Su Dahu hadn’t quite caught on yet, but Su Erhu snapped to his senses.
“My sister is just a little girl; whether our family lives well or not has nothing to do with her,” Su Erhu said with a dark expression.
His sister had just been born, and these people were already talking like this. If their family stayed poor in the future, who knew how much these people would laugh at her?
Laughing at them was fine, but mocking his sister was out of the question!
After speaking, Su Erhu pulled his elder brother and walked away.
The grown men and boys of the Su family left in a grand rush, leaving the crowd under the big locust tree to continue gossiping.
“Didn’t the Su family just have a daughter? How are they suddenly going to hit it big?”
A young wife patted her protruding belly, watching the backs of the Su brothers with a trace of disdain on her face.
She’s nothing more than a money-losing girl!
Hearing the way these people talked, one would think they had given birth to a golden phoenix.
Upon hearing the young wife’s words, Granny Wang, whose hair was streaked with grey, immediately put on a mysterious expression.
“Wife of Ergou, there’s something you don’t know. Years ago, a fortune-telling master came to our Taohua Village. Oh boy, speaking of him, that master had a celestial aura and looked just like an immortal. No matter whose fortune he told, he was remarkably accurate…”
At this point, Granny Wang smacked her lips worshipfully, as if reminiscing about the grand occasion back then when the whole village ran out to get their fortunes read.
At the same time, she hyped up the atmosphere to add a touch of mystery.
Sure enough, as soon as Granny Wang finished speaking, many young women and wives who didn’t know the backstory looked over with eager eyes.
Granny Wang felt thoroughly satisfied in her heart.
Then she continued, “That master told the Su family’s fortune, saying their home was overly dominant in yang and lacking in yin, creating a disharmony of yin and yang. They hadn’t had a daughter for several generations, so their good fortune was growing thinner and thinner. Only by having a daughter could they soar to great heights, bring in torrents of wealth, and enjoy enduring prosperity…”
Granny Wang spoke with spit flying everywhere, directly turning the dramatic vocabulary she had learned from traditional operas into the fortune-teller’s words.
Finally, Granny Wang gave a summary statement:
“So you see, the Old Su family is about to hit it big!”
After saying this, Granny Wang showed a touched expression, her tone filled with envy.
“Is there really such a thing? Must be a scam, right?” Wang Ergou’s wife, Tian Eryue, still didn’t believe it.
She had only been married into Daliushu Village for a few years and simply couldn’t believe that the poorest family in the entire village would make a fortune just because they gave birth to a daughter.
After speaking, Tian Eryue touched her own belly, a hint of pride.
Her mother had once said that her round belly definitely meant she was carrying a son.
What was so good about giving birth to a daughter anyway?
Giving birth to a son was far better!
Daughters were nothing but money-losing goods!
Tian Eryue didn’t seem to realize that she herself was also one of those “money-losing goods” she spoke of.
On the road.
“Eldest Brother, do you think what that fortune-teller said back then… was actually accurate?” Second Brother Su couldn’t help but ask. “Now that Mother gave birth to Little Sister, is our family’s life really… going to hit it big?”
Hearing his younger brother’s words, Su Dahu also recalled the rumors that had spread in the village about how their family would make a fortune once a daughter was born.
“How can you believe such things? Don’t you remember? A few years ago, in Old Wu’s family in the neighboring village, people insisted they saw a golden light shining over their house in the middle of the night, claiming they were going to strike it rich. And what happened?”
“And the very next day, someone in their family broke a leg,” Su Erhu recalled the incident as well.
“So, regardless of whether the fortune-teller was accurate or not, Little Sister is the treasure of our family. Our parents have longed for her for half a lifetime,” Su Dahu said.
“Eldest Brother, did you really need to tell me that? It wasn’t just Father and Mother who longed for her—we did too! Now that we finally got a sister after all this waiting, of course we have to cherish and dote on her,” Su Erhu said as if it went without saying.
“From now on, aside from Father and Mother, Little Sister is the biggest authority in the family,” Su Dahu, as the eldest, directly announced.
“Of course!” Su Erhu chimed in agreement repeatedly.
…
The Su brothers talked all along the way until they reached a fork in the road.
Su Dahu went to try his luck at the foot of the mountain, while Su Erhu took a few of the little kids to try their luck at the river.
“Eldest Brother, if you can’t catch a wild chicken, just let it go. You must not go deep into the mountains,” Su Erhu warned uneasily.
“I know,” Su Dahu replied in his honest voice. “Don’t worry, your elder brother isn’t tired of living. I definitely won’t go deep into the mountains—I haven’t even seen what Little Sister looks like yet! Besides, that beast is in the mountains…”
As Su Dahu reached this point, he didn’t know what crossed his mind, but his eyes suddenly dimmed.
Su Erhu’s expression changed as well.
A layer of heaviness suddenly fell over the cheerful atmosphere. Even the clueless little kids seemed affected by the mood and stopped their noisy laughing and playing.
“Eldest Brother, do you think Third Brother will ever come back?” Su Erhu asked, his eyes turning red.
“He will! He definitely will!” Su Dahu lacked confidence deep down, yet his tone was extraordinarily firm and loud.
Who knows whether he was saying it to Su Erhu or to reassure himself.
…As if believing it meant Su Sanhu would definitely return.
“But… is Third Brother even still alive?” Su Erhu asked again in a heavy tone.
“What rubbish are you spewing? Third Brother is definitely alive!” Eldest Brother Su glared at him. “If Third Brother managed to survive back then, it means he is blessed with great luck and longevity. He’s definitely living well right now, probably enjoying good food and drinks somewhere.”
Although Su Dahu was usually honest and simple-minded, he displayed a true elder brother’s air when it mattered most.
“Eldest Brother, if Third Brother was truly blessed with great fortune, he wouldn’t have been…” Su Erhu reached this point and couldn’t go on.
Su Dahu clenched his fist, a trace of ferocity appearing on his honest face. “One day, Eldest Brother will slaughter that beast with my own hands!”
“Count me in!” Su Erhu immediately chimed in.
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
Although the little kids didn’t understand what was going on, they also shouted loudly to show their determination.
“Alright, stop talking about it! Are there any few people in the village who don’t want to slaughter that beast?!” Su Dahu said.
After a moment of heavy silence, Su Dahu instructed Su Erhu once more.
“Second Brother, keep an eye on the little ones, don’t let them fall into the water and drown.”
“Don’t worry, Eldest Brother, these little brats have been playing by the river since they were little,” Su Erhu said dismissively.
Su Dahu thought for a moment and realized that was true.
Every child born in their family grew up with the older ones taking care of the younger ones, without any adults watching them. They all learned to climb trees and swim in the river from a young age.
Su Dahu left with peace of mind.
Su Erhu led the little kids straight to the riverbank.
“Little Six, you and I will go into the river to scoop—the two of us will use the big net. Dapan, Erpan… never mind, you two just play on the riverbank, don’t go into the water.”
As soon as Su Erhu reached the river, he assigned the tasks.
Even though he knew there was no need to worry about the children, he still instructed Dapan to keep an eye on Erpan.
After all, his sister was just born today. If anything happened to the kids in the family, wouldn’t that bring gossip upon his sister?
If that happened, his parents would take his life.
Author’s Note: After listening to suggestions from some cuties, from now on, the Su family brothers will be referred to by their names in the text. Ye Zi originally wanted to keep using terms like Eldest and Second, but some cuties thought using names was better, so we will uniformly use names from now on.