Chapter 35 Kicked Him

"...I'll have your master's wife find you a stable job to settle down with..."

"master!"

Su Lao Er looked displeased and raised his voice, interrupting the old master.

Thinking of Cui Yuxia's breathtakingly beautiful face, even when she was crying, he pursed his lips. "Master, you've misunderstood Yuxia. She's not like that. She truly loves me..."

She had even thought of names for their child, why would she lie to him?

The master doesn't understand at all.

Life isn't the same no matter who you live with; he just likes beautiful women like Cui Yuxia.

He was happy to do it all for her.

Seeing that he was stuck in a rut and wouldn't listen to advice, the old master frowned, sighed inwardly, and didn't try to persuade him further. "Alright, as long as you know what's going on, that's fine. I have something to do here, the bell will ring in half an hour, hurry back after you finish eating..."

Su Lao Er responded in a muffled voice, a hint of barely perceptible anger flashing in his eyes. Before the old master could finish speaking, he slammed down the phone.

The experienced worker glanced at the phone call that had been abruptly ended, and his brow furrowed deeply.

What's wrong with this child?

He got a phone number from the medicine warehouse and told Li Banxia about Su Lao Er's situation. "Your sister-in-law has been taking medicine, and I'm really short on money. He asked for ten yuan right away, but I didn't lend it to him..."

"He hung up on you?!"

Li Banxia narrowed her eyes slightly, her eyes filled with disappointment, then she gave a self-deprecating smile.

He doesn't even care about his own mother's life or death, so how could he care whether his behavior would hurt his master's feelings?

The old man sighed, "He's probably just sulking. I'm just letting you know that his girlfriend spends over ten yuan a meal... She's spending money way too much, she doesn't seem like a good match. He won't listen to me. Go back and talk to him. When it comes to marriage, you should find someone reliable and dependable..."

"I understand, thank you, Brother Chang."

Li Banxia composed herself, smiled, and chatted with the old doctor for a few minutes. She said she was going back to her parents' home for the weekend and would go to his house beforehand to check her pulse and see if the prescription needed to be changed.

"I was thinking of taking advantage of the weekend to go up the mountain and see if there are any younger ginseng roots to help my sister-in-law replenish her energy. Younger ones are easier to absorb..."

The experienced worker readily agreed, saying, "Then your sister-in-law and I will wait for you at home."

After hanging up the phone, Li Banxia continued working at the medicinal herb warehouse.

Su Lao Er stood blankly by the phone, no longer knowing who else could call.

With his workday approaching, he had no choice but to go back home.

When he returned, the siblings initially smiled, but as soon as Su Lao Er said he hadn't found the money, their faces simultaneously darkened.

"What bad luck! If you don't have money, what kind of guests are you treating? You can't even enjoy a proper meal!"

Cui Xiaodi spat, "When that grocery store owner's son was pursuing you a few days ago, he was so generous. He gave you a Shanghai watch worth over a hundred yuan without hesitation. But you insisted on this one. What does he have besides his face? He has no sincerity at all!"

After saying that, he stood up, grabbed Cui Yuxia, and walked out.

"Let's go, let's go! What's the point of talking to someone like that?!"

Cui Yuxia was also annoyed that Su Lao Er had made her lose face, so she got up and followed her brother out of the state-run restaurant.

"Yuxia, let me explain..."

Being scolded by a young brat, Su Lao Er looked embarrassed. It was only when he looked at Cui Yuxia's face that he suppressed his anger towards Cui Xiaodi.

"We get paid on the 5th. Just wait two more days, and I'll have the money by the 5th. I'm getting a raise next month, around 70 or 80 yuan a month, and I promise you'll eat and drink well..."

The siblings stopped at the same time, and Cui Yuxia gave her brother a wink.

Cui Xiaodi grumbled, "Who knows if you're telling the truth or not? If you pull this stunt again, are you going to make my sister lose face in public with you?"

"Little brother, Brother Min'an wouldn't do that, you've misunderstood him..."

Cui Yuxia acted as if she was reluctant to part with Su Lao Er, but her brother was angry and she had to coax him back first. She stretched out her hand to Su Lao Er and said, "Brother Min'an, I'll go back first. We'll make another appointment in a couple of days."

"Okay, okay, you guys go back first. I'll call you as soon as I get paid."

Su Lao Er nodded happily, feeling that his wife Yu Xia understood him.

Little Brother Cui pulled Cui Yuxia away on their bicycle. Old Su watched them walk quite a distance before reluctantly pushing his bicycle back to the tractor factory.

Cui Yuxia turned her head and glanced at him, then said to her younger brother, "They're gone."

"Let them go if they want, don't be so stingy."

Cui Yuxia patted her younger brother, "Don't be so ungrateful for getting a free meal. When you take your partner out, you have to pay for other people's meals, but I'm giving you a free meal and you're complaining."

"I didn't mind."

Brother Cui chuckled and said, "Although there were two fewer dishes, the meal was still quite satisfying. Sister, that guy really is a sucker."

"Once he gets paid on the 5th, we'll have an even better meal, and we'll pack a Sichuan peppercorn chicken for Mom and Dad," Cui Yuxia said with a smile.

Cui Xiaodi said "okay," then suddenly frowned and said with disdain, "Sister, you're not really planning to marry him, are you? He only makes so little money a month, not even enough to eat."

"When did I ever say I wanted to marry him? Isn't this just looking for someone better while still having one? Of course I'll dump him when I find someone better."

"That's good. Sister, you're so beautiful, you should at least marry a rich man and become a wealthy wife, or at least a factory director or a department head and become an official's wife. Su Min'an is just a poor, ordinary citizen. You can only fool him for a few meals. Don't take him seriously."

Cui Yuxia touched her flawless skin, her eyes brimming with pride, and smiled as she echoed her brother's words, "Do you even need to tell me? Once I marry a rich man, I'll cover all your wedding expenses. If I become an official's wife, our family's status will rise accordingly, and maybe you can even marry a rich heiress..."

"Really? Thank you, sis!"

"We're siblings, if I don't help you, who else will I help?"

The siblings walked away chatting and laughing.

Su Lao Er went back to work and was sullen all afternoon. He would look away whenever he saw the old master. The old master sighed as he looked at his clueless appearance.

When he got home from get off work, he saw Li Banxia and his face darkened. He looked angry and ignored her, going straight back to his room.

Li Banxia pretended not to see it.

She rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen, where she and the eldest son's wife cooked dinner together, then called for Su Laosan to bring the food.

When the food was served, without being called, Su Hongmei, who was pretending to do her homework in the room, sat down on the stool in the blink of an eye, and Su Lao Er also came out of the room.

The dishes included a fish that the eldest son and his wife brought back, a dish of steamed eggplant with minced garlic, a dish of pickled peppers, and a dish of pickled cowpeas. The rice consisted of steamed buns, steamed sweet potatoes, and two potatoes, which were what Li Banxia wanted to eat.

She wants to lose weight, get her body into its best condition, and also wants to re-plan her future...

"Mom, eat some fish, this piece has no bones." The eldest daughter-in-law picked up a large piece of fish and put it in the bowl in front of her.

Su Hongmei glanced at it and slightly pursed her lips. "Sister-in-law, my mother doesn't like to eat fish."

"ah?"