CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 105 HELPING HAND

Cheng Su expended the strength of "nine bulls and two tigers" just to drag those peeled pineapples back to the restaurant. Together with Qiulan, she took care of them one by one, removing the "pineapple eyes" until all the pineapples were processed and hanging in the well to stay cool and fresh. Her back was almost too stiff to straighten up.

By the time she got home, Qi Taiguo was already home, doing push-ups on the living room floor.

"You’re back? I’ll cook right now," Cheng Su said as she put down her canvas bag, took out the rice cooker insert, and started washing rice to cook.

Qi Taiguo watched her walk out of the room, hammering her waist with her hand, and couldn’t help but pause.

It’s quite exhausting, isn’t it?

Though tired, Cheng Su moved swiftly and soon had two dishes and a soup ready on the table.

"How’s it going with making that jam," Qi Taiguo asked casually.

"Almost all the preparations are done, planning to cook the jam tomorrow," Cheng Su replied, her exhaustion making her appetite poor, nibbling at her food little by little.

Qi Taiguo frowned upon seeing her like this and said, "I’m off tomorrow."

Beg me, go on, beg me, if you beg me, I’ll give you a hand!

Cheng Su made a sound of acknowledgment, picked up a chopstick of greens, and said, "You don’t get many days off, so rest up."

Qi Taiguo narrowed his eyes but said nothing more.

Cheng Su didn’t even try to ponder his meaning, her mind only on getting to the food factory first thing in the morning to fetch the gelatin powder.

Qi Taiguo felt extremely frustrated.

The next day, as expected, Cheng Su got up early and left the house.

As soon as she closed the door, Qi Taiguo came out of the room, grabbed his clothes, and followed her out.

Once Cheng Su was on the bus, she found a seat and closed her eyes to rest, unaware of the person who sat down next to her. After all, it was a small bus, with people getting on and off constantly.

The bus rocked and swayed, lulling Cheng Su toward sleep when she heard a cough, opened her eyes, and was startled.

"What are you doing here?"

Who else could be sitting next to her but Qi Taiguo?

"Aren’t we supposed to cook the jam? I thought I’d lend a hand," Qi Taiguo said uneasily.

Cheng Su looked surprised, then burst into a wide smile, hugging his sturdy arm and saying, "Qi Taiguo, you’re so sweet."

"Sit properly, be mindful of your image. What’s with all the hugging and cuddling?" Qi Taiguo, feeling his face warm, glanced around at the other passengers and scolded softly.

Cheng Su, still smiling, refused to let go. Qi Taiguo glared at her and turned his head away, his lips curving upward slightly.

The couple first went to the food factory, lugged back the bag of gelatin powder, and Cheng Su had an easier time at the restaurant with free labor. They quickly got to work once they arrived.

Taking out the pineapple from the well, they chopped it into pieces. With the help of a juicing blender, they soon turned a portion into a puree, which was much finer than hand-chopping.

"This thing is really useful. What’s it called again?" Qi Taiguo asked, staring at the machine.

"A juicer. With this, we can save a lot of effort," Cheng Su explained.

"With reforms and the opening-up, I think our country is becoming more and more advanced," Qi Taiguo remarked. He pondered whether they could use this machine for chopping pig feed, perhaps then they wouldn’t need to chop pig feed manually at home?

Cheng Su, unaware of his odd thoughts, said nonchalantly, "This is nothing. As society progresses, technology will become more and more advanced. There will even be all-in-one machines that can juice and cook. Real high technology is basically robot-style service, where manual labor isn’t necessary."

Qi Taiguo was quite puzzled by her confident talk. It sounded so certain.

Realizing she hadn’t received a response, Cheng Su recognized she might have spoken too ambitiously and gave a laugh, "Wasn’t there a time before liberation when we didn’t have this juicer? It shows that technology is indeed advancing," she chuckled.