Wang Xiulan asked in confusion.
"Four pounds and three ounces? Who would believe that a full-term baby was born that way? I've had five children, and every full-term baby weighed at least five pounds."
Su Jianguo frowned, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a puff.
You mean...
"I suspect that the child isn't Mingqiang's."
Wang Xiulan said it bluntly.
"Jin Hua's belly doesn't look like she's ten months pregnant at all."
Su Jianguo remained silent for a long time before finally sighing.
"The child is innocent."
"That two thousand yuan..."
"Consider it a gift for the child when they first meet you."
Su Jianguo waved his hand.
"Let's go, there's a lot of work waiting for us at the greenhouse."
Wang Xiulan hesitated for a moment, then sighed and followed her husband.
One week later.
Su Mingqiang took Li Jinhua and the child home from the hospital.
They returned home, with Su Mingqiang carrying the child in one arm and helping Li Jinhua into the house with the other.
Li Jinhua sat by the bed, looking at the sleeping baby with a complicated expression.
The child's arrival came so suddenly that it disrupted all her plans.
"Jinhua, drink some hot water."
Su Mingqiang handed over a cup of steaming water.
"The doctor said you need to rest more and avoid catching a cold."
Li Jinhua took the water glass and forced a smile.
"Mingqiang, you're so kind."
In the dead of night, Su Mingqiang lay on the sofa, listening to the breathing of his wife and children in the room, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Only after becoming a father did he truly understand how difficult it was for his father to raise him and his siblings.
In my memory, my father always got up before dawn to work and didn't come home until late at night, all to earn more money to support the family.
"I'm such an idiot..."
Su Mingqiang murmured to himself, his eyes welling up with tears.
The next morning, Su Mingqiang went out to look for a job.
The profits from his old woodworking shop were too low to support his family; he needed to find a more lucrative job.
He first went to the construction site, carried cement all morning, ate two steamed buns in a hurry at noon, and then rushed to the freight station to move goods.
When Li Jinhua returned home in the evening, she was breastfeeding her child.
How was your day?
She asked without looking up.
Su Mingqiang wiped the sweat from his face and forced a smile.
"It's good. The foreman said I'm a hard worker and told me to come back tomorrow."
In fact, his back was so painful that he couldn't straighten up, and his palms were blistered.
Li Jinhua then looked up at him.
"What about your salary?"
"It's a daily wage; I earned three yuan today."
Su Mingqiang took out crumpled banknotes from his pocket and handed them to her.
Li Jinhua took the money, counted it, and then pouted.
"What can you do with so little money? We can barely afford baby formula."
Su Mingqiang's smile froze.
He silently walked to the basin in the corner to wash his face. The cold water stimulated the wounds on his hands, making him gasp for breath in pain.
"I'll find another job tomorrow."
He said this with his back to his wife.
Li Jinhua didn't say anything more and focused on coaxing the child to sleep.
Half a month passed like this. Su Mingqiang went out early and returned late every day, working three jobs at the same time. He lost a lot of weight and his eyes became sunken.
That evening, on his way home, he saw a job advertisement:
"The Sujiatun vegetable base urgently needs workers. The monthly salary is 120 yuan, and room and board are provided. Experienced workers will be given priority."
Su Mingqiang stared at the paper, his heart pounding.
That was my father's business. Has it grown this big by now?
120 yuan, more than he earns from three jobs...
He reached for the job posting, then pulled his hand back.
Go to work on your own father's turf?
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
But...
Thinking of his hungry child and his constantly complaining wife at home, Su Mingqiang gritted his teeth, tore off the job advertisement, and stuffed it into his pocket.
The next morning, Su Mingqiang left home early and boarded a bus to Sujiatun.
His heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty the whole way.
Since being removed from the family genealogy by Su Jianguo, he has never returned to Sujiatun.
The bus arrived at Sujiatun.
After Su Mingqiang got out of the car, he was stunned by the scene before him.
The barren hillside of my memory now boasts dozens of neatly arranged white greenhouses, gleaming in the sunlight.
In the distance, a newly built reservoir appears to be quite large.
A tractor is moving through the fields.
"Excuse me...where is the job posting office?"
Su Mingqiang stopped a passing villager and asked.
The villagers sized him up a few times and pointed in the direction of the reservoir.
"That red brick building over there is the office."
After thanking him, Su Mingqiang took a deep breath and walked over there.
With each step he took, his heart beat a fraction faster.
What if I run into my father?
What if I get recognized?
There was a long queue at the job posting office, mostly young and middle-aged men from nearby villages.
Su Mingqiang stood at the end of the line with his head down, praying that he wouldn't be recognized by acquaintances.
"Next!"
Shouts came from inside.
When it was Su Mingqiang's turn, he nervously walked into the office.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses was sitting at the table, registering information.
"Name? Age? Address?"
The bespectacled man asked without looking up.
"Su...Su Qiang, 28 years old, lives in the Chengdong District."
Su Mingqiang changed his name at the last minute.
After recording the basic information, the bespectacled man looked up at him.
Have you ever done farm work before?
"I've done it; I grew up in the countryside."
Su Mingqiang answered.
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