Chapter 9: Deep in the Center of Gossip
Last night, they came back along the path on the right. Su Wan has a good memory and can still find the path he took back last night based on his memory.
The Su family's yard is at the innermost part of the village, built at the foot of a mountain. There are not many neighbors around. There is a large vegetable field in front of the house. It was originally barren, but later it was reclaimed by the villagers to grow vegetables. No one knows which piece of land belongs to their family.
There is a large ridge above the vegetable field. When you cross the ridge and come to the opposite side, you will see houses that start to become denser and stand side by side. Almost all of them have courtyards like the Su family's, but some are bigger and some are smaller. There are also a very small number of blue brick and tile houses.
At this time, most people have gone to work in the fields. There are only a few children in the village chasing each other and playing. Those over eight years old have gone to work. The most common sounds are the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs. There are bursts of cicadas chirping above the poplar trees on the roadside, and in the distance are endless green mountains, some high, some low, lush and verdant.
This is the most primitive pastoral scenery, fresh air, and the fragrance of soil.
As soon as they arrived here, they saw many winding paths crisscrossing each other. Su Wan couldn't find the direction. She had overestimated herself.
A shepherd boy of seven or eight years old was walking towards us. He was driving seven or eight sheep up the mountain, holding a long whip made of straw in his hand.
The flock of sheep bleated as they walked, dropping little brown sugar pearls along the way.
Su Wan stopped him and was about to ask for directions:
"Young man, where is the well in our village?"
It was the first time that the shepherd boy saw such a fair-skinned girl. She looked so beautiful when she smiled, and her voice when she spoke to him was so soft that it made his ears a little red.
He lowered his head, not daring to look at her, and then pointed in a direction:
"Go straight along this road and turn the corner and you'll be there!"
"Thank you!"
After getting the answer, Su Wan continued to walk away holding her water jar. The boy looked at her from behind, thinking to himself, when did such a beautiful sister appear in the village? How come he never knew about it?
There is a big tree next to the well. The trunk with lush branches and leaves just covers the well below. There is a gurgling spring water gushing out from the cracks in the rocks. The villagers dug a square puddle here. The whole village comes here to fetch water to drink. Everyone cherishes this spring water and never throws garbage into it.
If you want to wash clothes and vegetables, there is a river not far away.
Several elderly people were sitting under the tree enjoying the cool breeze. Everyone in their family had gone to work, so these old people gathered here to gossip. Su Wan walked over rather uncomfortably, facing everyone's gazes. Some people were already whispering and giving pointers.
"See? This is the Su family's biological daughter. She has been a rich lady in Mr. Gu's house for more than ten years!"
"Then Su Yue is now a young lady in the Gu family?"
"Of course not. She's my biological daughter. Madam Gu rushed to the Su family to pick her up the other day. She looked down on them, saying they were poor and mean. Now you can't call her Su Yue anymore. You have to call her Miss Gu!"
"You have a few bucks and yet you look down on country folks. The Su family was already poor, yet you gave birth to so many sons and sent them all to school. Don't you think you're asking for trouble? Other families can't give birth to sons, but Su Yangshi is so lucky. She's sure to have one in her life. If she dies of drought, she'll die of drought. If she dies of flood, she'll die of flood. When she first married into the Su family, she was so skinny that she barely had any flesh on her body. You didn't look like someone who could give birth to a son, but look at the result!"
These old ladies are so jealous in their words, but it is true that Su's mother gave birth to five sons and she is a legendary figure in the village. Many people who can't give birth to sons are so envious!
When Su Wan came closer, everyone stretched their necks to look at her, and Su Wan raised her face with an awkward smile.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this little one looks much better than Su Yue. I said back then that Su Yue didn't look like a biological child. That nose, eyes, and eyebrows, none of them look like the Su family. Look, I was right, right? This one looks like a biological child!"
"That's right. I don't know what good deeds the Su family has done. Each of their children is more handsome than the other. The key is that these children are all hardworking. Oh, forget it. Now that her last name is Gu, how can she still be called Su Yue?"
They were whispering there without avoiding Su Wan at all. Su Wan put the water jar in the corner of the small pit. There was a deep pit on top, and this was a shallow pit, just covering the body of the jar, with only the opening on the top exposed. The water was very cool, and it was very comfortable to put your hand in the water.
At this time, someone took the initiative to talk to me:
"Girl, are you the biological daughter that Su Qingshan's family just brought back?"
"Yes, grandma!" Su Wan turned to look at the old woman who came over and squatted next to her. She had a gossipy look on her face.
"Oh, what a pretty face you have! Which girl in this village has such good looks? Your smile is as sweet as honey. Children raised by wealthy families are so delicate. Look at these delicate hands. They are so adorable!"
She took Su Wan's hand and looked at and touched it. There were countless wrinkles on her face.
Su Wan pulled his hand out of hers, still smiling awkwardly.
"What's your name?"
At this time, a few more aunts came over and surrounded Su Wan, making her the center of gossip.
"Su Wan!"
"It sounds really nice, Su Wan. Your family is really good at naming. It's much nicer than those flowers and grasses in our village!" The old lady smiled and nodded, savoring the names carefully.
"Of course they know how to name the child, as they're all literate!"
"Su girl, what's in this jar of yours? Why did you bring it here to keep it under control?"
Everyone's attention was focused on the small jar that Su Wan brought.
"My brothers went to work. The weather is hot, so I gave them some cold tea to calm them down!" Su Wan answered honestly.
"You are such a thoughtful girl, much more diligent than that lazy girl Su Yue. You just came back and you already care about your brothers. Su Qingshan is so lucky!"
Several aunties, grandmas and grandmothers took turns praising her, praising her like nothing else. There were also a few old men sitting under the tree. They didn't like gossip, but they were grinning too.
Su Wan stood up and walked away quickly:
"Grandpa and grandma, I'm going back first!"
She squeezed out of the crowd and quickened her pace towards home. Those eyes followed her until she disappeared, and then they began to whisper to each other in their own places.
"Do you think that Gu Yue is a conscientious person? Now that he has become a phoenix, does he know how to help his parents?"
"I think so. Good days are coming for the Su family. Even if the Gu family lets them off, it will be enough for them to have enough food and drink for the rest of their lives. Besides, Su Wan has been in love with Madam Gu for more than ten years. It's impossible for him to bring her nothing back, right?"
"I don't know for sure. I went to watch the fun that day, and Madam Gu looked down on the Su family in every word and every way. She told them not to rely on their relationship with her daughter to get benefits from the Gu family. She also said that no one owed anyone anything, and that they should stop associating with each other in the future, for fear of having such poor relatives. And look at Su Wan's outfit, does it look like he brought back money? I'm afraid that Madam Gu will kick him out!" An old lady pointed out these details incisively.
When the others heard this, they kept clicking their tongues and secretly cursing Mrs. Gu for being hard-hearted, stingy and mean.
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