Chapter 135 Let's Drink the Northwest Wind Together

Su Laosan was somewhat smug but dared not be too smug, and looked at Li Banxia with a grin.

"Mom, look how firm the dough I kneaded is."

Li Banxia pinched the bridge of her nose and hummed in agreement. "It's quite sturdy. Let's make some cold noodles later. You must have walked around the neighborhood several times today. Go ask the people who grow vegetables to buy two old loofahs to scrub the pots."

She took out two yuan and handed it to Su Laosan.

Su Laosan happily accepted the money, his eyes darting around, and then he asked Li Banxia while clutching the money.

"Mom, could I use the remaining money as a running fee?"

Li Banxia glanced at him and nodded.

Old Su rubbed his hands together, snapped his fingers happily, and went out the door in high spirits.

A little while later, he came back with a bunch of them, saying that an old lady from some village gave them to him for free. "Look," he said, "she even gave me two that she just picked from the shelf, so we can cook them with the eggs to make soup."

After saying that, he licked his lips, carefully observing Li Banxia's reaction, and said, "Mom, I didn't spend a penny, but I got the loofah you asked me to buy. Here's two yuan..."

"It's yours now."

Li Banxia said calmly, "If I promised to give it to you, then it's yours."

"Mom, thank you."

Su Laosan's eyes lit up instantly, and he happily stuffed the money into his pocket, muttering, "I can use this money to treat Erniu to popsicles tomorrow."

Li Banxia looked at him.

"You like Fang Erniu that much?"

"Um."

Su Laosan nodded and said, "Mom, you'll like her when you meet her. She's very likable."

Li Banxia raised an eyebrow and asked him what he liked about the other person.

"Ah, this..."

Su Laosan scratched his head, unable to explain for a long time.

"Just... seeing her makes me happy, like a flower blooming in my heart. I want to give her everything, and I think everything she does is good. Anyway... oh my, everything about her is good."

After saying that, she smiled and flattered Li Banxia, ​​"Just as good as Mom."

Li Banxia glanced at him.

"Have you thought about what marriage means? There's an old saying that a woman marries a man for food and clothing. You have no job and no income right now, how are you going to support your wife and children?"

Su Laosan's face changed instantly, and he said, "Mom, you don't want me to marry Erniu?!"

Li Banxia, ​​"..."

"I didn't say that."

Su Laosan's eyes widened, his face saying, "You said it and you still won't admit it." He continued, "You said I have no job and no money to support my wife and children. Didn't you just want me to stay single and live a life where I'm the only one who doesn't have to worry about anyone else?"

The veins on Li Banxia's forehead throbbed.

I thought about grabbing the Xinhua Dictionary from the table and throwing it at him, but then I glanced at it and saw that it was still brand new. I felt bad about breaking it.

He glared at Su Laosan with annoyance and said, "You marry her? You bring her back to me tomorrow. If you do, you two will starve."

"Mom, you promised me that before."

Su Laosan was displeased. "What my elder brother and sister-in-law have, we all have. You can't just not give Erniu anything just because she doesn't want anything and only wants me. Besides, we haven't proposed marriage or held a banquet. What kind of situation is it for me to bring her back?"

Li Banxia was so angry she laughed, her forehead throbbing.

Who does this concrete brain take after?!

"Su Fengtiao, I'm asking you to earn money to support your family. If you don't have money, how will you provide a good life for your partner?"

Seeing Su Laosan staring at her with his mouth agape, eager to try, Li Banxia didn't give him a chance to speak at all, and continued, "Your eldest brother and sister-in-law have stable jobs and give 40 yuan to the family every month. After you get married, you must follow this standard. If you can do that, I will go and propose marriage to you tomorrow."

"..."

Su Laosan immediately deflated.

"I can't do it. I have no education, no skills. Who would want me except Erniu?"

Li Banxia frowned, her patience almost gone. "So I'm telling you to think carefully about what you want to do. Think it over seriously, and once you've decided, do it. As long as you have a stable job, I'll arrange a marriage proposal for you with the Fang family, just like your older brother and sister-in-law did."

Su Laosan's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again in an instant.

He said, "I don't know what I can do. I can't do anything."

Li Banxia hummed in agreement. "This is your problem. Or you could talk to your partner about it tomorrow and see what you can do..."

Just as the mother and son finished talking, Su Laoda returned with his wife.

"Mom, there were braised chicken legs at school today, and Guo-ge and I brought two back." The eldest son's wife greeted Li Banxia with a smile as soon as she entered the door.

Li Banxia sighed, "Perfect timing to make some shredded chicken knife-cut noodles."

She got up to fetch her, let the eldest daughter-in-law sit in the rocking chair to rest, and called Su Laosan to knead the dough and make knife-cut noodles.

She started a fire, chopped firewood, washed her hands, shredded chicken legs, fried a handful of peanuts in a small pot, sliced ​​a few cucumbers, and sautéed a few spoonfuls of dried chili powder in oil to make a spicy and sour shredded chicken knife-cut cold noodle dish.

The noodles were sour and spicy, and Su Laosan ate three big bowls in no time, grinning as he said, "Homemade noodles always taste the best."

Li Banxia glanced at him and said, "Yes, you've had a hard day."

"Third brother's knife-cut noodles are really chewy, just as good as the ones sold on the street."

The eldest brother, Su, also smiled and praised, "Why don't you go learn to cook, third brother? Being a chef can be very lucrative."

"I?"

Old Su shook his head repeatedly, "I know nothing about this and can't do it."

“Your noodles are pretty good. You could try selling a single dish first, like cold noodles. Once you learn other dishes, you can change the menu. Several cafeterias at our school do this. This week they sell braised fish, next week spicy chicken, and the week after that braised chicken legs…” the eldest son’s wife chimed in from the side.

Su Laosan waved his hand again and said, "I can't do it, I can't do it."

Su frowned, opening his mouth as if to say something, but Li Banxia stopped him with a look.

The next morning, when Li Banxia went to work, he told Su Laosan to go to the medicinal herb warehouse to find him when he was about to leave work.

Just before I was about to leave work, Fang Erniu called, and Su Laosan answered.

The two of them excitedly hugged the phone and shouted several times.

Su Laosan's eyes were always smiling, showing that he really liked Fang Erniu.

The two agreed to meet at their usual spot. Li Banxia handed him the car keys and said, "Ride your bike there, and ride home later. Don't ride too late."

"Okay, I understand, thank you, Mom."

Su Laosan ran to find Fang Erniu without stopping, and the two successfully met up. Su Laosan's eyes were red, and he roared as he rushed over to Erniu.

Seeing his expression, Fang Erniu felt reassured.

She walked over unhurriedly, grabbed Su Laosan's ear, and said, "Su Laosan, do you not want me anymore? You disappeared for two months without even leaving a word. Do you know how I've been these past few days?"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened and her voice choked.

Su Laosan apologized with a grin, saying, "It's all my fault, I was wrong, I won't do it again next time. My third uncle suddenly had an accident and was transferred to Shanghai overnight for surgery. He left in a hurry so I didn't have time to tell you. Please don't be angry..."

"Huh? What happened to your third uncle?" Fang Erniu exclaimed in surprise. Knowing that Su Laosan hadn't abandoned her, she vented her resentment and began to care about him.

Su Laosan pulled her to sit down and began to tell her about what had happened these past few days.

When Su Lao Er was mentioned, he was extremely envious, saying, "My second brother is definitely a blessing in disguise. My mother used to ignore him, but after he stood up for my third uncle once, my mother treated him like her own son. When he left, she gave him five hundred yuan right away, five hundred!"

Su Laosan stretched out his palm and flipped it in front of Fang Erniu.

Fang Erniu was shocked and exclaimed, "Su Laosan, your mother is really rich! Giving him so much money, isn't she afraid he'll never change his ways and will spend it on his cuckolded girlfriend..."

"Don't even mention it. That woman was no good. She was always looking for something better, and she cheated on me with someone else behind my second brother's back. My second brother and I caught her several times."

"Tsk tsk, if you don't want to be together, then don't be together. Just make things clear before you look for someone else. Why put on this disgusting show?" Fang Erniu said.

Su Laosan nodded repeatedly.

After spending some time being affectionate, Fang Erniu asked him, "What are your thoughts on our relationship?"

"I definitely only want to marry you, but my mom said..."

Su Laosan swore to the heavens, but when he talked about Li Banxia, ​​he stammered, "My mother said that if I marry you, we'll both starve, so I can't marry you now!"

Fang Erniu, "..."