Chapter Twenty-Eight: Dealing with Another One

"How exactly did he do it?"

Meng Xi brought in dinner for him and slammed it on the table: "Stop muttering and eat quickly."

"Who are you throwing at? Can't you put it away properly? Are you feeding a dog? I've only been home for two days without going to work, and this is your attitude."

"Don't cause trouble," Meng Xi said, thoroughly annoyed. The family was already struggling financially, with food supplies tight. The two of them could manage to earn money together, but now that he was home sick, it was just her salary. She had to go to work, and then come home to do laundry and cook. Even farmhands in the old days weren't as overworked as she was.

"Am I picking a fight? It's clearly you! I've only been away from work for a few days and you're already complaining. You're so impatient with me..."

"You try it and see if you can't think about me in a long-distance relationship? I come home from work to find everything turned upside down, and I'm expected to do all the laundry and cooking. What, were you all starving before I married into your family? Can't you cook? Can't you wash dishes?"

The couple started arguing, and Meng Xi, seeing her in-laws doing nothing at home, was naturally furious. She ate a makeshift lunch, leaving the dishes for her to clean up when she got back. Adding to her frustration was the fact that he was going to be on leave for a month without pay, and the more she did it, the angrier she became.

“Meng Xi,” Sun Yaozu gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with disbelief. She was so different from what he remembered, constantly shattering his perception.

In their past life, they were as gentle as water, and they never quarreled. He always felt that Shu Yao's temper was getting worse and worse, especially after his parents passed away and no one was there to control her, so she became increasingly fierce.

Back then, whenever he was unhappy at home, he would go to Meng Xi and would give her anything good he could. Meng Xi was so gentle back then, nothing like the fierce person she is now.

"Why are you being so fierce? No matter whose family you marry into, you'll still have to do the laundry and cooking. These are things that are supposed to be done by you." That's how things are these days. It's not like the old society where there were maids.

“Sun Yaozu!” Meng Xi yelled at him angrily. “Who said he would treat me well in the future? Is this how you treat me? At least when I was at my parents’ home, my mother did the housework. Marrying you is worse than staying at my parents’ home.”

"Then don't marry him..."

The couple had a huge argument, and the elderly Sun family members, unable to stand it, went over and started criticizing their daughter-in-law. This made things even worse; what was supposed to be a minor squabble between the young couple escalated into a major family battle.

Shu Yao heard everything clearly from next door. Her daughter was terrified by the noise and clung tightly to her clothes. "Mommy!"

She quickly hugged the child and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, it's just the neighbors arguing, it has nothing to do with us."

"good."

The mother reassured the little girl, and she looked at the neighbor with a curious gaze. The brother and sister learned to speak very quickly and can now speak in short sentences.

A hen that doesn't lay eggs.

"You old hag!"

Shu Yao quickly took the child out, not forgetting to teach him, "Those are bad words, you're not allowed to learn them anymore."

"oh."

The son nodded, quickly losing interest in the arguing over there, and asked, "Mom, where's Dad?"

"Dad has a meeting today and will be home a little late. Let's go pick him up."

"Okay." The two children jumped for joy, and she held one in each hand, the two little ones following her for quite a distance. The mother and her two children walked and talked, teaching the children to recognize objects as they saw. Until Su Xiangdong rode up on his bicycle in the distance and stopped in front of the mother and her two children.

"Why did you walk so far?" He was overjoyed to meet his wife and children halfway there. Both children wanted to be carried, so he squatted down and picked them both up.

“The neighbors were arguing, and those two actually started swearing at each other. So I brought them out.”

"Really?" He smiled, looking at the two in his arms. They were at that age where they loved to imitate, doing whatever the adults did.

"You're not allowed to argue or swear; that's bad. Do you hear me?"

"I heard you." The two nodded obediently, very happy to see their father.

Su Xiangdong rode his bicycle with his son on the front crossbar, while Shu Yao held her daughter on the back seat. The family of four rode together, laughing and chatting, with the two children happily calling out "Dad!"

Su Xiangdong wasn't riding fast, but he got home quickly despite the short distance. He carried his son on the crossbar in front of him, while Shu Yao carried their daughter. The family of four all wore smiles, their happiness envied by everyone around them.

Old Sun stormed out of his house and witnessed this scene. He gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. The happier and more fulfilling Shu Yao's life seemed, the more resentful he became.

It was clear from the first meeting that the girl was gentle yet resolute, and possessed a dignified appearance. Her good family background and upbringing made her very easy to teach, and after many years of discipline, life in the Sun family was peaceful and smooth.

It's like buying and taming a bird, expecting it to serve your family for life. But now it has broken free of its leash and flown away, leaving the Sun family in this predicament. Old Man Sun has been tossing and turning at night thinking about it for the past two years.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were still arguing behind him. He closed his eyes and took a few steps forward, trying to escape the chaotic situation. He watched Shu Yao carry the child into the Su family's gate, and as she turned to close the door, she saw him. He had called her "Dad" for over ten years, but now, upon seeing her again, she showed no reaction.

As he watched the Su family's gate close in front of him, he continued walking forward with his hands behind his back. His gaze was inscrutable and deep, but his expression was quite cheerful, and he even smiled and greeted familiar faces.

Shu Yao took the children home, and the arguing next door had gradually subsided. Dinner was a simple corn porridge, served with a side of shepherd's purse shreds, which was very appetizing.

My aunt's bowl was quite large; although there was no dry food for dinner, this bowl was enough to fill her up. No one in the family was overweight, but everyone looked healthy and well.

"Third Aunt, what's wrong? Why aren't you eating?" Shu Yao asked softly, noticing that her head was down and she seemed lost in thought.

"oh oh."

I ran into my grandson the other day. He said that they only had half a bowl of porridge for lunch, and the porridge for dinner was so thin that you could see the moon reflected in it. It was gone in one pee, and he was so hungry that he couldn't sleep at night.

She felt sorry for her daughter's family's difficult life, but she said nothing to Shu Yao and her husband. Her nephew and his wife had also used all their savings to buy expensive grain, and they ate the same things she did. In these times when everyone was starving, she couldn't ask for more than enough to eat.

Seeing that she seemed troubled, Shuyao told her husband about it that evening. "Is Third Aunt facing some kind of difficulty? She looks so conflicted."

Su Xiangdong was changing his son's clothes; he had just given the little guy a bath. "It's most likely related to food, and to my cousin."

"Shall we save a little and help our cousin out?"

“We barely have enough food ourselves, and we only have porridge for breakfast and dinner. How about this, my third aunt and I will be frugal and share a bowl with each of us every day.”

“I only eat half a bowl in the morning and evening, so I can save some food.”

"That won't do. You're a woman; you'll get sick if you go hungry for too long. You and the child can't go hungry. Under that premise, find a way to help her."

Shu Yao smiled gently, feeling a warmth in her heart. Her mother always said that women could endure hunger and hard work. In her previous life, during this period in the Sun family, she ate the least every day. For two years after the three years of famine, she didn't have her period, suffering from edema due to hunger. She was left with anemia for the rest of her life.

But he always said that women were weak and that women shouldn't have to do anything hard or tiring. She was heartbroken by Sun Yaozu's behavior, so she was reborn and divorced him without hesitation.

But having been brainwashed by the Sun family her entire life, her thinking couldn't possibly change overnight. If Su Xiangdong held the same mindset, she could easily fall into that trap. As a wife and mother, her inherent spirit of sacrifice and dedication remained; when faced with difficulties, her first thought was to sacrifice herself.

But he wouldn't allow it, wouldn't permit it. He never allowed her to do much of the daily chores like laundry, cooking, and childcare. She could play with the children when she came home, but she wasn't allowed to do anything behind their backs. Even now, when it was time to conserve food, he wouldn't allow her to skimp on herself.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." He actually didn't want to get too involved with the Su family, fearing he'd end up doing all the work for nothing. If his third uncle found out, it would be troublesome again. But he was looking for an opportunity to deal with that old rascal, and now he'd just walked right into it.

He bought a batch of soybean cakes and coarse grains, and asked his third aunt to make them into pancakes. He also found his cousin's three children and arranged for them to come over here before going to school each day.

Soybeans, corn, sorghum, bran, and many other grains are ground into powder, then water is added to form dough, which is then steamed. Because there is no wheat flour in it, it is very hard to eat. But at this time of year, let alone hard, people won't complain about anything edible.

Every day at noon, the aunt would give each of her three grandchildren a small cornbread, a gesture that moved her to tears. She herself ate less at each meal, and only when she saw her three grandchildren finally regain their strength could she feel at ease.

A few days later, the old man suddenly appeared at noon. He'd been saying something was off lately; the three children were clearly more energetic. He'd been following his daughter for days without finding her secretly giving the children something, but it turned out she was doing it here.

"Hey, I've caught you."

When Auntie saw it was him, she jumped in fright. Having lived with him her whole life, she knew him too well; he was a shameless and irresponsible scoundrel. He had previously reported Xiang Dong, and now he actually dared to come knocking on their door.

What are you doing here?

The three children hid behind their maternal grandmother, equally disgusted and afraid of their grandfather. He didn't get along with his two aunts and now ate at their house. Their mother told them to respect their grandfather, but he was truly awful. Even when eating at their house, he constantly accused their mother of favoritism.

"Why can't I come?" Uncle San's voice was very loud; he knew Su Xiangdong wasn't home. He was furious and pointed at the three children.

"You little brats, you're conspiring with your mother to skimp on my food, aren't you? Giving your grandma the grain so she can secretly cook it for you, huh? I told you I'd be drinking thin porridge every day, and it turns out your mother was skimping on it all for you."

The eldest grandson, who was nine years old, could understand both polite and sarcastic remarks, and immediately turned pale. "Grandpa, that's not how it is."

"Bullshit. I saw it all, and you're still trying to deny it."

The children were still young, and their mother told them to respect their elders, leaving them flustered and unsure what to say to their grandfather. Su Laosan glared at them, refusing to back down, and reached out to snatch the dry food from his aunt's hand.

His aunt dodged backward, and he missed his target. Enraged, he pointed at her and yelled, "A bunch of traitors! It's all because of you! Like father, like son. You're cruel and heartless to your own husband, but warm and kind to everyone else. Liu Chunmei, let me tell you, your only support in this life is me, your only support!"

Third Aunt had long seen through his character, and upon hearing this, she rolled her eyes and snorted coldly. "Bullshit. I don't care about you. Get out of here, this isn't a place for you to run wild."

"You—" Uncle San was furious. "Liu Chunmei, you've gone too far!"

"Yes, I'm rebelling. Where there is oppression, there is resistance. You've bullied me my whole life, so what if I rebel against you?"

My third aunt was hardworking and devoted to her children, toiling tirelessly her entire life. But she wasn't actually a pushover; the reason she endured it all was because she had no financial means. No job, no place to live—these two things constrained her. She had no choice but to endure.

But things are different now. She's doing very well with her nephew now, and she has confidence. As for food, Su Xiangdong is the head of the grain station, and he has savings. As for housing, she used to share a bed with the old man in her own home, and she had to put up with his stench because he smoked and didn't wash his feet.

She used to squeeze into a makeshift single bed at her son's house, which was placed in the living room. She was always the last to go to bed and the first to wake up, with absolutely no private space. But now, at her nephew's house, she has a room to herself in the east wing, where she can live freely and comfortably.

"You'd better get out of here, or I'll hit you with a big broom."

Uncle San didn't believe she would dare to lay a hand on him, and stood there unmoved. The three of them were silently eating their dry rations, and seeing that they were almost finished, Su Laosan couldn't stand it anymore and actually reached out to snatch them. The two older ones instinctively dodged and ran away as fast as they could, but the younger one was too small to react quickly. By the time the child realized something was wrong, the cornbread in his hand was gone.

"Wah!" the child cried, feeling utterly aggrieved. "Grandma gave it to me."

The older one ran over indignantly: "Grandpa, how could you take my little brother's cornbread? That was coarse grain that my uncle and aunt saved up by scrimping and saving to exchange for for us, to help us out."

Su Laosan took a bite; the cornbread was indeed very coarse. But he had been eating porridge for months on end, constantly on the verge of starvation, so he didn't care about whether it was coarse or not.

"Bullshit. Your aunt and uncle wouldn't be that kind..."

"Third Uncle," Shu Yao said, coming out of the house after settling the children. "This is improper of you. You are an elder, you should care for the younger generation. The children are so hungry they can barely walk, Su Xiangdong couldn't bear it, and we saved up every last penny to exchange for some coarse grains, how could you take them from the children?"

Shu Yao's words were actually quite harsh; any ordinary person with a modicum of shame would have blushed. But Uncle San was incredibly thick-skinned, and he took another bite of his cornbread.

"What time is it now? There's not even enough food to eat. What, do you have grain at home? Either you're lying to me, or this is the ration that Su Juan has embezzled, or Su Xiangdong is abusing his power for personal gain. Be careful, or I'll report you."

"Go ahead and sue me!" Shu Yao was also annoyed, glaring at him with her beautiful eyes. "The adults are starving and trying to save food for the children, afraid that the children are too young to handle it. And you, as the grandfather, actually steal the children's food. Your skin is thicker than the corner of a city wall."

"You dare to insult me!"

“I won’t just curse you, I’ll hit you too. You come to our house and cause trouble, do you think we have no one left to live with us?”

Shu Yao wasn't really good at arguing or even fighting, but things had come to this point, and she was desperate. Her third uncle had clearly come while Su Xiangdong was away; with the man out, was she just going to stand by and watch someone run wild in the house?

The broom was usually kept in the corner, and before she even got there, her aunt had already grabbed it. Her aunt showed no mercy, and taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, she slammed it hard into his back.

"You damned old bastard, you shameless old geezer! I'll beat you to death today and pay with my life, it's better than you torturing me and our daughter every day."

Auntie San beat and cursed at him, "Die, die! I'll pay with my life if you die, you scoundrel!"

The elderly couple were fighting, and Shuyao secretly helped them from the side. When Uncle San tried to grab the broom to fight back, she hit him on the arm. He recoiled in pain and was hit several more times by his wife.

"Father, Mother, what are you doing?"

Su Juan arrived and rushed in to break up the fight. Shu Yao also appeared to be trying to break up the fight, but she secretly gave her third uncle several slaps. He grimaced and cried out in pain.

"Shu Yao, you actually resorted to dirty tricks!"

"Serves you right. You came to our house and caused trouble, so I, your grandma, have to teach you a lesson."

Shu Yao used to avoid open conflict, but now she's come to terms with it. A reputation as a virtuous and kind wife only brings her repeated losses; she gains nothing in return. It's better to let others think she's not to be trifled with, so she won't suffer losses openly or secretly.

If you want people to speak well of you, you have to endure so much hardship and suffering. Just like the Sun family in her past life, she was always the one who sacrificed and dedicated herself, which is why they spoke well of her. During those difficult years, she was the thinnest in the family, suffering from severe anemia and fainting several times, with edema all over her body.

Now she understands that empty fame is unnecessary. And family members who truly care about you won't praise you only after you've suffered losses. That's called mind control—using their words to extract your labor.

She had a very good plan in mind, but in reality, she was still a little worried because of the habits she had developed throughout her previous life, and now that she had changed her way of doing things. However, she had been determined to change since her rebirth, and she would never back down in the face of adversity. Her third uncle had come to the house to cause trouble, and as the lady of the house, she had to make her stance clear.

Uncle San was in pain all over from the beating, but there were no bruises yet. After a bit of tugging, everyone sat down. Uncle San still insisted that the dry rations were secretly given to him by his daughter, who had skimmed off some of the family's food, to supplement her three sons' diet.

"Su Xiangdong wouldn't even give me a sip of water, how could he be willing to feed your three sons dry rations every day? Who are you kidding? I'm not stupid."

Su Juan also noticed something was wrong, so she came to ask her mother what was going on. The three children had clearly eaten the food, and after much thought, she couldn't believe it was anyone but her mother. However, she wasn't sure if her mother had given it to them secretly or if she had discussed it with her cousin and his wife.

Hearing his father say such a thing out of the blue, his heart sank. "Dad, how could you say such a thing?"

Before Old Su could refute her, she began to calculate the costs for him on her fingers. "There are five people in the family, plus you, making six. Lin Datou has been doing odd jobs for two months straight without any income. My own salary is barely enough to buy food for the six of us. Each person gets less than thirty catties of grain per month. On average, how could we possibly have any dry food besides porridge for two meals? If I were to secretly give the family's grain to my mother, then at home, let alone porridge, I would at most give you a sip of hot water."

Su Laosan had never cooked in his life, but during the period he lived in, he was well aware of the importance of food. A person could only afford less than a pound of grain a day, and that was all coarse grains. There was no way to exchange refined grains for twice the amount of coarse grains. With that little grain, there was really not much to do.

"That doesn't mean we have to eat porridge every meal."

"This is all the money my family can offer." Su Juan was also angry. Her father had always favored his two sons since they were young, and now that he was old and she was expected to take care of him, he was still being picky. He even served her porridge in a large bowl, while she only got a small bowl.

"If you don't want to, you can take the food with you."

"You—" Old Su stood up angrily, pointing at her. "Fine, fine, I raised you all these years, and you complain when I ask you to help cook a meal. I knew my daughter was useless, raising her was a waste of time."

Su Juan trembled with anger: "Yes, I am useless, so you should hurry up and go to your son's place."

"Fine, I'll leave. I don't need you."

Su Laosan turned and stormed off, but was stopped at the gate by Su Xiangdong. He turned pale with fright, his legs trembling as he looked at his tall and burly nephew.

“Xiang Dong, I didn’t bully your wife. I was—” He thought for a moment and showed his arm: “I was beaten by your wife. Look at the beating I got.”

"You come to my house and cause trouble? Do you think I don't have anyone here?"

"No, no, it can't be..."

Su Xiangdong was just waiting for him to walk right into his trap, and at that moment, he raised his hand and punched him. He had been reported before, but couldn't be held accountable openly, otherwise people would find fault with him, saying he was dissatisfied with the investigation. But today, this was a private matter; Lao Dian coming to his house to cause trouble was simply a family matter for him to beat him up.

"East, east, don't... oh dear,"

The two women had barely managed to subdue him with their weapons, but now Su Xiangdong was unarmed and completely powerless to fight back. His shouts were all pleas for mercy.

"Xiang Dong, I was wrong... Ah..."

"Old woman, please, beg for my life."

Inside his own doorway, surrounded by onlookers, Su Xiangdong raised his hands and kicked, giving the old rascal a good beating. "You old bastard, you dare report me? I'll show you what I'm made of!"

"Ouch, it hurts so much!"

The onlookers outside started gossiping, and soon everyone knew. Su Xiangdong and his wife were kind and generous, saving every penny to help Su Juan's children. But this old rascal came looking for trouble, and that's why he got beaten up.

"They bullied Shu Yao just now. Seriously, going around bullying someone's wife like that, no wonder Station Chief Su is furious."

"Absolutely. Everyone knows how good Station Chief Su and his wife are. He might tolerate being bullied himself, but bullying someone else's wife is something no man can tolerate."

Su Xiangdong didn't even need to explain; his usual protective behavior towards his wife had already made everyone accept it. But seeing him repeatedly beating Su Laosan, someone still stepped forward to break up the fight.

"Forget it, forget it. Don't really hurt him, it's not worth it for you."

Seeing that he had vented his anger, Su Xiangdong stopped. Someone offered him a way out, and he took the opportunity to stop. "Get out! If you ever dare to come to my house and bully my wife again, I'll kill you."

Old Su covered his face and limped away. This nephew of his was someone he couldn't afford to offend anymore. He was settling old scores and new grudges all at once, using personal matters as an excuse to get revenge for past grievances. Had he planned this all along, waiting for him to come knocking? With such cunning and manipulative tactics, he'd better stay away from him in the future.