Uncle Lao Ji was listening to Su Yanke's words beside them. His eye sockets couldn't help but turn red. He endured the tears forcefully, not wanting Xiaobao to see his vulnerable side. But when a soft little body rushed into his arms, his tears still fell uncontrollably.
"Daddy, hug me!" Xiaobao's sweet and tender voice melted Uncle Lao Ji's heart.
Uncle Lao Ji, with tears streaming down his face, was holding Xiaobao outside his own house. Aunt Li rushed over when she heard the noise and was stunned at the sight.
Her first reaction was that the business deal had fallen through, but seeing all the things on the ground, this thought couldn't hold up. Watching Uncle Lao Ji, a grown - up man, crying so abruptly at the door, she really couldn't stand it.
"Lao Ji, you're such a grown - up. Aren't you ashamed to cry in public?"
Uncle Lao Ji also realized it was really embarrassing after being told by Aunt Li. He quickly wiped his face, picked up the things, and greeted everyone to enter the house.
Su Yanke looked at Aunt Li with a smile but said nothing. She then made an OK sign to Xiaobao. Xiaobao was not unfamiliar with such a gesture from his previous interactions with Su Yanke, so he immediately got what Su Yanke meant. He couldn't help but smile and chased after them.
"This... we've bought too much!" Aunt Li's mouth dropped open looking at the things Su Yanke and Uncle Lao Ji had bought.
Xiaobao's attitude was completely different from Aunt Li's. He was very happy to see Su Yanke and Uncle Lao Ji taking out things one after another. He couldn't help but jump and clap his hands, cheering.
Su Yanke was also infected by Xiaobao's emotions. She said to Aunt Li in a brisk tone, "It's not much. These are all necessities for the future. Today, we're celebrating the success of our first business deal. We'll have meat for dinner tonight!"
Hearing this, Xiaobao became even more excited. He quickly ran over, grabbed Su Yanke and Uncle Lao Ji's hands, and started spinning in circles, shouting, "We're having meat! We're having meat!"
Seeing everyone beaming with joy, Aunt Li didn't want to dampen their spirits. She didn't mention saving money. Instead, she just smiled, picked up the vegetables, and went into the kitchen to cook dinner for everyone.
Uncle Lao Ji felt sorry for his wife. Afraid that she would be tired working alone in the kitchen, he also went to help.
The kitchen wasn't big, so Xiaobao didn't follow them in. He just helped Su Yanke organize the things they had bought.
Su Yanke named all the things one by one, and Xiaobao put them in their corresponding places. Xiaobao used to often follow Aunt Li around when he was free, so he gradually got to know where all the items in the house were placed.
With Xiaobao's help, Su Yanke quickly finished organizing the things.
When the smell of the food wafted out, they had just finished. Su Yanke felt a bit心疼 seeing the sweat on Xiaobao's forehead from organizing the items.
Su Yanke took out several big bags of colorful things from the small bag beside her, handed them to Xiaobao, and said, "Open it and see. Do you like it?"
Xiaobao turned to look at Su Yanke and was slightly stunned. Night had fallen, and the oil lamp in the room had been lit. The warm yellow light shone on Su Yanke's side face, making her already delicate and perfect face look even more dreamy.
There's a saying that goes, "A beauty looks more charming under the lamp." Xiaobao deeply felt this at this moment.
Seeing that Xiaobao didn't respond, Su Yanke tilted her head slightly, showing confusion. She called Xiaobao's name again, which brought Xiaobao back to his senses.
Xiaobao coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment just now. Fortunately, Su Yanke didn't think in that direction at all. Xiaobao reached out and took the big bag of things.
A sweet smell wafted over. Xiaobao carefully opened the bag, and delicate - looking soft candies came into view.
Seeing that Xiaobao just stared at the candies without saying a word or eating them, Su Yanke was a bit confused. She directly picked one up and fed it into Xiaobao's mouth, then took another one and put it into her own mouth.
Su Yanke's eyes closed contentedly as the candy entered her mouth. The texture was delicate, a bit like that of Dove chocolate, but when you bit into it, it was very chewy, just like QQ candy. This combination felt very novel and surprised Su Yanke.
At this time, Xiaobao was different. He stiffened all over when Su Yanke fed him the candy, especially when he still felt the touch on his lips where Su Yanke's hand had accidentally touched when feeding him. His blood rushed to his head all at once, and he couldn't think at all.
Looking at Su Yanke's happy expression, Xiaobao tried hard to calm himself down.
"I like it. Thank you, sister. You're so good to me!"
Xiaobao said sweetly, hoping to draw Su Yanke's attention to him. He was a bit jealous of these candies. They could get Su Yanke's whole - hearted love, while he... didn't.
But this thought flashed by quickly, because after hearing Xiaobao's words, Su Yanke looked at him with a big smile in her eyes. Her eyes seemed to have thousands of stars shining, which shone into Xiaobao's heart and could never be erased, lasting forever.
"Xiaobao, Miss Ayan, dinner is ready!"
Aunt Li's voice came over. Su Yanke put the candies aside first and held Xiaobao's hand to go for dinner.
I have to say that Aunt Li was really skillful. They didn't notice Aunt Li's cooking skills when there was a shortage of food before, but now with abundant ingredients, her skills were fully displayed. Su Yanke was becoming more and more satisfied.
Su Yanke was very satisfied with this meal. Almost everyone filled their bowls several times, and they ate all the dishes on the big table clean.
After dinner, everyone felt a bit full. Su Yanke took this free time to talk about her plan.
Su Yanke took out a few pieces of paper from her sleeve and spread them out for Uncle Lao Ji to see.
"Uncle Lao Ji, this is the work we need to do next. This will also be your main task in the future!" When Su Yanke said this, she was looking at both Aunt Li and Uncle Lao Ji.
Aunt Li realized it a bit late. She pointed at herself in disbelief and said, "Can I do it too?"
Su Yanke nodded at Aunt Li affirmatively.
"Uncle Lao Ji, this thing is for making hot pot. I found that there doesn't seem to be any spicy food here, and this hot pot can fill this gap. It will be indispensable for our future business!"
When Su Yanke went to meet Qiu Xu before, she found that there were many kinds of dishes in the restaurant, but there was no spicy food.
On the way to buy things, Su Yanke also noticed that in many restaurants, whether big ones or street snacks, there was no spicy food. It seemed that spicy food hadn't spread among the people here. So the Yuanyang hot pot was a great business opportunity!
This was also the reason why Su Yanke insisted on asking Qiu Xu for a shop. With a shop, they would have a guaranteed source of income in the future, and Xiaobao's tuition fees would no longer be a problem. That's why Su Yanke didn't care about the structure drawing of the stove at all and just gave it to Qiu Xu without feeling any pain.
Su Yanke detailed the structure and usage of the hot pot to Uncle Lao Ji. Uncle Lao Ji was already prepared for the novel things in Su Yanke's mind because of the previous stove, but he was still surprised by this way of eating.
Although Uncle Lao Ji wasn't very good at talking, he understood the structural problems very quickly.
With Uncle Lao Ji's assurance, Su Yanke felt much more at ease.
Next, it was up to Aunt Li.
When Aunt Li saw Su Yanke looking at her, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Her fingers unconsciously grabbed the corner of her skirt.
Noticing Aunt Li's nervousness, Su Yanke couldn't help but smile and said, "Aunt Li, don't be nervous. You have great talent and skills. This job won't be difficult for you."
With Su Yanke's comfort, although Aunt Li's nervousness didn't completely disappear, it did have a great effect.
"Aunt Li, your cooking skills are very good. I have a recipe for the hot - pot base. After we make the hot pot, we'll try it ourselves first, and then you'll have an idea."
Su Yanke handed the ingredient list to Aunt Li. Aunt Li took it and looked at it. She found that she knew all these ingredients, so she felt much more relieved.
Aunt Li used to work in a catering business, but her family declined. One of her ancestors was addicted to gambling, which made the family run out of money. By her generation, the family's shop was gone, but the cooking skills were passed down.
But she was a woman, and the people in the restaurant didn't want her. So she had the skills but had no place to use them. Now Su Yanke attached great importance to her skills, which really made her feel flattered.
Seeing that Aunt Li had no problem with the ingredients on the list, Su Yanke felt relieved.
Actually, there was still one most important ingredient missing from the list, which was chili!
But Su Yanke wasn't worried because she knew where to find it. When talking to Qiu Xu, she accidentally found out that there was a spicy thing used for medicine in a rather remote place. Since Su Yanke had already made a deal with Qiu Xu, she wanted to buy a bag of that kind of seeds. Although Qiu Xu didn't understand Su Yanke's request, there was no reason to turn down a business opportunity.
So they agreed to hand it over to her when she paid the remaining balance next time.
The hot - pot issue was settled, and Su Yanke started to deal with the things she had bought.
Su Yanke carried over several big bags of cloth and clothes.
She rummaged through them and took out a few clothes, then called Xiaobao over.
There were four sets of clothes, a sky - blue and a purple daily wear, and a cream - colored and a black scholar's robe.
Su Yanke compared the clothes with Xiaobao and found that they fit well. So she asked Xiaobao to try them on.
Aunt Li didn't expect Su Yanke to buy so many clothes for Xiaobao. She stood up and was about to say something, but Su Yanke said, "Aunt Li, this is just my little gift. It's a back - to - school gift for Xiaobao. Do you like it, Xiaobao?"
Xiaobao stared blankly at Su Yanke, holding the new clothes in his hands. The soft touch gave him a sense of unreality. Looking at Su Yanke's smiling face, there was an unfathomable obsession in Xiaobao's eyes.
Hearing what Su Yanke said, Aunt Li opened her mouth but finally said nothing. But the gratitude in her eyes couldn't be hidden.