Chapter 16

As soon as they started eating, Principal Qiu heard the teachers at the table chattering about the dishes. They were all excitedly marveling at how delicious the food was today. Judging by their enthusiasm, it was as though they were eating delicacies from land and sea rather than ordinary home-cooked dishes.

Principal Qiu picked up his chopsticks and took a bite himself, only to discover that today's food really was much tastier than usual!

If he had to describe it, it was like they had been eating food made by an ordinary cafeteria cook, only for a national-treasure-level master chef to suddenly prepare them a meal. The difference was immediately obvious.

After swallowing the food, Principal Qiu asked, "Did our school cafeteria get a new cook?"

"No, it's because of the vegetables," Auntie Zhu said with a smile as she carried in a basin of tomato egg-drop soup. "The family that supplies our school with vegetables sent these over. They grow a lot of vegetables and couldn't finish them all, so they gave a bunch to our cafeteria."

"I see." Principal Qiu nodded. "Vegetables grown in one's own field really do taste far better than greenhouse-grown ones."

The other teachers chimed in as well.

Aunt Zhu set down the steaming egg soup and said with a smile, "Exactly. The children all said today's food was especially delicious. They usually leave a lot behind, but today they finished everything."

"Really?"

Principal Qiu found that rather novel. Children generally did not like to eat voluntarily, and with hundreds of them, it was impossible to supervise every single one. They often had a great deal of leftover food, which had once given Principal Qiu, who cared deeply about the students, quite a headache. He worried that the children were not eating enough and going hungry.

"Yes." Aunt Zhu wiped her hands on her apron. "If you don't believe me, you can go take a look after you finish eating."

Principal Qiu truly nodded.

After lunch, Principal Qiu, who had always paid close attention to wellness and physical health, discovered that he had actually eaten too much. The food had simply been too delicious, and he could not help eating nearly half a bowl more rice.

He strolled into the student cafeteria and found the cafeteria aunties clearing away the trays. The trays that usually contained lots of leftovers were especially clean today. The students had eaten every last bite, leaving nothing behind!

Auntie Zhu had not exaggerated after all. He watched for a while in thought, then called Auntie Zhu over.

Xu Han soon received a call from Auntie Zhu. Principal Qiu wanted her to find time to come over and sign a contract. From then on, the school's vegetables would be supplied by her family.

Xu Han went over that very afternoon and signed the contract. It was for one year, and payment would still be settled at the beginning of each month.

After roughly calculating it, she would have an income of around 4,000 yuan a month. For Xu Han, who was currently so poor she wished she could dig up dirt to eat, that counted as a substantial income.

Besides, if she went into the city to look for work, she would probably only earn this much at the start. Living expenses in the countryside were also far lower than in the city.

Xu Han felt that her family's standard of living had instantly gone from eating dirt to modest comfort.

Before long, it was time for Koukou to get vaccinated again. He needed to get his shots at the town hospital.

Xu Han realized that living in a rural place like this was truly inconvenient without a vehicle. Every time she needed to go into town, she had to ask in advance whose car was going and hitch a ride.

And when they delivered vegetables to the school, they had to carry the vegetables by hand. Even though it was only a ten-minute trip, it was exhausting.

Maybe she should buy an electric scooter. Back when she was in college, the campus had been huge, so she had ridden a bicycle to class every day. Learning to ride an electric scooter should not be too difficult.

Xu Han made up her mind. However, she did not know how to ride an electric scooter yet. She would probably need to find someone in the village who could ride one to go buy it with her, then have them ride it back while she slowly learned on the cement road in front of her house.

"Your child is really well-behaved. He doesn't even cry when he gets injections."

The doctor had vaccinated Koukou several times already and recognized Xu Han. As he prepared the vaccine, he chatted with her.

Little Koukou was especially brave. He had gotten so many shots already, yet he had never cried.

"That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Xu Han asked, full of a mother's concern.

The doctor said, "It's fine. Every child has a different pain threshold. Your child is developing normally, and he's still so young. There's no major problem."

Hearing that, Xu Han felt reassured. She slipped one sleeve of Koukou's coat off his arm and rolled up his shirt sleeve. Since she knew he was getting an injection, she had deliberately dressed him in clothes with sleeves that were easy to roll up. Instead, she had wrapped him in a thick swaddle.

The doctor gave his chubby little hand an injection.

Then, as if to prove that he could cry, little Koukou's face scrunched up. His mouth puckered, and his eyes instantly brimmed with tears. He looked as though he was on the verge of crying, utterly aggrieved.

Xu Han: "..."

That worked too?

The doctor could not help laughing. "Old folks always say children can't be praised. Looks like there's some truth to that."

Xu Han hurriedly dressed him again, held him in her arms, and coaxed him. "Koukou, be good. Don't cry. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt."

After his mother coaxed him, Koukou finally could not hold it in any longer and burst into tears with a wail.

Xu Han: "..."

Sure enough, he could not be praised.

After the injection, Xu Han decided to look at electric scooters in a shop. She had not planned to buy one, but the owner eagerly said that delivery right to her doorstep would be free. When Xu Han heard that, she chose a pink two-seater model that looked very much like a women's motorcycle.

The battery that could make a round trip from home to town was more expensive than Xu Han had imagined. It cost 2,600 yuan. Knowing she could not avoid spending the money, Xu Han gritted her teeth and bought it.

The owner said it was market day and he was too busy, so he could not deliver it until tomorrow. Xu Han did not mind and gave him her address, asking him to bring it over the next day.

After buying the electric scooter and some daily necessities, it was about time to head back. The car she had hitched a ride in dropped her off at the elementary school entrance, and she had to walk ten minutes home on her own. Xu Han carried a backpack full of things, held Koukou in her arms, and slowly made her way home.

Halfway there, a sudden rustling came from the grass by the roadside. Xu Han jumped in fright, thinking it was a snake, but then remembered that there probably were no snakes in this season.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance

Sweetness Is Justice