Chapter 31: After being with an eagle, how could a woman possibly fancy a sparrow?

Su Luyun started complimenting Aunt Qian. “If we’re talking about someone with a good eye, it has to be you, Auntie. I heard that the reason Brother Kaishan ended up becoming an apprentice at the furniture factory back then was because you gritted your teeth and spent quite a bit of money to send him there?”

“How did you know that?” Aunt Qian asked with a half-playful smile.

“My mom told me.” Su Luyun said. “She said in this whole neighborhood, it’s you who has the sharpest eye. It was because of your wise decision back then that Brother Kaishan now holds such a stable job!”

What was called being an apprentice really just meant buying someone else’s job.

When someone was about to retire, but didn’t have family members to take over, they would sell the position.

Outwardly, they’d just say it was being handed over to a relative’s child. Everyone understood the unspoken rule.

However, even after taking over the position, it didn’t come with the treatment of a master craftsman—you had to start learning from scratch, which was why it was called becoming an apprentice.

Aunt Qian was absolutely delighted. “Don’t say it—your Auntie here really did have guts back then!”

Back then, others were all hesitating, because the asking price was too high, and there wasn’t a single discount. But she had the courage and insisted on borrowing money to secure that apprentice position for her son!

She even went to borrow a sum from Ms. Chen Aihong. Chen Aihong wasn’t stingy either—she lent the money!

Aunt Qian had always remembered this kindness.

And her son, Qian Kaishan, really lived up to it. After entering the job, he did all kinds of tasks and improved quickly.

Although in the early years life was tough for a while, things gradually got better!

Now her son had long since mastered the skills. Even if his wages weren’t especially high, when he came back home he could still take on jobs. Around here, no one doubted his craftsmanship.

Aunt Qian always felt proud because of that!

And today, Su Luyun’s well-played round of mutual compliments had really scratched exactly where Aunt Qian itched.

The two of them chatted as they shopped for vegetables.

After finishing with the vegetables, they moved on to buying meat.

They couldn’t buy pork, but fish was still an option.

Originally, they were going to go with the usual duo—crucian carp and tofu—but when Su Luyun spotted loaches nearby, her eyes lit up.

Without hesitation, she switched to loaches!

Loach tofu soup was also especially fragrant!

“Yun Yun, loaches have too strong of an earthy taste. How about we pick something else?” Aunt Qian asked when she saw.

“No worries. I know how to deal with it. The loach tofu soup I make doesn’t have any muddy taste—it’ll actually be really fresh.” Su Luyun smiled.

Aunt Qian asked how she would do it.

Su Luyun listed out the necessary ingredients—green onions, ginger, garlic, sauce, sugar, and so on—then explained how to kill the loaches, pan-fry them in oil, and once the timing was just right, pour in boiling water and tofu, and simmer over medium heat for fifteen minutes.

Aunt Qian clicked her tongue in amazement.

Even in the city, oil was precious. For a single loach tofu dish to require all this preparation—she couldn’t manage that.

But she didn’t think Su Luyun was wasteful or didn’t know how to run a household, because she knew the Su family’s situation was quite good.

Otherwise, how could Su Luyun cook like this? She must’ve learned it at home.

This was just how people like that lived, so where was the waste in it?

But as for herself, Aunt Qian still just bought a fish that only needed salt, soy sauce, green onions, and garlic to be stewed.

Once the fish was bought, they headed home.

Su Luyun looked at her vegetable basket. She had simply swapped out the cucumber she’d had the past couple of days for loofah, and replaced the crucian carp with loach. Everything else was more or less the same as what she’d bought in the previous days.

But don’t say she was buying the same things again and again—this was just how the vegetable markets were during this time. Especially when it wasn’t a holiday season, how could there be a wide variety of fresh poultry, fish, or seafood to choose from?

It just wasn’t possible.

It had been pure luck yesterday to run into an old man from her hometown selling chickens.

Unless one went to check out the so-called legendary black market, the selection of ingredients might be richer over there. But Su Luyun had no plans to go at the moment—maybe she’d check it out when she had time later.

On the way back chatting with Aunt Qian, they also ran into a few other neighbors, who all greeted them in passing.

Everyone responded politely.

Su Luyun didn’t pay much attention. After saying goodbye to Aunt Qian, she went home and cooked congee with an egg for Zhou Changdong. Giving him a bowl of this Vermilion Bird Soup in the morning was the most suitable nourishment.

Once the Vermilion Bird Soup was ready, she didn’t forget to bring the chicken and chicken broth she planned to serve at noon to a boil, so it wouldn’t spoil easily if left sitting.

As the soup cooled, she went outside to practice Ba Duan Jin.

After a full round of Ba Duan Jin, the Vermilion Bird Soup was nicely warm. She brought it in to feed Zhou Changdong.

While feeding him, she also started venting about what happened that morning. “You have no idea how disgusted I was. I warned him before, and he had backed off. But now that he heard about your situation, he actually came to pester me again, saying that you couldn’t give me happiness, and he could!”

“You don’t even know how furious I was!”

“Where the hell did that bastard Sun get the confidence to compare himself to you?”

“After being with an eagle, how could a woman possibly fancy a sparrow?”

“What pissed me off even more was my cousin acting as his accomplice!”

“I used to treat her so well, and she turns around and stabs me in the back!”

“She knows my heart is all on you. She also knows that scumbag Sun is no good. But she still kept coming to plead for him in front of me!”

“……”

While feeding Zhou Changdong his Vermilion Bird Soup, she grumbled on and on.

Her tone was full of grievance, like a delicate little wife with no man to rely on.

Zhou Changdong truly felt both anxious and guilty!

It was all because he was useless. Everything was because he was useless!

If he hadn’t become a cripple, how could his wife be suffering such indignities?

“Changdong, can’t you wake up soon? Wake up and stand up for me, be my support—please?”

The green tea beauty who had been fierce against the scumbags outside was now the very image of weakness and helplessness.

Zhou Changdong: 【Wife, wait for me. I’ll get better soon. When I’m well again, I will be your support. I won’t let you suffer any more!】

The green tea woman smiled inside as she watched all this. As for whether she felt any guilt or shame about deceiving a sick man?

Sorry—she didn’t.

Same as always: feeling a bit guilty wouldn’t kill you.

But there was no need to be softhearted like a bodhisattva.

One must understand—if you wanted to gauge whether a woman could live well or not, the key was whether she was ruthless enough!

Not the kind of fake toughness with a soft heart, but truly ruthless—the kind who could be gentle when needed, but wouldn’t hesitate to wield the knife when necessary.

As long as such a woman didn’t break the law, her life would never be too bad. Got it?

Young girls might not understand, but anyone with a bit of life experience would know—this was true worldly clarity!

But very few people could actually reach that point.

Su Luyun just happened to be one of that rare few.

And sure enough, after venting to Zhou Changdong, she went outside and had her own breakfast.

After eating and cleaning up, she washed the clothes she’d changed out of yesterday and hung them up to dry. Only then did she have the leisure to start taking a good look at her spacious courtyard.

Wasn’t this why she felt the purchase of this courtyard had been worth it?

There was one master bedroom and two secondary bedrooms, and if you counted the storage room on the west side, that made four rooms!

The kitchen was separate too, and the yard itself was very spacious.

Su Luyun really couldn’t get used to the public toilets outside. Every time she had to go, she needed a whole lot of mental preparation. So she had decided to build one for personal use in her own yard.

Just like in one of those old dramas set in her parents’ generation—when a capitalist heiress couldn’t stand the public toilets on the island, and a military officer built her one right in the courtyard!