8.008 Decision
Su Yu did not give a definite answer at the time, only saying that she would think about it and let the old couple take a nap.
Su Changguo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had stopped insisting on divorce. This girl seemed quiet and reserved, but she was quite sensible. Who knew that after finally marrying a man with good conditions and a decent character, she would get so fixated on divorce? Didn't she realize what kind of people get divorced these days? Moreover, she was a divorced woman with a child. If she divorced and remarried, it would be her third marriage, and her reputation would be ruined.
Su Yu sat on the edge of the cool bed and fanned the boy. The little boy looked like his mother, so he was never favored by his grandmother. As long as she was sure that he would not change his surname and would still be her son's son, she would not care. For the past six months, no one from the Xu family had come to see him, so she could not send him back to the Xu family for the time being. A child without parents is like a rat in the gutter, and everyone wants to take advantage of him.
Tired of sitting, she lay down on the cool bed, closing her eyes and thinking about what she could do to make money. Nothing, nothing at all. She graduated from a second-tier university in a second-tier city with a degree in finance. Her hometown was a small county. After graduation, she spent two years trying to make a living in a big city, but couldn't get into a large company. She worked in insurance for two years, then got certified and switched jobs, working as a bank teller for three years. She took out a loan to buy a 70-80 square meter apartment. Deciding to make even more money after not getting married, she switched to a loan company. It was a large company with good benefits and comprehensive insurance, but the pressure was immense. She worked overtime six and a half days a week, but thankfully the salary was good.
Year after year, she deals with debtors on the phone, learning sales techniques and psychological tactics. Her work starts the moment she opens her eyes. She no longer has any practical skills. With her junior high school education, she is lucky to be able to work in a canteen in this day and age.
The largest factory in town was the fruit cannery. In addition, there was the latrine factory. The latrine factory started by making latrines, but the round latrines buried in the ground were too durable. One latrine could last for two generations. When it became unprofitable, it started producing sauerkraut jars and fruit canning bottles. Even though it has changed its name, it is still the latrine factory that people in the old town talk about.
Accounting, management, and technology—Su Yu has no skills in any of them. She wouldn't be offered any positions in supply and marketing cooperatives or other cooperatives, and returning to farming would be even more difficult. Her father was right; if she got divorced, she wouldn't even be able to support herself.
But if she doesn't get a divorce this time, she will have to change her mindset and accept everything. Life is not a drama, and she is not the protagonist in a novel. The people here are all living, independent individuals, and she cannot keep changing her mind.
A violent coughing fit from the next room interrupted her thoughts, followed by an old woman complaining that her husband's throat was about to burst from coughing while he was still smoking, and that she would smash his pipe when he got up.
Then came the rustling footsteps. The door opened, and someone came out. Su Yu opened her eyes and saw her father walking out with his pipe in his hand. There was a persimmon tree in the yard. The old man squatted in the shade of the tree, exhaling white smoke. With each inhale, his cheeks sank in, and his face was full of bitterness.
The bell rang, signaling the village chief to start work. Her brother, sister-in-law, and father went out wearing straw hats. Xu Yuan ran out to play with his two cousins and one cousin. Only Su Yu and her mother remained in the house.
The old woman had many children in her life, four daughters and one son, who survived. Most women of similar age in the village had four, five, or six children, so her life was more comfortable than other old women's. She became the village chief's wife less than two years after marrying Su Yu's father, and she became pregnant and gave birth repeatedly. Su Changguo was a shrewd and bold man; he earned enough to support the family and also cared for his wife. After becoming the village chief, he never let his wife work in the fields; she stayed home cooking and doing housework.
But after Su Yu's eldest and second eldest sisters grew up, she only had to cook. Someone would wash her clothes, sweep the yard, feed the chickens and ducks, and cultivate the family's private plot.
“Girl, don’t think your father is being harsh. You can’t get a divorce. From ancient times to the present, there’s never been an easy time being a daughter-in-law. Every family has its arguments. Your eldest sister’s in-laws are biased, but now that they’re old, she’s still taking care of them. Your second sister is about to give birth and is still planting cotton seedlings in the field. Your third sister’s mother-in-law is using her family’s things to subsidize her youngest son. She’s argued about it so many times, but she’s still doing just fine.”
She sat across from me, muttering, "You've only been married for less than a year and you're already thinking about divorce? How could you even have such a thought? None of the people we know get divorced. You've already been married twice. If you divorce and remarry, people will think you're not a respectable person. You still have a son who needs to get married. With your reputation, which girl would dare to be your daughter-in-law?"
The old lady's words made sense, but Su Yu's scalp tingled from her nagging. According to her, one had to consider the impact on the next three generations when doing anything.
"Forget it, I won't get a divorce." She swallowed the words back. She knew her mind was wavering. Considering everything, not getting a divorce was the most rational and best outcome at the moment.
When they finished work in the evening, the sun had already set. Unlike the town, the village didn't have electricity and the houses were still lit by kerosene lamps. After Su's father came back, Su Yu moved the dining table to the yard, burned mugwort under the table, and everyone had a palm-leaf fan. Even so, mosquitoes still came to suck blood at night.
When Ning Jin arrived with his parents, Su Yu was giving her son a bath. After the four elderly people exchanged pleasantries, Su Yu ushered Xu Yuan into the house, leaving him the fan and closing the door from the outside.
"Xiao Wu's wife, come and sit down." Father Ning called her over, then turned to Father Su and said, "My dear in-law, I really have no face to come over. I didn't know that Xiao Wu's mother hit his wife. Xiao Wu told me after I got home, and I scolded her too." He paused, then made a promise: "Your girl is an honest person. Ping An has been talking about her. He even wanted to come and take his mother back just now. This shows that she is good to him. We are relieved that Xiao Wu and Ping An are doing well. From now on, I will keep an eye on his mother and not let her keep an eye on her daughter-in-law. After the family is separated, we will be two separate families and live our own lives."
After saying that, he turned to Su Yu and said, "Little Fifth's wife, I'm sorry on behalf of your mother. She's been wronged since she married into the family. She has good intentions, but she doesn't know how to do things properly. If she causes trouble again in the future, come and tell me. Don't mention divorce, it's hurtful."
Su Yu's lips twitched. This father-in-law was giving her sweet treats before turning on her tough side. His wife hit someone, and he still stubbornly insisted that she meant well? She just couldn't do anything right? He was the one who hurt her by bringing up divorce.
Tsk, as expected of a seasoned PR professional, he really knows how to talk.
"I've also tried to persuade her. If you're bullied or mistreated, you should retaliate. Don't keep bringing up divorce; that's what deserters do. She's also promised that she won't hide anything from Xiaoning and us anymore." Su Changguo couldn't stand the old man Ning trying to smooth things over, so he said to him, "In-laws, Xiaoyu is my youngest daughter. She has older siblings who take care of her, and she can't stand being wronged. She treated Ping'an like her own son after marrying into your family. Although your family bought her a job, she's the one who does the hard work, and the money she earns goes to your Ning family. She earned back four hundred yuan in two years, and any more she earns will be used for your son and grandson. You're not losing out. Ningjin isn't home often, and she earns money and takes care of the children. You, as her in-laws, should at least lend a hand and not upset her. My daughter isn't doing this for free."
Ning Mancang's face was burning. He hadn't been taught a lesson in years, and now, because of this old woman and his youngest son, he was being taught a lesson face-to-face by a farmer. He was furious, and all the things he had thought of on the way here were stuck in his chest and he couldn't say them.
“My dear in-law, you’re right. If Xiao Wu’s wife encounters any difficulties in the future, she can come to our house and we’ll all be there without hesitation.” He reached out and pinched his wife, who had been silent all along, to signal her to speak.
Zhao Guixiang pursed her downturned lips and apologized to Su Yu: "I was wrong before. You and Xiao Wu should live a good life together."
"I only found out after I got back that a lot of people know that my mother-in-law slapped me in the street and scolded me for being indecent. If it weren't for my parents being old and my son being young, I would have wanted to drown myself. My parents have been advising me all day to swallow my anger for the sake of Ningjin being a good man. Now that you've come to apologize, if I still hold a grudge, people will say I'm petty." Su Yu said, her head down, talking nonsense. She hadn't even left the house all day, so how would she know if the villagers knew about her situation?
She looked at Ning Jin and said, "I'm agreeing today because we've gotten along well for the past six months. You're a good man, and I also want a home. Remember what your parents said today: I can endure hardship and worry about the family for you, but I won't tolerate being bullied by outsiders."
She decided not to get a divorce, and took this opportunity to make things clear to her in-laws that she would have less contact with them in the future. She then began to win over the man's heart and make him side with her, so that he could step in and help his parents in the future.
"I know everything. You've been wronged. I promise I won't let you be bullied again." The man spoke with great conviction, but Su Yu just smiled. This promise wasn't as powerful as a fart; at least a fart smells bad for a while.
Having said all that, the three members of the Ning family returned to town in the dark. Ning Jin called Su Yu to go back, but Su Yu refused, saying she wanted to stay at home for a few days. When she saw him off, she whispered in his ear, "Uncle Ping An, you should warn them to their faces, otherwise I'm afraid they'll threaten me the moment you leave."
"Okay, when are you going back?" His leave period is almost over.
Considering work, Su Yu said, "Come pick me and Xiao Yuan up when you get back from Uncle Ping'an's house."
"Okay, I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon."
Su Yu and Xiao Yuan slept on the cool bed in the main room that night. When they woke up in the morning, their arms and legs were covered in marks, and their necks and backs were stiff and sore.
After washing up, she went for a stroll and was bombarded with questions from her neighbors. They gave her vague answers and told her to hurry to the back of the village. Behind the village were the villagers' private plots and a half-dead jujube tree. She went closer to look and realized that in her memory, this jujube tree belonged to all the children in the village. How come it was almost dead after not seeing it for several years?
The lowest branches looked withered, while the tops still had tattered leaves that had been eaten by insects. Su Yu patted the trunk, but it wasn't making a sound like dead wood. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Just as she was about to go back to eat, her ears suddenly started talking: "Master, this jujube tree has jujube witches' blight. It's already in its late stage and can't be saved."
Su Yu was thrilled; the legendary cheat code had arrived.
proud!
Suppressing her excitement, she asked in a low voice, "What kind of system are you? What will you teach me to do? Do I have a spatial dimension?"
"I am a tree-planting system called Trees All Over the Hill. I can also treat tree diseases, Master. In the future, if you plant any trees, I can tell at a glance if any tree is sick," he answered cautiously.
"No space?"
"without."
"What can I do to get a reward? I want to eat braised pork ribs, eat lots of meat, and eat all kinds of snacks and fruits."
"No, all I can do is treat trees," he replied dejectedly. If he had so many abilities, he wouldn't have ended up being destroyed.
"Oh, you can only diagnose but not guarantee you can cure diseases?" Su Yu asked with a blank face.
“Yes, some tree diseases are like cancer in people; they are incurable,” he explained.
Well, something is better than nothing. At least she can treat trees, which is better than her. She came here and can't lift a finger or carry anything. She has no skills, but her ideas are advanced and free.
After having breakfast, she calmed down, rubbed a basin of clothes, and asked in a low voice, "When did you arrive? With me?"
“Master, you don’t need to speak. I’m bound to your right ear, and I can sense what you want to say.” It explained somewhat embarrassedly, “I came with you. I’m a system from another world that was about to be destroyed. I ran away halfway and bumped into you, so I brought you here by your right ear. But I saw that your situation was quite troublesome, so I didn’t dare to speak and cause you any more trouble.”
Actually, it was sent for destruction by its previous owner because it couldn't help with his private life. Obviously, it dared not interfere in its current owner's life-long affairs, which is why it has endured until now.
Su Yu: "..." This system that's about to be destroyed has quite a lot of ideas.
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