Although Su Chen's home is in the countryside, a small village in the mountains, the city he is talking about is Cuicheng, the provincial capital.
But if you want to go to the city, you have to cross two mountains to get to the town, and then take a shuttle bus, which costs five dollars.
In other words, if you can't make money in the city, the ten dollars you have can only go back and forth.
Seeing Honghong looking worried again, Su Chen smiled.
"Don't worry, Dad brought two sweet potatoes, so you won't starve."
"But you...it's so cold next time you need to wash clothes, just ask your brother to go with you. It will be quicker."
Hong Hong pouted: "Grandma won't let me."
"Dad will go talk to your grandma later."
Seeing Honghong hesitate, Su Chen stood up and walked out of the house.
Liu Chunhua was feeding rice porridge to her grandson who was not even a month old. She turned around when she heard the noise.
"Ah Chen, what's wrong?"
"No, Mom, you said before that you wanted to alter Ah Hua's clothes, is that okay?"
"Where can I find the time? There are so many things to do here, big and small."
"If you don't have time, ask Apeng to help. Honghong knew to help with the laundry in the cold weather when she was eight years old, and Apeng knew to hide under the covers when he was seven years old. It's not a big deal."
Liu Chunhua was stunned when she heard this, then she reacted and subconsciously wanted to refute: "But washing clothes is for girls..."
"Mom, nothing in this world is supposed to be. You guys are just spoiling me too much."
"Me too. I used to be spoiled by you guys and didn't do any work. I have to change and set an example. From now on, if there is any chores at home, you can ask me to join you."
Liu Chunhua blinked blankly, and it took a long time for the word "OK" to come out.
After Su Chen left, she slowly turned her head and met the old man who was lighting a fire in the stove.
"Dad, please poke my leg with the tongs! Am I dreaming?"
Old Man Su rolled his eyes.
"It's just a dream, you believe this kid's nonsense? If you really ask him to work, he will definitely complain about his back breaking again."
"Pah, pah, pah, you old man, you have a foul mouth."
Liu Chunhua laughed again as she spoke: "What did I say? Our Ah Chen will get better sooner or later, sooner or later..."
As she spoke, Liu Chunhua thought of Xu Jiahua who died of childbirth complications, and sighed again.
"Oh, Ah Hua is so unlucky. If nothing happened, he would be so happy now."
Old man Su glanced at his wife and saw her turning around and wiping her tears. Looking at the fire burning in the stove, he also sighed.
How virtuous is his daughter-in-law?
Ever since I got married, I have kept the house clean inside and out, and I have also taken good care of the children. But it has only been half a month since I left, and I see that the children are all covered in dust and dirt, and the house is not tidy at all.
Hey~
We had sweet potato porridge in the evening.
Su Chen had a large bowl with more rice grains than sweet potatoes, while Liu Chunhua's bowl contained clear soup.
He shared the rice grains in the large bowl with Liu Chunhua and Honghong, drank two bowls of soup in one go, and burped.
After everyone finished eating, he got up and washed the dishes.
Seeing this, Liu Chunhua tried to snatch it away, but was stopped by Old Man Su.
"Didn't you say he's gotten better? We have to let people see what's going on, okay?"
Liu Chunhua glared: "That's not the best way to do it. Which man in the village washes dishes? If you tell anyone about it, they'll laugh at you."
Old Man Su asked back: "I have never washed dishes?"
Then he pulled Liu Chunhua back into the house without saying anything.
After Su Chen finished washing the dishes and boiled water to wash the children's faces and feet, Old Man Su, who had been peeking at them, muttered, "Has he really gotten better?"
Liu Chunhua was very proud: "That's not a big deal? How could a mother like me not know about the child I gave birth to?"
At lunch the next day, she was dumbfounded.
"Honghong, where's your dad?"
Honghong lowered her head: "Dad said he went to the city."
Liu Chunhua's voice suddenly rose: "Go to the city? How can we go to the city without money?"
"When did your father leave the house?"
Honghong lowered her head even lower after being yelled at by her.
"Just left not long after breakfast."
"You naughty child, why didn't you tell grandma? Oh, it's so cold today, Achen, please don't fall down again," Liu Chunhua was about to say more, but her grandson started crying. She didn't have the heart to care at that moment and was busy holding her grandson and changing his diaper.
On the other side, after shaking for more than an hour, Su Chen finally arrived at the bus station.
After getting off the bus and leaving the station, Su Chen felt confused.
There's no other reason. I only went to the city once when I got married. I haven't been here for more than ten years, and it feels very unfamiliar.
However, after walking down a street, Su Chen realized that Cuicheng was in a state of disrepair.
There are two fenced-off plots of land next to the bus station. There was a loud noise inside, and it seemed like they were going to build a building.
As a provincial capital, there should be quite a few people in Cuicheng now.
Su Chen counted with his fingers and quickly aimed to the west.
A new ten-story commercial building stands at the intersection of West Street, the busiest area in the center of Cuicheng City.
"Xinhui Department Store."
Su Chen squinted his eyes and recognized the words outside the shopping mall, feeling a surge of emotion.
This world is really different from my previous life, and the characters are also very different. Fortunately, my original body studied for a few years, otherwise I would be really at a loss.
Xinhui Department Store looks high-end, but the two streets surrounding the department store are still surrounded by low houses. If you look closely, you can even see shanty houses inside.
It is really old, but it is also really lively.
There are many clothing stores and pastry shops here, and there are also bicycles pushing various snacks on the street, such as diced pineapple, candied haws, and fried buns...
Shouts and greetings were heard everywhere.
Su Chen walked inside and saw a bookstall selling picture books and stopped.
With a slight movement of his fingers, he quickly stepped forward.
The owner of the bookstall was a man in his thirties or forties, holding a copy of "Story Club" in his hand.
Hearing the noise, he raised his head and saw Su Chen and called out, "Want to buy a book? It's 20 cents a copy."
Su Chen shook his head and pointed to the old newspaper under the man's buttocks: "Brother, can you lend me this newspaper?"
The man was stunned for a moment, then he stood up and handed the newspaper to Su Chen: "Brother, do you have no toilet paper? There is toilet paper for sale at the newsstand in front, ten sheets for ten cents. Oh, and the public toilet is over there, about a hundred meters away."
Su Chen thanked him and waved his hand: "I don't want to go to the bathroom, I want to write."
"Writing?"
The man was stunned for a moment, then saw Su Chen smiling innocently and pointing at the brushes and ink placed beside his stall.
"Use it."
"Thank you, brother."
Su Chen quickly wrote two big words on the newspaper with a brush: "Fortune Telling."
After thinking about it, he made a note below: You are not allowed to ask for money.
The man looked at Quan, his expression quickly becoming meaningful: "Hey, buddy, your business is a bit mysterious."
Su Chen smiled at him.
Cuicheng and even the entire province where it is located are close to the sea and mountainous. The "Four Olds" campaign from decades ago was not very effective in this area, let alone now.
Although the government openly opposes superstition, everyone believes in it secretly.
Believe it or not, that's all because of the belief that he has ability. Judging from Su Chen's current outfit, a sweater on the upper body, black pants and old leather shoes, he doesn't look like a capable person at all.
The man touched his nose and couldn't help muttering: "The New Year is coming soon, and the scammers are starting to do business~"