Xu Tao saw that Wu Hui and the other two had already made plans regarding their work schedules, so she didn’t interfere.
"Let’s call it a day for now. When you go back, make yourselves some hats to wear. The day after tomorrow, we’ll check if the cement for the company’s large stove has dried. If it has, we’ll find a time to open for business as soon as possible" Xu Tao continued to share her plans.
"Okay!" Wu Hui and the others felt inexplicably excited at Xu Tao’s words.
Opening for business meant they would have jobs!
"By the way, who’s available tomorrow? I need someone to come with me to buy kitchen supplies."
Since they were planning to open soon, they needed to stock up on kitchenware, rice, oil, and salt.
"I’m available."
"Me too."
Since they were going out to shop together, Wang Juanjuan nervously clenched her hands and didn’t dare to speak. She could make time, but given her condition, how could she go out? Especially to places like the supply and marketing cooperative or shopping malls.
"Forget it, I’ll go buy the supplies myself tomorrow. We’ll charge it to the company account!" Xu Tao quickly dismissed the idea after considering their situations.
Guo Pingping had her daughter, Li Pandi, who followed her everywhere. Wu Hui was usually holding Ye Xiaohua, who had just started learning to walk. Taking a toddler out shopping wasn’t practical.
Wang Juanjuan would have been a suitable candidate, but she rarely went out due to her vitiligo. Xu Tao didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
"Sister-in-law, are you sure you can handle it alone?" Wu Hui asked kindly. "Otherwise, I can leave Xiaohua at home tomorrow and go with you."
"It’s fine, no need," Xu Tao replied casually.
"Alright then," Wu Hui didn’t press further.
After everyone had agreed on their shifts, Wu Hui and the others chatted with Xu Tao for a while before leaving the Zhao household.
By evening, the weather in Yangcheng wasn’t particularly cold. Xu Tao took the opportunity to write a bit more of her novel.
These days, she had been so busy with other things that she hadn’t been able to manage her writing time properly. Finally, in the evening, she found some time to write her daily word count. After that, she had to start organizing the dried radishes and vegetables she had been sun-drying.
The dried vegetables needed a couple more days in the sun, but the radishes were ready to be pickled. Xu Tao had even bought a small jar specifically for pickling the radishes.
Most of the salt available in the market these days was coarse salt. Xu Tao gathered the dried radishes, added some chili peppers, sprinkled coarse salt, and massaged them before sealing them in the jar.
By the time she finished, it was completely dark. Xu Tao saw Zhao Linan still playing hide-and-seek with a group of kids in the alley, running around tirelessly and having a great time.
"Zhao Linan, time to come home," Xu Tao called from the doorway.
At first, she wasn’t used to raising her voice to call the child home, but as time went on, she had learned the skill of summoning kids like other mothers did, even if it was a bit hard on her throat.
"Coming, Mommy!"
Zhao Linan, sweating profusely, heard Xu Tao’s call and, after telling his friends he was going home, came running back.
Zhao Linan, still full of energy from playing, tried to cling to Xu Tao as soon as he got close.
"Little wild monkey, go wash your face first," Xu Tao poking the child’s forehead with one finger and ordering him to clean up.
"Mommy!" Feeling Xu Tao’s slight rejection, Zhao Linan insisted on clinging to her, stretching out his little arms for a hug.
Seeing the child coming closer, Xu Tao laughed and dodged.
"Hey, Mommy!" The child pouted and chased after her.
Xu Tao didn’t actually run away. After a few steps, the child caught up and hugged her leg, his little body warm and sweaty. Xu Tao had no choice but to pick him up and carry him to the yard, where a basin of warm water and a towel were already prepared.
Zhao Linan started by washing his face on his own, then used the towel to wipe his hands and little belly. After scrubbing the towel, he squeezed it hard and handed it to Xu Tao.
"Mommy, wipe my back," Zhao Linan said, knowing he had been running around and his back was sweaty.
Xu Tao had told him that if he didn’t wipe off the sweat, he could get sick. The child was very obedient. Since he couldn’t reach his back, he asked Xu Tao for help, lifting his shirt to reveal his chubby, white little belly.
Xu Tao looked at the adorable child, took the towel, wrung out the excess water, and then crouched down to wipe his back.
"Feels good," Zhao Linan grinned at Xu Tao after his back was wiped.
"Time to make dinner. What does Xiao Nan want to eat today?"
Xu Tao continued to rinse the towel in the basin before hanging it on the towel rack in the hallway.
Zhao Linan followed Xu Tao, his little brain thinking hard. "I want chicken legs."
"No chicken legs."
"Then I want meat."
"No meat either!"
"Hmm." Zhao Linan frowned. "What about chicken wings?"
"Still no," Xu Tao shook her head as she walked into the kitchen, also pondering what to make for dinner.
Zhao Linan wasn’t happy. The child let go of Xu Tao’s hand and stopped in his tracks. "Then what is there? Mommy, there’s nothing! Are you trying to starve Xiao Nan?"
"How about noodles? Mommy will add a round fried egg for you," Xu Tao crouched down and pinched the child’s cheek.
"But I want meat!" Zhao Linan pouted.
"Tomorrow, okay? Mommy’s a bit tired today," Xu Tao coaxed him, even acting a little coquettishly.
Zhao Linan stopped pouting and reached out to touch Xu Tao’s forehead. "Is Mommy feeling sick?"
"Not sick, just a bit sore in the neck and hands"
Her shoulders were sore from writing, and her hands were tired from pickling the radishes.
"Then Mommy won’t cook. Let’s wait for Daddy to do it" Zhao Linan said thoughtfully, holding Xu Tao’s hand. His warm little hands grasped hers and brought them to his mouth, blowing on them gently. "Your hands are cold. Let me warm them up."
Mwah—
Xu Tao looked at Zhao Linan’s adorable expression and couldn’t help but lean over to kiss him.
There was a reason she had always liked Zhao Linan. The little guy had the innocence of a child, but he also occasionally exuded a natural warmth.
Xu Tao, who had transmigrated into this world and become his stepmother, felt that she had changed Zhao Linan’s life. But only she knew that Zhao Linan had also silently warmed and healed her in return.
"Mommy really loves Xiao Nan."
"Xiao Nan loves Mommy too" Zhao Linan said with a smile, puckering his lips to kiss Xu Tao.
Xu Tao happily hugged Zhao Linan and kissed him a few times before starting to boil water for noodles. Zhao Weiguo came home earlier than usual today, just as Xu Tao finished cooking the noodles.
"Perfect timing for noodles," Xu Tao said, serving the noodles and calling Zhao Weiguo over.
"Mm," Zhao Weiguo quickly washed his hands and face.
The family of three sat at the table, quietly eating their noodles. Zhao Linan occasionally shared some of the fun he had playing in the alley, while Xu Tao and Zhao Weiguo chatted about household matters. Xu Tao also mentioned her plan to hire one more employee for the canteen.
With 1984 approaching, Xu Tao wanted to use the company canteen as a way to learn more about the food and beverage industry.
If possible, she planned to buy a house next year and use it, along with the taxi company, as collateral for a loan to expand the taxi fleet or open a large hotel.
Food, clothing, housing, and transportation were essential aspects of life, and Xu Tao felt it was worth a try. Even if it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
She wanted to hire another kitchen employee because she felt that having two people per shift would make the workload more manageable.
After all, the company had over thirty people eating there every day, which was no small task. Things could get quite busy, and as Taoyuan Company grew, so would the number of employees. It was better to be prepared.
Xu Tao wasn’t the type to settle for the status quo. Her initial goal had been to monopolize Yangcheng’s taxi industry, but the high costs had forced her to scale back her ambitions.
Zhao Weiguo naturally had no objections to these plans and left it to Xu Tao to arrange.
"By the way, when are we going back home this year?" There was only a month left until the New Year, and people still placed great importance on family reunions during this time.
"Weiqiang is getting married on the 26th. The train ride takes twenty-three hours, so we’ll need to leave on the 24th" Zhao Weiguo making plans while also feeling a bit uneasy about leaving Taoyuan Company.
However, as long as he arranged everything properly before leaving, there shouldn’t be any major issues. In about twenty days, Taoyuan Company would be stable enough.
Twenty-three hours! Xu Tao could handle everything else, but the thought of a twenty-three-hour journey left her speechless.
It was painfully slow, and she suddenly missed the airplanes and high-speed trains of the future.
"Mommy, when can we see Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa…"
Zhao Linan asked, eating his noodles and listening to Xu Tao and Zhao Weiguo’s conversation. When he heard Zhao Weiqiang’s name, he also remembered his relatives back home.
For a little kid just over three years old, his memory was surprisingly good. It had been almost half a year since they came to Yangcheng, and he still remembered his relatives back home.
"We’ll go back in a little over twenty days," Xu Tao told Zhao Linan.
Zhao Linan immediately put down his chopsticks, looked at his fingers, and counted. When he realized he didn’t have enough fingers, he sighed. "It’s still so long. I don’t have enough fingers to count!"
"Yeah," Xu Tao laughed, pinching the child’s ear.
"Sigh!" Zhao Linan heaved a heavy sigh.
Xu Tao found the child’s dramatic sigh amusing but also felt a bit of her own anxiety. "I’ll start preparing some New Year gifts for our trip back home when I have time."
The family of three had been staying in Yangcheng, and now they were going back home for the New Year and Zhao Weiqiang’s wedding.
They couldn’t go empty-handed, and with the Zhao family being quite large, they had to make sure everyone was considered.
Xu Tao’s own family back home also needed gifts. Just thinking about all the preparations for the trip was enough to give her a headache.
Tsk! If she had known it would be this troublesome, she would have waited another ten days before asking Zhao Weiguo.
Xu Tao suddenly regretted bringing it up. It was such a hassle, and she could have delayed asking to avoid the stress. Now she was already worrying about it.
"It’s fine. Just bring back some local specialties from Yangcheng," Zhao Weiguo replied, not seeing it as a big deal.
"Also, about the train tickets. Can you try to get sleeper tickets?" Xu Tao brought up the issue of train tickets.
Twenty-three hours was just too much. She remembered the hard seats from their last trip to Yangcheng. Sitting on a hard seat for nearly a full day and night, in the cold, with all sorts of people and smells on the train, was a nightmare.
"Why don’t I just drive us back?" Zhao Weiguo suddenly suggested.
Xu Tao’s eyes lit up at the idea.
She realized she had been overlooking the obvious. Their family ran a taxi company. Why bother squeezing onto a train during the New Year when they could use one of the taxis?
Aside from a few drivers who would be heading home for the holidays, some taxis would be idle. Zhao Weiguo could drive, and by removing the taxi sign from the roof, they could use it as a private car.
This way, they wouldn’t have to rush for the train or endure over twenty hours on a hard seat. They could take breaks whenever they got tired. The only downside was that Zhao Weiguo would have to bear the brunt of the driving.
Xu Tao actually knew how to drive, but the original Xu Tao didn’t. She didn’t want to reveal any suspicious behavior that might make Zhao Weiguo question her.
However, if Zhao Weiguo had to drive the entire way, it would be exhausting for him.
"That works. I’ll take some time to learn how to drive these next few days. Once I’ve learned, we can take turns driving back home for the New Year. It’ll be more convenient and comfortable"
She could pretend to learn how to drive, right?
After all, cars back then were manual, and Xu Tao knew how to drive manual. But after years of driving automatic, she would need some time to readjust. Pretending to be a beginner driver should be manageable.
"Learn how to drive?" Zhao Weiguo sounded surprised but quickly nodded. "Sure."
Holding onto the principle that having many skills is never a bad thing, Zhao Weiguo didn't actually intend to ask Xu Tao to help drive.
Whether Xu Tao knew how to drive or not was secondary, but he felt that it wouldn't be a bad thing for her to learn, though he inexplicably still had some worries.
In this era, many men struggled to learn to drive, and female drivers were even rarer.
But Xu Tao was quick-witted and clever, surely she wouldn't cry while learning to drive, right? Zhao Weiguo thought, feeling somewhat uncertain.
"Learning to drive is actually quite difficult, and it mostly depends on talent. If you really can't learn, don't be discouraged. It's not because you're stupid, but because some people's minds and hands just aren't coordinated. However, I believe you should have good talent," Zhao Weiguo said, preparing Xu Tao mentally beforehand.
"Huh?"
Xu Tao always felt that Zhao Weiguo's words had an underlying meaning.
He didn't use the word "stupid" anywhere, but when each sentence was pieced together, they all had an element of distrust and doubt in her.
"Do you think I can't learn?" Xu Tao raised her eyebrows at Zhao Weiguo.
This man was underestimating her!
"You definitely can learn," Zhao Weiguo replied, his survival instincts kicking in.
Xu Tao pursed her lips and snorted coldly, "Don't think I can't tell. Do you want to bet? I think I'm pretty smart. I bet I can definitely learn, and I can drive very well."
Xu Tao said this with confidence, even though there was a suspicion of cheating by re-taking the test.
"No bet," Zhao Weiguo refused.
Xu Tao had always given Zhao Weiguo the impression of being very intelligent. He was just worried about the possibility of failure, but relatively speaking, he still believed that Xu Tao could learn to drive.
Xu Tao didn't insist when Zhao Weiguo refused. After their usual evening foot soak, she climbed into bed for a comfortable rest.
The next morning, Xu Tao took Zhao Linan to the mall and the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things.
In Guangzhou, during this period, many aspects were at the forefront of development. The things Xu Tao needed could basically all be bought by going to the mall and the supply and marketing cooperative.
Xu Tao bought a lot of things and carried them towards the Taoyuan Company.
Zhao Linan followed Xu Tao, and the little guy even helped carry two large iron cooking spatulas on his shoulders, trudging along in front of Xu Tao, looking especially like a miniature and adorable Pigsy.
Xu Tao smiled at Zhao Linan's cute appearance, but her smile quickly faded as a sudden abdominal pain attacked her.
Xu Tao had calculated the time, and her period should be arriving within these two days. But she didn't expect it to attack her suddenly while walking back from shopping. Xu Tao was in so much pain that her face turned pale, and she squatted on the road, breaking out in cold sweat despite the winter weather.
Zhao Linan was walking along, carrying the two big iron spatulas, and the child was also exhausted. "Mom, Linan is a little tired."
The two big iron spatulas were quite heavy, and the child was initially happy to carry them, but now his arms were starting to ache.
"..." Xu Tao leaned against the telephone pole, gasping in pain, unable to even hold onto the things she was carrying.
"Mom?" Zhao Linan turned around in confusion and saw Xu Tao leaning against the telephone pole, panting. The child immediately ran over worriedly, tears welling up in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
Clang, Zhao Linan put the two spatulas on the ground, looking at Xu Tao nervously, his eyes already filled with tears.
"Linan, Mom isn't feeling well. Can you go call Dad, please?"
Xu Tao could only grit her teeth and lean against the telephone pole, barely managing to speak to Zhao Linan."
Luckily, the mother and son had already walked a good distance, and they were only a few hundred meters away from Taoyuan Company at this point.
Although it wasn't particularly far, Xu Tao truly couldn't walk anymore.
It hurt so much, it felt like someone was having a celebration inside her abdomen.
"Okay, Mom, wait for me"
Zhao Linan said, noticing Xu Tao's discomfort. With red eyes, he kissed Xu Tao's cheek and then hurriedly turned to run back to Taoyuan Company.
"Run slowly..." Xu Tao said, watching Zhao Linan run, reminding him with some worry.
But Zhao Linan, that little rascal, was anxious. Seeing Xu Tao's pale face, he ran very fast. He ran the few hundred meters while crying. Perhaps his vision was blurred by tears, but the child accidentally tripped and fell halfway.
"..."
Xu Tao's heart ached. Her precious son had just fallen.
The child, who usually ran to his mother to whine and cuddle after a bump or scrape, now fell, pouted his lips in grievance, and then bravely got up.
He turned to look at Xu Tao in the distance, wiped away his tears, and continued running towards Taoyuan Company. "Xiao nan is a man, Xiao nan doesn't cry, Xiao nan doesn't hurt."
While saying this, Zhao Linan looked at his scraped palm, puffed out his cheeks, and blew on it, then ran into Taoyuan Company.
Xu Tao watched Zhao Linan's running figure, feeling dizzy. Her stomach was already hurting terribly, and when she saw Zhao Linan fall, she couldn't help but tear up. She even disregarded her image and sat down on the ground with a thud.
Then she saw the little rascal she had doted on for over half a year obediently get up from the ground and continue running towards Taoyuan Company.
"Dad!!!" Zhao Linan's voice arrived before he did, a heart-wrenching shout.
Zhao Weiguo heard Zhao Linan's crying shout and immediately looked out the office window. He saw the tearful child running towards him.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Weiguo quickly walked out of the office, hugged his running son, and looked towards the entrance of Taoyuan Company, but didn't see Xu Tao.
"Wah, Dad, Mom's tummy hurts, outside, wu..wu..."
Zhao Linan said while crying, but he still managed to explain what happened. His scraped little finger pointed outside, and his little mouth drooped in grievance.
"..."
Zhao Weiguo frowned at the news, picked up Zhao Linan, and walked outside the company.
"This way," Zhao Linan said, being held by Zhao Weiguo, and pointed him in the direction.
Zhao Weiguo looked in the direction Zhao Linan was pointing and saw Xu Tao sitting by the telephone pole in the distance. He quickened his pace, holding his son, and quickly walked towards Xu Tao.
Zhao Weiguo didn't know what was wrong with Xu Tao. He ran with Zhao Linan until he was close to Xu Tao.
"Mom" Zhao Linan stopped crying, but when Zhao Weiguo approached and the child saw Xu Tao, his eyes turned red with worry again. He pouted his little mouth and struggled to get out of Zhao Weiguo's arms.
Zhao Weiguo, panting, put his son down, his eyes fixed on Xu Tao. His previous worry eased slightly when he saw that Xu Tao's face was just pale.
Heaven knows how scared he was just now. It was a rare moment of panic in Zhao Weiguo's nearly thirty years of life. He didn't even dare to think about the deeper possibilities.
"Mom is fine" Xu Tao managed to say, comforting Zhao Linan.
She even smiled at Zhao Weiguo and then reached out to catch the rushing Zhao Linan, carefully cupping the child's scraped hand. The child's fall was quite severe, and she knew he must have scraped it. "Does Linan's hand hurt?"
"No, Mom hurts" Zhao Linan shook his head vigorously, running to Xu Tao's side.
Zhao Weiguo frowned, looked at Xu Tao, and then at the pile of things beside her. "Is it your period?"
"Yes" Xu Tao nodded weakly, holding Zhao Linan.
After closing his eyes briefly, Zhao Weiguo opened them and looked at Xu Tao's pale face. His tone wasn't very gentle as he said, "Knowing you were about to get your period, why did you go out and buy so much stuff?"
While scolding her, Zhao Weiguo also took off his own coat and put it on Xu Tao. Then, he reached out and pulled his son, Zhao Linan, away, picking Xu Tao up in his arms.
Xu Tao leaned against Zhao Weiguo's chest, explaining softly, "I didn't know it would hurt this much suddenly." The pain was making her unable to straighten up, it was agonizing, this kind of torment.
"..." Zhao Weiguo pursed his lips and darkened his face. "Linan, follow us."
"Dad, the things!"
Zhao Linan stood in place, looking at the pile of things they bought. He picked up the two large cooking spatulas he was holding earlier and asked Zhao Weiguo.
"Dad will come back for them later."
"Okay." Zhao Linan nodded, hugging the spatulas and cutely following his parents.
Zhao Weiguo carried Xu Tao all the way to the company. Xu Tao was still very uncomfortable, so Zhao Weiguo carried her directly to the chair in his office and set her down.
"Can you sit here?" Zhao Weiguo asked her.
"Yes," Xu Tao nodded, wearing Zhao Weiguo's black coat and sitting in the chair, leaning against the desk behind her.
Zhao Weiguo turned around and poured a cup of hot water, placing it in front of Xu Tao. "I'll go get the things outside first, wait for me."
"Okay," Xu Tao nodded.
Zhao Weiguo moved quickly. When he left the office, Zhao Linan, still holding the spatulas, had just returned. The child had put in a lot of effort, he was tired, cried, and fell, but he still managed to bring back the two large spatulas. Now, after putting them on the office floor, the child walked towards Xu Tao.
"Mom, are you still in pain?" Zhao Linan asked, looking up at Xu Tao.
Xu Tao looked at Zhao Linan. The child was clearly very worried, not even caring about his own pain from falling. For the first time, Xu Tao's feelings for Zhao Linan deepened.
In the past, Xu Tao only liked Zhao Linan's appearance, thought he was cute, and knew he was the male lead in the book. She was nice to him, partly hoping to change her own tragic future.
But now, for the first time, Xu Tao truly felt that this three-year-old child in front of her was her son.
"Mom is feeling better now, does Xiao nanhurt?"
Xu Tao reached out and picked up the child, placing him on her lap. She held the child's scraped hand, seeing the chubby little hand become pitiful.
"No hurt, Linan is a man" Zhao Linan shook his head, trying to be strong.
But how could it not hurt?
Xu Tao blew on the child's palm. "When Dad comes back, we'll ask him to take you to put medicine on it."
"Okay, okay," Zhao Linan nodded obediently.
"Do your legs hurt?" Xu Tao asked the child again.
"This hurts!" Zhao Linan pointed to his right knee.
Xu Tao looked at where the child was pointing and saw some dust on his knee. She endured the pain in her stomach and put Zhao Linan down, then reached out and took off the child's pants.
"It's scraped"
Xu Tao saw that Zhao Linan's tender little knee was also scraped, with some broken skin and redness, looking very painful.
Xu Tao couldn't hold back her tears. If she had known the child would fall like this, she wouldn't have let him run to find Zhao Weiguo.
But right now, she was feeling a little better. Just a moment ago, she was in so much pain that she felt like she was about to faint.
"Mom, no hurt" Zhao Linan shook his little head at Xu Tao, reaching out to wipe the tears from Xu Tao's face. "Don't cry."
"Xiao nan is lying, it clearly hurts a lot," Xu Tao put the child's pants back on.
Zhao Linan pursed his lips. When he heard Xu Tao say he was lying, the child started crying in a panic. The child's previous strength instantly crumbled.
"Wah, Mom, hurt, Linan's hand hurts, this hurts too." Crying, tears rolled down his cheeks, his little mouth pouting, his words both aggrieved and pitiful, making Xu Tao's heart ache.
Xu Tao hugged Zhao Linan, unable to stop her own tears, and then comforted Zhao Linan.
Her big son had fallen and hurt himself, boo-hoo!
Zhao Weiguo returned quickly with the things. He had run back and forth, bringing back the things Xu Tao bought and placing them outside. Then, he walked into the office and saw the mother and son squatting on the ground, crying in each other's arms.
Xu Tao and Zhao Linan both looked listless, their eyes red and teary.
Xu Tao was crying because her period had arrived and her stomach hurt, and she felt sorry for Zhao Linan. Zhao Linan was crying because he had fallen and was anxious, and he was also scared by Xu Tao's previous appearance.
Now, when they saw him return, both the adult and the child turned their heads, their eyes red, and stared at him with their big, dark eyes.
Zhao Weiguo was initially worried about Xu Tao, feeling anxious. But when he saw the mother and son crying in each other's arms, he couldn't help but laugh.
"..." Xu Tao and Zhao Linan immediately stopped crying, looking at him with expressions of accusation.
o0o