Chapter 27: The Mental Block of Su Laotai

The Su family’s nanny goat gave birth.

When Yan Qi and Yan Xing went to milk the goat, they happened to see the nanny goat hiding in a corner, trembling as it stood, tail raised high, with a puddle of amniotic fluid and blood leaking out. The two kids had never seen anything like this and immediately thought the goat was going to die.

They rushed to report to Su Laotai, who was startled. She quickly brought people to the barn and found that the nanny goat was perfectly fine and had safely delivered two lambs. She laughed and slapped the two boys, then ushered the goat and its lambs into a warmer warehouse, where she prepared a mix of hay, wheat bran, and rice husks to feed them.

When Su Laoer and Su Laowu returned, Su Laotai and a few of the daughters-in-law had already prepared pig lard, a pot of thick and fragrant potato rice, fried cabbage with crispy pork skin, and a stew made with an old duck and sour radish. The stew included some dried beans that the Su family had left over from their boat trip. There were just two dishes, but they were generously portioned, and the salt was abundant. The smell of the food wafted across the entire village.

The family had the most filling meal they had ever had. After dinner, while sitting in the main hall, Su Laotai left them, carrying a bundle, and went to the east wing’s hall.

In the center of the hall was an altar for worshipping the Buddha or ancestral spirits. After the Yun family moved away, it had been empty. When Su Laotai moved in, she cleaned the altar thoroughly.

From the bundle, she took out a frequently wiped and glossy tablet, placing it on the altar. She lit an incense stick, bowed to the tablet, then placed it in the incense burner. In a soft voice, she muttered, “Su Shanqing, you must bless me, our son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren with peace and prosperity. Otherwise, next time we flee, I won’t bring you along and will leave you as a lonely soul wandering in the Central Plains.”

After saying this, Su Laotai poured a cup of wine onto the ground.

“Yi ya~”

Su Huan, wearing a small cotton jacket, like a little ball, hung around Laowu’s neck. When she saw Su Laotai, she happily pointed at her and said, “Yi ya!”

Laowu smiled, kissed her on the cheek, and carried her inside. “Mother, you’re here alone again to worship Father.”

“There’s no helping it, I miss him.”

Su Laotai smiled and brought Su Huan over, poking at her with her finger. “Is my good granddaughter looking for Grandma? Would you like to sleep with Grandma tonight?”

“Yi ya~”

Su Huan grinned, showing her two newly grown baby teeth.

Su Laotai held her tightly, not wanting to put her down, and pointed at the tablet. “Good granddaughter, this is your grandfather. Grandma’s name was changed by him. Your grandfather was the first scholar in our village, and he was also very strong.”

“Yi ya~”

Su Huan nodded, listening carefully.

Laowu rummaged through the bundle and, finding no second tablet, couldn’t help but turn to her. “Mother, we should also set up a tablet for Big Brother. Otherwise, he’ll become a lonely soul with no home.”

After Su Renli disappeared while traveling to Beijing to take an exam many years ago, Su Laotai had never believed he was dead. She was convinced that as long as his body wasn’t found, he wasn’t dead, and she insisted on waiting for him to return.

Su Laotai’s face instantly fell, and she slapped him on the forehead. “What nonsense are you talking about? Do you want your elder brother to die? We did make it to Beijing. Your elder brother went missing while heading there for the exam. Maybe he’s in Beijing right now. Or maybe, like in those dramas, he lost his memory or something else happened, so he couldn’t come back to recognize us.”

Laowu, hearing even such absurd reasons, was somewhat helpless. “Mother…”

Su Laotai, holding Su Huan, gently patted her and looked serious. “Ever since our family had Wuyi, our luck has improved. With your father’s blessing, if we search in Beijing, we might really find him. If I, as his mother, give up, then that’s when he’s really dead!”

So Grandma has always wanted to find Big Brother?

Su Huan’s dark eyes flashed, and she clenched her little fist.

Laowu sighed and then got to the point. “But what if we can’t find him? Back in the Central Plains, we’ve been asking about Big Brother’s whereabouts. We even sold a lot of the family’s cattle and land. On this journey, whenever we meet a scholar, you ask if they know a ‘Su Renli.’ If we can’t find him, are you going to keep searching? Mother, that’s not realistic.”

“Our family has so many people, and we rely on you to lead us forward. If you carry this thorn in your heart, we can’t be at ease.”

Su Huan quickly pinched his arm to make him stop talking.

Su Laotai frowned, interrupting him. “Enough, I’ll go look for him. And I still stand by what I said. Until we find his body, no one is to set up a tablet for him!”

Laowu rubbed his arm, feeling the pressure of his mother’s firm attitude. He didn’t bring it up again but changed the topic, talking about the fireworks that Yan Qi and Yan Xing had set off. Su Laotai sighed inwardly, dropped the topic, and became interested in watching the little grandsons set off more fireworks.

The night was full of the sounds of fireworks cracking, with sparks flashing in the dark, and even the village dogs joined in barking. It was a lively scene.

That night, Su Huan and Su Laotai slept together on the kang.

Late into the night, the little bundle suddenly opened her eyes, climbed up, and forcefully pulled a strand of Su Laotai’s hair. After performing a search spell on it, she watched as the hair transformed into a bird and disappeared from view. Then she smiled and snuggled back into Su Laotai’s arms to sleep.

The next day, the Su family got up early. After washing up, Su Laotai went to find Zhang Hongzhuang, taking Su Laoer, Su Laosan, and Li Sumei with her to buy land from the village chief, Wang Baorui.

Wu Chunhe, Zhang Xiaolan, and Liu Yingying stayed home to cut cloth and make clothes.

Some of the bedding from the Yun family had been left behind, some were still new, but they had been stored for too long and needed airing before use. The Su family had made do with them for the last couple of nights. Now that they had new cloth and cotton, the women needed to quickly sew a few more quilts. The remaining cotton was given to Liu Yingying to make clothes.

Su Huan didn’t go out with Su Laotai today. She had panda eyes and didn’t feel like going out, so after the four brothers finished their work, they took turns playing with her.

In the east wing, the Su family lived in peaceful and harmonious circumstances.

Zhang Family:

“What did you say? Your father and aunt went to the village chief to buy land?”

After hearing Zhang Laoda’s report, Zhang Lishi slapped the table in anger. “This Zhang Hongzhuang, who does he think he is? Is he on our side or Su family’s?”

Qian Cuimiao also complained. “Our father is so clueless!”

Zhang Laoda felt uneasy. “Mother, the Su family is not like poor relatives. After Su Laoer’s wife and Su Laowu’s wife went back yesterday, not long after, Su Laosan and Su Laosi came back with a huge cart of goods. What they said about Su Laosan and Su Laosi’s wife being ill was a lie! Now father has moved out, could it be that he really wants to split from us and go live with the Su family?”

Zhang Lishi’s face darkened. “He dares! I won’t even talk about splitting. What right does he have to say that? Does he think he can divorce me?”

Qian Cuimiao’s eyes flashed as she suddenly said, “That’s not necessarily the case.”

Zhang Lishi and Zhang Laoda immediately looked at her.

Qian Cuimiao explained her thoughts, “In the past, our father didn’t have relatives. Now that they’ve come, and the Su family is so powerful, he has more confidence, doesn’t he?”

“If father exaggerates what we’ve done for him over the years, even bringing up how you, mother, helped his brother-in-law get rid of his house in Beijing, Auntie would probably tear us apart!”

Bang!

Zhang Lishi was startled, slamming the table angrily. “Laoda, go to your uncle’s house right now! Tell him I have something urgent to discuss with him, and ask him to bring more people!”