"If my Jiu'er dies, you'll be buried with her!" Su Xiangxi's eyes were bloodshot, no longer resembling his former honest self, as if he had completely transformed into another person.
He doted on her, but not so she could freeze their daughter to death!
Feng Qiulian shuddered. She knew her husband's words were not just an empty threat.
He truly meant what he said.
Su Jinyan, standing nearby, had long been terrified by Su Xiangxi's behavior.
Father had always listened to Mother, agreeing with whatever she said.
It seemed since childhood, he had never lost his temper with her.
Today was the first time he had seen Father so fierce.
But Mother really was in the wrong—she wanted to freeze Little Ninth Sister to death…
The little sister was so adorable. He couldn't understand why his mother would want to freeze her to death. Even if it was to save milk for Jinyu, that still shouldn't be…
Nearby, Grandma Su's anger had subsided somewhat.
She had thought her son would blindly defend this woman without distinguishing right from wrong.
Even to the point of disregarding their own daughter's life.
It turned out she had worried too much.
Although her son doted on Third Sister-in-law, if she did something wrong, she would still be punished.
"Mother, how is Jiu'er? Is she… alright?" Su Xiangxi asked anxiously.
No wonder he hadn't seen his little Jiu'er when he woke up…
"Don't worry, Mother is taking care of her. Jiu'er is perfectly fine!" Grandma Su reassured him.
Su Xiangxi nodded. "Please continue looking after her for a few more days. Once my leg is better, I'll bring her back to our room."
Grandma Su waved her hand. "Better not. I'm afraid if I send her back, my little granddaughter might be gone one day."
She didn't trust Mrs. Feng and would never let her little Jiu'er be in danger again.
Only by keeping Su Jiu under her watchful eye could she feel at ease.
Su Xiangxi paused, then nodded helplessly.
Su Youtian and Mrs. Zhang, who had rushed over, carried Su Xiangxi onto the heated brick bed together.
With no outsiders present, the atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense.
Lying on the bed, Su Xiangxi grew angrier and more disheartened the more he thought about it.
Mrs. Feng was five years younger than him. In the past, he had always indulged and cherished her, thinking she was young.
If she disliked working, he would do it for her.
If she disliked household chores, he would do them for her.
He had married her, so he would spoil her. A little laziness was fine—after all, she was good to their children.
Whenever there was something delicious or good to drink, she always saved it for their sons, treating them as more precious than her own eyes.
But he never imagined that one day, for the sake of their youngest son, she would try to freeze their daughter to death.
That was their own flesh and blood…
How could she be so heartless?
Su Xiangxi clenched his fists at his sides. The thought that his precious daughter had almost died made him…
"Husband, I was wrong…" Feng Qiulian pleaded weakly while clutching her wound.
As long as she lowered her pride, her husband would surely forgive her.
Unfortunately, Su Xiangxi acted as if he hadn't heard her, with no intention of responding at all.
…
Grandma Su returned to her room and sat by the heated brick bed, tears once again streaming uncontrollably down her face.
Su Youtian came in from outside and sighed when he saw his wife like this.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you crying again for no reason?"
"I just feel it's unfair for my son. Third Brother just woke up, and that woman was already calling him useless by his ear. What if he really can't stand up again? Would she still be willing to stay with my son?"
Grandma Su wiped her tears with her sleeve.
She was just worried!
Her Third Brother, his fate is truly bitter!
To have encountered such a wife, it's like suffering eight lifetimes of misfortune.
She was even more worried that Feng Qiulian's shout of "useless" would deal a heavy blow to Third Brother.
"You're just worrying too much. Third Brother's wife has borne children for our Old Su Family all these years. If she doesn't stay with Third Brother, who else would she stay with?"
Old Man Su said helplessly, not thinking it was any big deal at all.
Women, once they have children, they have ties.
Feng Qiulian has been with his son for so many years. Even if his son were truly paralyzed, he didn't believe she would be the kind to abandon her husband and children.
"You… forget it, there's no reasoning with you. This time I couldn't help but hit her, and in a fit of anger, I even told her about Jiu'er."
"Third Brother injured her. That woman probably won't feel comfortable about it. Who knows what trouble she might stir up later…" Grandma Su said.
But that woman deserved the beating!
Just for throwing Jiu'er onto the snowy ground, this old woman of hers wished she could have beaten her to death!
"Alright, let the young couple live however they want. Whether they fight or curse, it's their own business. We should interfere less!" Su Youtian advised.
"Understood. Besides my Guai Nan, I can't be bothered with other matters," Grandma Su nodded, listlessly saying.
"Heaven bless us. Being able to keep our family from starving is already a great fortune. This old woman doesn't ask for anything more."
Compared to not long ago when they were still worrying about running out of food, having sweet potatoes to rely on these past few days was already a tremendous blessing.
"That's the right way to think. The famine years are over. Our days will only get better and better!" Su Youtian patted his wife's shoulder, comforting her.
Having survived such bitter days, what hurdle couldn't they overcome?
Lying on the kang, Su Jiu waved her hands, kicked her legs, and stretched her muscles.
She could understand Grandma Su's feelings—it was simply heartache over her son injuring his leg, possibly never being able to stand again.
To ease Grandma Su's sorrow, Su Jiu focused her thoughts. The next second, a pile of sweet potatoes and threshed wheat appeared out of thin air in the room.
Grandma Su blinked, then rubbed her eyes with her hands: "Husband, look quickly!"
Before, they would always discover sweet potatoes in the room upon waking up.
This time, however, she witnessed things appearing out of thin air right before her eyes. Stimulated by this sight, Grandma Su's heart raced. All sadness, all sorrow—she forgot it all.
"Goodness, how is there wheat here too?" Su Youtian squatted down, grabbed a handful of wheat, and opened his palm. The golden wheat grains were plump and full, the simple, enticing aroma of wheat boldly assailing his sense of smell.
"Husband, with so much wheat and sweet potatoes, it's enough for us to eat for a long time. Let's quickly thank Heaven~" Grandma Su plopped down onto her knees, offering endless thanks to Heaven.
Previously, Su Jiu had always taken out just the amount needed for the day.
This time, however, she took out five hundred jin of sweet potatoes and five hundred jin of wheat all at once.
Grandma Su's room was already narrow. A thousand jin of grain instantly covered the floor in a thick layer.
Next, the old couple busied themselves with tidying up.
The wheat filled five large bags, placed right next to the rice vat.
The sweet potatoes were carried by Su Youtian, trip after trip, into the cellar.
Fortunately, it was cold. After eating, everyone huddled under the quilts.
Mrs. Zhang heard the commotion and called out once during that time. After getting Old Man Su's reply, she didn't think much more of it and continued mending clothes for the children under the quilt.
After finishing all this, the old couple collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.
Grandma Su stroked the five large bags of wheat grains, tears welling up in her eyes with emotion.
Once these grains were ground into flour, they would become genuine fine grain. Having farmed all her life, she could count on her fingers the number of days she had truly eaten fine grain.
Now, with all this wheat, how could she not enjoy a few good meals?
That night, Grandma Su found herself unable to sleep.
When there was no grain, she worried every day; now that she had grain, she worried it might be stolen.
As a result, she would sleep for a while, then get up to touch and count the bags, making sure all five were still there before lying back down.
If it weren’t for the bitter cold, she would have even run out to the yard to check if the sweet potatoes in the cellar were still there.
Su Jiu was completely baffled by Grandma Su’s antics.
Her Immortal Abode Space was still piled high with sweet potatoes and wheat.
The crops in the Spirit Field, watered with Spirit Spring Water, not only grew rapidly but also carried Spiritual Qi, ripening almost daily.
As long as she didn’t harvest them, they would remain growing in the field indefinitely.
So, whenever she wished, she could harvest an endless supply of sweet potatoes and wheat grains.
However, her farming wasn’t just for the sake of farming.
Beyond filling her stomach, it was also for cultivation.
She discovered that when the crops in the Spirit Field were reduced to powder under her will, nourishing the spatial dimension, the Spiritual Qi within would become even richer than before.
Su Jiu glanced at the piles of sweet potatoes and wheat grains on the grassy area of the spatial dimension and, with a thought, stored them all into the Qiankun Bucket inside the thatched hut.
As for the remaining crops in the Spirit Field, she kept only enough for the next round of planting, turning the rest into powder to be absorbed by the spatial dimension.
Sensing that the Spiritual Qi in the spatial dimension had increased significantly, Su Jiu sprinkled Spirit Spring Water over the newly planted sweet potato sprouts and wheat grains.
Having successfully achieved Qi Induction and entered the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage, she performed these tasks effortlessly.
After getting up for the tenth time to check on the wheat, Grandma Su finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.