After growing overnight, all the broccoli had opened up, each one bright green and tender, complemented by a few dark green leaves.
He carefully pulled each one out.
He counted them again.
Wow, he had no idea, but there were actually 98.
An astonishing quantity.
He took out a nylon bag and put the broccoli in one by one.
Unfortunately, there were too many to fit in one bag.
He had to pile the rest together and prepare to buy more bags when he went into town later.
It was almost dawn when Gu Chen had finished making space.
He glanced at Ji Pianran's house and noticed that the light had been on for some time.
It seemed that she had already got up.
Thinking this, Gu Chen hurriedly scooped some rice out of the rice bucket and boiled three eggs.
Then he went to the pickle jar and fished out some pickles.
Ji Pianran had made all these dishes.
Because she had to take care of the baby and work, Ji Pianran often didn't have time to cook, and basically all the decent food in the house was reserved for Tangtang.
As for herself,
pickles and multigrain bread made a meal.
Gu Chen was relieved when she had everything ready.
Luckily, it wasn't too late.
Before she could go out, she heard her daughter's cries from inside the house.
The little girl's cries sounded heartbreaking.
Ji Bianran had just got up and was just getting dressed.
Hearing her daughter's cries, her heart tightened and she dashed towards Gu Chen's room.
The little girl was extremely aggrieved when she saw her mother and reached out for a hug.
Ji Pianran picked up the child without a word.
She was extremely nervous.
'What's wrong? What's wrong with Tangtang?'
The little girl's eyes were filled with tears, and her pouty pink lips were pursed in grievance.
'Mommy, did Daddy leave again?'
To be honest, the moment she burst in just now, Ji Pianran had thought of countless possibilities in her mind.
Did Tangtang have a nightmare?
Or did she fall out of bed?
Of course, the latter was more likely. She was crying so bitterly, and it seemed to her that she had fallen hard.
She was relieved to see that she was fine.
She patted her daughter's back gently and cooed softly.
'Daddy hasn't gone, Daddy won't go, so don't worry, Tangtang.'
The little girl looked at Ji Pianran with a pout.
'What about Daddy?'
?
Gu Chen wasn't there?
Ji Pianran glanced around.
She noticed that there was indeed no sign of him in the house.
She had been in such a hurry just now that she hadn't paid any attention to whether Gu Chen was there or not.
If he wasn't there, then where had he gone?
Thinking about this, she looked towards the door.
Just as Ji Bianran turned back to look towards the door, she saw Gu Chen lift the door curtain and anxiously walk in.
The expression on his face was extremely worried.
'What's going on?'
Seeing her father come back, Tang Tang felt even more aggrieved.
'Dad, Tang Tang thought you didn't want Tang Tang anymore!'
The little girl said, and big tears fell from her eyes and hung on her white, tender face.
Gu Chen hurried to the bed and reached out to help her wipe away the tears on her face.
Looking at the little one in front of him, who was full of dependence on him, he couldn't help but think of the scene before his daughter died in his previous life.
It was clear that she was the one who was suffering the most, but she tried her best to smile at him.
She told herself that she had never resented anyone.
The image was as clear as yesterday.
The pain struck again.
His voice trembled a little, and tears rolled down his face.
'Daddy won't abandon you, I want to watch you grow up little by little, to see you grow from a little girl into a beautiful young woman. In the future, I want to be there when you get married and when you have a baby.'
Tangtang didn't understand what getting married meant, and she had no idea what a baby meant.
She just knew that she didn't want to leave her father.
She tilted her little head and looked Gu Chen seriously in the eye.
Her soft voice was full of unspeakable determination.
'Daddy can't give up on Sugar Plum. Sugar Plum can work, Sugar Plum can help Daddy carry the bags, and Sugar Plum can go with Daddy to sell vegetables!'
Gu Chen's heart was once again overwhelmed by the blood-bonded family affection.
He hugged Sugar Plum and tried to calm himself down.
'Okay, Daddy promises you, Daddy will go with Sugar Plum to sell vegetables!'
Sugar Plum's soft little body leaned against Gu Chen's arms.
There was an indescribable happiness on her little face.
He looked at the deeply affectionate father and daughter in front of him.
Ji Pianran, who was standing next to them, also had mixed feelings.
He was gratified, moved, and gradually relieved.
But before he had time to think more, he was distracted by a sudden tingling pain in his foot.
'Ssshh,'
he heard, and Gu Chen hurriedly looked back to see Ji Pianran.
His attention had been focused on Tang Tang earlier.
Now that he looked back, he noticed that Ji Pianran was not wearing shoes!
His house was close to Ji Pianran's, but it was diagonally across the street.
To get to his house, he would have to pass through the courtyard!
In other words, Ji Pianran had actually run across the courtyard with bare feet and into his house.
Gu Chen's pupils widened.
'You...'
At this moment, Ji Pianran's expression clearly changed a little.
Due to the pain, a fine layer of sweat had already appeared on his forehead and the sides of his nose.
They glistened in the dim light.
'Mom!'
Tang Tang seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with Ji Pianran.
She called out to her worriedly.
Ji Pianran gritted her teeth against the pain and tried hard to force a wry smile.
'It's nothing, I just... I was just too nervous just now and forgot to put on my shoes. You take care of Tang Tang, I'll go back first.'
She was always used to hiding herself, always trying to make everyone deny that she was doing well.
After she finished speaking, Ji Pianran turned around and was about to leave.
In fact, when she had just run towards Gu Chen's house, she had been so panicked, and it was also dark, that
she hadn't noticed and had stepped on a few dead branches scattered in the yard.
Although coal was used in the countryside,
every household also had some dry firewood.
The firewood in Gu Chen's house was basically some dry branches that Ji Bianran and Tang Tang had picked up.
It was cold in winter, and the branches had frozen hard.
When she stepped on it, it didn't sink in, but it cut her ankle quite badly.
Ji Bianran walked towards the outside, as she used some strength.
Blood flowed from her ankle and seeped into the ground.
Gu Chen was shocked when she saw the bright red bloodstain on the ground.
She quickly released Tang Tang's little hand.
She took three steps and walked towards Ji Bianran.
Without saying a word, she picked her up directly.
Ji Pianran was startled as her body was lifted into the air.
She had never expected Gu Chen to hug her.
Following the unique warm scent of Gu Chen's body, mixed with the cool air outside, it all rushed into Ji Pianran's nostrils.
In shock, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes suddenly widened.
A pair of watery eyes with a hint of panic.
'You, what are you doing?'
To be honest, at the moment Gu Chen picked Ji Pianran up, her heart trembled.
Ji Pianran was very light, her body was soft, and she smelled faintly of orchid.
It smelled so good.