The children all called out enthusiastically, “Uncle!” which delighted Su Dazhuang to no end.
Over the years, Su Caiqing had rarely returned to her parents’ home. Because her in-laws were unkind, the journey was far, and her family from the countryside seldom came to visit her either, fearing her in-laws would complain that poor rural relatives were always coming to mooch off them.
Thinking about those past years left a bitter taste in Su Caiqing’s heart.
She quickly prepared two dishes. Before they were even brought to the table, Su Dazhuang could not help saying, “It smells so good!”
Just the aroma alone made him realize how hungry he really was.
Zhang Yunbing chimed in immediately, “Of course it does. My mom cooks especially well!”
Su Dazhuang had been a little skeptical, but once he tasted the food, he realized that in his entire life he had never eaten dishes this delicious.
When they heard him praise Su Caiqing, the children seemed even happier than she was.
Su Caiqing herself did not stay idle. She pulled the three younger children over, stripped off their dirty clothes, and replaced them with clean ones.
While working, she asked, “How is everyone at home? How are Father and Mother’s health?”
Su Dazhuang stuffed food into his mouth as he spoke. “They’re… they’re alright. Just that Father’s rheumatism is getting worse, and Mother’s back isn’t good either. I told her not to go work in the fields anymore, but she refuses. That’s just how she is, you can’t persuade her.”
Su Caiqing untied the little girl triplet’s hair and began braiding it again. “Isn’t that because the family is poor and they don’t dare stop working? What about the others?”
Su Dazhuang quickly finished a bowl of rice, and Zhang Yunbing immediately took the bowl to refill it before he continued, “Everyone’s fine. It’s just that Su Xiaozhuang and the others are grown up now, but their marriages still aren’t settled. Father and Mother are worried sick.”
Su Caiqing had one younger brother and two younger sisters. Her brother was two or three years younger than her, which by rural standards meant he should have married long ago. Her two younger sisters were twins and were also approaching twenty.
But the Su family was extremely poor. When Su Dazhuang married, he had used the bride price from Su Caiqing’s marriage.
Her second brother, Su Erzhuang, had managed to coax himself a wife with his smooth talking, but over time their relationship had grown poor.
The younger siblings were getting older yet still living at home. The two sisters-in-law were full of resentment about it, so the household was naturally full of constant quarrels and endless trouble.
After talking about family matters, Su Dazhuang asked, “Fifth Sister, what about you? Raising so many children by yourself. Have you thought about what you’ll do?”
Su Caiqing glanced at him while finishing rebraiding Zhang Yunbing’s messy hair. “I have. You came at the right time. I’m planning to go to the factory director and settle things clearly. When the time comes, you’ll go with me.”
Su Dazhuang nodded repeatedly. “Good, good. That’s exactly why I came.”
After he finished eating and Su Caiqing finished tending to the children, she sent them all out to play, even pushing Zhang Yunyang outside, though he usually preferred staying at home.
Su Caiqing cleared the bowls and chopsticks. When Su Dazhuang saw no one else around, he quickly said, “Mother asked me to tell you that if you really can’t afford to raise all these children, then give them to the Zhang family. Let them take the job at the factory too, and come back home with me. Stay there for a couple of years, and you can find someone else to marry.”
Su Caiqing paused briefly but did not turn around. “No. My children will be raised by me. You just saw how that sister-in-law treated them. If they fell into her hands, it would be a miracle if they weren’t tormented to death.”
Hearing the irritation in her tone, Su Dazhuang hurriedly explained, “Ah, Mother just said it casually. If you don’t want to, then forget it. But if you want to raise them yourself, you have to be prepared to suffer. You must get that job at the factory. From now on, your whole family will rely on the wages from that place.”
To outsiders, Su Caiqing indeed had only two possible paths. Her family in the countryside was thinking about her welfare.
Her husband Zhang Min had died, leaving his position at the machinery factory vacant. The Zhang family could send someone to take over the job. Zhang Min had previously worked in publicity, writing materials for the factory, and his wages had been higher than those of ordinary workshop workers. Even so, supporting the entire family had been difficult.
If Su Caiqing, an illiterate woman from the countryside, took the position, she could only work on the factory floor, and the wages would naturally be lower.
Since the two positions were not equivalent, the factory would provide a small additional subsidy as a form of organizational care. But for a family like hers, it would still be little more than a drop in the bucket.
Moreover, only by working at the factory could they continue living here. The house had been assigned by the factory, and anyone who did not work there had no right to stay.
Even so, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law still wanted to seize the opportunity and let Zhang Min’s elder brother, Zhang Aiguo, take the position instead, completely disregarding the possibility that the mother and children would end up homeless or even freeze and starve to death.
Everyone around them understood Su Caiqing’s predicament perfectly well.
For her family in the countryside to learn about these matters, they must have gone to great lengths to ask around.
Su Caiqing did not bother explaining everything to her newly arrived elder brother. She simply said, “I know what I’m doing. You just need to back me up.”
“Alright!” Su Dazhuang did not dare say more. His fifth sister was completely different from before. No one could make decisions for her anymore.
Su Caiqing returned to finish washing the bedding she had left halfway done and hung it out to dry in the afternoon sun. Then she called Zhang Yunbing back to ask what exactly had happened with Gao Juxiang earlier.
Zhang Yunbing’s sharp tongue and fiery temper were both her strength and her weakness. She could not tolerate the slightest injustice. Because of this personality, she would later alienate everyone around her. In her old age, not a single relative would bother with her, and she would die alone. Her body would remain undiscovered for days until the neighbors noticed the smell.
Su Caiqing believed that Zhang Yunbing’s domineering and self-centered nature was the root cause of that tragedy. While the girl was still young, she had to correct it.
Zhang Yunbing said indignantly, “She took our things and wouldn’t return them. Am I not allowed to say it outside? She has the nerve to do it but not the nerve to admit it. Hmph!”
Su Caiqing said, “What she did was wrong, but if you tell everyone outside, will that make her return the items?”
Zhang Yunbing pouted. “I just couldn’t swallow the anger!”
Su Caiqing shook her head. “Those things she took aren’t worth much. But when others hear you talking about an elder like that, they’ll only think you’re disrespectful and ill-mannered. From now on, you’re not allowed to speak so recklessly. Do you understand?”
Zhang Yunbing’s eyes reddened. “Mom! I thought you had changed, but you’re still just as… just as useless as before!”
Patiently, Su Caiqing replied, “How am I useless? Just wait. I’ll make her so angry she’ll stomp her feet, and she still won’t be able to do anything to us.”
“Really?” Zhang Yunbing’s expression instantly brightened. “What will you do?”
Su Caiqing said, “It’s simple. She’s too poor to afford meat. When we eat meat, we’ll smack our lips loudly in front of her. Won’t that drive her mad?”
Zhang Yunbing looked disappointed. “That’s it?”
“Think about it. She’ll get angry that we didn’t share any with her, and she’ll come to our door to grab it or cause trouble. Then we’ll be in the right, and we’ll finally have the chance to deal with her properly.”
Zhang Yunbing still could not quite figure it out. Sometimes it sounded reasonable, yet other times it seemed unlikely to work.
Leaving her to think it over, Su Caiqing went to ask Su Dazhuang to slaughter the two chickens he had brought.
Su Dazhuang was shocked. “Both of them? Not saving one for later?”
Su Caiqing said firmly, “No. First, I don’t have a place to raise them here. Second, we don’t have enough food to feed them. If they get skinny, it won’t be worth it. Third, if we keep chickens here, those people next door will definitely start eyeing them. We’ll never have any peace. It’s better to eat them ourselves.”
Su Dazhuang’s heart ached. Even during the New Year the family would hesitate to slaughter two chickens. These two hens had been laying eggs for two years. His mother had felt guilty that her daughter had married into the city and had reluctantly caught them to bring here.
Now killing both at once felt like cutting pieces of his own flesh.
But Su Caiqing’s reasoning made sense. This place truly was not suitable for raising chickens.
So he patiently slaughtered them, cleaned out the insides, and washed the intestines and gizzards thoroughly.
Su Caiqing washed a large handful of red dates and set a big pot of chicken to stew.
When the soup was finished, the fragrance filled the air.
Su Caiqing asked Zhang Yunbing and Zhang Yunqing to bring bowls. She filled several bowls with chicken soup, two or three pieces of meat, and some red dates, and asked them to deliver them to a few neighboring households. Then she filled the largest bowl to the brim with chicken and red dates and had it sent to Director Zhao’s house.
Seeing this, Su Dazhuang’s heart ached again. “What neighbors need that much to eat?”
Su Caiqing scooped out the rest and explained, “Director Zhao is the director of the neighborhood committee. She oversees everything in this area. When it comes to the factory matter, I’ll need her to speak up for me. Besides, she usually takes good care of our family. She already gave us two cans of malted milk and often sends snacks for the children. Don’t you think she deserves a larger portion?”
Su Dazhuang immediately found himself unable to argue. He muttered, “That’s only right, that’s only right.”
A few pieces of chicken in exchange for a better life for his sister’s family was certainly worthwhile.
Zhang Yunbing and Zhang Yunqing took out a bamboo basket. They placed the bowl of chicken inside and also added nearly a pound of dried red dates that Su Caiqing had wrapped earlier in oil paper.
The sisters carried the basket to Director Zhao and Principal Jiang’s house. Neither of them declined the gift.
As they escorted the girls out, Director Zhao asked, “How did your mother stew this chicken? Why does it smell so good?”
Zhang Yunbing replied, “My mom knew you’d ask, so she told us beforehand. She said the important thing is to drain the blood from the chicken thoroughly and soak it in water for a while. If there isn’t enough time, you can boil it briefly in cold water first, then stew it.”
Beside her, Zhang Yunqing nodded. “The red dates are sweet, so the chicken soup must taste sweet too.”
Director Zhao laughed. “Your mother really is clever, she thinks of everything. Go back carefully now, and tell your mother that Principal Jiang and I both thank her.”
“Okay! Goodbye, Grandma Zhao!”
Besides the stewed chicken, Su Caiqing also stir-fried two other dishes. With the chicken soup on the table, the rich aroma made everyone’s mouths water.
The three younger children leaned against the table, reaching out their hands to grab the food.
Zhang Yunyang quickly stopped them. “Careful, it’s hot. Little gluttons!”
He glanced toward the kitchen. Seeing that Su Caiqing was not paying attention, he secretly picked up his chopsticks and gave each of the younger ones a red date soaked with soup.
Finally, he took one for himself. When he looked up and saw Su Dazhuang watching, he whispered, “Uncle, do you want one?”
Su Dazhuang quickly shook his head. Although he was tempted himself, he was an adult and could not behave like the children.