Su Linqiang no longer had any mood to go to the department store to buy a bicycle. He returned to Liuye Alley in a furious state.
Widow Xia, who was washing clothes in the courtyard, was puzzled to see Su Linqiang back so early.
“Uncle Su, you’re back from the hospital already? How is Qingwan?”
She had never thought Su Qingwan was particularly warmhearted, yet the girl had unexpectedly done something so heroic.
No wonder she had considered her one of the potential daughters-in-law candidates for her son. Hmm, she could give her another point. If Su Qingwan were willing to give her job to her, she might even reluctantly agree to let her become her daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, Su Linqiang had no idea that Widow Xia was judging his granddaughter and even fantasizing about marrying her to her son. Otherwise, he would have slapped her hard. He certainly didn’t believe in the idea that women shouldn’t be hit.
As for Widow Xia’s short, ugly, and poor precious son, Su Linqiang thought even looking at him was an insult to his eyes.
Right now, however, his mind was completely occupied by words like Qingwan and hospital, so he didn’t notice Widow Xia’s expression.
Anxiously, he asked, “Xia, what happened to my Wanwan? Why is she in the hospital?”
“Oh! Uncle Su, you don’t know? Your Qingwan rescued three children who fell into the moat this morning. I heard that she exhausted herself trying to save the last child and ended up falling into the river herself.”
Widow Xia shook the water from her hands. Seeing Su Linqiang’s grim expression, she continued,
“If your son-in-law and the others hadn’t arrived in time, your Su Qingwan might not be in the hospital right now. Young girls really shouldn’t be so reckless…”
Su Linqiang was terrified in hindsight. He wanted nothing more than to knock some sense into Su Qingwan.
Was this really the time to play the hero? Was it so difficult to run down the road and call for help?
If her parents had arrived even a little later, would he have had to hold a funeral for his own granddaughter today?
“Which hospital is she in?”
Su Linqiang had no patience to listen to Widow Xia ramble and interrupted her directly.
“That’s what I was saying. Girls really ought to behave properly… Uh, which hospital was it…? I heard it was the First People’s Hospital. Hey, I wasn’t finished! Why are you in such a hurry? Anyway, she’s fine now.”
Su Linqiang had no intention of continuing the conversation. He immediately turned his bicycle around and headed for the First People’s Hospital.
“Mom, I want meat buns tomorrow. Buy me two, okay?”
Su Qingwan leaned against the hospital bed, munching on an apple while watching Su Tongyu sort through the gifts they had received.
“Oh, and leave me two more apples. I don’t want the pastries. They’re too dry…”
“Eat, eat, eat. All you ever think about is eating. Didn’t you just have meat buns today? What kind of family do we have? And you still want meat buns every day?”
Su Tongyu packed the gifts into a net bag and poured Su Qingwan another cup of hot water to cool.
“I didn’t get a chance to eat them because of the accident. That’s why I’m thinking about them now. If you buy them for me, I won’t keep asking.”
“Why didn’t you get to eat them? You know perfectly well why. If your father had arrived any later, we would have been holding your funeral in the courtyard today…”
Su Tongyu scolded her daughter irritably before reaching out to feel her forehead again.
Seeing her mother checking her temperature yet again, Su Qingwan couldn’t help complaining.
“I’m fine. I don’t have a fever. How many times have you checked already? You walk around the room, come back and touch my forehead. Walk around again, then come back and touch it again. What am I, a clock for you to check the time?”
“You little brat! Who am I doing this for? You think I’m touching your forehead because I enjoy it?”
As she spoke, Su Tongyu’s hand moved from her forehead to her cheek and pinched it hard.
“Mom, Mom! That hurts! Let go…”
“Mom, Grandpa is here. Grandpa, look! Mom is pinching my face!”
Su Linqiang stood at the doorway of the hospital room, his brows furrowed and his expression displeased.
“You deserve it. That’s what you get for being reckless. If I didn’t have a stick in my hand right now, I’d give you a good whack and knock all the water out of your head.”
“Dad, why are you here?”
Su Tongyu released her daughter’s cheek and stood beside the bed, looking at him in surprise.
“Why am I here? You tell me, why wouldn’t I be here? Something this serious happened to Wanwan, and you didn’t even send someone to tell me. I had to hear about it from Widow Xia!”
Su Linqiang walked to the bedside and looked at Su Qingwan’s still-pale face.
“Don’t be reckless again in the future. Whenever something happens, think about your family first.”
With that, he prepared to take the bicycle voucher out of his pocket. He certainly wasn’t in the mood to buy a bicycle anymore.
Clatter.
As he searched through his pocket, the unopened letter accidentally fell to the floor.
“Dad, who sent you a letter?”
Su Tongyu looked at the envelope on the floor in surprise.
Hearing her question, Su Linqiang’s expression darkened, and his voice turned cold.
“Your eldest sister.”
“My eldest sister? Su Tongjin? She actually has the nerve to send a letter home…”
Su Tongyu let out a shocked cry, her voice filled with anger.
If it weren’t for Su Tongjin eloping and taking all the money with her back then, how could their mother have died so young?
And as for herself, she had nearly gone down the wrong path back then while trying to earn enough money to pay off the debts.
If she hadn’t met Old Song, the rest of her life would have been ruined.
Su Qingwan, meanwhile, was completely stunned.
An eldest aunt?
Why had she never heard Grandpa or Mom mention that the Su family had another daughter?
As far as she knew, none of the siblings had ever heard that they had another aunt.
“Mom, we have an eldest aunt?”
Su Qingwan asked uncertainly, still shocked by the sudden revelation of another daughter in the Su family.
Moreover, the novel she had read earlier had never mentioned the Su family having an eldest daughter.
She had never appeared anywhere in the entire book.
Could this be because of her?
Hearing her daughter’s question, Su Tongyu didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Su Linqiang.
“Tell them. There’s nothing to hide anymore. The children are all grown up. We can’t keep them in the dark about everything.”
Su Linqiang waved his hand, indicating that she didn’t need to worry about him.
Meanwhile, in an ordinary farmhouse in Datong Village, Anyang County, Jiang City, a family of four sat around the table eating dinner.
Guan Mingyue stared at the radishes and vegetables in her bowl, which were barely seasoned and contained hardly any oil. She had no appetite at all.
Just half a month ago, she had been eating chicken, duck, fish, and meat whenever she wanted. Who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, she would be reborn in 1971?
Although she was extremely dissatisfied with the conditions she now had to live in, the thought that she was still unmarried and had another chance to make different choices made her hands tremble with excitement.
She had to go to Beijing.
She had to get there before Song Qingzao married Zhang Zongcheng.
Thinking about Zhang Zongcheng, the refined, charming, and wealthy man she had met in Beijing in her previous life, Guan Mingyue’s cheeks became slightly flushed.
A man that outstanding should belong to her.
Even if he were already married, she would find a way to take him away.
She was determined to become Mrs. Zhang.
And then there was Su Linqiang, her maternal grandfather. If he knew what was good for him, he would transfer the house to her.
When the time came, she wouldn’t mind changing her surname to Su and taking care of him in his old age.
“Mom, did you send the letter yet? Why hasn’t Grandma called you? When can I go to Beijing?”
Guan Mingyue asked Su Tongjin impatiently.
Her mother really was hopeless. She had a perfectly good life in Beijing, yet she had insisted on returning to the countryside with her father, Guan Jialiang.
Now it was such a hassle for her to get to Beijing.
And she couldn’t even handle such a small matter after all this time. She really didn’t know how to get things done.
Su Tongjin’s expression darkened.
Although she and Jialiang had gone too far when they eloped with each other back then, whose fault was it?
Her father, Su Linqiang, had insisted that she marry a man who would live with her family and take her family’s surname. What good could come from marrying such a man?
She had only been fighting for her own happiness.
Her father was simply too stubborn.
Guan Jialiang was obviously such a good man, yet he had refused to approve of their marriage.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Are you planning to leave your little brother behind and go to Beijing to enjoy the good life?”
Su Tongjin snorted.
“Besides, your grandmother loves me the most. When she sees that I’ve sent her a letter, she’ll probably be so happy she won’t know what to do. She might even send something back.”
“Mom, I’m doing this for my little brother, too. Once I get to Beijing and establish myself, I can bring him over sooner.”
Seeing that Su Tongjin was unhappy, Guan Mingyue quickly explained.
Inwardly, however, she was silently arguing back.
You always say Grandma loves you so much, but she hasn’t sent anything all these years. Looks like that so-called love is pretty fake.
Guan Mingyue’s explanation convinced Su Tongjin.
After thinking for a moment, she said, “Tomorrow I’ll go to the brigade leader’s house and get the necessary travel document. We won’t wait for your grandmother’s reply anymore. Get your things packed and go directly.”
Hearing that she could leave for Beijing the very next day, a smug smile appeared on Guan Mingyue’s face.
Guan Jialiang looked at his eldest daughter’s expression. His eyes darkened slightly as he spoke gently.
“It’s all because your father is useless. I’m making you go and curry favor with other people. Mingyue, be careful on the journey. You’ll be traveling alone. Your mother, brother, and I are all counting on you.”
Guan Mingyue felt a rush of warmth in response to her father’s concern.
In this family, only her father truly cared about her.
“Dad, don’t worry.”
She, Guan Mingyue, was someone favored by heaven.
Otherwise, why would she have been given the chance to live her life over again?
Song Qingzao, you’d better know your place and stay out of my way.
Otherwise, I, Guan Mingyue, won’t let you off.