"Your father did the right thing! If you ask me, a daughter-in-law like that should be divorced!"
Grandpa Su coughed once.
"Guixiang, go help your mother pack her luggage."
Wang Guixiang was taken aback.
"Father, are you really going?"
The old man nodded with a stern face.
"Jianguo is a stubborn kid; I need to go check on him."
Wang Guixiang pouted and reluctantly walked into the house. When she passed Su Mingqiang, she deliberately bumped into him.
"Get out of the way, you're blocking the way!"
Once inside, she unpacked her luggage while speaking in a sarcastic tone.
"Oh dear, you'd better bring a thicker blanket. City people are stingy, don't let the two elders get cold."
"We should bring this towel too, so we don't have to use someone else's dirty towel."
"Hey, why is there a hole in this sock?"
She held up her socks and shouted outside.
"Qiangzi! Look at your grandma's socks! They're all torn like this, why don't you buy her new ones!"
Su Mingqiang felt like he was sitting on pins and needles in the courtyard. Every time Wang Guixiang called out, his face grew hotter.
After finally finishing packing, Wang Guixiang came out carrying large and small bags.
"Here it is."
She suddenly lowered her voice.
"Qiangzi, I'm warning you, if even a single hair on your parents' head goes missing in the city, I'll make you regret it!"
Su Mingqiang nodded perfunctorily, but what he was thinking was something else entirely.
Once Grandpa gets to the city, let's see if that old geezer still dares to be arrogant!
Wang Guixiang handed the luggage to Su Mingqiang and then took out a handkerchief pouch.
"Dad, Mom, this is the twenty yuan I've saved. Things are expensive in the city."
The old lady was so moved that she kept wiping away tears.
"Gui Xiang."
"Come on!"
Su Mingqiang snatched the money.
"Second Aunt, please stop pretending to be kind!"
Wang Guixiang was immediately furious.
"How have I been fakely kind? All these years."
"Alright!"
Grandpa Su roared.
"Say less, everyone!"
He glanced at Su Mingqiang's beat-up bicycle.
"Qiangzi, go to the village entrance and hire a donkey cart. Your grandma can't ride a bicycle."
Wang Guixiang sneered.
"Oh, Jin Sun doesn't even have the money to hire a car?"
She took out another fifty cents from her pocket.
"Here you go, consider it a reward from your second aunt!"
Su Mingqiang was so angry that he was trembling all over, but he didn't dare to retaliate. He could only slink away to hire a car.
Watching his departing figure, Wang Guixiang spat.
"You ungrateful wretch!"
She turned to the old man.
"Dad, when you go, don't be soft-hearted. Scold him if he needs to! And Jianguo, how can he let his daughter-in-law ride roughshod over him?"
The old man didn't speak, but just stared in the direction of the village entrance, his brows furrowed.
The donkey cart creaked and groaned as it arrived, and Su Mingqiang diligently helped the two elderly people onto it.
Wang Guixiang stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching them walk away, and suddenly shouted.
"Dad! Mom! If you don't like it here, come back! Your second son's family will always keep a kang (heated brick bed) for you two!"
The sound echoed along the country road, startling a flock of sparrows.
Su Mingqiang's back as he pedaled the bicycle froze for a moment, then he sped up as if fleeing.
Wang Guixiang stood at the door until the donkey cart disappeared into the dust before sighing and turning back into the courtyard.
She picked up the remaining half of the chive box on the stone table, took a bite, but found it tasteless.
"What a tragedy!"
She muttered to herself, seemingly to no one in particular.
.
As the sun set, Su Mingfu walked home from school with his schoolbag on his back.
The June sun was still scorching, making the back of his neck feel hot.
He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, mentally planning the lessons he needed to review that evening.
The opportunity to repeat a grade is hard-won, so he must work even harder.
Turn the corner, and you'll see a dirt road leading to the outskirts of the city.
This road is the only way to the countryside, and it's usually not used by many people.
Su Mingfu walked with his head down, silently reciting the English words he had learned that day.
Suddenly, the creaking sound of wheels interrupted his thoughts.
Su Mingfu looked up and saw a donkey cart slowly coming from the other end of the dirt road.
The driver was an old farmer wearing a straw hat. There were three people sitting on the cart, along with a broken bicycle.
Su Mingfu squinted, feeling that the figure looked somewhat familiar.
As the donkey cart drew closer, his eyes widened in surprise.
Isn't that the eldest brother, Su Mingqiang?
At this moment, Su Mingqiang was diligently helping the two elderly people, with a fawning smile on his face.
"Grandpa! Grandma! Hold on tight, we'll be in the city soon!"
Su Mingfu's heart jumped into his throat.
He instinctively hid behind a poplar tree by the roadside and held his breath to observe.
As the donkey cart passed by him, he clearly saw that his grandparents were wearing clothes they only wore during festivals, and his grandmother was holding a bundle in her arms.
"Qiangzi, does your dad know you're here to pick us up?"
Grandpa's voice was deep and serious.
Su Mingqiang stammered.
"Well... Dad... he's busy."
Su Mingfu's mind went blank.
He knew his older brother too well; this was clearly a call for reinforcements!
Ever since Father changed his attitude towards my eldest brother, he must have been holding a grudge.
Bringing Grandpa and Grandma here now is just a way to use their authority to force Dad to comply, isn't it?
As the donkey cart gradually drove away, Su Mingfu seemed to be nailed to the spot.
He remembered what his father had said that day.
"Third son, study hard, and Dad will support you through university."
He remembered the boiled eggs his mother secretly slipped to him, and his older sister staying up all night mending his clothes.
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