Video Editor

When Mrs. Forrest Gan took Suning's hand and pushed open the door of their cozy and tidy house with its white fence, Forrest, who was sitting on the living room floor fiddling with a few old toy cars, immediately looked up.

"Mom!" Agan called out in a daze, his gaze immediately drawn to the unfamiliar black-haired boy beside his mother.

Then, he awkwardly stood up, relying on the strength of his leg braces, tilted his head, and curiously looked at Su Ning.

“Forrest Gump, come here, baby.” Mrs. Forrest Gump knelt down, opened her arms to her son, and gently pulled Suning over. “This is the older brother Mom brought you home. His name is Suning. From now on, he’s one of our family members, your brother. You two have to get along well, okay?”

Forrest Gump blinked his clear blue eyes, seemingly trying to understand the meaning of "older brother" and "brother".

Unlike some children, he didn't show rejection or jealousy. Instead, he grinned and revealed a slightly silly but incredibly pure smile.

He has an innate, unguarded trust in people, especially those his mother brings home.

"Su...Ning?" He tried to utter this syllable, which was a bit new to him, and then, with clumsy, unsteady steps due to the leg brace, he walked up to Su Ning, reached out his small hand, and carefully touched Su Ning's hand. "Brother?"

Looking at the "brother" in front of her, who wore heavy leg braces and whose eyes were as pure as the Alabama sky, Su Ning felt a mix of emotions.

This is Forrest Gump, who will create countless miracles in the future. At this moment, he is just a six-year-old child with limited mobility and intelligence.

He nodded, responding to Forrest Gump's call: "Yeah, Forrest Gump."

Upon receiving the response, Agan was even happier. He seemed to immediately accept the new member and began to revolve around Suning.

Although he was unsteady on his feet, he tried his best to show off his toys, mumbling incoherently, "Car...blue...it can run..."

His unreserved closeness and dependence softened Su Ning's heart, who had originally intended to observe from a distance.

Mrs. Fowles Gan's eyes welled up with tears as she watched this scene.

Her biggest worry was that Forrest Gump wouldn't be able to accept it, or that the new kids would bully him.

In retrospect, her decision was right.

“Alright, kids,” she clapped her hands, her tone becoming lighter, “so that you, especially those of us who have just joined Suning, can have a better life, Mommy has to work hard!”

The "job" Mrs. Gan was referring to was running a small family-run guesthouse in her house, which wasn't very big but had enough rooms.

Green Town is located on a major transportation route. Although it is remote, it is a place where some passing salesmen or merchants who are going to neighboring towns to do small business need to stay temporarily.

Mrs. Gan then cleaned up the remaining rooms and rented them out at a reasonable price.

It's not just about providing a bed.

To paraphrase Forrest Gump's somewhat proud yet vague words: "Mom's cooking... is the best!"

That's right, Mrs. Gan's guesthouse includes meals.

She would provide her tenants with simple yet delicious and hearty Southern home-style dishes, such as stewed beans, fried chicken, cornbread, and thick gravy.

Her culinary skills have earned her a good reputation among past guests, which has even become a major feature and attraction of her small guesthouse.

Many regular customers would rather walk a little further to stay at her place, just to have a hot meal that feels like home.

Although this business is hard work, requiring cleaning rooms, washing sheets, and preparing food, the income is quite stable and considerable, enough to support the expenses of this single-parent family, and even leave some surplus.

This is why Mrs. Fowles Gan is confident in raising another child.

"See that, Suning?" Mrs. Gan led him and Agan on a tour of the room that had been reserved as a guest room, as well as the kitchen that always smelled of food. "This is our family's 'business.' Although it's busy and tiring, there's nothing shameful about earning money with our own hands, and it allows our family to live a good life. From now on, you and Agan are brothers, and this is your home."

She patted Su Ning's head and said warmly, "You don't have to worry about not having enough to eat or wear anymore. Here, you'll have your own bed, you'll have hot meals every day, and you can go to school with Agan. All you have to do is grow up healthy, and... help me keep an eye on Agan, don't let him get bullied, okay?"

The sunlight shone on Mrs. Forrest's slightly tired but vibrant face, as well as on Forrest's bewildered grin and Suning's calm observation of everything.

This peculiar family, consisting of a strong mother, a "foolish" younger brother, and a "time traveler" older brother, officially began their life together in this small house filled with the aroma of food.

For Suning, this is undoubtedly a near-perfect start, far better than the hardship and helplessness of the orphanage.

What I need to do now is adapt to this new identity.

And think about how to find your place in this home and in this turbulent era, while completing the tasks that the system may assign you.

……

Since Su Ning came to the Gan family, he has not treated himself as a guest who needs to be taken care of.

This seven-year-old child with the soul of an adult keenly sensed the difficulty Mrs. Gan faced in supporting the family.

So, after adapting to the new environment, he began to take the initiative to help with housework.

At first, Mrs. Gan only asked him to do light tasks such as setting the table and wiping the table, afraid that he would tire out his seemingly thin new son.

But soon, her attention was drawn to what Suning was doing in the kitchen.

One afternoon, Mrs. Gan was preparing dinner, a common dish in the South: stewed beans.

As usual, she put beans, bacon, and simple spices into a pot, added water, and simmered them.

At this moment, Su Ning walked over and stood at the kitchen door for a while.

“Mom,” he said in a still somewhat childish voice, “when I was in the orphanage, I saw Sister Mary in the kitchen make this. She said… adding this would make it taste even better.”

He pointed to a nearly unused bottle of dark brown liquid in the cupboard—it was Worcestershire sauce.

Mrs. Gan was somewhat surprised, as she usually relied entirely on experience and traditional recipes when cooking and rarely tried new seasonings.

She looked into Su Ning's earnest eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright! Child, maybe you can give it a try, but don't put in too much."

With permission, Suning brought over a small stool to stand on and reach the stove.

He didn't operate haphazardly, but carefully scooped a little Worcestershire sauce with a small spoon and poured it evenly into the pot.

Then, he picked up a small piece of butter and put it in when the beans were almost done stewing.

Finally, he gestured for Mrs. Gan to taste it, saying, "Mom, you should try it."

"Okay." Mrs. Gan took a bite with some skepticism, and was immediately stunned.

It was still the same ordinary beans and salted meat, but the taste had undergone a wonderful transformation...

It has an extra layer of indescribable rich and savory aroma and a very subtle sweet and sour aftertaste, and the texture has become much smoother, completely surpassing her previous versions.

"My God..." Mrs. Gan looked at Su Ning in astonishment, "Child, how...how did you do that?"

Su Ning blinked and replied in a slightly naive tone befitting his age: "Sister Mary said that a little something special can make ordinary food extraordinary."

……

From that day on, Suning officially began to participate in the kitchen work.

He demonstrated that he knew far more than just one or two seasonings.

He would suggest that Mrs. Gan add a small amount of corn kernels and chopped green peppers to the batter before baking cornbread to make it more flavorful; when making gravy, he would patiently scrape and utilize the "bottom of the pan" left from frying the meat to make the gravy more flavorful; he could even accurately judge the temperature of the roasted chicken to ensure that the skin was golden and crispy while the inside was tender and juicy.

Those traditional southern home-style dishes that were merely "filling" and "tasty" in Mrs. Gan's hands immediately became much more delicious and had a much higher level of sophistication after Suning made seemingly unintentional but actually forward-thinking adjustments.

The guests at the guesthouse were the first to notice the change.

"Mrs. Gan!" A regular fabric salesman exclaimed after finishing his dinner, "The fried chicken and gravy today were absolutely fantastic! I think they taste even better than that famous restaurant in Memphis!"

“Yes!” another passing insurance broker chimed in, “And this stewed beans are absolutely amazing! Every time I come to Greenfield Town, I look forward to this! Have you come up with some new recipe?”

Mrs. Gan beamed with joy as she listened to the guests' praise, and her heart was filled with happiness.

She looked at Su Ning, who was quietly helping to wash the dishes in the kitchen, her eyes filled with incredible surprise and deep satisfaction.

She bent down and put her arm around Su Ning's little shoulders. "Good child, my dear Su Ning... Mom really didn't expect you to have such talent! You are truly God's little lucky star for our family!"

She originally adopted Su Ning mainly to give Agan a companion and to provide insurance for her son's future. Little did she expect that this seemingly quiet and reserved Eastern boy would bring such an unexpected surprise.

Suning's arrival did not add to her burden; on the contrary, it made her homestay business even more prosperous due to the excellent food, and word of mouth spread quickly in a small area.

Although Agan didn't quite understand what had happened, he could sense that his mother was very happy, the food at home tasted even better, and he grinned foolishly along with her, calling out "Brother, Brother" to Su Ning even more enthusiastically.

Looking at Mrs. Gan's heartfelt smile and Agan's pure dependence, Su Ning felt a slight ripple in her heart beneath her calm exterior.

In this unfamiliar era and family, he began to find his own value and foothold through the knowledge he had acquired.

This is undoubtedly a good start to his next plan.

Using food to improve family conditions and build closer relationships with key figures is far more practical and effective than simply relying on the status of a seven-year-old child to talk about the future.

……

Although Suning demonstrated maturity and domestic skills far beyond his years, Mrs. Fowles Gan held a deeply ingrained belief that going to school was an essential part of children's growth and the foundation for having more choices in the future.

She absolutely did not want her children, whether her biological son Agan or her adopted son Suning, to become illiterate.

Therefore, at the start of the new semester, she prepared schoolbags and stationery for the two brothers and solemnly sent them to the only primary school in Greenfield Town.

She went through the legal adoption procedures, and with her special relationship with the principal, it was easy to send Su Ning and A Gan to school.

On the morning of the first day of school, the yellow school bus, panting heavily, stopped in front of the Gan family's house.

Mrs. Gan kissed her two sons' foreheads, carefully adjusted the position of Agan's leg braces, and straightened Su Ning's collar. "Agan, listen to your brother and teacher. Su Ning, take good care of Agan, and take good care of yourself too."

"Okay, Mom."

The train doors opened, and the carriage was already filled with children, their noise filling the air.

Forrest Gump, whose legs were constricted and who was also naturally slow-witted, stood at the car door looking somewhat lost and timid.

Su Ning followed behind him, her gaze calmly sweeping across the carriage.

Soon, he noticed the little girl sitting in the front row, with blonde curly hair, wearing a floral dress, and with a timid yet curious look in her eyes—Jenny Cullen.

This is the night owl girl destined for Forrest Gump, who only settled down at the very last moment of her life.

However, all the empty seats in the carriage were occupied.

A few mischievous white boys saw Forrest Gump, who was wearing leg braces and looked clumsy, and the unfamiliar Asian face behind him, and started to deliberately make a fuss.

"Look! Forrest Gump and his Chinese brother are here!"

"Hey, you idiots, move to the back! There's no room for you here!"

"Hey, you yellow-skinned brat, you're blocking my way!"

Amid the mockery, no one offered them their seats; some even deliberately placed their backpacks on the empty seats next to them.

Forrest Gump seemed used to this treatment, but he just kept his head down, muttering incoherently, looking even more lost.

Jenny looked at Forrest Gump with sympathy in her eyes, but she herself was a timid little girl and dared not utter a sound.

Just then, Suning, who had been silent all along, made its move.

He ignored the shrill noises and walked straight to the empty seat next to the fat boy who was shouting the loudest...

There was a backpack on the empty seat by the window.

"Take it away." Su Ning looked at the chubby boy, her voice not loud, but unusually clear.

The chubby boy felt a little uneasy under Su Ning's calm gaze, which was beyond his years.

But relying on his size, he defiantly puffed out his chest and said, "Why should I? This seat is for Billy! You and that idiot get to the back!"

Suning didn't waste any more words.

He stretched out his right hand and casually placed it on the steel seat back of the empty seat.

Then, under the watchful eyes of several children around him and the driver looking in the rearview mirror, he slightly tightened his fingers.

With a sickeningly sharp metallic crunch, the edge of the once straight steel chair back was dented by his bare hands, leaving several clear finger marks!

In an instant, the entire carriage fell silent.

All the mockery and jeering stopped abruptly.

The chubby boy stared wide-eyed at the deformed steel, his face drained of color, and his mouth gaped open, wide enough to fit an egg, filled with terror and disbelief.

The other children also gasped, looking at Su Ning as if she were a monster.

Su Ning released his grip as if he had done something insignificant, and looked at the chubby boy again, "Now, can you take it away?"

"Y-yes! Here you go! You can have the seat!" The chubby boy was terrified and hurriedly hugged the backpack inside to his chest.

He practically scrambled to get out of the way, shrinking to the back of the carriage, not daring to look at Su Ning again.

The other children around also subconsciously shifted their bodies, afraid of provoking this incredibly strong Eastern boy.

The crisis is over, and seats are available.

Su Ning looked at Agan, who was still standing there in a daze, and Jenny, who was staring at Agan the whole time.

He remembered the plot of the movie, where Forrest Gump and Jenny's friendship began on the school bus.

So instead of sitting down himself, he gently nudged Forrest Gump and pointed to the empty seat next to Jenny, "Forrest, go sit there."

Forrest Gump looked in the direction his brother pointed and saw the blonde little girl looking at him with a friendly gaze.

So he gave a silly smile, and then clumsily, leaning on his leg braces, moved over step by step and carefully sat down next to Jenny.

Jenny looked at Forrest sitting next to her and, unlike the other children, didn't reject him. Instead, she asked, "What... what happened to your leg?"

Forrest Gump honestly replied, "Mom said it was... a brace. It helps me walk."

Seeing that Forrest Gump had successfully struck up a conversation with Jenny, Su Ning finally sat down in the aisle seat she had "tried" earlier, which was located to the side and slightly behind Forrest Gump and Jenny.

The school bus restarted, and the bus returned to its noisy state, but no one dared to provoke or mock the special brothers anymore.

Forrest Gump and Jenny talked in hushed tones, sharing the small candies in their pockets.

Su Ning sat there quietly, gazing at the southern scenery rushing past the window.

Campus life won't be smooth sailing just because of one act of authority, but he has already drawn an inviolable line for himself and Forrest Gump in this little world in the most direct way.

And he will officially begin his journey of learning and planning in this era as Forrest Gump's brother.

The bent chair, like a silent declaration, quickly spread throughout Green Town Elementary School.

It's a new day again. The chubby boy from yesterday mustered up his courage and looked at Suning. "Hello! My name is Davis."

"Suning".

"Suning, you're so cool! Do you know Chinese Kung Fu?"

"That's enough! Don't bully Forrest Gump anymore."

"Got it! This guy next to me is Billy, my best friend. Can we hang out together from now on?"

"Okay!"

...(End of chapter)