74.074 hit someone again.
Hearing Ning Jin say just three words, Su Yu's feverish mind calmed down, but she still insisted on not taking the old man's money, even when the old lady tried to persuade her.
“Dad, Mom, if I were short of money and couldn’t afford to eat without this money, I would definitely accept it. But I’m only making 73 yuan a month, and I can’t ask my 70-year-old father for money for medical treatment. I can’t do that, and I don’t have the face to do it. I also don’t want my son to point at me when I’m old and say that I took money from my grandfather and that I have to pay for my medical treatment.” All the money in the family was in her hands, and Su Yu thought that she had paid for this trip, so Ning Jin probably didn’t know how much it had cost.
She said, "This time, the doctor's visit cost a total of 238.85 yuan, from train tickets to snacks for the children. The train tickets were 17.5 yuan per person, so the round trip for three people was 105 yuan. The doctor's visit and medicine cost nearly 120 yuan, including the cost of the traditional Chinese medicine I paid upfront. That means you spend 230 or 240 yuan a year just on herbal medicine, which is three months of my salary. It's a lot of money, but there's nothing we can do when people are sick." Su Yu glanced at the man, pursed her lips, and continued, "If it weren't for you being sick today, but Ningjin or Ping'an, I would still pay for their treatment. Even if she hit my mother-in-law, if she ever suffers that fate again, as long as Ningjin is willing to treat her, I will pay for it too."
If she was still a little angry just now, Su Yu understood Ning Jin when she said those words. Putting herself in Ning Jin's shoes, if her in-laws were sick and Ning Jin's siblings were unwilling to take care of them, and instead pushed her in-laws, who didn't share her family property or help with her children, onto her, she wouldn't be willing either. Even if she had to pay money, she would still feel angry and resentful.
Su Yu's voice softened as she said, "Dad, I'm not asking you for this money today so that you two can have a more comfortable life. But don't let all your money go to subsidizing my brother and sister. Medical treatment is one thing, but your subsidies are another. If you give it to them, you can't leave me out. In fact, I want more."
"I won't give it to your brother. From now on, whenever I give your three sisters a peanut, I'll give you a handful." Old Man Su felt a pang of sadness. Since his youngest sister had put it this way, he didn't press her for the hundred yuan. He said, "In a couple of days, before Xiao Ning leaves, you should call your eldest, second, and third sisters back to their parents' home for a get-together. They probably don't know that your brother and I separated. You can also talk about the future. No matter how much, compared to them, I haven't let you down." His mind was a bit of a mess right now, but he had an idea that he needed to think about.
Lying in bed that night, Old Man Su suddenly remembered something, put on his clothes, went out, and asked, "Is your hair still not dry?"
"It'll be ready soon. Why did you come out? Couldn't you sleep?"
Old Man Su took off his shoes and sat on them, asking, "I was just thinking, why haven't I heard you mention children? Are you also sick and unable to have children, or have you two decided not to have any?"
“We’re not having any more children. We’re following the national policy; two kids are enough for us.” Su Yu glanced around the room; Ning Jin was being pestered by the two children about going to Jincheng.
Old Su coughed twice, hunched over, and sighed. Fine, he wouldn't interfere in the young couple's affairs anymore.
"Youngest son, don't even mention taking care of me and your mother in our old age. Think about it carefully. As far as Ningjin is concerned, he married you, he has Ping'an, and you have Xiaoyuan. You both have salaries, and they're not that different. You two aren't planning on having any more children. Are you going to drag two old people over here? Who do you think is stupid? In your family, he's willing to give you his salary, is happy to be controlled by you, and is willing to accompany you to take me to several cities for medical treatment. That's already quite good. Don't go too far. Not many men can do what he did. I admit that if I were him, I would have given him a hard time if you said you would be half a son to take care of me and your mother in our old age."
Su Yu didn't speak. She understood what her father was saying. If she were raising Xiao Yuan alone, it would be easy for her to bring the two elders to live with her. But marriage is about mutual consent and balance. It's true that the elderly couple gave birth to her and raised her, and it's true that they were kind to her. But they didn't raise Ning Jin, and their property didn't come with her after she married into the family. It would be extremely difficult for Ning Jin to suddenly take care of his in-laws in their old age and see them off in their final days. He didn't even have much affection for his parents who only gave him life but didn't raise him, let alone his in-laws, to whom he felt even less gratitude.
“I’m your father, and I’m only saying this for your own good. I’m not afraid of you resenting me. Don’t do things on your own whim. You can earn money to support the family, and so can Ningjin. When you’re good to me and your mother, think about Ningjin’s parents too. You don’t want to deal with their side, and Ningjin has his own reasons.” Old Man Su got up to go inside, adding before leaving, “Oh, by the way, your mother and I won’t move here to live with you. We have a house and land in the countryside, so don’t get any funny ideas.”
Old Su had never even considered moving to town to let his youngest son live with him. He thought to himself that no matter whether his youngest son was being obsequious or threatening him, he wouldn't move in this time.
Ning Jin waited until the voices outside stopped, then waited a while before opening the door. Seeing Su Yu still outside, he carried a small stool over, followed her gaze to the moon, and said first, "Did Dad scold you again?"
“That’s right. Dad is a very insightful man. No wonder the villagers like to ask him to settle disputes.” Su Yu shrugged, turned her head to look at him, and seeing his somewhat evasive eyes, said, “I’m sorry, I made the decision tonight without discussing it with you.”
Ning Jin rubbed her hand, speechless. She had said everything, good and bad, and he was no longer angry. "Then remember to change. You have to discuss family matters and matters concerning relatives with me." He reluctantly compromised.
"Hmm." Su Yu rested her chin on her hand and continued, "I've been thinking about it. Your parents left their inheritance to your brother. If they get sick in the future and you want to take them to live with you in your old age, I definitely won't be happy about it. So I'm not going to take my parents to live with me. Besides, my parents don't want to come either, but I will definitely still take care of them. You don't have any objections, right?"
Ning Jin breathed a sigh of relief. "My problem isn't that I'm taking care of your parents, but that it's unfair. Your brother has a house and money, and your three older sisters don't support our parents' retirement. It's all on your shoulders. I can't help but wonder if we've been cheated." Especially since his mother-in-law clearly still hadn't given up on her son.
"Don't worry, my dad would rather die than live with us." Su Yu propped herself up on his legs to get up.
"Hey, you said before that you would pay for my parents' medical expenses, but I feel like you were quite reluctant to say that?"
"I'm unwilling, you heard me right."
"Then why did you say it?" Ning Jin found it amusing.
"I wouldn't say this if I didn't like you, but let me tell you, if that day ever comes, you'll be the one taking care of them. I'm willing to pay, but don't expect me to lift a finger. It's your parents' fault for treating me badly." Su Yu whispered in the man's ear as she leaned against him.
"Oh, how shameless! What's with all this talk about liking or disliking?" Ning Jin felt extremely comfortable, but he didn't show it on his face. He carried her into the house and said, "Don't worry, my parents don't like me and won't live with us." Besides, his eldest and second eldest sons aren't as heartless as his brother-in-law.
The two reached the door, and Su Yu slid off his back, opened the door, and went inside. The conversation inside the room also stopped.
Two days later, Su Yu went to inform her three older sisters that they would be going back to their parents' home for a gathering the next day at noon. She said that it was their father's order that as long as the adults went, the children would not go.
All four daughters and sons-in-law arrived. Old Man Su asked the youngest daughter to go to the village to find the village chief and their cousin, and asked the eldest son to call Rongbing and his wife.
"Changguo, what do you want to say to us?" The old man with the white beard looked at the protruding wall in the courtyard, then glanced at Rongbing sitting on the threshold with his head hanging low, and sighed inwardly at how shameful it was.
"Uncle, please be a witness." Old Man Su didn't close the door. His family's affairs were already the laughing stock of the village, so he didn't care about one more or one less thing.
“My wife and I have separated from Rongbing and will not have any contact with him anymore. We will just be neighbors with the same surname. We don’t expect his family to worry about our funeral arrangements.”
“Hey, Changguo, that’s not how it works. He’s your son, and we’ll acknowledge him wherever we go.”
Old Su looked around and saw that Rong Bing was still hanging his head and his daughter-in-law was twisting her face as if she was still breathing. He suddenly smiled and said, "Uncle, I have made up my mind. I have thought about it for a long time and I will not go back on my word."
“I don’t expect Rongbing to handle my funeral arrangements. My wife’s money and our private plot of land have nothing to do with him. Our coffins are almost ready, and we’ll prepare our own burial clothes. After we get old, our four daughters will handle the funeral arrangements, and they will split the funeral gifts equally. Actually, the gifts they should give as daughters are enough for the whole funeral. It’s just a little extra work, but I hope that won’t be too much trouble for you.” He stared at his four daughters and sons-in-law.
"Father, why don't you reconsider?" Su Tao said.
"I don't want to think about it anymore. If you don't want to worry about it, then pay your share of the funeral expenses for your daughter. The money will be divided among the other three families afterwards. It has nothing to do with you."
"No, that's not what I meant, it just looks a bit bad."
"What good is being pretty?" Old Man Su thought for a moment. Now that the funeral arrangements were settled, it was time to talk about the money he had. He said, "I've been sick for a while now, and it's all been my youngest daughter who's been taking care of me. She's the one who took me to the hospital. During this time I wasn't home, she and her son-in-law took me to Jincheng for treatment. Just the cost of medicine for half a year was 120 yuan. I offered her the money, but she refused, saying that she was doing her best and fulfilling my responsibility of raising her."
Old Man Su looked at his other three daughters and continued, "I'm not saying this to beg for money from you, but you have to be grateful. I have to give credit to the youngest daughter for what she did. Your mother and I still have more than 800 yuan and two acres of private land. After we die, no matter how much money we have, 60% will go to her, and the other 40% will go to the eldest, second, and third daughters. The private land and the house will also be disposed of by the youngest daughter."
“The house and land were not given to the married-out daughters,” Mei Danan suddenly said.
“This is no place for you to speak. I called you and Rongbing here just to inform you.” Old Man Su looked at his cousin and said, “When I said ‘leave it to her to handle,’ I meant that she decides whether to sell it, give it away, or whatever. The money from the sale is hers, and the favor from the gift is also hers.”
"Are you really decided?"
“It’s really decided. I’ll write everything down later, and you can put your fingerprint on it as proof,” said Old Man Su.
"Alright, it's your family matter anyway, I won't say anything more." Su Qingguo was just as quiet as him, he came and squatted outside the kitchen without saying a word.
"Eldest, second, and third sons, do you have any objections? If so, just say so. I've thought about it, and this matter only adds one more thing for you to worry about—arranging our funerals. You don't need to worry about the most expensive things like the coffins and burial clothes. As for the banquet and the funeral expenses, you won't lose out. You can still come over for holidays and our birthdays as usual. The four of you sisters can discuss how much to give. It's just that there's one less brother in the family." Old Man Su asked his daughters.
“No, I have no objection. It’s more convenient for me to bring meat and eggs over if you live separately from my mom,” Su Min said.
“I don’t have any either,” Su Tao said.
“I don’t have any either, Mom and Dad. Our two houses are the closest to each other. You two can stroll over there whenever you have free time, have a meal at my place, and then come back,” Su He said.
“I have no objection either. The town isn’t far from home. If my family has cooked a meal, I’ll have Xiao Yuan ride his bicycle over to let them know. My parents will walk over, and then walk back after the meal. It’s good exercise, and they won’t have to worry about indigestion,” Su Yu said.
"Alright, if no one objects, then it's settled." Old Man Su let out a long sigh, as if all the pent-up frustration in his body had been released. He pointed at Rongbing and said, "Rongbing, from now on we're neighbors, there's no father-son or mother-son relationship between us. Don't send your child over all the time, and don't go to our vegetable garden or private plot to pick vegetables. And don't ask us to watch your house or feed your chickens."
"Are you really going to be this ruthless?" Su Rongbing raised his head, his face dark and his eyes bloodshot. He immediately looked at his mother and asked, "Mom, are you going to treat me like this too? Have you thought about what other people will think of me?"
"You haven't thought about how outsiders laugh at your mother, nor have you thought about how your mother lives. How dare you ask us to continue to suffer for your sake until we die?" Old Man Su blocked his wife, preventing her from softening her heart.
"You old bastard, it's all your fault for stirring up trouble and ruining my family's reputation. Don't you care about your grandson? What good girl would want to marry him after all this?" He stood up and raised his fist to hit his father.
"Ningjin, hit him, hit that inhuman dog!" Su Yu glanced around, picked up the club leaning against the wall, and skillfully slammed it down. "Big brother, second brother, third brother, your chance to vent your anger has come, all of you, hit him!" she shouted as she kicked.
Ten minutes later.
Su Qingguo straightened his clothes and escorted his uncle home. After leaving, he looked back at Rong Bing, who had been badly beaten, and couldn't help but laugh: "Did I come here to break up this fight?"
"Good riddance! It should have been done a long time ago. If we had beaten him when he was a kid, this wouldn't have happened today."
“Back then, my aunt was very protective of Rongbing, and my uncle wasn’t home often. Whenever he was about to beat Rongbing, she would start crying and screaming before the blows even landed. By the time my uncle had a chance to beat him, Rongbing’s temper had already taken hold. Even when the bullwhip broke, he couldn’t be broken back up. Rongbing even hated my uncle because of the beatings.” Su Qingguo thought to himself, “It’s infuriating that such a perceptive man as my uncle had such a son.”
"Yu Anxiu is just short-sighted, but she's lucky. After getting married, she didn't have to work in the fields anymore. She raised a heartless son and has four filial daughters." The old man recalled how the four girls had been bringing food and drink to Changguo and his wife one after another, and he was envious.
"Dad, what's wrong with you? You haven't given me any fresh air for so long. Come stay at my house for a while now that you're back, and I'll take care of you." Su Min looked at her father, whose complexion didn't seem any different from before. She thought to herself that she would ask her youngest son alone later.
“I have lung problems and stomach problems too. I’ll be taking bitter medicine from now on. I’ll have to drink medicine to live. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t plan to get treatment. I was just thinking of living one day at a time. Later, your little sister found out from her colleague that there was a hospital in Jincheng that could treat this disease. She bought the train ticket and picked me up that very day.” When talking to his own daughter, Old Man Su also kept the fact that he had secretly gone to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor a secret. Anyway, they didn’t know if there were any traditional Chinese medicine doctors in hospitals in big cities.
"I'm still staying at the youngest's house. Once your mother and the youngest learn how to make bitter soup, I'll come back. Then, whenever I have free time, I'll visit the three of you. I'll go in the morning and come back in the afternoon, so don't find it bothersome." Old Su felt incredibly relieved that he had truly broken off ties with Rong Bing, especially after seeing him get beaten up again. From now on, all he needed to do was recover, avoid becoming paralyzed or mentally unstable, occasionally visit his daughters for a meal, and keep his confused wife in check so she wouldn't cause any extra trouble for his daughters. That would make life quite comfortable.
“It’s no trouble at all. Just come over. We four sisters will take turns picking you up for the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and New Year’s Eve dinner.” Su Min suggested, then asked her three younger sisters, “Is that alright? If it’s your turn and it’s inconvenient to pick me up, we can just move on to the next one and make it up for you next holiday. If it’s alright, let’s start with me. I’ll be at my house for Mid-Autumn Festival this year.”
The three sisters had no objections; it was just a matter of adding two more pairs of chopsticks.
"I feel like I have more hope for the future now that my son is gone." Old Man Su watched his daughters tidying up the house that hadn't been lived in for half a month. He picked up a basket and planned to cut down all the vegetables in the garden that hadn't yet dried out so they could take them. When he felt better, he would come back and make a small net to catch fish and shrimp and send them to his daughters.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
