Gu Zhenyang couldn’t help but think to himself—being good-looking was useless. The key issue was that this woman simply wasn’t someone who could properly live a life with him.
As soon as the Su family—brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews—entered, they all rushed toward Su Yiyi at once.
“Yiyi, hurry inside! Why are you standing out here? Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet!”
Wang Shuzhen anxiously pulled her little sister-in-law back into the house.
Since she had already gotten some fresh air—and it was indeed freezing outside—Su Yiyi followed her back into the room. The brothers stayed in the main hall to chat, while the other two sisters-in-law went inside with her.
The children wanted to follow, but their fathers stopped them. They had already agreed beforehand—they would give their little sister some money today. Since the women had things to discuss with her, the children shouldn’t go in and make a fuss.
As the eldest sister-in-law, Liu Xiumei naturally took the lead in this matter. But the family didn’t have much money to spare. The three brothers hadn’t separated households yet, and most of the money was held by Niu Guihua.
Even so, Niu Guihua was already considered a very good mother-in-law. In other families, forget getting pocket money—even a single cent would be hard to see.
The three sisters-in-law each had a few yuan on hand.
Liu Xiumei directly took out five yuan. Though it was in small denominations, it still made quite a pile—after all, even one yuan was considered a large bill in this era.
“Yiyi, here’s five yuan. Your big brother and I can only give this much—you understand that. If you have any difficulties in the future, remember to write home. We’ll think of something.”
Seeing her act, the other two sisters-in-law also took out their money. They had already planned this from the start.
Their husbands only had this one younger sister. If Yiyi didn’t live well, they wouldn’t be able to work in peace either. Besides, they had watched her grow up—it pained them deeply to hear she was suffering here.
The money they pooled together formed quite a sum.
Su Yiyi’s eyes grew a little moist.
This family truly treated the original owner with genuine sincerity. Such family members—especially such sisters-in-law—were rare treasures.
“Sisters-in-law, I know you mean well, but I can’t take this money. It’s not easy for you to save it. How could I accept it? Besides, Zhenyang gives me ten yuan every month, so I actually have enough.”
The moment she said this, all three sisters-in-law showed disbelief—and surprise.
They had always thought her claim that Gu Zhenyang gave her money was just something she said to comfort them. But hearing her speak like this now was unexpected.
Their little sister-in-law had been pampered since childhood. They never thought it was a bad thing, but she had always accepted whatever was given to her—she had never been this polite.
What was going on today?
“Yiyi, don’t try to fool us. Didn’t you say in your letters that Gu Zhenyang never gave you money?” Liu Xiumei frowned, dissatisfied, thinking she still wasn’t telling the truth.
“Sister-in-law, I was talking nonsense before. This is true. Even though he doesn’t hand over his entire allowance, he does give me ten yuan every month. If you don’t believe me, come take a look!”
Su Yiyi pulled them toward the cabinet.
The things inside might not seem like much to her, but in this era, they were considered valuable goods.
“Think about it—if he didn’t give me money, could I have bought all this? Don’t worry, I’m not stupid!”
She even patted her chest confidently.
Wang Shuzhen hesitated, wanting to say something.
It felt like her little sister-in-law had changed—but she didn’t know how to put it into words. And this change seemed to be for the better. Maybe she was overthinking it. Perhaps Yiyi had simply matured after brushing past death.
But when someone you love becomes “more sensible,” it doesn’t bring joy—it brings heartache.
That was exactly how the three sisters-in-law felt now. Seeing their expressions, Su Yiyi didn’t know what to say.
This family was simply too good.
Since she had come here and accepted their love, she would have to treat them well in return.
She gathered the money they had given her and stuffed it back into their hands.
For now, she couldn’t openly give them supplies, but she also couldn’t take their money—they didn’t have it easy either.
Seeing her firm attitude, the three sisters-in-law had no choice but to accept it. They quietly decided that when the production team distributed grain, they would save some fine grain and send it to her instead. It was clear she wouldn’t accept money anymore.
“Time to eat!” Niu Guihua’s loud voice rang from outside.
The three sisters-in-law carefully supported Su Yiyi, as if she were a fragile porcelain doll, only relaxing after she sat down on a stool.
Gu Zhenyang also stayed to eat with them. After all, they weren’t divorced yet—he couldn’t act too coldly.
During the meal, he remained silent.
There were so many people—the children ate from their bowls nearby, while the adults sat around the kang table and square table to fit everyone.
Gu Zhenyang felt a bit puzzled.
Where had all this rice and flour come from?
Su Yiyi wasn’t someone who cooked, so she wouldn’t have prepared these ingredients.
It was probably bought by Niu Guihua and the others.
But it didn’t matter to him. He would likely only eat this one meal here. Once Su Yiyi recovered, he would make things clear—then they would go their separate ways.
Niu Guihua looked at him several times, hesitating to speak. In the end, she couldn’t hold back.
“Zhenyang… what I said yesterday was a bit harsh. Don’t take it to heart. I was just too worried about Yiyi.”
Gu Zhenyang nodded but said nothing.
Niu Guihua sighed inwardly and didn’t press further.
After the meal, the Su family prepared to leave.
Su Jianguo was the production team leader—there were many responsibilities waiting for him. The trip had already taken time, and now that they saw their daughter was fine, they had to return.
Su Yiyi couldn’t go see them off. Though she felt regretful, there was nothing she could do. Walking a few steps was fine, but going all the way to the train station would probably make her collapse again.
Even though they had only been together for less than a day, she still felt reluctant to part.
Her mood sank slightly.