Chapter 26: Is this what you found out—that they never finished primary school?

She certainly could not let her second brother deliver the food again; he would surely grow suspicious of her motives. Besides, if she kept doing it herself, too many people would eventually notice.

Suddenly, she thought of Xiao Hei. Didn't he come back earlier with a basket in his mouth? Her eyes lit up—she could have him do it!

She called out loudly, "Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei..."

In an instant, Xiao Hei trotted in, wagging his tail. He tilted his head, ears perked up, blinking his large, wet eyes, and gave his nose a quick lick with his pink tongue: "Woof."

Su Wanwan’s heart instantly melted. She decided she would give Xiao Hei some of the spiritual spring water every day.

"Xiao Hei, I need you to take this basket to Xie Beishen. Only to him—no one else. And once you've delivered it, you must bring the basket back. If you do this well, I’ll reward you with spring water."

Xiao Hei wagged his tail happily: "Woof."

Su Wanwan placed the basket on the ground. "Take the small path, the same one you took me on at noon."

She wasn't sure if Xiao Hei could understand all that, but she had to try. She followed him out of the yard, and seeing him head onto the small path, she felt relieved.

Just as she was about to turn back, she saw her second brother riding his bicycle home. She smiled and said, "We'll eat as soon as Dad gets home."

Su Heng parked the bike in the yard. "Aren't we supposed to eat at Grandpa's house? Why did you cook?"

Su Wanwan glanced at him. "Are you dense, Second Brother? They know we’re coming for dinner, so do you really think they’ll treat us like they did at noon? Just wait and see—there won't be any food. When that happens, just do as I told you."

Su Heng suddenly realized what she meant. "That makes sense. We’ll eat our fill before we go. By the way, I borrowed a large back basket from the tool shed today; it’s much bigger than the one we have at home."

When Su Jianjun and Zhao Hefen arrived home, Su Heng shared what he had learned at his aunt's factory.

"Dad, you wouldn't believe it. Everyone at the factory knows that Director Yang's son is a fool who loves to hit people. His first wife was likely beaten to death by him, and the family just paid a little money to hush it up."

Fury filled Su Jianjun’s eyes. He never imagined his own parents could be so heartless as to target his daughter.

Zhao Hefen said angrily, "That old hag is no human being! What a waste of the fish we gave them yesterday." She turned to Su Jianjun. "Jianjun, if you still let that family take our food, I’m taking the children back to my parents' house, and we won't be coming back."

Su Jianjun replied firmly, "That won't happen. Don't worry, I won't let them hurt our daughter."

"Alright, let's eat," urged Su Wanwan.

She and her brother had a big task to attend to that evening.

During dinner, the family noticed that the corn cakes Wanwan made were much tastier than those Zhao Hefen usually made. Paired with the side dishes, they were absolutely delicious.

Meanwhile, after finishing their shift, Xie Beishen and Lin Yu were preparing dinner—Lin Yu was tending the fire, and Xie Beishen was prepping the vegetables.

Both men looked up to see Xiao Hei trotting toward them with a basket in his mouth. Xie Beishen looked behind the dog but saw no one.

Lin Yu walked over to Xie Beishen, puzzled. "Where is she?" He, too, only saw the dog, not Su Wanwan.

Xiao Hei dropped the basket in front of Xie Beishen, sat down, and looked up at him with those large, wet eyes. "Woof."

Just as Lin Yu reached for the basket, Xiao Hei bared his sharp, white fangs, a low, guttural growl rumbling in his throat, his eyes fixed on Lin Yu with fierce intensity.

Lin Yu quickly pulled his hand back. "Whoa, this dog is quite ferocious." He was glad he had moved quickly; he didn't want to get bitten.

Xie Beishen set aside the vegetables. Xiao Hei nudged the basket toward him with his paw and let out a gentle, soft "Woof."

"Hey, this dog is like a spirit. Look at how differently it treats us compared to you," Lin Yu remarked.

Xie Beishen smiled faintly and pulled the basket over to open it. Xiao Hei immediately lay down at his feet.

Xie Beishen opened the cotton cloth to find an aluminum lunchbox and a note. He picked up the note. The calligraphy was elegant and fluid, the strokes bold and free—it was clear that this took years of practice. He had praised her handwriting, but he felt her script was even better than his own.

*‘Xie Beishen, I made spicy fish chunks. Thank you for telling me the editor’s address!’* She had even drawn a smiley face.

After peeking at the note, Lin Yu asked, "Are you kidding me? Did Su Wanwan really write this?" Even he couldn't write that well.

"And you were the one who told me she never finished primary school?" Xie Beishen folded the note and tucked it into his pocket. "Your intelligence is getting less and less reliable."

Lin Yu rubbed his nose. "That’s just what everyone said."

Xie Beishen opened the lunchbox. The aroma of spicy fish wafted out; each piece was coated in ginger, garlic, and chili, looking incredibly tempting.

It was incredible—the food she made was just as captivating.

He closed the lid and looked at Lin Yu, who was salivating nearby. "Hurry up and finish cooking."

Lin Yu nodded repeatedly, grinning. "Looks like we're in for a treat."

Xie Beishen looked down at Xiao Hei. "Make sure to cook some food for Xiao Hei, and add an egg for him, too."

Lin Yu looked at the dog at Xie Beishen's feet. The creature was a genius; hearing that his dinner was being prepared, he wagged his tail so hard he almost lost his balance and nuzzled against Xie Beishen's leg.

"Man, this dog is a spirit. It really understands human speech," Lin Yu pointed out.

Xie Beishen carried the basket into the house and placed some malted milk powder and candy into it. He couldn't just take her food for free, and the fish was truly delicious. He only put in half a bag of milk candies, worried that if the basket were too heavy, the dog wouldn't be able to carry it properly. He wrote another note and placed it inside as well.

After finishing dinner, Su Wanwan returned to her room and entered her space. She was surprised to find that the hot water she had left on the table was still steaming. Whatever state she left things in, they remained that way, which would make it easy for her to store more food in the space in the future.

She returned to her room to head to the Su family's old residence with her second brother.

As soon as they arrived, they saw Su Mao smoking his pipe. Su Heng said, "We're here for dinner again." He glanced at the kitchen and added, "Why isn't dinner ready yet?"

Su Wanwan scanned the room. Aside from their grandfather, no one else was home. That was fine by her; she was worried about complications if too many people were around.

Su Mao tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe. "Jinhua took the family back to her parents' place, and your grandmother went with them." He pointed to a bag at his feet. "There are some sweet potatoes here; take them back to eat. Tell your father to buy more grain tomorrow."

Su Heng and Su Wanwan looked at the bag at their grandfather's feet—it was only a small one. Su Wanwan opened it to check. There were only six sweet potatoes, and several of them clearly had signs of being chewed on by rats.