Chapter 35 Plot
The novel Su He read was about the male lead, Ji Liangchuan, and her son Fu Hanzhi, who were both students at the same police academy.
They were not only in the same class and dorm but also bunkmates.
During their college years, gangs and triad societies were everywhere, so both were determined to become cops who'd serve their country right.
However, they later fell for the most popular girl in class, Zhao Zixin—the female lead—and became bitter rivals.
The story was pretty cliché. The antagonist, Fu Hanzhi, had some personality flaws, possibly due to family issues, and had some sociopathic traits.
After the male and female leads got together, he went completely off the rails, ultimately meeting a tragic end.
As luck would have it, Fu Hanzhi's younger sister also had feelings for Ji Liangchuan and kept trying to hurt the female lead, though none of her attempts succeeded.
Admittedly, while reading the novel, Su He had felt that the twin siblings were just one-dimensional characters. Seeing them meet their deserved fate for their misdeeds wasn't exactly satisfying, but at the time, she'd thought the ending was just right.
But now—
How had the two met Ji Liangchuan so early? Would Niu Niu end up falling for him too?
Su He's head was spinning, and she decided to bring the kids to town less often, keeping them apart from Ji Liangchuan.
If you can't beat 'em, avoid 'em. After all, he was the novel's male lead, and she feared her children might be influenced by the plot.
"Mom, mom~" Niu Niu's voice jolted Su He back to reality.
"What's wrong?" Su He asked.
"Mom, why didn't you answer us just now?" Niu Niu asked nervously, noticing her mom wasn't paying attention.
"Sorry, Mom was thinking about something else. What did you say? Can you repeat it?" Su He stopped and knelt down to face them.
"You were walking too fast, that's all," Zai Zai said.
"Alright, I'm sorry. Come on, let's go buy some new clothes."
What kid doesn't love new clothes? Niu Niu's attention was quickly diverted, but Zai Zai looked worried.
He could tell his mother wasn't happy after Ji Liangchuan introduced himself, but he couldn't figure out why.
Su He went to a clothing store and bought three outfits for each child, plus two for herself, all for just over nine bucks.
Then she stopped by a general store to pick up some random stuff—just to show she had been shopping. Otherwise, folks might wonder how she got her things.
Shopping took some time, and by the time she returned to her stall, Aunt Niu was almost sold out.
"You're done shopping already? That was quick!" Aunt Niu exclaimed in surprise.
"All done. I'm thinking of buying a chicken to cook when we get back," Su He replied cheerfully.
"My, chickens these days are for laying eggs. You'd actually butcher one to eat?"
Su He smiled without responding. The kids hadn't had chicken since they got here.
On the way back, Su He carried even more than she had brought to town, her cart packed to the brim.
"Miss Su, this ain't right. You're spending more than you earn," Aunt Niu said, shaking her head.
"Isn't money meant to be spent? When I first moved to the village, there were many things I hadn't bought yet. So I'm just stocking up now." Actually, Su He hadn't bought that much, but she just wanted it to look like she had made a lot of purchases.
She would compare prices between the system and the real world, and if something was cheaper in the system, she wouldn't buy it in reality.
Take pork for example.
Pork prices were crazy these days, so she refused to buy it.
Aunt Niu looked at the two chickens in her cart and asked, "You're really going to kill them?"
"Of course. My kids need the protein," Su He replied matter-of-factly.
She wasn't short on eggs—they were dirt cheap in the system.
As for chicken, most of what she saw inside was frozen. Fresh farm-raised chicken was also quite pricey.
So Su He figured it was better to just buy it in the real world—a better deal and easier to explain to the kids where the meat came from.
After returning home, Su He gave the kids two rolls to snack on before starting lunch.
The chickens could wait till evening—for now, lunch would be something simple.
She took out instant noodles—it'd been ages since she'd made them.
Honestly, instant noodles tasted way better in these times. No wonder her childhood wish had been to eat them every day.
When the kids found out they were having instant noodles for lunch, they both went "Wow!"
"These taste great, but we can't eat them too often," Su He said with a smile.
"But this is just our second time," Zai Zai pointed out.
"Yes, you're right. Zai Zai has such a good memory." Su He never hesitated to praise her children.
"Mom, can I go play with that brother we met today next time we go to the market?" Niu Niu piped up out of nowhere.
Su He's smile froze for a second, and she didn't answer immediately. Instead, she asked, "Did you like that brother we met today?"
"Yes! He told me stories, and I loved it," Niu Niu replied like it was no big deal.
"Well, if we go to the market again, you can go play with him."
Su He felt she shouldn't interfere with her children's friendships. The future hadn't happened yet, and they were still so young.
After lunch, Su He started counting her earnings.
She had fried over a hundred fried cakes, selling them for twenty cents each, netting her twenty-five sixty.
The malt candy brought in more, but it required spending points, whereas the fried cakes only cost a few yuan in total.
It pretty much evened out.
Su He felt she was earning money too slowly. When would she ever make enough? It drove her crazy.
Well, she'd just have to take things slow.
Su He entered her space and picked out some new storybooks for the kids, who lit up.
"Mom, when did you buy these books?" Niu Niu asked excitedly, hugging a book to her chest.
"I bought them in town today. You like reading these, right?"
"Yeah!" Niu Niu said excitedly, handing the book to Su He. "Mom, read me a story."
Su He smiled and took the book. "The first story is 'The Ugly Duckling.'"
Her voice was naturally pleasant, and her storytelling wrapped the children in its gentle warmth.
Soothed by their mom's voice, the two kids fell asleep without realizing it.
Su He went to the backyard to check on her vegetable garden. She wasn't too concerned about the rest, but the leafy greens were almost ready to harvest.
How awesome—these were vegetables she had painstakingly nurtured herself, and she felt so proud of herself.