46.046 Work begins
Su Yu looked at Su Min, trying to figure out her purpose in coming.
Su Min was unusually speechless. The courtyard was quiet for a moment before Su Min called her brother-in-law out of the house to talk.
“Well, little sister, I’m just saying. If you don’t agree, you can just refuse. It won’t affect our sisterly relationship.” She glanced at her brother-in-law, and seeing that his expression hadn’t changed, she continued, “Little sister, could you sell me your job? I can only afford six hundred, and I’ll pay you back the remaining four hundred by this time next year at the latest.”
Su Min calculated that this job could earn her 450 or 460 yuan a year, and she would only spend 30 yuan at most, so she could pay off the debt next year.
Su Yu glanced at Ning Jin and asked her older sister, "Does my brother-in-law know about this?"
"I know, who wouldn't want a job?"
"Is it you, my brother-in-law, or your child coming to work?" Su Yu asked.
“Isn’t it all the same? Let Jiadong come; he has a job, so it’ll be easier for him to get married,” Su Min replied.
“I can sell it to you,” Su Yu agreed. Seeing her older sister’s delighted expression, she began to set conditions: “But I’m giving you priority because you’re my sister. So you’ll be the one going to work, not Jia Dong. You’re not young anymore, so enjoy your retirement for a few years. It’s not too late to give it to Jia Dong in five or six years.” Su Yu bit her inner lip and continued, “I’ll be working in an orchard later, and Ning Jin isn’t home often. I might not be able to visit our parents as frequently as I do now. I’m giving you this office job first, hoping you can take care of our parents more often.”
“It’s not that I want you to give them money or meat or anything, it’s just that you should make a trip to them every now and then so that the old couple has something to look forward to, and the house can be a little more lively. It also makes my brother and sister-in-law more cautious in their actions,” Su Yu said.
"Oh, that's it. Even if you don't sell me this job, I still have to go see my parents. Don't worry about that. I'm the eldest in the family, so I'll definitely set a good example," Su Min said, patting her chest.
“Go back and discuss it with your brother-in-law and Jiadong. One reason is that you should come to work, and the other is that you should take better care of our parents. This is my own selfish reason, and I hope my sister won’t mind.”
When Su Min suggested buying a job, Su Yu's first thought was about her parents. There were still more than six years until December 1977, and she would definitely have to leave the small town then. The elderly couple would be in their mid-seventies, and if they lived long, the older they got, the more care they would need. But they had given their house and money to their son, so even if their daughter wanted to do her best, she had to consider her husband's and children's opinions. Besides, the elderly couple insisted on living with their son. Therefore, she hoped her brother-in-law would have no objection to her sister frequently visiting her parents' home.
"Okay, I'll come again tomorrow." Su thought that it was necessary to discuss who should come to work. Originally, she planned to have Jia Dong come. He hadn't gotten married yet, and part of the money for this job was for his wedding. If he came to work, he might be able to find a wife who was also a worker.
"After you eat, Ningjin will take you home. There's a bicycle at home; it's faster than walking." Su Yu invited her older sister to stay for dinner.
"Your older brother is still waiting for news at home, so I won't eat." Su Min glanced at the sky, threw away the mangled vegetable leaves in her hand, and got up to leave.
"You go and take my older sister home, I'll cook," Su Yu said to the man.
Ningjin didn't want to run errands, so she asked the older sister if she knew how to ride a bicycle. If she did, she would ride it back for her, and she would ride it back tomorrow.
"I can't ride this foreign thing. Don't listen to Xiaoyu. No need to see me off. I'll walk back myself." Su Min waved her hand, opened the door, and walked out.
"Big sister, I'll take you there. It'll be dark soon." Under Su Yu's intense gaze, Ning Jin took out his bicycle and went out.
"Mom, are you selling your job?" After the adult finished speaking, the two boys who were watering the vegetables dropped the gourd ladle and ran over to ask.
“Yes, I’m going to work at the orchard we went to last winter. When summer comes, I’ll take you two to the orchard to buy peaches and pears. You can pick them yourself from the trees.” Su Yu said as she tied on her apron and took the prepared vegetables to wash.
"Really? That's great, Mom. When are you going to work?" Xiao Yuan squatted down, cupped her face in her hands, and asked, her eyes sparkling. She couldn't wait to go to the orchard tomorrow morning.
"I'll go in a few days."
"Is Xiao Wu home? Xiao Wu?" someone called from outside.
“It’s my grandpa.” Ping An pinched the little black dog’s mouth shut and opened the door to let his grandpa in.
Su Yu glanced at Xiao Hei. This dog was quite intelligent. Her older sister had been sitting in the yard for a while, and then got up and went out. Xiao Hei lay in its kennel without moving. Now that Grandpa Ping An had arrived, the fur on its neck stood up.
"Is Xiao Wu's wife off work? Isn't Xiao Wu home?" Old Man Ning asked, standing at the door with his hands behind his back.
"He went to see my eldest sister off. He'll be back soon. Dad, why don't you come in and sit down and wait for him for a while?"
Old Man Ning took a few more steps forward, cursed the black dog that was staring at him, saying, "You blind dog!" He then said, "I won't sit here. I'll wait for Xiao Wu to come back and have him go to the old house. I need to see him about something." With that, he turned and left.
After Ning Jin returned, Su Yu said to him, "Your father is here. He wants you to come back and see him, saying he has something to discuss."
"He contacted me? He didn't say what it was about?" the man asked.
"without."
"Eat first, then I'll go." He washed his hands, served the food, and ate. At the dinner table, he asked Su Yu, "The job is settled? Sold to your older sister?"
"Hmm, you don't have any objections, right?"
Ning Jin said no, that she would handle her work herself. By the time he arrived at the old house after dinner, it was already completely dark, and the whole family was still sitting in the main room.
"What do you want?" He didn't go inside to sit down, but leaned against the door of the main room and asked.
“Your wife wants to sell her job? Why doesn’t she come back for some fresh air? Your sister-in-law wants to buy it; selling it to family members won’t hurt her. Go back and talk to her, tell her not to sell it to anyone else,” Ning Mancang said.
His matter-of-fact words made Ning Jin laugh in anger. "Dad, what I said before wasn't a joke or out of spite. Since you're all here, I'll say it again." He glanced at his older brother and sister-in-law. "When something happens to my family, you all pretend to be deaf and dumb. Someone climbs over the wall at night to steal my child, and when my wife and child are cornered and yelled at after work, you don't even dare to open the door. When we need your help, you don't say a word. But when we need your help, you open your mouths wide. You want to buy a job, but you put on airs and sit in the house waiting for me to come and tell me."
He spat at the pretentious people in the room, "Did I throw manure in your house and dirty your shoes? Or is Su Yu stinking dog shit and talking to her dirty your mouths? You look down on her but are interested in her job? Is your skin made of glue? Thicker than a thousand layers of soles." He cursed everyone in the room before he felt satisfied.
"Xiao Wu, how can you talk like that? We're telling you this because you're the head of the family, and she only has this job because you bought it for her before..."
"Alright, alright, boss, stop pretending. What kind of good guy are you? We all know each other. You're so good at talking, but when my wife and kids are bullied, you never say a word." Ning Jin interrupted him. "That's it. I've already found a job. Don't even think about it. Since you don't like coming to my house, don't bother me with anything except for things like taking care of my parents."
"Are you trying to sever ties with your family?" Boss Ning stood up, clenching his fists, looking like he would teach him a lesson if he dared to nod.
Ning Jin wasn't intimidated at all, and retorted, "Didn't we break off relations a long time ago? When you divided the family property, what happened to my share? When you got married and your second son got married, didn't both of your wives rely on these two old folks for their jobs? Give me my share, I don't want Ping An's mother's share, just marry Su Yu and buy her a job, plus what you did when you divided the family property, I don't want anything more, just give me eight hundred yuan, and then we can talk about other things."
The room fell silent. Ning Mancang sighed, "They didn't give it to you because your grandparents gave you the house, and you have few children and a high salary..."
“That old house was worth at most two hundred. I spent more than two hundred on renovations. If that’s what you’re saying, then cut the two hundred off and give me another six hundred. Then we can talk about other things.” Ning Jin was adamant about the money.
Old Ning's face stiffened and turned pale. He glared at the spineless man at the door and cursed, "Get out of here! I'll just consider it sending you to marry into his family."
"Don't flatter yourself. Who would bring back a grandson with the surname Ning after marrying into the family? If you're biased, just admit it. Don't try to shift the blame." Ning Jin quickly scurried out. He found that when he no longer had to hold back after the initial confrontation, arguing could actually make him feel exceptionally happy.
Once he got home, he urged Su Yu to sell the job as soon as possible the next day, saying that the longer it was delayed, the more trouble would arise.
"Did your father call you back for this too?" Su Yu asked.
"Yeah, he acted like an emperor, I couldn't be bothered with him, and I rejected him too." Ning Jin told him about the argument she had with the old man before and the argument she had with him tonight. "They shouldn't cause any more trouble in the future. There's also no movement from Grandma Ping'an's side, but she can't cause any more trouble. Everything is peaceful now, and our family can live a good life from now on."
He rested his head on her stomach, counted on her fingers, and after a moment of silence said, "Now I don't have parents or brothers anymore."
“My parents will give it to you.”
"But it wasn't like that before."
The two spoke one after the other, their voices landing simultaneously.
The man was both amused and annoyed by her words. He jumped up, pinned her down, and pulled her ear, saying, "Are you trying to fool me into supporting my father-in-law in his old age?"
“You’re lacking parental love, so I’m offering you my parents out of kindness,” Su Yu said with a smile.
"It's too late. If your parents had taken me in and raised me twenty-nine years ago, and promised you to me when you were little, then I would have taken care of them in their old age and seen them off in their final days," Ning Jin said, half-jokingly.
Su Yu scoffed at his dream. After a moment of silence, Su Yu spoke up: "Don't let my brother's lack of ambition fool you; the old folks still cherish him. My dad is very concerned about his reputation and has a stubborn temper. He's afraid of gossip if he stays at a girl's house for a few days. Unless he's bedridden and we forcibly take him away, he won't come to our house to live out his days. As for the old lady, her son is her root; wherever her son is, that's where she is. If she comes to stay for a while, she'll keep talking about going home. Besides, she has grandchildren. When my eldest nephew was born, my dad was so happy he drank half a jin of liquor." They're both old; they made their own choices, and they're swallowing the bitter pill with a smile. Su Yu couldn't change their minds, so she wouldn't. She would just take care of the two elderly people's food, drink, and future medical needs.
Su Yu patted the man's face, "Poor kid, you're not their biological son. You want to have parents to take care of you in your old age, but no one is willing to do it. Only I, this fool, will accompany you until you grow old."
She changed her mind so quickly that Ning Jin didn't catch up. After a moment of stunned silence, she hugged Ning Jin and said, "I'm a fool too."
The next day at noon, Su Min and her husband came over. Li Weiguo took the initiative to say, "Little sister, your eldest sister has already told me what you're thinking. You're right. The job should go to your eldest sister. You don't even have a wife yet, so who can say for sure? It's safest to keep the job in your own hands." He was afraid that if he married a daughter-in-law like his wife's aunt, the young couple would both have jobs and live in town instead of going back home. The two old folks would have emptied their savings, and they still had several children to support. They would have to beg their son and daughter-in-law for money, and the thought of it made them feel ashamed.
"As for Mom and Dad, I have no objection. You two are busy with work, and we live nearby. Your older sister and I will visit you from time to time to clean the pots and pans, wash the quilts, and so on. You two can focus on your work and do your best." Li Weiguo said to Su Yu with a smile, "Youngest, keep trying. When you sell your job again, your older brother will buy it for you."
“You’ve become addicted.” Su Min patted him.
"Okay, when I need to sell jobs again, I'll give you priority, Big Brother." Su Yu jokingly agreed.
That's how it's settled. In the afternoon, Su Yu went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a pound of milk candy, then took her older sister to the factory to complete the formalities. Afterward, she explained the things she usually had to do, shared the candy with the people in the office to sweeten their mouths, and gave the rest to Wang Xiaoxia, asking her to take care of her older sister for two days.
After receiving the 600 yuan, Su Yu rode her bicycle to the orchard the next day to complete her onboarding process, and also took Ning Jin along to show her face.
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