Chapter Twenty-Two: Your stubbornness is definitely your mouth...
The two families lived next door to each other, and Sun Yaozu naturally knew that what happened in his previous life hadn't occurred. Although he kept telling himself that he didn't care about the two children, he couldn't help but wonder if they were really his children.
His birthdate was a few days later, and he didn't quite remember what he looked like; he wasn't the thin, crying boy he remembered. Now, at a time when he should be seriously ill, the boy was perfectly fine. Shu Yao was dressed smartly and looked energetic.
In this period of her past life, she was sallow and thin, weighing less than 80 pounds at 1.63 meters tall. Her once beautiful face aged rapidly in the years she spent caring for her children after marriage. But now, even with two children, she is as bright and vibrant as a peach blossom on a branch, like an unmarried girl.
With the reduced supply, everyone had to bring their own food, whether eating in the cafeteria or bringing their own, and both the quantity and quality of the meals declined significantly. At lunchtime, everyone gathered together looking distressed. Meng Xi opened her lunchbox and burst into tears of grievance.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Aili returned to work after her maternity leave, refusing the nursing care position and continuing to work the three-shift system. The pay was a few yuan higher than the nursing care position, and her mother-in-law wanted her to earn more money. Recently, she and Meng Xi had become particularly close because they had been complaining about their mothers-in-law together.
"Look, my mother-in-law is actually feeding me soybean dregs."
Zhou Aili sighed and opened her lunchbox. "Your mother-in-law and my mother-in-law graduated from the same class. I don't even know where she got these things."
"A feed mill or an oil press?" Meng Xi was so angry that tears streamed down her face. "If everyone ate like this, I wouldn't say anything, but the key point is that she definitely wouldn't feed her son like this."
Zhou Aili poked at the soybean pulp cake with her chopsticks. "That's someone else's son, we can't compare. I'm so angry, I'm still breastfeeding, and they're still bullying me like this, just because I gave birth to a daughter. If I had known it would be like this, I would have married someone who doesn't have a mother-in-law."
"It's too late to regret it now. Look at Shu Yao, she took a nursing job for less money, and now she can take charge of her own household at home."
Zhou Aili didn't refute, but instead nodded in agreement. "Su Xiangdong is still the head of the grain station, so her family definitely doesn't lack grain."
"It was designated. Didn't you see? Red lips and bright teeth, such a beautiful face. Although she's not fat, she looks great. She must be eating well."
Shu Yao now weighs just over 90 pounds, with a slender figure and rosy complexion. She doesn't need to eat at work; the meals she gets at home every day are quite good.
My aunt made mixed grain noodles for lunch, with water chestnuts, tofu, bean sprouts, and minced meat sauce, all stir-fried in oil until very fragrant. She was breastfeeding her baby when my aunt brought the noodles into the house.
"I fried you an egg. How's your breast milk supply lately?"
"It's alright. But it's definitely not enough for the two of them."
"That's normal. The baby is over six months old, and breast milk alone is definitely not enough. I feed him rice porridge in the morning and afternoon, and they both eat it very well."
"Time flies." She bent down and kissed the two children's little faces. The one who was lying down playing after eating kicked his legs and giggled. "They've grown so much in no time."
"Indeed. It's already autumn." Auntie San sighed. "It should be harvest season, but I heard that the grain yield has dropped drastically this year."
"Yes. Next year probably won't be too good either, so we need to be more frugal."
"oh."
After feeding the baby, she let her play while she sat down to eat. The two little ones played for a while and then got tired. The son took a rattle and the daughter hugged a fluffy little rabbit, and the two of them fell asleep sprawled out.
She tucked the baby in with a blanket and went out to the kitchen to bring the dishes to the children when she saw her third uncle there. "Third Uncle, have you eaten?"
"No." Uncle San said weakly, then sighed. "The food ration has been reduced, and my eldest daughter-in-law only gives me half a bowl of rice per meal. Old woman, if you don't come home soon, I'll starve to death."
Auntie loosened her clenched teeth. "You deserve to starve to death."
"No way, how can you be so heartless? We're a couple who're meant to be together in our youth, and now that we're old, you're just going to abandon me? Don't you have any conscience?"
"I'm heartless? Who was it that told me I couldn't afford treatment and was just going to die when I was sick? Who's the heartless one, me or you?"
"I...I really don't have the ability, and I really don't have the money." After saying that, the man rolled his eyes, completely unaware that he had done anything wrong.
"That's all in the past. You're fine now, so why keep bringing it up?"
"Fine, I won't mention it. Just don't show your face in front of me again. Just pretend I'm sick and dead."
"You, you old woman..."
Su Xiangdong came home a little late today because of some business, and he heard his third uncle's words as soon as he entered the door. He then continued the conversation. "Third Uncle, I'm helping Third Aunt with her medical treatment, and she's helping me take care of the children. It's all written down in black and white. If you want to go back on your word, you'll have to return the money for the medical treatment to me."
Upon hearing this, Uncle San immediately deflated. "I didn't say I wouldn't let her help. I just said that I'm not getting enough to eat at my eldest son's house, and she can't just ignore me. Since she's going to cook for your family, I'll eat here too. I'll come here to eat three meals a day once I receive my grain rations."
"no."
Su Xiangdong's outright refusal revealed his true intentions. Through several encounters, everyone had come to understand that Uncle San wasn't someone to be trifled with and wasn't trying to take advantage by refusing to help him. However, with food supplies dwindling, eating at his house was tantamount to indirectly taking advantage.
"Xiang Dong, you're the head of the grain station, how can you be so heartless to your own uncle?"
“You have two sons and a biological daughter. It’s impossible for me to be responsible for taking care of you in your old age.”
"I didn't ask you to support me in my old age. I just brought food to your house, and I asked your wife to cook something for me while I was there. Is that not allowed?"
"No," Su Xiangdong refused again.
"Why not?" The daily ration for an adult is simply not enough. You're the head of the grain station; surely your family isn't short of food. Give me some, what's wrong with that?
“This is my home. If I say no, then no.”
"Su Xiangdong, you little brat, you're really heartless."
Su Xiangdong's face was cold. His third uncle wanted to say something more, but his third aunt pushed him out. "Get out of here. Didn't you say you had two sons? You didn't need me to take care of you, and you didn't expect anything from me. Just pretend I'm sick and dead, and don't come looking for me again. If you need anything, go find your sons."
"Oh no, you old hag, how can you be so heartless? Your son only gives me less than half a bowl of rice per meal. Your son is just like you, as heartless as you."
"Pah!" Auntie shoved him away, furious at his words, and spat at him. "Like me? You're more like me. You can't even let your wife, who's been with you for decades, who bore your children and served your parents, die. Your heart is poisoned."
"You, me..."
Uncle San never expected his wife to be so quick-witted, leaving him speechless with her sharp tongue. He also never expected her to be so unyielding; whether he feigned poverty and said she wasn't getting enough to eat, or he accused her, she remained unmoved.
"What do you mean, 'I'? I taught them from a young age that if their mothers don't work, they're worthless and should eat less. Now you don't work either, so you're worthless too. If I don't abuse you, who will I abuse?"
"I... I..." Before liberation, he worked for a small business owner. After liberation, he was too old to be assigned to a factory, and he had been making a living by doing odd jobs. He used to pull carts, but now he can't even do that anymore. In his own words, he was indeed useless.
Looking around, he felt utterly lost. He finally understood the despair his wife had felt when she said she was sick and they avoided the conversation. He had raised children his whole life, only to be treated this way by his daughter-in-law in his old age. His wife had also become much more heartless, actually kicking him out.
"Liu Chunmei, don't think I'm helpless. Once Su Xiangdong no longer needs your help taking care of the children, let's see where you can go."
The old man still had some savings and was thinking of hauling his cart again tomorrow. He wasn't as strong as he used to be, but maybe he could haul a smaller load each time and earn a little extra. The most important thing was that he couldn't cook; did he really have to go back to his daughter-in-law and put up with her attitude?
Uncle San walked out with faltering steps when someone gently patted him on the back. Turning around, he was surprised to see Sun Yaozu. Sun Yaozu had a smile on his face, like a cunning fox.
"Were you bullied by Su Xiangdong?"
"It's none of your business."
"How can this not concern me? I have a grudge against Su Xiangdong for stealing my wife. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, isn't he?"
Sun Yaozu pointed to a secluded spot in the alley, "Let's go, let's talk there."
At Su Xiangdong's house, his third aunt chased everyone away, but then she herself wept for a long time. In her youth, she was noisy and disliked, but she thought that as long as she could raise her children, things would be alright. Now, in her old age, this is how it is.
"Third Aunt, don't be sad."
Third Aunt looked up, took the towel handed to her, wiped away her tears, and took a deep breath to exhale the stale air from her chest. "I'm not sad." She said she wasn't sad, but tears still fell. She had been getting along very well with Shu Yao these days, so she couldn't help but say a few more words.
“That old man is starving and he thinks of me, as well as my children. They are unwilling to spend money on my medical treatment. I’ve been here for so long, and apart from coming once when they wanted me to help take care of the children, my two sons haven’t shown their faces in the past six months.”
"There's still my cousin, there's always someone filial to me."
"Juanzi is pitiful too. Men are like that. She's raising three children on her own, and life is tough for her these days."
"Everything will be alright, everything will be alright."
Some say children are blank slates, but Shu Yao, having lived a second life, believes that children are inherently colored, not blank slates. A large part is determined by innate genes, and some things cannot be changed no matter how you teach them. With Uncle San's teaching by example, it's not surprising that his son turned out the way he did.
When my cousin was mentioned, her cousin Su Juan came over that very evening. The woman looked haggard; she had heard about her father's situation and came to see if her mother had been affected.
“They set up a kitchen at my place, and they bring my monthly food rations there so I can cook for them.”
"Sigh," Auntie sighed. She could push the old man away, but her daughter couldn't refuse; he was her own father. What a tragedy! How could her parents have chosen such a man for her?
“He’s looking for trouble, so let Xiao Chao’s dad deal with him.”
The son-in-law wasn't much better, but he was a good match for the mediocre father-in-law. Su Juan nodded, relieved to see her mother was doing well here. Sometimes it was truly frustrating; her own son was unreliable, but her husband's nephew had given her a space to live.
"Has Xiao Chao's dad been drinking so much lately?"
"Yeah. I don't do my odd jobs well either..."
Auntie leaned closer to her daughter: "How about we ask Xiangdong to help him find a job, even a temporary one, it's better than doing odd jobs."
"Given his constant drunkenness, what kind of job could he possibly do?"
Auntie San sighed again, truly helpless. She had said from the beginning that this son-in-law was no good, but her daughter was infatuated; young girls don't care about anything else. Her father didn't think about her either; as long as the bride price was paid normally, he didn't care about anything else.
"Mom, don't be sad for me. It's all fate, nothing we can control." I was so infatuated back then; now it feels like I was possessed. Later generations say, "What woman wouldn't get married if she wasn't out of her mind?" It was all a moment of impulsiveness that led her to marriage without hesitation.
Su Juan stayed here for about half an hour in the afternoon before leaving. Shu Yao went to work and didn't see her. When she came back from work, Su Juan had already left. Her aunt was holding her child and chatting with her, and she nodded silently in agreement.
The old saying goes, "Men fear choosing the wrong career, women fear marrying the wrong man," and there's some truth to it. This backward and closed-off period can't be compared to later times. A woman couldn't raise a child alone, and her soft heart prevented her from abandoning her child. Marrying the wrong man basically meant a lifetime of hardship.
"Don't worry, there's always a way out." In her memory, Su Juan's husband seemed to have passed away a few years later. He got drunk in the dead of winter and froze to death outdoors overnight. She decided to pretend she didn't know anything about that kind of man and say nothing.
The next day at noon, after lunch, Auntie San tidied up the house while she and Su Xiangdong each took one child out for a walk. She carried their daughter while he carried their son, and the little rascal happily wiggled around in his father's arms.
"What do you want, flowers or jumping?" The little rascal is lively and active, and he's surprisingly strong for his age. He took the flowers his father had picked for him and tore them to shreds in no time.
Shu Yao looked at her daughter in her arms. The little one was exceptionally well-behaved, grinning at her mother as she looked over. She couldn't resist kissing her baby. Although her features hadn't fully developed yet, the outline of her mother was already faintly visible. The baby looked remarkably like her maternal grandmother, but due to malnutrition in her previous life, it would only become apparent as she grew older.
"Don't spoil him like that." Su Xiangdong actually picked up his son and reached for the fruit on a fruit tree by the roadside, which was growing over someone else's yard wall. The little rascal giggled happily, excitedly waving his arms and legs as his father lifted him high in the air.
"It's alright. It's fine if you take a couple of fruits from Old Xu's family."
"Pull it, pull it all you want." Old Xu came out of the yard, cheerfully teasing little Su Hexu. The little guy wasn't shy and kept laughing happily.
"Station Chief Su, your son is so lively. He looks more and more like you as he grows up."
"Little boys are like that, they're a bit mischievous. Look how well-behaved my daughter is, just like her mother."
"Oh, I'm so envious. The two little children are like a golden couple."
Hearing the commotion outside, Sun Yaozu couldn't help but peek out. The temperature wasn't low in late autumn, and the smiling faces of the family of four under the midday sun stung his eyes.
The two children were fair-skinned and beautiful, and chubby and especially cute. Even as they grew older, their facial features were still discernible; they were indeed the children he remembered. However, they were better cared for than the original ones, healthy and rosy-cheeked. The son, in particular, was much more lively than he remembered.
Shu Yao, she actually remarried and took his child with her. Su Heyi and Su Hexu, these two children, have nothing to do with the Sun family anymore.
Things you carelessly threw away were found and carefully cared for by someone else, as if your belongings had been taken over by another. This severely damaged your possessiveness and self-esteem. Sun Yaozu gritted his teeth, staring at the family of four outside the gate with eyes wide with rage.
As time went by, the two children became increasingly familiar to him. His own home was in chaos, and Meng Xi still hadn't gotten pregnant, but over there it was laughter and joy, with everyone talking about what the children had done every day.
"Su Xiangdong, come quick! Our son has stopped and he can take steps now."
"Honey, look at our daughter, she's actually eating by herself with a spoon."
"Hey, Xuxu, you're not allowed to take your sister's cookies."
"Yiyi, don't be so accommodating to your brother. If he tries to take yours again, just beat him up."
Shu Yao couldn't help but laugh and pat him: "Is this how you teach children? Letting the two of them fight each other."
Su Xiangdong laughed heartily. "I'm teaching my daughter how to defend herself. She's naturally gentle, and if I don't teach her, she'll be too soft and get bullied."
Shu Yao bit her lip, ceasing to say anything more, then looked at her daughter with a wistful smile. In her past life, Sun Yaozu's mother's upbringing of her granddaughter was repressive, resulting in her daughter's gentle and kind nature. If it weren't for the fact that the old woman hadn't died, and the teenager hadn't quickly changed, she might have truly become timid.
Children may be small, but they're not stupid. Little Su Hexu seemed to understand her father's meaning and stopped trying to take things from her younger sister. She looked at this and then at that, before giving the cookie in her hand to her sister.
"Wow, our Xuxu is such a good girl, she knows how to protect her little sister."
Su Xiangdong praised him promptly, making the little rascal grin from ear to ear. Shu Yao nodded with satisfaction; her son was still so sensible. Despite being spoiled by his grandparents in his previous life, his strict upbringing had still made him grow up to be very upright. This little boy was at the age where he should be mischievous, yet he already understood right and wrong as adults did.
Yiyi has a small appetite and can't eat much, so Xuxu ate more in the end. The little guy ate quite a few biscuits with his milk and drank half a small bowl of noodles in the evening. He hardly drinks milk anymore. He only eats a couple of bites after his sister finishes hers.
After taking a bath, she lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), babbling to her younger sister for a while before the two obediently closed their eyes and fell asleep. Shu Yao withdrew her hand that had been gently patting and coaxing her before getting out of bed to put on her shoes.
"Where are you going? If you need to use the toilet, I brought the chamber pot back. Just take care of it at home. Don't go out in this cold weather."
"It's not cold." She put on her coat and went out. It felt so good to have someone to help her at home and be able to do her own thing whenever she wanted. Mothers with children often feel like they are tied down by their children, and they can't even go to the toilet freely.
In her past life, Sun's mother only helped take care of the children during her working hours; otherwise, she didn't care about anything else. After work, she had to rush to do laundry, cook, and take care of the children. If she asked Sun Yaozu to watch the children for a while when she went to the toilet, he would always say he couldn't keep an eye on them and told her to come back quickly. Every time, she was in a rush, like she was in a battle.
Now it's completely different. She doesn't have to do laundry or cook at all, and when she gets home from work, she spends time with the children. Whether she's washing up or eating, someone helps watch the children. She always feels at ease, no longer rushing around like she did in her previous life, where she even developed a problem with frequent urination.
"Shu Yao,"
She heard Sun Yaozu's voice; he was standing not far from the restroom. Shu Yao stopped, wondering what he wanted to say. It seemed he had been waiting for her there specifically.
What are you doing?
"You think you can get revenge on me by marrying someone else while taking my child with you?" Shu Yao looked speechless, but he felt that she was in the wrong.
"I'm with the person I love now, we'll live happily, and we'll have a child..."
Shu Yao glanced at him as if he were a lunatic, wondering why he was acting so crazy. She walked past him to leave, but he rushed forward to stop her.
"Shu Yao, I will live a very happy life. Just wait and see."
"If you're living a happy life, why are you waiting for me here so late at night? People tend to emphasize things the more they have nothing. Sun Yaozu, your stubbornness is the best thing about you."
"You, you woman!" She had raised their two children to be distant from their father. She was in the ICU, and the two children had cut off all his financial support. He only remembered that all his bank accounts were frozen, and he and Meng Xi walked out of the bank looking worried.
"Just you wait and see, just wait and see me, my love, and my children and grandchildren all around me."
"I'm waiting, waiting for you to have a green meadow on your head."
"Shu Yao, you are so vicious."
"Likewise." If you repay evil with good, how can you repay good? Of course, I can't be kind to a wicked person like you.
Sun Yaozu was absolutely about to explode, his frustration and anger fueling Shu Yao's secret delight. "You don't care about us, you don't want us. Fine, who the hell cares about you now? Get out of here, I want to see what happens to you and your mistress."
They had lived for decades in their past lives and knew each other very well. Looking at his face, she knew he was furious, but he had no other recourse. All he could do was hurl insults at her late at night, which only made him even more enraged, leaving him trembling all over.
"Serves you right."
Sun Yaozu stood on the south side, speechless, unwilling to go home. He hated Shu Yao with a burning passion, yet he could do nothing about it. Resentment festered in his chest, and he clenched his fists in anger.
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