123. 123 (Angry person)

"Do you still recognize me?" Su Yu interjected.

"I don't know you. Who are you?" Old Man Su turned his head away in displeasure. "You don't even call me 'Father,' how would I know who you are?"

Su Yu let out a long "Oh," and said, "So you recognize them just because they called me 'Dad.' They're all your daughters?"

"If you dare to call out, I dare to answer; but if you don't call out, I don't dare to recognize you. Who knows whose daughter has gone back to her parents' home?"

Su Yu smiled and called out as he wished. Seeing his smug expression, she added in her heart, "When people get old, they like to win a game, just like children."

After the father and daughter finished arguing, Ning Jin and Ping An came over to greet them. They both understood that the old man missed his daughter and his grandson who shared his surname the most.

On the way back, before we even reached the door, Xiaoya ran out excitedly, her eyes shining, and shouted, "Uncle is back? Mom, my aunt and my two brothers are here!"

“Little girl, your uncle is back, and your aunt is here. It’s obvious who’s the host and who’s the guest.” Su Yu looked at her with feigned jealousy and said, “Your aunt bought you a beautiful cotton-padded coat. I’ll give you a chance to say it again.”

Xiaoya smiled shyly, but didn't say anything, which amused Ningjin. She playfully swung the bag she was carrying, saying, "The clothes are in your uncle's hands. Even if you don't change your mind, they're still yours. Don't be afraid of your aunt's threats."

Su He came out wearing an apron and said, "What are you all doing standing at the door? Come in." She said to Su Yu, "Why aren't you back yet? Your niece treats her uncle better than her aunt. You should come back more often in the future." She had obviously heard the previous conversation.

“Husband and wife are one. With Ningjin helping me fulfill my filial duties, his presence is equivalent to my presence.” Su Yu walked into the courtyard and asked, “Where’s Mom?”

"She went out to chat with someone and probably didn't know you were here. I sent Xiaoya to call her." She pointed at Xiaoya and said, "Go and call your brother back to talk to your two cousins ​​too."

"Where does Xiaoxing work now?" Su Yu walked into the kitchen with her sister, rolled up her sleeves, and offered to help her prepare the vegetables.

“I’ll be a middle school math teacher in the county. I can manage on my own, you don’t need to help me. Just dress neatly and don’t smell of cooking oil. You can go out and talk to your dad or go for a walk.”

She had barely finished speaking when a man's voice rang out from the courtyard. Su Yu went out to greet him, "Third Brother, playing outside?"

"Yes, there's nothing to do in the winter. Youngest brother, you guys didn't even give me a heads-up before coming over, so I didn't have time to prepare the dishes."

Ning Jin said she had just arrived home yesterday and rushed over today. "We're all family, there's no need to be so polite. I'm sure you've prepared all the New Year's goods. With Third Sister's skills, she can make anything without any problems."

Su Yu stared intently at him; this man really knew how to sweet-talk people.

Su He smiled broadly at his compliment, "This year's harvest is good, and we bought beef. Today I'll make you a beef stew. I remember Xiao Wu likes braised beef intestines. Honey, the village behind is slaughtering cattle and selling meat today. Go and see if you can buy some beef intestines."

"Sigh." He wanted to call Xiao Yuan and Ping An to join in the fun, but their clothes and shoes looked expensive, so he gave up. The place where the cow was slaughtered was splattered with blood, and he didn't want to get the children covered in it.

After Xiaoxing ran back, Xiaoyuan and Ping'an had company again. With Xiaoya following behind, the four of them went out for a stroll. Su Yu stayed home to chat with her parents, while Ningjin went to fix the washing machine. His father-in-law said that since winter, the machine had been making a constant clattering sound every time he did laundry, which looked quite frightening.

After a lively lunch, Su Yu thought Ning Jin knew how to eat. The braised beef intestines were indeed fragrant and chewy, without the muttony smell of lamb or the greasiness and stench of pig intestines. She thought that she would buy some and make it herself when she got back. She had to work hard, but she couldn't let her quality of life decline.

"Youngest son, do you have any other things to do before the New Year?" Old Su asked.

"No, I mainly came back to see you guys."

“Then take a day to come back with me. Your whole family and your third son and his wife will all go. We’ll treat the village chief, the village party secretary, and the brigade secretary to a meal. I’ll settle things regarding my land and houses.” Old Man Su said this while watching his third son-in-law’s reaction, but no matter what his reaction was, it wouldn’t affect his decision. “It’s been about ten years now. I’ve already explained it before: the land and houses under your mother’s and my names will be handled by the youngest son after my parents pass away. But when we discussed this, only Qingguo and your cousin were there. Your cousin passed away a couple of years ago. Before I get senile, I’m settling this matter now, so that if I can’t speak up, someone in the brigade won’t deny it.”

The room fell silent for a moment, except for the sound of Xiaoya coughing up melon seeds.

“It’s time to settle this, lest the people in the brigade take it for granted.” Su He broke the silence, tugging at her man. She had let him farm the land for free for six years, but it couldn’t be considered his now.

"Yes, it's time to get to the bottom of this." The man, who had just recovered from being pulled, said in a muffled voice.

“My household registration isn’t in the village, I’m not a rural person, so the land and property can’t be registered in my name, right?” Su Yu asked with a headache.

"This is such a trivial matter. As long as we can keep the villagers quiet, no one else will pursue it. After all, the land was allocated to me by the state. I'm not childless; I have my own children. Who can take it away from me? Nobody dares to." If Rongbing hadn't been so incompetent, according to the customary rules in the countryside, his house and land would have belonged to him after his death. But if he didn't give it to his son, he would have given it to his daughter. The youngest son couldn't take the land and house with him. Even if some people in the village had something to say, no one in the team cared. The chaotic and dissatisfied comments were just a small ripple.

“Listen to me on this. You don’t understand things in the countryside. All you need to do that day is show up,” Old Man Su said decisively.

The matter was settled. Two days later, the two families returned to Xinhe Brigade. Su Yu arranged for Xiao Yuan and Ping An to go to a restaurant at 11 o'clock to buy a meal and deliver it over, so that they wouldn't have to wash and cook in the dilapidated courtyard again.

As Old Man Su had said, things went very smoothly. It was probably because Rongbing was there that even if the land and houses weren't given to Su Yu, they wouldn't end up under someone else's name in the brigade. So they did Su Yu a favor by writing a document and stamping it, and the land and houses ended up under Su Yu's name.

Su Yu's previous thoughts were somewhat unnecessary. The country has not yet stipulated that urban residents are not allowed to own homesteads in the countryside. Of course, this is also because rural houses do not have property ownership certificates and farmland does not have land certificates.

"Give the land back to my third sister and third brother to cultivate. I don't need it, and they'll have to pay for the land anyway. You can cultivate it and pay for it; I won't worry about it," Su Yu said to her family after seeing the villagers off after dinner.

"Why are you looking at me? None of this belongs to me anymore. If the youngest sister says so, then it's between you two sisters." Old Man Su's actions were just to fulfill his previous promise. He didn't want Rongbing to benefit from it in the future. Xiao Yuan also took the surname Su. Giving it to his youngest daughter was equivalent to giving it to Xiao Yuan. This property was still under the name of the Su family. He was very satisfied.

“Then we’ll pay you rent every year,” Suhe said.

"No way, we're all sisters. Don't let a few acres of land scare us apart. Besides, Mom and Dad live with you. If it weren't for me taking care of Dad's illness, I wouldn't object even if he gave you the land and house today." Su Yu didn't care about the few acres of land and the narrow mud house, but she had to consider the man's and child's opinions. In fact, she had spent the most money on it, so the land and house, regardless of their value, had to fall on her shoulders, otherwise she would feel it wasn't worth it.

Su He hurriedly waved her hand, "Saying that makes your third brother and me lose face. We know what's going on. The old couple living with us is actually a huge benefit for us. Don't say that. I'm too ashamed to bear that title." If it weren't for farming the old couple's land all these years, her family wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly. Just look at her eldest and second eldest sisters. The fact that her family can still maintain a close relationship with the youngest is all thanks to supporting their parents.

"Let's not talk about rent. I inherited my parents' property and am considered half a son. I don't have the ability to take them with me and support them. If I ask you for rent again, I'll be ashamed." Su Yu also declined. The rent for farmland in the countryside is low, at most a hundred yuan a year, which is less than a third of her monthly salary. She doesn't care about it and doesn't want to be known as being stingy.

"Even between sisters, accounts should be settled clearly..."

“Yes, even close sisters should keep clear accounts, but there should also be affection. How about this, I'll settle your dispute.” Old Man Su interrupted their refusal, and seeing that they didn't object, he said, “If the land is given to the third brother and his wife to cultivate for free for decades, then there's no point in me giving the land to the youngest sister, and it would just leave her with an empty burden, which isn't my intention. How about this, while my wife and I are still alive, the land will continue to be cultivated by the third brother for free. After we pass away, the youngest sister will collect rent. If the third brother doesn't want to rent it, then she can rent it to someone else, prioritizing the third brother's wishes.”

No one else had any objections, and the matter was settled.

"Is everything settled?" Seeing that things had calmed down, Yu Anxiu looked at Xiao Yuan and said, "I'm going to spend Chinese New Year at my youngest brother's house this year."

"Mom." Su He was annoyed. This old lady was really something. The youngest son's house in town only had two bedrooms. Where was she going to sleep? She was just causing trouble. "You can stay at my house. Let the youngest son's family come to my house for New Year's Eve dinner. It'll be more lively."

"Youngest sister, there are only two days left until the New Year. It will be tiring for you to buy New Year's goods again. Come to my house for the New Year, and our two families will celebrate together." She said to Su Yu.

“No, I’m going to town for the New Year,” Yu Anxiu insisted.

“Then let’s go to my house. Third sister, don’t be jealous. Mom hasn’t seen me in so long and wants to spend some time with me.” Su Yu interrupted, telling Xiao Yuan to pull his grandmother away first, and asked, “Dad, what about you? Are you coming back with me for the New Year too?”

“If he’s not going, I’ll go alone.” The old lady waved her hand, not letting the old man come with her.

The others exchanged glances, then asked the old man, who was frowning and staring at the old woman, "Is there a problem?"

"Who knows? I didn't offend her, so I won't go. I'll spend the New Year at my third daughter's house. I'm not going to squeeze in with you guys." He guessed that the old woman must be hiding something from him.

Just as he guessed, the old lady took her grandson's hand and went to town, sending everyone else away and leaving only Xiao Yuan to help her make the bed.

"Xiao Yuan, do you have a boyfriend yet?"

"No, if I did, I'd bring her back to see you," Xiao Yuan said with a smile.

"You're so slow." The old lady clicked her tongue in disapproval. Her grandson was handsome and educated, so why didn't any girls want him? But she didn't want to wait any longer. An old woman in the village, even younger than her, had passed away in the night. She had been fine the night before, without any warning. It was too sudden. She was afraid that she would pass away like that too, so she had to make arrangements.

"Xiao Yuan, look, Grandma has something good for you. Your mom, your aunt, your uncle, none of them know about it, not even your grandpa knows. I'm only giving it to you." She pulled a wooden box out of her cotton-padded trouser pocket like she was showing off a treasure. "Open it and take a look," she urged Xiao Yuan.

"A jade bracelet? Is this made of mutton fat jade? Grandma, you have such a nice thing? I've never seen you wear it before." Xiao Yuan was surprised. The color of this bracelet was really good, warm and shiny.

"I traded rice and flour with the landlord's wife when we were fighting the landlord. This was the most expensive one, a really good thing. I never dared to show it off before, because I planned to give it to my favorite grandson's wife. Now I'm giving it to you. You can give it to your wife for me later." The old lady's gaze slid across his face, and she pressed, "Do you like it?"

Xiao Yuan paused for a moment, then said, "Give it to my mom. It's suitable for her to wear. In ancient times, these kinds of things were usually given by mothers to their daughters."

“I can give my things to whomever I want. I’m willing to give them to you, but you can only give them to my granddaughter-in-law.” She said stubbornly. Seeing that Xiao Yuan’s reaction was not one of surprise or excitement, she was a little disappointed. But seeing that he was not going to hide it from the youngest son and was afraid that the youngest son would make sarcastic remarks to her if he found out, she said, “I want to go back to your third aunt’s house. Will you take me back?”

"Didn't you say you'd be spending the New Year at my home?"

"No, I can't go any further. Your place is too cramped, there's no room for me to sleep. I mainly came to give you the bracelet. Please take me back, hurry up."

"Are you really not going to stay? Tell my mom."

"No!" she shouted, insisting that he send her away immediately.

Xiao Yuan had no choice but to see her off again. When they arrived at his third aunt's house, he felt very guilty, as if he had been a thief who had stolen something that should have belonged to his aunt and mother.

When he got home, he showed the bracelet to his mother and asked if he should tell his three aunts about it.

Su Yu was furious! That biased old lady! She's so sexist and favors boys over girls. All the kindness she's shown her was for nothing.

"Needless to say, even if this bracelet isn't given to you, it won't end up in the hands of us sisters, so we won't get angry for nothing. Honestly, she treats you so well, people who don't know better would think you changed your surname to Yu and taken hers." She said indignantly, pushing away Xiao Yuan's hand and saying disdainfully, "Put it away and take it with you, it makes me angry just looking at it."

Xiao Yuan knew this was how it would be, and he left dejectedly, holding the bracelet as if it were a bomb.