txolops Chapter 142 The Teacher's Little Red Flower
Chapter 142 The Teacher's Little Red Flower
On Monday morning, the alleyways of the urban village returned to their weekday hustle and bustle early.
The sounds of breakfast carts, the footsteps of commuters, and the horns of electric bikes mingled together.
Seven o'clock in the morning, in a rented room on the second floor.
Lin Chen finished the last mouthful of white rice porridge, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
Today, there was no need to set up an early stall, but since it was Monday, and Tangtang needed to be taken to kindergarten, the father and daughter didn't get up late.
"Daddy, did you bring my drawing?"
Tangtang was unusually enthusiastic today.
The little girl had already put on her school uniform and was carrying her little schoolbag early in the morning.
She gripped the straps of her schoolbag tightly with both hands, tilted her little face up, and asked again, still worried.
"It's all packed."
Lin Chen stood up and walked to his daughter.
He reached out and pulled open a crack in the zipper of his backpack, revealing the edge of a cardboard tube inside. "Dad found an empty cardboard tube this morning to put your drawing inside. It won't get crushed."
Seeing that the drawing paper was intact, Tangtang finally breathed a sigh of relief, her big eyes full of anticipation.
"Great! I want to show it to Teacher Liu first!"
Tangtang happily jumped up and down twice.
"Click".
The door to the rented room was pushed open, and Wang Hai walked in carrying two steaming hot meat buns.
"Good morning, Chen-ge and Tang-tang!"
Wang Hai swallowed the bun in his hand in two gulps, clapped his hands, and said, "Hey, Tangtang is in such good spirits today?"
Don't you usually love to sleep in on Monday mornings?
Good morning, Uncle Fatty!
Tangtang called out, then patted her little backpack, "Because I'm bringing the big castle to kindergarten today!"
"He's thinking about the painting."
Wang Hai chuckled and ruffled her hair, then turned to Lin Chen, "Brother Chen, are you all ready?"
It's rush hour now, the roads must be congested.
"Let's go."
Lin Chen picked up the car keys on the table, picked up Tangtang with one hand, and strode out of the rented room.
The three of them went downstairs.
Wang Hai opened the passenger door of the van, and Lin Chen placed Tangtang in the child safety seat and carefully fastened the seat belt.
"Hold on tight."
Lin Chen closed the car door and opened the back door himself, getting in.
Wang Hai got into the driver's seat and turned the key to start the engine.
"Buzz"
The bread truck slowly drove out of the urban village and merged into the traffic.
……
7:30 a.m., at the kindergarten gate.
It was peak time for dropping off children at kindergarten, and the area outside the gate was crowded with parents dropping off their kids.
Teacher Liu was standing at the main entrance, smiling as she greeted each child entering the kindergarten.
Wang Hai parked the bread truck in a temporary parking space across the street.
Lin Chen opened the car door, got out, went around to the passenger side, and carried Tangtang out.
The little girl couldn't wait any longer. As soon as she landed, she grabbed Lin Chen's hand and headed towards the front door.
"Slow down, watch out for the car."
Lin Chen led her across the zebra crossing.
Wang Hai locked his car and followed.
As Tangtang walked to the kindergarten gate, she immediately spotted Teacher Liu standing there.
She immediately let go of Lin Chen's hand and ran over with her short legs.
Good morning, Teacher Liu!
Tangtang, with her rosy cheeks, greeted everyone in a loud voice.
Good morning, Tangtang!
Teacher Liu bent down, reached out and touched Tangtang's little face. Seeing Lin Chen and Wang Hai walking over, she smiled and nodded, "Mr. Lin, Mr. Wang, good morning."
Good morning, Teacher Liu.
Lin Chen responded.
"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Liu."
Wang Hai also greeted him with a smile.
Unlike the other children who rushed into the kindergarten, Tangtang stood in front of Teacher Liu and eagerly took off her little backpack from her back.
"Teacher Liu!"
Tangtang unzipped her backpack and pulled out the cardboard tube inside.
She took out the drawing paper, held it up with both hands, and unfolded it in front of Teacher Liu.
"Look! This is a big castle I drew myself!"
Teacher Liu accepted the drawing paper with some surprise.
She initially thought it was just simple graffiti.
But the painting in front of me, although the lines are childish and crooked, is painted with very careful and rich colors.
Pink rooftops, blue city walls, white clouds.
What's even more special is that there's a large red gate in the middle of the castle, and a small yellow square in the corner.
Wow, Tangtang's drawing is amazing!
The colors are applied beautifully.
Teacher Liu exclaimed in genuine admiration, pointing to the details on the drawing paper and asking with a smile, "Tangtang, can you tell me why this door is so big, and why there's a little yellow square next to it?"
"Because the front door was left for my dad!"
Daddy's very tall, so the door needs to be big for him to come in and play with me!
Tangtang puffed out her little chest and explained in a clear voice, then pointed to the yellow square, "That's Uncle Fatty's food delivery window!"
If Uncle Fatty makes something delicious, he can just hand it to us from there!
Upon hearing this, Wang Hai, who was standing nearby, covered his face and laughed helplessly.
After hearing this, Teacher Liu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
She glanced at Lin Chen beside her and Wang Hai, who looked helpless.
"Tangtang has such a rich imagination, and she also cares so much about her dad and Uncle Hai."
Teacher Liu carefully rolled up the drawing paper and put it back into the cardboard tube for Tangtang. "I really like this drawing!"
"Later in class, the teacher will show your big castle to the whole class and reward you with a little red flower!"
Hearing about the little red flower reward, Tangtang's eyes narrowed into crescent moons with joy.
"Thank you, Teacher Liu!"
Tangtang slung her little backpack over her shoulder, turned around, and waved to Lin Chen and Wang Hai.
"Goodbye, Daddy! Goodbye, Uncle Fatty! I'm going to school now!"
"Go ahead, and listen to your teachers at school."
Lin Chen gave a brief explanation.
"Bye-bye, Tangtang, have a good lunch!"
Wang Hai also waved with a smile.
Teacher Liu took Tangtang's little hand and turned to Lin Chen, saying, "Mr. Lin, I'll take Tangtang inside first."
"Thank you for your help, Teacher Liu."
Lin Chen nodded slightly.
Lin Chen watched as Tangtang skipped and hopped into the gate with her teacher until her figure disappeared around the corner of the teaching building before he looked away.
"Brother Chen, let's go. The girl's gone inside, we should go to the market to stock up on goods."
Wang Hai patted Lin Chen on the shoulder.
"Um."
Lin Chen turned around, and the two of them walked back to the other side of the road along the zebra crossing, opened the car door, and got into the van.
Wang Hai started the engine, stepped on the gas, and drove towards the agricultural wholesale market.
……
Nine o'clock in the morning, at the agricultural wholesale market.
Monday mornings are the peak time for restaurants and vendors to purchase goods.
The market was bustling with noise, with all kinds of handcarts weaving through the aisles, and the sounds of horns and bargaining filling the air.
Wang Hai parked the bread cart outside the market, and the two of them pushed a handcart into the bustling market shed.
This Friday is the Summer Food Festival at Yintai Plaza.
However, the large quantities of pork will need to be purchased in bulk on Thursday. Today, they only need to prepare the materials for tonight's regular stall.
The two headed straight for their usual grain and oil shop.
"Boss, give me a bag of 50 jin of Wuchang rice, and help me load it onto the truck."
Lin Chen walked to the shop and spoke crisply and decisively.
"Hey, Boss Lin is here!"
Okay, I'll move it for you right away!
The owner of the grain and oil store immediately told his employees to carry the rice bags.
After buying the rice, the two pushed the cart to the poultry section.
A pungent, fishy smell wafted over, and Lin Chen stopped in front of a stall selling live poultry.
"Boss, pick two hens that are at least three years old."
Clean thoroughly, discarding the internal organs.
Lin Chen glanced around the cage and made his precise request.
"You're an expert, Mr. Lin. Don't worry, it'll be done right away!"
The vendor grabbed two old hens, weighed them, slaughtered them, and plucked their feathers—all in one swift motion.
Wang Hai put the chicken, which was in a plastic bag, into the flatbed cart, and the two continued walking forward.
"Brother Chen, the eggs are over there."
Wang Hai pointed to the egg wholesale area not far away.
Lin Chen walked over, glanced at the white frost on the surface of the free-range eggs on the stall and their size, and confirmed that the quality was fine.
"Take five boards."
After buying all the eggs, the two went to the vegetable section and picked out half a bag of juicy white radishes and several bunches of fresh scallions.
The two worked together seamlessly, without exchanging any unnecessary words.
From rice, old hens, and free-range eggs to side dishes, Lin Chen only checked the quality; once he confirmed there were no problems, he paid and took the goods.
In less than forty minutes.
The flatbed cart was already piled high with all the ingredients needed for tonight's stall, and Wang Hai pushed it out of the market shed.
"Phew, there are so many people in the market on Monday."
Wang Hai pushed the cart to the back of the bread truck and opened the back cover.
"Load the truck, head home to prepare the groceries."
Lin Chen stepped forward, picked up the 50-pound bag of rice with both hands, and put it deep inside the carriage.
"Alright!"
Wang Hai quickly got to work, neatly arranging the chickens, eggs, and vegetables by category to prevent them from being damaged during the journey.
"Bang."
The trunk door was slammed shut.
The two opened the front door and got in.
Wang Hai drove his bread truck, loaded with groceries, toward the urban village.