It's not surprising Ji Pianran doesn't trust him.
After all, over the years he had always been indifferent to his family, treating both himself and his daughter as if they were air.
Now, all of a sudden, he was cooking for them and wanted to take the child to the city.
It was hard to tell if all this was truly a sincere repentance,
or if there were greater, unspeakable schemes at play.
When she spoke, her entire body tensed involuntarily.
She was like a mother beast protecting her cub.
Gu Chen hadn't expected her to react so strongly.
He was stunned for a moment, then the next second he hurriedly explained,
"I was just thinking that you needed to go to work, and it might be inconvenient with the child, since today I was planning to go to the city to see if there was something I could do."
"I also thought about taking the child out to have some fun, that's all, don't be nervous."
"If you don't feel comfortable, then take Huacai with you, believe me, I have no ill intentions."
His eyes were sincerely pure, without the slightest mix of deceit.
Ji Pianran pursed her red lips.
A pair of beautiful almond-shaped eyes filled with bewilderment.
Huacai, after all, was just a child. Hearing her dad say he would take her to the city to have fun, she immediately became overjoyed.
In an instant, she let go of Ji Pianran's hand, toddled on her little feet toward Gu Chen, and ran over.
"Daddy, Huacai wants to go play."
Gu Chen bent down, picked up the child in his arms, and patted her head.
"Huacai, be good, daddy will take you next time, okay?"
Only then did he stand up and flash a smile at Ji Pianran.
"Then I'll have to trouble you again."
After saying this, he turned and went back into the house to pack his things.
Ji Pianran watched his retreating figure.
Her lovely distant-mountain eyebrows furrowed slightly,
a nameless emotion welled up in her heart.
Was she being overly sensitive?
...
Gu Chen locked the door and entered the space.
In just a moment, the broccoli had grown a bit larger than it had been in the morning.
Bright green, it looked very fresh.
He chose one to keep as a seed, then pulled out all the rest.
A total of more than ten heads, each several times the size of the ones found in the market.
Just one of them weighed five or six pounds.
He bagged these heads of broccoli in nylon bags and, worried Ji Pianran might see them if he took them out, decided to keep them in the space for the time being.
It wouldn't be too late to take them out once he arrived at his destination.
Leaving the space, Gu Chen opened the door and stepped outside.
As soon as he showed his head, he saw Ji Pianran standing in the yard, with Huacai, who had her little braids tied up, dressed neat and tidy.
Seeing Gu Chen come out, Ji Pianran's face flickered with unnaturalness, and she instinctively licked her lips.
Then, after pursing them again, she finally spoke.
"That, Huacai says she wants to go with you."
After speaking, she took out a small cloth bag from her pocket and handed it to Gu Chen.
"There's also ten dollars inside, use it sparingly."
What went unsaid was this was the last of their money at home.
Gu Chen wasn't foolish; he knew it all too well.
This small cloth bag was something Ji Pianran had used since she came into this marriage.
All her money was inside.
In his previous life, when he had lost money gambling, it was from this purse that he had taken money.
Frankly, Gu Chen didn't want to accept it.
However, he didn't have a single cent on him, and he needed to take a bus to get to the city—the bus fare itself was an issue.
He stretched out his hand, emotionally complex, and accepted the purse.
"Thank you, I will definitely earn it back; you have to trust me!"
Ji Pianran laughed unnaturally, "The money isn't much, be frugal with it."
Frankly, she didn't expect at all that Gu Chen would be able to earn the money back.
All she hoped was that he wouldn't get into trouble.
Huacai, holding onto Gu Chen's hand happily, looked up at him with a beaming smile,
"Daddy, let's go, let's go!"
The little girl was already eager to see what the outside world was like.
Gu Chen picked her up and held her close.
"Alright, Daddy will take you there right now."
After speaking, he glanced at Ji Pianran.
Ji Pianran was also looking at him. Seeing him look her way, she silently nodded.
"Be careful."
...
There was a bus stop at the entrance of the village; it was the only route to the city.
Anyone from the village going to the city would typically wait for the bus here.
The New Year was approaching.
Everyone had big nylon bags in hand, filled with fresh vegetables grown in their greenhouses, heading to the city with their goods to sell.
Hoping to have a prosperous New Year.
Gu Chen had originally been pondering how to find the market in the city.
Seeing such a scene, he was no longer worried.
Just follow them.
This was Tiantian's first time going to the city with Ji Pianran. To save money, the mother and daughter rode on Uncle Zhang's tractor.
This was her very first time in a car.
She felt excited and happy.
Her eyes, so much like Ji Pianran's, gazed restlessly from one side to the other.
She was just like a curious little baby.
Gu Chen held Tiantian as they got on the bus.
The bus was neither too full nor too empty, with two seats still available.
Gu Chen picked one by the window and sat down.
Tiantian spent the whole trip clinging to the window, watching the tree branches passing by.
She also kept asking all sorts of questions.
"Daddy, where do the birds go in the winter?"
Gu Chen chuckled.
"Of course, they follow their mothers to a warm place."
The little girl seemed dissatisfied with Gu Chen's response.
She pouted.
In a milky voice, she asked, "Then why don't they follow their own daddies? Where did their daddies go?"
Gu Chen rubbed his temples.
Feeling helpless and amused.
"Of course, they can follow their daddies too, the whole family of three can go to a warm place together."
At his words, the little girl seemed to get a satisfying answer and smiled happily.
"When will we go to a warm place? Our house is always so cold."
Looking into his daughter's innocent eyes.
Gu Chen felt a twinge of sadness; their home was cold because Ji Pianran was trying to save coal.
In the end, it was still his failure as a father for not fulfilling his responsibility.
To give them a warm home.
Gu Chen ruffled Tiantian's hair.
"Tiantian be good, Daddy will make our home warm very soon, Daddy will work hard to earn money, and buy candied haw for Tiantian to eat, okay?"
The little girl's smile was sweet, her childish voice naive.
"Then will it be as warm as the little birds' home?"
Gu Chen nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Daddy promises, things will get better soon."
By the time they finished talking, the bus had already reached the station.
Gu Chen carried his daughter off the bus.
They followed an old man carrying a big bag of potatoes, moving forward.
The city indeed had more people than the village, with everyone dressed in jackets, leather coats, and down jackets. Quite a few ladies had styled hair.
They all looked very spirited.
Crossing several streets, Gu Chen, carrying Tiantian, finally arrived at the market.
The market was even more crowded, bustling with people everywhere.
Buying and selling.
Haggling over every transaction.
Having circled the market, Gu Chen found a restroom and had Tiantian stare at him for a minute at the entrance.
Then, he took a large nylon bag out of his space.
He also found a market official, bought some plastic bags, and a scale.
Only then did he and Tiantian find an empty spot.
He displayed all his broccoli ready to start selling.