatter, a meal was ready.
Du Tonghe even took out a bottle of good wine to entertain the guests.
Even the Su brothers each had two cups.
Gathering again in the capital, the meal was hearty and satisfying. Chi Ge felt quite emotional, but at this moment, it was inevitable that he also missed his children who were thousands of miles away.
"I wonder when Yuan's parents and aunt will be able to return."
As Chi Ge said this, his eyes were filled with longing.
He dared not think about the past few years, but now that he was back in his old home, his longing could no longer be suppressed.
As for Chi Yiyuan, there were no discernible emotions.
Perhaps it was because he was young when his parents and uncles and aunts left, and his memories were not deep.
"That day will come, Grandpa Chi. Your good fortune is yet to come."
Su Xiaotian added a bowl of chicken soup to Chi Ge and comforted him with a smile.
Chi Ge was nearly seventy years old. In his twilight years, missing his children was inevitable.
However, it would take a few more years for other members of the Chi family to return.
"It's also my greed. Being able to return to the capital and have my old house returned to me is already a great fortune. What more could I be dissatisfied with?"
Of course, the most important thing was that this child Yiyuan could go to school upon arriving in the capital.
He would find a school for him later, let him transfer, and then take the college entrance examination.
"Grandpa Chi, this isn't greed; it's a dream!" Su Xiaotian said earnestly.
"Yes, yes, it's a dream. Xiaotian, the greatest fortune of my later years is meeting you, this little girl."
Chi Ge felt it was amusing to be comforted by a little girl. This girl always had an air of maturity beyond her years, saying things that were out of sync with her age.
"Actually, I am the one who is fortunate to have met Xiaotian!" Shen Zizhen said with emotion, looking at Chi Ge and then at Su Xiaotian.
When he went to Hongxin Brigade back then, he went with the intention of dying.
He once thought that there would be no more light in his life.
Who knew that in Hongxin Brigade, his life would change.
The experiences of Shen Zizhen back then were known to all the families, so no one objected to his words.
"Xiaotian is also fortunate to have met you!" Du Tonghe said.
This statement was subtle, but everyone knew that if Shen Zizhen hadn't saved Su Xiaotian's life back then, Su Xiaotian might not be here today, or even alive.
Su Xiaomei ate while listening to them talk, feeling that their thoughts coincided with hers.
See, she knew it!
"All these thanks and such, keep them in your hearts. To celebrate our reunion, let's all have a drink?"
Su Shouwen didn't want Su Xiaotian to recall the unpleasant events of the past, so he raised his glass with a smile.
"Come, come, let's all have a drink together!"
The next afternoon, Chen Zi'an and his family of three also arrived in the capital.
When they came, they brought news.
The old leader had been transferred to the capital, to be precise, he had been promoted!
[Author's Note]
Tomorrow is the start of work, babies, are you happy? Anyway, Time is not happy! I don't want to work, I don't want to work~~~~~~