Chapter 373: Years Apart

Today, there was a new teacher outside Xiaotaiyang Kindergarten that I had never seen before.

Her name seemed to be Zhang Qianqian. She was slightly plump, with freckles on her face, and looked to be in her early twenties.

At the moment, she was wrapped in a thick coat, chatting casually with the other parents who had also come to drop off their children.

Compared to Dong Yuwei's bright smile, this new teacher seems much more perfunctory.

Of course, it's not her fault. After all, being on duty at the kindergarten gate early in the morning is a chore in itself.

Although the average temperature in Sichuan is relatively high, it is overcast most of the year.

Coupled with the high humidity, it is even colder when you stand outside in the morning.

And from time to time, you have to deal with parents who are never satisfied, which is even more troublesome.

So they usually avoid this on weekdays, and only Dong Yuwei is happy to do it.

However, after seeing Gu Chen, the other party acted very politely.

From the principal to the teachers in the kindergarten, they all knew that Gu Chen and Dong Yuwei were good friends.

That person is someone who can't be provoked in the field of education, so although in their hearts they somewhat despise Gu Chen for eating the soft bread of women at home,

But on the surface, they won't really show it. After all, no one likes to make things difficult for themselves.

After picking up Tang Tang with the other children,

she put on a polite, professional smile and said to Gu Chen:

'Tang Tang's father, the kindergarten is currently preparing to organise an outdoor outing.

The main purpose is for the teachers and parents to work together to lead the children to properly understand nature.

The follow-up process will also include parent-child games, a family picnic, and taking the children to a farmhouse to pick fresh vegetables and fruits.

The kindergarten has tentatively scheduled the event for three days from now, and the activity fee is 455 yuan.

Of course, there will be refunds and supplements at the end.

Tangtang is a new student who has just started school, so I don't know if he should participate.

But don't get me wrong, whether we go or not is entirely up to you, and you won't be forced to go.

I just think this is a rare opportunity, and it will help foster friendships between the children.

Gu Chen nodded and didn't say anything more about it. He simply took out his wallet and paid the money on the spot.

He thought to himself, you've already said it all, so what else can I say to disagree?

Although his daughter, Tang Tang, had grown up in the countryside, she had been familiar with nature since she was little.

As for talking about picnics and picking farm produce, wasn't that their daily life before?

But anyway, this was a group activity in kindergarten, and he definitely couldn't miss it.

Otherwise, when the time came, all the other children would have gone.

It would be a shame for his only child to be the only one left behind in kindergarten.

What if the other kids teased her about it again? What if she developed psychological problems?

Even if he didn't have the money now, he would have to find a way to pay it.

No matter what, he would never let his daughter suffer.

As Gu Chen thought this, he became even more anxious about the opening of his new store.

After all, his wife had only given him 1,000 yuan last night, and it had only been in his pocket for one night.

Half of the money had been spent on event fees. If this happened in an ordinary family,

455 yuan would be a month's salary gone in one go.

If a few more days passed, and the kindergarten asked for money again for a party,

he would probably not even bother opening the shop, as he would not even be able to afford to fill up the car with fuel.

After dropping his daughter off at kindergarten, Gu Chen drove straight to Xingye Road, and then found the shop with little difficulty.

It wasn't that he had a particularly good sense of direction, but the location of the shop was really good.

Not only was it on the street, but it was also right in the middle of the busiest pedestrian street in the city.

Moreover, to the east of the place was a high-tech industrial park, and to the west were several local high schools and universities.

To the north was a commercial building that was being rented out, so there was no need to worry about customer sources.

At first, he thought the landlord was being greedy and wanted to take advantage of him.

But after seeing the place, Gu Chen suddenly felt that the location alone was worth the price.

However, the general spending power was not high yet, and the landlord was opening a breakfast shop.

If the time could be extended a little longer, he was afraid that this prime location would be rented out directly for rent.

It would be much better than having to make breakfast themselves.

Gu Chen thought so, then parked the car outside the door, and walked in through the wooden shop door.

The first thing that caught his eye was the old-fashioned style of the interior and exterior decoration.

The carved and painted porch was round, with golden and red beams and pillars.

And the shelves behind the counter were lined with all kinds of porcelain, which were obviously very plain furnishings.

But everywhere there is a sense of vicissitudes of life brought on by the passage of time.

The owners of the shop are an elderly couple. When Gu Chen came in,

they were each holding two clean rags in their hands, carefully wiping the various furnishings in the room.

As soon as they heard that Gu Chen was the new owner who had bought the shop, the old couple looked a little sad.

They had lived here for most of their lives, relying on this breakfast shop to support their family and send their children to school.

Now, so many years have passed, and they have gone from being young and vigorous to now being old and frail.

And their children have now also achieved success in their studies, and are determined to take them abroad to live out their old age.

This makes the two of them a little reluctant to part with the shop, but being able to reunite with their family and share the joy of family life is even more important to the elderly couple.

Now that they see Gu Chen coming over, they can't help but start to tell him about everything.

How to use each item, where to place each piece of tableware, and how to maintain each piece of furniture on a daily basis.

For them, these things have long been deeply imprinted in their minds along with the years they have lived together.

Gu Chen was in no hurry about this either, and just quietly listened to them as they talked.

And carefully memorised the location and usage of each item in the store.

But it wasn't long before another car pulled up outside.

A man wearing round-framed glasses and looking quite gentle also walked in, ready to take the elderly couple away together.

The two of them looked at the store with some nostalgia, knowing in their hearts that they might not be able to return for the rest of their lives.

At this moment, both husband and wife could not help but have hot tears in their eyes, and they were a little shaky.

They handed the keys, which had been rubbed so many times that they were incredibly shiny and had even lost their edges, to Gu Chen.

Only then did they finally turn and leave.