Chapter 8: Su Zhiqiang’s Little Scheme

Su Yue saw the faint sadness in her parents’ expressions, so she picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of braised pork on each of their plates.

With a playful look and a hint of seeking praise, she said,
“Dad, Mom, quickly try the braised pork I cooked. Is it good or not?”

Su Dahai’s usually furrowed brows instantly relaxed at his daughter’s words, and he smiled repeatedly, saying,
“Mm, it’s good, it’s good. Whatever my daughter cooks tastes good.”

Su Yue giggled, her eyes curved like crescent moons, and teased,
“Dad, you haven’t even tasted it yet and you already say it’s good!”

Su Dahai looked a bit embarrassed, scratched his head and chuckled, then took a piece of braised pork from the bowl and put it in his mouth.
“Mm, really good! My daughter’s cooking is better than the chefs at those big restaurants in the city!”

Next to them, Su Zhiqiang’s heart was full of mixed feelings. The aroma of the braised pork lingered in his nose, but it couldn’t stir his appetite. Silently, he turned and dragged his heavy steps toward his room.

Wu Xiulian saw her husband retreating inside. Already frustrated because she hadn’t eaten the braised pork, she couldn’t help but complain,
“Look at your little sister, the family cooks meat and she doesn’t even invite us to eat; she just eats it all by herself. Just because she’s become a city person, she’s turned her back on us relatives. By the way, where did that dead girl Hongmei run off to?”

Su Zhiqiang sat down on the kang bed and said in a low voice,
“Hongmei was left at Wu’s by mother-in-law.”

Wu Xiulian’s elder sister-in-law had just had a baby, and during the busy farming season, Wu Xiulian’s mother often took the six-year-old Hongmei to help take care of the grandchild.

Seeing her husband looking so dejected, Wu Xiulian felt a pang of worry and straightened up to ask,
“Zhiqiang, what’s wrong?”

Su Zhiqiang sighed,
“Dad said we’re dividing the family. From now on, we’ll live separately and eat separately. When the eldest and third brothers come back, Mom and Dad will move to the new house.”

Wu Xiulian was very upset and raised her voice,
“Dividing the family? Dad and Mom won’t live with us anymore?”

Su Zhiqiang nodded helplessly, his expression gloomy.

Wu Xiulian immediately shouted,
“Why? Why can Dad and Mom move to the new house and leave us stuck in this old shack? No way! I have to talk to them. Are you still their real son? And what about our grandson Bao’er? Do they want him or not?” Saying this, she made to rush outside.

Su Zhiqiang grabbed her,
“Enough. We’ve been married six years. During these six years, we’ve been relying on Mom and Dad to support us, we should be grateful. Besides, that new house was paid for by the eldest and third brothers. We didn’t contribute a single cent back then, so it’s not right to hold a grudge about their house.”

The village was small; any family gossip quickly spread. The fact that his wife sold the family grain and took the work points separately had already become village talk. People gossiped a lot about their family relying on the parents.

When he just came back with the baby, villagers said he didn’t want work points during busy farming but went to help his father-in-law’s family instead.

He didn’t even have the courage to argue and could only swallow his anger silently.

Wu Xiulian pouted, dissatisfied,
“Why can’t we want it? Their household registrations have all moved out. Do they still want to keep the house?”

Su Zhiqiang looked at his wife with a mix of frustration and care, and said,
“Are you crazy? This is our life now. Do you want our son to be like us? Our eldest is in the army; the third is at the capital’s machinery factory. If they just give us a little support, we won’t worry about food and clothes. Our son’s future still depends on their help. Don’t risk offending them over one house.”

Wu Xiulian’s anger eased a bit hearing this. She thought of the things the eldest and third brothers had sent back — milk powder for the child and some rare items — all real benefits.

Still reluctant, she mumbled quietly,
“But now that the family’s divided, will they still send us things like before?”

Su Zhiqiang was confident,
“So what if the family’s divided? We’re still in the same brigade. The eldest and third brothers are filial and won’t neglect us for the sake of Mom and Dad. They’ve helped us plenty.”

Wu Xiulian pouted and said coquettishly,
“I’m hungry.”

Su Zhiqiang reached out his hand and said,
“Give me ten yuan. Later I’ll talk to Mom and Dad about giving them ten yuan every month as food money.”

Wu Xiulian’s eyes widened in shock,
“Ten yuan? Why don’t they go rob a bank! That’s too much!”

Su Zhiqiang angrily pointed at the milk powder in the room,
“What’s too much? Look at the milk powder the eldest and third brothers sent for Bao’er—how much does that cost?”

Seeing her husband angry, Wu Xiulian pouted again, then painfully took out ten yuan from her pocket.

After Shen Qiuxia collected the payment, she stored the grain in the big jar in the kitchen.

Before going to work, Su Zhiqiang finished cooking the meal.

“Little sister’s braised pork is really delicious, eat more,” he said.

Wu Xiulian noticed that only four pieces of braised pork were left, and her husband had taken three for himself, so she quickly took one back, saying, “You’re not well and you work hard, let’s eat together.”

The Ling Family

The Ling family gathered again to have dinner.

Since the afternoon, Ling Xiangbei’s mouth had been smiling, his face showing joy that he couldn’t hide. Zhang Cuihua was equally delighted, radiating happiness.

Liu Lanxiang frowned with disdain.

That youngest son was just going to marry a countryside girl, yet they were all so happy. That girl probably had some bewitching skills; maybe they weren’t exactly innocent back in school. The mother-in-law was really biased — it’s just the youngest son getting married, why are they all so excited? The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, her displeasure becoming more obvious.

Ling Jianguo looked at his wife and youngest son happily, and asked with a smile, “Is the wedding date set?”

Zhang Cuihua’s smile was about to overflow. “The wedding date is set, but we still need to wait for their side to confirm. The bride price is 168 yuan, plus a bicycle ticket. When Yueyue is free, we’ll let them pick out furniture themselves. Then we’ll replace all the furniture in the youngest son’s room with new ones and decorate it nicely…”

“What?!” Liu Lanxiang immediately exploded in dissatisfaction and shouted, “She’s just a countryside girl, why such a big bride price?”

Before she could continue, Zhang Cuihua interrupted her sharply, already upset inside. Seeing her daughter-in-law shouting at her, she was furious.

“Why are you yelling? You and Xiaojuan had the same 168 yuan bride price. You got a watch ticket, Xiaojuan got a sewing machine ticket. We didn’t give more for the youngest son’s wedding either.”

But Liu Lanxiang wouldn’t let it go: “Back when we got married, we didn’t change the furniture. Besides, she’s just a countryside girl—how can she compare to us? We have city hukou and grain quotas; what can she use to compare?”

Zhang Cuihua rolled her eyes at her eldest daughter-in-law. “Yueyue’s hukou has already been transferred to the county, so she also has a grain quota. Besides, she has a formal job!”

As soon as she said this, her two sons and daughter-in-law were stunned.

With job opportunities scarce, it was hard to find formal employment. They had been running around trying to get jobs for their wives but failed. They didn’t expect Su Yue, a countryside girl, to be so lucky.

Ling Xiangxin smiled and said, “No wonder Sister Su graduated but left her things in the dormitory—she was here looking for a job.”

Ling Jianguo asked curiously, “Why hasn’t the wedding date been fixed yet?”

Zhang Cuihua thought about it and smiled even wider. “Her eldest brother is in the southern army, now already a company commander. Her third brother works in a machinery factory in the capital. Both brothers love their only sister dearly. We have to ask them when they can come back first.”

Ling Xiangdong was full of jealousy, wondering how the youngest son got so lucky to have such a good in-law family. Ling Xiangnan patted Ling Xiangbei’s shoulder and laughed, “Not bad, youngest son, you’re lucky!”

Ling Xiangbei smiled broadly, showing his white teeth.

Ling Jianguo was surprised, “Really?”

Zhang Cuihua proudly said, “Of course! And the Su family spoils their daughter — the entire bride price was given to Yueyue, plus a dowry. We don’t know what kind of luck our kid had to meet such a good family.”

Ling Xiangbei grinned cheekily, “Mom, I told you, Yueyue is a good girl.”

Zhang Cuihua smiled and nodded, “Yes, she really is a good girl.”

Liu Lanxiang listened with jealousy flashing in her eyes, sneering quietly to herself: “Maybe she’s sickly, otherwise why would the youngest son pick her?”