Chapter 8: Su Zhiqiang’s Little Scheme

Su Yue noticed a trace of sadness in her parents’ expressions, so she picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of braised pork into each of their bowls.

With a playful smile and a hint of seeking praise, she said, “Dad, Mom, try my braised pork—see if it tastes good.”

As soon as Su Dahai heard this, his furrowed brows relaxed, and he immediately responded with a grin, “Mmm, delicious, delicious. Everything my daughter makes is tasty!”

Su Yue giggled, her eyes forming crescent moons. “Dad! You haven’t even tried it yet!”

Su Dahai looked slightly embarrassed. He scratched his head with a chuckle, then picked up the braised pork from his bowl and took a bite. “Mmm, so good! My daughter’s cooking is better than any chef in the city!”

To the side, Su Zhiqiang’s emotions were mixed. The scent of the braised pork lingered around his nose, but he couldn’t summon any appetite. He quietly turned and trudged back to his room.

Wu Xiulian, already frustrated for not getting any of the braised pork, grew even more resentful when she saw her husband go inside. She began complaining loudly, “Look at your little sister! She didn’t even tell us there was meat being cooked—just made it for herself. Now that she’s become a city person, she’s forgotten her own family. Doesn’t care about us relatives at all. And where’s that brat Hongmei?”

Su Zhiqiang slumped onto the kang bed and said gloomily, “Hongmei’s staying at her grandmother’s house.”

Wu Xiulian’s sister-in-law had just given birth, and since it was harvest season, her mother kept calling six-year-old Hongmei over to help look after the baby.

Seeing her husband so downcast, Wu Xiulian’s heart skipped a beat. She straightened up and asked, “Zhiqiang, what’s wrong?”

Su Zhiqiang let out a heavy sigh. “Dad said he’s splitting up the household. From now on, everyone will live and eat separately. Once big brother and third brother return, Mom and Dad will move into the new house.”

Wu Xiulian was furious. Her voice rose sharply, “Splitting the household? Dad and Mom won’t live with us anymore?”

Su Zhiqiang nodded helplessly, looking downcast.

Wu Xiulian immediately jumped up, shouting, “Why? Why do they get to move into the new house while we’re stuck in this rundown place? No way! I’m going to talk to them right now. What kind of son are you, Su Zhiqiang? And what about our son Bao’er—are they just going to ignore their own grandson now?”

She turned to storm out of the room.

Su Zhiqiang quickly grabbed her. “Enough. We’ve been married for six years, and all this time, we’ve lived off Mom and Dad. We should be grateful. Besides, the new house was paid for by big brother and third brother. We didn’t contribute a single cent. How could we have the nerve to covet it?”

Their village was tiny—nothing stayed hidden for long. Everyone already knew Wu Xiulian had secretly sold grain and that their family received separate work points. Rumors had been spreading for a while.

When he brought their son back from his in-laws’ place, people even gossiped that he skipped the harvest work and went to help his father-in-law instead.

He hadn’t even had the courage to argue back—he’d just swallowed the humiliation in silence.

Wu Xiulian pouted, refusing to back down. “Why can’t we take it? They already changed their household registration! You think they still deserve to keep the new house?”

Su Zhiqiang looked at her with disappointment and tried to reason with her. “Are you really that clueless? Our life is already what it is. Do you want our son to turn out just like us? My big brother’s in the army, and third brother works in a machinery factory in the capital. If they lend us a hand, we’ll be fine. Our son’s future depends on them too. Don’t ruin our relationship over a single house.”

Wu Xiulian’s heart sank at his words. She recalled all the packages over the years—powdered milk, rare items—for the child. Those were real, tangible benefits.

Her anger faded significantly, but she still mumbled, unwilling to give up completely, “But if we split households, will they still send us things like before?”

Su Zhiqiang said with certainty, “Why not? We’re still in the same brigade. Big brother and third brother are both filial. For Mom and Dad’s sake, they won’t ignore us. They’ve helped us so much over the years.”

Wu Xiulian pouted and said in a softer tone, “I’m hungry.”

Su Zhiqiang reached out his hand and said, “Give me ten yuan. I’ll talk to Mom and Dad and give them ten yuan a month for food.”

Wu Xiulian’s eyes widened. “Ten yuan?! What, are they robbing us? That’s too much!”

Su Zhiqiang pointed at the baby formula in the room. “Too much? Just look at the formula the older brothers sent for Bao’er—how much do you think that cost?”

Seeing him angry, Wu Xiulian reluctantly pulled out the money from her pocket, heart aching as she handed over the ten yuan.

Shen Qiuxia accepted the money and stored the grain in the large kitchen jar.

Before heading to work, Su Zhiqiang cooked the meal.

He smiled and said, “Little sister’s braised pork was delicious. You should eat more.”

Wu Xiulian saw there were only four pieces of pork left, and her husband had given her three. She immediately returned one. “Your health isn’t great, and work is tiring. Let’s share.”

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At the Li Household

The entire Li family had gathered again for dinner.

Since the afternoon, Li Xiangbei couldn’t stop smiling. His face radiated pure joy. Zhang Cuihua was just as delighted, practically glowing with happiness.

Liu Lanxiang, however, rolled her eyes with a look of disdain.

So what if the fourth son’s marrying some village girl? What’s the big deal? That girl must be scheming, probably used all kinds of seduction tricks back when they were in school. And the mother-in-law is so biased too—just because the youngest is getting married, she’s acting like it’s some royal celebration. The more Liu Lanxiang thought about it, the more annoyed she became.

Li Jianguo noticed his wife and youngest son’s elation and smiled. “So the engagement is settled?”

Zhang Cuihua beamed. “It’s settled, but the wedding date will depend on her brothers’ schedules. The dowry’s 168 yuan and a bicycle coupon. When Yueyue has time, she and Xiangbei can go pick out furniture together. We’ll redecorate the fourth boy’s room with all new pieces…”

“What?!” Liu Lanxiang immediately exploded. “She’s just a country girl! Why does she get such a generous dowry?”

Zhang Cuihua was in the middle of excitedly describing the arrangement, but Liu Lanxiang’s interruption made her scowl. Seeing her daughter-in-law yell at her, she snapped.

“What are you yelling about? You and Xiaojun got the same 168 yuan when you got married. You got a watch ticket, and Xiaojun got a sewing machine ticket. Now Fourth is getting married, and we’re treating him the same. We’re not giving more than we gave you!”

Liu Lanxiang, still unhappy, said, “But we didn’t get new furniture! And she’s a village girl! How can she be compared to us? We have urban household registration and food rations—what does she have?”

Zhang Cuihua shot her a glare. “Yueyue’s hukou has already been transferred to the county. She does have food rations. And she has a permanent job!”

The room went quiet. Both sons and daughters-in-law were stunned.

In this era, finding formal employment was extremely rare. Despite years of trying, none of the daughters-in-law had managed to get such jobs. Yet this country girl Su Yue had landed one?

Li Xiangxin laughed. “No wonder Su-jiejie hadn’t moved her things out of the dorm after graduation—she already got a job.”

Li Jianguo asked, “Why hasn’t the wedding date been decided yet?”

Zhang Cuihua’s smile widened. “Yueyue’s eldest brother is in the south—he’s a company commander now. Her third brother works at a machinery factory in Beijing. They both dote on their sister. We’ll wait for them to tell us when they can return.”

Li Xiangdong felt a pang of jealousy. How did Fourth get so lucky with such in-laws?

Li Xiangnan patted Li Xiangbei’s shoulder and chuckled. “Well done, Fourth. You really scored!”

Li Xiangbei grinned from ear to ear, flashing his white teeth.

Li Jianguo asked, surprised, “Is that true?”

Zhang Cuihua looked smug. “Of course! The Su family truly treasures their daughter. They gave her the entire dowry and are preparing a separate dowry for her as well. Who knows what kind of lucky star our Fourth ran into—this marriage is a blessing.”

Li Xiangbei laughed playfully. “Mom, didn’t I always tell you Yueyue’s a great girl?”

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

Liu Lanxiang’s eyes gleamed with envy. She sneered inwardly, Probably sickly or hiding something. Why else would she settle for the Fourth boy?

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