Liang Qiheng agreed. “I know. But I still have to do something. Only then is there a chance their thinking and attitudes might change.”
Su Caiqing felt that made sense.
The two of them discussed the matter of clothes along the way. After picking up the children from Director Zhao’s house, Liang Qiheng escorted them home before heading back himself.
When Su Caiqing returned home, she collapsed into a chair. The day had truly exhausted her.
While the other children were still happily dividing up the candy, Zhang Yunqing had already brought her a cup of water.
Su Caiqing finished it in one gulp and thanked him.
Over there, Zhang Yunbing was organizing the children to divide the sweets, though it was mainly the three younger ones who were arguing over them.
Su Caiqing did not interfere. Instead, she turned to her eldest son and asked, “Did you borrow the newspaper?”
Zhang Yunyang gave a small nod. “Do you want me to read it to you?”
Su Caiqing nodded. He unfolded the People’s Daily and began reading from the headline on the front page.
Zhang Yunyang was only five years old, yet extremely clever. His father had often held him while reading and writing, so although the boy had never attended a single day of school, he already recognized many characters. When he had first begun reading the newspaper, Su Caiqing still had to tell him how to pronounce unfamiliar words, but these past few days his pauses had become fewer and fewer.
If Su Caiqing wanted to understand this era, she needed to obtain information through the media, especially official sources regarding reforms and the methods being implemented.
After the candy had been divided, Zhang Yunbing came over on her own and stood behind Su Caiqing, gently massaging her shoulders.
With such well-behaved children around her, Su Caiqing felt that although being a mother was difficult, it was worth it.
After the newspaper was finished, Su Caiqing handed the red envelopes she had received that day to Zhang Yunqing, asking him to count them carefully and put them away. She then took the three younger children to wash up first.
Zhang Yunqing was meticulous, and Su Caiqing trusted him with such matters.
Perhaps because she was so exhausted, Su Caiqing fell asleep soon after climbing into bed. She slept straight through until late the next morning before waking.
The house was quiet. The children had probably seen how deeply she was sleeping and were afraid of disturbing her. The two older sisters had taken the triplets outside to play, leaving only Zhang Yunyang at home to keep watch.
“Did you all eat breakfast?” Su Caiqing asked.
Zhang Yunyang, sparing with words as always, replied, “Yes.”
“What did you eat?”
“Big Sister and Second Sister steamed rice and reheated the dishes Grandma Zhao packed for us yesterday.”
Only then did Su Caiqing feel reassured. She reached out to check the baby’s diaper and found it dry.
Zhang Yunyang said, “Second Sister changed it early this morning.”
Su Caiqing patted his head and praised him. “You’re all so good. You saved me a lot of trouble.”
Zhang Yunyang showed little expression, but he did not reject the head pat, clearly pleased by it.
Su Caiqing climbed out of bed, ate the food that had been kept warm on the coal stove, and then began tidying the house.
With seven children, every aspect of daily life became a matter to handle. Washing clothes alone could take half the day. At times like this, Su Caiqing missed washing machines terribly.
At noon she cooked a meal for the children, and afterward busied herself taking apart the bedding to wash it.
When she had first arrived here, she had discovered fleas on both herself and the children. The sight had nearly frightened her to death.
Just as she was so tired she could barely straighten her back, she noticed someone in the distance dragging two of her children along.
Su Caiqing stood up, wiped her hands with a towel, and walked over.
When she saw clearly, she realized the person holding Zhang Yunbing and Zhang Yunqing was none other than the infamous sister-in-law.
Both children were crying, especially Zhang Yunbing. The braids she had neatly tied at noon were now messy, and the hair flowers that had been pinned on either side had disappeared somewhere.
Seeing her children bullied like this by an adult, and their own aunt at that, anger surged within Su Caiqing.
“Sister-in-law, what a rare sight. What happened to these two children for you to treat them like this?”
Quite a few neighbors had already gathered to watch the commotion, and behind them trailed a crowd of curious adults and children.
Gao Juxiang snorted. “Your precious daughter has been going around telling people bad things about me, her aunt. How exactly do you teach your children?”
Zhang Yunbing screamed, “What I said is true! You took things from our house and never returned them. Our bowls, our chairs, our quilt, not a single one came back!”
Exposed like that in front of so many people, Gao Juxiang became even angrier. She released Zhang Yunqing and raised her hand to strike Zhang Yunbing.
Su Caiqing reacted instantly, grabbing her wrist. “Hitting my daughter right in front of me. Sister-in-law, you’ve got quite the nerve.”
Gao Juxiang raised her voice. “If you won’t discipline your child, then I, as her aunt, will do it for you. What, you think I don’t have the right?”
Gripping her arm firmly, Su Caiqing said, “You’re an adult. Arguing with a child is bad enough, but now you want to hit her with real force. If she gets hurt, will you pay for it? And besides, what did she say that was wrong? As her aunt, your own behavior is improper. Even the children can see it and know it’s wrong. Instead of correcting yourself, you rely on your seniority to bully them. You call that discipline? Tell me, how have you ever treated these children properly? What right do you have to talk about discipline?”
These two elder daughters had long been disliked by their grandmother. Taking advantage of that, Gao Juxiang had often bullied them. The former Su Caiqing had been timid and never dared confront her. She could only shut the door and cry while holding her children.
But the current Su Caiqing would never allow herself to be bullied like that again.
Her words came down like hammer blows. Not only was Gao Juxiang stunned, even the two crying children froze in surprise. Their own mother was actually this formidable.
At first, the onlookers had thought Gao Juxiang was justified. Disobedient children deserved a beating, after all. But after hearing Su Caiqing’s explanation, their opinions shifted. Indeed, Gao Juxiang was not disciplining them at all. She was merely venting her anger on the children. Everyone knew she had long mistreated her younger brother’s family. How could she possibly be considered a proper sister-in-law or aunt?
Gao Juxiang’s face soon turned alternately pale and flushed. Looking around and seeing the crowd clearly siding with Su Caiqing, she felt utterly humiliated. She had actually been shamed by this country woman!
Yes, Gao Juxiang had always looked down on Su Caiqing for coming from the countryside.
“You shameless slut! Your husband just died and you’re already acting wild. I’ll beat you to death today!”
As she spoke, she shoved Zhang Yunbing to the ground and swung both hands toward Su Caiqing.
Seeing the danger, Su Caiqing quickly stepped back, causing Gao Juxiang to miss.
Staggering forward, Gao Juxiang nearly fell, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Her face turned crimson with rage. Completely blinded by anger, she grabbed a broom lying nearby and charged at Su Caiqing.
Several women hurried over to separate them. Gao Juxiang was strong, and if she really hurt someone it would be terrible.
Su Caiqing knew she could not confront Gao Juxiang head-on, so she kept dodging.
Gao Juxiang charged like a mad bull, swinging the broom wildly. Even several women together could barely hold her back.
There were many spectators around, including children, so while dodging Su Caiqing also had to make sure she did not bump into anyone or step on a child. This made her movements increasingly frantic.
Furious at the people restraining her, Gao Juxiang felt as though everyone was opposing her. In a burst of rage, she suddenly shook them all off and lunged straight toward Su Caiqing, bringing the broom down with full force.
Su Caiqing was certain she could not dodge this time.
Just then, a carrying pole suddenly appeared, blocking the broom and jamming into its bristles. Gao Juxiang’s strike was stopped, and Su Caiqing narrowly escaped.
She quickly stepped back and looked at the person who had intervened.
Seeing a dark-skinned man, Gao Juxiang immediately sneered as though she had caught them red-handed. “Ha! Shameless! Your husband just died and you’re already seducing other men!”
Ignoring her, Su Caiqing smoothed her hair and called out, “Big Brother.”
Su Dazhuang’s face was dark with anger. Pushing the pole forward, he sent Gao Juxiang tumbling to the ground. “Did you eat manure this morning? Your mouth is filthy. The moment you see a man you start accusing people of affairs. Seems to me you’re the one thinking about sneaking around with men. Bah!”
Relief instantly washed over Su Caiqing. She had not expected the original body’s elder brother to be so fierce.
The crowd also began murmuring. Gao Juxiang had truly gone too far, throwing around such filthy accusations. She was clearly not a decent person.
Realizing she could no longer win, Gao Juxiang immediately tossed the broom aside and fled in embarrassment.
Watching her retreating back, Su Dazhuang leaned on his pole and shouted, “If you ever bully my sister again, I’ll break your legs!”
Su Caiqing could not help smiling. This big brother was really too adorable.
“Big Brother, forget about her. Let’s go back and have some water first.”
Su Dazhuang was drenched in sweat and looked utterly exhausted.
“Alright, I’m thirsty too.”
Su Caiqing turned to look for her two daughters but only saw Zhang Yunbing.
Zhang Yunbing said, “Qingqing went to find the three little ones. They’ll be back soon. Is this our uncle?”
Su Caiqing nodded. “Yes, this is your real maternal uncle. Hurry and greet him.”
Zhang Yunbing immediately shouted, “Uncle! You’re amazing! You chased that wicked woman away!”
Su Dazhuang revealed an honest, bashful smile. “It’s nothing. Your uncle doesn’t hit women, doesn’t hit women.”
Zhang Yunbing snorted. “What about women? People like her deserve a beating. If I were strong enough, I’d hit her too.”
Su Caiqing shook her head helplessly. “Stop talking nonsense. Go back and fill the big water jar for your uncle.”
“Alright!” Zhang Yunbing ran off at once.
Su Dazhuang lifted his carrying baskets, and Su Caiqing led him toward the house.
“You walked all the way here?” she asked.
Su Dazhuang nodded. “Yeah. Been walking since morning. Seventy or eighty li. I’ve already finished all the water I brought.”
“Then you must not have eaten either. Do you want noodles or rice? We had a banquet yesterday, so I packed some meat to bring back.”
“I ate, brought food from home. No need to trouble yourself.”
Thinking of the current situation in the countryside, Su Caiqing suspected meat was a rare luxury there. Su Dazhuang had walked such a long distance in the summer heat, and was probably already starving. He was simply reluctant to eat more because food was precious.
After returning home, she ignored his protests and immediately washed rice to cook a fresh pot. Then she took out the meat she had been keeping cooled in water and prepared him a proper lunch with both vegetables and meat.
While she was cooking, she saw Zhang Yunbing returning with several children. Without their older sisters watching them, the three little ones had rolled around outside until they were covered in mud like little monkeys.
The thought of washing their clothes again gave Su Caiqing another headache.