Chapter 89 - Tuition (2/2)

Xiaocao called for the little divine in her mind, [Little Glutinous Dumpling, can you hear me?]

[What do you want? I’m sleeping, so stop bothering me!] The little divine stone grumpily said.

[I’ll just bother you for a moment with a question. With the current condition of my father’s leg, can he walk for a long time?] Xiaocao felt somewhat worried and asked.

Little Divine Stone hmphed and said, [His leg, veins, and bones have all grown well. More exercise is beneficial to his recovery process. Don’t worry, it’s fine for him to go to the docks.]

Madam Liu, who was beside him, asked with concern, “Is your leg okay? Don’t people say that it takes a hundred days to recover after injuring the veins and bones. It hasn’t even been a month yet, will you really be alright?”

Yu Hai kicked his left leg and said, “It’s my own leg, so I’m very clear about its condition. As long as I don’t do any heavy labor, it should be fine. I’m just pushing two baskets while walking, so it’s alright…”

Under his insistence, Madam Liu had no choice but to let him go. When they were leaving, she reminded Xiaocao to help her father push the cart and don’t let him do too much work.

The handcart was a wooden wheelbarrow. Yu Hai hung the cart’s rope on his shoulder and firmly held onto the handles with his strong hands. He strode forward as he steadily pushed the handcart. Despite his limp, his legs were longer than Xiaocao’s, so his one step was two or three steps for her! Xiaocao could barely catch up to her father, let alone help him push the handcart.

Yu Hai, who was used to doing hard labor, had been idling at home for nearly a month and felt that his bones were rusting. He finally had the chance to help out, so his whole body was naturally full of energy. He turned around and saw his daughter panting for breath, so he stopped and said with a smile, “Come up, Father will push you!”

Xiaocao hastily shook her head and said, “Father, I can walk myself! Your leg hasn’t fully recovered yet and you’re also pushing a cart full of braised food…”

Before she had even finished speaking, her father had already lifted her up with one arm and placed her on the wheelbarrow. Although she had been carried several times in the past half of a year since she had transmigrated, it was the first time that he had slipped her under his armpit and lifted her up. Xiaocao felt slightly embarrassed and looked around to make sure no one saw it.

“Ha, do you really think that you can tire me out with that weight of yours? Cao’er, you need to eat more. You only have bones on your body and there’s barely any meat!” Yu Hai’s heart ached and felt remorseful as he nagged. In his mind, he planned to buy some white rice and wheat flour back for the children after they finished selling today’s braised food. It was the children’s growth period, so they shouldn’t eat coarse grain flatbread all the time like them…

Being escorted by her father, Xiaocao walked for a while, and also sat on the cart that her father pushed for a while. When they were resting on the road, she eagerly helped massage her father’s left leg and asked Little Divine Stone to quickly help relieve his fatigue. It was still early when they arrived at the docks.

“Good morning, Grandpa Liu!” Xiaocao cheerfully greeted the kind and gentle old grandfather. These past few days, her business had been booming, so it was inevitable that some people were green with envy, especially those who sold pickled vegetables and stir-fried dishes. From time to time, they would make jealous remarks, but Xiaocao was too lazy to argue with them and just ignored them. Grandpa Liu was the only one who was kind to her from the beginning to the end. He would always warmly bring a stool over and let the siblings rest on it.

Grandpa Liu, who was working hard on kneading the dough, heard the sound and looked up. He smiled and said, “Oh, it’s Xiaocao. You came pretty early today. Are you tired? Come sit down and rest for a while. Oh? Little Shitou didn’t come with you today?”

“No! My father came with me today!” Xiaocao smiled as she pointed to Yu Hai, who was parking the handcart by the roadside.

Old Liu looked at Yu Hai, who had limped over. A sense of realization flashed in his mind: ‘It’s no wonder that they would allow two young children to come and sell things. It turns out that their father’s leg…’

“Xiaocao’s father, quickly come and rest. You must be tired after walking such a long way.” Grandma Liu came out of the shack and greeted him warmly.

Yu Hai was stunned for a moment, but he immediately smiled and thanked them, “Thank you! You must be the Grandpa Liu and Grandma Liu that Xiaocao often mentions? I must thank you two elders for taking care of them these past two days. Many thanks, many thanks!”

“No need to thank us! Xiaocao and her younger brother are both very capable. Ever since she came here, my noodle business has been doing much better!” Old Liu wiped his hands and exclaimed.

He was right. In the past, there wasn’t anything good to eat at the docks. Thus, most of the workers on the docks usually brought food from home. At most, a few people would pool in some money and buy some pickled vegetables to eat together. However, most people wouldn’t even come to this side at all.

Ever since Xiaocao’s one copper coin meat dish became popular among the dockers, many people who had bought the meat dish would also buy a bowl of hot noodles from the nearby noodle stall. It was much better to eat a warm bowl of noodles with meat dish than to eat the hard to swallow dried rations. Other than the noodle stalls, the business of the steamed buns stalls nearby had also gotten a lot better. However, those who sold pickled vegetables were full of resentment.