Traveling through time with spatial abilities, the scientific research genius is a little sweet.

Chapter 5 The Flour Is So Expensive

Su Nuannuan, clutching her small handbag, moved towards the direction of her triplets.

"Big brother, second brother, third brother, what brings you here?"

Although Su Nuannuan calls them eldest brother, second brother, and third brother, they are actually the third, fourth, and fifth oldest children in their family. This is because Su Nuannuan separated her two older sisters and three older brothers into different orderings when she was little, and her family has followed her naming conventions over the years.

The eldest brother is Su Daliang, the second brother is Su Erqiang, and the third brother is Su Sanquan. They are triplets, and they are seventeen years old this year. When the three of them graduated from high school, it was the poorest year for their family, so they voluntarily gave up taking the college entrance exam.

Su Nuannuan had kept her university application a secret from her family, only informing them the day before. She remembered that her parents and three brothers were stunned for a moment, not because their little sister was taking the university entrance exam, but because she had told them at the last minute. Afterwards, they encouraged Su Nuannuan, telling her she would definitely get into university. Her mother complained a few times, then stopped eating and started going door-to-door borrowing grain, managing to scrape together a pound of wheat flour. Before leaving, she gave Su Nuannuan ten yuan so she could stay at a guesthouse that night.

The Su family wasn't unaware of Su Nuannuan's character, but they believed that her drastic personality change stemmed from a fever she had when she was six years old, which had damaged her brain. At the time, the village was busy repairing a dam, and Su's father, as the village head, was extremely busy. Only twelve-year-old Su Jinjin and Su Mianmian were left at home to care for their three younger brothers and one younger sister.

Su Nuannuan developed a high fever that night. With no adults at home, it was Su Mianmian who noticed something was wrong and immediately sent Su Jinjin to call her parents back. However, by the time they returned, Su Nuannuan had already fainted from the fever. When she awoke, Su Nuannuan's personality had drastically changed; she was utterly foolish, ignorant, and selfish. Even so, the Su family never gave up on Su Nuannuan. Not only because of guilt, but also because Su Nuannuan was family.

The three men were pale, with sunken cheeks, and their large clothes could not hide their protruding bones, a result of severe malnutrition and hunger.

However, when the three of them saw their younger sister, smiles appeared on their faces.

Su Nuannuan still remembers how chubby the three brothers were when they were little. They especially loved to play human pyramid with her, always putting her on top. Once, Su Sanquan crushed Su Nuannuan, and before she even cried, her three brothers started crying.

Now, seeing them at the age of seventeen, all skin and bones, their physiques are far inferior to hers.

Su Nuannuan felt a tightness in her chest, and the smile that had been on her face froze.

“How could we not come to see you when you’re taking the college entrance exam? Actually, your parents came yesterday, but they went back home because they were worried about bothering you.”

Su Daliang noticed that his younger sister was in a bad mood and assumed that she had not done well on the exam, so he patted her head comfortingly.

Seeing that Su Nuannuan was carrying a large bag, Su Erqiang stepped forward to help her carry it.

"Little sister, why does your bag feel heavier than it was before you left home?"

Su Sanquan curiously reached out and weighed Su Nuannuan's handbag in his hand.

Thinking of the food and provisions she had put in her bag, Su Nuannuan led the three of them to a corner, where they found no one around.

Su Nuannuan opened her handbag to show them what was inside.

Since she had already brought the items out, Su Nuannuan had prepared a reason in advance.

"Yesterday, when I returned to the guesthouse after the exam, I saw a middleman selling grain. I managed to snag some of it with great difficulty."

Su Daliang stared in shock at the flour in the bag.

As the eldest brother in the family, he was intelligent and steady, and he understood best that even with money, it was impossible to buy food in the past two years, so he immediately asked.

Where did you change it?

Su Nuannuan knew her older brother wanted to switch to something else, but she was the only one who knew where to find middlemen. Seeing that her brother was about to press for more information, Su Nuannuan quickly interrupted him.

“In a small alley 500 meters from the guesthouse, he said his child was seriously ill and he urgently needed money, so he was selling grain. He only sold it once, and he didn’t have any left today.”

Upon hearing Su Nuannuan's explanation, a hint of disappointment flashed across Su Daliang's face.

That makes sense; anyone who would even think of buying grain to exchange for money must have experienced a major upheaval in their family. It was a one-off deal anyway, and for my younger sister to stumble upon it was already incredibly lucky.

Su Sanquan saw a paper bag in the bag, took it out, and asked curiously.

"Little sister, what is this?"

Su Nuannuan slapped her forehead. She had been so busy making excuses that she had forgotten to share the buns with her brothers.

"These are big meat buns I bought at a state-run restaurant, specially saved for you."

"A big meat bun!"

"A big meat bun!"

Su Erqiang and Su Sanquan exclaimed excitedly. They hadn't expected that their little sister, busy with the college entrance exam, would still remember to bring them food.

The two excitedly opened the paper bag, took out the buns, gave one to the older brother, and stuffed it into their mouths, praising how delicious the meat bun was as they ate.

Su Daliang took the meat bun, but instead of eating it, he handed it to Su Nuannuan.

"Little sister, your big brother isn't hungry, you can have some."

Don't think she didn't see him swallow.

Su Nuannuan felt a warmth in her heart and waved her hands repeatedly.

"I've already eaten, I'm not hungry yet. Brother, you eat."

Seeing that Su Nuannuan's complexion was rosy and her voice showed no sign of strain, he began to eat the bun in his hand. Unlike his second and third brothers who wolfed down their food, he ate very slowly, finishing only half of his bun after his two older brothers had finished theirs.

Seeing the two men reach out to take it again, Su Daliang slapped their hands away, sealed the leather bag, and said.

"We'll take the rest home and eat with Mom and Dad." Although Su Erqiang and Su Sanquan were craving the food, they shifted their gaze from the steamed buns to the other side after hearing their older brother's words. They then saw the white steamed buns at the very bottom.

"Little sister, didn't you eat this steamed bun?"

Third Brother pointed to the steamed buns at the bottom, counted them, and there were exactly five.

The older brother heard it and saw the steamed bun.

Seeing the two people looking at her with suspicion, Su Nuannuan swallowed hard, at a loss for words, unsure how to explain.

"With big meat buns, who would still eat steamed buns?"

At this moment, the second brother spoke up. Compared to the meticulous eldest brother and the cunning third brother, the second brother was much simpler and more straightforward.

"Ah, right! These past two days, I've been eating big meat buns at the state-run restaurant."

Once she realized what was happening, Su Nuannuan quickly nodded.

No one doubted these words coming from Su Nuannuan's mouth, not even the most intelligent Su Daliang and Su Sanquan. This shows how much the original owner's past actions had influenced them.

Unlike their unsteady steps on the way there, the three brothers walked briskly back, their faces beaming with undisguised excitement and joy. Even the composed Su Daliang was in high spirits.

After walking for an hour, I finally got home.

The Su family's house is located in the northwest of Hongqi Village. It's a ten-minute walk from their house to the back mountain.

Along the way, smoke rose from every household's chimney, and the air was filled with the aroma of wild vegetables and sorghum porridge.

The Su family is the same.

"Mom, my little sister is back."

The impulsive Su Erqiang and Su Sanquan rushed into the house first.

Su's mother, Chen Xiuting, came out of the kitchen with a rolling pin and immediately saw her little daughter surrounded by three people.

"Oh, Nuannuan. You must be tired these past few days. Today, Mom made noodles for you."

Ignoring her three sons walking ahead, Chen Xiuting showered Su Nuannuan with concern and care.

Su Nuannuan felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

Su's mother looked much older than she had when she was a child. She had more gray hair, more wrinkles on her face, and was much thinner than before.

The natural blood ties between mother and daughter are unbreakable, and Su Nuannuan couldn't help but feel her eyes well up with tears whenever she saw her mother. She blinked hard to hold back her tears.

Su Daliang nudged Su Nuannuan's arm and winked at her.

Su Nuannuan understood immediately.

"Mom, I have something to tell you. Let's go back inside first."

Chen Xiuting looked at her daughter, whose face was solemn, and her three sons, whose behavior was unusual, and her smile disappeared.

After the group entered, Su Daliang asked Su Erqiang to take three jin of flour out of his satchel and hand it to Su's mother.

"What is this? It looks heavy."

Su's mother reached out and opened the bag. The aroma of wheat that wafted out made her eyes widen. Her hands moved faster than her eyes, and she grabbed the bag, then exclaimed in disbelief.

"This is flour! Where did you get it?"

Seeing her three older brothers looking at her, Su Nuannuan coughed and repeated her fabricated explanation.

With no doubt about the origin of the white flour, Su's mother relaxed her furrowed brows.

"However, I've spent all ten dollars you gave me."

"It's all spent!"

Su Sanquan was taken aback. Su Daliang and Su Erqiang also looked incredulous.

Su Nuannuan nodded and began to make things up.

"Flour costs 2.5 yuan per jin, I bought three jin, and used the rest of the money to buy big meat buns."

Actually, aside from the six cents she spent on the guesthouse, everything else was stored in her personal space. However, in order to find a source for what she had, she had to make something up.

You see, the purchase price of wheat flour is three cents a pound, while the flour in the little sister's hands costs two and a half dollars a pound. The huge difference made the three brothers, who were happy, feel as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

Seeing the three of them with the same expression, Su's mother said irritably.

“You guys really don’t know the value of firewood and rice when you’re not in charge of the household. What time of year is this? In some places, wheat flour is being sold for three yuan a pound, and many people are scrambling to buy it but can’t get any. Nuannuan, you’ve really gotten a great deal this time.”

(End of this chapter)