Su Jianguo took a deep breath and tried to suppress his anger.
"Yu Fen is a special case, and her tofu shop is a legitimate business; she has to pay back the money. What about you? You idle away your days, unwilling to even take a temporary job, yet you dream of instant success!"
"What future can temporary workers have!"
Su Yuzhen stamped her feet and shouted.
"What I want is a secure job!"
"Even a secure job requires skill to hold onto!"
Su Jianguo's voice also rose.
"Look at your older sister. To learn how to make tofu, she even wrote down how to choose the soybeans in a notebook. And you? What decent thing have you done in your life? Did you elope with a human trafficker?"
Su Yuzhen was speechless when asked the question, and tears finally fell.
She turned and rushed into the house, slamming the door shut.
The courtyard was completely silent.
Su Yufen stood there helplessly.
Wang Xiulan sighed, sat back down at the stone table, and continued picking beans.
"dad..."
Su Yufen spoke softly.
"How about... how about I postpone my tofu shop business for now, that money..."
"Need not."
Su Jianguo said firmly.
"Can't we control her anymore? If Yuzhen wants to work, she can take the exam herself, or find a temporary job first."
He walked to the stone table, picked up a soybean and looked at it.
"These beans are well picked."
Wang Xiulan looked up at her husband and said softly.
"Yuzhen is just a proud girl, don't take it to heart."
Su Jianguo shook his head.
"I'm not angry with her, I'm worried about her. She's so old and still so immature, what will become of her?"
Su Yufen bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and then said.
"Dad, actually... actually, it's really hard to get a job at the supply and marketing cooperative, Yuzhen..."
"Difficulty in getting in is not an excuse."
Su Jianguo interrupted his eldest daughter.
“Now that the policies have been relaxed, there are plenty of opportunities. If she's truly capable, she can definitely forge her own path instead of relying on her family all the time.”
As he spoke, he took a small notebook out of his pocket and handed it to Su Yufen.
"Here, these are the dimensions of the stone mill I noted down from Master Zhao today. Take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be changed."
Su Yufen took the notebook, her eyes lighting up again.
She opened it and looked at it carefully, nodding repeatedly.
"This design is wonderful! It's even more ingenious than I originally imagined!"
Wang Xiulan also came over to look, a look of approval on her face.
"Master Zhao's craftsmanship is indeed excellent; this stone mill is made with great care."
The three then discussed other preparations for the tofu shop.
...
On the other side.
Su Mingqiang carried a plump old hen and dragged his tired body home.
The work at the lumber mill left him aching all over, but the thought of making chicken soup for his pregnant wife to nourish her made his steps lighter again.
As he turned into the alley, he saw his neighbor, Aunt Zhang, sitting at the door sewing shoe soles.
"Mingqiang, buying chickens?"
Aunt Zhang greeted us with a smile.
"Yes, Jinhua hasn't had much of an appetite lately, so I'll make her some soup to help her recover."
Su Mingqiang smiled shyly, and the chicken fluttered twice in his hand.
"Oh, what a good husband."
Aunt Zhang glanced meaningfully in the direction of his house.
"But you'd better be prepared, your in-laws are coming, and they'll spend the whole afternoon gossiping about you in the alley."
Su Mingqiang's smile froze on his face, his fingers unconsciously tightened, and the chicken clucked.
He took a deep breath and quickened his pace toward home.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, a sense of oppression immediately hit me.
Li's father was sitting in the chair in the center of the main room, his face as gloomy as the bottom of a pot.
Li's mother stood to the side, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, her eyes also filled with hostility.
Li Jinhua huddled on a small stool in the corner, her face pale. When she saw her husband return, a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.
"Dad, Mom, I bought a chicken. I'm going to make soup tonight..."
Su Ming forced a smile and raised the chicken in his hand.
"What kind of soup are you making!"
Mr. Li slammed his hand on the table.
"You still have the mind to make soup?"
Su Mingqiang was stunned by the sudden outburst of anger. The chicken slipped from his hand and fluttered on the ground.
He bent down to grab it, but was stopped by Li's mother's shrill voice.
"Stand still! We have something to ask you!"
Li Jinhua hurriedly got up, but was rooted to the spot by a look from her father.
"I'm asking you."
Mr. Li stood up and stared down at his son-in-law.
"Jin Hua is pregnant, did you know?"
Su Mingqiang was taken aback for a moment, then a smile spread across his face.
"I know, of course I know! This is a good thing, I..."
"What a load of rubbish!"
Li's father rudely interrupted him.
"You know it, yet you still let her work so hard? Look at the mess this house is in, look how thin she is!"
Su Mingqiang then noticed that his wife looked more haggard than usual, with dark circles under her eyes.
He wanted to take her hand out of concern, but Li's mother pushed him away.
"A man like you doesn't deserve to be a father!"
Li's mother shrieked.
"You're incompetent, you can't even support your wife and kids, how dare you want children?"
Su Mingqiang's face turned pale instantly.
He looked at Li Jinhua, hoping she would say something, but his wife just lowered her head, tears falling to the ground.
"Dad, Mom."
Su Mingqiang suppressed his anger, his voice trembling.
"Although I don't earn much, I will definitely..."
"Definitely what?"
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