"That had better be the case."
The Police Officer lectured the couple a few more times before they shamefacedly cleaned up Xu Han's yard and left.
Before leaving, however, Luo Yangxiu shot Xu Han a vicious glare, as if to say: Just you wait.
Xu Han was not afraid. If soldiers came, she would send generals against them; if water came, she would block it with earth. She had nothing to fear from them.
Watching their retreating backs as they fled in disarray, Xu Han gave a mocking smile. Honestly, if everyone could be reasonable, what would they need the police for?
Author's Note:
I originally wanted to write a fight with some awful relatives, but then I looked up and saw I'd labeled this a sweet little story, so I quietly changed it.
Koukou Cried
With an extra plot of land, Xu Han had more space to grow vegetables.
But vegetable gardens were easily invaded by chickens and the like, which would eat the crops, so she needed to put up a fence. The bamboo for fencing could be bought. There was plenty of bamboo in the mountains here, and buyers occasionally came to purchase it for city people building villas and such.
So some villagers specialized in cutting and selling it. It cost twenty cents per stalk, and Xu Han asked Aunt Li, whom she knew fairly well, to order three large bundles for her.
What made her happiest was that the vegetables she had planted out of season had actually begun to bear fruit without greenhouse cultivation. The delicate, adorable Tomatoes, fresh and tender Cucumbers, and crisp, fragrant Snow Peas would probably be ready for picking in just a few days.
And the vegetables in their garden did not get bugs!
It turned out Koukou's urine not only sped up growth, but also repelled insects...
This completely spared her the need to use pesticides. They were entirely green, pollution-free vegetables.
Having just turned down a one-million-yuan child support payment, the penniless Xu Han seemed to see little bundles of cash waving at her. Every day, she stared at her vegetable garden with shining eyes.
When the vegetables were finally ready to harvest, Xu Han first picked a handful of Snow Peas and took a piece of pork belly from the refrigerator, preparing to make stir-fried pork belly with Snow Peas.
Pork belly from home-raised pigs did not need any vegetable oil; it rendered plenty of lard on its own. Once the pork belly curled up and turned golden brown, she tossed in the Snow Peas and stir-fried them over high heat. She added some salt and a little water to dissolve the salt and let the flavor soak in, then a bit of chicken seasoning for freshness. A plate of Snow Peas dotted with golden-brown pork belly was ready.
Xu Han did not even bother taking out chopsticks. Unable to wait, she picked up a Snow Pea with her fingers and popped it into her mouth. It was a little hot, so she blew on it twice before biting down.
Although she had been prepared to be amazed, Xu Han's eyes still lit up the moment she tasted it.
The Snow Peas were crisp and refreshing, with a fragrant, sweet flavor. They were coated in a layer of rich, meaty sauce, savory and tender with an excellent texture—so delicious she almost wanted to swallow her tongue.
For lunch, Xu Han and Grandma Qiao ate a bowl of stir-fried Snow Peas. Meals in the village were fairly simple, usually just one or two dishes. Even three dishes counted as "lavish."
Yet even with such a simple dish, it was more appetizing and more delicious than the fixed three dishes and a soup she used to have in the city.
After eating, Xu Han fed Koukou until he was full and had Grandma Qiao take him for a nap. Then she grabbed a bag, went to the field to pick quite a few newly grown vegetables, and headed to the village elementary school.
Xu Han and Grandma Qiao took turns delivering vegetables there. The school guard knew her too, chatted with her cheerfully for a moment, and let her in.
Xu Han strolled to the school cafeteria, where Aunt Zhu and several other women cooking meals were washing dishes. When Aunt Zhu saw her, she dried her hands and came over with a smile. "How come you have time to come over at this hour today?"
Xu Han lifted the bag in her hand. "The vegetables at home are ready to eat, so I brought some over for your cafeteria."
Aunt Zhu looked at the bag, which was stuffed full of all kinds of vegetables, and hurriedly took it from her. "It's so kind of you to think of us. There's so much—wasn't it heavy?"
"Not really." Xu Han smiled at her, then lowered her voice when she saw no one nearby. "Aunt Zhu, is there someone with connections handling the vegetable supply here?"
Aunt Zhu immediately understood what she meant. She was fairly familiar with Xu Han, so she did not hide it from her. "It was brought in by one of the grade directors here, probably a relative. Honestly, I don't like their vegetables either. Since there isn't much supply in the village, they take advantage of it and give us all the poor-quality stuff. They used to deliver twice a week, but now they bring it over early Monday morning. Some of the vegetables aren't fresh even after sitting for a week."
"I see." Xu Han had an idea. "My family grows quite a lot of vegetables, and we can provide them fresh every day. If I wanted to become a supplier, who would be the best person to discuss it with?"
"Our cafeteria is managed by the vice principal, but..." Aunt Zhu said quietly, "he has probably accepted some benefits. If you want to... you may need to prepare something too."
Xu Han was speechless that someone could take kickbacks over such a small vegetable supply. After thinking it over, she said to Aunt Zhu, "Aunt Zhu, do me a favor. Here's what we'll do..."
The principal of Dongyang Elementary School was surnamed Qiu. He was no longer young and had been an educator all his life. He cared deeply for his students, poured his heart and soul into his work, and had taught countless successful pupils. Because he had dedicated himself so diligently to his students for so many years, he had even appeared on the provincial television station back then.
That afternoon, after class, he went to eat at the school cafeteria as usual—the school had a staff cafeteria, though it was really just one round table... where everyone gathered to eat lunch.
There were only ten faculty members at the school, so they could all squeeze in.
That day's lunch was sliced pork stir-fried with green peppers, beef stir-fried with Snow Peas, braised pork, smashed Cucumber salad, and a soup that had not been served yet. Principal Qiu did not know whether his old eyes were playing tricks on him, but the dishes looked better than usual today.
The other teachers waited until he had sat down before picking up their chopsticks.
"Wow, did the cafeteria get a new cook today? Why is the food so delicious?"
"Let me try it. Mm, really! This smashed Cucumber salad is the best I've ever had."
"I hate green peppers the most, but the fragrance of today's green peppers tempted me into taking a bite. It feels like a door to a whole new world has opened! So good."