After Chapter 375, we brothers will split the profits 60/40.
Su Xiaosi didn't even glance at her.
He wiped away the dirt; the pages were soaked. He then took a stack of unwanted draft paper, sandwiched the page between the pages, placed it under the bedding on the bed, and sat on it to weigh it down.
This might still leave traces, but it's better than a dirty page. Even if the administrator is strict and wants to pay compensation, it will be less.
His scholarship has more important uses, and he can't waste it here.
Thinking about how difficult it is for Su Hongmei to get tuition fees, I wonder if it will be just as difficult for him to ask his mother and brothers for money after his matter is settled.
Su Xiaosi dared not think about it in detail.
I just want the year to end quickly so school can start again, and at least the school will have hot water and bright lights.
He can also go to the library to read books. The library has heating and hot water, so he doesn't need to wrap himself in a blanket to read.
On the other side, at the entrance of He Taohua's courtyard, Su Laosan chased away Su Hongmei. Just as he was about to make an excuse to send away the aunties who were watching the commotion, he suddenly stopped hearing Su Youfu's wailing in the courtyard.
Li Banxia's voice came through clearly.
She said, "Su Youfu, I won't call the police. I won't stop you if you want to, but think it through. How many years do you get sentenced to? I'll make sure Lin Jiefang and He Taohua stay in there for a few more years! My children and grandchildren will never get out of jail. You'd all be stuck in prison and never come out. You might as well die there! Or I could beat you to death right now and burn you down. If they investigate, it'll just be someone setting off fireworks nearby, and a spark landed in your house. You'll be the one who suffers the consequences..."
A group of middle-aged women outside listened in fear and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"This, this..."
"Has Li Banxia gone mad?"
"Wasn't Lin Jiefang and Tao Hua sent there by her?"
The crowd looked at each other, their faces filled with fear.
When Su Laosan saw that they had imagined his own mother to be a murderer, he quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over, "Aunties, just take that with a grain of salt. My mother was just trying to scare Su Youfu. Anyone would be furious if their own grandson and granddaughter were stolen from them. My mother just said that in the heat of the moment. If she really did that, why would she come to beat someone up? Don't you aunties agree?"
"Is...right?"
Aunt Xu gave a dry laugh, "I think so too. Banxia used to be such a kind and gentle person, always hardworking and never daring to say a harsh word to Su Youfu, let alone kill someone. She must have been really furious..."
Su Laosan nodded, "I'm furious."
“That’s right. Su Youfu doesn’t bring any money home. She raised you all to adulthood on her meager salary and by earning extra money by treating people’s health problems. And you’re all so successful. I don’t believe she’s that kind of person.”
“You think so too? I think so too. Back in our residential area, everyone praised her as a virtuous wife and loving mother…”
"Unfortunately, Su Youfu is a scoundrel."
"What a pity about Banxia..."
Su Laosan echoed "yes, yes, yes" repeatedly, occasionally steering the conversation toward what he wanted to hear from the women.
So, the art style changed over time.
"Hey, third brother, is what your little sister said true? You really can earn several thousand a day?"
Su Laosan: "...How can you take what a child says seriously? I'm busy every day, barely making ends meet..."
"Your many stores can't be fake, right?"
"I'm just a gofer who gets the goods; the shop management is all done by my cousins..."
"Huh? I was thinking of getting closer to you so I could buy groceries or meat from you later and maybe you could give me a discount. Aren't you in charge?"
Su Laosan spread his hands and said, "Auntie, do I look like someone who can make decisions for the family?"
"...It certainly doesn't look like it."
Su Laosan was a little disoriented. "No, what's wrong with me? I think I look just like it!"
He almost revealed that he was the real owner of those stores, and that he was someone who could make tens of thousands of yuan a day!
But nobody believed him anymore.
Aunt Xu patted him and said, "Alright, third brother, everyone knows what you used to be like. Now that you can find a job with peace of mind, we aunties who watched you grow up are all happy for you. It wasn't easy for your mother to raise you and your siblings. You should take good care of her in the future."
Su Laosan, "..."
He really looked a bit dejected. He had overacted earlier, and now they didn't believe anything he said.
"Don't worry, Auntie. I was young and ignorant before, but I won't be like that again." He said this very solemnly.
Aunt Xu sighed and gestured for the others to leave.
Not far from where I walked, I overheard people gossiping, "Do you think Su Laosan won't last long before he goes back to being that lazy, good-for-nothing Su Laosan?"
"Who knows? But someone like him probably won't be a good son to his mother."
"How so?"
"Men don't empathize with their own mothers at all. They see the suffering their mothers endure, but they don't take it to heart. They just think it's what their mothers should do. Otherwise, why haven't we seen him being filial all these years?"
After a moment of silence, someone nodded, "...That Li Banxia is too pitiful. One of her daughters was abandoned by her in-laws, divorced, and didn't even get the child. The other is a good-for-nothing who looks down on her own mother and even tries to leech off her. The second son is in the army and not at home, and the third son is a good-for-nothing who might revert to his old ways at any time. Only the eldest son and his wife are still somewhat decent..."
"Right? You also think that couple might be the only ones who are filial, right?"
The group walked away and couldn't hear what they were saying behind them.
Su Laosan felt awkward and upset, but he had no way to refute it. The sentence, "He saw his mother's suffering but didn't care at all," was like nailing him to the pillar of shame.
The key point is that his mindset at the time was exactly what they described; he only felt that it was something his mother should do.
Su Laosan thought that his mother must have been very disappointed at the time.
The man cheated on her, and none of the children cared about her, which is why she was so determined to get a divorce, even at the cost of everything, to leave this place.
He raised his hand and slapped himself, but still felt unsatisfied, so he slapped his mother as well.
"Third brother, what are you doing?"
He was about to slap himself twice more when Su grabbed his wrist.
Su Laosan looked up and called out to his elder brother, "I just think I was a bit too much of a scoundrel back then. Mom must have been very... desperate back then."
He felt that disappointment was no longer an accurate expression of his mother's feelings at the time.
Despair seems more appropriate.
The kind of life that seems endless, where after serving the entire Su family, and after the children get married, you might have to continue serving your grandchildren and work hard to earn money for their lives...
Thinking of this, Su Laosan suddenly remembered the woman he met on the first day the health center opened.
She raised her children, arranged their weddings, and raised their newborns. She was like a candle burning at both ends, and soon lost her life.
Su Laosan gasped, grabbed Su Laoda's wrist with his other hand, and exhaled with a trembling breath.
With a solemn expression, he said to Boss Su, "Brother, when we get back, let's get it notarized. From now on, we'll split the net profit of the grocery store 60% and 40% between us."
"What?!"
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