Su Yun had just sat up on the edge of the bed when she heard the courtyard gate open, followed by the push of the main room door.
Her younger brother, Su Qingming, strode in holding a bottle of soda, looking at her with concern:
“Third Sister, are you feeling any better?”
“Dad said a fever can kill you. If you don’t get better soon, he’s taking you to the hospital for a shot!”
Thanks for the concern, but I’m already dead — and yes, fever really can kill you.
Su Yun thought to herself.
“I’m fine now. I feel much better after sleeping it off. I’ll probably be fully recovered by tomorrow.”
She really didn’t want to be dragged to the hospital for a shot, nor did she want to fake being sick to stay home like the original owner had done.
Putting everything else aside, she wasn’t familiar with the local dialect. Although she had the original owner’s memories, the accent wasn’t something that could change so easily.
Now, every time she spoke, she had to mentally roll the words around twice, carefully translate them into the local dialect before saying them out loud, just to avoid slipping up.
She’d better talk less over the next few days. Starting today, she, Su Yun, would be the most reserved person in this household! She just had to endure for a few days — before long, she’d be heading to the countryside, and once she was somewhere else, she wouldn’t have to worry anymore!
“Here! I brought you a bottle of soda — it’s gotten warm in the sun.”
The cap had already been thoughtfully pried open. Su Yun took it and tipped her head back to drink. She really was thirsty — she’d been about to go to the main room for water when her younger brother came back.
As she drank, she sized up the young man in front of her. Wow! He was actually a handsome younger brother!
Thanks to the Su parents’ genes, all four kids in the family were good-looking. Su Qingming had a clean, handsome face with long, narrow eyes and brows.
He had something of that “gentleman scoundrel” vibe that was popular on the internet in her past life. Once he grew up a bit and put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, he could totally cosplay as the villainous second male lead.
In her memories, the eldest brother, Su Qingyue, was also broad-browed with big eyes and looked very sunny. Add the muscles he’d built up since joining the military, and he was a textbook example of a tall, athletic, 185cm-tall golden retriever boy.
The second sister, Su Yu, had a gentle, classical beauty — similar long, narrow eyes and brows to Su Qingming, an oval face with a cherry-like mouth, and a mild temperament. She gave off a very comforting vibe.
As for the original owner, she had a small face with a slightly pointed chin, crescent-shaped brows, a pair of round, jet-black almond eyes, and a small, glossy mouth with a slightly upturned nose tip. Because she was young, her cheeks still had some baby fat, making her look rosy and soft.
She gave off a very lively impression — pretty with a touch of delicate cuteness, and completely unthreatening.
Su Yun thought that in modern times, this kind of face would have her roommates pinching her cheeks every single day!
The soda was actually pretty good. Su Yun downed the remaining half in one go and handed the bottle back to her little brother.
Su Qingming took the bottle and scratched his head:
“Well, if you’re fine, I’ll go take a bath. It’s so hot today — I’m drenched in sweat!”
“Go ahead.” Su Yun waved her hand.
Su Qingming headed out with the soda bottle. He’d just graduated from middle school and would be starting high school in a few days. In this era, there was no summer homework.
And with no after-school activities like in later times, he had nothing to do at home — just play all day long. In the scorching heat, a bunch of kids would roam the streets, dart through alleyways, or catch fish and shrimp by the river, finding their own fun. He came home every day reeking of sweat.
Su Yun called up her system and checked the time. The working adults would probably be back soon.
Sure enough, within a few minutes, Su’s father pushed his bicycle into the yard with Su’s mother.
Both of them worked at the cannery, which was quite far from home. Su’s mother was the factory accountant, and Su’s father had finally worked his way up to a small workshop supervisor after many years. They commuted by bicycle every day — about a ten-minute ride.
Su Yu worked at a textile factory two streets away — just a few minutes on foot. However, she was an assembly line worker and a temporary employee at that, with a heavy workload and slightly later finishing times.
Su’s father and mother had long seniority, bringing in nearly a hundred yuan a month together. By all accounts, the family wasn’t poor. The watches on their wrists, their crisp new Dacron shirts, and leather shoes — not just anyone could afford those.
But the younger kids were all dressed in ragged, patched-up clothes and shoes.
Even the eldest brother had been the same before joining the military — and because he was tall, his sleeves and pant legs were always a good few inches too short.
Su Yun flipped through the memories and felt speechless. The reason turned out to be that Su’s parents were just too odd and selfish — they only cared about themselves!
Good news: Her transmigrated parents didn’t favor sons over daughters.
Bad news: They didn’t favor any of the kids, boys or girls alike.
Su’s father and mother genuinely didn’t favor sons over daughters — because they didn’t care about sons or daughters at all. They had kids simply because Su’s mother had gotten pregnant, and in this era with underdeveloped medicine, getting an abortion would have been more damaging to the body.
In modern terms: Parents are true love; children are just accidents!
The two of them were quite unusual for this era.
They didn’t value sons, nor the youngest child, and they certainly didn’t play favorites — because their hearts were never on their children to begin with.
But the two of them had an incredibly close relationship. How close?
In the original owner’s childhood memories, the eldest brother often got beaten by Su’s father for no reason. But Su’s mother never stopped him like other mothers would, nor did she put in a good word. Instead, she’d help pin the eldest brother down so Su’s father could swing more easily.
Su Yun was stunned. This was absolutely insane!
And these two were supposed to be parents?
Although almost every household beat their children in this era, and on Su family’s street, kids could be heard howling every day, most of the time it was just a few swats on the fleshy part of the bottom when a child had done something wrong.
Only two families beat their children mercilessly — even dragging them through the streets with iron chains or hanging them from the gate to whip them.
Su Yun was genuinely shocked when she recalled those scenes!
In modern times, most children grow up being cradled in their parents’ hands — not to mention being beaten, even getting scolded is rare. Scenes like those in her memories would be enough to land someone in prison in modern days!
And the Su family was one of those two!
Su’s father usually put on a decent, honest, and steady front, but in reality, he had a violent temper — highly combustible and explosive, ready to erupt at any moment. However, he never hit his wife — only the children!
Whenever he was in a bad mood or frustrated with work, he’d find any excuse to beat the kids. In the past, it was always the eldest brother who took the hits, since he was older, stronger, and could withstand more.
The excuses were always ridiculous.
For example:
“Why did you only score 99 this time? Why not 100?”
“Why are you looking down when you talk to me? Are you feeling guilty about something you did wrong?”
“I ran into your teacher after work — they said you’ve been misbehaving at school…”
“My bike tire went flat today — was that your doing!”
The worst incident was when the eldest brother picked up an old iron chain on his way home from school, thinking he could sell it as scrap metal and buy a few pencils with the money.
That very day, Su’s father had been chewed out by his supervisor and came home red-faced with anger.
The moment he walked in and saw the iron chain on the floor, without even asking, he wrapped it around the eldest brother’s neck, grabbed a stick in his other hand, and dragged him straight out into the street.
As he beat the boy with the stick, he shouted: “Come out, everyone, come take a look! This little brat has learned to steal!”
“Steal eggs as a kid, dig graves as an adult! This cannot go unpunished! I’ll keep beating him today until he admits he’s wrong!”
He kept shouting loudly, calling everyone on the street to come watch him beat his child — and the more people gathered, the more excited he got…
The eldest brother was shoved to the ground, and the stick, as thick as a wrist, came crashing down on him from all angles. Soon, red welts rose all over his body.
A crowd gathered around, pointing and whispering. The eldest brother trembled with rage, his fists clenched so tightly they turned white. Overwhelmed by shame, his face burned red as he shouted back repeatedly, “I didn’t steal anything!” “I didn’t!”
But Su’s father ignored him completely, his eyes filled with cruel ruthlessness, his expression twisted. Without caring about right or wrong, he beat the boy savagely until he had vented his anger and felt satisfied.
In the Su household, Su’s mother never interfered when he hit the children. The other kids, pale with fear, also dared not step in.
All they could do was tend to the eldest brother’s wounds afterward, silently keeping him company with tear-filled eyes.
This was also why the eldest brother later secretly signed up to join the military at school without telling the family, and left without looking back.
The two sisters were also terrified of Su’s father. Although he had never treated them the same way, growing up witnessing their brother being beaten so often left them deeply afraid of him.
On days when Su’s father was home on leave, the two sisters would creep along the walls like timid little mice, slipping back to their rooms, only coming out when absolutely necessary for meals.
The reason Su’s father never laid a hand on them was, first, because he thought beating a girl would make him lose face; second, because once he had hit Su’s second sister, and the women’s committee director came to his door to reprimand him; and third, because he felt girls couldn’t take a beating — it just wasn’t satisfying enough.
Moreover, in those days, it was considered perfectly natural for a father to beat his son — sparing the rod spoils the child, they said. No matter how severe the beating, neighbors wouldn’t interfere. But hitting a daughter would always draw someone to step in and mediate.
After the eldest brother left, it was the youngest, Su Qingming’s turn. But Su’s younger brother was quick-witted, not as stubborn as the eldest.
The eldest brother was quiet and taciturn but would never admit defeat. Even when being beaten, he wouldn’t run. When pushed too far, he’d just grit out: “If you’ve got the guts, just kill me!”
In Su Yun’s view, that was quite admirable — a man of principle and spirit. Perfect for being a soldier — he would never surrender to an enemy.
However, hearing that only made Su’s father angrier, and he’d beat him even harder. Usually, he’d only stop when he himself got tired from swinging.
Su’s younger brother, on the other hand, had a completely opposite personality from the eldest. Growing up in that environment, he had learned early on to read the room.
Most of the time, by the time Su’s father was ready to strike, the boy had already bolted — though sometimes he’d still get caught and beaten.
When it came to admitting fault, he never hesitated — whether he was wrong or not, he’d apologize and beg for mercy.
Sometimes, when the eldest brother was being beaten too harshly, he’d rush over to Su’s father, drop to his knees with a thud, and kowtow frantically.
Weeping, he’d beg Su’s father to stop — to not cripple their big brother.
He was the only one in the family who, on occasion, mustered the courage to plead for the eldest brother during a beating.
As for Su’s father and mother’s attitude toward their four children — as long as they didn’t starve to death, that was good enough. They didn’t care about anything else.
The two often left the kids at home while they went out to eat at restaurants, buying steamed buns only for themselves.
The only reason the children were allowed to finish high school was that Su’s father cared about his reputation and feared being mocked.
After all, he was a minor supervisor — how embarrassing would it be if his kids couldn’t afford school?
Having them wear ragged clothes was fine — since the era promoted frugality and hard work, no one could really mock him for that.
As for Su Yu, the money for her temporary position at the textile factory was given on an IOU.
Temporary workers at the textile factory earned 18 yuan a month. Since Su Yu wasn’t married yet, she had to hand over 10 yuan to the family each month for living expenses, plus an additional 5 yuan to repay the cost of buying the job — until the debt was fully paid off.
That meant Su Yu worked her fingers to the bone from dawn to dusk, only to have 3 yuan left in her pocket each month. How miserable… Just thinking about it made Su Yun’s vision go black again and again on her second sister’s behalf.