Chapter 20: Don’t live off your savings

Because of that handful of fruit candies, Uncle Niu's favorability towards Su Taotao skyrocketed. Seeing this delightful mother and son early in the morning, he felt much better.

Chenchen tilted his little head and stared at Uncle Niu with his big round eyes.

There were many rumors about Chen Chen in the production team. Some said he couldn't speak at the age of two and might be mute. Some said he had lifeless eyes and wondered if he was a fool...

The gossips that said these things may not have any bad intentions, they were just gossiping after a full stomach, but gossip becomes serious as it is passed on, and even false things become true. Uncle Niu looked at the delicate child in front of him, thought about the rumors, and silently felt sorry for the child.

He took out a double wedding candy from his pocket and handed it to Chenchen. He looked at Su Taotao and said, "You haven't finished the candy you gave me before. Here, Chenchen, take it."

Chenchen had been in this world for more than 700 days, and this was the first time that someone other than his family gave him candy. He didn't know how to react for a moment. He stared blankly at the double happiness candy, then turned around to look at Su Taotao.

Su Taotao bent down, looked into his eyes with a smile and said, "Chenchen, do you want to eat?"

Chen Chen tilted his head and thought for a while, then nodded: "I think so~~"

Su Taotao touched his little head and said, "Go get it. Remember to thank Grandpa Niu."

Chen Chen reached out to take the double wedding candy, and said to Uncle Niu with her big eyes squinting in a baby voice: "Thank you~~"

Not dumb? Not stupid? Uncle Niu held the candy in his hand and stared at Chenchen's face for a long time, forgetting to let go.

Chen Chen couldn't move, so he turned around and looked at Su Taotao with his lips pursed. Did this mean that he regretted giving it and didn't want to give it anymore?

Su Taotao saw Uncle Niu's shocked expression and guessed what he was thinking. She called out, "Uncle Niu?"

"Oh oh oh," Uncle Niu came back to his senses, "I'm sorry, Chenchen is so cute, I was distracted for a moment."

Chenchen then happily took the candy and said "thank you" in a childish voice.

Uncle Niu "Pooh" those gossiping women and drooled at them. Chenchen was such a smart kid, yet what kind of things were spread about her? If he heard someone say bad things about Chenchen again, he would definitely scold them.

Chen Chen's eyebrows curved, and he held the double wedding candy in his two little hands, looking at it again and again, and handed it to Su Taotao: "Mom~~"

Su Taotao rubbed the boy's head and said with great interest: "Chenchen, do you want to eat now? Mommy will peel it for you."

Chen Chen shook his head and carefully put the small double happiness candy into his pocket: "Little uncle, let's go together~~"

Such a young boy never eats alone, and always thinks of his uncle when he gets something good.

Su Taotao hugged the child tightly, feeling indescribably tender inside, and even a little jealous of the relationship between him and Fu Yuanhang and Zhou Linglan.

Of course, Fu Yuanhang and Zhou Linglan also care about him very much.

The young man has just started to accept her, and now if he is asked to rank her among his family members, she, the "biological mother", must be the last one. Who let the original owner do that?

But Su Taotao is not in a hurry. She will slowly cultivate the relationship. Sooner or later, she, the biological mother, will be the first in the little boy's heart.

The tractor rumbled towards the county town. Su Taotao explained to the children everything she saw along the way, such as green trees, red flowers, flying birds, and big rocks. She explained everything to the children and tried to bring back the colors and quantities of the items.

When you see a bird flying, you say that this gray bird has a pair of wings, so it can fly into the blue sky.

Then the boy tilted his head and thought for a while, then shook his head: "Chicken, duck~~"

Su Taotao: “…”

I actually understood that what he was asking was why chickens and ducks have wings but cannot fly.

Su Taotao rubbed the top of the kid's head with her chin. Are all two-year-olds so smart?

I can only explain patiently: "This question is a bit complicated. Maybe you won't understand it until you grow up. Mommy will explain it briefly now. It's okay if you don't understand it for now, okay?"

Chenchen nodded, following the bird's flight path with his big eyes.

Su Taotao continued, "Chenchen, do you often see the chicks and ducklings at home flapping their wings and flying up? In fact, chicks and ducklings, like birds, are birds. They used to be able to fly very high and far, but later we kept them at home, and their wings began to degenerate. In addition, Chenchen and the uncle worked hard to dig earthworms to feed them, so they grew heavier and heavier, and they could no longer fly high or far.

Now they can actually fly as high as the fence. Will grandma cut some feathers off the wings of the chickens and ducklings at home? This is to prevent them from flying out of the fence."

Chenchen tilted his head and thought about it, and finally nodded solemnly.

I don’t know if I really understood it.

Chenchen is a child with strong learning ability and very good concentration. No matter what Su Taotao says, he listens with great interest. He is also very observant and will ask one or two questions when he is confused.

Su Taotao will always patiently answer questions regardless of whether the children can understand or not.

It is said that parents are the best teachers for their children. A two-year-old child is at the age when he or she has the strongest desire to explore the world. Chenchen is opening up his or her own world little by little, and is also beginning to explore this world little by little. Su Taotao has never raised a child, so she can only explore little by little, starting with every blade of grass, every leaf and every flower.

The half-hour journey was neither long nor short, and it passed in just the time it took to learn some basic scientific knowledge.

Arriving at the county town, Su Taotao went straight to the meat processing factory without delay.

She found Chen Sihai and explained her purpose. Without saying a word, Chen Sihai gave her a pair of pig ears, two pig tails and two pig trotters.

Chen Sihai refused to take the money, but Su Taotao insisted on giving it to him.

Chen Sihai had no choice but to put it away: "I thought you would come next month."

Su Taotao did not hide it and told him a brief outline of her plan. Finally, she said, "I just came up with this idea on the spur of the moment. These things are just a test of the water. It's not certain whether they will work or not."

After hearing her plan, Chen Sihai was greatly shocked. He had realized that this lesbian was no simple person when he first met Su Taotao, and he had never expected that she was so smart.

"Are the household expenses too high?" Chen Sihai thought he was asking in a very tactful way.

Su Taotao smiled and said, "There will always be a day when all the money is gone. The child is still young, so I have to prepare for a rainy day."

Chen Sihai nodded: "If you have any difficulties, just tell me. If I can help you..."

Su Taotao interrupted him and said, "Uncle Chen, you have helped me a lot. If this thing can be accomplished, I will have to trouble you again in the future."

Chen Sihai waved his hands and said, "No problem, no problem. It doesn't matter who you sell it to, it's just a simple matter of raising your hands."

Su Taotao didn't bother to be polite with him. She told him about Cao Guohua's recent situation, then packed her things and carried the kid on her back and rushed to the state-owned hotel without stopping.

Chenchen was very well behaved. He lay on his mother's back without crying or making any noise. He observed the people and things around him. He had his own ideas in his little head.

Qinglian County is a relatively large county town with a total of three state-owned hotels. The one Su Taotao chose is located on the Arcade Street in the east of the city. It has yellow bricks and gray tiles, and a three-story brick and wood structure in the style of an arcade. Behind the Arcade Street is a small stone forest with karst landforms, and the scenery is picturesque. In front is the confluence of two rivers, one side of which is crystal clear and the other side is turbid, forming a unique natural scenery. Many people come here to see the scenery. If people only talk about state-owned hotels, they usually default to this one.

The scale of the state-owned hotel in the small county at that time was probably not as big as the Fly Restaurant in later generations. It had a small storefront with a big red sign. The three floors together housed only eight or ten shabby wooden tables and benches. The brick walls were covered with various quotations that were very characteristic of the era written in red paint, giving it a strong sense of age.

Among the three state-owned hotels, this one has the best location and environment, but it has the least people. Unless people are in a hurry or have no choice, most people will not come to eat here. At mealtime, the other two hotels are often crowded, while this one is deserted, which forms a very sharp contrast.

Don't ask, the only thing I'm asking is that the chef's cooking skills are terrible.

Even so, the waiter's attitude was still lax. If everyone didn't come here to eat, they could do less work, and they would still get paid anyway. When he heard Su Taotao coming to see the chef, he sneered at her. If Chen Chen hadn't been dressed decently, the waiter would have thought Su Taotao was a poor relative who came here to beg for money.

Finally, Su Taotao used a handful of White Rabbit candies to clear the way for her to meet the legendary chef of the state-owned hotel.

I never thought that White Rabbit milk candy is also hard currency these days.

"Hello, Chef Xu, can I have a word with you?"

As the saying goes, never hit a smiling person. Chef Xu looked at the smiling, young and pretty lesbian in front of him with confusion. He really couldn't imagine what she wanted from him.

Chef Xu has a stereotypical bitter face and his eyebrows are almost wrinkled into the shape of a "川" character. It is said that he was the squad leader of the kitchen squad before he retired from the army. He fought against the Japanese and won first-class merit. After retiring from the army, he stayed in the state-owned hotel to work. Maybe this is the reason why he has never been replaced even though his cooking is bad.

"We are not hiring any workers here, not even short-term, long-term or temporary workers."

Su Taotao smiled and said, "Chef Xu, I'm not here to look for a job. I'm here specifically to help you win back your customers."

Chef Xu looked Su Taotao up and down, his eyes seemed to be looking at a fool, and there was also a hint of sympathy for "she is so young but her brain is not working well".

Chef Xu waved his hand and said, "Ladies, please go back to where you came from. I'm busy right now. Don't waste my time."

Su Taotao waved the things in her hand: "Please give me a chance to cook a dish, Chef Xu. If Chef Xu tastes it and thinks it can keep the guests, we can talk about other things. If Chef Xu thinks it is not up to standard, I will leave the things here for you to deal with. I will only take up one of your stoves and one pot. I will bring my own ingredients. Except for the seasonings, I will not touch your other things."

Chef Xu looked at the pig's feet, ears and tail in her hands, and frowned even more: "How can you keep your guests with these scraps? Isn't braised pork much more delicious than these?"

Su Taotao said, "So, these are all cheap scraps, and the purchase cost is low. It won't take long to see the results. Let me try it?"

Chef Xu was silent for a moment: "You only use one pot for so many things? Only cook one dish?"

Su Taotao nodded: "Yes."

These days all the major state-owned hotels only serve those few dishes. No matter whether they taste good or not, people come to eat there, and the higher-ups won't say anything. But other chefs' restaurants are packed with customers, but his is deserted. Even leaders don't come to eat there, so it's a bit embarrassing for him.

"Then come in, don't delay my other work."

Su Taotao thought she would have to spend more time talking to him, but unexpectedly, this chef who looked like someone who was not easy to mess with turned out to be quite easy to talk to.

"Thank you, Chef Xu. Don't worry, I won't delay your other matters."

…