24.024 New toy—"Balloon"?
After Su Yu finished complaining, the argument was considered over for her, and no one from the old house came over again. Xiao Yuan said that Ping An still went to his grandma's house every day to eat and drink for free, just in case his grandparents bought snacks for his cousins and forgot about him. Xiao Yuan wasn't being bullied by the other children, so Su Yu was relieved.
She pretended not to know the strange looks and jokes her neighbors made behind her back, as long as no one came up to her to say them. She greeted people generously and continued as usual.
"Su Yu, payday has arrived, you're the only one who hasn't received yours yet." Aunt Qiu came straight to find her after returning from outside. She was about to go home when the accountant called her over and told her to come find Su Yu.
"I was wondering why the atmosphere was so cheerful today. I was so busy I forgot it was payday." Su Yu smiled, but her hands didn't stop. "I'll go over after I finish peeling the winter melon. Master Wang is waiting for it."
"Okay, then hurry up, Accountant Lu is still waiting for you in the office." The message was relayed to Aunt Qiu, who didn't linger. Her daughter-in-law was about to give birth, and she needed to rush back to cook.
The person chopping vegetables by the wall scoffed. "Those shameless people lie so easily. Are you really that busy?" She's always the first one out. Where is she busy? Busy going back to take care of her father, busy arguing with her mother-in-law—she's definitely not busy in the cafeteria.
A fixed salary of seventeen yuan, two industrial coupons, half a jin of milk candy coupons, half a jin of egg coupons, and grain and meat coupons. This was the first money Su Yu had earned since she arrived. She got up early and went to the supply and marketing cooperative to queue up to buy grain with her grain ration book. Fine grains were limited, and if you arrived late, only coarse grains would be available.
Every time Ping An went to his grandparents' house to ask for food, Xiao Yuan would not come in. Su Yu weighed out half a pound of milk candy and half a pound of walnut shortbread. When she got back, she gave each of the two boys who had just gotten up a milk candy and said, "One a day. If you help me with chores, such as washing dishes, sweeping the floor, or picking vegetables, I will give you another one or a piece of walnut shortbread."
She had originally intended to water the vegetable garden, but fearing that if she gave away the sugar, the vegetables would drown, she had to abandon the idea of dividing the garden among herself.
Fearing that the walnut cookies would attract mice, Su Yu put both the sugar and the walnut cookies into clean jars and placed them in her bedroom.
"Mom, I've swept the floor clean, come and check it." Xiao Yuan grinned, showing off his gap-toothed mouth.
"Mom, I'm almost done washing the dishes. After you check Xiaoyuan's, come check mine," Ping'an called from the kitchen.
Sweeping and washing dishes were a game of rock-paper-scissors between the two of them. Whoever won got to choose first. Xiao Yuan won the first round, so naturally he chose to sweep.
Then Xiaoyuan chose walnut shortbread and Pingan chose milk candy. Su Yu told them to go to her room to get it themselves. The candy and walnut shortbread were limited. She also wanted to take this opportunity to see the two children's character. If they succumbed to temptation, then correcting them from a young age would be the most effective thing to do.
"Mom, you can have mine." Xiao Yuan generously offered his mother the walnut pastry, but then stared longingly at her mouth.
Su Yu suppressed a laugh, feigning relief, and opened her mouth wide as if to take a big bite. Seeing his brows furrowed in distress, she covered her mouth and said, "My teeth hurt a little. Walnut shortbread is sweet, so I'll just have a little." She bit off a piece about the size of her thumbnail.
Ping An stared at the two smiling faces. He wanted to join in, but he was different from Xiao Yuan. He wasn't her biological son. He hesitated, still clutching the candy in his hand, not even having time to peel off the wrapper.
"Ping An, it's your turn. We're both sons, so you should share some of your candy with me, right?" Su Yu glanced at his envious yet hesitant expression. After all, he was young and simple-minded, and he couldn't hide his feelings.
"I'll peel it for you." Ping An walked over happily.
The milk candy was sticky and small, and Su Yu didn't want to bite into it and make her mouth water. She took the milk candy, went to the kitchen to get a knife, cut off a small piece, and then asked the two tagalongs who had followed her, "Do you two want to trade? If you do, I'll cut the candy in half and break the walnut shortbread in half, so you can have both the candy and the walnut shortbread."
"Change!" they both said in unison.
Su Yu licked the candy from between her teeth and sighed. Such a simple life was really hard, but seeing the two boys sitting happily on the steps with a little black dog squatting in front of them, drooling and staring at the crumbs falling from their mouths, she felt quite content. In a life with low desires, half a piece of candy was enough to make them happy for a long time.
Of course, she was quite happy, if it weren't for Du Xiaojuan next door starting to scold Er Ya again. But this time was different from before; not long after, Su Yu heard Er Ya crying, and Du Xiaojuan became more and more agitated as she scolded her.
"You two stay inside, I'll go check on things..." That lunatic.
She went out to Du Xiaojuan's house, but the door was locked from the inside. She peeked through the crack in the door and could only see Du Xiaojuan's two sons, but Er Ya's crying hadn't stopped.
"Du Xiaojuan, open the door." Su Yu knocked on the door. "Dabao, Erbao, open the door for me, I'm looking for your mother."
"Oh, how strange, the sugar rooster came to my door? What's up?" Du Xiaojuan put down the stick in her hand, and when she glanced at Er Ya hiding behind the water vat, she realized what was happening and called out to Da Bao, who was about to open the door, "Don't open the door for her, she has long arms and can open it herself."
Du Xiaojuan tapped the water vat, frowning angrily: "Su Yu, you still want to meddle in my family's affairs? What's wrong? Is your family too idle or too tiring? You still want to interfere in my family's affairs." She suddenly smiled and said: "If you want to meddle in my family's affairs, that's fine, but you have to become one of my family first. Otherwise, you can become my husband's concubine, my Er Ya's stepmother, so that you can legitimately dote on her and take on her work."
She became more and more excited as she talked, and lost interest in hitting and scolding Er Ya who was lying on the ground. She threw down the stick, walked to the door, and asked through the door, "How is it? My husband is still sitting inside. Do you want me to make a match for you?"
"Then open the door. I need to check whether the goods I buy are good or bad before I buy them," Su Yu said softly as she continued to knock on the door.
“…You’re so despicable.” Du Xiaojuan couldn’t reply, and dared not open the door. Although Su Yu was not as strong as her, she dared not confront Su Yu directly. She was afraid of being beaten, and even more afraid of being accused by Su Yu.
"You're spouting nonsense again. Get in here." A man spoke from inside the house. Du Xiaojuan fell silent upon hearing this, and as she walked in, she didn't forget to yell at the door, "Get out of here! Don't stand at my door, you're filthy."
She couldn't open the door, so Su Yu had to go back to her own home. She moved the dining table and leaned it against the wall. Standing on the table, she looked into Du Xiaojuan's yard and saw Er Ya sitting on the water vat. Her hair was messy and she was crying with one foot bare and covering her leg.
"Er Ya, are you still not up? Go open the door, I'll take you to the hospital." That bastard Du Xiaojuan deserves to go to hell, look what she did to the child.
Er Ya shook her head, wiped away her tears, and looked up, saying, "I'll be fine after a rest, Auntie. Don't worry about me. If I talk to you, my mom will beat me again."
She looked up, and Su Yu saw the slap marks on her face, on both sides. "Are you dizzy? What about your ears? Can you hear me clearly? Is there any difference from usual?" Su Yu was afraid that she had a concussion. She had read online before about people whose eardrums were ruptured after being slapped, and she was worried that Er Ya might suffer the same thing.
The bedroom door suddenly opened, and Er Ya's hands trembled nervously as she looked at her with anxious yet expectant eyes. Su Yu understood and immediately crouched down. Hearing that Du Xiaojuan was about to leave, she hesitated for a moment, then remained crouched on the table without moving. Only after everyone had left did she straighten up, while Er Ya was still hiding behind the water vat.
"Can you still walk? Your parents are gone. Go open the door, I'll take you to the hospital."
Er Ya stood up, supporting herself on the water vat. Her right thigh had been hit by a stick by her mother. Although it hurt, it was just a muscle sore and would heal in a few days. She still refused, saying, "I'm fine, I don't need to go to the hospital, I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
"I'll feel more at ease if you go to the hospital to get checked out. Don't worry about the money, I'll pay for it, and your mother won't have to pay it back." Su Yu tried her best to persuade this naive girl, who was asking someone to spend her money for the first time.
Er Ya hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "People will find out. If my mom finds out I'm seeing you, she'll beat me. If people laugh at me, my dad will be unhappy." Once she calmed down, she went into the house without looking back at her stepmother, Ping An. "I can feel that my bones are fine. I'll be fine after a few days of rest. Every time I get beaten, I don't have to work for two or three days."
"Auntie, thank you for coming today. Otherwise, my mom would have continued to beat me." In the past, when her older sister was beaten, people would come to her defense, but her mom would always brush them off, and eventually, no one would come anymore. Now, someone has come who can help her get beaten less, even though it will cause her stepmother to get scolded. But she's afraid that her mom will get tired of beating her, and that no one will speak up for her next time she gets beaten. So, she secretly hopes that her stepmother will help her again next time.
Seeing that she was about to go inside, Su Yu quickly called out to her, "Don't rush off. Your parents are gone, and no one will know that you've been seeing me. If you don't want to go to the hospital, then don't. Let's talk."
"Aren't you going to work?"
"It's okay if I go a little later."
"So what do you want to talk about?" Er Ya continued walking towards the door, leaning against the wall as she spoke, afraid that sitting down would hurt more when she stood up later.
"Why did your mom hit you today?" Su Yu asked.
Er Ya bit her lip, picked at her fingers, and blinked away the tears in her eyes. "My mom said she was missing a dollar and that I stole it. I didn't steal it. Actually, Da Bao and Er Bao took it. She kept scolding me, and then I told her. Da Bao and Er Bao denied it and said that I stole it. So my mom hit me."
Su Yu felt the table under her feet shaking. She looked down and saw Ping An and Xiao Yuan climbing onto the table. "Get down, don't come down," she warned them in a low voice. People have self-esteem, especially in front of their peers.
"Do you have any other relatives? I just heard you mention your sister. What about your grandparents? Can they take care of your mother, or can you go live with your grandparents?" Su Yu continued to ask. Actually, she didn't have much hope. She had heard that Er Ya was already eleven or twelve years old and had been beaten and scolded many times. If any relatives really cared about her, they would have taken her away long ago.
“My sister was sent to my grandparents’ house by my mother. My grandmother is paralyzed, and my sister is the one taking care of her. My sister said that someone is telling her that she is an old woman and that things will be better when she gets married. I will also get married in a few years, and then my mother will not be able to beat me anymore.” Er Ya didn’t want to stand anymore. She didn’t have many opportunities to sleep during the day. “Auntie, I want to go inside and sleep.”
It's clear she genuinely believes that getting married will solve everything. The idea that "it will be better in a few more years" has convinced and supported her. Su Yu nodded without saying anything discouraging. "Yes, once you get married and have your own family, you can be in charge of your own life, earn your own money and spend it as you please."
Er Ya smiled. Ping An's stepmother had been married twice, so she felt that her idea was right, and it couldn't be wrong.
"Wait a minute." Su Yu jumped off the table, went inside to get the jar of walnut cookies, and threw it onto the muddy ground in the neighbor's yard, ignoring the two boys' pouting lips. "You need something sweet to eat when you're in pain. Take the walnut cookies inside and hide them. You can eat them when you're hungry."
It was getting late, and there was no one walking on the street anymore. Su Yu moved the table into the house, patted the two children, and said, "We're out of walnut cookies, but I'll take you to buy some more tonight. Don't tell anyone about what happened today."
"I won't say." She closed her pouting lips again.
Su Yu ran to the cafeteria, but she was still late. The vegetables that had been delivered had already been unloaded. Wang Chunhua sarcastically called her a lazy woman, but Su Yu didn't argue with her. She thanked the person who helped her unload the vegetable baskets and sat down on a stool to start picking vegetables.
She was still thinking about Er Ya. Even modern parents who beat their children don't have a complete solution. In this age of advanced internet, the only recourse is for neighbors to call the police and for the community to monitor the situation. She didn't have a good solution either. She had considered calling the police, but at most, someone would come and scold Du Xiaojuan. However, she was afraid that Er Ya's life at home would be even worse after the police left.
The most important thing is Er Ya's attitude. She can endure it and want to escape, but she has no hatred or intention to resist. Su Yu wants to be a good person, but she doesn't want to be the farmer who gets bitten by the snake. What if Er Ya's life gets worse in the end? Who knows if she will use her to curry favor with Du Xiaojuan. If the mother and daughter team up to laugh at her, she will lose face.
The less favored a child is, the more they will try to please their parents. They will be willing to exchange everything they have for even the slightest bit of sweetness, and they will beg for more as if they are addicted.
After getting off work, Su Yu walked to the hospital entrance, but after thinking about it, she decided not to go in. The ointment she was applying all smelled of medicine, and the smell of the ointment was even stronger. She didn't want Er Ya to get another beating before she could even use it.
Evening is the busiest time in the alley. Before she even entered her house, two boys stopped her and told her to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. "Then let's go, hurry up, they'll be closed if we're late." She turned and ran, with Xiao Yuan and Ping An chasing after her, laughing heartily.
Life went on peacefully, and Er Ya resumed her usual routine. Su Yu even ran into her when she took Ping An and Xiao Yuan out to collect firewood. She could walk without limping anymore and even told Su Yu where the best firewood was.
"If you get beaten in the future, cry. If I hear you, I'll go knock on the door. Even if I'm not home, there are other neighbors in the alley. The louder you cry, the better," Su Yu instructed her. Judging from her words, her father must be a man who cares a lot about his reputation.
This is a living, breathing person, and Su Yu dares not make any rash moves. She also cannot afford to take on Er Ya's life, especially given that Er Ya has such parents.
"If you have no food or haven't eaten enough, come to my house if you're hungry." All Su Yu could offer this poor little girl was simple food.
"Auntie, you're such a good person. I wish you were my mom."
"No, please don't! I don't like your dad!" Su Yu exclaimed. People are afraid of comparisons. Ning Jin has many terrible relatives, but compared to Er Ya's dad, he's much better.
It would be a good thing if Ping An's grandmother and his maternal grandmother chanted and meditated about how Ping An, a child without a mother, had a hard life, and then came to see how Er Ya was living.
Learning from last month's experience, fearing she wouldn't have enough meat coupons when she really needed to buy meat, Su Yu hadn't used the meat coupons she received. Now she goes to the black market every day, buying meat that doesn't require coupons whenever she comes across it.
She woke up early that morning and happened to run into the butcher on her way to the black market. He had half a pig's leg, so she rushed over to pay and bought it. She didn't leave until all the pork was sold out. Then she leaned over to the man, who was bundled up tightly, and asked, "Brother, when will you come to buy meat next?"
The man replied sullenly, "Not sure, I'll come when there's meat." He then picked up his basket and prepared to leave.
Su Yu quickly followed, trying to get closer to him, saying, "Brother, you see, I've been buying meat from you all the time. Could you do me a favor and sell me any pig intestines or stomachs that nobody else wants? I live in the second alley in the east of town."
“There’s nothing that can’t be sold, don’t follow me.” The man frowned, quickly slipped into an alley, and disappeared in a moment.
Su Yu sighed deeply. At the supply and marketing cooperative, a pound of meat cost 50 cents and required meat coupons, while on the black market, a pound of meat would sell for 80 cents. Today, she spent more than four yuan on this piece of pork leg bone. She couldn't afford it.
Undeterred, she asked Shumanpo, "Do we really have no other way to find a solution?"
"Ask yourself," came the aloof reply from Shumanpo.
"You really chose the right master; we're both equally useless," Su Yu muttered.
“Then you’re half a pound, and I’m eight ounces,” Shu Manpo said, scrambling to claim the heavier one.
"no…"
"yes."
"Okay, you're right. At least I can cook and do laundry, so I can support myself. I should be considered a half-pound piece of trash." Su Yu said with a smile.
"..." The trees on the hillside choked to death.
Su Yu went home and stewed the pork leg on the coal stove. Afraid that someone might be tempted to go in and lift the lid and get burned, Su Yu locked the kitchen door under their resentful gazes and took the keys from their necks. With meat stewing at home, they wouldn't go out to play until they had some.
Su Yu wanted to visit her father and bring him some pork leg bone soup. She bought some rice from the cafeteria and ate it with the soup while adding winter melon to the pot. When the winter melon was cooked, she took the largest serving bowl in the house and filled it with half of the pork leg meat and soup.
"You two eat at home. I'll lock the door from the outside. After you finish eating, you can go to sleep at home," she instructed the children.
Fortunately, Xinhe Brigade is not far from the town, and it only takes an hour to go there and back. When she arrived, her mother was cooking for the whole family, and her brother and sister-in-law were digging sweet potatoes and peanuts in the field and had not yet finished work.
"Dad, are you feeling unwell? Is your leg feeling any better?" Fortunately, it's not cold now, so he won't feel cold sleeping on the cool bed in the main room.
"All is well." He took the bowl of rice and drank the soup first. He looked at his grandchildren who were crowding outside the door with eager eyes and said, "Bring me a bowl, Grandpa will share some with you."
"Don't bother sending any more. Your three sisters brought enough food for me. Besides, if you bring this stew only for me and your mother, your sister-in-law will complain, and you'll get a reputation for being stingy and miserly." After his grandchildren left, Old Man Su lowered his voice and said.
"You're overthinking it. I don't rely on her for food. I call her sister-in-law, not her father. I have no obligation to take care of her whole family's food and drink. I also have children in my house. I've brought them all over. Don't my own son eat?" Su Yu saw her nephew and niece arrive and gave each of them two pieces of winter melon and two chopsticks of meat. "Alright, your grandfather needs to take care of his leg. Once his leg is healed, he can buy you meat every year. Your aunt is poor now, but when your aunt gets rich, she'll treat you to meat until you're full."
After kicking the three children out, Su Yu told Old Man Su to eat quickly while she went to help her mother cook, mainly to keep an eye on her so that she wouldn't give all the meat to her grandchildren.
"My father was carried out by my brother?" Su Yu asked the old lady while chopping vegetables.
"Yes, memorize it in the morning and memorize it in the evening."
"Eat up, don't think about saving some for this person or that person. I've been stewing this all morning and only had a bowl of soup. I rushed here to cook for you, and you're still thinking about saving the meat for your son and grandson? Are you trying to drive me crazy?" Su Yu saw her glancing outside, stuck the knife in her hand on the cutting board, and glared at her with wide eyes.
"Oh dear, your temper is getting worse and worse. I haven't even said anything, and you're already scolding me. I'm your mother, not your grandson." Yu Anxiu complained, but her eyes became obedient, and she quietly ate the meat.
“We’re young, it doesn’t matter whether we eat this meat or not, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to eat it in the future. If my brother wants to eat meat and cares about his children, he shouldn’t be lazy, he should earn the money to buy it himself. The things that the four of us sisters gave us were saved up from our family’s meager savings. We’re supporting the poor and need to take care of the elderly, not the strong and healthy.” Su Yu picked up the knife and continued chopping vegetables.
"Anyway, you're good at talking now and have a lot of profound truths, so I can't argue with you." The old lady took it to heart, but she felt a little uncomfortable that her daughter was teaching her instead.
After the two elders finished eating, Su Yu packed her things to leave. The old lady saw her off at the door, put four or five persimmons in her basket, and told her, "Don't send meat home anymore. It's not cheap. Your father and I are old. Whether we eat it or not is the same. We're always watching you. Don't let anyone eat it."
“I’m not afraid of what people say, I don’t rely on my reputation for a living.” Su Yu retorted.
Yu Anxiu ignored her half-baked words and instead said, "Go to our private plot and pick a few peanuts to boil in salt water for the two children. Do you remember where it is?"
"I remember, I dug out that plot of land myself, one hoe and one axe at a time. I may have forgotten which way the front door of my house faced, but I will never forget where the plot of land was." Su Yu followed the route in her memory toward the plot of land.
"Is that Yu girl? She's got quite the sharp tongue these days." Someone came back from the fields, heard the voices, and walked over, only to see a figure.
"It's her. She's raising two kids all by herself. If she's still as bad at talking as before, she'll be bullied to death. Being good with words is a good thing." Yu Anxiu defended her youngest daughter. In the countryside, if someone says someone is very good with words, it means that she has a bad temper or is mean.
"You've come up with an open-source solution," Shu Manpo suddenly said.
Su Yu carried the peanut vines back and asked, "What's the plan?"
"You have to agree to one condition before I can tell you the solution. You have to plant a tree, whether it's a fruit tree or a miscellaneous tree, but you have to make sure it survives. If it dies, just plant another one."
"I don't need to worry about it forever, right? What if someone saws it down if I plant it by the roadside?"
"If it's man-made, then it's not your fault."
"What if it gets struck by lightning, gets sick, or the cow scratches itself on a tree and breaks the tree?" Su Yu continued to ask.
Shu Manpo offered a forced smile and comforted him, "I'm here for you. If I can't cure it, then let it die."
Su Yu thought for a moment and, finding no loopholes, explained, "Don't worry, this is just a professional habit of mine, like signing a contract..."
"I won't sign a contract with you. We're in this together. I'd cheat anyone but you." Shu Manpo interrupted her, cutting to the chase, "There's something wrong with the wheat seeds in your village. They've been inbred for generations, they're riddled with diseases. Go talk to the village chief..."
“I know, I know, I’ll go talk to the village chief.” Su Yu interrupted it, seemingly unaware of its displeasure, and continued, “How do you know there’s something wrong with the village’s wheat seeds?”
"I can sense that your village is treating the seeds with pesticides, which has stimulated their activity. I can feel the vitality in them." When talking about its expertise, Shumanpo immediately perked up and didn't bother arguing with its useless owner.
Su Yu thought for a moment, worried that the wheat seeds would have already been sown by the time she came back. Not caring about being late for work, she went to the village chief Su Qingguo's house first. He had just returned from work when she arrived.
"Xiaoyu? Why are you back at this hour? Have you eaten? If not, have something at my place." Su Qingguo offered her some water.
"I ate before I came, cousin. I wanted to ask if the wheat in our village hasn't been sown yet?"
"No, but it'll be soon. It'll be ready to scatter after the next rain when the temperature drops. You asked what's going on? Or did you see some book?" He bit the book very lightly, so lightly that you couldn't hear it unless you were paying attention.
Su Yu repeated what Shu Manpo had told her, and seeing Su Qingguo frown, she gave him an example: "Look, nowadays, we can't marry within five degrees of kinship anymore. It's because children born to close blood relatives are more prone to illness and not very smart. Mai Zi should be the same way. Since all the children are brothers and sisters, and maybe uncles, aunts, and sisters-in-law are involved, the wheat seedlings that grow will have rotten roots, yellow leaves, insects, won't grow tall, small ears of wheat... all sorts of problems."
"Stop, stop, shut up. What you're saying is making me lose my appetite." Su Qingguo interrupted her impatiently. What a filthy relationship, how could she say such a thing?
"You can exchange half of your wheat seeds with those from other distant brigades and mix them together. Since they're all wheat seeds, weeds won't grow, so you won't lose money. Also, plant a separate acre of wheat that's related to yours. If what I said is right, then give me the acre of wheat that you can't stand. I'm not picky; as long as it's fine grain, I won't complain." Su Yu subtly asked for a benefit.
"Okay, I understand. I'll discuss it with the rest of the team." Su Qingguo knew this was a big deal and he took it seriously, but he couldn't make the decision alone.
"Then me?" Su Yu hinted at him.
"It's really useful, you'll definitely benefit from it," Su Qingguo promised, and encouraged her to continue reading and visit the village more often.
Su Yu walked back happily, arriving just in time for two o'clock, and she was hungry again. She tossed the peanuts and persimmons directly into the yard, pushed open the kitchen door, and saw that the bowls had been washed, but not clean, with a layer of lard still stuck to them. Lifting the pot lid, she saw there was still meat and winter melon inside. The little brat still had some conscience, leaving some for her.
*
On the twenty-first night after Ning Jin left, he returned. When he knocked on the door, Su Yu was already in bed, about to turn off the light and go to sleep. She was going to bed before nine o'clock.
"How many days off this time?" Su Yu made him noodles and fried a plate of peanuts for him in the oil he brought back. The peanuts were a gift from her eldest nephew.
"Three days." He took off his clothes and stood in the yard to take a cold shower, ignoring the hot water available, saying that he was used to taking cold showers.
The bag she carried back was thrown at the entrance of the wood-burning stove. Before Su Yu could even unpack it, the man dragged her back to the room. She wrapped her legs around his neck and complained, "You came back as if you only came back to do this."
"I mainly came back to pay my wages." The man's hands were idle, but his lower body remained still. He bent down to pick up the pants that had been tossed on the ground, took out a roll of money, and stuffed it into the woman's hand.
Su Yu glared at him, pouted, and said, "It looks even more like it now."
Ning Jin understood what she meant and retorted, "Absolutely not. This is my money for a month's prostitution. What am I doing now? Working hard?" He shoved her hard, bent down, and mumbled, "Paying money to serve you."
Afterwards, the three condoms were thrown into a basin next to the bed. Su Yu was already drowsy, but he, who had been working overtime, was still energetically washing the condoms.
Su Yu once again enjoyed the privilege of waking up early to find breakfast ready and her clothes already washed. She leisurely went to work, returned home for lunch, and enjoyed this good mood until she finished get off work in the evening.
As soon as she entered the alley, she saw her two little brats clutching the things Ning Jin had used last night. Her blood boiled, and she teleported over to snatch them away. One of them had been forced to drink water and his mouth was tied shut. The brat even poked a hole in it. When she squeezed it, the water splattered all over her socks.
She dragged them back, asking through gritted teeth, "Where's your father?"
"I'm going to my grandma's house." Ping An glanced at his mother's dark face and tentatively said, "My dad has already cooked the porridge." Meaning, don't be upset.
"Just wait, he'll give you both an early New Year celebration when he gets back."
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