Chapter 08: Making things worse?
Because Su's father and mother were under a lot of pressure to raise six children, they both worked outside. Su's father was a miner in a coal mine, and Su's mother was a cook in the coal mine. The couple worked in the same place to support the family.
Because the children had to go to school, the couple worked for a wealthy family in the county in their early years. After their daughter was born, they returned to the countryside. During this period, Su's father had been doing hard labor outside. Originally a handsome young man, he was forced by life to become a rough man. Su's father's dark skin did not show the handsomeness of his youth at all.
Over the years, the children's studies and occasional illnesses have cost money, so they have owed a lot of foreign debts.
The same goes for Su's mother. She was a great beauty when she was young, and many landlords wanted to marry her as a concubine, but she chose love. Now she is weathered and her hands are covered with calluses. Because she has been working in the kitchen for a long time and is always busy with the smoke and fire, she is only forty years old now, but she looks like an old woman in her fifties, with wrinkles all over her face!
Now we just have to wait for Su Jing to have a bright future. If he passes the exam, even if he is only a Juren or one of the top 30 Jinshi, the family's life will be much better.
Su Yun usually cooks at home. He is very talented in cooking, has many ideas, and dares to try bold things, so he has made great achievements in cooking.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry. As the eldest brother, I will definitely treat Wanwan well. Third brother, your second brother and I are usually in the county town. You are the eldest in the family, so you must treat Wanwan well!"
Su Chen, who was suddenly given an important task, felt that he had become very important at this moment, and nodded solemnly:
"Brother, I understand!"
Su Jing was going away to study and only came back once or twice a month. Su Mu worked in the county clinic and came back every seven days. He was paid two hundred coins a month, which was two taels of silver. Because he was an apprentice, his monthly salary was not high. He had only been away for a year, and all the money he earned was used to supplement the family expenses.
There were only the third, fourth and fifth children at home. They had to look after the house and take care of the family farmland. They went to school from the age of six to fourteen and had no problem with reading and arithmetic. They had no interest in taking the imperial examinations, and the pressure from their parents was too great if they continued to study.
Su Yun was silent for a long time. He suddenly didn't dare to look at Su Wan, his face flushed.
"Although you look pitiful, Yueyue, I still treat you as my sister, and that won't change. Humph!" Su Yun said this and walked into the kitchen arrogantly, but his tone was much softer than before.
Su Yi kept smiling, and Su Wan was wondering if he would get laugh lines if he smiled like that all day.
"Sister Wanwan, why are you looking at me like that?" He narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Of course it's because Fifth Brother is so handsome!"
Su Yi is only fifteen years old, and his face still looks childish, but he is really handsome. Su Wan only knew after reading the original novel that he is the most gentle and considerate of the five brothers. Many things cannot escape his eyes. He knows everything and can always ask questions that are to the point and make people unable to refute, but he is also very sensible. One can only sigh that people with squinting eyes are monsters.
"Sister Wanwan is really good at talking!"
Su Wan was the only one who had white flour buns for breakfast. There were only four in the basket, so Su Wan divided them into eight portions, just enough for each person.
Before they could say no, Su Wan said:
"A family should learn to share. When we have something delicious, we can eat it together!"
She was used to a life of luxury, yet she was willing to eat sweet potatoes and wild vegetable cakes with them, and she did so with relish. Perhaps it was because she had eaten too many delicacies from land and sea and found them fresh, but she might get tired of them after a while.
After dinner, Su's father and mother had to go back to the mine to work. The family did not have enough food for the whole year, and basically had to spend money to buy rice, noodles, and oil. Every year when the children grew taller, they had to buy cloth and make new shoes. The sons also had to save money to get married. It was really tight!
"Wanwan, your father and I are going out for a while and won't be back to see you until the end of the month. You should stay home and listen to your brothers. When mom comes back, she'll buy you some delicious food!"
They always say this to Gu Yue before going out, and now they say the same to Su Wan. This habit cannot be changed.
Su Wan nodded obediently.
After Su's father and mother passed away, the five brothers had to go to the fields to work. After harvesting two acres of rice, they had to thresh the rice. The threshed rice had to be dried for a few days before it could be husked together.
Each of them took a sickle. Su Wan certainly couldn't be a lazy bum. He had to work when he came back and be down-to-earth, so as to leave a deeper impression on his brothers.
"Do you have a sickle? I want to go harvest rice with my brothers too!"
In response to Su Wan's question, the five brothers looked at her at the same time, and they didn't quite believe that she could work in the fields.
"Wanwan, there are only five of us to harvest the rice. The weather is too hot, so you can just rest at home!" Even Su Jing didn't quite believe that she could harvest the rice. She was not even as tall as the rice!
Su Wan didn't know what he was thinking. If he knew, he would probably be very dissatisfied.
How could it be so exaggerated? It's still much taller than rice. It's just that in the Su family, there's no reason to let my sister work in the fields.
"Don't go and cause trouble for us. If you can't stand it if you stay, you'll have to come back yelling. If you faint from heatstroke again, your family won't have the spare money to hire a doctor for you!" Su Yun curled his lips, still a little disgusted with Su Wan, feeling that she would only make things worse.
"Fourth brother looks down on people?"
Su Wan pouted and looked unconvinced, she looked so cute!
"I'm not looking down on you. You're the only girl in the family. How can the five of us brothers be just decorations? Is it your turn to go to the fields? Even Yueyue never went to the fields when she was alive!" Su Yun was telling the truth.
"Sister Wanwan, your skin is delicate, don't get tanned or sunburned. When parents come back, they'll probably blame us brothers for not taking good care of you!"
It was Su Yi who spoke, which made Su Wan not know how to refute.
In the end, Su Wan was left at home. The September sun was extremely scorching. Working under such a sun, the wheat ears stuck to his body, making him itchy and red all over, which was very uncomfortable.
Since her brothers insisted on not letting her go to the fields to work, she would just cook at home and clean the house. She had to let them know that she was not a delicate lady.
After walking around the house, he found a large clump of wild licorice growing behind the Su family's yard. It is also called rock sugar grass. Because its roots are very sweet, it has a sweet licorice taste when boiled in water. Su Wan immediately found a hoe and dug up a bundle, kept the roots, cleaned them, and then lit a fire to boil water.
The weather is hot and people are working under the sun. Drinking some sweet water to replenish sugar can prevent heatstroke. There is a well in the village where everyone draws water. The book says that every time Gu Yue returns to the countryside, she misses the sweet and cool well water.
After cooking, he took it to the well to cool it down, and then gave it to his brothers to quench their thirst.
Licorice water can be boiled over high heat for ten minutes. The color of the water is like light tea. Although it tastes very strong of grass roots, it is sweet enough.
I found a clean small water jar, filled it with water, then closed the door of the fence and went to look for a well.
She was unfamiliar with the place and didn't know which way to go when she went out. However, she heard the sound of a spring on the way back with Su Jing last night, so Su Wan went to the right with the jar in her arms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com