After finishing her classes, Si Nian took Yaoyao grocery shopping.
The little girl was now walking quite steadily, taking small, quick steps behind her. The large green onion she was holding was almost as tall as her, making people worry it might topple her over.
Si Nian hadn't wanted her to carry it, but the little girl insisted on helping her mom lighten the load.
Although the farmers' market wasn't far, Si Nian really didn't want to buy these things all the time.
She was already starting to miss the small vegetable patch by their door back in the countryside.
The man of the house didn't care much for vegetables, so with Si Nian growing this small plot, they never had to buy any from outside.
Now, without the land, she felt somewhat unsettled.
But the downside of living in the city was that the soil in the yard was hard and packed, with stone-paved paths covering it all.
It would be troublesome to try and cultivate it.
After browsing around the market twice, Si Nian stopped in front of a fresh produce store.
It wasn't that she wanted fish again, but the foam boxes by the entrance caught her attention.
When she was little, they always used discarded tires, plastic basins, and foam boxes to grow vegetables at her doorstep.
Foam boxes were quite practical; not only could they be used for shipping and insulation, but you could also poke a few holes in the bottom and use them for planting.
Many nurseries used foam boxes.
She immediately pointed and asked, "Boss, do you still need these foam boxes?"
The shopkeeper glanced over and said, "You want them? You can have them if you do. I've got plenty at home."
Si Nian agreed with a smile and carried a few large foam boxes home.
After placing the foam boxes in the corner of the yard, Si Nian prepared to go out and dig up some soil.
Although it was the city center, this area wasn't heavily developed. There was still some land used by the residents of Old East Street for growing vegetables.
Si Nian, holding Yaoyao's hand and accompanied by the long-unmentioned Da Huang, went out to dig soil.
Meanwhile, at the school.
The Eldest Child and the Second Child were still in class.
City schools weren't like those in the countryside; the teachers were very strict.
The Second Child had been in class all day, and the high-intensity studying was a bit hard for him to adjust to.
Coupled with his hyperactivity, he squirmed in his seat, feeling uncomfortable all over.
By the afternoon, he started dozing off.
His little head nodded bit by bit.
Only the bell for the end of class instantly jolted him awake.
He immediately rummaged in his desk drawer for his lunchbox.
Even though he had eaten lunch at noon, it was already afternoon now.
He was starving.
He had wanted to eat the sugar pancake his mom packed for him in the morning since lunchtime.
But his older brother had stopped him, telling him to save it for when he got hungry in the afternoon.
He had been a bit unhappy about it at the time, until now.
The Second Child realized, no one knows me better than my brother.
The other children around also looked exhausted, none of the playful roughhousing from the morning remained.
Until he opened his lunchbox. A sweet, glutinous aroma wafted into the air, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"Wow! Second Brother, what delicious thing are you eating? Wow! It smells so good! Second Brother, I want some too, I want some too!" Jiang Jiu, who had just been nodding off, whooshed over, waving his arms excitedly.
Zhou Zehan generously grabbed a piece and handed it to him. "You're my little brother. Follow me, and you won't go hungry."
Jiang Jiu looked at him with admiration.
Hearing this, the other kids also scurried over and shouted in unison, "Second Brother!"
Zhou Zehan: "!"
How did that saying his brother taught him go again?
Heavy is the responsibility bestowed upon the dead!
Although he didn't know why it had to be given to the dead, he thought living people could do it too!
He was that one living person!
Third floor, Fourth Grade, Class A.
"Achoo!" Zhou Zedong had just pulled his lunchbox out from under the desk when he sneezed.
"What's that?" His chubby female deskmate leaned over to look at his lunchbox.
Zhou Zedong frowned and silently turned his body, holding the lunchbox away from her.
The little fatty swallowed her saliva. She had smelled it since morning. Ever since this person put that box in his desk, there had been a faint, tantalizing fragrance around their seats, making her mouth water.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Zedong opened it, an enticing aroma immediately hit her nose.
The girl, usually a picky eater, felt hungry on her very first day of class by this time.
She immediately leaned in and saw him holding a golden-brown sugar pancake, taking small, delicate bites.
The sesame seed fragrance inside stimulated her taste buds. She swallowed hard with difficulty and immediately asked, "What are you eating?"
Zhou Zedong still ignored her.
The little fatty got angry, planted her hands on her hips, and said loudly, "I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?"
Zhou Zedong frowned and turned his head to glance at her.
The girl looked fierce, her face large and round.
Her mouth was chattering away, but he didn't know what she was saying.
So annoying.
He didn't like this deskmate.
He continued eating his sweet pancake.
The little fatty, driven wild by the smell, her stomach growling, demanded, "Hey, you! Give me a piece to try!" She wanted it so badly. Her family usually bought her lots of tasty snacks, but she looked down on them all. None smelled as good as this.
Zhou Zedong tightened his grip on the pancake. "No."
The little fatty was so angry her whole body of fat seemed to tremble. She pointed a chubby finger at him. "You... how can you be so stingy?"
Zhou Zedong didn't care at all whether she was angry or not. He picked up the last sugar pancake, planning to finish it and go wash his lunchbox.
He didn't really like sweets anymore, finding them cloying. But the things his mom made were sweet without being greasy, becoming more fragrant the more you ate.
So Zhou Zedong ate very slowly, taking small bites. The taste of the sesame seeds was enough for him to savor for a long time. Just as he picked up the last one to eat, a plump hand suddenly shot out from beside him and slapped the small pig-shaped lunchbox from his hand onto the floor.
Zhou Zedong looked at his now empty hand, then slowly turned his head to see his deskmate, hands on hips, looking very pleased with herself.
The lunchbox rolled a full circle on the floor before stopping. The last sweet pancake was stepped on by a passing classmate—
Zhou Zedong instantly flew into a rage. He shoved his deskmate away with great force.
He ran over, picked up the sugar pancake and the lunchbox from the floor.
Then, under the disbelieving gazes of his classmates, he ate the dirty sugar pancake, bite by bite.
The little fatty was frightened by this bizarre scene. It wasn't until Zhou Zedong, with a dark expression, picked up his lunchbox and walked out of the classroom that she belatedly realized she had been pushed. She let out a loud "Wah!" and started crying.
The classroom instantly descended into chaos.
...
Si Nian managed everything in just a couple of trips.
With her physical strength, she definitely couldn't haul the soil herself.
At times like this, the often-overlooked Da Huang came in handy.
Si Nian filled two woven plastic bags with soil, tied a knot in the middle of them, and placed them on Da Huang's back.
Da Huang only needed to make two trips carrying them.
Because Da Huang looked somewhat fierce, Si Nian was worried he wouldn't adapt to the city, so she hadn't let him out much.
Now, suddenly seeing such a large dog, people around couldn't help but stare, each wishing to keep a distance of a hundred thousand miles.
Fortunately, Da Huang seemed utterly uninterested in humans, and the sight of him helping to haul mud was so astonishing that many people kept looking back even after walking far away.
Yaoyao carried a small hoe in one hand and clutched a small bag filled with soil in the other.
Arriving home, she stomped her dirty little shoes and, with a "heave-ho," poured the soil into the foam boxes.
