Sui Wuyou sat down in front of the stove and added a handful of firewood.
When Old Madam Sui saw this, the wrinkles on her face relaxed with delight. “Oh my heavens! My Wuyou actually knows how to tend the fire for me!”
Sui Wuyou felt a little embarrassed. From the way her grandmother reacted, you’d think adding a bit of firewood was some earth-shattering achievement.
“Grandma, where’s Grandpa?”
Old Madam Sui shoveled the stir-fried wild vegetables into a bowl and replied, “Your grandpa went to the fields. The sun’s not too strong yet, so he’s doing a bit more work while he can.”
It was early summer. Though it wasn’t unbearably hot, the midday sun could still be quite scorching.
“Then I’ll go call Grandpa back for lunch.”
After helping Old Madam Sui carry the mixed-grain porridge to the small square table under the pear tree in the courtyard, Sui Wuyou prepared to head out.
Old Madam Sui quickly set down the vegetables and stopped her.
“Wuyou, no need to go. Your grandpa knows when to come back. Besides, you don’t even know the way.”
Sui Wuyou paused. That was true—she didn’t know the way.
Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open from outside. Old Man Sui walked in, a hoe slung over his shoulder.
When he saw Sui Wuyou standing in the yard, he froze for a moment. Then he put down the hoe and said, “Wuyou, why are you up? The wound on your head hasn’t fully healed yet. You should lie down and rest more.”
“Grandpa, I’m already better.” Sui Wuyou grinned, revealing a row of small white teeth.
Old Madam Sui laid out the bowls and chopsticks. “Old man, Wuyou, come eat.”
The three grandparents and grandchild sat down. In the bowls of Old Man Sui and Old Madam Sui was thin, watery mixed-grain porridge.
But in front of Sui Wuyou sat a bowl of tender yellow steamed egg custard and two white-flour buns.
“Go on and eat,” Old Man Sui urged, lifting his bowl and slurping the thin porridge noisily.
Seeing this, Sui Wuyou felt as if a lump of cotton had blocked her chest.
She pushed the egg custard to the center of the table and broke the white buns in half, stuffing them firmly into her grandparents’ hands.
“Grandpa, Grandma! Let’s eat together!”
Old Madam Sui quickly stopped her. “This is to nourish your body. Your grandpa and I are old—we can just make do with a bite.”
Sui Wuyou covered her own bowl. “Grandma, if you don’t eat, then I won’t eat either.”
Old Man Sui and Old Madam Sui’s eyes reddened.
This child had always been filial.
It was just that the old couple had little ability and had let the child suffer along with them.
If their fourth son were still alive, Wuyou would be the young lady of a scholar’s family.
“Alright, we’ll eat.” Old Man Sui shot Old Madam Sui a look.
The child had just recovered. Don’t make her sad.
Old Madam Sui blinked hard, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill out.
She took a bite of the half bun in her hand, her voice slightly choked. “Alright, Grandma will eat! Our Wuyou should eat too!”
“Okay, Grandpa, Grandma!” Sui Wuyou nodded with a smile. “From now on, I’ll make sure you eat white-flour buns every day, and have meat every day too.”
“Good girl! Then Grandpa and Grandma will wait to enjoy a good life with our Wuyou.”
Old Man Sui smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on his face smoothed out, feeling as refreshed as if he had drunk mountain spring water in the height of summer.
Just after the three finished eating, a loud thump thump came from the courtyard gate.
“I’ll get it.” Sui Wuyou quickly walked to the gate.
When she opened it, a group of people of varying heights stood outside.
They were all stunned to see Sui Wuyou. In their hearts, they muttered: Since when did this little fool know how to open the door?
No one spoke to her. Instead, they called into the yard, “Father, Mother, we’re here.”
Sui Wuyou immediately understood—this must be her eldest uncle’s and second uncle’s families.
They walked straight into the courtyard. The eldest, Sui Jiaxing, spoke with a cold expression, “I heard that Shi Cangcheng’s two brats beat Wuyou?”
He was tall with wheat-colored skin. Even in coarse cloth, his handsome features couldn’t be concealed. His facial lines were sharp, his eyes deep and bright, occasionally revealing a shrewd glint.
Old Madam Sui pulled Sui Wuyou to her side and pointed at the old cloth wrapped around her forehead, saying painfully, “Shi Mangang and Shi Mangguan, those blasted rascals—look how they smashed our Wuyou’s head!”
Sui Wuyou’s lips twitched upward as she struggled not to laugh.
Good heavens. Was this family sent by monkeys to be comedians?
Shi Mangang. Shi Mangguan. Oh right—and there’s Shi Cangcheng.
Hilarious. Does their whole family live in a manure pit or something?
Sui Wuyou lowered her head, afraid she might burst out laughing.
The second brother, Sui Jiawang, glanced at Sui Wuyou, his fists clenching with cracking sounds.
“No one from the Shi family came to apologize?”
With thick brows, big eyes, and dark skin, Sui Jiawang resembled Sui Jiaxing somewhat, though he carried an undisguised air of simple honesty.
Old Madam Sui spat fiercely in the direction of the Shi family’s house and snorted.
“Hmph! Not even a mosquito from their house flew over. If your father hadn’t stopped me, I’d have gone to argue with them already.”
Sui Wuyou quietly observed her relatives.
Standing beside her eldest uncle should be her eldest aunt, Liu Cui’er. Her hair was neatly coiled, with arched brows and almond-shaped eyes. Though faint lines marked the corners of her eyes, she remained charming.
Second Aunt Li Meihua had long, narrow eyes and an oval face. Her gaze was gentle, her lips slightly curved, giving her a refined and kind appearance.
The four boys standing nearby—Changping, Chang’an, Changkang, and Changjian—were all fairly good-looking as well.
Sui Wuyou thought to herself: The Sui family members are all blessed with good looks. I wonder what their characters are like?
At that moment, Liu Cui’er slapped the table, her almond eyes wide.
“The Shi family thinks our Sui family has no one to stand up for us! They dare beat Wuyou? I’ll beat the crap out of them!”
“Big Sister-in-law’s right! Those turtle grandsons from the Shi family think we’re easy to bully. Father, Mother, let’s go reason with them right now.”
When Li Meihua opened her mouth, her rough, booming voice startled Sui Wuyou.
The contrast was too, too jarring!
The four boys—Changping, Chang’an, Changkang, and Changjian—also looked furious, rolling up their sleeves.
Old Man Sui grabbed his pipe and took the lead. “Let’s go!”
…
At that very moment, the Shi family was also eating.
Old Madam Shi’s cloudy triangular eyes swept around the room. Her brows twisted into a knot as she cursed nonstop.
“What rotten luck for my Shi family, giving birth to you worthless money-losing goods!”
“All you do all day is eat. Look at you, like starving ghosts reincarnated. Even mountains of gold and silver would be eaten empty by you!”
Three sallow, skinny little girls crouched outside the house, shrinking back and staring longingly at the people eating inside.
Inside, the family slurped their food noisily. Not one person looked outside.
Money-losing goods didn’t deserve to eat.
After scolding her granddaughters, Old Madam Shi turned to the brothers Shi Mangang and Shi Mangguan, who were wolfing down their food.
Her face changed as if by magic into a loving smile. “Oh my dear grandsons, eat slowly. Don’t choke.”
The thing Old Madam Shi was most proud of in her life was that after marrying into the Shi family, she had given birth to three sturdy sons in one go.
Since then, she had stood firm in the Shi household. With so many male heirs, outsiders didn’t dare bully them.
What use were money-losing girls? Sooner or later they would belong to someone else’s family. Only sons and grandsons could carry on the family line and hold up the household.