“I’m not hungry, Grandpa, you must be tired, let me rub your shoulders for you.” Su Yue felt like there were needles pricking her backside on the kang, she just couldn’t sit still, and seeing how tired Grandpa Su looked, she quickly got off the kang.
“Little Yue, when did you learn this skill? I feel like all my scattered old bones are back in place.” Grandpa Su’s face was full of enjoyment. Grandma had said their granddaughter was a filial child, and sure enough, she wasn’t wrong.
“What skill do I have, it’s just that you’re too tired, Grandpa. You’re this old, don’t go work in the fields for work points anymore. I’ll go to the county town tomorrow to look for a job, and once I have a job, I’ll support you and Grandma.” Su Yue said this partly to lay the groundwork for going to the county town tomorrow, but she also meant it sincerely about supporting them.
She was using the original owner’s body now, so she had to repay the original owner’s debts.
“Good, good, good, I’ll be waiting for my eldest granddaughter’s filial devotion.” Grandpa Su was delighted. Even if the words were false, hearing them still warmed his heart, when you’re old, don’t you just love it when the younger generation is filial?
While grandfather and granddaughter were having their pleasant little moment, the courtyard outside was in an uproar. Grandma Su only cooked the midday meal herself, dinner was made by the granddaughters-in-law in rotation.
Liu Dani felt that after all these years as a daughter-in-law, she’d finally become a mother-in-law herself, and could finally get out of the cooking rotation.
“Hurry up and cook, are you waiting for this old woman to come wait on you?” Grandma Su’s full-throated scolding rang out through the courtyard. Today it was the third daughter-in-law Liu Li’s turn to cook, and being the type to slack off and cut corners, she’d been cooking slowly, plus she had some personal feelings mixed in, and as a result she got an earful from Grandma Su.
Her personal feelings were of course about Su Yue, she’d thought the little sister-in-law who’d been throwing her weight around at home was finally about to be married off. Who knew the match would fall through, and on top of that she’d offended someone.
She’d heard the man’s side had serious backing, what if they retaliated against the family?
And with one more grown girl in the house who didn’t earn work points and didn’t even cook, who could stand for that?
Dinner ended amid all the bickering, one bowl of rice paste each, the children each got one corn bun, the adults got two each, plus two dishes of oil-less boiled vegetables, that was the whole family’s dinner.
Grandma Su had given Su Yue two corn buns, but she really couldn’t get down that throat-scratching stuff, so she gave the other one straight to Grandpa Su, which earned her yet more praise from Grandma Su.
She could say with a clear conscience that she was someone who could handle hardship, but she really couldn’t swallow this rough, dry corn bun.
While Grandma Su was praising her, she noticed something interesting. Grandpa Su nodded along with a face full of approval, her father had the look of someone basking in reflected glory, and her mother had eyes only for the food on the table.
Her three older brothers doted on her openly, the eldest sister-in-law kept a blank face, the second sister-in-law smiled on her face but there was no smile in her eyes, she actually rather liked the third sister-in-law’s bluntness, since that one just rolled her eyes at her outright.
Before bed, Grandma Su gave Su Yue two yuan and a grain coupon. If anyone else tried to squeeze a dime out of her hand, she’d feel the pain of it for ages, but when it came to spending money on Su Yue, she’d always been generous.
“Your grandpa said you’re going to the county town tomorrow to find work. It’s fine even if you don’t find anything, Grandma will support you, no one dares say a word about it. If you’re hungry at noon, go buy two big meat buns at the state-run restaurant, the state-run restaurant’s big meat buns are so fragrant.” Even though Grandma Su was already this old, she’d never once eaten the big meat buns from the state-run restaurant. But she’d heard about them, supposedly stuffed full of meat, so fragrant.
The whole family together might earn just over a hundred yuan a year, and that was in a good year, and grain coupons still had to be bought with money. Whose family would dare eat at a state-run restaurant, no matter how much money they had, no one dared be so extravagant.
“Grandma, I have money.” Afraid Grandma Su wouldn’t believe her, Su Yue pulled out the three yuan fifty cents from her pocket. She was almost moved to tears by this little old woman, even though the old woman’s affection wasn’t really meant for her, she was occupying this person’s body now.
“Keep your money. I heard the supply co-op has something called snow cream, after a girl rubs it on, her skin gets so nice. My precious is already so fair-skinned, all the more reason to use it.” Grandma Su lovingly stroked Su Yue’s face, which made her think of her own younger years.
Back then she’d been the prettiest girl for ten li around, matchmakers could have worn a path flat at her family’s doorstep. She hadn’t picked the richest family, she’d picked the one who listened to her most.
Everyone said a woman’s whole life depended on marrying into a good family, but that was all false, character was what mattered most.
Her granddaughter was good-looking and had a high school education, she’d surely find a top-notch match in the future. Not like that matchmaker today, who’d actually introduced someone with a disfigured face to her granddaughter, was that supposed to be an insult to someone?
So what if the other side had a state-grain-eating job, who did they think they were looking down on?
Once her granddaughter had a job, forget someone who just ate state grain, even an official would be a fine match for her.
In short, in Grandma Su’s eyes, Su Yue was good at everything, the original owner’s confidence had probably been cultivated by Grandma Su herself.
“Little Yue is good-looking, just like you were when you were young.” Grandpa Su glanced at Su Yue, as if seeing his young wife of years past.
“The child is still here, you shameless old man.” Grandma Su rubbed her wrinkled face and scolded him with a laugh.
West main room
“Little Yue fainted dead away today, why didn’t you go check on her?” Su Daqiang, sitting on the edge of the kang, asked Liu Dani, who was lying on the kang, his tone carrying some blame.
“Isn’t she doing fine now? She just ate a whole bowl of rice paste and a corn bun.” Liu Dani was still annoyed that at the table just now, Su Yue had given the corn bun to Grandpa Su instead of to her.
The daughter she’d carried for ten months and given birth to might as well have been born for her mother-in-law, she wasn’t close to her own mother at all.
Everyone said a daughter was her mother’s little padded jacket, how could a mother not love the daughter she’d risked her life to bear? But that ungrateful little wretch never once looked at her with any warmth, what could she do?
Anyway, that little ingrate had plenty of people who doted on her, she wouldn’t miss one more.
“Little Yue is a filial child, if you show her more love, she’ll be more filial to you too.” Su Daqiang felt helpless too, what kind of mother treated her own daughter like a stranger?
“I know, I’ll go check on her tomorrow, let’s just sleep, I’m exhausted.” The moment Liu Dani said this, she fell asleep the next second, sleeping soundly. After a full day of physical labor with no oil in her stomach, how could she not be exhausted?
East wing room
Su He honestly told his parents about the bowl of steamed egg today. As for the promise their little aunt had asked of them, well, their parents weren’t outsiders.
“Your little aunt does care about you, it’s just that she’s still young and has a bit of a childish streak sometimes.” Su Jianguo stroked Su He’s head, his eyes full of gratification. His little sister was a good one, and his son was a good one too.
Su He: his dad was starting to brainwash him again…
Beside them, Zhou Xiumei kept her head down the whole time, seriously mending clothes, as if determined to mend this ragged garment into a flower.
Today was the first time in all these years since she’d married in that she’d spoken harshly to her sister-in-law, and listening to the father and son’s conversation now, her heart felt nothing at all.
Her sister-in-law had been raised soft and fair by their grandmother, while her own two children were thin and small, what mother wouldn’t feel for that?
If it weren’t for the fact that her husband was the eldest son and eldest grandson, she’d surely be as sharp-tongued as her sisters-in-law.