Chapter 3 Delivering Meals to the Gu Family
The Su family is not from Kyoto. Su Guowei and his wife used to run a breakfast shop next to the national highway in their hometown, specializing in steamed buns, Korean noodles, soy milk and fried dough sticks.
Because of Su Guowei's excellent skills and affordable prices, he has accumulated many loyal customers, and his business is booming.
In just a few years, the couple saved enough money to open a shop in downtown Kyoto, and later rented a two-story storefront.
The first floor was used for a breakfast business, and the second floor served as living quarters.
Kyoto is the capital of China, and even a small, old apartment there costs three million.
Even renting a place costs a lot of money. In order to save money, the Su family rented a very small shop with only three rooms on the second floor, which was not enough for their family of six.
So the Su couple built a simple house in their backyard, with tiles on the roof. It was freezing cold in winter and unbearably hot in summer.
Su Niannian and her grandmother lived there, and they stayed for a full six years.
The kitchen and the makeshift house were very close together, and she deliberately kept her voice down so as not to disturb her grandmother's rest.
Su Niannian stood in front of the basin, skillfully picking vegetables. She picked them very carefully, afraid that the guests would eat the vegetables with dirt and sand stuck to them.
But in Li Xiumei's eyes, Su Niannian was just dawdling and finding ways to slack off.
"There's a lot of work waiting for you later, so hurry up and save some water when you're washing the vegetables."
Su Niannian silently continued working, nodding with red eyes.
Li Xiumei was annoyed by her behavior and said, "If you and your grandma don't finish your work before dinner, then don't eat. You two are such a burden, you'll exhaust your father and me sooner or later."
Before Grandma Su fell, she worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, doing all the housework and cooking for Su Niannian and her grandmother.
It was bad enough that her parents wouldn't pay for her grandmother's surgery, but to talk about her like that was unbearable even for Su Niannian, who had a good temper.
She put down what she was doing, frowned, and looked at Li Xiumei.
“Mom, you can say whatever you want to me, but Grandma is your elder, and she was injured while helping with chores at home. Don’t you know how much Grandma has helped you and Dad? How can you say such things about Grandma?”
Li Xiumei frowned: "You brat, do you need to teach me how to do it?"
Just then, Su Guowei returned from outside. As soon as he entered the door, he heard the conversation between the two and quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Niannian, it’s not that your parents don’t want to pay for your grandma’s medical treatment, it’s just that business is tough these days. Even though we have a lot of customers, after deducting water and electricity bills and other miscellaneous expenses, we don’t earn much each month.”
Su Niannian looked at Su Guowei and said, "We don't earn much money, but we can still buy Su Zhe and Su Xin the latest iPhones, and send them on trips abroad every summer vacation?"
While she and her grandmother were working at home, Su Xin and Su Zhe were holding their phones, wearing designer clothes, taking photos at tourist attractions, and posting on their WeChat Moments.
"Hey, look, it seems like the Su family is having a fight."
"It sounds like they're not going to pay for the old lady's medical treatment. I heard that the old lady fell while working at home. These two are really obsessed with money; they won't even spend money on their own mother."
"Who says otherwise? Old Su's wife is still eyeing her eldest daughter. Before that girl was even an adult, she came to me asking me to introduce her to someone."
"Tsk tsk tsk, trying to sell his daughter to make money for a bride price."
The shop owners next door heard the noise and came over to see what was going on.
Su Guowei was concerned about his reputation, and the fact that the two gossiping voices were so loud and clear made him feel ashamed.
He quickly added, "Niannian, aren't those all necessities? We need them for things like looking up information at school. Since we're going to buy them, let's buy the good ones and get them right away, so they don't break down in less than two years."
"Your mom and I are keeping your grandma's illness in mind. Once we have enough money, we'll take her to the hospital for surgery."
Su Niannian looked at Su Guowei calmly without saying a word.
How could she not know that her father only said that because there were outsiders present?
Although her family wasn't extremely wealthy, they could still earn 50,000 to 60,000 yuan a month. Her grandmother's medical expenses were only equivalent to two months' worth of revenue from the shop.
They would rather let their younger siblings go out to play than let their grandmother have surgery.
Li Xiumei, unlike before, sighed and said, "Niannian, your dad is right. We're both so worried that we can't sleep at night."
The reason she suddenly changed was entirely because one of the people at the door was a native of Kyoto who knew quite a few big bosses.
Li Xiumei also wanted to curry favor with the other party and find a wealthy man with a local household registration in Kyoto for her second daughter. That way, even if Su Xin didn't want to work after graduating from university, someone could support her and she wouldn't have to suffer.
Naturally, one cannot have a bad reputation in the surrounding area.
Li Xiumei: "Sister Liu, let's call one more person and play a couple of rounds of mahjong."
“Sure, I have a customer in my shop right now, so there are four of us.”
Li Xiumei glared at Su Niannian, then left with the other two.
The courtyard instantly fell silent. Su Niannian glanced in the direction of the small house and secretly rejoiced that her grandmother hadn't been woken up, otherwise she would have been heartbroken to hear it.
She composed herself and continued working.
Su Guowei stood to the side, seeing Su Niannian engrossed in her work, completely ignoring him, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Niannian, your mother manages all the money in our family, so this is just..."
He was penniless, and he would think twice before buying a pack of cigarettes. When his mother was bedridden, Su Guowei felt bad, but what could he do when he was henpecked?
When Li Xiumei yelled, he didn't dare to say a word.
Su Niannian: "Dad, don't say anymore. I'll find a way to pay for Grandma's surgery."
Su Guowei sighed, feeling uneasy, and went into the kitchen to prepare the filling for tomorrow morning.
Su Niannian was busy all afternoon, finished her work, and then went to prepare dinner. Before sunset, she put dinner on the table.
She scooped some food into a bowl and went to the small house to help her grandmother eat. Only after her grandmother finished eating did she come to the dining table to eat her own dinner.
There were only leftovers on the table; Su Xin and Su Zhe had already finished eating and gone to play games.
As soon as she sat down, Li Xiumei said, "Xiao Wang from the shop is on leave tomorrow morning. Please deliver the meal that Gu's family ordered."
Su Niannian pursed her lips. She had been feeling very tired these past two days, and today she had worked for half a day straight. She was really exhausted.
"Mom, can Su Xin go?"
Li Xiumei was unhappy.
“Your sister has never helped with chores at home. What if she delivers the wrong item? The Gu family is the richest family in the country, and I want to develop her into a long-term customer.”
Su Niannian was afraid that if she didn't send it off, her mother would make things difficult for her grandmother.
"Okay, I'll deliver it."
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Su Niannian got up to work. She helped her parents pack the steamed buns, dumplings, and millet porridge into insulated boxes.
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