105. 105 Guidance
After the New Year, Old Man Su came to the county and asked Ning Jin to go back with him. When Ning Jin returned, he had an extra burden on his shoulders.
"What?" Su Yu squatted down and rummaged through the things in the basket.
"Dried cowpeas, stuffed black beans, pickled peppers, sun-dried sweet potatoes, sweet potato starch and sweet potato noodles, as well as dried fish and two air-dried hens." Old Su said from the side, "I heard you say that winters in Northeast China are long and vegetables are scarce, so your mother prepared a lot of dried vegetables this fall. You took them all with you. I kept an eye on the sweet potato noodles and the like. The sweet potatoes were washed very clean and not gritty at all. The fish are from the pond in our village; they're all fat fish. The hens are raised by your mother. Xiao Yuan said that chickens raised on insects are more flavorful. The chickens at home roam in the family plot during the day. We stewed and ate them, and they tasted especially fresh. I just don't know if they'll taste any better after being air-dried."
"It's bound to be good." Su Yu looked at the old man's energetic face and didn't say no again. The old couple were happy when they were preparing these things, and they were happy because she liked them. Since it was a happy thing, she should accept it wholeheartedly.
"If you like it, I'll prepare it for you again this year." Old Su smiled broadly when he saw that someone liked what he had carefully prepared. He was thinking about what else he should prepare this year. He had heard that there was a man in Lao San's village who knew how to make smoked fish and smoked meat. He would go and visit him another day.
"Wait for my letter. When I have time, I'll come back and take you to see a doctor. If I don't have time, Ningjin will take you."
"Yes, I know." The old man saw that the house was empty and said, "Come back more often during holidays. There are many relatives at home. It's lonely and quiet for your family to be alone over there."
Su Yu nodded haphazardly in agreement, regardless of whether she would be able to return or not.
When Ningjin left, he saw his wife and two sons off at the train station. It had been three years since they had been separated for so long and reunited so briefly, and he still couldn't get used to it. Before, he was always away from home, his wife and children waiting for him to return and then seeing him off again, counting down the days until his return. He looked at the three of them, chatting away without a trace of sadness, and thought that people who are used to wandering might not be very attached to home.
"We're getting on the train, you should go back now." Su Yu took the things from his hands and handed them to his two sons. They hugged briefly before parting, and he warned, "Keep your belt tight, don't speculate or profiteer. When the granary is full, you'll have to go to the government to pay your taxes."
"Also, when are you going? Has the factory made any arrangements?"
"It's not confirmed yet, I'll go if I have the chance." He was still a little dazed. Her words sounded very familiar. He looked up at his son, who was facing into the station. The mother and her three children left together, taking their home with them. In the end, it was still him who was wandering outside.
"I'll go home when I have the chance." He smiled and instructed, "If you go home late, remember to have Xiao Yuan take you home. Be careful at night and don't open the door to strangers."
"I know, you need to eat properly when you're home alone, don't just cook noodles to fill your stomach all the time."
No, people leave and homes move. The original home becomes the place to live. "My home is not here. We are a couple, so there is no such thing as two homes. Wherever you and the children are, that is my home."
His sudden sentimental outburst sent a chill down Su Yu's spine. "Ping An is truly your son; he speaks exactly like that." She lightly punched him. "Then I'll wait for you to come home."
"Are you done talking? The car is coming. You're an old married couple, still all lovey-dovey. Mom, look at the two of you. Is it my words that are cloying, or your actions?" Ping An stood on the steps with her hands on her hips, looking down at the show. Xiao Yuan, standing to the side, kept his eyes darting around. He had no idea how long the two kids had been watching.
"Then I'm leaving."
She walked onto the platform, didn't take the bag Ping An offered, patted the two of them, pointed at Ping An and said, "You can't escape. Once you get married, your wife will definitely be more clingy than your dad, sticky and bubbly."
“But you and my dad are both forty. What couple in their forties are still hugging and cuddling?” Ping An retorted.
“There are still women who give birth at forty, so what’s wrong with me hugging and cuddling them?” She squeezed onto the train first, followed closely by Xiao Yuan Ping An. He shut up and stopped talking. There’s nothing wrong with giving birth and hugging on their own, but when you put the two together, the young man, who only has a superficial understanding of the subject, was too embarrassed to respond.
The weeds back home had already sprouted, and it was still snowing when they entered Heilongjiang Province. They changed into thick cotton-padded clothes on the train, and after getting off the train, they walked back home with their necks hunched and their feet slipping and sliding.
"You're back! I knew you'd be back in the next few days. Come in and warm up." Er Ya came out when she heard the noise and opened the door with the two dogs wagging their tails, feeling relieved.
"You brought them back? I thought they were still being raised at Teacher Gu's house." Su Yu patted the dog's head a couple of times, lifted the curtain to go inside, changed into slippers, took off her scarf, and sighed, "It's still more comfortable with a kang (heated brick bed)."
“I came back in the afternoon. After the kang (heated brick bed) was lit, I went to pick up Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua to keep me company. I feel much more at ease with them around.” Er Ya took a feather duster to sweep the snow for Xiao Yuan and Ping An, but Ping An waved his hand and took a step back, saying, “No need, no need. I’ll just go back to my room and change my clothes.”
Su Yu turned around and saw Xiao Yuan and Ping An slipping away together. She smiled at Er Ya and said, "They're big kids now, old enough to date. Don't treat them like children and raise them to have a bunch of bad habits. When they get married, their wives won't tolerate them and they'll just argue all the time."
"Yeah, I just did it on a whim." Er Ya gave a dry laugh.
"What's your family situation?" Su Yu asked, changing the subject.
“That person wanted to buy my admission notice. Xiao Hu heard it with his own ears when he came to my door after the incident. The one who got beaten was Er Bao. He must have been the one who made the contact. That person demanded compensation, but my dad refused to pay and threatened to call the police. Then Er Bao got beaten up. He was beaten outside. My sister told me that he was in bed for half a month before he could get up and move around.”
She had suspected something before, but wasn't sure. Just to be on the safe side, she followed Xiao Yuan's advice and sent the admission notice here. It wasn't until she heard about the follow-up from Daya and Xiaohu on this trip back that her suspicions were confirmed.
Seeing the gloom on her face, Su Yu asked, "How's your older sister? Does your mother have no intention of marrying her off?"
"I'm going to call the police."
"No, I was asking about Daya."
"Huh? Oh, I thought you were asking me what I planned to do?" She smiled sheepishly and said, "My older sister is living the same life as always, just like I used to, except that I go to school while she takes Xiaohu to and from school."
"The school is in town, does Xiaohu need someone to pick him up and drop him off?" Su Yu asked in surprise. This is different from later generations; there aren't many bicycles now, and there's no chance of car accidents or anything like that.
“He asked my older sister to pick her up and drop her off, which was good. He arranged some work for her so she wouldn’t wander off and get scammed again.” Since the resumption of the college entrance examination, the policies have become more and more relaxed, and there have been more and more idle people in the countryside and hooligans in the town. If her older sister had nothing to do, it would not be uncommon for her to be coaxed away or bullied.
"Your mother doesn't intend to marry her off, does she?" Su Yu was worried that Da Ya, that simple-minded girl, would be resold and married off again. She couldn't have children, and marrying her off would be like selling her into slavery.
Er Ya shook her head and sneered, "I asked. My dad mentioned that someone approached him to mediate, and the bride price was one hundred, but my mom refused. If my sister is sold or married off, all the laundry, cooking, and taking care of Xiao Hu will fall on her shoulders. One hundred is only two months' salary for her. She's not stupid; she knows how to do the math."
"That's good. Your sister got married again in such a muddle-headed way. If she ends up with a heartless family, they'll torture her to death."
The two stopped talking, and the room fell silent for a moment, making the sound of Ping An chasing his dog out from next door clearer.
Er Ya brought up the old topic again: "Auntie, I'm going to call the police. If I hadn't noticed and had run away, I would be the one being married off at home now."
Su Yu yawned and asked her if she knew the person's name and address. When Er Ya shook her head, she also fell silent. This kind of thing, which would lead to jail time and ruin the reputation of the whole family if discovered, meant that the person on that side must have kept their identity very well hidden.
"Can we still call the police? Are we just going to let this go?" Er Ya was unwilling to give up. She felt aggrieved just thinking about the man's arrogant manner, and the girl who was supposed to replace her, who was comfortably enjoying the benefits. Her family had been targeting her from the very beginning, and she hated them to the core. She hated her own parents and brothers even more. Not only did they treat her like a slave, giving her hope to live, but they were also secretly plotting to kill her. If she hadn't already escaped, she would have made sure that whole family was ruined.
“You can call the police, I didn’t say you can’t, but you’re rushing to the police without knowing who they are or where they live. Even if you catch them, they can deny everything, just like we did with Xiao Yuan’s third uncle. They can say whatever they want without any evidence.” Su Yu stared at the girl in front of her and said, “Er Ya, think about your major. Why did you choose this major? What are you going to do after graduation? Before Xiao Yuan even started school, he was already learning about wetlands with me. Ping An was also working overtime on experiments, even making muzzles for dogs from discarded materials. During his breaks, he would go to the junkyard and rummage through cheap stuff to tinker with.” Su Yu glanced at her and continued, “Going to university is about learning knowledge to build a foundation for your job, not just reading and memorizing books. You need to hone yourself. We have no connections or networks. If you want to avoid being bullied, you have to stand out. You know better than me how to handle this situation; you are the professional.”
"You definitely need to call the police, but that's not the first thing to do. The police also handle cases according to regulations and procedures. And what are regulations and procedures? They highly overlap with what you're currently studying. Instead of asking me, you should consult your seniors, teachers, and classmates. You need to utilize your existing network. You might not have the resources, but they do. One person's plan is limited, but three people's plans are more comprehensive. If you want to crush this kind of scum, you need to prepare the evidence and beat him so badly that he can't recover and doesn't give him a chance to breathe."
Er Ya's face flushed red, a mixture of embarrassment and excitement. She nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back and discuss it with them."
“Yes, you need to understand your major and your future job. The legal provisions you learn aren't for writing on exam papers to prepare for tests. Think about it carefully; this is your first case.” Su Yu encouraged her with a smile. This kind of thing is important, valuable, and meaningful, especially for the student who was impersonated to go to university. She could cancel her current arrangements and go back to threaten Erbao to find someone or something, but that's the only way she knows, and it might even cause her more trouble.
Let professionals handle professional matters. Er Ya herself studied law, and her teachers are even more professional; the solutions they come up with are more compliant and legal. Moreover, Su Yu is unwilling to take on everything. Rather than making arrangements perfectly, she prefers to guide. Only her own life belongs to her; other people's lives need to be led by themselves.
"Let me give you a heads-up. Given Erbao's abilities, it's unlikely he'd be able to get in touch with someone so secretive. You haven't even known that man's name in two years, and I reckon your dad doesn't know either. There's probably a gang behind this, and Erbao's been in contact with some of their underlings. You should consider that possibility. After all, your teachers and classmates don't know the situation on our side or your family's personalities," Su Yu said vaguely. She looked at Er Ya, unsure if she understood what she meant. In fact, the key to breaking through this matter was Erbao.
She asked Xiao Yuan about Ping An, and they had been at home for a year without ever seeing the man Er Ya was talking about. They were too cautious, which was one of the reasons she was unwilling to get involved. This wasn't just about the man and Er Ya's family.
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