These four slaps were unlike any of the slaps Su Manao had received recently.
Su Manao felt as if her face was being repeatedly run over by a large truck, and then she really passed out.
Su Dazhi couldn't help but shrink his neck again.
But with his family watching him, he could only stubbornly say, "Don't fight with your family so easily! What kind of behavior is this?! Manao is young, why are you arguing with her!"
As he spoke, he looked at Su Tong and said, "Fourth brother, something's happened at home. Sell the job that Sixth Sister gave you! I heard from your coworkers that an accountant's job can sell for 1,300 or 1,400 yuan! That will cover most of the hole!"
Su Tong smiled and said, "Dad, selling it isn't as worthwhile as me going to work. I can become a full-time employee in a year, and the starting salary is at least eighty yuan. You do the math."
Su Dazhi did some mental calculations, but he wasn't sure if he had figured it out.
But the fourth brother was the most educated in the family, and he instinctively thought the fourth brother was right, so he nodded and said, "Then use all of your salary to pay off the debt first."
Su Tong continued smiling: "Okay."
Su Ruyi was startled when she saw Su Tong's smile, which she had never seen before—her fourth brother was truly heartbroken.
When Su Tong was four or five years old, his condition became serious.
Su Dazhi felt sorry for Su Tong, who needed money for medical treatment, so he took him to the area around Haicheng Railway Station where human traffickers frequented, and then left alone.
But Su Tong knew the way and found his way home on his own.
Although Su Dazhi swore that he and Su Tong had simply gotten separated, this incident became a hurdle that Su Tong couldn't get over.
Su Ruyi quickly went to Su Tong's side and helped him up: "Fourth Brother, are you tired? Let me help you back to rest!"
"Wait!" Su Dazhi suddenly shouted, "Fourth brother, how exactly is it worthwhile? The doctor said you wouldn't live past twenty-five!"
Su Tong's body visibly trembled. He didn't turn around, but his voice was clear: "Dad, even if I don't live past twenty-five, my salary over these five years is three or four thousand yuan. When... when I die, I can sell this job again."
After saying that, he turned around and walked quickly toward the east wing.
Back inside, Su Tong immediately sat down in a chair and began to breathe heavily.
Su Ruyi followed him and quickly poured him a glass of water, only to find that he was already in tears. Su Tong took a sip of water and murmured, "To be born into a family like this, I must have been a wicked person in my past life."
Su Ruyi's heart was breaking: "Fourth Brother, you have to think positively—tomorrow, tomorrow I'll go and beg Uncle Su to approve your dormitory, and you can move in in the next few days, okay?"
“Okay.” Su Tong nodded. “I’m going to rest now—I have an exam for the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow afternoon! You can sit here for a while, and go out after things calm down in the yard.”
After saying that, he lay down on his bed and turned his back to the bed.
Su Ruyi looked at his lonely and thin back and sighed deeply.
On the morning of June 12th, Su Ruyi got up in the dark and made breakfast—just two portions for her and Su Tong.
Su Manao had run out of flour, so Su Ruyi could only make cornmeal porridge, served with sesame oil and pickled vegetable shreds, and two poached eggs in the porridge.
The egg basket is almost empty.
The damaged cabinet door remained broken.
When Guan Yumei got up, she saw Su Ruyi washing the dishes.
Without saying a word, she started pouring sorghum flour into the basin, shoving it around.
I haven't cooked in a long time, and Guan Yumei's dough is too soft.
As she added noodles, she muttered curses under her breath: "You jinx! May you get hit by a car and die as soon as you step outside!"
While she was cursing, Su Ruyi had already left the house and went straight to the machinery factory.
I ran into Su Xiangjun at the factory gate.
"Uncle Su!" she called out.
Su Xiangjun turned around and saw Su Ruyi smiling. He smiled too: "My dear niece, is there something you need?"
"Uncle, can my fourth brother move into the factory dormitory in the next few days?" she asked a little shyly, "The housing situation at home is really tight."
“Originally it wouldn’t have worked, but my niece asked, so it definitely will!” Su Xiangjun said. “Come on, I’ll take you to get the keys!”
Su Ruyi was so happy that she almost jumped for joy, not expecting things to go so smoothly.
When she stood in the dormitory assigned to Su Tong, she was so happy she was almost going crazy—it was called a small house, but it was bigger than the main house in her family home.
A thick curtain separated the two spaces, and the window was also divided in two.
The first person to move in had half of the room that was basically sparsely furnished; even the bedding was bundled up and the washbasin was upside down, indicating that the person did not live in the dormitory.
Looking at the furniture—it has a bed, a table, and cabinets, and even a lamp, a washbasin stand, and new towels.
This is basically a single-person dormitory!
Su Xiangjun even arranged for two female workers to clean the house.
Su Ruyi couldn't help but bow to him: "Uncle Su, thank you on behalf of my fourth brother!"
Su Xiangjun waved his hand: "I like smart kids. I've wanted to get to know Su Tong ever since I graded his papers. I never thought I'd actually have this connection with him! Don't worry, as long as he does his job well, I'll take care of all his important life events!"
Su Ruyi returned home and gave the key to Su Tong.
Su Tong's previously dull eyes regained some of their luster.
The two began packing up Su Tong's personal belongings.
It mainly consists of books, about three hundred in total, primarily history and social sciences, with about half being ancient texts.
These books actually belonged to the original owner of this courtyard. They were all packed in camphor wood chests and stored in the cellar. After the Su family moved in, Guan Yumei sold the chests at a high price and even considered selling the books as waste paper.
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