Chapter 27 After finishing all this, Chen Pan put on...

"Here, girl, here's your dime. Take it. Welcome back next time!"

Around 6:40 in the morning, after selling two more brown sugar cakes to a student, Chen Aiguo immediately turned around and sat at the back table. He quickly picked up the remaining half of his cake and said, "Did something happen to our landlord?"

"How do you say that?"

After selling pancakes for a few days, Xu Chunhua had settled into her current routine. Feeling less nervous than before, she took a hearty bite of her homemade pancake. Then, she lowered her head and took a bite of her homemade stir-fried cabbage, pork, and vermicelli noodles. Perhaps because she'd gotten used to the extra filling and oil in her pancakes, she'd also adopted the habit of using an extra spoonful of oil when cooking. So, her cabbage, pork, and vermicelli noodles were much more delicious now, and even she was happy to take a few more bites.

"They closed the shop all day yesterday and the day before yesterday. If they closed it for one or two days, it means something happened. But if they kept it closed on the third day, something might have happened."

Although he looked rough, Chen Aiguo, who was actually very careful, slowly expressed his guess.

Hearing her grandfather's words, Chen Pan paused for a moment while holding the half-sliced ​​beef patty in front of her. Then she withdrew her hand as if nothing had happened. "Maybe, but it's not easy for us to ask about such things. After all, we've only known each other for a month, and she's our landlord."

"Yes, we've only known each other for a short time. It's one thing for someone to actively tell us about something, but it's another for us to proactively ask about it. Plus, if we talk too much and ask too many questions, people might think we're trying to curry favor with them."

Grandma Chen understood what her granddaughter meant and immediately picked up some cabbage to add to the meal.

"I'm just telling you about what I saw these past two days. I won't specifically ask them about it. For example, yesterday I saw Yangyang—oh, that kid Yangyang cut his hair short. He looks several times more handsome and refreshed than before. Did you see this old woman?"

Trapped in this small space, the first thing they noticed was the street in front and the Qin family next door. So, as they were talking, Grandpa Chen naturally brought up Qin Yang, whom he had seen yesterday.

"Yes, I've always found that child to be quite handsome."

When talking about this topic, Grandma Chen's mouth corners would unconsciously curl up.

If she were a teenager or in her twenties, she certainly wouldn't dare to openly discuss a boy's appearance. But now she's fifty, and she's completely done with such topics. Not only does she not care, she can even happily discuss with her husband how handsome the kid next door is.

"Even if he is good-looking, he is not as good-looking as me when I was young. I was so good-looking back then that you fell in love with me at first sight." The two of them were chatting happily. After selling three more pancakes to customers outside, Grandpa Chen suddenly changed the subject when he came back.

"No, I didn't. I saw that your house was only a few hundred meters away from the spring. It would be convenient to fetch water, right?" Grandma Chen, who was eating breakfast, corrected her husband lightly, not expecting him to think so.

"How is it possible? Who would marry casually for this reason?" Grandpa Chen picked up the chopsticks again and immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

"That's why I married you back then. I've told you countless times, right?"

"Did you say that?"

"Didn't I tell you that?"

The old couple, who had a good relationship, started bickering for no apparent reason again.

Chen Pan's mood quickly improved because of his grandparents around him.

After hurriedly finishing breakfast, Chen Pan immediately said goodbye to his grandparents.

"Panpan, come back early at noon, and grandma will make you wontons!"

"good!"

With his grandmother's instructions, Chen Pan finally came out with his schoolbag on his back. Turning his head to glance at the Qin Family Happiness Grocery Store next to him, Chen Pan sighed softly, then turned around and walked downstairs quickly.

This was all she could do for the Qin family. She had neither the ability nor the energy to care about anything else.

Thinking about his grandfather's plan to go home to haul flour over the weekend, Chen Pan began to wonder if it would be safe for them to go home now. He also began to wonder if there was a possibility of persuading his grandfather to hand over the flour-hauling job to someone else.

Moreover, her family has limited flour. After they have used up the flour in the cupboard at home, they have to start considering whether to buy some flour from their neighbors or buy it from the flour mill.

Thinking about these things in his mind, Chen Pan quickly put Qin Yang and Qin's mother next door out of his mind.

Just as Chen Pan, backpack on her back, strode into Liuping No. 6 Middle School to begin her new day, over 20 kilometers away at Longcheng First Hospital, Qin Yang, carrying a kettle and two large bags, was already checking in with his mother at the hospital.

"Son, why don't we stop treating him?"

Looking at her son's back, Qin Guihua suddenly became conflicted again.

"Mom, didn't the doctor say your disease is in the early stages? The cure rate is very high in the early stages. We're all here now, so please stop worrying about it, okay?"

"But..." Qin Guihua continued to struggle.

"No buts, Mom, let's go. If we're any slower, we might not be able to get a good bed." Qin Yang, who was holding a red thermos, two big bags, and a few pieces of paper, turned around and immediately pulled his mother's arm.

"Oh, all right, give me the thermos!"

Not wanting to cause any more trouble for her son, Qin Guihua, who was still wearing the red coat today, could only hurriedly take the hot kettle from her son's hand.

"Then be careful, mom, don't get burned."

Overnight, their identities as mother and son seemed to be reversed.

Qin Guihua nodded blankly, forcing herself to ignore the doctor's words yesterday, saying surgery for her condition might cost between eight and ten thousand yuan. She followed him, dazed and confused. At that moment, Qin Guihua stared motionlessly at her son's frail figure, her head lowered as tears began to flow.

*

Having opened a small shop of 30 square meters, the Chen family's life is busy and hectic every day.

Chen Pan's family has no young male descendants, so there is no other way, and Chen Pan has to take on many things.

After only a week of classes at school, on Sunday afternoon, Chen Pan followed his grandfather on the bus back to Qingshui Village.

"Grandpa, when we get home this time, please discuss it with Second Grandpa and the others and ask them to deliver flour to us directly. If you don't want to trouble them, you can go to the nearby flour mill and ask how much they charge for long-term wholesale flour. Anyway, for wholesale rice, flour, grain and oil like this, it's completely fine for us to go home occasionally to get it.

But if this happens frequently, it will actually hinder business. Grandma can't read, and although she says it's okay, I feel she's still a little afraid of being alone in the store. The most important thing is that we only have a small amount of grain and flour at home. If we want to keep the store open, these things will definitely cost money. In this case, finding a dedicated person to deliver them to us, or finding a grain and oil store to deliver them to us regularly, is a must."

"I understand. I've discussed this with your grandmother. When I get back, I'll first look for your second uncle's family and see if he can find a way to collect some grain in the village and grind the flour directly for us. I'll ask him to deliver it to me two or three times and see how much it costs. If the price is cheaper than going to the grain and oil store alone, we'll keep looking for him. He's my brother after all, and if possible, I'd naturally like to make money together. But if the flour he delivers is not of good quality, and the cost is more expensive than buying finished flour and oil, then I'll explain it to him later, and he'll definitely understand."

Chen Aiguo had the habit of discussing everything with his wife and Chen Pan a long time ago.

People in the city might think a fourteen-year-old girl is still a child, ignorant. But in Qingshui Village, most girls used to marry at fifteen or sixteen. By the time a girl reaches Chen Pan's age, many people no longer consider her a child, but rather a half-adult.

Furthermore, Chen Pan was educated, so in the eyes of others, she should be more sensible and know much more than them. In Chen Aiguo's eyes, his fourteen-year-old granddaughter, aside from not being as strong as men and unable to do serious physical labor, was already very strong in other aspects. She was already comparable to those teenage and twenty-something boys who had never been to school or had only attended elementary school.

So from a long time ago, he got into the habit of discussing everything with Chen Pan.

"Grandpa, do you mean you want Second Grandpa and the others to squeeze the oil fresh?"

Understanding what his grandfather meant, Chen Pan immediately turned around to confirm.

"Yes, doesn't our village have an oil press and a flour mill? Everyone in the village also has the habit of storing their own wheat and rapeseed. As long as the rapeseed oil we squeeze ourselves is of better quality than the ones bought outside, then they can either go out and collect the rapeseed oil from everyone or collect everyone's rapeseed and go to the oil mill to squeeze it themselves. As long as the money is cheaper than what we buy at the oil store, I think we can let them give it a try. This way, we can find a regular way for your second grandfather's family to earn extra money. If he keeps going out and working, his health and mood may also become particularly good."

The reason why Grandpa Chen wanted to do this was that he wanted to subsidize his brothers who were not in good conditions.

Chen Pan looked at the other person with a smile, but did not say anything. At this moment, Chen Pan only hoped that his grandfather's wish would come true, and that he would not do anything that would backfire or be thankless.

After a thirty-minute bus ride, they soon arrived at their doorstep.

“Woof woof, woof woof, woof woof!!”

Before the two of them even reached the door, Xiao Hei inside noticed them. He started barking wildly, then started whining in frustration and anxiety.

"Xiao Hei!"

As soon as grandpa opened the door, the little guy jumped onto grandpa's thighs as fast as lightning. After whimpering and being touched on the head twice, the little guy quickly climbed up Chen Pan's thighs with his tail flashing.

"Xiao Hei!"

A puppy's emotions are always so straightforward. Thinking about how he was sent to his aunt's house in his previous life and died a few years later, Chen Pan's eyes suddenly turned red and his voice changed as he touched the little guy.

"What a child!"

Just now, Chen Aiguo treated Chen Pan as a big child, but at this moment he felt that his granddaughter had not grown up yet.

With a slight smile, Chen Aiguo then flipped through the large plastic bag he had brought with him, took out a few clean white cloth bags from it, and went to the main room to fill them with noodles.

"Xiao Hei, wait a moment. When I'm done, I'll come over and play with you for a while!"

Knowing that the purpose of his visit today was to help his grandfather pack flour, Chen Pan immediately got up and went to the house after giving his son Xiao Hei a piece of pork pie.

Two minutes later, Chen Pan, who had changed his dirty clothes and put on a pink headscarf, immediately went to hold the bag for his grandfather.

There are two groups of four large cabinets in their central hall. All the cabinets are painted red, and they have professional painters who painted many flowers, birds, fish and insects on them.

In their era, especially that of her grandparents, this thing was a must for getting married.

Normally, all the flour in their family is stored in here. Sometimes when there is not enough flour, they also put grain and other items in it.

Anyway, after these few bags, her family’s flour was completely used up.

The old man and the young man worked hard as usual. After they finished digging out half of the noodle cabinet, both Chen Pan and his grandfather were covered in a light layer of white, and their eyebrows and hair were completely unsightly.

Because the room was a bit stuffy and the flour was a bit choking, Chen Pan pulled off the headscarf after working for a while.

"Panpan, wait at home for a while. Grandpa will go to your Uncle Yang and Grandma Wang's house to bring some cakes, and then go to your second grandfather and great grandfather's house to sit for a while." After casually sweeping his body with a broom, Grandpa Chen shook the flour off his hair and quickly gave instructions to Chen Pan.

"Well, Grandpa, please go quickly and come back soon. Make sure you're back before the last bus at 5 o'clock."

In fact, Chen Pan also wanted to go out and see her little sisters, but looking at the four bags of flour piled up in the yard, she knew that her grandfather wanted her to see the flour, so Chen Pan could only nod sensibly.

"Okay, Grandpa will be back on time!" Turning around to look at the little girl wearing a headscarf, with her face and hair all white, Chen Aiguo's heart softened, and he reached out and touched his granddaughter's head hard.

"Oh, my hair!" Chen Pan, who was about to take advantage of this moment to quickly boil water to wash his hair, let out a pretentious cry. But after his grandfather laughed heartily and left with his things, Chen Pan, who was rarely treated like this, smiled with all eight teeth showing.

Afterwards, Chen Pan quickly boiled some water and washed her hair, just as she had planned. Feeling bored, she rummaged through boxes and drawers and found some spring and summer clothes for her family, planning to take them back with her this time.

After finishing all this, Chen Pan let her hair down, moved a small stool and sat at the door of her house, drying her hair while playing with Xiao Hei.

Later, when Li Chengcai, who had been at home recently, hurried over by car, he saw this leisurely scene that looked pretty good.

The main door of the Chen family was actually closed, but through the small gap in the wooden door, Li Chengcai could clearly see everything inside.

The reason he came here this time was actually because he got the news that Chen Panpan had returned home with her grandfather, and he immediately came to question and retaliate.

But at this moment, looking at this special scene in the gap, eighteen-year-old Li Chengcai came up with a particularly interesting and unusual means of revenge.