45.045 Argument
The next day, Su Yu went to work, the two children went to school, and Ning Jin cut off a piece of meat and walked to Xinhe Brigade.
"Mom and Dad, are they both home?"
"Xiao Ning is back? Stay for lunch. It's been a while since I've seen you." Old Su sat in his usual spot under the eaves.
"I've been back for three days. Dad, Mom, why don't you come stay at my house for a few days?" Ning Jin handed the meat to his mother-in-law and sat opposite his father-in-law, watching him exhale white smoke.
"No, I'm perfectly fine at home. Why would I go to your house? I have my old friends in the village. It's not comfortable for me to stay in town." Actually, she just couldn't get along with the old men in town.
Ning Jin didn't try to hide it from anyone and said directly, "Go home and try to persuade Su Yu. She's found a new job in an orchard in Handan County. I don't know how she tricked them, but now she wants to work as a technician in the orchard and is trying to sell the job. She won't listen to me. Dad, she listens to you. Go and talk to her."
Old Su laughed heartily, even putting down his pipe. This little girl was getting more and more clever. It hadn't been long since she had her divorce last year, and she already had her son-in-law firmly in her grasp. In all his years, this was the first time he had ever seen a son-in-law go back to his in-laws' house to complain to his father-in-law.
“If she can fool us, let her change jobs. People who steal their brothers' death compensation can't even keep their jobs, yet she manages to get new jobs one after another. Even if she doesn't want to work in the orchard anymore, she can sell her job and find another one; it's not a loss.” Su Changguo didn't agree with his son-in-law. Don't let his status as the village chief fool you; when he was young, he lacked both ability and connections, but even with ability, he would have sought opportunities elsewhere. As village chief, he managed the fields and the villagers' household affairs. Even now, there are still disputes between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, fights between sisters-in-law, and disputes between neighbors coming to him for legal proceedings. It's a nuisance.
"No, Dad, how can work in the orchard be as easy as factory work? She's sheltered from the wind and rain now, and her plants are all white and healthy. Going to the orchard would be too tiring. She said she wouldn't even come home for lunch, and there are two kids at home." Ning Jin hadn't expected that he couldn't persuade his wife, and now he had to persuade the man first to come for help. Could this really work?
Yu Anxiu then sat down and asked her son-in-law, "How much would it cost to sell this job?"
Ning Jin didn't think much of it and casually said, "A thousand yuan or so is equivalent to two years' salary, not even counting benefits."
Old Su glanced at his wife but ignored her, continuing to tell his son-in-law, "People who are idle for too long become useless. I'm idle now, and I'm getting more and more listless. It's better to be a little tired; sweating gives you energy. As for the children, they're old enough to be comforted and held, and there's no need to breastfeed them. As you said, it's just lunch, right? They won't starve. If it's really necessary, there are grandparents. If you don't want to eat for free, just pay up. Are you going to tie yourself to the house for just one meal for the two kids? I've seen you gone for ten days or half a month without coming home, and the two boys are still growing tall and strong."
Old Man Su sided with his daughter without knowing much about the orchard. First of all, he was Su Yu's biological father. When her husband came to complain, he had to protect his daughter in front of Ning Jin. Even if he disagreed, he would scold her in private. If Xiao Yu changed her mind, she would have to discuss it with her husband herself. Just like a mother-in-law and son are of one mind, he was also of one mind with his daughter.
The second reason is that the wheat in the village is already turning yellow, and the ears of wheat are indeed better than in previous years. Su Yu played a significant role in this. Moreover, the young girl is a pragmatic person. She thinks three steps ahead before taking any action. She doesn't dare to change jobs without being sure of the outcome. Even though she has been acting boldly lately, her personality, which has been ingrained for one or two decades, cannot be changed overnight.
Besides, she's married and has a son who's over ten years old. She's not a little girl who needs her parents to help her walk anymore, so why would he need to teach her how to do things? She could earn over a thousand yuan a day from her job, and even without working, she could live comfortably for three or four years. Moreover, she gets a salary for working in the orchard.
"I don't care about her. If you can persuade her, then do so. If you can't, then let her do whatever she wants. Your salary isn't low, and she can make money by selling her job. Even if she quits after a while, your family won't starve." Old Man Su said magnanimously.
His words surprised Ning Jin. Yes, if she couldn't handle the job anymore, she could sell it and stay home to have a baby. He had always regretted losing this stable job, but this easy job was earned by Su Yu herself. She had earned several months' salary and could sell it for another thousand or so yuan. No matter how you look at it, she was making a profit.
"Dad, you truly are a sharp-eyed and insightful village chief. I think Su Yu is just like you the most, bold and decisive. I didn't even know about her going to the orchard. When I left a month ago, I didn't see her having any such thoughts. But now that she's back, she's already found a job. Just like you, bold and clever." Ning Jin was overjoyed and thanked his father-in-law repeatedly.
Su Changguo glanced at him and thought, "I've never seen you speak so eloquently, not even when you married my daughter."
Ning Jin diligently set up a ladder to climb onto the roof to retrieve tiles for his father-in-law. The kitchen tiles had been missing for two or three months, but his brother-in-law, being such a coward, couldn't even stand up on the roof, so he hadn't bothered to fix it.
"Dad, is there anything else to do? Are there any weeds in the plot? I'll go pull them out."
"No, we can still pull the weeds. If you want to stay for dinner, we can chat a little longer. If not, you can go back. But I reckon you should go back; your family is much wealthier than mine," Old Man Su said with a blank face.
"Hehe, I wanted to come and pick you and my mom up to stay at our house for a couple of days. Otherwise, I would have just come by bicycle. Oh, by the way, Dad, we bought a bicycle."
"Good thing. Your mother and I can go. If you want to go, go by yourself. You two should live your lives well." Old Man Su waved his hand to send his son-in-law away. After the man left, he continued to tap the ashes in his pipe without even raising his head. He said to his wife, "Don't get any funny ideas. My money won't go to that good-for-nothing. He's broke himself. He can only come up with two hundred at most."
“He’s our only son, he’ll be ours sooner or later. If we buy him a job, he’ll have a better life and won’t have to toil in the fields like we do.” Yu Anxiu was anxious. The two of them were like enemies. Rongbing was their only son, and she always wanted the best for him.
“I only have seven or eight hundred yuan in my hand, including the money that four girls gave me for our birthdays and the New Year. His scoundrel, it’s a sin for me to have given birth to him and raise him. If it weren’t for him, I would have left any girl at home and I wouldn’t have to put up with this nonsense.” He waved his hand, “Don’t stare at the money in my hand. We live off this money. If I don’t wake up one morning, you can keep the rest of the money. With a few girls watching you, you won’t have a hard time.”
When the topic of life and death came up, the old lady fell silent. She knew that with her husband around and others caring for her, her life was better.
But that evening, the soldier learned from his son that his younger sister was going to sell her job. He didn't eat dinner and went to the old kitchen to ask. Without even looking at his father, he said to his mother in a gruff voice, "The youngest sister is going to sell her current job?"
Yu Anxiu glanced at the old man, and seeing that he didn't speak, she grunted and said she wanted a thousand yuan.
"The asking price is so high? Mom, go ask your youngest sister tomorrow if we can pay her 2, no, 150 first, so her sister-in-law can go to work. We'll pay her back 30 every month after she gets her salary."
Hearing that her daughter-in-law was going to work, the old lady was unhappy. She made up a reason to refuse, saying, "Your brother-in-law said that Xiaoyu wants cash, and her colleagues want to buy a lot of things, and Xiaoning also has older brothers and sisters."
"How much do you have? Lend me seven hundred, and I'll go back to her parents' house with Da Nan to borrow some more." After saying that, he clicked his tongue and said, "Lao Yao is a bit slow-witted. She should have come back and asked her family first. How could she have let the news out all at once and given away cheap money?"
Seven hundred? This scoundrel is calculating how much money his father has. Su Changguo looked down on this heartless, good-for-nothing, lazy, and stubborn bastard. He couldn't stand the fact that this ungrateful scoundrel kept taking things from his wife's family—even his in-laws' fried buns were sent to his wife's family. He said he would pay back the money, but if he didn't, there was nothing he could do about this simpleton.
"No way. This is my and your mother's savings for our funerals. Don't even think about it. If you can scrape together a thousand yuan from somewhere else, I'll go to Xiaoyu. If you can't, don't even think about it. That's Xiaoyu's job. She can sell herself to whomever she wants." Old Man Su refused him firmly.
Unable to agree on anything, and with old grudges lingering, the father and son had a huge argument late at night. It was only after a neighbor intervened and persuaded them to push the soldier back.
Old Su was so angry that he lay in bed unable to eat. Thinking of that bastard calling him an old codger and saying he wouldn't be buried after he died, he was so angry that he wanted to beat him to death. He took his anger out on his wife: "It's all your fault for spoiling him. You breastfed him until he was four or five years old, never letting him do any work, raising him like a young master. When he was a child, he was lazy and did bad things, and I stopped him from being beaten. Now that he's grown up and his character is set, I broke the bullwhip and still couldn't straighten him. He did so many bad things, and this is retribution. I wonder how you'll live after I die."
Yu Anxiu remained silent, but also sighed, lamenting that she had given birth to a living ancestor.
After returning to Ningjin, he first rode his bicycle to register it. He then treated people to lunch outside. In the afternoon, he returned and cut up the cured pork and washed the garlic sprouts, waiting for Su Yu to come back and cook the dishes.
“Sell it if you want. You got this job through all the trouble. If you’re not happy with it, just sell it.” He said this very generously, with an expression that said, “Whatever makes you happy.”
"Oh, you've finally figured it out today? Or did you ask your teacher for advice?" Su Yu swallowed the meat and asked with a beaming smile.
"I've hired a teacher; the tuition is a slice of cured pork."
As soon as he said that, Su Yu knew he had gone to see her father; Old Man Su was really helpful. But then she thought of her brother and asked him, "When you told me this, were only my parents aware of it? Did anyone else hear it?"
"Your brother's second son seems to be in the ditch and mud in the yard. What's wrong? Why do you have to tell this in secret?"
"You really know how to cause me trouble." Su Yu sighed. Her plan was to spread the word at the factory that she would sell for a thousand, but the money had to be paid in full before she could collect the debt. It would be troublesome to collect the debt. Since it involved relatives, there were always things that were hard to say. Besides, she didn't think much of her brother. He was heartless, impatient, and lazy. She had brought him to the factory, and if something happened, she would lose face.
The next day at work, Su Yu immediately spread the word that she was selling her job. Many people came to inquire about her, including Director Hong. However, he asked her where she was going and whether she was going to quit her job.
"I'm going to the orchard, our sister company's, to oversee the quality of the fruit for our factory," she joked.
"Xiao Su, you're quite capable." Director Hong sized her up and finally asked her for the list of books she was reading in her office.
When she returned home in the evening, she saw her eldest sister sitting in the yard picking vegetables. "Big sister's here? Why are you here at this time?" she asked.
“It’s still that job of yours. I heard you found a new job and are selling your old one, so I came to take a look,” Su Min said.
Only then did Su Yu learn about the incident at her parents' home last night. This morning, her third sister went back to her parents' home after hearing the news. There was nothing she could do about it, so after leaving her parents' home, she went to find her eldest brother and asked him to take care of it.
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