89.089 has truly woken up.
Xiao Yuan saw his mother pushing her bicycle out the door and hurriedly asked, "Mom, where are you going?"
"Are you going to your maternal grandfather's house?" Su Yu asked from the doorway.
"Go, I'm going to find Xiaoxing to play. Wait for me a moment, I'm going to get some oranges." He threw down the pencil in his hand and went inside to get the things.
Su Yu heard him talking to Ping An, and when they came out, the two of them ran out together.
"Mom, you went to visit relatives with Xiaoyuan without taking me." He complained while washing his hands, then strode out the door with his two wet hands, striding onto the back of the bicycle, raising an eyebrow smugly, "If you had given me a ride, I would have forgiven you."
"Don't forgive me, get down." Su Yu pretended to push him, but when he clung to the car seat and wouldn't let go, she poked his forehead and said, "You're such a big boy now, aren't you ashamed to act like a spoiled brat?"
"He's shameless, he'd never be shy." Xiao Yuan locked the gate, pushed the cart over, kicked Ping An in the butt, got on the cart, and sped away.
"Don't let me catch you!" he threatened, then turned around and immediately smiled, playfully saying, "Mother, let me give you a ride on my bike."
Su Yusong took the throttle, demurely smoothing her hair. "Then I'll give you a chance... Hey, you little brat, stop right there."
Su Yu stomped her foot and shouted at Ping An, who had sped away on his bicycle.
"Haha, if you catch up, I'll give you a ride." Ping An rode slowly, turning back and sticking out his tongue.
"You're finished, Ning Ping'an!" Su Yu shouted for Xiao Yuan to come back and block Ping'an's way. She also grabbed a stick from the roadside and ran over angrily. People who heard the noise came out and laughed, "Where are you three siblings going?"
"Go to my dad's house." Su Yu replied in a hurry, not even bothering to argue. Seeing that Ping An was blocked, she quickly ran over and pinched his ear. "Still running, you little brat? Got caught trying to be clever." Su Yu tapped his butt with a small stick.
"Mom, you can't spank a man, you should just pinch my ear instead." He chuckled, grabbing Xiao Yuan's hand to stop him from taking advantage of the situation.
"You're not even fully grown yet, and you call yourself a man?" Su Yu slapped him, and after making a scene, she threw away the stick, sat on the back seat, and patted his back to tell him to hurry up and ride the bike.
Xiao Yuan led the way, and the two bicycles left the alley one after the other. Aunt Wu looked away and sighed, "This family has such a good relationship, they get along even better than blood relatives."
"Little Wu is lucky to have married such a good wife. She manages everything at home and outside, and she even knows how to raise children. Before Su Yu married into the family, who would have thought Ping An would grow up to be like this? He was such a pitiful little boy when he was young. Every day when I saw him, he was like a silly goose, running around all over the alleys on a stick. Now he's so talkative, and he's always smiling when I see him." After the old woman sewing shoe soles finished speaking, she rubbed the needle in her hair and continued sewing. She had lived for decades, and this was the first time she had seen such a kind stepmother. Good people are rewarded. Su Yu had finally made it through. Now no one was gossiping about her sweet exterior but bitter heart anymore.
"I can't ride anymore," Ping An said breathlessly, begging his mother to give him a ride.
"Ride slowly, I'm not in a hurry." Su Yu lifted her leg to reach the wild grass by the roadside, relaxed and carefree, but she didn't get off the bike. She even picked out the grass because Ping An was weak and needed more exercise.
"Xiao Yuan, it's your turn to carry Mom for the second half of the journey." Ping An asked for further help.
"Mom will ride in my car on the way back." Xiao Yuan wasn't fooled and whistled to cheer him on.
Ping An let out a frustrated "Ow—" and continued pedaling while humming, his mouth never stopping as he kept teasing Xiao Yuan, threatening him what he would do to him when he came back.
Su Yu didn't get involved in their verbal sparring. She looked at the scattered trees along the road. Time really flies. The smallest trees here are at least two or three years old. The largest are the willows by the river, with lush canopies and intertwined branches that create a large shady area. The trunks are thicker than an adult's thigh.
Su Yu felt quite accomplished. She suddenly understood the satisfaction that Old Man Su felt whenever he met strangers and gave them newspapers introducing her for saving lives and grafting better-tasting fruit. Now, she would come out to inspect these trees every now and then, without the trees on the hillside urging her to come. She would come over on her own initiative.
"I planted this," she wanted to tell everyone.
Upon arriving at Xinhe Brigade, Su Yu got out of the car and talked to the villagers. As soon as she got out of the car, Ping An immediately became energetic, let out a strange laugh, and chased after Xiao Yuan towards his maternal grandfather's house.
"Su Yu, where did you learn to graft one fruit tree onto another? I've never seen a tree grow two kinds of fruit. Do you think I can graft my persimmon tree onto my jujube tree?" the village uncle asked.
"You can graft small persimmons and large persimmons onto the same tree, but you can't graft them onto a jujube tree."
“My dear niece, what book are you reading? Your older brother also only graduated from junior high school. I’m having him learn from it too. If he learns, he can also get a government job.” The old man pressed on. He wasn’t concerned about persimmons and dates growing on the same tree. He was thinking that Su Yu, who didn’t farm, could make it into the newspapers. They, who had been dealing with the land for generations, had just missed reading a few books. If they had read books, they could have figured out how many kinds of fruits could grow on the same tree.
"I figured it out through experiments." Su Yu knew the people present didn't really believe her, but she still explained, "I'm in the orchard all day, just thinking randomly, wondering if peach branches could flower and bear fruit on orange trees, so I tried it myself. The first year, all my branches died." She smiled and touched her nose sheepishly, "I even grafted peach and orange branches onto elm, willow, and Chinese coptis trees, and the branches all withered and died in less than half a month. After that, I tried planting similar varieties like nectarines, peaches, oranges, and tangerines together, and they flowered and bore fruit by accident."
"So what books have you been reading all these years? I'll have your older brother buy some for you to read too." The old man didn't say whether he believed him or not, he just kept asking for book titles with a smile.
Su Yu told him about high school physics, chemistry, and biology textbooks, as well as agricultural planting books that could be bought in bookstores. "Go ahead and look at them," she said, "you won't lose anything anyway."
She was only released from the group of old people after handing over the book title. Before she even reached her doorstep, Xiao Yuan and Ping An rushed out of the house again, their bicycle bells ringing loudly.
"Where to?" she asked.
"Go to Auntie's house, Mom. You play here, we'll come back to pick you up later." With that, the car and the person disappeared.
Only the old lady was at home. When she saw Su Yu arrive, she patted a stool for her to sit on and even brought out some fried cat ear noodles for her to eat.
Su Yu grabbed a handful. These cat ear-shaped pastries were made by mixing dough with sugar water, stretching it into the shape of cat ears, and then deep-frying it. They were sweet and delicious.
"Mom, are there any dirty clothes? I'll wash them all when I get here," Su Yu asked, wiping the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
Yu Anxiu waved her hand, "Summer clothes are light and thin. Even if you sweat a little, they won't get dirty. I just scrub them a couple of times and wash them myself. I didn't save them up."
Su Yu was surprised. For the past two years, no matter when she and her sisters came, they always had clothes to wash. It seemed that the old lady had indeed changed, and the old man's previous outburst was well worth it.
"Then you shouldn't just sit at home all the time. Go out for a walk, talk to people, or go herding sheep with my dad. Getting some exercise will make you feel better," Su Yu advised her. She added that even young people can't stand being cooped up at home all the time, let alone the elderly.
Yu Anxiu immediately shook her head, feeling ashamed. She pointed to the fried dough pieces and said, "I haven't been idle. I've been cooking, frying dough pieces, and planting vegetables in the garden."
"That's fine too. Order a variety of dishes. If I run out of ingredients, I'll send Xiao Yuan and Ping An to get them. You won't have to spend money to buy them. I also like your pickled cabbage, dried vegetables, and fermented black beans. I like everything you make." Su Yu found something for her to do so she wouldn't have time to overthink things.
Yu Anxiu laughed; she was happy to hear that someone liked what she made. "Don't you think this old woman is dirty?" she asked.
"You're not cooking with your feet, so what's dirty about it? I'll be as old as you someday too."
“I’ll make it for you if you don’t mind the mess. I can also brew rice wine. After the rice harvest, I’ll go to the fields to collect the rice, pound it, and brew rice wine. Your father loves my brewed wine the most, but unfortunately he can’t touch it now. I’ll give it all to you sisters.” She paused for a moment and said with a smile, “I’ll keep one bottle. If your father makes me angry, I’ll take a sip and make that old devil drool.”
"If he makes you angry, tell me and I'll help you get revenge. When you come to my house, I'll only cook vegetables for him." Su Yu was happy to coax the old lady when she was lucid.
"You?" She glanced at Su Yu briefly, and said with some reproach, "I don't expect you to be on the same page as the old man."
"If you're of one mind with me, I'll be of one mind with you."
"Don't try to fool me, I'm not senile yet."
"Are you not senile enough to not understand my brother's thoughts?" Su Yu asked jokingly.
“Now I see it clearly.” Speaking of her son, Yu Anxiu was still sad, but even more so, embarrassed. It was a disappointment like throwing a meat bun to a dog, not even getting a hair on it. She stared at the top of her shoes and said calmly, “Your grandma, my grandma, and my grandma all liked sons. They were happy when they heard that a stranger had a son. Sons are a good thing. No matter if he is successful or not, as long as a woman gives birth to a boy, she won’t be looked down upon. Mothers-in-law will dote on her. I also wanted to have a son. I would be happy if I had a son. He is my face and my support. Especially since your second brother died before he was two years old, I cherished Rongbing even more. I held him and protected him. I was afraid that if something happened to him, I would have the burden of desperately needing to have a son. As long as he is alive and well, I will give birth when I get pregnant. I will never worry about whether it is a boy or a girl.”
After being pampered for so long, she couldn't live without him. Unlike the old man, she wasn't good at making money or anything; all she knew was how to have children and manage the household—things any woman could do. Her son and father couldn't stand each other; they'd exchange a few words and their eyes would blame each other. The old man would complain about her, which humiliated her, and she'd get angry too. She tried to persuade Rongbing, hoping he would be better and listen to his father. But instead, the two became more and more like enemies, proving that her pride was about to be shattered. To save face, she deceived herself, telling herself that the old man was just temperamental, and that her son was a filial son, someone he simply couldn't see.
“I’ve been useless all my life. I’ve never done anything significant or useful. I’ve lived my whole life in a daze, and I only woke up when I was buried in the yellow earth. It’s a pity I’m too old now, and even if I wake up, it’s too late. You’re capable, unlike me who stays at home all day raising lazybones. You should work hard and not just stay here on this little plot of land.” Yu Anxiu looked at her youngest daughter and said, “It’s good that you don’t want to have any more children. Raise Xiaoyuan well. I don’t think Ping’an is a petty kid. Two children with conscience and ambition are much better than a bunch of lazy bums.”
"Grandma, you've changed your mind quite quickly, I like that." Su Yu smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
Yu Anxiu had seen her make this gesture to Xiao Yuanping before and knew what it meant. She smiled and accepted it, but she knew in her heart that her change was not very useful and could not make up for or change anything. It would just cause her less trouble.
She recalled her earlier thoughts: she had a purpose in having a son. He was her means of saving face and avoiding gossip, and a stepping stone for her to have a voice in front of her mother-in-law. For the past few decades, she had relied on him to get what she deserved. Now that he was disappointing, she wouldn't lose out if she threw him away.
No, we still lost money; we threw it away too late.
However, she enjoyed the benefits of having a son but didn't raise him properly. She only kept the maids warm and well-fed, so living a muddled and wasted life was her retribution.
"Make sure the children go to school properly," she instructed her youngest child.
"They've always been very studious," Su Yu praised the two children.
"That's good, that's good."
This was the first time Su Yu had sat down and chatted with the old lady in a calm and peaceful manner. Instead of going to her third sister's house after sitting for a while as she had planned, she waited until Xiao Yuan had finished playing and came to pick her up before going home.
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