Su Fu glanced at his daughter with some jealousy and sighed, "Times have really changed. You, a seventeen-year-old unemployed vagrant, are richer than your old man. Can I retire now and let you support me?"
Su Jiaojiao was startled, then tilted her head and thought about it seriously before saying, "That works too. Anyway, your eldest son is already married with children, and he's a researcher, so he shouldn't lack money in the future. Your second son isn't married yet, but he's a Soldier. Just wait for the country to assign him a Wife. Then you won't have any pressure. You can resign tomorrow, and then you can come with me to go to the countryside. I'll take care of you in the countryside, and I'll dig wild vegetables to support you."
Su Fu's Expression was hard to describe upon hearing this. I'm not old at all, thank you!
Maybe I shouldn't have this daughter.
After dinner, Su Fu actively took the initiative, put on an apron, and happily went to wash the dishes.
This made Mom Su glance over frequently.
Tonight, Grandma Su and Mom Su both gave Su Jiaojiao money, totaling six hundred yuan.
At a time when the average worker's income was only thirty or forty, six hundred yuan was truly a lot!
Su Jiaojiao felt... delighted.
...
The next day.
It wasn't even six o'clock when Mom Su started knocking on Su Jiaojiao's door.
"Jiaojiao, get up quickly. Bring your bedding and everything else with you. It's too cold in the Northeast, so bringing more won't hurt."
"I know," Su Jiaojiao replied groggily from under the covers.
She had actually woken up herself by the time Mom Su reached the door.
Hearing this, she quickly got out of bed, first braided her hair into two long plaits, put on a white shirt, a pair of light green pants, and a pair of small black leather shoes.
She looked truly young and beautiful now, unlike the forced youthfulness achieved by taking eternal youth pills or an old cucumber being painted green.
It wasn't that this body was prettier, but the feeling was different.
When Su Jiaojiao got up, her Grandparents were already sitting in the living room, planning to see her off today.
And so, that morning, Su Jiaojiao, amidst the nagging and bustling of Mom Su and Grandma Su, arrived at the Train Station. Two Jeeps driving up to the Train Station together still drew many people's attention.
Standing at the entrance of the Huoche Car Compartment.
"Call us to report that you're safe once you arrive," Grandma Su held Su Jiaojiao's hand, wiping tears, and continued, "Remember to pick up the packages we Mail over."
"Okay, Grandmother, don't cry. I'll call you the moment I arrive." Su Jiaojiao was holding a kettle in one hand and a Píxiāng in the other, unable to free a hand to pat Grandma Su's back to comfort her.
Mom Su and Old Master Su also stood nearby, looking at her with reluctance.
In complete contrast to the atmosphere around Su Jiaojiao, at the other entrance to the Huoche Car Compartment stood two women. Judging by their looks, they seemed to be a mother and daughter.
That girl looked to be only seventeen or eighteen, wearing clothes patched over patches, and was thin as a rail. Perhaps because she was too thin, her face was slightly sunken, which, combined with her somewhat darkened skin, made her look dark and thin, but her eyes were very bright.
Su Jiaojiao thought: If she were a bit fairer and a bit plumper, she would definitely be a Beauty too.
The older woman looked to be around forty or fifty.
She was also thin, but her skin was fairer than her daughter's. Because she kept her head down crying, her appearance couldn't be clearly seen.
At the young girl's feet were two Bianzhi Dai. She was looking at the crying woman standing before her with a detached gaze.
This scene attracted the pointing and whispering of many people nearby.
"Daughter, don't blame your mother." The woman kept repeating this one sentence.
Then she just sobbed into her hands, unable to get the answer she wanted.
"Mom, I've always had one question: Is it right for me to serve your stepfather's entire family like a maid every day?" Her question was Simple, yet it contained all the grievances and bitterness of those years.
The crying woman was stunned and instinctively replied, "It wasn't easy for Mom in that family either. You're a Yatou, isn't it right for you to do this housework?"
Upon hearing this, the already cold heart grew even colder, but perhaps she had long since found the answer in her heart, so she wasn't surprised by this response.
She just replied faintly, "I understand. You should go back."
After speaking, she bent down and grabbed the two Bianzhi Dai by her feet. Perhaps knowing she was too thin to carry the two bags, she laboriously started dragging them toward the Huoche.
"Daughter." The woman in her forties or fifties instinctively grabbed her arm.
It felt as if she had truly lost something important, causing her heart to panic slightly.
The girl also stopped as wished.
This made the slightly flustered woman's eyes brighten a bit.
But then she heard her daughter speak in a detached tone: "If you agree to me going to the countryside in their stead, consider it repayment for the grace of your giving birth to me. Don't contact me again in the future; just pretend you never gave birth to me, your daughter."
After saying that, she pulled her hand away and silently dragged the two Bianzhi Dai toward the Huoche.
She watched helplessly as her only daughter dragged her luggage and disappeared onto the Huoche. At this moment, she could no longer hold back her emotions.
With a wail, she squatted down, hugging her knees, and burst into tears.
Su Jiaojiao noticed that when the girl said those words, her Expression didn't even change; it remained detached.
She thought that her expectations for this mother must have been worn away over the years, otherwise, even though her mother was right in front of her, she could look at her with such an indifferent gaze.
Evidently, Mom Su had also seen the situation over there. After grasping the general idea, she pursed her lips speechlessly, and just as she retracted her Line of sight, she saw her own daughter glancing at her with a strange look.
At first, she didn't understand, but connecting it to the mother-daughter pair's situation, she angrily hissed, "Su Jiaojiao, don't force me to spank you when I love you the most and miss you the most."
Grandma Su hadn't seen what happened with that mother and daughter, so she didn't understand what was wrong with her daughter-in-law.
But she knew she had to save face for her daughter-in-law outside, so she opened her mouth but didn't speak, yet she pulled Jiaojiao slightly closer to her, her protective instinct being too obvious.
Old Master Su: "...Alright! The train is only stopping for a little over ten minutes. Xiang Dong should have put Jiaojiao's luggage away. Hurry up and get inside."
Mom Su glared at Su Jiaojiao upon hearing this.
Su Jiaojiao: ...What did I do?
"Wait~ Xiao Su Tongzhi, wait a moment."
Almost as soon as Old Master Su finished speaking, a familiar voice came from behind Su Jiaojiao.
Turning around, she saw Zhou Pangzi, who had said he would come to see her off yesterday, running quickly toward them.
Everyone subconsciously shifted their Line of sight to the flesh on his belly jiggling up and down as he ran.
He ran over panting, carrying a bag. Old Master Su's Guard, Li Zhong, instinctively stepped in front of him as a barrier.