Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

"By the way, when you're hauling coal, could you take me with you? I'd like to see the coal mine and see if there's any other coal there," Su Wanqing said, her mind racing.

Since the price of coal is too high, she could easily bring it down, right?

She first went to the coal mine and got ten times the profit for free! She stored it in her space, then meticulously upgraded and processed it, returning ten times the profit again. When winter was approaching and some natural disaster occurred, she would take it out and sell it... to earn merit.

Simply perfect!

Zhou Yanshen thought for a moment. Although the place was dirty, his wife could go if she wanted. He would keep an eye on her and wash her clothes when they got dirty. So he said, "Okay."

And so the matter was settled.

By the time all the dishes were served, Chen Xiuer's small 15-square-meter room had been tidied up and made bright and spacious. There weren't many belongings, so the room seemed empty, but with a table set up and chairs arranged around it, it felt warm and inviting.

Everyone had arrived, each carrying something in their hands.

Old Shen carried the little girl in first, looked around, nodded with satisfaction, and took out a small silver lock from his pocket: "I don't have anything else to give, so I'll give this to the little girl as a New Year's gift, and also to add some good luck to your housewarming party."

Tian Dahua and Erzhuzi carried a small bag of fine rice and four or five large cabbages: "We'll be neighbors from now on. The kids are small, and cooking porridge will waste rice, so let's eat this for now."

Professor Wu brought a can of fruit and placed it on the table in a simple and honest manner.

What surprised Chen Xiuer the most was Guo Mingyuan—he arrived looking travel-worn, carrying two cans of malted milk powder: "Old Shen told me this afternoon that you were moving, so I rushed to buy these. They're for the kids, please don't refuse."

Chen Xiuer's eyes welled up with tears, and her voice trembled slightly: "This is too precious..." This is only a dozen yuan. This is different from the kindness of Dr. Su. She can repay it by working like a slave for the rest of her life, but how can she repay Guo Mingyuan's kindness?

Old Shen tried to smooth things over, saying, "Take it. Xiao Guo is just a kind-hearted person; he can't stand seeing children suffer."

Chen Xiuer accepted the gift with red eyes, her heart heavy—she would remember this kindness.

When Zhou Yanshen brought the dishes to the table, everyone in the room was so surprised that they couldn't speak.

Braised pork with radish, braised pig's trotters, fried fish chunks, meatballs, braised eggplant, egg and seaweed soup... The dishes, rich in oil and sauce, steaming hot, filled the small square table that had just been set up.

"Dr. Su, this...this food is too good!" Chen Xiuer was completely at a loss. She had thought that at most it would be stir-fried pork with cabbage and a stew, which would be the best she could imagine. But what Dr. Su had prepared was even better than what she had eaten during the Lunar New Year...

Tian Dahua and Erzhuzi had never seen anything like this before, and their mouths were practically watering. They lived next door to Dr. Su every day and knew that his family ate well, but they never imagined that the food was this good. No wonder the food smelled so good every day.

Su Wanqing raised her enamel mug and smiled, "The better the food, the better the symbolism. A new house, a new beginning. May our future days be as prosperous and fulfilling as this meal. We're all in the same group; let's help each other and make our lives even better!"

"good!"

"Well said!"

"Thank you for Dr. Su's kind words!"

Zhou Yanshen gazed at his wife, who was raising her glass, his eyes filled with an irrepressible smile. He had previously thought she was just being spoiled and coquettish, but now he saw the warmth and kindness in her bones—how could he not like someone like that?

"Without further ado, let's eat!" Su Wanqing waved her chopsticks. "This meal must be finished; no waste allowed! Everyone, eat as much as you like!"

Erzhuzi chuckled: "Dr. Su, we have big appetites, so please don't worry about us!"

"Whoever eats the most is the luckiest!" Su Wanqing replied with a smile.

At first, everyone was reserved, but once they started eating, they couldn't stop.

Erzhuzi had meatballs in his left hand and braised pork in his right, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

Tian Dahua pinched Erzhuzi hard. "What a spineless coward! Was it really necessary to be in such a hurry? So embarrassing!"

Erzhuzi was in so much pain that he was grimacing, but he only thought that his wife was blaming him for not giving him food. He was annoyed that he had forgotten about his wife.

Then he added meatballs to his chopsticks and braised pork to his wife's, saying, "Honey, try Dr. Su's braised pork, it's absolutely delicious!"

In an instant, it filled Tian Dahua's bowl to the brim.

Tian Huahua: "..."

Tian Dahua originally wanted to say a few polite words, but as soon as the braised pork entered her mouth, it was fatty but not greasy, and melted in her mouth. The broth was poured over the rice, and she directly ate three bowls in one go, her face turning red. When she turned her head, she saw that no one at the table had time to talk and was busy showing off.

Only the poor little girl was abandoned on the kang (a heated brick bed), babbling and gnawing on her own fingers.

Zhou's mother sat in the corner. She hadn't wanted to eat with these people. She just couldn't understand why they had to cook when the other people were renovating their house. They could have kept all that food at home for a long time.

"No, these are all mine, all mine!"

She simply grabbed a large bowl, poured it full of meat and broth, and started gobbling it down. After three bowls, she was still stuffed, so she got another full bowl of meat and rice.

"I took it back and ate it."

He then left in a hurry.

No one took it seriously; the meal was prepared by someone else in the first place.

Zhou Yanshen, however, narrowed his eyes and exchanged a glance with Su Wanqing. Both of them could sense something was off, but since the occasion wasn't right, they didn't say anything.

Su Wanqing ate quickly, but compared to these people who had been starving for half their lives, she was still at a disadvantage. She simply put down her chopsticks and got down to business: "Yan Shen has contacted a coal mine; it's twenty-five yuan a ton, no ration coupons needed. If anyone in our group needs coal, we'll haul it back together. Does anyone want any?"

Erzhuzi immediately raised his hand: "I want it! My wife is pregnant, and the kang (heated brick bed) needs to be kept warm in winter!" His family was well-off, with five able-bodied men. Every year, they could earn work points plus subsidies, and they could also sell some grain to exchange for money and tickets.

Aunt Wang hesitated: "Xiuer, shall we just not take it? I'll gather more firewood and save it for later..." She felt that since she had just arrived, all she had was a thousand dollars, so of course she wanted to save as much as possible.

Chen Xiuer asked, "Dr. Su, how many do you need?"

"Four tons. I think this winter will be cold."

Chen Xiuer hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then we need two tons."

"Two tons?!" Aunt Wang exclaimed anxiously, "Xiuer, are you crazy? How much money is that? My daughter and I can manage by gathering firewood—"

Chen Xiuer said, "Mom, listen to me. Although coal is a bit more expensive, it's safer and burns longer in winter. In the past few years, I've often had to put out the firewood in the middle of the night. We adults are fine, but the kids are still young. If they get frostbite, it will be a lifelong problem."

Moreover, she had a keen intuition—if Dr. Su, knowing full well that her family was poor, still made a point of asking about this, it meant that the coal was indeed worth buying.

Dr. Su wouldn't harm her, much less make her waste money.