81. 081 The elderly couple separated their property.
The day after returning from the south, Ning Jin told the factory that he had driven two bundles of saplings to the orchard. Qiu Fuli brought people from the village to dig holes deep in the orchard. As soon as the holes were dug, the saplings were planted. Afraid that the roots would freeze to death, they did not dare to water them with cold water. They brought hot water from the canteen, poured it down, and then quickly covered it with dry soil to seal the roots tightly.
"Will they survive? I only remembered that I could buy fruit trees next spring after you left. I don't want them to come all this way only to fail to grow." Qiu Fuli stood aside watching the villagers wrap the trees with straw and frowned as he spoke.
Su Yu glanced at him, lowered her eyelids and said, "I hadn't thought about that either, because I figured I couldn't be away for more than twenty days in the spring, so I thought I'd make a trip to bring it back."
“That’s true, the timing doesn’t match.” Qiu Fuli realized this and didn’t bring it up again. Anyway, the trees had already been bought. He asked which trees were bought and how much they cost.
"It cost over fifty yuan. I'll hand over the rest to the finance department later. Considering our local climate, I bought different varieties of peaches, tangerines, oranges, and pears. Oh, and I also bought five grapevines. They're purple grapes, different from the green grapes in the orchard; they're much bigger." After explaining everything, seeing that the fruit trees were almost planted, she walked down the mountain and said to Qiu Fuli beside her, "If there's any cow dung in the village, pile some up at the base of the trees. It'll fertilize them and keep them warm. Cow dung is good at keeping warm, and since it's cold, it ferments slowly, so you don't have to worry about it burning the roots."
Qiu Fuli chuckled, "This is the first time I've heard that cow dung is good for keeping warm."
"In cold regions, cattle herders throw cow dung on the walls to keep warm. When the weather warms up, they shovel it down to use as firewood." Su Yu saw that he still thought she was making things up, so she didn't insist that someone carry the cow dung.
Now in the orchard, she is just as capable as Yu Yuan'an, and Yu Yuan'an often discusses things with her. However, she has far less say than Yu Yuan'an. Whether it's Qiu Fuli or the villagers working in the orchard, they all trust Yu Yuan'an more. Ultimately, one reason is gender, and the other is education level.
For a woman in her thirties who only graduated from junior high school to become a technician in an orchard is already incredibly lucky. Simply saying that she learned it from books is far from convincing, after all, Liu Quan, who graduated from university, is just so-so.
"Wait for me a moment, I'll be right back," Su Yu said to Ning Jin, who was sitting in the car.
"Give me the money, and I'll take it back so you don't have to make another trip," Qiu Fuli said, reaching out his hand.
"Okay, then you can run this for me." Su Yu handed him a roll of money, thought for a moment, and decided not to ask Yu Yuan'an to help watch over the saplings. Even if she found them, there was no way to save them if they were going to freeze to death.
Of all the fruit brought back, Xiao Yuan and Ping An surprisingly liked bananas the most. They said they couldn't get used to custard apples, and dragon fruit was tasteless and choking. Oranges and pomelos were their next favorites. Since they liked them, Su Yu cut a few bananas to share with relatives, kept both pomelos, gave each family three or four oranges, each family seven or eight bananas, and each family two dragon fruits and two custard apples. While taking the elderly couple home, Su Yu and Ning Jin delivered the fruit to the three sisters.
Yu Anxiu wanted to take some of these fruits, which she had never seen before, back for her grandson to try, but neither the old man nor the youngest son mentioned it. She hesitated for several days without saying it. Finally, when she was about to leave, she said to Ning Jin, "Xiao Wu, break off a few bananas for me to take with me. I like to eat them. I'll steam them when I get back."
Su Yu went to walk the dog and hadn't returned yet, and her father-in-law was still in bed. Ning Jin understood his mother-in-law's intentions and knew that the bananas he brought back wouldn't end up in her stomach, but it would be awkward for him, as a son-in-law, to refuse. So he went back to the bedroom, broke off a few bananas for the old lady, and asked, "Mom, do you want me to bring you something else?"
Yu Anxiu was afraid that her youngest daughter would get angry and that taking too much would provoke her and make her call her brothers-in-law back to her parents' home to get sticks to beat her son. She quickly refused, saying, "These few are enough for me to eat for several days. I won't take anything else."
After Su Yu returned home, Ning Jin thought about it for a moment and decided to tell Su Yu about his mother-in-law's actions. Asking for things was a small matter, but it wasn't good to keep it from Su Yu.
Su Yu tapped her fingers, thinking that it was pitiful that her mother had gone through so much trouble for a few bananas, but if she didn't expose her, she could still ask her daughters for things to give to her son and grandson in the future. So after sending the old couple home, she took a few oranges and handed them to the old lady, saying, "Mom, when you steam the bananas, steam an orange for Dad. Hot oranges may taste a little strange, but they're still edible."
Listen carefully to what he's saying. Old Man Su knew what was going on as soon as he heard what his youngest son said. In front of the younger generation, he gave his wife face and replied that he knew. But after his youngest son and his son-in-law left, his face darkened.
"We're both getting on in years. I hardly ever argued with you when we were young, and now that we're about to be buried, I don't want to argue with you until we're red in the face. Let's be honest, are you still hung up on that other family over there?"
Now that the truth was out, Yu Anxiu felt relieved. She sat down, opened her bundle, and revealed six bananas inside. "What's with all this talk about being heartbroken? Rongbing is my son, flesh of my flesh. I didn't say I was secretly giving him rice, flour, or cooking oil. It's just that this fruit is rare, and I felt bad because my grandsons have never seen it before. My grandsons can all eat it, and I, this old woman, have eaten quite a bit, but his family can't even smell it. It makes me feel terrible."
Old Man Su took a couple of quick breaths and retorted, "Then why didn't you live with your son when you cut off all contact? Even when you felt guilty, I didn't see you eating anything less at your youngest son's house. You ate plenty of meat, and you even shared fruit with your two children."
Yu Anxiu felt somewhat embarrassed by what he said, and her face twitched. She had thought that with her there to help, the old man would eventually soften his heart, but she underestimated his ruthlessness. He truly stopped interacting with his children and grandchildren. When his grandson called him "Grandpa" in the village, he would only nod in response. He never kept the fish and shrimp he caught overnight; he would send them to the girls as soon as he caught them.
Old Su didn't say anything more. The stew shop next door hadn't even thought of her. She was completely bewitched, and with him in front of her, she didn't feel pain until the knife fell on her.
"We're splitting up. You'll live with Rongbing, but we won't divide the money. You'll eat at Rongbing's place, but you'll still come back to sleep at night," Old Man Su decided without any discussion.
“That won’t do, it’s so embarrassing. What kind of couple separates their households?” Yu Anxiu refused. Eating with her son was nothing compared to cooking for herself.
"There has to be a first one." Once Old Man Su said it, he didn't take it back. "I can't stand you taking things from those girls' houses and secretly giving them to those ungrateful wretches. You should go and dote on your son and grandson."
Old Su went out and went straight to the next room. He stood at the door and called out, "Rongbing, are you in the house? Come out and talk to me."
"What's wrong?" Su Rongbing walked out, leaning to one side, and asked in a gruff voice.
“Your mother misses you, can’t bear to part with you, and wants to live with you. I’ll share her rice, flour, and cooking oil with you so she can eat with you and see her grandson every day. She should go back to sleep at night.” Old Man Su didn’t beat around the bush and spoke frankly.
Su Rongbing didn't say anything, but turned to look at his wife warming herself by the fire inside the house.
"What? You don't want to? You're your mother's darling son. You hate me because I hit you and looked down on you, but your mother didn't. She's always doted on you." Old Su turned to look at the old woman standing on the road and said gloatingly, "Look, your son doesn't want to. You love him, pamper him, and protect him, but he doesn't want to support you." He shook his head and clicked his tongue twice.
“Then come over.” Su Rongbing agreed immediately after being provoked. He hated the old man, but not his mother. He never had, and never thought of not taking care of her. He went out and said, “Mom, when are you coming? I’ll help you move your things.”
"What are you moving? We only have rice, flour, and cooking oil," Old Man Su said in a sarcastic tone.
Yu Anxiu smiled, not caring about anything else, "Then let's divide the rice, flour, and cooking oil, and weigh them." She seemed quite impatient.
Su Rongbing paused for a moment, thinking that there was still a long time ahead and he didn't know the situation, so he didn't ask about the money.
In the narrow courtyard, in the dimly lit hut, two wooden coffins were placed in a shed built against the wall. Old Man Su stood at the door and sighed heavily: "Once you feel the pain of being cut by a knife, you'll give up."
Hearing the cheerful sounds of the children next door, the old man went into his bedroom and found that the bananas and oranges were gone. He muttered under his breath, "Simple people deserve to suffer more."
From then on, Old Man Su started cooking for himself. He would chase his wife away when she wanted to cook for him during the day, except at night when he wouldn't let her in. He also brewed his own medicine and carried the medicine pot with him at all times. When he didn't want to go home to cook while herding sheep during the day, he would go to his daughter's house for a free meal.
Knowing that their father wanted to correct their mother's wrongdoing, none of the four Su sisters went back to their parents' home to interfere.
Even by the following spring, the old couple still hadn't reconciled. Su Yu was going to work at the orchard, and Ning Jin was also heading south to pick up goods. Su Yu said to her father, "Dad, Xiao Yuan and Ping An are good cooks too. If you don't want to cook, come over. Come early, and when they make lunch, they'll just grab a handful of extra rice, which will be enough for you."
"Alright, I'll try my grandson's cooking." Old Su agreed. Luckily, he had many daughters. If he had four sons and only one daughter, he wouldn't dare to come over for a free meal. His son-in-law would probably be annoyed to death if he came over every day.
As Ningjin headed south, Su Yu didn't prepare as many frozen dumplings for him as in previous years. "That's enough for you for two days. Any more and they'll go bad." She stopped after making about eighty dumplings and prepared two extra sets of light clothing for him.
"What do you want to eat this time? I'll bring it back for you," he asked.
"Anything is fine, bring whatever you have, anything that won't spoil easily, we can eat it all."
"Sweet and delicious," Ping An corrected from the side, "We don't need to bring anything that tastes weird."
Ning Jin didn't even glance at him before turning back into the house.
"Hey Dad, bring me two more jars of jam. I like to spread it on toasted buns," Ping An hurriedly added.
But Ning Jin had already closed the door. Ping An turned to Xiao Yuan and asked, "You think Dad remembered it?"
"You can tell Mom again," Xiao Yuan suggested.
"I think he must have remembered it." Ping An didn't believe in superstitions; after all, he was his own son.
"We'll find out when Dad gets back."
Two days after Ning Jin left, Su Yu also went to work. The first thing she did was to check on the fruit trees planted last winter. Seven or eight of them had died, but the rest were still alive. Su Yu pruned and grafted the branches onto the existing fruit trees, made marks, and told the others not to touch them.
"Where did you learn this new thing?" Yu Yuan'an asked during the meal.
"I'm not sure what will happen to the books I found at the junkyard. I'll give it a try. If they survive, I'll discuss it with you. I don't know the outcome yet, so you don't end up wasting your time," Su Yu said with a smile. She didn't know what it was like outside, but in this small place, she hadn't come across any books on the subject.
Su Yu didn't want him to ask any more questions. Seeing Liu Quan walk over, she asked in a low voice, "How is Liu Quan?"
"What's going on? Oh, it's about his family, right? I heard his wife is pregnant with their second child, but I don't know anything else."
Too many people knew about Su Yu hitting Liu Quan before. He couldn't withstand the inquiries from the woman's family. Even though he had a high salary and was a college graduate, he still couldn't marry a woman from a good family. In addition, he was getting old, so he ended up marrying a woman who had been sent to the countryside as an educated youth. I heard that she had a daughter a couple of years ago.
Time is the best healer of the past. Starting from the end of last summer, Liu Quan began to appear in public, frequently showing up in front of Qiu Fuli, and chatting with Su Yu as usual, as if there had never been any conflict between the two.
But a slap in the face isn't something you can just forget. The more casually he tried to downplay it, the more wary Su Yu became.
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