Regardless of what Tong Yunyun thought, Su Ruyi entered the room after seeing it was mostly tidied up. She unfolded the folding table and placed it in the center of the room, then brought over one of the large bags and opened it.
When she took out the contents, everyone in the room stared wide-eyed.
Su Ruyi hadn’t exaggerated earlier—she had everything she mentioned. In no time, the table was completely covered, and there was even more than it could hold, with some items having to be placed on the floor.
"Why did you bring so much? We have everything we need at home. You should put it away quickly," Li Mei said, snapping back to reality and rushing over to stop Su Ruyi.
"These fruits and meats are all homegrown and raised, so they’re not worth much. I just wanted you to try them," Su Ruyi replied, handing the cured meats, sausages, and salted fish to Li Mei. "You should cook these soon. They’ve been sealed up for days during the journey and might start to spoil. As for the chicken, let’s not slaughter it today. We should finish these first."
"This… this won’t do. You should keep them…" Li Mei protested.
Su Ruyi shoved them into her hands. "I only know how to eat, not cook. You decide what to do with them. All I know is, if I don’t get meat in a meal, I feel uneasy."
Li Mei felt the weight in her hands—this bundle had to be at least thirty jin!
"This is too much. Keep some for yourself. When you go to the Zhang family later…"
Su Ruyi cut her off. "Aunt Mei, stop hesitating and go cook. I’m hungry."
"Alright, alright, I’ll go right away." Unable to refuse and worried about Su Ruyi going hungry, Li Mei hurried to the corridor to start cooking.
Tong Yunyun glanced at the large bag of meat, then at the pile of fruits and dried fruits on the table. After a moment of internal conflict, she positioned herself at the doorway, one foot inside and the other outside, ready to dart in either direction at a moment’s notice.
Wang Huizhen, meanwhile, felt utterly flustered. Their family had never received such a generous gift before.
Southern fruits like these were rare in their county and even uncommon in the provincial capital.
Among all these fruits, she had only ever tasted pineapple and banana. The pineapple had been shared by a classmate, as she could never bring herself to buy one, and the banana had been a benefit from the factory years ago.
Given their family’s tight finances, they seldom bought fruit, and when they did, it was usually common apples or pears. These southern fruits were both rare and expensive to them.
Wang Huiting was the most emotionally stirred. She had always known about her older half-sister from the countryside. Even though their family hadn’t been well-off over the years, they still sent money to her every month, and the amount had increased annually. In total, it amounted to more than what they spent on Tong Yunyun.
This didn’t sit well with her, especially two years ago when prices soared, the furniture factory delayed wages, and she nearly couldn’t afford her tuition. Yet, they still had to send money to her sister, fueling her resentment to its peak.
She had never felt kindly toward this sister, viewing her as just another leech, like so many of their other relatives.
Although they received cured meats, sausages, and salted fish from her every year before the Spring Festival, her stepfather always sent back even more money than usual during that time.
Now, seeing her in person—not only effortlessly throwing out the people who had bullied their family but also bringing so many gifts—her feelings were deeply conflicted.
Many of their relatives lived in the countryside, from both her biological father’s and mother’s sides. Whenever they came to the county, they loved to freeload off her family, arriving empty-handed and leaving with full stomachs and hands.
The relatives on her stepfather's side didn't live in the countryside, but they took things even more aggressively than the rural relatives, acting as if it was their rightful due, as though her family owed them.
"These longans are about to go bad, you should eat them quickly."
Su Ruyi emptied the longans from both bags, placed the other fruits on the ground, and arranged the longans on the table.
The other fruits kept better, especially mangoes and bananas which were picked unripe and needed a couple days to ripen before eating. There were still some late-ripening lychees this season, but those spoiled even faster, so Su Ying hadn't brought any.
She had to admit her mother was rather careless – the two large bags were much heavier than Su Ruyi had expected. Combined with what she'd eaten on the train, it must have been over two hundred pounds. Making a young girl carry such heavy luggage – what was she thinking? Though Su Ruyi was stronger than she looked, she was still within normal limits. When boarding, her mother had bought a platform ticket to help her get on, but how was she supposed to manage getting off alone?
Su Ruyi knew if she questioned it, her mother would say: "People won't die from holding their pee – you'll find a way." This was just like Madam Su Ying from her previous life – remarkably carefree.
Back when she finished her college entrance exams, Madam Su Ying had told her to come find her in the United States. She flew over alone, but no one came to pick her up – she had to find her own way using the address. Madam Su Ying's words at the time were: "I managed to arrive safely when I stowed away back then. You're entering legally, with money in your pocket, and you've studied English – what's there to not find?"
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up," Su Ruyi called out.
Tong Yunyun was the first to move. She shuffled over, her eyes constantly darting toward Su Ruyi, her hand stealthily reaching out.
Su Ruyi raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing.
Tong Yunyun's hand immediately stopped. "I don't have a little pee-pee, so I can't be a boy," she said.
The child was quite precise with her words – saying she "couldn't be" rather than that she didn't want to be one.
Su Ruyi didn't make things difficult for her. It wasn't the child's fault she thought this way – it was the environment's influence – so she nodded at her.
Tong Yunyun excitedly picked one and was about to pop it directly into her mouth when Su Ruyi stopped her.
"Watch how I do it."
Su Ruyi picked one, gave it a gentle squeeze until the shell cracked open revealing most of the flesh, then squeezed it into her mouth to eat the fruit.
Tong Yunyun learned carefully and succeeded immediately.
"Wow! So sweet!" Tong Yunyun exclaimed. She had never tasted fruit this sweet before.
"Second Sister, Third Sister, you eat some too! It's really good!"
Tong Yunyun happily shook her head, having no concept of politeness as she tossed one longan after another into her mouth with quick movements.
Wang Huizhen and Wang Huiting exchanged glances, then came over to pick some too. At first, they struggled with Su Ruyi's method of eating longans, taking a while to peel them properly.
Both were pleasantly surprised by the longans' taste – they were truly sweet! Though the seeds were quite large, they were still delicious.
"I'll bring some for Mom," Wang Huizhen said, glancing at Su Ruyi. Seeing that Su Ruyi didn't mind, she took a cluster and went out.
Another round of polite refusals could be heard from outside. Su Ruyi called out loudly: "These longans won't last through the night. If you don't eat them, they'll have to be thrown away."
The noise outside immediately ceased. Wang Huizhen didn't come back in but stayed outside to help.
"We can't possibly finish all this ourselves. Pick out the best ones to give to the factory leaders, and also to those who've helped our family recently," Su Ruyi said to Wang Huiting.
Tong Yunyun immediately jumped up upon hearing this: "Why should we give them away? I can finish them all!"
"Eating too many of these will make you heaty. You'll get nosebleeds."
"Then let me get nosebleeds! I'm not afraid!"
Su Ruyi ignored her. "Take some of the other fruits too, distribute them as you see fit."
Wang Huiting pointed at herself in surprise: "Me? I'm to distribute them?"
"Who else? You're the only one free right now." Su Ruyi looked her up and down. "Don't tell me you don't know anyone?"
Wang Huiting quickly replied: "I do know people."
She was just surprised that such an important matter would be entrusted to her.
Giving gifts to friendly neighbors was one thing, but giving to factory leaders? Even her mother had never handled such matters!
Su Ruyi selected some fruits that were still in good condition and put them in a bag. "You decide how to arrange these – how much we keep for ourselves, how much to give away, it's up to you."
"Really? You're leaving it to me?"
Su Ruyi glanced at her: "Should I do it instead? My task was just to bring the things here."
Wang Huiting felt excited inside, feeling like an adult who could make decisions!
Being meticulous and organized, she found a notebook and pen from the room and wrote down the list of people to receive gifts.
Seeing that Wang Huiting had a systematic approach, Su Ruyi left her to it.
Just as Tong Aihua had written in his letter, Wang Huiting was the most outgoing of the three sisters and enjoyed social interactions.
Su Ruyi's purpose in coming here was primarily to continue searching for her father – she needed to find him, alive or dead. Secondly, she needed to find a job. Finally, if possible, she would see what help was needed here and lend a hand.
All this had been arranged by Ms. Su Ying. Though their group's relationship was somewhat awkward, in other families the situation might have turned hostile.
But their two families were special – Su Ying and Tong Aihua could remain friends even after divorce, and Li Mei wouldn't feel jealous about it. On the contrary, after learning about Su Ying's accomplishments, she held her in high regard.
When Tong Aihua had his accident, Li Mei's first thought was to contact Su Ying, who taught her what to do.
Moreover, Su Ying had called the factory and found people to help.
Otherwise, the factory wouldn't have been so accommodating – quickly issuing the death benefits and promising a job. Although Tong Aihua had died in the line of duty, the factory's situation was so dire they could barely manage.
Su Ying was warmhearted. She was not only the captain of the village militia but also the women's director in the township. She had now been promoted to village party secretary and had high political consciousness.
She thought Li Mei was a good person, just… a bit naive, and would struggle without help.
Now that Li Mei had a large sum of money, she could easily become a target.
When Tong Aihua returned to the city initially, he couldn't find any work. At that time, numerous Educated Youth were returning to cities while the economy hadn't yet developed, making job opportunities scarce.
His family was completely unreliable. As the second son, he had always been the least favored. When he returned home, he didn't even have a proper place to sleep – he could only make a bed on the living room floor, and even that was met with resentment.
Later, through an introduction, he met Li Mei through a blind date and married her. Not only did he gain a family, but also a job.
This job was given to Tong Aihua by Li Mei. Originally, it belonged to Li Mei's late husband. After his passing, it was left to Li Mei.
Countless people had their eyes on this position. As a widow raising two daughters, Li Mei was initially at a disadvantage in the marriage market. But because of this job, she became highly sought after.
Yet Li Mei didn't fancy any of her suitors—she only had eyes for the honest and handsome Tong Aihua.
Su Ying would shake her head whenever Li Mei was mentioned: "I don't know what she was thinking. She herself was a temporary worker, so why would she give her job to someone else? She could have done it herself. Even if that person was her husband, wouldn't it be more secure to earn her own money? Giving it away just made her vulnerable."
Then, she sighed to Su Ruyi:
"Say what you will about your father, but he's truly blessed. During his time as an Educated Youth in the countryside, he met me and lived more comfortably than others. After returning to the city, he encountered your Aunt Mei, who turned out to be an easy mark, and he managed to snag a job from her."
Although it was only right for Tong Aihua to send money to support Su Ruyi—after all, as her father, he was responsible—according to many people's views nowadays, since Su Ruyi took Su Ying's surname, Tong Aihua could have justified not sending money at all.
Moreover, the fact that he could send so much money over the years was thanks to Li Mei. Otherwise, Tong Aihua wouldn't have had a formal job—he would have struggled to support himself, let alone Su Ruyi.
And if not for Li Mei's understanding, there were plenty of ways to withhold the money. Su Ying was grateful to her.
Thinking about all this, Su Ruyi couldn't help but sigh. What a pity she missed out on knowing her father back then.
Otherwise, she'd really like to see what charm this male Daji possessed that made him so persuasive!