"The village has distributed the money from the land sale. My family has four shares, 200,000 yuan each. You should come back early for the New Year, otherwise I won't give you your share." Su Tiantian's mother Sang Yimei said on the phone in a serious tone.
Su Tiantian felt a little helpless after hearing the content of the phone call: "Mom, today is only the 23rd of the lunar year, and I won't have a holiday until the 30th. I have work and it's not convenient for me to take a leave, and my salary will be deducted if I take a leave."
Sang Yimei said coldly, "Don't think I'm joking. The money distribution in the village is real. The production team leader has asked all villagers to sign and confirm. The money will be transferred to the bank account in a few days. It's also true that I won't give it to you. If you don't come back before the 27th day of the lunar year, I won't give you the money."
As a child, 26-year-old Su Tiantian always thought her name should be "Tiantian," assuming a girl should be sweet and beautiful. However, the two characters "Tiantian" (Tiantian) made her classmates envious. After copying her name 100 times, she realized how few strokes there were. Later, while studying, she came across a poem about lotus leaves, describing the lush lotus leaves. The "Tiantian" in the poem refers to the lush lotus leaves. She felt her name held a profound meaning, romantic, and relatable to real life. When Su Tiantian shared her perceived meaning with Sang Yimei, she was amused: "What meaning does it have? We used to make a living by farming. We named ourselves Tiantian just to add more fields to our name." Su Tiantian suddenly felt her name was a bit corny. Sang Yimei, seemingly sensing her thoughts, said, "Look at the names of some of your relatives and classmates. Do you think yours is corny?" Well, compared to names like Daidi, Zhaodi, and Liumei, it's definitely not.
After graduating from university, Su Tiantian stayed in Kuozhou, where she attended college, to work. Kuozhou is a first-tier city with a thriving economy and decent salaries. Honestly, her annual salary is much higher than 200,000 yuan, but earning money doesn't guarantee saving. High-wage cities also come with high costs, including transportation, cosmetics, and daily living. Although Su Tiantian doesn't have high material needs, she still spends a considerable amount each month. Fortunately, she doesn't have to rent; her company arranges her accommodation. After four years of work, she's saved enough money to buy a house in Kuozhou. She's almost paid for the down payment, but still needs to cover renovations.
Over the past decade, her parents had stopped farming and were now doing business, opening a factory and earning a decent income. It wasn't that the family couldn't afford the renovations, but money was generally reserved for boys, and Su Tiantian hadn't considered competing with her younger brother. He had always been very kind to her, but the land money, divided according to their shares, belonged to her. Perhaps some families wouldn't give their daughters money, but Su Tiantian's parents had said they would give their two shares to her brother and her own share to her. Last year, they'd given her 20,000 yuan, and they'd given her the cash when she returned home on New Year's Eve.
When Su Tiantian thought of the 200,000 yuan, she immediately felt motivated and decided to work overtime. She finally finished the work ahead of schedule and planned to go home on the 27th day of the lunar year as her mother requested. After all, who doesn't want to go home early to celebrate the New Year? The company's year-end party has been held and the year-end bonus has been paid out, so it is okay to go home two or three days earlier.
Su Tiantian's workplace is about 181 kilometers from her hometown, Zongxiao City, a neighboring city of Kuozhou. It takes about 2.5 hours to drive there, and most of the roads are not expressways, so she didn't book a high-speed rail ticket. The day she received her mother's call, she called her cousin, Ma Yiqiang, who works in the same city, and confirmed that he would pick her up at 7:30 a.m. on the 27th day of the lunar year. Her cousin's home is in the same village as Su Tiantian's, a five-minute drive away. They both work in Kuozhou, and because they are relatives and have played together since childhood, they have a good relationship.
At 7 a.m. on the 27th day of the lunar year, Su Tiantian, who had already packed her luggage and gifts, received a WeChat call from her cousin. The cousin said that he had woken up late and would not be able to pick her up until around 8:15. Su Tiantian said, "I'll wait for you. Take your time, cousin."
At 8:10, the cousin came and called Su Tiantian. Su Tiantian hurriedly took some of the luggage and gifts and went out. The cousin took them and put them in the trunk of the car and asked, "Are there any more?" Su Tiantian said, "Yes." He went in again and took out the remaining gifts and put them on the back seat of the car.
Su Tiantian sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, took out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons, then said to her cousin, "I'll transfer 300 yuan to you for the fare." The cousin got in the driver's seat and said while adjusting the navigation line, "I won't take the money. I will return it at the appointed time. If you insist on me taking it, I won't take it when your parents get something for me when I get back to you." Su Tiantian was helpless: "Okay, then don't take it. I can't stop my parents. I thought you were sending me home and couldn't pick up a passenger along the way, so I'll give you some fare." The cousin said, "Cousin, do I need this little fare? I need a girlfriend. I'm going home early to go on a blind date." After hearing what the 26-year-old cousin said, Su Tiantian shuddered and spoke a little unfluently: "You, you, tell me, if my mom asks me to go home early, will she ask me to go on a blind date too?"
The cousin took a look at his pretty cousin, who was well-educated and elegant, but had no boyfriend. At the age of 26, how could he not be forced to get married? It was rare that he had waited until now to ask her to go on a blind date, as many of her classmates had already married and had children. The cousin laughed secretly: "You used to go home on the 29th or 30th of the lunar year. Why did you go back early this year and not ask for your overtime pay? Although your family doesn't lack this little money." Su Tiantian pursed her lips: "Mom said that if I don't go there earlier, she won't give me the land money." The cousin laughed: "My uncle and aunt have always loved you, so they would never not give you the money. You have been deceived. My mother also told me about the land money. She said that it would be distributed on the night of the 30th of the lunar year."
At this time, Su Tiantian's phone rang. She saw that it was her brother Su Zhihao calling, and quickly answered: "Sister, what time will you be home?" Su Tiantian said: "Probably between 10:30 and 11 o'clock." "Okay, Mom said she has prepared dinner and is waiting for you." The brother hung up the phone.
My cousin said, "What time will I be home? I called my mom before I left, otherwise I would definitely call to ask."
Su Tiantian said, "It was your cousin, my brother, who called. He said Mommy has prepared dinner and is waiting for me. Come to my house and have dinner with me."
The cousin had been close to Su Tiantian since childhood and spoke directly: "My dear cousin, please don't keep me for dinner. If you keep me, your aunt, my mother, will be unhappy if she waits too long."
Su Tiantian said: "Well, you will come with your mother to eat on the second day of the New Year anyway, so I won't keep you. Haha, if I don't keep you, wait for your aunt to invite you to dinner, and then you can refuse."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
