Suddenly, Su Mingqiang's eyes lit up, and he thought of a good idea.
He's the eldest son in the family; if he can't control Su Jianguo, someone else can.
His grandparents now live in the countryside, and as the eldest grandson, he has always been the most pampered one.
Tomorrow I'll go straight back to the countryside, bring my father over, and deal with my own dad.
Su Mingqiang was impressed with his own wit and secretly thought that he had talent no less than that of Zhuge Liang.
Bringing the old man over would not only resolve the IOU issue, but might even allow us to recover the money for the truck.
Thinking of this, Su Mingqiang actually laughed, lay down on the ground, and fell into a good sleep.
Nighttime, Su Jianguo.
Wang Xiulan carried the foot-washing water out of the inner room and carefully poured it into the drainage ditch in the corner of the yard.
"Honey, the water's ready."
She lifted her apron and wiped her hands.
Su Jianguo leaned against the pile of quilts on the kang (a heated brick bed), a Daqianmen cigarette dangling from his mouth, the red glow of the cigarette butt flickering in the dim room.
"Xiulan, come here."
He patted the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Wang Xiulan was stunned for a moment. Ever since her fight with her eldest son, her husband seemed to have become a different person, and his words and actions were filled with an indescribable energy.
She took small, quick steps over, but before she could even sit down, her wrist was grabbed.
"Ouch!"
She gasped softly as her husband grasped her rough hand in his.
"Hehe, why are you acting like a timid little wife? Here's something good to show you."
Wang Xiulan suddenly felt her heart pounding.
"Honey, what's wrong with you today?"
Before she could finish speaking, Su Jianguo mysteriously pulled a cloth bag out of his pocket.
"Guess what this is?"
The cloth bundle landed on the kang (a heated brick bed) with a dull thud.
Wang Xiulan untied the hemp rope, and a stack of ten-yuan notes tumbled out with a "whoosh," the brand-new bills gleaming bluish-green under the kerosene lamp.
She gasped, her fingers trembling so much she could barely hold the money.
"How much... how many is there?"
"One thousand and two!"
Su Jianguo flicked his cigarette ash triumphantly.
"I'm getting back the money Li Jinhua stole, with interest!"
Wang Xiulan opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, and after a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"You really went to Lijia Village?"
"Is that even possible?"
Su Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette in the enamel mug and began to vividly recount his heroic deeds from the day.
When he talked about his three apprentices keeping things in order, he slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.
When talking about the village party secretary giving his testimony, he imitated Li's father's ashen face.
Wang Xiulan was stunned, and forgot to count the money in her hand.
"That old bastard's hand was shaking like a leaf when he wrote the IOU; he was a good-for-nothing."
Su Jianguo suddenly lowered his voice.
"Xiulan, bring us our money box."
Wang Xiulan glanced subconsciously toward the chest of drawers, then suddenly turned pale as if she had remembered something.
"Honey, that bottle."
"I've already deposited it in a bank safe deposit box."
Su Jianguo waved his hand.
"You think I'm stupid? Do you think the second brother's little tricks can outsmart me?"
Wang Xiulan got up, peeled back the newspaper pasted on the wall, pulled out a brick, and found a hidden compartment inside.
From the hidden compartment, I pulled out a tin biscuit box. The four red characters "Friendship Biscuits" on the lid had faded.
"They're all inside."
She whispered, her fingers tracing the lid of the box.
"These are the savings I've accumulated over the years."
Su Jianguo took the box; it felt heavy in his hand.
Lifting the lid, stacks of neatly bundled banknotes were stacked up, with a yellowed savings book on top.
He squinted and counted, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Good heavens! A total of thirteen thousand yuan, including cash and bankbook!"
Wang Xiulan twisted the hem of her clothes.
"It was originally saved up for the eldest son to buy a car, for the second son to get married, and for the third son."
"Alright, this is all our retirement money now!"
Su Jianguo snapped the lid shut.
"Tomorrow I'll go to the trust store and buy a watch and a bicycle."
"Master!"
Wang Xiulan became anxious.
"That's all of them."
"Whatever you want to do, do what you need to do, spend what you need to do, trust me, you won't go wrong."
Su Jianguo stuffed the tin box under his pillow and said domineeringly.
Just as the two were talking.
Suddenly, a soft creaking sound came from outside.
Su Jianguo immediately put his index finger to his lips, signaling his wife to be quiet.
He then tiptoed to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and peered out.
Under the moonlight, a small, thin figure was tiptoeing toward the kitchen.
That furtive demeanor could only belong to Su Yuzhen.
"It's Xiao Nizi."
Su Jianguo lowered his voice, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Looks like they're starving."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiulan immediately became restless and threw off the covers to get off the kang (a heated brick bed).
"I'll go heat up some food for her."
"sit down!"
Su Jianguo grabbed his wife's shoulder with such force that she fell back onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
"You're not allowed to go."
"But she's only sixteen, she's still growing."
Wang Xiulan was so anxious that she kept wringing her hands and glancing out the window.
Su Jianguo remained unmoved and continued to observe through the gap in the curtains.
Su Yuzhen had already crept into the kitchen. A moment later, the sound of a pot lid clattering was heard, followed by a suppressed gasp.
"Gone? How come everything's gone?"
Su Yuzhen's voice was trembling with sobs.
Su Jianguo smiled silently.
He knew, of course, that there was nothing in the kitchen.
When the second and third children returned, they had already cleaned up all the leftover food.
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