The day before New Year’s Eve, Su Qingyu returned to the Lu family.

After lunch, Wu Shi called Su Qingyu in front of the whole family and asked her about the income of the shop this year.

“Not bad; after deducting the labor and the rent of the shop, there is still a little left.” Su Qingyu said lightly while touching her belly, which had grown a lot.

“That’s good, that’s good. You just started a business; it’s very good to be able to make a profit. How many people have been doing business for many years and still lose money?” Lu Shengcai was very happy, took a sip of tea, and was in a good mood.

Wu Shi glanced at Su Qing’an’s belly and said leisurely, “You are about to give birth after the New Year. If you are too heavy to go to the shop, I am afraid that something might go wrong. Then I will take the trouble to take your sister to help you so that you can rest and recuperate. There are also a few employees in your shop, so you don’t have to worry about being busy. When I don’t know how to do it, I can also ask you, and you can give me some pointers, and you don’t have to worry.”

Wu Shi looked like she was planning for Su Qingyu.

“Ah? You’re going to help Bocheng’s store?” Lu Shengcai was a little surprised.

Wu Shi looked at Lu Shengcai with a reproachful look: “You are a father-in-law, and you are going to be a grandfather soon, but you are still thinking about your small grocery store. Look at how big Bocheng’s wife’s belly is. She can’t walk a few steps and can’t even go home. Can you still let her run the store? She has just this one store in this town. Do you want to see her lose money?”

Lu Shengcai glanced at Su Qingyu’s belly, touched his beard, and felt that Wu Shi was right.

This was Bocheng’s first child, his first grandson. If something happened to Bocheng, this child would be the only blood of Bocheng left in the world, and he couldn’t afford to lose it.

Just as he was about to nod, Su Qingyu glanced at his face and said, “Thank you for your concern, parents. I won’t give birth until March. I’m from the countryside, so I’m not that precious. My mother was working in the fields the day before she gave birth to us. It’s good for me to move more so that it won’t be difficult when I give birth.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Lu Yuzhu laughing, “You don’t know what’s good for you!”

Lu Bozu also looked at her coldly.

Su Qingyu just glanced at the two of them and looked away. Lu Shengcai scolded Lu Yuzhu, “How do you talk to your dasao?”

He turned to Su Qingyu and said, “It’s good that you have an idea. When the time comes, ask your sister to help you more. If you have any difficulties, tell Dad at any time, and Dad will help you. Our family has been in the town for more than ten years, and Dad still has some connections in the town.”

Su Qingyu thanked him, “Thank you, Dad. If there is anything I can’t handle, I will ask Dad for help.”

“Well, okay, just ask Dad.”

Wu Shi glared at Lu Shengcai, angry that he stood on Su Shi’s side.

If Lu Shengcai spoke for her and pressured her as an elder, for the sake of the Lu family bloodline, as long as Su Shi still wanted to be a member of the Lu family, for the sake of Lu Bocheng’s bloodline, she would give up the shop.

When she took over the shop, she would have the money for Bo Zu’s exam and the marriage preparation next year.

At that time, her family members could not say anything. After all, bloodline and offspring were the most important.

Wu Shi gritted her teeth and said, “We haven’t divided the family yet, so you shouldn’t have private property. The money you earn should go back to the family for household expenses. Next year, your brothers will take exams and get married, and Bo Zong will go to school. The whole family needs money everywhere. You are the eldest son and daughter-in-law in the family. In the future, the family will be handed over to you, and it is naturally your responsibility to support the family”.

Su Qingyu listened quietly. She had anticipated this a long time ago.

If the shop was not run well, Wu Shi would laugh at her and force her to close it so that she would stay at home and serve her. If the shop was run well and money was earned, Wu Shi would be jealous.

Her three children needed to study and get married, and they valued every penny as much as a gong. So they could always find ways to get money from her.

Su Qingyu was still thinking about how to reply to Wu Shi when Lu Shengcai spoke: “Why do you need her to support the family? Is the money earned from the grocery store not enough for you? When Bo Zu got engaged, she gave twenty taels as the eldest sister-in-law. How much profit can her shop make in a month?”

Wu Shi was disdainful. If she took out twenty taels at once, would she not have a hundred or eighty taels in her hand?

She gave Aunt Zhou one tael of reward today, and Aunt Zhou was not as happy as in previous years. It was obvious that Su Shi gave that mother-in-law and daughter more than she did. The grandmother and granddaughter must have earned more wages from the store than she did, so she didn’t care about one tael of silver.

Wu Shi was unwilling to be compared with Su Shi, but she calculated how much money Su Shi had every night.

For a young wife who married from the countryside, whose husband was not sure whether he was alive or dead and was about to be left alone, to hold a lot of silver in her hands, she must be going to heaven! She no longer had her mother-in-law in her eyes.

“Look at those who haven’t divided their family; which young generation has private property? Which one has money in their hands? Besides, Bocheng has already started a family; doesn’t he have a share of the responsibility to support the family?”

Lu Shengcai frowned. “We don’t know where Bocheng is now or whether he is sick or injured. He is fighting outside in the name of the family, and he doesn’t eat well or sleep well. He may not even be able to save his life. Do you still want him to support the family? If I say it, others will probably point at my nose and scold me! And I’ve said that Bocheng’s shop is her dowry, not for household expenses. Don’t talk about asking her to take household expenses in the future!”

Lu Shengcai made the final decision.

Wu Shi was speechless.

Lu Shengcai usually didn’t take charge of things, and Wu Shi had the final say at home, but he could still suppress her at critical moments.

Su Qingyu calmed down after hearing this, lowered her eyebrows, and said: “I don’t know if Bocheng will come back yet, I have to make some plans for the child…”

Lu Shengcai said repeatedly, “It should be. With me as a grandfather, the child will have food and drink. You don’t have to worry; just give birth to the child.”

Su Qingyu nodded gratefully to him and then said, “As the eldest sister-in-law, it is my duty to help the family when Bocheng is not here. This year, Dad has to take care of the shop so that there will be some money left. I have prepared New Year gifts for my parents and my younger brothers and sisters, and I will give them to you the day after tomorrow morning.”

Lu Bozong grinned and said happily to Su Qingyu, “Thank you, sister-in-law!” He was happiest to receive gifts.

Lu Yuzhu rolled her eyes at him.

Su Qingyu said goodbye and went back to her room.

Walking in the small courtyard of the Lu family, it was winter, and the wind made her face hurt. There was no green in the courtyard, which looked a bit desolate. There was no warmth at all, like Su Qingyu’s mood at the moment.

Back in the room, she picked up some of Lu Bocheng’s clothes and flipped through them. It had been half a year since he left, and his image had gradually become blurred. The New Year was coming, and this year he left her alone with the Lu family. Without him, she didn’t feel the slightest bit of New Year’s festivity.

But she still had good food and drink, a soft bed, and a pillow, but she didn’t know where he was at this moment or whether he had a hot meal. It was the New Year; there shouldn’t be a war, right? Was he still alive?

Su Qingyu touched those clothes back and forth and fell asleep on the couch.

Author’s Note ^[1]I wanted to write about a warm bed and a warm quilt, but I was afraid that it would be blocked out. Fortunately, Chinese is profound, and some words and phrases can be used as substitutes. I … Continue reading

(End of this chapter)