Chapter 569
Su Xiaoxiao understood her brother’s meaning and nodded obediently. “Alright, Yexun and I will be careful.”
Now that the business was set up, it was hard to let it go.
But fortunately, in this life, Su Xiaoxiao knew very well that, with the passing years, things would loosen up. Especially in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, private businesses would become less regulated.
So as long as she maintained the current scale and didn’t expand further, there would be no problems.
And anyway, that Peng Huijing, who used to secretly make trouble for her, was no longer a threat.
Soon, Aunt Guo returned with Jiang Yexun.
She had only bought a hen, along with noodles, milk powder, eggs, and egg cakes.
“Ah, the supply and marketing cooperative’s vegetables are all sold out. It’s going to be hard to deal with this hen now. I was hoping to make Xiaoxiao some chicken soup to help her recover, and then use the broth for noodles later, so she could have it before bed.” Aunt Guo frowned, disappointed.
“I have something I can add to the chicken soup.” Su Xiaoxiao said as she stood up and went over to a pile of luggage, rummaging through it.
In reality, she was creating a distraction to take out a ten-year-old ginseng from her space.
Earlier, she had prepared several pieces of ginseng, ranging from five years to fifty years old, for emergencies, so she could take them out without raising suspicion.
Aunt Guo’s eyes lit up when she saw the ginseng.
“This ginseng is just the right age. It’ll be perfect for the chicken soup. And since Hongchen is here, the whole family can benefit.” She eagerly took the ginseng from Su Xiaoxiao’s hands.
Su Hongchen instinctively frowned, thinking of protesting that he didn’t need to replenish his health.
But Su Xiaoxiao said, “Brother, you’ve been working so hard outside recently. You should still have some. Plus, this big hen and this ginseng are enough to make a big pot of soup. We can each have three or five bowls, which is more than enough. If you don’t help share it, it’ll spoil if left too long, and that would be a waste.”
Su Hongchen thought about it and didn’t say anything further. He grabbed the lunchbox and went to the dining hall.
While Aunt Guo was cooking, Su Xiaoxiao deliberately leaned over.
Jiang Yexun guessed what she was planning to do, so he discreetly covered for her.
As she added water to the soup pot, Su Xiaoxiao quietly poured in Spirit Spring Water.
Not only did this make the chicken soup particularly nutritious, but when it was halfway cooked, a fragrance immediately filled the air.
Even with all the doors and windows closed, the neighbors next door could still smell it.
“What’s Officer Su’s family cooking? It smells so good. How are we supposed to eat with that smell in the air?” someone murmured before quickly closing the windows and doors, rushing to calm their hungry child.
But not everyone could control themselves.
Before the chicken soup was even ready, someone knocked on the door.
Just as Su Xiaoxiao was about to open it, Aunt Guo hurriedly stopped her.
“No need, no need. I’ve lived here long enough to know everyone around here.” She said, wiping her hands before heading outside.
When the door opened, she found a woman about her age standing there with a bowl in one hand and a four- or five-year-old grandson by her side.
The moment the door opened, the rich aroma of chicken soup filled the air.
The two of them swallowed their saliva before grinning and asking, “What’s Officer Su’s family cooking? It smells so good.”
“It’s just some chicken soup.” Aunt Guo said indifferently.
Normally, she wouldn’t have acted so casually if someone came to visit.
But since the woman was already holding a bowl, it was clear what she wanted.
In these times, food was scarce. Even in the military, meat and vegetables were not something everyone could have whenever they wanted.
To show up at someone’s house right when they were cooking meat and ask for some soup was really quite impolite.
“Officer Su’s family, my grandson smelled your chicken soup and has been crying, wanting to try some. Could you fill this bowl for me?” The woman kept smiling, but her tone was a bit more entitled.
Aunt Guo couldn’t help but find this a bit amusing.
“Sorry, this soup is for my pregnant daughter-in-law. She needs to nourish herself and the baby, so I can’t give you any.” Aunt Guo firmly declined.
The woman’s face darkened, and the little boy immediately threw a tantrum.
“I want chicken soup! I don’t care, I want chicken soup!”
“Stop, don’t make a scene!” The woman pretended to pull her grandson back.
Then, she pretended to give in and said to Aunt Guo, “Officer Su’s family, you see, my grandson is really acting up. Why don’t you just give me a little? I’ll bring some soup from my house next time. How about that?”
“I don’t think so!”
A cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out.
It was like an ice pick directly piercing through the hearts of the grandmother and grandson.
The two of them froze, and the child immediately stopped making noise.
The woman looked at Jiang Yexun, who was standing behind Aunt Guo, trying to force a friendly smile.
But when faced with his cold, unfeeling gaze, she couldn’t even muster a word.
“If you can’t afford to raise your own kids, don’t have them. I’ve never seen anyone show up at someone else’s house to beg for food.” Jiang Yexun said, his words harsh and biting.
Seeing the woman’s face change and realizing she was about to erupt, he added, “If you had any sincerity, you would’ve brought something to trade. Maybe then we’d be willing to exchange. But now, during dinner time, you show up with an empty bowl and promise some future soup. Are you trying to make us fools? What kind of soup will you bring next time? Tomato egg soup? Or radish and pork ribs soup? None of those can compare to chicken soup. Or do you plan to make some chicken soup and give it to us later?”
Jiang Yexun’s words completely stripped the woman of her face and any pretense of dignity.
This was his brother-in-law’s home, and if he didn’t speak up, wouldn’t people start causing trouble for Su Hongchen in the future?
Jiang Yexun didn’t want to make Su Hongchen angry, nor did he want his little wife to worry about such things.
“Look at what you’re saying. I was in a hurry and forgot. If you don’t want to give any, then forget it. I’ll leave now.” The woman awkwardly laughed.
Without waiting for Jiang Yexun to say anything else, she immediately pulled her grandson out the door.
The child was still crying for the chicken soup, but the woman didn’t dare to stop.
The neighbors next door watched the entire scene and felt deeply ashamed of the woman’s actions.
In this day and age, it was simply bad manners to show up at someone’s house during meal times and ask for food.
She even came holding an empty bowl, just to beg for chicken soup. That was too much.
“Mom, let’s go back. Xiaoxiao’s brother will be back soon.” Jiang Yexun lowered his head and said to Aunt Guo.
Aunt Guo nodded and closed the door tightly.
“I’ll go prepare the food and wash some fruit. By the way, you should make Xiaoxiao some milk. Since she’s pregnant, she shouldn’t be drinking soda.” As she spoke, she started busying herself.
Su Xiaoxiao poked her head out of the kitchen, relieved to see that everything had been handled.
Jiang Yexun, seeing her relaxed, couldn’t help but smile.
He walked over, took her hand, and gently squeezed it.
“Since you were worried about outsiders tasting the soup, did you still use that water?” He bent down slightly and whispered teasingly, making sure only she could hear.
Su Xiaoxiao led him outside a little before answering, “My brother is going back to Beijing tomorrow. I just don’t want him to encounter any danger while on a mission. I thought I’d give him a good supplement today to strengthen his body and senses so he stays safe.”
Besides, the ginseng she had was grown in her space, and it was far superior to wild ginseng.
With Peng Huijing, who caused the tragic events in their last life, finally being dealt with, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want anything else to go wrong.
Now that the Su and Gu families had fully escaped the tragedy of the past life, she certainly didn’t want any more problems.
“Don’t worry. Your brother is very capable. He won’t get into trouble.” Jiang Yexun whispered and gave his little wife a quick kiss on the cheek, smiling to reassure her.
Before long, the door to their house was knocked again.
Aunt Guo thought it was someone else coming for chicken soup. As she walked out of the kitchen, she furrowed her brows tightly.
“Mom, it’s my brother.” Su Xiaoxiao said quickly when she saw Aunt Guo’s upset expression.
Aunt Guo was startled for a moment, then her face immediately broke into a bright smile.
She opened the door to find Su Hongchen standing there with six lunchboxes in his hands.
“I got some braised pork, pan-fried fish, stir-fried reed shoots with meat, garlic lettuce, stir-fried luncheon meat with cucumbers, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.” He listed the dishes as he walked toward the dining table.
Once he placed the lunchboxes on the table, he finally furrowed his brows deeply.