Call Me Daddy [Quick Transmigration]

Su Aobai silently picked up the salted vegetable stir-fried pumpkin from the dish in front of him. His thoughts were already swirling, stirred by the sudden prompt that had appeared in his mind.
One hundred pounds of smoked fish!
This was the reward for his daughter’s favorability breaking 70 points. In the past, he would have easily dismissed something so trivial, but in the resource-scarce 1970s, one hundred pounds of smoked fish could be converted into a considerable fortune.

Moreover, this one hundred pounds of smoked fish was just the starting reward. According to the feedback from his mind, every time the favorability increased by five points after exceeding 70, there would be another unknown reward.
Since the items given as rewards were too large to be stored in the real world, and their sudden appearance would attract attention, the system stored them in another dimensional space, where they could be taken and stored at will. Unfortunately, this space could only store system rewards; no other items could be placed there.
Su Aobai hastened his chewing, finishing the food in his bowl in a few bites. He didn’t ask for another bowl.

“I’m done. Hand the child to me. I’ll feed her.”
Saying this, he took his daughter from Jiang Lianmei’s arms. This action was a little abrupt. In the past, Su Aobai would take care of the children, but his care had mostly been in terms of their education. Like most men of this era, he had always believed that men should work outside, and women should handle the home. Feeding the children or bathing them was a woman’s responsibility.
“Hurry up and eat, or the dishes will be gone.”

He leaned close to Jiang Lianmei’s ear and whispered. Due to how close they were, his breath made Jiang Lianmei involuntarily shrink her neck.
She glanced at the table—there were still half of the vegetarian dishes, but the meat dishes, including eggs and fish, were nearly gone. Her two sisters-in-law had eaten most of it, and their bowls still had some unfinished fish and eggs. Their chopsticks kept digging into those few dishes.
To be honest, Su Aobai wasn’t used to this habit of picking through dishes. However, since good food was so scarce in this era, people like Jiang Lianmei’s sisters-in-law were far from rare. Every time they attended a banquet, when a group of elders and children gathered, the chopsticks flew around furiously.

Jiang Lianmei realized that her husband taking the child was meant to let her eat with peace of mind, or else all the better food would be eaten by others.
She couldn’t help but think that after her husband returned from the city, he seemed to be more considerate. Could it be that this is what they meant in old plays by "a day apart feels like three autumns"? Was their small separation making their relationship feel like a new marriage?
Jiang Lianmei observed her husband feeding their daughter, though his actions were somewhat clumsy, occasionally getting rice grains on her cheek and bib. But after a few tries, he was doing better. She relaxed, feeling assured that her daughter was in good hands with him.

Jiang Lianmei’s parents didn’t know what Su Aobai had whispered to their daughter, but seeing the couple’s intimacy and how considerate the son-in-law was with the child, they couldn’t be more satisfied.
Jiang Lianmei’s two brothers, Jiang Lianjiang and Jiang Lianbian, didn’t have such refined thoughts. They ate their food in large mouthfuls, enjoying the rare dry meal. However, other than the smoked fish they had been given, the two brothers rarely reached for the meat dishes. They were straightforward and wanted to leave the better food for the elders and children.
Only Yu Zhao’er and Xia Yaofang felt more sour. Why were the men so considerate? They even knew to eat quickly and take care of the child so that their wives could eat.

The two women glared fiercely at their husbands, but their rough, tough men didn’t notice the murderous look in their eyes. After a few bowls of food, they leaned back and rubbed their full bellies with a satisfied sigh.
“If only we could eat this well every meal.”
Jiang Lianjiang thought to himself how wonderful life would be like this.
“Ha!”

Jiang Dajun finished his meal and was enjoying a cigarette, when he heard his son’s silly words and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Dreaming in the middle of the day? Don’t talk about the sea fish your brother-in-law brought, but apart from the top leaders, who can eat like this every day?”
In Jiang Dajun’s view, being able to eat until full, not going hungry, was already a good life. He couldn’t even imagine a life where they ate rice with fish, eggs, and meat every day.

“Hehe.”
Jiang Lianjiang knew his thought was too bold and scratched his head.
“This smoked fish really tastes good. The fish from the sea and the river are different, no bones at all, just pure meat. My mother-in-law’s cooking skills are great, and she’s been so kind to us, even willing to fry the fish with oil. I’ve never eaten anything so delicious in my life.”

Jiang Lianjiang’s words were met with approval from everyone at the table, except for Su Aobai.
This was smoked fish that had been in a lunch box for several days. If they had eaten it right after it was cooked, warm and crispy, the flavor would have been even better.

Several younger children unconsciously licked their lips, still savoring the taste from just now.

Such good food, but unfortunately, there was so little of it. Not only in the countryside but even workers in the county town rarely got to buy sea fish from the supply and marketing cooperative. When a batch arrived, it was mostly frozen, and its taste didn’t compare to this freshly slaughtered, cooked smoked fish.
They innocently thought that tonight, they might have a dream flavored like smoked fish.
Su Aobai clumsily fed his daughter, smiling without saying a word.

Well, he had one hundred pounds!
Su Mingcheng had already eaten his portion of smoked fish, and the small piece meant for him and his siblings was still untouched. He didn’t want to eat it yet, intending to save it for last.
Now, only Su Aobai had smoked fish in his bowl, and his cousins were all staring at his bowl, swallowing saliva.

Su Mingcheng felt somewhat pleased, his black, thin face framed by eyes that became brighter and more lively, exuding a clever energy.
However, gradually, there seemed to be a sticky, uncomfortable look in those envious gazes that he couldn't quite place. It felt a little off-putting. Su Mingcheng flinched and glanced around suspiciously.
He saw his dad feeding his sister while "lovingly" looking at him.

Su Mingcheng instinctively touched his cheek. Why did his dad's gaze feel so strange? It almost resembled the look his grandfather had when watching prey in a trap.
This must be a misunderstanding, his dad’s gaze was definitely because of love. Su Mingcheng took a big bite of the last piece of smoked fish, savoring the wonderful taste. This must be love!
Su Mingcheng's favorability: 62, 63, 65, 63. After several emotional fluctuations, his favorability increased a little more.

Little did he know, it wasn’t just a misunderstanding. To Su Aobai, his son right now was just a walking smoked fish.
 
****

Before leaving the Jiang family, Su Aobai mentioned that he wanted to borrow his father-in-law’s bicycle to go to the county town the next day.
Because he had been away for so long, the elementary school had already given him a long vacation. Fortunately, it was during the summer break, so even after accounting for the time, he had only missed about a month of work.
Jiang Dajun, the diligent old team leader, still held some respect among the commune’s leaders. In addition, the original Su Aobai had decent teaching skills, so his temporary position was secure for now.

Su Aobai suggested that he wanted to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some wine, pastries, and other gifts for the commune leaders to avoid any troublemakers who might use his absence to jeopardize his position.
His reasoning was sound. In fact, even without him suggesting it, Jiang Dajun had been planning to remind his son-in-law not to return empty-handed.
However, Su Aobai’s main goal was still to get the one hundred pounds of smoked fish from the space. Although his wife and children loved it, it was clearly unrealistic to take them out at this moment.

Su Aobai wanted to turn these smoked fish into money and tickets. He could use them to buy other things, like meat, eggs, and candies, which would be much easier to explain than sea fish.
 
****

After finishing the meal and returning home, Su Mingcheng couldn't sit still.
Outside the fence of the yard, several black, thin heads occasionally peeked inside. When they saw Su Aobai appear, they gasped and quickly fled, only to scamper back when Su Aobai went inside.
Su Mingcheng sat on a small bamboo chair, squirming around as if the bamboo splinters were poking him, his mind nowhere near the textbook in front of him.

School had a break these two days, and tomorrow they would go back to school, which meant he wouldn't be able to play freely. But Su Mingcheng didn’t dare to play yet. Yesterday, he had been so caught up in the joy of his father returning that he hadn’t written a single word of the homework his teacher assigned. Now that his father was back, he would definitely make him finish all his work before he could go out and play.
At this moment, Su Mingcheng thought that maybe his dad’s return wasn’t as great as he imagined. The original Su Aobai placed a heavy emphasis on his studies; otherwise, he wouldn’t have started school a year or two earlier than [N O V E L I G H T] his peers.
“Want to go play?”

Su Aobai finally spoke, noticing his son's distracted behavior.
"Yes!"
Wasn't that obvious? Su Mingcheng's eyes immediately brightened.

“Dad, some of the kids in the team said you’re a heartless man, that you don’t want us anymore. Now that you’re back, I have to go out and clear your name!”
Su Mingcheng quickly turned his eyes away, thinking this excuse was pretty reasonable.
The boy was quick-witted, Su Aobai secretly chuckled in his heart.

“Then, do you think you’ll be able to finish your homework?”
He pointed to the blank homework book in front of Su Mingcheng.
“I’ll finish it! I’ll finish it! I’ll be back early, and I’ll definitely finish it!”

Su Mingcheng, hearing the tone in his father’s voice, nodded vigorously, not really concerned if he could actually finish it.
“Alright then!”
Just as Su Aobai’s words fell, Su Mingcheng rushed to the door. Outside the yard, a few faint cheers could be heard. But before he could cross the threshold, his father grabbed him by the collar.

“Why are you running so fast? Wait a minute.”
He pulled the boy back and went into the bedroom, bringing out a bag of candies.
“Share them with your good friends, but we made a deal. You need to come back early. If you don’t finish your homework, there will be consequences.”

Su Aobai said with a smile.
He knew that pampering and indulging his children was the fastest way to increase favorability, and he was confident that he could make these two kids happy and carefree for as long as he lived. Even after his death, they would still enjoy his legacy.
But Su Aobai had emotions, and he still hoped that these two kids could become useful individuals who could take care of themselves.

“No need.”
Su Mingcheng returned the candy that he had barely managed to hold with both hands. This was the fruit candy his father brought from the city, so different from the bulk candies sold at their local supply and marketing cooperative.
Each candy was wrapped in a layer of glutinous rice paper. This paper, which looked like thin sheets, melted in the mouth, leaving a delicate rice fragrance. It was delicious and fun, and the flavor was more intense. Especially the orange-flavored ones, which tasted like fresh orange flesh melting in the mouth. After finishing one, the sweet citrus flavor lingered for a long time.

Jiang Lianmei didn’t let the child eat too many candies. She had given him two yesterday, and Su Mingmei, still young, had only gotten half. The other half was placed in Jiang Lianmei’s mouth by Su Aobai.
The two of them smiled while sucking on the candies for a long time, clearly enjoying the taste of the fruit candy.
"Those are my little brothers."

Su Mingcheng said proudly, implying that as the older brother, he didn’t need to use candy to please the younger ones.
"These candies, Mom likes them, my sister likes them, and I like them too."
Su Mingcheng looked up at his dad, his eyes full of reluctance and heartache. There was so little candy, and once it was eaten, it would be gone.

It was surprising how sharp this little kid was at such a young age. Su Aobai thought this was both a good and a bad thing.
"It’s okay, Dad will buy you more and better candies in the future."
Su Aobai stuffed the bag of candies into his son’s pocket. He knew that during his absence, Su Mingcheng had gotten into some unpleasant situations with some of the other kids in the team.

He wasn’t a saint. If someone bullied his child, he wasn’t about to send them candy. The reason he gave Su Mingcheng the candies was so he could distribute them himself. It was clear that Su Mingcheng wouldn’t give any to the kids he had conflicts with.
When adults do such things, others might think they lack tolerance, but it was completely normal for children to have preferences. Su Mingcheng would only give candies to friends he was close with, and no one could find fault with that.
Su Aobai just wanted to make the kids who had once mocked his son drool as they watched him enjoy the candy.

Su Mingcheng clearly didn’t understand his father’s "good intentions." He stared at the full pocket of candies, frowning, and couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
How did he end up with such a father who didn’t understand the value of things? Sigh! His dad wasn’t even as thoughtful as he was.