Chapter 7 The greatest happiness in life is having delicious food to look forward to every day...

"Knock knock knock—"

There was a series of intermittent knocking on the door.

"Aunt Lou, are you up yet?"

Lou Lan struggled to open her eyes and instinctively reached for her phone to check the time. "Oh my god, it's already 7:30!"

Lou Lan sprang out of bed with a start: "Hey! Get up! Get up!"

Lou Lan rubbed her face vigorously to quickly wake herself up.

I didn't get enough sleep, I definitely didn't get enough sleep!

The child we found yesterday had congenital heart disease and was severely dehydrated from being exposed to the sun. He was only saved after 1 a.m.

After the child was rescued, his condition was unstable, so she stayed with Dean Wen at the hospital for a while to make sure the child's condition was stable before leaving. She returned at 3 a.m.

Wen Xinglin raised his hand to knock on the door again, but the door in front of him opened.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Lou overslept." Lou Lan apologized to the children by quickly combing her hair with her fingers.

"Aunt Lou, we're going to be late."

Wen Xinglin was afraid of being late, but he felt it would be impolite to disturb Lou's mother's sleep, so he explained, "If you are late, you will be punished by standing outside the classroom until the second period."

This is a very serious punishment.

But for Wen Xinglin, it was much more than that. He was even more afraid of the curious looks his classmates would give him during breaks, looking at his cracked lips. They also liked to discuss why he was different from others.

Although they deliberately lowered their voices, Wen Xinglin heard them all.

Wen Xinglin felt that those voices and gazes were like whips lashing his face, making him feel embarrassed and ashamed.

"Really? It's that serious? Then let's hurry up and leave. We still have twenty minutes."

Lou Lan quickly tied her hair up, planning to come back to wash up after dropping off the children.

"Is everything packed?" Lou Lan noticed that Wen Xinglin was carrying a schoolbag.

“We’ve all packed up,” Wen Linxing said.

Unexpectedly, the two younger children were already waiting for her with their schoolbags on their backs.

I guess they knew she was coming home late last night, so they waited until she was about to leave before calling her.

Lou Lan felt a pang of sadness and a tightness in her chest; every child in their welfare home was very sensible.

Lou Lan took An Shisi and Wen Xingmou's schoolbags from their backs and hung them on her arm. She noticed that Wen Xingmou's hair was neatly combed and asked, "Oh, who combed Xingmou's hair today?"

“It’s Sister Xinghe,” Wen Xingmou said happily.

Lou Lan took the children's hands, "Sister Xinghe?"

Wen Xinghe is seven years old this year. She lost her sight at a very young age due to corneal damage. Lou Lan never expected that she could still help Wen Xingmou comb her hair.

"Yes, that's right." Wen Xingmou touched her little ponytail: "So tall!"

He ran a few steps forward, tilted his head back, shook it, and turned to ask expectantly, "Can you dance?"

Lou Lan smiled and said, "Yes, it's really beautiful."

Wen Xingmou skipped and hopped down the street, swinging her little ponytail, feeling like the most beautiful girl in the world.

"Slow down, don't fall," Lou Lan reminded her with a smile.

"No, I want to get to kindergarten for breakfast quickly, I'm starving!" Wen Xingmou said fiercely.

"So hungry? Didn't you eat two bowls of rice last night?" Lou Lan chuckled.

Wen Xinmou paused, feeling a little guilty: "I originally wanted to eat two bowls of rice, but, but that winter melon is like a stink bug, I don't like it at all. Sister Mangmang said I could have steamed egg custard, but I only ate one bowl of rice, and then there was no more steamed egg custard."

Lou Lan asked curiously, "Why does the winter melon look like a stink bug?"

Wen Xingmou didn't know how to explain, so she looked at Wen Xinglin and said, "Yes, it is, Brother Xinglin, right?"

"Because a lot of perilla was put in the winter melon, and Xiao Mou said that the perilla smells like stink bugs," Wen Xinglin explained.

An Shisi nodded solemnly: "I don't like stink bugs either."

Although he had never seen a stink bug, he disliked the smell of perilla, so he didn't like stink bugs that smelled like perilla either.

Lou Lan roughly understood what was going on and let out a barely perceptible sigh.

Uncle Du used to like to add chili peppers to his cooking, but Lou Lan told him not to. So he added Sichuan peppercorns, perilla leaves, and other strong-flavored seasonings.

Children have a milder palate and their tongues are more sensitive than adults', so they can't get used to certain foods.

However, Uncle Du was stubborn and a relative of Dean Wen, so she was afraid that saying too much would be inappropriate.

Lou Lan decided that she would have to bring it up with Dean Wen again next time she had the chance, because she couldn't let the child go hungry every day.

"Has Xinglin had breakfast?" Lou Lan asked.

Since the primary school did not provide breakfast, Wen Xinglin had to eat breakfast at the orphanage before going to school.

Uncle Du not only has a strong palate, but he is also very frugal. He always makes porridge with leftover rice from the previous night for everyone to eat with pickled vegetables. He himself enjoys the meal, but the children suffer.

So, Lou Lan would occasionally sneak away from Uncle Du to buy some food for the children.

As expected, Wen Xinglin shook his head.

Lou Lan said, "There's a breakfast shop up ahead, let's go see what they have."

The children's eyes lit up instantly, and they nodded frantically.

They think that food bought outside tastes especially good.

Lou Lan bought two servings of steamed dumplings.

She handed one of the dishes to Wen Xinglin: "Eat it as you walk, or we'll run out of time."

Wen Xinglin took the breakfast and said, "Okay."

Lou Lan took out two more from another portion and gave one to An Shisi and one to Wen Xingmou: "You two will need to eat at school later, so eat a little less first."

The two children nodded as they ate their steamed dumplings.

After delivering the children to school on time, Lou Lan returned to the welfare home to pack some of the director's personal belongings and sent them to the hospital.

After leaving the hospital, Lou Lan went straight to the police station. She needed to report finding the child and also needed the police station's help in posting missing person notices. Lou Lan was going to be very busy today.

...

In the morning, An Fusheng opened his eyes and found that Ao Daiya's seat was empty again.

Why does this kid go to school so early every day?

Does elementary school start this early? How come he remembers his second-grade cousin dawdling at home every day at nine o'clock?

Is this the difference between rural and urban education? Then rural education is definitely more humane.

Grandma Ao's voice could be faintly heard coming from the living room.

An Fusheng deflated and placed the back of his hand over his eyes.

I overslept at someone else's house again.

It's so hard to break the habit of sleeping in late!

An Fusheng's clothes were washed that night, so he still had to wear Grandma Ao's clothes. But once you get used to it, you don't need to do any mental preparation anymore.

"Good morning, Grandma Ao." An Fusheng came out of the room wearing Grandma Ao's floral suit.

Grandma Ao was playing with the kitten while holding dried fish when she saw An Fusheng come out of the room. She asked with a smile, "Little Fu, you're up?"

When the kitten saw An Fusheng, it slowly walked to his feet with a dried fish in its mouth and meowed obediently.

“This kitten seems to really like you,” Grandma Ao said.

An Fusheng: We're both cats who were picked up by strangers, and besides, I secretly fed it some meatballs yesterday.

Grandma Ao smiled and said, "Go wash up quickly, and then have breakfast."

"OK."

An Fusheng went to the restroom to wash up.

Last night, Grandma Ao found new towels and toothbrushes for An Fusheng, so An Fusheng now has his own toiletries.

Although the toothbrush is a children's toothbrush shaped like a bunny and the towel is covered in cartoon astronaut patterns, An Fusheng thinks it looks great.

After washing up, An Fusheng came out of the bathroom, walked to the clothesline, and touched the clothes he had hung out to dry the night before. They were all dry, which made him very happy.

Grandma Ao had already set out breakfast in the kitchen. When she saw An Fusheng come in, she said, "Come and eat breakfast. After we finish, we'll go to the market to buy potatoes. We didn't have enough yesterday, so we need to buy more today."

An Fusheng sat down at the table. "Okay."

Today's breakfast is millet porridge and meat buns.

The two sat at the table eating breakfast, and the kitten remained sitting upright on the stool next to An Fusheng.

"What time do Xiaoya and the others go to school? Why are they always so early?" An Fusheng asked while munching on a steamed bun.

"You have to be at school before 7:50," Grandma Ao said.

"So early?" An Fusheng asked in surprise.

Grandma Ao nodded: "Yes, first and second graders are already the latest. Fifth and sixth graders have to be at school by seven o'clock. It's okay now, but they'll suffer in the winter."

An Fusheng asked, "Do you take him to school every morning?"

Grandma Ao said, "He went by himself. I took him for a week when school started. Later, he had a friend and said he would go with him. It's not far and there are no main roads, so I let him go. If the school didn't require us to pick him up after school, he could have come back by himself."

"Are you comfortable letting him go to school alone?" An Fusheng asked. The city is different from the countryside. There are cars everywhere in the city, and the people are a mixed bunch.

Grandma Ao said, "I'm so old, I might not be here any day now, so he has to learn to live independently."

“You will surely live to be a hundred years old,” An Fusheng said.

"I don't have such high hopes. I just hope to spend more time with Xiaoya for a few more years, so that he won't be too pitiful when he grows up."

"Grandma Ao, where are Xiaoya's parents?" An Fusheng asked.

“They’re all gone,” Grandma Ao said.

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"It's alright, there's nothing that can't be mentioned."

An Fusheng changed the subject: "Is Xiaoya going to school for breakfast?"

Grandma Ao: "The school doesn't provide breakfast, so I give him money to buy it on his way to school. Anyway, at home we eat frozen dumplings and buns for breakfast, which aren't necessarily as fresh as what we get outside."

No wonder An Fusheng felt that the bun wasn't very soft.

After breakfast, An Fusheng changed into his own clothes, picked up his shopping cart, and went to the market with Grandma Ao to buy groceries.

We still have plenty of vegetables and chili powder at home, so today the two of us bought potatoes and some red radishes.

Back home, An Fusheng helped Grandma Ao prepare the potatoes.

An Fusheng was in charge of peeling and washing the potatoes, while Grandma Ao was in charge of cutting them into strips.

"It is now exactly noon Beijing time."

The cell phone inside the room loudly announced the time.

This is the time reminder that An Fusheng set for Grandma Ao yesterday. Grandma Ao was very satisfied and praised An Fusheng for being clever.

"Oh dear, I didn't realize it was already this late. I have to go make lunch," Grandma Ao said.

An Fusheng washed the last potato and threw it into a basin of water: "I'll make it. What would you like to eat today?"

"How about we have noodles today?" The noodles An Fusheng made the night before last were delicious, but Grandma Ao didn't get enough to eat, and her appetite has been lingering for the past two days.

"Okay." An Fusheng went to cook noodles.

Grandma Ao's noodles are handmade noodles bought from the market, and they're pretty good.

Cooking noodles is very simple. Before long, Grandma Ao could smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen.

After chopping the potatoes she had on hand, Grandma Ao washed her hands and went into the kitchen.

An Fusheng was placing the noodles on the table, two large bowls of noodles topped with shredded green peppers and pork, and pink diced radishes.

"Is this the pickled radish you made last night?" Grandma Ao asked in surprise. "How did it turn pink? I almost didn't recognize it."

An Fusheng explained, "It's the color of the radish peel that dissolves into the water, turning the radish pink."

"It looks so good, I didn't expect to be able to eat it so soon."

"It's only a little sour right now, but it's crunchy and delicious. I made a little to try first. When it gets a bit more sour, it will have a different taste."

"Then I'll have to try them all."

An Fusheng also brought over the chili oil he made yesterday: "The shredded pork with green peppers is already spicy, so I didn't add any more chili. If you think it's not spicy enough, you can add some more chili oil."

"We absolutely have to add it. Don't laugh at me, but I was already looking forward to eating it yesterday when you were making chili oil, haha," Grandma Ao said with a smile.

"My grandma said that having delicious food to look forward to every day is the greatest happiness in life."

"Your grandma is right."

A note from the author:

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