Pei Yu’an watched Pei Yucheng walk away and hurried after him, hands clasped together. “Brother, I beg you! I can’t betray Qiu Ci! Besides, you don’t have a girlfriend or anyone you like—why not just give it a try? I heard Comrade Su is stunning—fair-skinned, beautiful, elegant, even more so than the leading ladies in our troupe.”
Pei Yucheng snorted lightly. “Looking pretty doesn’t fill your stomach. I’m not marrying some delicate little girl. If that doesn’t work, let Pei Yuning do it—he’s your younger brother, he should be willing to sacrifice for you, his elder brother.”
“You little rascal, the more you talk, the crazier it sounds. He’s only fourteen—what can he do? She’s a young lady of status; why would she look at a dimwit like him?”
Pei Yucheng ignored him and walked off.
Inside the house, Pei Wanqian smacked his lips and glanced at Pei Wanjun. “Big brother, what should we do about this?”
“What to do? I know what to do—we can only listen to Grandpa.”
Sun Limei tugged at Pei Wanjun’s sleeve. “Think of a way! My son can’t marry that capitalist… Su Jin, otherwise his future won’t go well.”
Fang Huimin heard her sister-in-law’s words and felt uncomfortable. “My son can’t marry her, but your son can?”
“Sister-in-law, didn’t you hear what our parents said? Let Su Jin come over and choose for herself.”
“Choose what? Is this some kind of vegetable market? Anyway, I disagree. Sister-in-law, if you ask me, let your Pei Yu’an marry her—his promotion or not won’t matter much. Our Pei Yucheng is different.”
Fang Huimin’s face darkened further. “Sister-in-law, look at what you’re saying. I haven’t said anything yet—this is only your one son. I have two sons, and I haven’t spoken a word. Can’t all the good go to you and the bad to us?”
Pei Wanqian chuckled at his older brother. “Big brother, we’ll leave first.” He took Fang Huimin and Pei Yuning and left.
After they were gone, Pei Wanjun glared at Sun Limei. “Father already said let Su Jin choose. Why are you making such a fuss?”
Sun Limei muttered softly, “I’m just thinking of my son’s good.”
“You better shut your mouth. If the Su family considers the life-saving debt from years ago, our family would be completely ungrateful.”
Sun Limei pouted.
Pei Yuxi had nothing to say and simply returned to his room with his wife and two children to rest; early tomorrow, he and his wife had to return to the research institute. Grandpa had insisted on holding a family meeting at home, and everyone had to come back. They took leave just to accompany the kids.
Su Family Old Residence
After dinner, Su Jin gave the black cat a bath. At her age, it was her first time seeing a cat with blue eyes.
Once dried, seeing the cat still wet, she sent it straight into her space to keep it from getting cold.
She took her own clothes to wash and, after finishing, put on her robe and entered the space. She needed to experiment with it—testing if she could plant the seeds Grandpa prepared in the fertile black soil. To her delight, it worked. She happily sent all of Grandpa’s seeds into the space, planting potatoes and sweet potatoes directly.
In her dreams, she had gone to the countryside, worked the fields, and seen people plant crops, so she understood the basics.
Once done, Su Jin rubbed her temples. She realized that using her mind to work was exhausting.
By the Lingquan spring, she drank a diluted cup of Lingquan water. Just as she was about to leave, the black cat had somehow appeared at her feet, pawing at her legs and meowing insistently.
Su Jin crouched and held it in her arms, noticing its eyes fixed on the water cup she had just set down, nose twitching.
“Are you thirsty?”
Using her mind, she brought an antique porcelain basin from the small mansion and filled it with water. The cat ignored it, continuing to meow and staring at the Lingquan spring.
Su Jin immediately understood—it wanted Lingquan water. She dropped two drops into the basin, and the black cat immediately drank.
Su Jin’s eyes widened in amazement. The cat was unusually intelligent. She had heard black cats were sensitive, but she hadn’t expected it to understand her. She didn’t know if it was natural or the Lingquan water. Either way, she liked this little cat even more.
“Little cat, can I give you a name? From now on, you’ll be called Tuan Tuan, okay? If you like something, wag your tail.”
The cat’s tail flicked lightly. Fascinated, Su Jin played with Tuan Tuan in the space for a while, then brought it out and let it sleep at the foot of the bed. Later, she planned to make it a proper cat bed.
The next day, Su Jin told Su Tingyun what happened yesterday. Su Tingyun was equally shocked. “Just keep it. It’ll be your companion. If anyone asks, just say it’s a cat for catching mice.”
Su Jin nodded. “Yes, Grandpa.”
“Su Jin, I’m planning to move over later. Everything’s ready there. Though it’s hard to leave, we’ll have to go eventually. Also, Guihua will prepare lunch one last time. Chengshan is with me for life, living together. We’ll have a companion.”
When young, Su Chengshan had liked a young lady of status but thought he was unworthy and never pursued her. She married, and soon passed away. He never married or had children.
“Okay, Grandpa. I’ll go with you, warm up the house. Tonight I’ll cook, and you can taste my skills.”
Su Tingyun’s eyes brightened. “You can cook? When did you learn? How come I didn’t know?”
Su Jin touched her nose. “Grandpa, I watched Aunt Wang cook and tried it myself. I think I’ve learned.”
Su Tingyun, knowing his granddaughter was clever, assumed she truly knew. “Great! Tonight, show me. I want to taste it.”
“Yes!” Su Jin nodded and ran to the kitchen before Aunt Wang left, eager to learn more.
Seeing this, Su Tingyun felt a bad premonition.
After lunch, Su Chengshan paid Wang Guihua her wages and sent her off with plenty of food. Su Tingyun then had Su Chengshan share some potatoes and sweet potatoes from the warehouse with neighbors, keeping a few for themselves.
Only six chicks and ducklings remained; the rest Su Jin had collected.
Su Tingyun knew the truth. Su Chengshan didn’t, but he had already grown used to having a black cat in the house that wouldn’t eat anything else but loved chicks and ducklings.
Su Jin knew this misunderstanding was huge—but she couldn’t say a word.