Fu Yu spoke, and Jiang Tou'er naturally had no objections, nodding his consent immediately.
"Dad, I'll go with you."
"Dad, I want to go with you too."
Yu'er saw that his sister was going to the town with their father and Qi Ge, and he wanted to go too.
"Alright, let's go together." Fu Yu had originally intended to buy some good food for his father and the two children to supplement their nutrition. Seeing that the two children had proactively asked to go, he naturally agreed with pleasure.
He let Fang Shi lead Qi He and the two children walking ahead, while he held his father's arm and followed behind.
The family was like they had returned to the past, strolling along the street with no particular destination, drawing a wave of envy from those behind them.
After walking about thirty feet, Fu Yu finally spoke to Meng Qingping, "Father, let's go to that restaurant ahead and buy some delicious food."
Fu Xin Ci: How could that be?
Before her grandfather could refuse, she quickly voiced her idea. "Daddy, let's just buy some ingredients in the market. We can cook it ourselves. It will be both delicious and inexpensive."
"Yes, Ci'er's idea is good. It's settled then." Meng Qingping felt that it had been a long time since he had smelled the aroma of home cooking. He was the first to agree with his granddaughter's suggestion.
Fang Shi saw that her father-in-law wanted to eat her cooking and naturally had no objections. She took Fu Xin Ci to buy ingredients.
"Auntie, I'll go with you. I can help Auntie carry things." Qi He saw that his aunt was taking Fu Mei Mei to the market, so he followed.
"I want to go too, I want to go too." Yu'er also wanted to go.
Fang Shi glanced at the steamed bun stall ahead, walked over, and bought four. She and Fu Yu didn't eat them, distributing the buns to her father-in-law and the three children.
Qi He, remembering that he had just eaten one, felt it was improper to eat another. "Uncle, Auntie, I just ate one. You all eat this."
"Eat it. These are for you to fill your stomachs for now. Your aunt and I will eat later."
"Qi Ge, eat quickly. Dad and Mom will eat mine." Fu Xin Ci broke her own steamed bun in half and gave one half to her mother and the other to her father.
"Ci'er, eat."
"Ci'er, eat quickly."
Her parents refused to take the steamed buns Fu Xin Ci offered, instead urging her to eat quickly.
Fu Xin Ci also refused to eat, looking at Fu Yu and Fang Shi and saying, "Dad, Mom, please eat quickly, and then we can go buy ingredients. I want to eat Mom's cooking. I've been thinking about it for days, otherwise I wouldn't be so thin."
Her daughter's words moved the couple for a moment. Everyone in the family knew that their daughter had been a picky eater since childhood, especially disliking outside food.
Thinking of their daughter's experiences over the past month, the couple's expressions were about to betray them. They didn't know how their daughter had managed.
"Dad, Mom, please eat quickly, and then we can go buy ingredients. I want to eat stewed wild chicken with mushrooms, braised ribs, fried fish, and, and many other delicious things!"
"I want to eat too, I want to eat too." Yu'er thought of the delicious food his grandmother and mother made, and the meat buns couldn't stop his saliva.
Qi He: The dishes Fu Mei Mei mentioned sounded delicious. He also really wanted to try them.
Fu Yu and Fang Shi exchanged a look and reluctantly took the meat buns from their daughter's hands.
Fu Xin Ci looked at her parents' somewhat helpless expressions and smiled, revealing shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth. Everyone in the family knew this was how she looked when she was happy.
She was truly happy now. She was ready and waiting for the market to enter so she could show off her skills.
"Mom, let's go quickly." She couldn't wait any longer.
Qi He: "Uncle, Auntie, let's go quickly." He wanted to follow behind Fu Mei Mei and help her carry things.
"Yes, let's go quickly." Strolling in the market with Mom and Dad was also Yu'er's favorite thing.
"Alright, you two, take the three children for a stroll. I won't go." Meng Qingping didn't tell his son that he truly didn't want to move.
Fang Shi guessed that her father-in-law might not be feeling well and discussed with her husband, "Husband, you stay here with Father and rest. I'll take Ci'er and young Qi to buy ingredients."
"Okay." Fu Yu was also uneasy leaving his father alone here.
"You two go together. I'm an adult, what could happen to me?" Meng Qingping was worried about Fang Shi taking the three children alone.
"Grandpa, you should let Daddy accompany you here and wait. We'll be back soon." Fu Xin Ci finished speaking, took Yu'er's small hand, and walked towards the market ahead.
Qi He: He naturally had to follow. What if someone bullied Fu Mei Mei and Yu'er?
Fang Shi: She had to stay close behind the children, not letting them out of her sight. She didn't want to experience the pain of missing her children a second time.
The mother and three children walked forward, talking. Yu'er found everything new, especially the food.
Perhaps the experiences of the past month had left a shadow on his young heart. Now, when he saw food, he didn't want to leave.
"Sister." Yu'er pointed to the coarse flour steamed buns being sold nearby and stopped.
"Yu'er is hungry?"
"Yu'er is not hungry."
"If Yu'er isn't hungry, why do you want to buy steamed buns?"
"To keep them for when I get hungry on the road."
Before Yu'er could finish speaking, Fang Shi couldn't bear it. She squatted down, hugged her son's small body, and cried.
This attracted many passersby to stop and look, and even some who liked to watch a spectacle stopped. In a short while, a crowd had gathered here.
Smiling, as if watching monkeys.
Fu Xin Ci had not expected that as soon as they reached the market, Fang Shi would do this, not only being gawked at but also being treated as a joke.
Fang Shi, having regained her senses, was also startled by her own action.
What to do now?
Seeing Fang Shi's embarrassed look, Fu Xin Ci didn't say a word, grabbed Yu'er's arm, and walked away.
"Ci'er, where are we going?"
"Anywhere is fine, I don't want to stay here and be stared at like a monkey."
"..."
Hearing her daughter's words, Fang Shi's face turned even more distressed. After a long moment of hesitation, she explained, "Mom didn't expect so many people would gather."
"Mom, our family is already like this. Please don't cry wherever you go."
"Mom doesn't want to. Mom is just heartbroken that she wasn't with you and Yu'er for over a month."
"Mom, it's a good thing that you and Dad weren't here for the past month."
"It's still a good thing?" Fang Shi was stunned by her daughter's words, her mind unable to process it.
"Of course, it's a good thing. If you and Dad hadn't been away, our family might have ended up with nothing, just like those Meng clan members."
"..."
Seeing Fang Shi lost in thought, Fu Xin Ci pulled her to a secluded spot and whispered to her, "You and Dad coming after us at least means our family still has some assets. But those Meng clan members have lost everything."