The father finally broke down, tears streaming down his face.
"I borrowed the money for the train ticket from the village chief... Xiulan, Dad is so sorry..."
Wang Xiulan could no longer hold back and threw herself into her father's arms, bursting into tears.
An elderly person in their seventies should be enjoying their golden years, but instead they have to suffer like this!
Her heart felt like it was torn in two, one half for her parents' heartache, and the other half for her brothers' heartlessness and anger.
"Father, Mother."
She raised her head, wiped away her tears, and spoke with a firm voice.
"You two will stay here! From now on, this will be your home!"
Suddenly, the Queen Mother grabbed her daughter's hand.
"Xiulan, don't be impulsive. Does Jian Guo...do he know?"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Wang Xiulan's head.
Yes, she hasn't discussed it with her husband yet.
But then I thought, Jian Guo has always been filial to his parents; he even specially bought roast duck and good wine today...
"Mother, don't worry."
Wang Xiulan held her mother's rough hand.
"Jianguo isn't that kind of person. You two can rest assured, I'll talk to him in a bit."
She dried her parents' feet and made the bed.
After watching the two elderly people lie down, Wang Xiulan gently closed the door, tears streaming down her face again.
...
Wang Xiulan returned to her room.
Su Jianguo was leaning against the headboard, flipping through an account book in his hand. When he saw her come in, he closed the book.
"Have your parents gone to sleep?"
Su Jianguo asked casually.
Wang Xiulan nodded, her eyes still red.
She walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat down.
"Founding the Nation..."
She choked up as soon as she opened her mouth.
Su Jianguo immediately sat up straight and reached out to hold her cold hand.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Wang Xiulan took a deep breath and recounted in detail how her parents were kicked out of their home.
When she talked about her elder brother being paralyzed in bed and her nephew's wife being mean and heartless, she couldn't stop her tears from falling.
"I...I really didn't expect them to treat my parents like this..."
Wang Xiulan's voice trembled.
"A man in his seventies, just kicked out like this..."
Su Jianguo listened in silence, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
The hazy memories of my past life gradually became clearer.
In my past life, my parents-in-law did visit once, but they only stayed for two days before leaving in a hurry.
At the time, he was worried about making a living and didn't notice anything unusual.
Later, in the spring, I received a letter from my hometown saying that the two elderly people had passed away...
Thinking about this, Su Jianguo finally understood.
The two elderly people must have seen that the two of them were also in difficult circumstances at that time and were both working, so they didn't say anything.
Su Jianguo pulled his wife into his arms and gently patted her back.
"Xiulan, don't be sad."
His voice was deep and firm.
"Let Mom and Dad stay here, we'll take care of them in their old age."
Wang Xiulan raised her head, looking at her husband through teary eyes.
"Really? But..."
"No buts."
Su Jianguo interrupted her.
"We have the means now. We have enough space at home, and our business is stable. Besides, our parents are getting old and need someone to take care of them."
Wang Xiulan's tears flowed even more fiercely, but this time they were tears of emotion.
She hugged her husband tightly and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Jianguo... thank you..."
...
at the same time.
There was a long queue at the lumber mill's payroll counter.
Su Mingqiang rubbed his frozen hands and took the envelope from the accountant.
"Fifty dollars exactly, please count them carefully."
The accountant said without looking up.
Su Mingqiang carefully counted the money, and after confirming that it was correct, he put the wallet away and stuffed it into his inner pocket.
This was the result of a month of continuous overtime work. Although it was not as good as his previous salary at the steel rolling mill, it was still considered quite good in those days.
He was making plans.
Keep two yuan to buy cigarettes, and give the rest to Jinhua.
She's pregnant, so she needs to eat more nutritious food...
"Mingqiang!"
Two coworkers caught up from behind and put their arms around his shoulders, one on each side.
"Payday's here! Come on, we'll show you around!"
Liu winked and said.
"Exactly, all they do is work all day, it's so boring."
Xiao Li echoed.
"We just started paying salaries today, let's have some fun."
Su Mingqiang instinctively wanted to refuse, but seeing how enthusiastic his two coworkers were, he felt embarrassed to refuse directly.
"I...I have to get home right away..."
"Going home? What are you talking about!"
Da Liu grabbed his arm.
"I'll just go play for a little while, I promise I won't make it too late for you to go home for dinner!"
Xiao Li also offered his advice.
"It's right behind the factory, very close. Just keep us company, okay?"
Su Mingqiang hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Well... then it'll be in a little while."
The three of them made several turns and arrived at a secluded bungalow.
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