Chapter 143 : Powerless

Wang Shulian wanted to smile at her, but she couldn’t manage it. Finally, she lowered her head and said, “Su Xieqiu, I’m going to work now.”  

Su Xieqiu felt deeply uncomfortable seeing a smile that was more sorrowful than crying.  

She glanced again at the silent boy standing next to Wang Shulian. Aunt Qiuyue had mentioned his name was Daniu. He was 11 years old but looked as thin as an 8 or 9-year-old.  

Daniu was holding the hand of a little girl whose hair was thin and yellow, a clear sign of severe malnutrition.  

While life was tough for everyone in the countryside, and both adults and children were generally thin, it was rare for a child with both parents to be so emaciated.  

Feeling a pang of pity, Su Xieqiu reached into her pocket and found a few candies. She took them out and handed them to Daniu, saying, “Share these with your siblings.”  

Without waiting for a response, she took An An’s hand and walked away.  

In the countryside, there were too many families in similar circumstances. Though she felt sympathy, she was just an ordinary person with no means to intervene in others’ family matters.  

She believed people ultimately had to rely on themselves to change their situations.  

Daniu looked at the candies in his hand, wanting to return them, but by then, Su Xieqiu was already out of sight.  

“Mom, what should I do with this candy?”  

Wang Shulian looked at the candies in her son’s hand, then at Su Xieqiu’s fading figure, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.  

She quickly lowered her head, afraid her children would see her crying.  

After a moment, she forced a smile and said to Daniu, “Auntie gave it to you, so eat it. Just remember to thank her next time you see her.”  

“Okay, Mom,” Daniu replied.  

He peeled a piece of candy for each of his younger siblings, carefully placing it in their mouths.  

Then, when his mother wasn’t looking, he quietly slipped one into her mouth.  

There were three candies left, but Daniu didn’t eat any of them. Instead, he put them carefully in his pocket, saving them for his siblings next time.  

Seeing her son’s actions, Wang Shulian said, “Daniu, you should eat one too.”  

Daniu shook his head, replying, “Mom, I don’t like sweet things.”  

Hearing her son’s words, Wang Shulian felt her heart ache to the point of numbness. Even the sweetness of the candy in her mouth couldn’t suppress the bitterness she felt inside.  

She said, “If you don’t eat it, then I won’t eat mine either.”  

Reluctantly, Daniu ate one candy.  

Watching her son eat it, Wang Shulian quietly turned her head and spit her candy out, planning to give it to her daughter later.  

Since the girl was born, she had been unwanted simply because she was a girl.  

After that beast of a husband started a relationship with Widow Liu, he didn’t even treat his son as a human being, let alone his daughter.  

Every day, he either beat or scolded her. The girl had been working in the fields since she was six years old to earn work points, yet she had never had a full meal.  

—  

After returning home, Su Xieqiu and An An took a nap. When she woke up, she started making winter clothes for the family.  

She was grateful to have a sewing machine at home. If she had to sew everything by hand, she’d never finish in time.  

When An An woke up and didn’t see Chenchen, she tugged on Su Xieqiu’s clothes and said, “Auntie, where’s brother? Let’s go find brother.”  

Glancing at the clock, Su Xieqiu saw it was already past three o’clock. Worried about Chenchen, she took An An to the fields.  

The autumn harvest was nearly over, and the weather was turning colder.  

Chenchen, Goudan, and a few other children had spent the entire afternoon in the fields, searching for leftover beans. Together, they had managed to gather only a small handful.  

The children were disappointed. Goudan sighed, “This isn’t even enough to cook. My grandma definitely won’t fry them for me.”  

Chenchen, however, encouraged him, “If we come here every day to pick beans, won’t they add up over time?”  

Goudan sighed and said, “You’re so dumb. The beans are almost all harvested. Where are you going to find more to pick?”  

Chenchen, upset at being called stupid, pouted and retorted, “You’re the dumb one! I’ve picked up more beans than you, and you’re calling me dumb? Shame on you!”  

Goudan, who had always seen himself as an older brother to Chenchen, felt embarrassed being contradicted in front of the other kids.  

He snapped angrily, “How dare you call me dumb? I’m not playing with you anymore!”  

“Humph! If you don’t want to play, then don’t! Who cares?”  

Chenchen, also feeling wronged, wouldn’t back down. He grabbed his small cloth bag and stormed off, muttering as he went, “You were the one who called me stupid first. Why can’t I say it back? You’re so bossy and mean. I’ll never play with you again.”  

The other kids looked at each other in confusion, unsure why the two had suddenly started fighting.  

Goudan watched Chenchen leave, feeling a little guilty, but he was too proud to call him back. He snorted and turned away but kept sneaking glances to see if Chenchen was really gone.  

Han Lei, who was tying up harvested beans nearby, saw Chenchen approaching alone and asked with a smile, “Chenchen, how many beans did you manage to pick?”  

“Not much,” Chenchen replied, opening his small cloth bag for Han Lei to see.  

“That’s quite a lot! Pick some more, and ask your aunt to cook them for you tonight,” Han Lei encouraged with a grin.  

Chenchen shook his head, pouting, “I don’t want to pick anymore, Uncle. Goudan doesn’t want to play with me, so I want to go home.”  

Han Lei asked in surprise, “Oh? What happened? Did you two have a fight?”  

Just a moment ago, the kids had been thick as thieves, and now there was a falling out?  

Chenchen, confident that he was in the right, recounted everything that had happened, leaving no detail unspoken.  

Han Lei listened, glancing over at Goudan, who was stealing guilty looks in their direction. Han Lei found the situation amusing and called out, “Goudan, come here for a second!”  

By the time Su Xieqiu arrived with An An, Han Lei had already smoothed things over. The two boys had shaken hands, made peace, and were back to happily picking beans together.  

An An stood at the edge of the field, calling excitedly, “Brother! Brother!”  

Chenchen looked up and saw her. He quickly ran out of the field, exclaiming, “Auntie Su! An An! Why are you here?”  

Smiling, Su Xieqiu teased, “I was worried you might pick up so much that you couldn’t carry it, so I came to help you out!”  

“Auntie, I didn’t pick up much,” Chenchen said, a little embarrassed.  

He remembered thinking earlier that his bag was too small. If Aunt Su hadn’t stopped him, he might have brought a big sack. Thinking about it now, he was glad he hadn’t how embarrassing would that have been?  

When Su Xieqiu opened his small cloth bag, she saw only about twenty or thirty soybeans.  

Stifling a laugh, she said, “Wow, that’s a lot! We can fry these up for dinner tonight.”  

Hearing her praise, Chenchen felt proud. “Auntie, I think I picked up more than Goudan did!”  

“Our Chenchen is so capable!” Su Xieqiu said with a thumbs-up.  

Chenchen beamed with pride, his eyes sparkling with happiness.  

Taking out a water bottle from her bag, Su Xieqiu offered it to him. “You must be thirsty. Have some water.”  

Chenchen took it and drank a few big gulps before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “My second uncle gave me some water earlier too,” he said.  

Nodding, Su Xieqiu smiled and pulled out an oil-paper bag containing a few cookies.  

“Chenchen, eat a couple now, and share the rest with Goudan and the others.”  

“Thank you, Auntie Su!”  

Chenchen, feeling a little hungry, quickly ate two cookies before taking the rest to share with his friends.