Su Granny’s breakfast stall opened for the first day when Du Tonghe and Yu Ruiyuan, a couple, arrived in the county town.
They were going back to the capital.
Su Laosan happened to be free that day, so he went to help the elderly couple buy train tickets.
There were no train tickets to the capital for that day. The earliest available was a train departing the following evening.
Su Laosan bought tickets for the next day.
Su Granny was also happy to know they were going home and prepared several dishes for them that evening as a farewell.
However, Yu Ruiyuan and Du Tonghe felt a sense of reluctance.
Yu Ruiyuan, in particular, having been involved in art for many years, was much more emotional than Du Tonghe.
She held Su Xiaotian’s hand, unwilling to let go, cherishing every moment.
Su Granny watched from the side, feeling a pang of jealousy.
Her own granddaughter, why did it feel like she was being given away?
Then she remembered, wasn't she indeed given away? Years ago, she had become someone else’s granddaughter.
What if she regretted it?
Allowing Su Xiaotian to recognize the Du couple as her grandparents in the first place was a mistake. Was it too late to regret it now?
Thinking this, Su Granny knew it was too late. Years had passed, and Su Xiaotian had developed feelings for the Du couple, treating them as her own grandparents and showing them filial piety.
The Du couple, in turn, doted on Su Xiaotian like their own granddaughter.
Considering that the Du couple’s only son had sacrificed his life for the country, Su Granny felt even more unable to say anything else.
Perhaps she could send that brat to the Du family as a grandson? And Su Xiaotian could come back?
Before Su Granny could fully consider this, she heard Yu Ruiyuan speak.
“Sister-in-law, how about I take Xiaotian to the capital to study?” Yu Ruiyuan knew it was inappropriate to say this, but she couldn’t help but ask.
Su Granny’s smile instantly faded.
Just talking and getting closer was fine, but why did she want to take her to the capital?
If her precious darling went to the capital, how would she manage her days?
“Sister, don’t worry. You go back and settle down first.”
Yu Ruiyuan had already known that she wouldn’t be able to take Su Xiaotian, but until Su Granny said it herself, there was still a glimmer of hope.
“In two or three years, Xiaotian will be ready to take the college entrance examination. If she gets into a university in the capital then, she can come find you.”
Seeing the disappointment on Yu Ruiyuan’s face, Su Granny’s eyes rolled as she began to paint a rosy picture.
Although Su Granny was a farmer, she had her own little schemes.
The Du couple came from respectable families. Even though their biological son was gone, they still had collateral relatives.
When they returned to the capital, as long as they let it be known that they wanted to raise a child, many people would surely send their children to them.
At that time, they wouldn’t be so preoccupied with her precious darling.
Yu Ruiyuan didn’t react for a moment and asked foolishly, “Why will she be taking the college entrance exam? Xiaotian is still so young!”
“Xiaotian is already in the second year of junior high. One year of junior high and two years of high school, so it will be three years before the exam, won’t it?”
Su Granny’s calculation was correct, but Yu Ruiyuan and Du Tonghe exchanged glances.
Three years later, Su Xiaotian would only be fifteen by the lunar calendar. Could she even register for the college entrance examination at such an age?
Indeed, the concern of the two elders was whether Su Xiaotian could register, not whether she could pass.
Su Xiaotian also smiled, “Dry Grandpa, Dry Grandma, when I pass the university entrance exam, I’ll come to the capital to accompany you. And I’ll bring Grandma with me!”
Hearing Su Xiaotian’s words, Yu Ruiyuan chuckled.
What a smart and clever child, expressing her intentions while still remembering to consider her own grandmother.
Despite their reluctance, the Du couple finally boarded the train with heavy hearts.
Su Xiaotian felt a pang of sadness thinking that only Grandpa Chi was left in the brigade.
But this was not something she could decide. She would wait, and the policies would eventually be implemented.
“Xiaotian, what are you thinking about?” Chi Yiyuan couldn’t help but ask, seeing Su Xiaotian’s pensive look.
“Brother Yiyuan, do you also want to go home?” Su Xiaotian tilted her head and asked earnestly, “Do you also want to study?”
Chi Yiyuan was silent for a moment before finally nodding.
“Everyone wants to go home! I do too. Although many people distanced themselves from my family when my family had trouble, I’ve come to terms with it over the years. They had no choice. I still want to go back and see those familiar faces.”
However, in the young man’s heart, he wondered if those familiar faces he wanted to see were still familiar.
Or perhaps, those people had long forgotten that someone like him had ever existed in their lives?
Chi Yiyuan didn’t know. He only knew that going home was his obsession.
He watched Grandpa Chi go home, and then Grandpa Du go home.
He finally began to believe that he also had a chance to go home.
“Brother Yiyuan, you will go back. Just wait a little longer,” Su Xiaotian said very seriously.
Chi Yiyuan, however, took it as Su Xiaotian trying to comfort him, so he ruffled her hair and said nothing more.
Touching her tousled hair, Su Xiaotian pouted.
She was already grown up, why did everyone still treat her like a child?
Especially Brother Yiyuan, he wasn’t much older than her, so why did he act so mature and old-fashioned?
“Brother Yiyuan, don’t ruffle my hair anymore. If you keep doing it, I’ll never grow up,” Su Xiaotian complained.
Chi Yiyuan burst into laughter.
Since Su Ciliang left, the people of the old Su family trusted Chi Yiyuan very much. No one bothered Chi Yiyuan all day long, and Chi Yiyuan felt that life had become much happier.
Looking at Chi Yiyuan’s genuine smile, Su Xiaotian suddenly felt that this was not so bad.
Never mind if her hair was messed up; she could always comb it again.
Su Granny’s breakfast business started with a small cart.
The two old women, with the help of a young boy, did not have a smooth start, especially on the first day, earning very little money in the morning.
Su Granny was disheartened, but Su Xiaotian said that persistence was key.
Whether it was valuable or not, Su Granny didn’t know, but she understood the principle of persistence.
From the second day onwards, more people indeed came to eat breakfast.
Gradually, a crowd began to form, waiting to eat Su family’s breakfast.
With a regular customer base, Su Granny decided not to use the small cart anymore. She applied to the market department and secured a fixed stall.
At that time, it was just an application; no other procedures were involved. The food stall was thus fixed at a crossroads not far from the Su family’s home.
After the breakfast stall was fixed, Su Granny’s breakfast offerings also increased, even including fried dough sticks and soy milk.
The variety of breakfast options attracted many people, and the number of breakfast customers grew.
Especially since this crossroads was very prosperous, with many students and workers passing by.
Every morning on her way to school, Su Xiaotian could see Su Granny and Li Yuniang busy at the stall.
And customers sitting on small stools, chatting and waiting for breakfast.
Many of these people came for Su Granny’s excellent cooking.
Su Granny was very proud and even wrote a letter to Su Manxiu about it.
Seeing her grandmother like this, Su Xiaotian couldn’t help but laugh.
They say old people are like children; when people get old, they really become like children.
Li Yuniang was a hardworking and diligent person. In the beginning, she didn’t talk much.
Later, as she became familiar with Su Granny, she began to talk about her past experiences.
It was then that Su Granny learned that being a wife in a prominent family was not easy, especially for an unfavored wife.
“He treated you like that back then, why did you still take care of him all these years?” Thinking about this, Su Granny found it unreasonable.
What was the point of a man who favored concubines over his wife? She didn’t enjoy a good life with him, yet she followed him when he fell into trouble.
“When I married him, my mother told me to respect him for life. I still remember those words,” Li Yuniang said with a gentle smile.
“Later, he married that woman. I was also heartbroken. Seeing him take such good care of her and dote on her, my heart ached as if it were being dug out.”
“But humans have a strong capacity for endurance. Year after year, I somehow managed to persevere. I watched them have many children, and I thought I could live the rest of my life in solitude like a nun.”
Although Li Yuniang spoke lightly, Su Granny could hear her sorrow in those few words.
“In fact, I did go to the Buddhist hall. Sister, you don’t know, but my life in the Buddhist hall was also not easy.”
Li Yuniang didn’t explain why it was not easy, but Su Granny guessed it.
How could a principal wife living under a concubine have an easy life?
“Later, their children got married, and I completely gave up hope. Who knew something like this would happen? That woman actually severed ties with him and his children, even saying that he had forced her to be with him.”
“Everyone else severed ties, why were you so stubborn? You followed him and suffered!”
“I could endure the suffering, Sister. I’m not lying to you, after so many years, these past few years have been the most comfortable for me!”
Although they didn’t have much to eat or drink, the man was hers alone. No other woman competed with her, which was truly good.
Su Granny looked at Li Yuniang, who was smiling gently, and didn’t know what to say.
After thinking for a long time, she finally sighed.
Never mind. It was someone else’s life; she didn’t need to worry about it.
When Li Yuniang worked at the Su family’s house, Tan Zishi would occasionally come along to help.
But Tan Zishi had never done much work in his life and couldn’t be relied upon. Whenever he came, Su Granny would ask him to sit and watch.
When Tan Zishi and Li Yuniang left hand in hand at noon, Su Granny would also sigh.
Life went on smoothly. Autumn turned to spring, and in the blink of an eye, another college entrance examination season arrived.
This year, Su Si and Su Wu were both going to take the college entrance examination.
The county’s No. 1 Middle School had high hopes for both of them.
Last year, no Su family children took the college entrance examination, and the county’s No. 1 Middle School did not have any particularly outstanding students. Principal Guo was very disappointed.
This year, from the day Su Si and Su Wu registered, Principal Guo wished he could worship these two children like gods.
Because they had three excellent older brothers, Su Si and Su Wu were actually under a lot of pressure and were afraid of not performing well.
“Fourth Brother, Brother, you don’t need to feel burdened. You’ve learned everything you need to. As long as you’re not stressed and perform normally in the exam, you’ll definitely get into a good university.”
Su Xiaotian, noticing their stress, comforted them casually.
Chi Ge also smiled and said, “Xiaotian is right. Your academic performance is excellent. As long as you perform normally, not to mention getting first or second place in our province, you should at least be in the top five.”
“Fourth Brother, Brother, Grandma said that if you get into a university in the capital this year, she’ll let me escort you to Beijing,” Su Xiaotian said cheerfully.
Let their little sister escort them?
The two brothers found the words strange no matter how they heard them.
They were two grown men, and letting a little girl escort them? Wasn’t that a laughing matter?
“Xiaotian, actually, we can go by ourselves!” Su Wu said hesitantly.
“I know you can go by yourselves, but I want to go to the capital!” Su Xiaotian said with a charmingly naive expression.
Little sister wanted to go to the capital? That wasn’t impossible, but they shouldn’t say she was escorting them, right?
“Xiaotian, do you really want to go to the capital? What about when you come back?” Su Si was still worried about Su Xiaotian.
“Auntie said that she and Uncle are also going to the capital this summer, and they’ll let Auntie and Uncle bring me back!” Su Xiaotian had already thought everything through.
She wanted to see the capital. What if there were opportunities to make money in the capital?
Her grandmother’s breakfast stall was profitable, but it was too slow to make money.
“Auntie and Uncle are also going to the capital?” Su Wu had clearly not heard this news.
“Yes, Uncle is going for a meeting, and Auntie is going with him to the publishing house,” Su Xiaotian said with a smile. “Auntie’s book is about to be published, so she has to go and see it personally!”
Su Si and Su Wu exchanged glances.
It wasn’t necessarily a good thing for all the relatives in the family to be so accomplished.
The three older brothers were all top students, and in university, they were the ones valued by their professors.
As for their little sister, it went without saying; even if she took the exam in a few years, she would likely get into a good university.
Even their aunt, who hadn’t studied much, was now successful, with her book about to be published!
The pressure on them was truly immense.
Before the two brothers could fully process this, Su Xiaotian’s little mouth started chattering again.
“A few days ago, my Dry Grandpa and Dry Grandma wrote to say they missed me, and so did Sister Xiaomei and Auntie Taohua. I have to go and see them, otherwise, by the time I go to university, they won’t remember what I look like anymore,” the little girl mumbled, propping her elbows on the table and cupping her chin with her hands.
Indeed, although their family were country folk, over the years, they had gotten to know quite a few people in the capital.
After their college entrance examinations, Grandpa Chi and Chi Yiyuan would also be returning.
“Xiaotian is a child who values relationships,” Chi Ge said with a smile.
After the Du couple accepted her as their granddaughter, the child wrote them a letter every month, sometimes even mailing local specialties and dried goods.
Even a biological granddaughter might not have done this to the extent Su Xiaotian did.