36. 036 A sickle cuts off the buttocks
When the family of four arrived at Xinhe Brigade, they happened to see Old Man Su taking his grandchildren to the village cooperative's convenience store to buy snacks.
"Old village chief, your youngest daughter and son-in-law are here! Your house is quite lively today," someone reminded the beaming old man.
"It's lively, everyone's having a great time today." He was very pleased to see Ning Jin and Ping An arrive, and a smile deepened the wrinkles around his eyes.
They were the last to arrive. The New Year's gifts they brought were divided into two parts: one for their elder brother and sister-in-law, and the other for their parents. Su Yu's sister-in-law didn't go back to her parents' home today; she was busy cooking in the kitchen. Su Yu's third sister was helping to stoke the fire. Su Yu took her two children to say hello and then came back out.
This was the first time Ning Jin had formally interacted with his three brothers-in-law in the year since he and Su Yu had been married. They had only met briefly at their wedding, and he was out driving for his father-in-law and mother-in-law's birthdays. He addressed them as "brothers" along with Su Yu. The four sisters had a close relationship, and to show affection, they addressed their brothers-in-law as "brothers," while those with less-than-ideal relationships simply called their sisters-in-law "sisters-in-law."
During the meal, Su Min asked Su He, "Third Sister, when should we visit your home this year?"
Su He stopped eating, glanced at her husband, and said awkwardly, "Let's go to the youngest's house first this year, and then it'll be my turn next year. We won't be separating the family until autumn, and the house isn't ready yet."
With limited resources, it was difficult for each family to host guests. After the third sister, Suhe, got married, the four sisters decided to take turns hosting guests. This year, they were to have dinner at Suhe's house, and the other sisters would bring gifts over.
"As long as you've discussed it with Fourth Brother, that's fine." Su Min glanced at her and Su Yu, then asked Su Yu, "Didn't your Third Sister tell you?"
“You can come to my place, just set a time so I can prepare.” Su Yu didn’t give a direct answer.
"Third brother, didn't you tell fourth brother before?" Su Min asked Su He.
"I... I couldn't find the time to go there."
"Then you must be really overwhelmed with work." Su Min frowned and glared at her. "What kind of work are you doing? The fourth brother lives in town, but you can't just buy vegetables that you haven't prepared. If you haven't prepared them at home, you could have asked someone who goes to the market in town to tell them."
Su Min is the eldest sister. Before she got married, she took care of her younger siblings. She got used to it, and now that her parents are old, she worries about them even more, acting like a matriarch.
But since everyone's children are all grown up, how could she scold them harshly, especially with the men here? Su Yu interrupted her older sister, "I've prepared some. I bought a few chickens and ducks that don't require tickets when I drove the Ningjin truck. Don't worry, just set the time."
"I have time on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. I won't be visiting relatives or having guests at home." Su Min gave Su Yu face and didn't continue to scold her third sister.
“Then let’s do it on the fifth day. I’ll be free on the fifth day too. What about you, Third Sister? Sister-in-law, are you free on the fifth day?” Su Tao asked.
Su He nodded, but Su Yu's sister-in-law, Mei Danan, didn't give a definite answer. She only said that if she was busy, Rong Bing could take the child over.
After the meal, Old Man Su took a moment to say to Su He, "Third brother, stay a little longer, I have something to tell you."
Around three or four in the afternoon, everyone except Su He left. Old Man Su and Granny Yu asked Su He in their bedroom, "Are you short of money at home?"
"No, it's just that the house wasn't finished. Last winter, the heavy snow caused the roof to collapse, and the house was a mess. When relatives came, there wasn't enough room for them." Su He denied that the family was indeed short of money and hadn't prepared enough New Year's goods, so they couldn't entertain guests. However, she said that the family could still eat and drink without any problems and she didn't want her elderly parents to worry anymore.
Old Man Su didn't believe her. Judging from her appearance, she wouldn't accept money even if he offered it to her. Besides, he only helped in an emergency, not to support her long-term financial situation. She also had men in her family, so even if she wanted to borrow money, the men should be the ones to lend it to her.
"Take something back for the kids to eat..."
"I don't want it, you can eat it yourselves. How could I accept something my sisters sent to show my respect to you?" Su He waved her hand, not wanting to say anything more, and turned to walk straight out. She said to the woman sitting at the gate, who was scrutinizing her from head to toe, "Sister-in-law, I'm leaving now. Come visit me sometime."
Thank goodness she didn't take it; if she had been carrying something, her parents might have had to put up with her temper again.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Su Yu's family went to the old house for dinner. On the fourth day, they entertained Ning Jin's two older sisters. Su Yu roasted a chicken in a large vat. On the fifth day, Su Yu's older brother and sister came over, and Su Yu roasted a duck. Her sister-in-law did not come, saying that she had gone to her second sister's house.
After two banquets, the family's New Year's goods were almost gone, except for the five catties of cottonseed oil bought from Ningjin that hadn't been touched yet.
After the Lantern Festival, the New Year celebrations were considered over. Su Yu prepared more than three pounds of dough to fry dough sticks. She had just finished kneading the dough and hadn't even washed her hands when someone entered through the half-closed door. Xiao Hei, who was taller than Ping An, pounced on her swiftly.
"Little Black!" Su Yu called out to it.
"Oh my god, you scared me to death!" An old woman grabbed the door bolt to avoid falling on her backside.
Once she had recovered, she barged into the house, looking defiantly at the tall dog, "Come on, if you dare to scratch a piece of my skin, I'll skin you alive and cook your meat today."
"Xiao Hei, come back." Su Yu looked at the old woman with a mean face and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"
"Anyway, I'm not looking for you." Grandma Xiaoyuan glanced at Su Yu with her triangular eyes as if she were appraising merchandise, and said with disgust, "You've got a round butt from eating, but where's my grandson? I've come to see if you've mistreated him."
"I don't think you have the face to see him. Go away and don't come back. If you miss Xiao Yuan, go sit in front of his father's grave and tell him how you used his life to give your other two sons a better life." Su Yu pulled on the rope around Xiao Hei's neck to prevent it from biting anyone.
"Stop giving me that nonsense. I'm not going to waste my breath on you. I'm here to see my grandson. Don't interrupt me. His household registration is still with my family." The old woman looked down on Su Yu and didn't care about what he said. Considering the baring black dog and not knowing if the man of the house was home, she didn't dare to force her way in. She stood in the yard and called out loudly, "Xiao Yuan? Grandson, Grandma's here to see you."
"Mom, who's yelling? It's so annoying, they keep chattering away so early in the morning." Ping An got out of bed, put on a cotton-padded coat, and peeked out the window, glaring at his wife in the yard with a bitter and resentful look.
"Grandson, it's your grandma! Don't you recognize me?" Grandma Xu looked at the completely unfamiliar child and wondered to herself, "He's changed so much in just one year?" Cai Xiaohua was right; her grandson had indeed grown up to be much better. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, unlike Su Yu's pitiful appearance. He must have taken after the second son.
"Did you speak ill of me to my grandson? He doesn't even recognize me anymore. It's all your fault for teaching him this way. You've ruined a perfectly good child." Granny Xu scolded Su Yu, then turned to Ping An and said, "Xiao Yuan, come home with Grandma. Your uncle and your younger brother are waiting for you at home."
"Blind old woman." Ping An wasn't one to mince words; he pointed at her and yelled, "Don't try to claim kinship with me! You can't even recognize your own grandson, have you come to the wrong house?"
"How can you talk like that, child..."
"Grandma, it's me, Xiaoyuan." Xiaoyuan got dressed, opened the door, and said directly, "I'm not going to your house. Don't come looking for me again, and don't come to my house again."
Looking at her grandson, who was becoming more and more like Su Yu, Granny Xu cursed Cai Xiaohua for being blind, and angrily berated Su Yu: "Are you trying to kill me? Couldn't you have reminded me?"
"Even if you die, I won't die. You're blind and heartless. You can admit your own grandson's mistake, yet you still beg and swear at others. Get out, don't come to my house again. Xiao Yuan will never go back with you." Su Yu was too lazy to argue. She hadn't kicked her out because of Xiao Yuan's attitude. Now that Xiao Yuan had said he didn't want to see her, she pushed the old woman out the door.
Granny Xu never expected that her spineless, spineless daughter-in-law would dare to push her out. She stood outside the door with her hands on her hips and started cursing. Su Yu heard her filthy cursing, so she picked up a basin of cold water, opened the door, and splashed it on her, soaking half of her clothes.
"If you're not leaving now, come in. Let's have a good talk." Su Yu crossed her arms and stared at the disheveled and ridiculous old woman.
"You bitch, you think you're so great now that you've married into the town? Just you wait, I'll get my son to kill you."
"Little Black, go! Bite her to death!" Ping An flung open the door, grabbed Little Black's leash, and chased after the foul-mouthed old woman. He watched her run away crying and screaming, losing a shoe in the process, before laughing and leading the dog back home.
Seeing his mother's dark face, he chuckled and begged for mercy: "I'm holding it on a leash, Xiao Hei definitely won't bite anyone." Before the New Year, Xiao Hei scared two passersby to their feet, so a leash was put on its neck.
"Come inside." Su Yu smiled at the old neighbor in the alley and explained to Ping An, "He's just a kid, he's hot-tempered and can't stand seeing me wronged. Don't take offense, he knows what he's doing and won't act recklessly."
"I understand, I understand. That old woman has a foul mouth. Even I would want to hit her if I heard it, let alone Ping An," Fifth Auntie chimed in.
"No one causes trouble for no reason. Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. There's always something wrong with someone else. Otherwise, why doesn't anyone come to scold me?" Du Xiaojuan held back for a long time, but still couldn't help but say something sarcastic.
“Yeah, nobody’s cursing you, but someone’s waiting to report you.” Su Yu didn’t tolerate her and went straight for the jugular, and sure enough, she went into the house with a gloomy face.
Su Yu asked Xiao Yuan if he had seen his grandmother when he went back last time. She hadn't shown up for a whole year, so why had she come looking for him again?
"No, I ran into a woman who said she was my aunt, but I don't know her." Xiao Yuan described the woman's appearance to her, but Su Yu didn't recognize her either. She couldn't figure out why Xiao Yuan's grandmother had suddenly come over, but the only person she was still connected to was Xiao Yuan. Whatever her purpose was, she was after him.
"Don't wander around during this time. If you see your grandma, don't get entangled with her. Just come back. Tell me what she said when you get back," Su Yu instructed him.
"Okay, I'm usually with Ping An."
For a long time afterward, Granny Xu didn't come again, and Xiao Yuan never mentioned her again. Su Yu gradually forgot about her. After spring arrived, the two children went to school, Ning Jin continued driving, and Su Yu worked in the factory. She also kept an eye on the news from the orchards in the neighboring county. According to Shu Manpo, last winter was too cold, and some trees might not sprout again in the spring.
That day, after school, Xiaoyuan and Ping'an went with Erya to collect firewood and dig for wild vegetables, and also watered the willow tree they had planted.
"I'll plant a willow branch too." Er Ya cut a willow branch from the old willow tree and planted it by the water, waiting for it to grow bigger next spring.
"It won't survive without roots." Xiao Yuan told her to dig up a small tree seed.
"A willow twig planted in spring will grow..."
"Xiao Yuan?" A man suddenly walked over and spoke, "Do you remember me? I'm your uncle."
Xiao Yuan nodded, "Uncle, are you here to go to the market?" Then he realized something was wrong; he was too nervous, and it was already evening.
“I’ve come to find you. Your father’s mourning period ends the day after tomorrow. You need to go back home. You’re his only son. I’ve come to pick you up.”
"I need to go back and tell my mom."
"What are you talking about? She's no longer a member of the Xu family, and she can't interfere in our family's affairs. You don't want to go back, do you? Your father loved you so much when he was alive. He went to work at the quarry so that you could have more meat to eat."
Xiao Yuan remained silent. After hesitating for a while, he insisted, "I need to go back and ask my mom. If I'm going back, I'll ask my grandpa to go back with me."
"I'm not going to eat you. Just have your brother deliver a message to your mother. You're coming with me." Xu Laosan grabbed Xu Yuan, hoisted him onto his back, and turned to leave.
"Xiao Yuan!" Er Ya exclaimed in surprise.
"Put Xiaoyuan down! You bastard!" Ping An swung the stick to hit him.
"Ping An, hurry back and tell my mom that my uncle kidnapped me!" Xiao Yuan kicked and thrashed his legs, trying to stop his uncle from hitting Ping An. He knew his uncle was a ruthless killer.
"You bastard, put Xiao Yuan down!" Ping An swung the stick to hit him. Xu Laosan was hit on the head and looked fierce as he tried to put Xiao Yuan down to beat the little brat.
Xiao Yuan ran as soon as he landed, but was caught again after only two steps. Ping An gripped the stick and pounced on the man's head, while Xiao Yuan grabbed his hair and bent down to bite his ear.
"You two are dead meat!" Xu Laosan was also enraged. He threw Xu Yuan to the ground, grabbed Ping An's stick, and kicked him far away.
Er Ya, her hands slick with sweat, scurried over, spotted the man, and swung her sickle down at his buttocks.
"Ouch..." Xu Laosan stopped jumping around. He was clutching his buttocks and couldn't get up. The sickle was still stuck in his buttocks.
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