Chi Ge then mentioned Su Xiao Wu’s university admission.
Hua Xiu Cheng beamed, his eyes crinkling, and repeatedly said, "That's great, that's great!"
The others looked at him, wondering what he meant by "that's great."
Before they could figure out Hua Xiu Cheng's meaning, some people returned to the carriage.
These people looked very haggard, clearly having not rested all night.
Su Xiao Tian was only surprised for a moment before she understood.
These were the people whose belongings were stolen last night. They had gone with the train police to track down the stolen items, but it was unclear if they had recovered them.
However, this thought only lasted a moment.
Su Xiao Tian was not a particularly curious person, so she paid no mind to matters that did not concern her.
By noon, Chi Ge and the others began preparing lunch.
Lunch consisted of homemade instant noodles, which only required hot water.
Su Xiao Tian boiled water and prepared the noodles for everyone, then opened a jar of meat sauce.
Hua Xiu Cheng had not been very interested in instant noodles initially, but when the meat sauce jar was opened, he immediately perked up.
The aroma was wonderful!
He had never smelled anything so fragrant.
It made sense that people with such discerning tastes wouldn't settle for plain instant noodles for lunch.
There was indeed something special about it.
Su Xiao Tian mixed the meat sauce into the prepared noodles, making the aroma even richer.
Hua Xiu Cheng was tempted. What should he do if he wanted some of this meat sauce noodles?
Hua Xiu Cheng stared intently, almost drooling.
Chi Ge noticed Hua Xiu Cheng's desire and smiled, "Comrade Hua, would you like a bowl?"
"Oh, that would be too much trouble! But, the taste of your meat sauce noodles is truly excellent."
Hua Xiu Cheng awkwardly rubbed his hands, his eyes unwilling to leave the meat sauce noodles for even a second.
Su Xiao Tian smiled and reached out to Hua Xiu Cheng.
Hua Xiu Cheng assumed Su Xiao Tian wanted payment, so he fumbled through his pockets and produced several tickets and some money.
Su Xiao Tian was taken aback. She hadn't wanted money or tickets; she had only intended to ask for Hua Xiu Cheng's lunchbox to prepare a meat sauce noodle dish for him as well.
How did Hua Xiu Cheng misunderstand?
Just as Su Xiao Tian was about to refuse, Su Xiao Si quickly walked over, snatched the money and tickets from Hua Xiu Cheng's hand, and stuffed them into Su Xiao Tian's pocket.
"Are you silly? This is such a good opportunity."
For Su Xiao Si, any opportunity to make money was a good one.
Whose money it was, was the least important thing.
Su Xiao Tian looked at Hua Xiu Cheng a little sheepishly and said, "Where is your lunchbox? I'll prepare your noodles."
Hua Xiu Cheng was overjoyed to hear Su Xiao Tian's words.
He repeatedly said, "I'll do it myself, I'll do it myself!"
Su Xiao Tian then handed a portion of noodles to Hua Xiu Cheng, and with her own prepared noodles, began to eat.
The taste was indeed good. Although instant noodles weren't as good as freshly cooked ones, the delicious meat sauce compensated for some of the difference.
"If it were mixed with some shredded cucumber, the richness of the meat sauce combined with the refreshing scent of cucumber would make the taste even better," Su Xiao Tian remarked as she ate.
The meat sauce noodles alone were a bit bland.
Su Xiao Tian was also someone who enjoyed good food, and her tone was tinged with regret.
"Don't we have cucumbers with us?" Su Xiao Si asked, confused.
Su Xiao Tian couldn't help but roll her eyes at Su Xiao Si.
Fourth Brother was truly not suited for appreciating fine cuisine.
Although they had cucumbers, what was the point of eating them raw?
Knives were not allowed on the train, so the cucumbers couldn't be cut into shreds.
Hua Xiu Cheng had just finished preparing his noodles and, upon hearing Su Xiao Tian's words, his smile widened.
This was the most comfortable business trip he had ever had.
At this moment, Hua Xiu Cheng had completely forgotten that he had very little money and tickets left in his pocket.
But to him, money and tickets were unimportant; the most important thing was satisfying his palate.
"This is already very good. The meat sauce is rich and tastes much better than that served in fancy restaurants outside."
Hua Xiu Cheng wondered if he could consider the Su family as relatives and visit them, not for anything else, but just to have them make some meat sauce for him.
Of course, he could buy his own meat.
But such a request seemed too abrupt and inappropriate for the current situation.
"Naturally, my grandma's cooking is the best!" Su Xiao Si said with considerable pride.
Even the simplest dishes like vegetables and radishes could be made delicious by Grandma, let alone meat sauce.
"I'm so lucky to have met you all; I've been eating delicious food all the way."
Hua Xiu Cheng was also very proud, his face beaming with a smile.
Chi Yi Yuan scowled. This Hua Xiu Cheng was too shameless!
Especially since he had designs on Xiao Tian, and didn't even consider how old he was to be coveting a young girl!
Hua Xiu Cheng was completely focused on the food and didn't pay any attention to Chi Yi Yuan's cold expression.
After all, he wanted to get close to the Su family, not the Chi family, so whatever the sulking Chi family boy thought didn't matter.
"If there's a chance in the future, I'll definitely eat at your home again."
Hua Xiu Cheng finally finished his noodles, took a quick bite, and sighed with satisfaction.
"Our family doesn't entertain strangers!" Su Xiao Si said disdainfully.
Eating on the train wasn't enough, and now he wanted to visit their home?
Was this person shameless?
At this moment, Su Xiao Si and Chi Yi Yuan shared an unprecedented common goal: neither of them intended to let Hua Xiu Cheng get any closer.
Hua Xiu Cheng thought for a moment and smiled.
He could go find Su Xiao Wu.
After all, any of the Su children would do.
He just wondered if Su Xiao Wu was as skilled as this little girl, Su Xiao Tian.
After finishing the meat sauce noodles, Su Xiao Tian took out several tomatoes from her bag and distributed one to each person as a post-meal fruit.
Hua Xiu Cheng also received one. Although it was the smallest, he was very satisfied.
He suddenly felt that he had been taking trains for so many years in vain, never having thought of bringing plenty of his own food on board.
"Why is all the food you bring so delicious? Even the tomatoes taste exceptionally good?" Hua Xiu Cheng took a bite of a plump, juicy tomato and couldn't help but exclaim again.
"These are grown at home, so they taste a bit better than others," Su Xiao Tian replied calmly.
The tomatoes at home were carefully tended to as they grew, so naturally, they tasted better.
Someone nearby looked on enviously but felt too embarrassed to ask for any.
However, a small child ran up directly, trying to snatch the tomato from Su Xiao Tian's hand.
Su Xiao Tian frowned and dodged.
The child, unable to get the tomato, immediately sat on the ground and started crying loudly.
A woman in her forties or fifties hurried over, trying to help the child up.
But the child was crying so heartbrokenly that they refused to budge. Seeing their elder family member arrive, they lay down on the ground and began to roll around.
Su Xiao Tian did not like children who cried and threw tantrums when things didn't go their way. She frowned and took a step further inside.
Seeing that her child refused to get up, the woman's cloudy eyes fell on the tomato in Su Xiao Tian's hand, and an idea instantly formed.
"You little girl, how can you be so wicked? You'd even kick a child to the ground?"
Su Xiao Tian was stunned. What did she mean?
Was this a case of the guilty party accusing the innocent?
This child was clearly sitting on the ground crying and then rolling around to be difficult, so how did it become that she had kicked them to the ground?
"How can you slander someone with your bare words?" Su Xiao Si couldn't stand to see Su Xiao Tian wronged and immediately retorted.
"How have I slandered you with my bare words? You pushed someone down and then blame us?" the woman feigned tears.
Unfortunately, no one paid attention to her crying.
A young girl's crying might be like falling pear blossoms, but an old woman's affected crying was simply unbearable to watch.
Hua Xiu Cheng couldn't help but look out the train window, but he continued to eat the sweet and sour tomatoes without pause.
The old woman looked around, but no one sympathized with her, not even offering a word of fairness.
She couldn't help but clench her fists fiercely, thinking how cold-hearted these people were.
"My poor Xi Bao, only four or five years old, just wanted to eat one of your tomatoes, how could you be so wicked as to kick the child to the ground?"
Since she wouldn't give the tomato, she was determined to make this damned girl know her power today.
After the woman's outburst, Su Xiao Tian understood everything.
She just wanted a tomato, didn't she?
They had brought quite a few tomatoes and cucumbers when they boarded the train, enough to eat.
It was just a child's craving, and if the other party had asked nicely, she would have given it.
However, first snatching, then moral blackmail, and even framing someone, she could not accept.
Even if these tomatoes rotted, she wouldn't give them to such people.
"I have tomatoes, but I just don't want to give them to you. What can you do about it?" Su Xiao Tian said with a cold smile, swallowing the tomato in her mouth.
The old woman clearly hadn't expected Su Xiao Tian to be so unyielding.
"Old lady, don't try to extort us here. Many people saw your grandson sitting on the ground crying himself." Someone finally couldn't help but speak up.
The old woman was clearly surprised that someone had spoken up, and not to help her, but to help this damned girl.
"You, you must be in cahoots!" the old woman, enraged, began to accuse others.
The person didn't expect this old woman to be so unreasonable and didn't know whether to continue speaking.
Another young girl, about ten years old, said clearly, "I saw it too. This child was just sitting on the ground crying and rolling around by himself."
As soon as the young girl said this, several more people stepped forward to testify that Su Xiao Tian had not pushed the child down.
Su Xiao Tian hadn't expected so many people to have a sense of justice.
She made a mental note of these people.
There were still some tomatoes in her bag, and she would see if she could give each of them half after eating.
The old woman had intended to extort Su Xiao Tian, but unexpectedly, so many people had come forward to testify for Su Xiao Tian.
No matter how unreasonable she was, she knew she couldn't continue.
"You brat, why aren't you getting up? You're so embarrassing! May you choke to death from your greed! It's just a tomato, have you never seen one before? You'll eat your fill when we get off the train!" After scolding her grandson, she picked him up and glared fiercely at Su Xiao Tian.
"Some people, I don't know how they can eat it, aren't they afraid of choking to death?"
Su Xiao Tian snorted and took a big bite of the tomato, saying, "It's really delicious. How can I choke to death eating my own things? Only those who covet what others have and eat greedily will choke to death!"
Hearing Su Xiao Tian say this, Hua Xiu Cheng couldn't help but chuckle.
Su Xiao Si snorted and glared at Hua Xiu Cheng, "What are you laughing at? You've eaten so much of ours, but you haven't said a word when it mattered."
Hua Xiu Cheng couldn't laugh anymore.
He had eaten a lot, but hadn't he paid with money and tickets?
Oh well, adults shouldn't argue with children.
Chi Yi Yuan said coldly, "Xiao Tian, for our next meal, let's not prepare anything for some people!"
"Oh my, we can't do that. I'm busy eating tomatoes right now. Besides, everyone in the carriage probably thinks we're all together, so even if I speak up, it won't be convincing."
If he spoke, it might have the opposite effect.
Su Xiao Tian knew very well that even though they weren't with Hua Xiu Cheng, most people in the carriage probably thought so.
When the old woman finally walked away with her grandson, Su Xiao Tian really took out several tomatoes from her bag, broke them in half, and gave them to the people who had spoken up for her during the old woman's unreasonable behavior.
When Hua Xiu Cheng saw this, his eyes were fixed on the tomatoes, watching them go into others' hands one by one.
Some people who hadn't helped Su Xiao Tian at the time truly regretted it.
If they had known they could get half a tomato, they would have said something. After all, it was just a matter of speaking, and it didn't take much effort.
But it was too late for regret now; they could only watch enviously as those who received tomatoes ate them with relish.
The old woman gritted her teeth, hating Su Xiao Tian to the core. This damned girl was slapping her in the face.
She clearly had so many tomatoes, why couldn't she give one to her Xi Bao?
She was so stingy, yet now she brought out so many.
Xi Bao saw Su Xiao Tian take out more tomatoes to share with everyone and pouted, starting to cry again.
The old woman, while sarcastically scolding Su Xiao Tian, also scolded her grandson and tried to coax him, keeping herself busy.
Su Xiao Tian heard it but pretended not to.
Not to mention that she wasn't named, even if she were, it wouldn't matter much; she would eat and drink as usual.
This time, Su Xiao Tian and the others didn't bring much luggage to Beijing. Most of their bags were filled with food, and it took Su Xiao Tian and Grandma Su several days to prepare just this food.
Before they departed, they had already spoken with the Du Tong He and Shen Zi Zhen families by phone.
Both families indicated that everything was ready and they didn't need to bring their own bedding or sheets.
Shen Zi Zhen even mentioned that bedding and sheets for Su Xiao Si's school had already been prepared.
Su Xiao Tian had no intention of being polite and only brought a few changes of clothes for the journey.
In the following days, Su Xiao Tian and the others continued to eat sumptuously.
After boarding the train, the other passengers hadn't had any delicious food. Seeing Su Xiao Tian constantly taking out various delicacies, they were envious.
But they also saw that Su Xiao Si charged Hua Xiu Cheng money and tickets for food, and quite a bit of it.
They told themselves they didn't have that much money and tickets, so they could only watch!
In this era, although it wasn't as tight on grain as in previous years, no household had surplus grain, let alone white flour.
They truly didn't have the face to ask for anything.
The train swayed for several days before finally arriving in Beijing.
Compared to the tired passengers in the carriage, Su Xiao Tian and her companions were in much better spirits.
It was just that after being confined for so long on the train, they felt a bit stiff.
They had boarded the train with large bags and packages, but when they disembarked, they were left with only small bundles.
Chi Yi Yuan helped Chi Ge, while Su Xiao Si and Su Xiao Tian, the siblings, carried their luggage and briskly descended from the train.
After getting off the train, Su Xiao Tian saw her three elder brothers standing neatly on the platform waiting for them.
To save money, the three Su brothers had only returned home once in their year and a half in Beijing.
Su Xiao Tian looked at her brothers' gradually sturdier faces, her eyes welling up with emotion, and she rushed towards them with her luggage.
Su Shou Wen, afraid Su Xiao Tian would trip over her luggage, quickly called out, "Xiao Tian, be careful, be careful!"
As for Su Ci Liang and Su San Gong, they had already proactively run forward.
Su Ci Liang was a step faster and pulled Su Xiao Tian into a tight embrace.
"Little girl, you're finally here. Second Brother missed you so much!" Su Ci Liang said with a choked voice.
From the day he learned Su Xiao Tian was coming to Beijing, he had been waiting.
It could be said that he had been counting the days like years.
Su Xiao Tian dropped her luggage on the ground and hugged Su Ci Liang's waist, saying, "Second Brother, I missed you all too."
Su Xiao Si looked at the harmonious scene between Su Xiao Tian and Su Ci Liang, feeling a pang of sadness.
When Second Brother was not around, he was still a good brother, but why did his appearance make him seem so insignificant?
After her affectionate reunion with Su Ci Liang, Su Xiao Tian hugged her other two brothers.
This made Su Xiao Si feel even more melancholic.
With three brothers present, how could he, the Fourth Brother, suddenly feel invisible?
Chi Yi Yuan was also envious. He envied how the Su brothers could openly hug Su Xiao Tian.
He was, after all, just an outsider, and this was evident at such a moment.
When would he be able to openly hug Su Xiao Tian?
Chi Ge glanced at his grandson and then walked towards the Shen Zi Zhen family and the Du Tong He couple standing behind the three Su brothers.
"Long time no see!" Chi Ge said with a smile.
"Long time no see!" Shen Zi Zhen extended his arm and hugged Chi Ge.
"Old Chi, long time no see!" Du Tong He also stepped forward and hugged Chi Ge.
Then, the few people who had once shared similar hardships smiled at each other.
Su Xiao Tian, finally recovering from the joy of reuniting with her brothers, realized that so many people had come to pick them up.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...
Good heavens, there were about ten people coming to pick them up, such a grand occasion that one would think they were welcoming important figures.
In fact, many people around were also looking in their direction, including Hua Xiu Cheng, who had disembarked a step before them.
Although he had heard that the Su family had three children studying in Beijing, the fact that so many people had come to pick them up at once still surprised him.
[Author's Note]
Dear readers, it's one day before the New Year. Wishing you all a Happy New Year in advance, full of vigor and good fortune in the Year of the Tiger! Today's update ends here. See you tomorrow!