18.018 Blowing up "balloons"
Su Yu sat under the lamp. On the bed in front of her was a newly bought vest, two cloth shells, some cotton wadding and an old cotton vest, a needle and thread and scissors.
Fearing someone might suddenly barge in, she got up and closed the doors and windows. The room suddenly became stuffy. She tied her long hair up, took off her outer garment, and picked up a stiff fabric shell she'd borrowed from her parents' home, holding it up to her chest, occasionally trimming and adjusting it before looking down at it again. The vests sold now were sports bras, with wide straps on the shoulders, but instead of elastic clasps to support and hold the breasts in place, they were loose and kept getting bigger after washing.
To prevent skin chafing, Su Yu stuffed cotton and strips of cloth around the fabric shell that served as a breast pad, and finally sewed the front fabric of an old cotton vest inside to make a removable breast pad.
Su Yu is beautiful and has a good figure. She was young when she gave birth and recovered well, without any stretch marks on her stomach. She has a small frame and a C-cup bust, which makes her waist appear slim. Because she wears loose tank tops for a long time, her breasts have sagged slightly, and the shape of her breasts has become somewhat sunken.
After tightening the underbust band, she bit off the thread, put the finished bra on, and straightened the position of her breasts. Su Yu stood on the bed, twisted her waist, raised her hands, and squatted down. The vest moved, and the bottom strip of fabric got stuck in her chest. Her perfectly good C cup was turned into an empty cup, and the "breast pads" stuffed inside were stiff and hard, as if a piece of iron was wrapped around her chest.
It was uncomfortable, but better than wearing a non-elastic tank top. Compared to looking good, the discomfort was tolerable. Her mother and other older women she had met had severely sagging breasts as they got older. Su Yu didn't want to wait until the era of bras was over and only be able to wear tank tops.
"Mom, you're still awake?" Xiao Yuan's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. Su Yu jumped up and plopped down on the bed with a thud, wrapping herself tightly in the sheet before speaking: "I'm going to sleep right away. Why are you up? Need to pee?"
"Um."
"You can pee in the chamber pot, but don't pee directly in my vegetable garden again." But it was too late; she had already heard the sound of urine hitting the ground. "You little brats!" Su Yu cursed. "You two brothers' pee is going to burn my vegetables to the roots."
"I didn't pee on the vegetable roots, I pee on the soil next to me," Xu Yuan argued from outside, then shuffled into the house in his slippers.
After planting the vegetables, Su Yu was unwilling to use the farmyard manure from the outhouse. Shu Manpo suggested using diluted boy's urine, so she reluctantly handed over the task of fertilizing the vegetables to the two children. Otherwise, with the compacted soil in the yard, the seedlings would all look malnourished. Su Yu took off her prepared vest, put on her sleeping vest and shorts, got out of bed, and opened the window. A cool breeze blew in, seemingly carrying a foul odor. She spat inwardly, opened the door, went to the kitchen, scooped up a ladle of water, and poured it onto the smelly soil.
"All green vegetables are grown this way. Whether you bring them from your parents' home or buy them from outside, they're all grown this way. I see you enjoy them very much, but now you're being so picky," Shu Manpo complained about Su Yu's self-deceptive behavior.
"Out of sight, out of mind," Su Yu muttered. She stood in the yard with a water ladle, watching the night. It was so peaceful, except there were no stars, only a corner of the moon peeking through the clouds. It looked like it was going to rain tonight. Now she even had to observe the stars and moon to judge whether it was sunny or cloudy.
For the past month, away from her phone, she has been doing manual labor like an assembly line: growing vegetables, cooking, taking care of two difficult children, learning to be a mother, having relatives to care for her, and Shumanpo being a friend who can take out the trash for her. This is the rural retirement life that many people yearn for. She is quite content, but also a little empty.
It started raining heavily in the middle of the night. In the morning, Su Yu slipped and stumbled her way to the canteen. She scraped the mud off her rubber shoes and prepared to go inside to pick and wash vegetables. What she saw was Wang Chunhua using the same brush she used to scrub lotus roots to clean her shoes.
"Wang Chunhua, how disgusting! Using that vegetable brush to wash your stinky shoes is really low!" Su Yu ran over and snatched the wooden brush from her hand. "This is a brush for washing things you'll be eating. Can't you be a little more discerning?"
"Hey, what's the big deal? I just bought these shoes, they're only a little muddy, how dirty can they be? Lotus roots are covered in mud too, why are you making such a fuss? You scared me half to death." Wang Chunhua glanced at her impatiently, seeing that the mud on the water shoes hadn't been washed off yet, and with Su Yu looking like she wanted to eat human flesh, it seemed she wouldn't be able to get the wooden brush. She bent down and washed the mud off the water shoes by hand.
Those who had been drawn by the commotion dispersed after hearing the reason, showing no interest. Wang Chunhua was right; it was all mud, and the wooden brush could wash it again.
“Who knows if you wore rubber boots when you went to the outhouse, or if you stepped in dog poop when you went out? Since your shoes are so clean, you might as well use a rag to wipe the uppers and a spatula to scrape the soles.” Su Yu hung the wooden brush on the wall. “I’m the one who washes and picks vegetables. Don’t use my tools for anything else without my permission. Although you don’t mind using a brush with poop and pee on it to scrub lotus roots, I’m still a responsible person and I can’t do anything unhygienic.”
"It's so annoying! She either has a deadpan expression or keeps nagging. We're all just workers, what makes you act so high and mighty?" Wang Chunhua was fed up with Su Yu's condescending attitude. They were all just canteen workers doing odd jobs, yet she acted like an intellectual, which was utterly repulsive.
Su Yu watched her leave in a huff, and didn't continue to lecture her. It was a difference in understanding; no matter how much she talked, people would just say she was making a fuss. After waiting a while, she went into the kitchen and took out an old loofah to peel. When the lotus root arrived, she used the loofah to wash it, leaving the wooden brush hanging on the wall untouched.
Aunt Qiu came to check on her halfway through. She saw Su Yu washing lotus roots in the basin with great enthusiasm and then going out again. After a while, she brought over a new wooden brush, threw it into the basin, and instructed her: "Anyway, you're not planning to use a wooden brush to wash vegetables. Just pretend you didn't see it. Point it out gently, and you'll get some favor in return. Don't be like a firecracker all the time."
"I felt suffocated if I didn't vent, and after arguing, I felt much better," Su Yu said calmly as she placed the cleaned lotus root into a clean basin.
"How many people are there in the cafeteria? You're going to offend everyone, and no one wants to talk to you anymore, afraid of getting into trouble. You're going to work here for the rest of your life, not just for a short time. If everyone avoids you, you'll definitely regret it later."
A lifetime? That's definitely impossible.
“Those who understand things will know that what I did was right, like Aunt Qiu. As for that fool, I’d be happy if he avoided me. I was worried that getting on good terms with them would lead me astray,” Su Yu said nonchalantly. She had been working in the workplace for over ten years, so how could she not understand what Aunt Qiu meant? But these colleagues didn’t affect her performance evaluation or promotion, and they had all bullied “Su Yu” before, so why should she try to please them or try to fit in?
When someone who is stingy with others and acts superior suddenly praises you, saying that you are reasonable and agree with what you say, Aunt Qiu is undeniably very happy, a little elated but also a little apprehensive. She dares not say anything more, afraid that the person who praised her will come back to criticize her the very next day.
“What you said isn’t entirely wrong; you shouldn’t associate with fools.” Aunt Qiu nodded in agreement, glanced outside, and said, “You’re busy; I have something to do.”
"Okay, Auntie, you go ahead and get busy. The muddy road outside is slippery, so be careful when you walk."
"Oh, good, good." Aunt Qiu left with a happy face, which made the person who was about to complain lose their temper. They swallowed back the words they had prepared and spat in Su Yu's direction.
As usual, Su Yu finished her work and went home. As soon as she left the factory, she felt someone watching her. She looked up and saw a rather strong man, but he wasn't very tall. He looked somewhat familiar, but she didn't pay much attention to him. After walking a while, she remembered that the man was Ping An's uncle. She looked back, but the man had already disappeared.
It's said that nephews resemble their uncles, and Su Yu started to worry about Ping An's height. His two uncles are not tall, around 1.7 meters. She hoped that Ping An wouldn't grow up to be square-shaped.
Returning home covered in mud, Su Yu heard men's voices inside and wondered which side of the family had come to visit. The thought was somewhat amusing, considering there were only four people in the family and yet they had relatives from all four directions.
"Mom, my uncle brought us fish!" Xiao Yuan jumped out excitedly.
"Big brother is here?" Thanks to Xiao Yuan's chatter, Su Yu entered the house and saw a kind-looking man. She smiled and said, "You have fish for yourselves, why did you need to bring it to us?"
“We have more fish than we can eat at home. It rained heavily last night and the river overflowed. The fish jumped into the grass and rice paddies with the current. Everyone is catching fish, so we don’t have a shortage of fish to eat. Your sister was thinking that you would have to buy fish in town, so she asked me to bring you a few.”
"It's not just a few, it's a whole bucket." Xiao Yuan felt that his uncle was wrong, so he quickly interjected to explain, "There are a lot, including crucian carp and grass carp."
Li Weidong chuckled and patted Xiao Yuan's hair, asking, "Xiao Yuan, do you want to come to my house for a few days? Your cousins are all fishing and won't come home until they're called for meals. I see you have nothing to do at home, so come stay at my house for a few days."
Xu Yuan looked up at his mother, and Su Yu saw that his eyes were saying "I want to go." She nodded and told him to pack his clothes, saying, "Big brother, I won't say any more polite words. If Xiao Yuan is naughty and disobedient, just beat him. I won't feel bad."
“You may not care about your older sister, but I wouldn’t dare hit her. Besides, Xiao Yuan is sensible.” Li Weidong laughed twice, then noticed a child sitting in the room and asked somewhat awkwardly, “Ping An, would you like to go with Xiao Yuan to your aunt’s house for a few days?”
"No, I don't want to go, I want to go to my maternal grandparents' house." Ping An immediately refused. He wasn't blind; his uncle had been talking to Xiao Yuan the whole time he was inside, and he felt like an outsider who wasn't welcome. At that moment, he was grateful that he still had his maternal grandparents and uncles, giving him a respectable visiting relative, even if they hadn't brought him clothes, snacks, or money. But at least they were his maternal grandparents and uncles, and they wouldn't kick him out if he went.
Li Weidong left without even eating, saying that he had asked his family to cook for him when he came. In reality, he was afraid of gossip. He knew about the argument Su Yu had with the neighbor a few days ago. Brother-in-law and sister-in-law are always easy targets for gossip, and since his brother-in-law wasn't home, he figured it was better to avoid trouble.
Xu Yuan was carried on his uncle's back and walked away happily. Just as he left the alley, Ping An was about to pack his things to go to his maternal grandparents' house. Su Yu stopped him and said, "Your maternal grandparents' house is not far from home. Don't take any clothes with you. Change your clothes every day when you come back. I will wash them for you. Your grandparents are old and it is inconvenient for them to go to the weir to wash clothes."
In fact, Su Yu wanted to give Ping An a way to go home. She knew he was just being stubborn and jealous. During this time, he had been eating and drinking well at home and had friends to play with. He hadn't mentioned his maternal grandparents' side at all. If they treated him well, he wouldn't have forgotten them. Children remember whoever treats them well.
But she couldn't possibly rush Ping An to visit Xiao Yuan's aunt and maternal grandparents. These days, every family has many children, and they're not wealthy. Who would want to take care of an extra child for no reason? Just like how Ping An's grandmother, aunt, uncle, and maternal uncle treat Xiao Yuan coldly, she couldn't deprive Xiao Yuan of the care he received exclusively from his relatives.
"That's fine too." Ping An plans to come back and stay after Xiao Yuan returns. He wants to come back every day to check on things so he doesn't miss any news.
"We're having fish for lunch today. Do you want crucian carp or grass carp? Crucian carp, please. Grass carp is too big; the two of us can't finish it." Su Yu went to the bucket to choose a fish.
Ping An remained silent. He hadn't eaten fish in a long time, but he felt that it was a gift from his Uncle Xiao Yuan. He wasn't going with them, so how could he eat the fish that his Uncle Xiao Yuan had sent?
"Go and get me a knife, I need to scale the fish."
"Oh." He turned and went into the kitchen, not picking up his interrupted thoughts again. He squatted in front of the bucket and looked at the fish inside. After Su Yu gutted the fish, he took the gills and intestines and went out to feed the cats in the alley.
Before going to work in the afternoon, Su Yu took Ping An to the alleyway where his grandmother lived, and only left after watching him go inside.
This little family was relatively harmonious and peaceful when no outside forces intervened. But once a relative stepped in, especially when Ning Ping'an's biological father was not at home, Ping'an immediately wanted to find outside help to prove that he was not alone.
In this sweltering heat, without a refrigerator, fish would spoil overnight if killed. Su Yu went to the cafeteria and approached the head chef, asking, "Uncle Wang, does anyone in your family dislike eating fish?"
"No, what's wrong?"
“My older sister sent me a bucket of fish. Ningjin isn’t home either, and I can’t finish them all in a short time. I was thinking of giving you two fish. Could you save some for me next time you have big bones with no meat?” Su Yu said.
"It's nothing, okay, I'll save some for you from now on. Do you have a lot of fish? I have a lot of relatives, can you sell me a few?" He said the word "sell" very softly.
"I was planning to dry them to make dried fish, but since you've said so, Uncle Wang, I'll keep two for myself and give you the rest. I'll ask my older sister for a few more when I want some more." Having achieved her goal, Su Yu sold the fish in the bucket to Master Wang after work, receiving three yuan, though she didn't have a receipt. If her older sister's house weren't a bit far from town, she would have asked her brother-in-law to deliver the fish to their home so she could help sell them.
Su Yu never knew Ping An had returned unless she saw the clothes in the basin. She never ran into him while she was home; the boy was quite stubborn, so she didn't bother looking for him. However, she did run into his uncle on the street. The man clenched his fist and pretended to yell at her. Just as Su Yu was about to scold him, he ran away, leaving her completely bewildered.
Three or four more days passed, and the two children still hadn't returned. Ning Jin, however, arrived home first. It was evening when he got back, and Su Yu hadn't started cooking dinner yet. She was watering the vegetables she had planted and catching bugs. Vegetables that grow well attract bugs, and if you're not careful, the leaves get gnawed by bugs.
"Hey, why is it so quiet inside?" Ning Jin threw his dirty clothes into a wooden basin outside the kitchen, left the things he was carrying under the eaves, scooped up some water to wash his face, and then walked back after getting off the car, without even having time to pack his things.
"They've all gone to visit relatives, leaving me at home to guard the house for you." Su Yu explained the whereabouts of the two children and asked him, "Why don't you go and bring Ping An back first?"
"I won't answer. He'll know I'm back tomorrow." The man refused outright. Seeing that the water in the tank was almost gone, he picked up a bucket to fetch water and told Su Yu to hurry up and cook, as he was starving.
With another person in the house, the whole courtyard seemed to come alive. Su Yu thought for a moment that she still had some of the chives she had picked at noon. She kneaded a ladle of dough and planned to make chive pancakes. She had wanted to eat them yesterday, but she was home alone and one was enough to fill her up, so she was too lazy to make this troublesome meal.
Su Yu ate one of the five chive dumplings, while Ning Jin finished the rest and even drank a bowl of boiled cornmeal. Surprisingly, he didn't complain of feeling full.
The two tacitly agreed to take separate showers. When Su Yu was getting dressed, the man was already waiting outside the door. Before she could even pour the water, she was pulled up and pressed onto the bed. With one door still open, Su Yu finally understood why Ning Jin didn't go to pick up his son.
"Why are you dodging? It's not like I didn't brush my teeth." Ning Jin cupped Su Yu's face, buried his head, and used his lips to touch her eyes, nose, and soft cheeks before finally touching her small mouth that kept dodging.
Su Yu made a few whimpering sounds as a tongue that didn't belong to her brushed against her teeth. After feeling no discomfort, she began to counterattack. The two seemed to be in a competition, each wanting to hear the other's heavy, urgent breathing.
Moonlight streamed into the sweltering little room through the window and open door, casting shadows of tan and pale skin. Su Yu nudged the man's chest. "Condom, don't forget this."
She handed him the paper bag and said, "Go downstairs and turn on the light. You can then see the explanation given by the person who came to your home."
“You told me, so you must have remembered everything.” He tore open the bag and took out a rubber ring.
Only then did Su Yu realize that he was the one who bought this thing, and he must have looked at it first. But he didn't dwell on the issue and pretended not to know, saying, "First, blow it up like a balloon, and then listen to your ear to see if it's emitting air."
"Why don't you blow it?" Ning Jin was a little hesitant; how could you put this thing in your mouth and blow it up like a balloon?
"Whoever uses it can brag about it, don't be shy, only the two of us know about this."
"It's like you don't need it." In the end, eagerness overcame his shyness. He puffed out his cheeks and blew out two long breaths, then held them to his face to see if any steam rose, while his eyes were fixed on the naked person beneath him.
Under his gaze, Su Yu wiped the sweat from her stomach that wasn't hers, stared at his abdomen, and muttered, "Is this the eaves of a rainy day? Rain is dripping down one drop after another."
"It's not steaming." He answered irrelevantly, without asking her what to do next. His face was flushed, but his demeanor was natural and composed. He wanted to see her frown and look helpless.
The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. The two yellow paper bags were torn to shreds and thrown on the ground. Ning Jin lay on his side on the bed with his mind blank. When he came to his senses, he propped himself up and looked at the person lying flat on the bed. He said, "You look so beautiful when you're about to cry. Your voice is so nice too."
Su Yu glanced at him but didn't say anything.
"The way it rammed into me with its eyes tightly closed was so wild and fierce."
Su Yujing waited to see what kind of aftermath this bastard would say.
"Your toes are cramping up, you must be craving something delicious!"
"I'm so greedy." Su Yu reached out and pinched his chest, then rolled off the bed, threw the pillow on the bed, and pushed him out the door to heat water for her to take a bath.
Ning Jin looked at her lying on the bed with her legs crossed, acting like a pampered lord who wanted to be waited on, and couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Why do I feel like you're already forgetting me before you've even finished getting ready?"
“I’m only going to use you because your service attitude, impact strength, and hardware configuration are all excellent. I’m very satisfied and will only use you from now on.” Su Yu paused and pondered, “However, my income is quite low and I have to support my child. I’ll put the prostitution fee on the books first and pay the total bill when I have the money.”
"You want a good reputation for getting something for nothing?" Ning Jin was furious; he shouldn't have said that.
He casually put on the pair of shorts he had thrown off the bedpost, went out to boil water for someone's bath, and when he brought the water back, he lay down on the bed, intending to sit there like a lord and enjoy the view.
"Go wash your things." Su Yu pointed to the condoms thrown against the wall.
"I'll wash later," Ning Jin said, unwilling to accept the offer.
"Go wash up first, I'm afraid your eyes will get hard again and you won't be able to use them," Su Yu pushed him.
"That's true," Ning Jin thought, picking up four condoms to hurry up and wash them. But as soon as he stepped out the door, he was locked out, and even the window was bolted shut from the inside. "It's not like we haven't seen them before. Are you shy now?" he muttered to himself as he listened to the sound of water inside and walked away.
After a wild and unrestrained experience, Su Yu felt completely rejuvenated. Along with the exhaustion came a sense of exhilaration, as if her life had become too mundane and she had been taken bungee jumping, her nervous system being activated.
It was already past midnight when everything was packed up. The tin clock showed it was almost eleven o'clock. She remembered that she had taken a shower at eight o'clock.
When Su Yu woke up in the morning, there was no one in bed. She got dressed and went out, and saw Ning Jin shirtless, washing clothes in a wooden basin. The bloody scratches on her back were very noticeable.
She was bumped in the leg by Xiao Hei and almost knelt down. Seeing the man's smug smile, she went over and leaned on his back, saying softly, "My legs are weak, I can't walk anymore."
"Hey, I'm telling you, you have two faces, one in bed and one out of bed." Ning Jin let her lie on his back, picked up her clothes and rubbed them vigorously on the washboard, saying, "I've already prepared the food. I'll eat after I wash the dishes and clothes."
"This kid is teachable and deserves praise," Su Yu said obsequiously, massaging his shoulders. "You're so kind."
"How could it not be good? I did the laundry and the cooking." She complained, but couldn't hide the smile on her face.
After finishing his meal, Ningjin used the water from the vat to wash his clothes. He hung the clothes out to dry and said, "Then I'll go pick up Ping'an?"
He quickly added, "Ping An lives nearby, so I'll go pick him up first, and then I'll go pick up Xiao Yuan."
“You go pick up Ping An, I’ll pick up Xiao Yuan, and I’ll also go see my older sister.” To show that she wasn’t angry, Su Yu told him about selling the fish her brother-in-law had given her that day. “I’ll give them the money while I’m at it; they’ll definitely be too embarrassed to accept it if you go.”
"Didn't you say your legs were weak?" Ning Jin stared at her legs suspiciously. "Also, aren't you going to work?"
Oh right, I still have to go to work. Su Yu wilted and handed him the money, saying, "When you go to pick up Xiao Yuan, go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy something worth five or six yuan to take with you. If you can buy meat, cut off a piece of meat. You don't need to give them money. My older sister definitely won't accept what you give her."
"Okay." He didn't take the money or the ticket.
"Also, you can buy whatever you want from Grandma Ping An. How much do you want? I'll get it for you."
"You don't need to give me money, I have money on me." He stuffed the money into her hand and started to leave.
"Stop right there! Where did you get this money? Didn't you give me all your salary?" Su Yu glared at him.
"..." Ning Jin pretended not to hear, slipped out the door quickly, and almost bumped into a neighbor on the street.
"Hey, Xiao Wu is back? Where did you go?"
"Go and call Ping An back."
"Then you don't need to go, you'll be back soon. Did Ping An have a fight with his family? Your wife went to work, and he came back right after, only to leave again before she returned." The neighbor inquired, seemingly intending to complain.
"No, his mother still washes his clothes every day. Kids' thoughts come and go, it's unpredictable. I'll ask him when I pick him up." Ning Jin waved goodbye to the neighbor, deciding not to spend money on gifts, and went to wait for the brat on the street.
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