39.039 Semi-disconnected

Su Yu went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a bag of brown sugar. When she got back, she used sweet potato flour and high-gluten flour to make dough. She steamed half a pot of brown sugar buns and half a pot of white steamed buns. The buns were ready in the evening. Su Yu picked out two brown sugar buns and put them in her metal lunchbox. She called Xiao Yuan in and asked, "Has Er Ya come back yet?"

"No, I'm still out digging for wild vegetables."

"Here, you and Ping An take the lunchboxes and go find Er Ya. Come back when she's finished eating." Su Yu wrapped the lunchboxes in a piece of gray cloth; carrying a bare lunchbox would be too conspicuous.

Su Yu put her arm around Xiao Yuan, who was about to leave, and asked him while massaging his shoulders, "You were able to avoid being robbed this time entirely thanks to Er Ya and Ping An. Did you properly thank them?"

Xiao Yuan remained silent. Saying thank you was too awkward. He was very grateful and had let go of his resentment towards Ping An, treating him like a brother. But he couldn't bring himself to say thank you, just like he couldn't call him "brother."

“You heard what Xu Laosan said too. Cai Dagen was waiting at your grandma’s house. If Er Ya and Ping An hadn’t stopped Xu Laosan from taking you away, you would have been forcibly taken away and sold immediately. Even if I had brought the police to look for you afterwards, I might not have been able to find you right away.” Su Yu rubbed his face and said, “You should thank him. If you don’t tell him, only you will know. Just like what happened with swimming before, I’m still your mother. If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known you were angry. Don’t keep things to yourself. Your mouth is for talking, whether you’re happy or angry, you should say it.”

Xiao Yuan nodded hesitantly, half-raising his eyes and whispering, "Mom, let's not talk about swimming anymore." He was quite embarrassed.

"That won't do. If you're still being shy and hesitant, I'll bring it up every day." Su Yu raised her chin slightly, refusing to agree.

Xiao Yuan pouted, took her lunchbox, and went out. After walking out the door, she turned back and said, "I wasn't shy. It's the little girl who's shy."

Su Yu scoffed in disdain, then watched as he stomped his foot in embarrassment and let out a strange "Yo!" that drove the child away. Xiao Yuan was quiet and refined, his shyness and taciturnity mostly inherited from his parents, while his thoughtfulness and overthinking were shaped by his environment. Such a sensitive and thoughtful personality would cause many inconveniences even for adults, and children with this trait are prone to early death. Deep affection is short-lived, and excessive intelligence is harmful—these are not just empty words.

The family environment is good now, and the external troubles only affect her and Ningjin. Children should be like Ping An, carefree and forgetful, not sensitive to the emotional changes of adults. Su Yu wants to change Xiao Yuan's personality, but if she waits a few more years, it will be too late. She is somewhat glad that she did not accompany Xiao Yuan to visit the graves during the New Year, otherwise he would not have been frightened or ill, and she would not have realized such a big problem.

Outside the town, Ping An squatted down in front of Er Ya, his face cupped in his hands, watching her eat a sweet bun. He could smell the sweet aroma, and the syrup inside was so thick. He licked his lips and swallowed.

Er Ya was so afraid of his gaze that she didn't dare to open her mouth. After hesitating for a moment, she held the candy packet to Ping An's lips and said reluctantly, "Want to take a bite?"

"No." Xiao Yuan walked over and covered Ping An's mouth, saying with her head down, "If you don't eat, I won't eat either. We'll eat when we get back. This is specially for Sister Er Ya."

"Ugh... um." Ping An brushed Xiao Yuan's hand away and said, "I'm not eating, I'll just smell it first. You eat quickly, so we can go back after you finish." He urged.

Xiao Yuan, on the other hand, was restless, pacing back and forth with his hands in his pockets, never stopping. Er Ya, seeing this, stopped eating slowly and quickly, finishing each bun in five bites. In less than three minutes, she had gone down two brown sugar buns. She asked, "Are you cold? I'm done eating. Let's go home."

"I'm not cold." Xiao Yuan opened his arms to stop the two people who were about to leave. "I have something to say."

"Um... I want to thank you both. If it weren't for you two saving me, I would have been sold." He said dryly, staring at the two of them with his eyes, trying to express his overwhelming gratitude.

"Oh, you're welcome." Ping An moved with his hands behind his leader's back. "It's so exciting! I love this kind of thing. Don't thank me. Next time there's something like this, be sure to take me with you."

Xu Yuan: "..."

Er Ya was more embarrassed than the one who was thanking her. She scratched her head awkwardly and imitated Ping An, saying, "You're welcome, you're welcome."

"You should thank me. Without you two, I would definitely have been sold out," Xiao Yuan said hurriedly, wanting the two of them to see his sincerity.

"Your mom saved me too, and she didn't even let me thank her, so you don't need to thank me either." Er Ya was very excited to have saved Xiao Yuan; she was finally able to help her.

"Let's go, let's go, no need to thank me, hurry home, it's too cold." He wanted to go home to eat sweet buns, otherwise they would get cold.

"Alright then, let's go home." Xiao Yuan helped Er Ya drag a dry branch and rushed ahead, feeling completely relaxed.

"Mom, is dinner ready?" Ping An shouted at the top of his lungs before even entering the door, ignoring Xiao Hei, who had been wagging its tail wildly.

Aunt Wu, who was eating across from her daughter-in-law, asked, "Is that Ping An's voice? It sounds like him. This kid is lucky; his stepmother treats him well, otherwise he wouldn't have developed such a simpleton personality."

"Maybe his stepmother is deliberately trying to make him stupid," her daughter-in-law casually remarked.

"Then you'll make me stupid too. I want to be stupid. I want to eat stewed hen, I want to eat egg pancakes, I want to eat fish, I want to eat candy and cookies every day, and I also want..."

"You want to eat farts?" she interrupted her youngest son's daydreaming. She wanted to eat them too, but could she afford them? She didn't have a man to buy her a job.

On the third day after sending Xu Laosan to the police station, Su Yu thought she would go to the police station to ask for information after work. Before she even left the factory gate, the old man guarding the gate stopped her. "Comrade Su Yu, there is an old woman and a man waiting for you outside. They don't look like good people. Be careful."

Su Yu's first instinct was to think of Old Master Xu and his mother. She thanked the old man and walked out with a smile. Just as she had guessed, Old Master Xu's face was like mud after rain and then exposed to the sun, cracked and ugly. Old Master Xu's eyes were mostly on the people coming and going in the factory, chatting and laughing, with envy in them.

With the others covering her, Su Yu slipped away quietly. When she got back, the porridge was almost cooked when there was a knock on the door, followed by Granny Xu's cursing.

"Su Yu, open the door! I know you're home. Open the door now, you shameless woman! You actually sent your brother-in-law to the police station! Come out here! Where's Xiao Yuan? Xiao Yuan, open the door! Your brother-in-law came to pick you up, and you and your mother sent him to the police station! You bastard, you heartless wretch! How did my Xu family run into two jinxes like you? You killed my second son, and now you're trying to kill my youngest! You troublemakers, you're going to ruin my family!" She yelled and cursed outside, banging on the door. Xiao Hei barked in the yard, making a scene of great commotion.

Su Yu didn't open the door. Xu Laoda was also there this time. If a fight broke out, Su Yu would be at a disadvantage. Moreover, Ping An and Xiao Yuan were also at home. They weren't confident in their ability to win a melee.

She moved a table against the courtyard wall, stood on it with a basin of water (the wall was shoulder-high), and without cursing, poured the water on the people outside. She told the neighbors watching, "Remember their faces. One is the man who snatched the child, and the other is his mother. My family has no dealings with them, but if you see them around, they're definitely scouting the area, preparing to steal the child. Like begets like. A rat's son knows how to burrow; if the son is bad, his mother isn't any better."

“Then your son is no better. He’s a son of the Xu family. He’s a liar and has no conscience. He sent his uncle, who was supposed to take him home, to the police station. He’s not human, he’s a dog.”

Su Yu went down and changed seats, scooped up a basin of cold water and splashed it all over her head, "You drank your son's blood and lived a good life, and now you want to sell your grandson. You old hags who deserve to die a horrible death. Keep jumping around. You have all been involved in human trafficking. Wait until you go to the Great Northern Wilderness to reclaim wasteland."

After that, no matter how much she scolded Su Yu, she ignored her and focused on cooking in the house, even keeping the two children in the kitchen to tend the fire.

Outside, Granny Xu was cursing angrily. Su Yu had hit her sore spot. She was afraid of being implicated by her youngest son. She was getting on in years and couldn't bear any more hardship. Her purpose in coming was to get Su Yu or Xiao Yuan to change their minds and release her youngest son, but she was used to speaking harshly to Su Yu and couldn't bring herself to say anything conciliatory. Now that she had been rebuked, she wanted to say something conciliatory but couldn't find anyone to talk to.

"Who are you? What are you doing standing at my door?" Ning Jin had just entered the alley when he saw the commotion at the door. He hurriedly ran over and saw that the door was locked, white smoke was billowing from the kitchen chimney, and a strange man and an old woman were standing outside.

"Xiao Wuzi is back?" The neighbors who had been watching recounted the thrilling events in a flurry of voices, pointing to the people at the door and saying, "That's Xiao Yuan's great-uncle and great-grandmother."

"You dare to come here looking for trouble? Do you think you're the only man in the family?" Ning Jin was furious. He threw down his bag, rolled up his sleeves, and pounced on Xu Laoda, punching him hard across the face, chin, and waist. He was taller and stronger than Xu Laoda, and younger. He pressed his knee into Xu Laoda's abdomen, making him unable to get up, and Xu Laoda's nose was bleeding profusely.

"Murder! Murder! He's going to die!" Granny Xu screamed in distress, but only dared to jump around, afraid that Ning Jin would also hit her. She asked the people around her for help: "Quickly pull him away, he's going to beat someone to death."

"Ning Jin, stop!" Su Yu heard the commotion and opened the door to find Ning Jin hitting Boss Xu. She quickly called out to him, "Stop hitting him, you'll get your hands dirty. The police will deal with them."

Ning Jin stood up fiercely, wiped the cut on his forehead, wiped away the blood, pointed at Old Master Xu and Old Lady Xu, and said: "If you dare to come to my house to cause trouble again, I will have someone tear down your house tonight, put you in sacks and throw you all into the river to drown, you scum."

Faced with absolute power, Granny Xu dared not utter a sound. She helped her eldest son up and hurriedly prepared to leave, showing none of the arrogance she displayed in front of Su Yu.

"You're back? Come in, dinner will be ready soon." She stepped aside to let him in, and told the neighbors to hurry back for dinner as well, it was getting cold and the lively atmosphere had subsided.

"Why waste your breath on them? They just want to make things worse." The man pulled Su Yu inside, then slammed the door shut behind him. After years of being neighbors, his wife and children were being yelled at inside the house, and not a single person had spoken up for them. He was furious, but had nowhere to vent his anger.

After entering the house, I picked up the two boys and asked, "Are you alright? Were you scared that night?"

The two children initially seemed guilty, shaking their heads to say no, but then they chuckled to themselves. Things were not at all as outsiders had described. They felt a secret sense of pride, and only a few of them knew the truth.

"Good lad, you've got guts." He patted the two children's heads, praising their courage and saying they weren't cowards.

"Wash your hands and eat first. I'll tell you while we're eating." Su Yu brought the dishes and rice into the main room and told the father and his two sons to wash their hands.

"That's how it is. It's true that I forcibly took Xiao Yuan, but it's a lie that I climbed over the wall at night, it's a lie that I called the police, and it's a lie that I was frightened," Su Yu confessed with a smile.

The man breathed a sigh of relief, stopped eating with his chopsticks, and glanced at the mother and her two children. This was more exciting than watching a movie. He could hardly believe that this was Su Yu's idea. She was too strong, thoughtful and calm. If she weren't a weak woman, he wouldn't even have a chance to beat her up.

"us……"

"Don't talk, let me have some peace and quiet. I can't hear anything right now." Ning Jin stopped her from continuing. He needed to sort things out and see if there was anything he could still do. If things continued like this, he would be reduced to just someone who made money and paid taxes, and that would be his only usefulness.

Su Yu satisfied him and shut up to eat. There wasn't much she could do before the police released their findings. Right now, her mind was more focused on the information she'd gathered that afternoon. She'd heard that many fruit trees in the neighboring county's orchards hadn't sprouted new leaves in the spring. She planned to take two days off to go and check on things once the Xu family had calmed down, to see if she could switch jobs.

Lying in bed at night, the man, with no desire for intimacy, held the woman and asked, "What else can I do?"

"Go to the police station tomorrow and ask for information. I originally planned to go after get off work this afternoon, but I was blocked by the Xu family and didn't go. Go and urge them so that this matter is not delayed by other things."

"Okay, I'll go ask."

The next morning, Ning Jin was about to go to the police station to ask when his father and second brother stopped him on the way. "When did Xiao Wuzi come back?"

"Where did you go last night? Didn't you go to work?"

"We've separated the family property, and I'm planning to buy some bricks and cement to build a wall. It's good that you're back; you can come and help out tomorrow," said Old Man Ning.

"Xiao Wu, could you take your car out and use it? Go to the brick factory and haul some bricks for me, so I don't have to run around all day and get exhausted," Ning Lao Er said.

"Father, Second Brother, do you know that something has happened to my family?" he asked, staring at the two of them.

"I heard about it, and I even went to see for myself. Your wife called the police, and I heard that the Xu family came to our door yesterday and yelled at us. I told you we shouldn't go too far," Old Man Ning complained.

"Heh." Ning Jin sneered, asking sarcastically, "Dad, am I adopted or was I born out of wedlock with someone? Thieves have already scaled the wall and broken into the yard, why didn't you call the police? Su Yu has no in-laws to help her, her husband isn't home, her older brothers don't lend a hand, and she and her two children were cornered in the house and verbally abused. Her in-laws, brothers, and sisters-in-law are all in the same town, but none of them came to her aid. What could they do but call the police? Give the two children away to be sold for money?"

"You only remember me when you need me. When I'm not home, you don't even look at my wife and kids. How dare you ask me for help? I've given up. I don't need you anymore, and don't look for me. I'm not your slave." The man turned and walked away, his lips trembling. This was the first time he had argued with his family, and it was probably the last.

Ping An's mother was critically ill, and his parents didn't come to help; he lost his wife and was raising a young child, and his parents didn't lend a hand; now that his wife and child are about to be sold, his parents are still blaming Su Yu!

Forget it, I'm not going to give up. He might have been their enemy in a past life, which is why they weren't meant to be.