Huang Guihua thought Su Tian had gone missing—she had been away for three days and two nights. Seeing her daughter come back laden with bags and wearing a radiant smile, she asked, “Why are you alone? Didn’t you come back with Su Lili? Today’s their homecoming visit—I thought you’d travel together.”
“No, I came back by myself first,” Su Tian said.
Like presenting a treasure, she took out a pair of sandals. “Mom, try these on and see if they fit. I saw them at the supply-and-marketing cooperative and bought a few pairs.”
“Good heavens! They’re so expensive—why did you buy several pairs? Don’t we still have some at home?” Sandals these days cost several yuan. The family wasn’t well-off; things were used for three new years, then three old years, patched and mended for another three.
Su Tian knew her mother was frugal and didn’t get angry, smiling as she said, “Money is meant to be spent once it’s earned. Anyway, I’ve spent the ten yuan you gave me and even added some of my own pocket money. If you don’t like them, I’ll sell them to someone else.”
“Anything you bought for me is mine. Don’t even think about it,” Huang Guihua said. She happily tried them on—perfect fit. New styles really did look nice and felt comfortable. Though expensive, it was her daughter’s heartfelt gift.
Then she looked at what else Su Tian had bought back: White Rabbit milk candy, corn soft candy, peach cookies, twisted dough snacks, and various odds and ends. It made Huang Guihua’s heart ache.
“You spendthrift. Whoever marries you won’t be able to save a single penny,” she scolded. She took some items and confiscated the rest, afraid Su Tian would give them all to the neighborhood kids. Their money didn’t grow on trees. Even if selling salted duck eggs brought in some income, it wasn’t meant to be spent like this.
Su Tian had no objections. She had her own little stash—if she wanted to eat something, she’d buy it herself. Once she moved to the city, she’d buy whatever she wanted. Just as she was thinking about how to persuade her mother to let her live in the city, there was a noisy commotion at the gate. Going out to look, she saw Su Lili bringing her new husband, Guo Zhiwei, back for their homecoming visit.
A group of kids who weren’t in school surrounded them—after eating the wedding candy, they still wanted to join in the excitement. Seeing Su Tian, Su Lili put on a showy, smug smile. “Sis, my husband and I are back for the homecoming visit. This is just a small token—hope you won’t mind. From now on, when I’m not at home, I’ll have to trouble you to look after my parents more.”
Su Lili had prepared one jin of brown sugar, two jin of peach cookies, plus two jin of pork belly. This was filial offering reserved for close family; if it were anyone else, being given a single candy or biscuit would already be generous. Su Tian remembered that when she herself had done a homecoming visit, she hadn’t brought meat. Su Lili was indeed generous—two jin of pork belly given just like that. Perfect for making garlic pork at noon. She liked plain boiled pork with garlic sauce.
“Thanks. As long as you two get along well, we’re happy,” Su Tian said. She knew Su Lili’s little intentions. Pork belly eaten was pork belly enjoyed—why refuse? Let her show off if she wanted. No need to make her own mouth suffer. Their relationship was good now; later it would be just as brutal.
Su Tian’s indifferent attitude made Su Lili feel like she’d punched cotton—there was no reaction. She could only gloat inwardly. No wonder Su Tian was smiling so happily; if she knew Su Lili had snatched the marriage that was originally meant for her, she’d probably cry. Of course, Su Lili wasn’t about to tell her. In this life, it was her turn to enjoy good fortune.
From the moment he appeared, Guo Zhiwei kept glancing at Su Tian. She ignored his appraising looks; she didn’t need to do anything. Su Lili, seeing this, couldn’t sit still. After saying a few words, she dragged him away. Guo Zhiwei followed—he didn’t want it to be obvious that he was staring at his sister-in-law.
Seeing Su Tian again, Guo Zhiwei thought to himself: if he’d known this older cousin was prettier, he wouldn’t have rushed into an engagement with Su Lili. Now that he was married, regret came too late. Thinking he might have chosen the wrong person made him irritable, and he grew more impatient with Su Lili.
Su Tian had no idea about Guo Zhiwei’s disgusting thoughts. The garlic pork she made at noon was so fragrant it was intoxicating; even Huang Guihua praised it. “This tastes great. Who’d have thought one trip to the city and you’d learn how to cook.”
Su Tian chuckled. Taking advantage of the fact that both her parents were there and happily eating, she said, “Dad, Mom, I’m not young anymore. Now that the market’s opened up, I’m thinking of going to the city to run a small shop and live there in the future. You…”
Before she could finish, Huang Guihua cut in with a dark face. “If you marry into the city, fine. But living in the city by yourself—I won’t allow it.”
“I’m going to do business,” Su Tian pleaded.
“No. Tomorrow I’ll ask around to introduce you to someone. You stay home and go on blind dates like you should. Find a man to marry. Everything else is off the table.”
Huang Guihua had her own principles. Her eldest son had gone far away, hundreds of miles from her. Now her only daughter wanted to go to the city too—she wouldn’t have it.
Su Tian looked to her father for help.
Huang Guihua remained expressionless. “Looking at your dad is useless. I run this household.”
Jiang Daguo nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Your mom has the final say. Just find an honest man to marry. We don’t need great wealth—just someone suitable.”
Su Tian was so angry she didn’t want to speak. She collected the bowls and left.
Enraged, Huang Guihua cursed behind her, “Going on a hunger strike won’t help. You’re the one who’ll starve.”
Seething, Su Tian went back to her room to brood…
After Su Lili got married, Li Xiaomei stole the spotlight. Her daughter had married well; she walked as if floating, boasting about her good son-in-law every day, afraid people wouldn’t know her daughter had married the son of a deputy factory director.
Su Tian, the cousin who had grown up alongside Su Lili, became the comparison. She wasn’t married, as if she’d committed some unforgivable sin. Everyone started introducing matches to her—widowers, the poor, the lonely—the conditions were abysmal. As long as he was male and alive, he’d do.
Not only did Su Tian look down on them—even her mother, upon hearing the conditions, would grab a broom and chase people away. “My daughter is as beautiful as a flower—who do you think you’re looking down on, introducing such trash to her? Get lost! If you come again, I’ll beat you to death!”
Naturally, there were also people with decent conditions and normal looks introduced to Su Tian. She rejected them all, shaking her head and saying she had no plans to get married for now—at the very least, she would wait until she was twenty.
Once that spread, everyone started saying that twenty was already the age of an “old unmarried woman.” It made her mother so angry that she went around arguing with people again, insisting that twenty was not old at all. Her daughter was young and pretty and had no trouble getting married. The legal age for marriage was twenty anyway—how was that late? Whoever dared say it again would be scolded for picking a fight with the law, and she’d make sure they suffered the consequences.
As for Su Lili, she stayed in the village for one night and returned to the city early the next morning. Before leaving, she deliberately tried to provoke Su Tian. “I heard from my mom that Auntie is still trying to set you up. After I get back, I’ll ask around in the compound. If there’s someone suitable, I’ll introduce him to you.”
“How about someone divorced with a kid?” Su Tian shot her a sidelong glance. “If you like him, you can divorce and marry him yourself—raise someone else’s son for free.”
Su Lili choked and snapped angrily, “I’m doing this for your own good! You didn’t like Chen Xiaojun, and now you don’t like divorced men with kids either. City men aren’t that easy to marry into. Not everyone has my kind of luck, finding a husband like your brother-in-law.”
“If you think you’re lucky, then good for you. My business isn’t yours to worry about. Since you like having kids so much, work harder and have a few more yourself—that’s better than anything,” Su Tian said, deliberately glancing at Su Lili’s belly.
Su Lili raised her brows smugly. “Don’t worry. In a few months, there’ll probably be good news. Unlike some people with bad luck who can’t give birth their whole lives and can only raise other people’s children.”
Su Tian played dumb. “Who’s that unlucky? You?”
“You—” Su Lili almost blurted it out, but changed her words at the last second. “Don’t talk nonsense. I won’t be infertile. Just wait and see—I’m very fertile!”
Su Tian burst out laughing. “Alright then. Wishing you two babies in three years.”
Married to Guo Zhiwei—forget Su Lili. Even a sow wouldn’t be able to give birth. Fertile? She’d find out soon enough what the real situation was.
Since she hadn’t gained the upper hand, Su Lili could only console herself that once she got pregnant, she’d come back and slap Su Tian in the face hard.
When Guo Zhiwei was leaving, he even asked about Su Tian. “If your cousin is willing, there are quite a few unmarried guys at our factory who could—”
Before he could finish, Su Lili cut him off. “No need. She says she doesn’t like marrying into the city. She just wants to stay in the village to take care of her parents. Don’t introduce anyone to her—she won’t appreciate it.”
Introducing Su Tian into their compound would mean seeing her all the time—why give herself that trouble? Su Lili didn’t want Su Tian coming to the city.
She had asked around the day before—Chen Xiaojun really hadn’t succeeded. On the day of her wedding, he’d been beaten into the hospital. That showed just how much Su Tian hated Chen Xiaojun.
Su Lili was furious, cursing Chen Xiaojun as useless. He’d been so slick when deceiving her, coaxing her into giving herself to him. Why couldn’t he trick Su Tian the same way? Not only did he fail, he even got beaten up—apparently almost injuring his manhood. Why hadn’t he just been castrated, so he could cling to Su Tian for life?
Guo Zhiwei didn’t know what was going on in Su Lili’s mind. He felt secretly regretful. If Su Tian married into their factory and they got familiar over time, it wasn’t like he couldn’t take advantage here and there. After all, he couldn’t have children anyway, so he wasn’t afraid of causing trouble.