Lu An’an said angrily, “Mom, who bullied you? Was it those two bad guys, Grandpa and Uncle?”
Su Wanqing replied as she walked toward the kitchen, “Yes, but someone helped me. They got beaten up even worse. Don’t worry.”
After Su Wanqing briefly explained what happened, Lu An’an grew even more furious. It was a pity he was too young; otherwise, he would have rushed over to fight Su Daqiang and his son.
Lu Pingping and Lu Tiantian were still little. Hearing this, they were so frightened they burst into tears. Su Wanqing quickly put down the vegetables in her hands to comfort the two children. “Mom is fine. Tomorrow, Mom will go to the factory to deal with those two bad guys.”
Lu Tiantian asked pitifully, “Mom, won’t they beat you to death?”
Su Wanqing said, “No, don’t worry. Mom will protect myself and all of you. Tonight, we’ll have shredded pork noodles with preserved mustard greens.”
Being so young, they could be easily comforted with something good to eat.
Su Wanqing went in to cook, instructing Lu An’an to take care of his younger siblings.
Lu An’an made a bowl of Malted Milk Powder for each of them. Su Wanqing called from inside, “An An, have a bowl yourself too. After we finish, Mom will buy more.”
Her current salary was more than enough to support the three of them, plus there was the money from Lu Changfeng and their savings. In any case, they wouldn’t go hungry.
The three children were too thin; Su Wanqing wanted to raise them to be plump and healthy.
The noodles at dinner were so delicious that the three children were practically in a daze. Ever since Su Wanqing started taking care of them, they had never gone hungry again, and every main meal included meat dishes.
Lu An’an had become Su Wanqing’s staunch fan.
After dinner, Lu An’an proactively brought a small stool and insisted on washing the dishes. Su Wanqing tried to stop him, but he refused. “Mom, you’re injured. I must wash the dishes today.”
A wave of warmth washed over Su Wanqing. “Then thank you, An An.”
Su Wanqing washed her face, but the bruise was still quite noticeable. She needed to think of a way to deal with Su Daqiang and his son.
She picked up the wool and knitting needles to start knitting a sweater. The weather was getting colder, and she needed to prepare winter clothes for the three children. Zhang Cuifen had taught her a couple of days ago, so she started by knitting one for Lu Tiantian.
She would knit for the two boys and herself later. As for Lu Changfeng, she would call and ask if he wanted one. If he did, she wouldn’t mind, but he had Lin Yunshi now, so he probably wouldn’t appreciate her handiwork.
As she knitted absentmindedly, the radio broadcast news about a submarine launching a missile. Su Wanqing thought, “I wonder if Lu Changfeng was involved in the research and development.”
Research scientists in this era faced extremely difficult conditions. Lu Changfeng only came home once every few months, constantly busy and on his feet.
After a while, when Lu An’an came out of the kitchen, Lu Pingping and Lu Tiantian clung to him. “Brother, let’s go to Aunt Du’s house to watch TV.”
The Aunt Du they mentioned was none other than Du Minjia.
Lu An’an put on a stern face and said, “We’re not going there anymore. Aunt Du always bullies Mom. We can’t associate with people like that.”
The two younger ones were full of longing, but they had always listened to their older brother since they were little. Helpless, they could only stay home and read picture books.
Su Wanqing asked, “Do you really like watching TV that much?”
The three children nodded solemnly. Su Wanqing thought for a moment and put down the sweater.
She walked into the room, opened the drawer, and found that there was no television purchase coupon at home. She planned to ask Qiu Mingjie over the weekend if he could get one.
The next morning, after the children finished their meal, Lu An’an led them on foot to school. Su Wanqing was astonished by how sensible the children were.
No wonder families in the seventies and eighties could effortlessly raise so many children—it turned out the kids really were easy to manage.
While preparing breakfast that morning, Su Wanqing had deliberately boiled an extra egg to give to Xia Yue when she picked her up.
Xia Yue said, “Wanqing, you shouldn’t always bring me food. It makes me feel embarrassed. It’s already hard enough for you to take me to and from work.”
Su Wanqing replied as she pedaled, “Compared to the kindness you showed me last night, this is nothing.” If Xia Yue hadn’t returned home in time to call for help yesterday, given the ruthlessness of that father and son, Su Wanqing doubted she’d even be able to get out of bed today.
Xia Yue sighed. “Although my family is poor, my parents believe in self-reliance. They never let me go hungry just to support my brother’s education. It was my own decision to insist on supporting him because he’s good at studying. Your family members are truly inhuman.”
Su Wanqing said, “Yesterday, I saw how brave your brother was. If there are any subjects he struggles with, I can tutor him. Over the past few years, I’ve spent my time at home reading books and listening to the radio, and now my English is quite fluent.”
Xia Yue was overjoyed. “Really? Then my brother will have to trouble you at your home this Sunday.”
“No trouble at all. He can come anytime as long as I’m free.”
Back at the factory, Wang Dafu was stunned when he saw Su Wanqing’s bruised and swollen face. “Comrade Su, who did you offend?”
Su Wanqing replied, “It was my father, Su Daqiang, and my brother, Su Jianjun. They came asking for money, and when I refused, they beat me severely. Luckily, I had Workshop worker Xia Yue with me last night near her home, and she called for help. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to come to work today.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Dafu was so furious he nearly slammed the table. “Outrageous! How can there be such troublemakers in our factory? Come with me to the Party Secretary’s office. We must report this and ensure you get justice.”
Su Wanqing was now his lucky star. If anything happened to her, how would he manage his foreign business dealings in the future?
Su Wanqing had already anticipated that Wang Dafu would stand up for her. After all, capable people were treated like revered figures by their leaders.
Wang Dafu took Su Wanqing to the Party Secretary’s office, only to find Su Daqiang and his son sitting inside, their heads wrapped in bandages.
Su Wanqing felt a surge of satisfaction. She hadn’t expected Xia Yue’s family to have beaten them so severely—it was truly gratifying.
Beside them were Gao Weiguo and Sun Ningde. Su Wanqing sneered inwardly. How dare these two villains lodge a complaint first?
The previous night, after being bandaged at the hospital, Su Daqiang and his son had returned to the Hongxing Factory dormitory, where they encountered Sun Ningde.
Sun Ningde asked, “How did you two end up so badly injured?”
Su Daqiang gritted his teeth and said, “We went to Su Wanqing to ask for money, but not only did she refuse, she also had people beat us up like this.”
Hearing it was Su Wanqing, Sun Ningde could hardly contain his delight. He had been worrying about how to deal with her, and now, just as he was dozing off, someone had handed him a pillow.
Suppressing a smirk, Sun Ningde pretended to be indignant. “This is utterly unacceptable! Since when does a daughter beat her own father? Tomorrow, I’ll go to the Party Secretary and help you seek justice.”
Su Daqiang exclaimed excitedly, “Thank you, Secretary Sun.”
After the father and son left, Sun Ningde immediately went to find Gao Weiguo. “Deputy Factory Director Gao, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we get rid of Su Wanqing, Wang Dafu will have no one to help him with translation. His cooperation with Rockefeller will likely fall through. After all, Comrade Liu is on our side.”
Gao Weiguo thought Sun Ningde made a good point. “Right, first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll go find Ding Jinbao and have him directly dismiss Su Wanqing.”
Gao Weiguo looked Su Wanqing up and down and said sternly, “Comrade Su, how could you bring people to beat your own father and brother like this? Do you have any humanity or morality left?”