Chapter 6: The Crooked Brothers

When Old Mrs. Su saw her third son protecting his wife, she became very angry.

“Okay, you third child, I just said, what are you doing as a family? Do you mean to say that my wife treats your family harshly?” Old Mrs. Su scolded angrily.

Su Laosan lowered his head cowardly, not daring to say a word.

The corners of Su Yin’s lowered lips curled up in disdain. This was not something that was obvious. Who in the entire Lijia Village didn’t know who didn’t know, so why was there any need to publicize it.

With the corner of his eye, he glanced at the people in the courtyard. The uncle and his second uncle’s family stood quietly watching the show, and even the cousins had indifferent and joking expressions on their faces.

Su Yin glanced at his two younger brothers, Su Xinyang and Su Xinguang. They were twins. It was very dangerous to give birth to twins in this era. After they were born, they faced death several times. They only saved their lives under the careful care of their grandmother and grandfather. But their bodies and bones were not as strong as other children.

The treatment of the two of them in the Su family was less favored than the children in the eldest uncle’s family and the second uncle’s family, but it was better than that of Su Yin. After all, they were younger.

Old man Su knocked on the cigarette pole and said to the old woman, “Okay, don’t say anything anymore. Third brother, take your wife and children back to get settled.”

“Okay, dad.”

Su Baozhu let go of his hand and went straight to their house.

Su’s mother helped Su Yin back to the simple wooden house. Su’s father went to fetch water, leaving only the mother and daughter in the house.

“Mom, there might really be chaos outside.”

“What should we do?”

“Don’t worry. Those are all my guesses, and they may not be accurate. It all depends on Brother Li Rui. However, we have to do more things first. Prepare.”

Mother Su calmed down and said, “Mom, I will listen to you.”

Su Yin did not argue, “Mom, you can talk to my grandma later and tell her to send me to my grandma’s house for a few days for treatment. Medicine for bruises.”

Given Old Mrs. Su’s tendency to take advantage, she would definitely agree.

This way, she would have enough time to continue purchasing supplies. Now that she had money, she needed to get more things to give herself more chances to survive before the catastrophe struck.

Mother Su looked at her feet, “Your feet…”

Su Yin shook her head at her.

“It’s okay.” Su’s mother breathed a sigh of relief, “Okay, I’ll tell you to nurse them later.”

At that moment, Su’s father came in with a wooden basin.

“You go to the main room to eat, as long as I’m here.”

Father Su looked at his daughter and then his wife hesitantly.

“Go quickly. Remember to get some food for my daughter.”

“Okay. Girl, you wait.”

Su Yin looked at the back of her father leaving. Her father was good at everything, kind to his wife and daughter, but he also tended to favor his daughter. He would often defer to their opinions. In the words of her previous life, he was a typical foolish and filial son.

If there was a conflict between his wife or daughter and his parents, he would just put on a bitter look and let his wife and children settle the matter.

It’s not without reason that she had lived such a constrained life all her life.

The only pillar of the family could not fully support them, so what confidence did they have to rely on?

In a feudal society, it was not easy for a daughter to live within a family. There were too many restrictions and limitations. If the men in the family did not provide support, it would only lead to misery.

“Creak” the door opened, and Su’s father came over with a bowl of rice, followed by two children.

Mother Su took a look and saw that the bottom of the porridge was clearly visible, with a few wild vegetable leaves floating on it, and her face suddenly darkened.

Su’s father also sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn’t confront his parents about it. He could only smile faintly and said softly to his daughter, “Da Ya, you have to make do with it for now. Tomorrow, daddy will go up the mountain to catch hares for you.”

“I don’t know whose stomach it will end up in after I catch it,” Mother Su said in a low voice, taking the bowl and chopsticks from her husband’s hands rudely.

“Mom, you can’t say that, you should respect your elders,” Su Xinyang said.

Su Xinguang echoed, “Sister is not an elder, why should I give it to her? Grandma said that the girl’s belongings are from other people’s houses. It’s all for nothing if I give them to her.”

Whereas the old Su Yin would have just lowered her head and felt sad alone, now she felt the urge to reprimand these two boys.

These two little boys had been influenced by Old Mrs. Su’s words.

“Don’t listen to your grandma’s nonsense. Yinyin is your sister, not an outsider,” Mother Su corrected.

The two boys showed their disapproval by curling their lips.

“Grandma said, if you don’t work every day, there is no need to eat for free,” Su Xinyang added.

“Did your grandma really say that?”

“That’s right. Grandma asked dad to tell sister,” Su Xinguang added.

Mother Su was so upset that she wiped away her tears.

Su Yin hugged her mother, leaned down, and whispered in her ear: “Mom, it’s going to be over soon.”

When Su’s mother heard this, the tears in her eyes suddenly stopped.

Yes, it will be over soon.

After the two heartless individuals left, the subdued Su’s father took out a black bag from his pocket and placed it into his daughter’s hand.

Su Yin knew it was food he had saved from his own portion.

In the Su family, her father worked the hardest, but when it came to food, compared to his uncle and second uncle, he ate the least and received the smallest share. Especially since the uncle was a scholar and the eldest son, he received priority in all good things.

The second uncle has a sweet mouth and is skilled at coaxing the elderly. The elderly lady often favored him with good things, but her father neither sought to please his parents nor was eloquent; he only knew how to work hard.

Su Yin handed the black wolf head back to her father.

He had to do a lot of farm work every day, and with insufficient food, his body easily weakened.

“You can enjoy delicious food when we enter the county town tomorrow, and tonight’s meal isn’t bad.”

However, due to her father’s persistence, she and Su’s mother departed from the nest.

The next day, Su’s mother sought Old Mrs. Su’s approval, and as expected, Old Mrs. Su readily agreed. She was keen to send Su Yin, who couldn’t work and could only eat plain rice, to her uncle’s house.

Su’s mother stayed to work, and Su Baozhu, who was not very nimble, assisted Su Yin back.

Once they were far enough from the village, Su Yin could finally walk normally.

The two returned to the cave, retrieved the silver ingot, and hurried to the county seat.

Noticing her sister-in-law’s anxious expression, Su Yin couldn’t help but advise, “Sister-in-law, you’ll raise suspicion if you keep acting this way. Stop peering into the basket. Let’s just act as if we don’t have the money.”

“I’m not afraid of losing it.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

“What are we going to buy today?”

Su Yin glanced at her mended clothes and then at her sister-in-law standing beside her.

“We’re buying clothes.”

Upon entering the county town, Su Yin headed straight to the grocery store and purchased a pair of scissors.

Twelve taels of silver ingots, still high-quality, stood out when held by a peasant girl in patched clothing, making them too conspicuous and prone to attracting trouble.

The next item she intended to buy wasn’t suitable for her current attire.

Finding a secluded spot, Su Yin took out a silver ingot from her pocket and proceeded to cut it into fine pieces.