"It really is Hua'er!" Upon hearing this, Su Sui's almond-shaped eyes lit up instantly.
"Hua'er, come in and sit down. I heard them say that you've changed a lot, and now that I see you, I know it's true. I almost didn't recognize you!"
"Great! Great! That's wonderful! This is truly a cause for celebration!"
The woman strode out from behind the counter and greeted Su Hua as she entered. Looking into her clear eyes and fair face, she said "hello" three times in a row.
His lips were brimming with an unstoppable smile.
"Hua'er, have some tea at the shop first. It's getting late, you probably haven't eaten yet, right? I'll take you back later to cook some dishes, you can't go hungry..."
As she laughed, she started rambling on about going to find the brown sugar jar.
When they finally found it, they discovered the jar was already empty.
“Sister, don’t rush to do these things. We just ate outside, so we’re not hungry.” Su Hua pursed her lips, pulled Su Sui’s hand and sat down beside her, and said gently, “Sister, tell me the truth, is it that the Wang family has treated you badly?”
The last time she and Su Dahu came to the county town to deliver wild boar meat, they didn't even get to see Su Sui. Wang's father said they went to a temple in the suburbs to pray to the Bodhisattva for a child.
But how can having a child be a matter for just one person?
Since the Wang family is so eager to have a baby, it would be natural for Wang Chunfu and his wife to go to worship Buddha together.
But Wang Chunfu was completely drunk in broad daylight.
However, Wang's father's words implied that it was all Su Sui's fault.
Now, I happened to see Su Sui, but I saw her wiping away tears with red eyes. Moreover, Old Man Su and Su Bai were good-looking, and none of the five children in the Su family were bad. Before Su Sui got married, she was the most beautiful woman in Shanghe Village, and she was one of the most beautiful women in the surrounding area.
She had only been married into the Wang family for three years, and now at nineteen, wrinkles had already appeared around her eyes. Although she smiled, the sorrow in her eyes and brows could not be hidden, and she could hardly see any of the lively and spirited girl she remembered.
Upon hearing this, Su Sui's smile froze slightly, then she shook her head. "Hua'er, don't worry. The Wang family treats you very well. You have no worries about food or clothing. As long as you look after this little shop every day, your life will be quite leisurely."
"If it's not bad, then why did you cry just now?" Su Hua sighed inwardly.
Her older sister is too naive; she can't even control her facial expressions when she tells a lie.
Even a three-year-old could tell something was wrong.
Su Sui looked away somewhat awkwardly, biting her lip and smiling, "I didn't cry, it's just that it was a bit windy outside, and my eyes got wet..."
After saying that, he quickly got up and walked to the innermost part of the shop, and lifted up a floor tile.
She took out a small, tightly wrapped box and handed it to Su Hua, her eyes gentle and kind. "This is some dowry that your older sister prepared for you. We didn't have time to give it to you before, but we happened to find it today. Take it back and keep it safe."
"Dowry?" Su Hua looked at the wooden box in her hand, her fingertips just touching the clasp on the box. The clasp was made of a thin sheet of iron, and there was no trace of iron color on it anymore. It was smooth to the touch, so it must have been taken out and used frequently.
With a 'click', the latch opened.
Inside the box were several pieces of broken silver and a dozen or so copper coins.
As she looked at the copper coins, some vague fragments of memory suddenly flashed through her mind. After Su Sui married into the Wang family, although they lived not too far apart, she didn't come back often. She would usually come back on Su Bai's birthday and the second day of the Lunar New Year. And each time she came back, she would secretly slip some copper coins to the original owner so that she could buy sweets.
The original owner was honest and loved to eat, so naturally she would use any copper coins she could get without caring where they came from.
But in fact, Su Baishi once mentioned that the Wang family was very stingy and kept their money under strict control. Every income and expenditure in this small grocery store was managed by the old couple. Su Sui had to report all the day's business to the old couple after closing the store.
She would never keep a single penny on her person.
Even buying vegetables on ordinary days was handled by Old Lady Wang.
Su Sui stayed in the shop from morning till night, and didn't have lunch while she was minding the shop.
Old Mrs. Wang gave her two copper coins every day for lunch.
Su Sui never dared to eat those two copper coins, saving them all up. She gave some to the original owner to buy sweets, and the rest became her dowry.
Su Hua felt a lump in her throat, paused for a moment, and then pushed the box back.
“Sister, Feng Zicai and I broke off the engagement half a month ago, so we don’t need this dowry.”
"Break off the engagement? I'm sorry, Hua'er, your elder sister doesn't know about this." Su Sui was taken aback upon hearing this, and a hint of anger flashed in her delicate eyes. "Did Feng Zicai bully you?"
"Yes." Su Hua nodded, her almond-shaped eyes turning slightly.
Her tone was somewhat coquettish, “He thought I was fat and stupid, and somehow he got involved with Meng Yun’er. After I passed the imperial examination, he tried every means to break off the engagement with me, so I went along with his wishes!”
Anyway, three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are easy to find.
Anyone you pick out is better than Feng Zicai!
After saying that, she pointed to the man sitting on the oxcart shaft next to her, "Does Sister still remember him? Xiao Jinhan, the eldest son of the Xiao family. Isn't he a thousand times better than Feng Zicai in both appearance and physique?"
Su Sui was stunned.
Looking in the direction she pointed, a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes.
"Is Hua'er in love with him?"
They all grew up in the same village, so she naturally remembered Xiao Jinhan. She had met him a few times when they were young. She never expected that the quiet little boy from back then would grow up to be so handsome. He was indeed a good match for Hua'er.
"Cough cough cough..." Su Hua choked suddenly and quickly waved her hand.
“That’s not what I meant. I was just using an analogy. There are millions of men in this world. If they treat us badly, we can break off the engagement if we’re engaged, or divorce if we’re married. There’s no need to hang ourselves on a crooked tree.”
Xiao Jinhan, who had been quietly resting with his eyes closed, suddenly felt a twitch in his eyelids.
Forget it, I'd better just keep my eyes closed and rest.
Su Sui was taken aback by the voice. After a long while, she shook her head with a wry smile. "There are many people in the world who divorce their wives, but I have never heard of divorcing their husbands. Even divorce is rare. Hua'er, you can say these words to your elder sister, but don't let others hear them!"
As she finished speaking, her eyes involuntarily reddened again.
She reached out and shoved the box back into Su Hua's arms, a smile playing on her lips.
“Sister isn’t very capable. You can take this little bit of silver back. Whether you use it as a dowry or to buy sweets, it doesn’t matter. Feng Zicai doesn’t know how good Hua’er is. He’s the one who’s suffering.”
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