Chapter 125 Chapter 125 A reunion dinner on New Year's Eve (Part 1)
New Year’s Eve is here in the blink of an eye.
Even though Mao Li, Zhang Wei and their families haven't been in touch for months, they still have to go home when the New Year comes;
Originally, Su Tianli wanted to persuade Ajuan and Old Lady Su to spend the New Year together at the chemical plant's family compound.
But Old Mrs. Su refused to agree no matter what. On the 29th day of the lunar year, the two of them insisted on taking the long-distance bus back to their hometown in Shaoguan.
Before leaving, Old Lady Su said to Su Tianli, "Lizhi, don't talk about me and my dad anymore... He hates me to death and wishes I were dead!"
After saying this, Old Lady Su let out a long sigh.
Su Tianli: ???
Actually, Su Tianli didn't want to say goodbye.
I am just worried that it will be bad for Mrs. Su's health if she travels a long distance.
I was also worried that Mrs. Su would eat too much meat and spicy food during the New Year, which would be bad for her stomach.
But when Mrs. Su said this,
Su Tianli became even more curious, "Grandma, does my dad have a grudge against you?"
Old Mrs. Su hesitated to speak.
In the end, the old lady told Su Tianli the whole story.
——It turns out that Mrs. Su and Mr. Su grew up together as childhood sweethearts and had a very deep affection for each other. They had even been engaged.
However, the Su family became increasingly impoverished, and when the two reached the age for marriage, Mr. Su could not even afford the betrothal gift that had been agreed upon during the engagement.
In a fit of rage, Mrs. Su's family forced her to remarry.
Because Mr. Su was too poor, no one was willing to marry him until he was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Finally, he was spotted by Xin, an embroiderer in the village, and became a live-in son-in-law.
But when Mr. Su and Xin got married, Xin was nearly 40 years old, and it was an older mother giving birth to her first child...
Finally he died.
Later, Mr. Su lived alone with his son Xin Dejun. With the inheritance left by Xin, their life was pretty good.
Later, Mr. Su was afraid that people would laugh at him for being a live-in son-in-law, and since Xin had passed away, he changed his son's surname back to Su.
In addition, Mrs. Su also lost her husband later and struggled to survive with her son.
So the two of them reunited.
Su Tianli suddenly realized.
Then she asked, "So does my father blame my grandfather for changing his last name? Or does he blame you two for squandering my grandmother's fortune?"
Old Lady Su's eyes turned red. "Before I married your grandfather, your father's surname had already been changed."
"As for your dear grandmother's property..."
"I'm not the head of the family, and the money is not in my hands. I really don't know where your grandma's money went. Anyway, I have never enjoyed a penny. After I married your grandpa, I worked every day and didn't dare to stop for a moment...but I haven't achieved anything good in my life!" After saying this, the old lady started crying.
Su Tianli still has a basic understanding of Old Lady Su.
——The old lady was kind, hardworking, and had a very good temper. She was illiterate and accepted the old-fashioned idea of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues. She always accepted everything that happened and never resisted. She was very docile and attached to the men in the family.
Su Tianli didn't think she had the ability to wake up an old lady in her sixties, make her stand up, and make her understand what it meant that women hold up half the sky.
Although in Su Tianli's opinion, except for the serious illness, everything else about Old Lady Su is top-notch - old age is also an advantage, at least there is no one to restrict her, and there are children and grandchildren to help her after her death...
Su Tianli had no choice but to tell Old Lady Su, "Don't work too hard these few days when you go back. Eat when you have something to eat and rest when you have something to rest. Come back after the seventh day of the New Year."
Old Mrs. Su nodded repeatedly.
Su Tianli turned around and told Ajuan, "Come up after the seventh day of the New Year. Bring your parents and Ajun with you. First, you can visit relatives, and second, you can help set up the stall. Anyway, now you have a place to stay, you don't have to worry about being chased away in the future!"
When Ajuan heard this, she couldn't help but recall the panic and helplessness she felt when her family came to Guangzhou half a year ago and were driven away by Su Dejun and Tian Xiu.
Comparing it with the prosperous days now, Ajuan's eyes suddenly turned red, "I know, second sister."
Su Tianli smiled and told him that Su Qianzi would be back soon.
Old Mrs. Su and Ajuan turned their worries into joy and said happily that they must bring their second uncle, second aunt and Ajun to the provincial capital.
In this way, Su Tianli and Cheng Yu sent Old Lady Su and Ajuan to the long-distance bus station before returning to the chemical plant’s family compound.
Of course Cheng Yu would not go empty-handed.
Because the last time he went to the Su family to help with work,
This time, Litchi’s boyfriend really came to visit.
He brought some good things from the Northwest, and spent money to buy a pack of Shuanghongxi cakes and two bottles of wine, as well as malted milk, milk powder, milk candy, fruit candy, and four kinds of Taotao Ju snacks: two pounds each of egg loose cakes, red bean paste cakes, wife cakes, and water chestnut cakes.
It really is carrying both hands full.
As soon as she walked downstairs to the tube building, Su Tianli saw that the ugly door frame and door lock had been removed.
I guess the neighbors also cleaned the doorway.
Quite clean.
Su Tianli was a little curious. She looked at the entrance of the tube building and wanted to see how her father installed the door...
Then she heard someone calling her: "...Lychee!"
Su Tianli responded and turned around and saw Fu Yan.
Fu Yan was carrying a lot of bags and standing not far away, watching her.
Su Tianli thought, Fu Yan himself is not from the chemical factory, and He Wanqian's family is not at home, so Fu Yan is carrying all these bags of things... is he going to see his leader or master?
As soon as this thought popped up in her mind, Su Tianli patted her forehead again - Fu Yan's leader or master, isn't it He Jingdong!
Cheng Yu had already coldly questioned Fu Yan, "What are you doing here?"
Fu Yan ignored Cheng Yu and looked at Su Tianli greedily, "Lizhi, I have something to tell you..."
As he spoke, Fu Yan raised the things in his hands and said, "These are the New Year's gifts your father wanted. I'll help you carry them up and chat with you while I'm at it, okay?"
Su Tianli looked suspicious, "Why is the New Year's gift my dad wanted here with you?"
Fu Yan smiled bitterly, "Lizhi, what I said is true. The lion-head goose your father bought yesterday was brought to you from the countryside by someone I asked... You don't have to be on guard against me like this."
After a pause, Fu Yan continued: "I know you are to me..."
"Don't worry, I won't bother you."
"But I think we can be just ordinary friends."
"Lizhi, I have something serious to tell you." Fu Yan said.
Su Tianli looked at Fu Yan for a moment and said, "Then tell me now."
Fu Yan was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "You don't have to be on guard against me like this."
Su Tianli, "Forget it if you don't want to say it."
As she said that, she turned around and called Cheng Yu, "Let's go!"
Fu Yan said helplessly: "Lizhi, I...I plan to transfer to Farm 109."
Su Tianli was stunned.
She stopped and looked back at Fu Yan in surprise.
Fu Yan couldn't help but smile when he saw that she was finally willing to look him in the eye.
Speaking of which, he hasn't seen lychees for about two months since he and his friends came back from the Northwest.
Of course, whenever he wasn't at work, he would try to hang around the entrance of the health center or go to the big market to see her.
But Su Tianli rarely went out when she was working at the health center, and she didn't go to the big place very often. She would only take over for a while when her friends needed to take a break...
Fu Yan didn't have many opportunities to look her in the eye.
Now, he saw it.
Lychees are beautiful.
I don't know if it's because she's been dating Cheng Yu recently,
It seems even more beautiful.
How to say it,
In the past, Su Tianli always smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. When she smiled, it was more like she was wearing a cold mask.
Su Tianli now looks much gentler, with light in her eyes when she smiles.
Fu Yan felt both sour and bitter.
Su Tianli asked him incredulously, "You want to go to Farm 109?"
Isn’t this the reverse of Tiangang?
Under the current policy, a large number of educated youth who went to the countryside have chosen to return to the city...
Su Tianli didn't know Fu Yan and didn't know why he made the opposite choice from others at this critical juncture.
Fu Yan nodded and asked again: "Lizhi, tell me, can I go?"
Su Tianli said vigilantly: "Don't ask me about this. If you really want to go, just submit a report and apply for a transfer. Farm 109 has been short of staff for many years. You have a high school degree, so it shouldn't be a problem."
"But you don't need to ask me, lest your lover He Wanqian come and blame me in the future, saying that I asked you to go."
"I don't want to interfere in your affairs."
Fu Yan smiled bitterly, "Lizhi, you don't have to be so defensive against me."
He raised his head and looked up into the air, and said faintly, "To be honest with you, I don't like He Wanqian, and I don't want to stay with her."
"After I went to Farm 109 last time, I felt really good there... It's very peaceful and reassuring, and it allows people to calm down and do their best."
“So I decided to go there…”
"Don't worry if you laugh at me. I also want to avoid He Wanqian."
As he spoke, Fu Yan looked at Su Tianli lovingly and said word by word: "The most important thing is that I feel that the place where I have been before... is where I belong."
Su Tianli, "Comrade Fu Yan, I hope you can take responsibility for yourself."
"Instead of using your future to gain recognition from others."
"I won't say much else...just respect the blessing!"
After that, Su Tianli told Cheng Yu, "I'll go up first, and I'll ask my dad later if he went to buy something from Fu Yan.
If there really is, I will stand upstairs and shout, and you can help Fu Yan get it up, so we won’t bother him to make an extra trip.”
Cheng Yu responded loudly.
Fu Yan smiled bitterly.
Just like that, Su Tianli hurried upstairs.
But what Su Tianli didn't know was,
She had just passed the door of a house on the first floor, which had cracked open, revealing half of Wang Hongmei's face.
Yes, Wang Hongmei hid behind the door and listened to the conversation between Su Tianli and Fu Yan word for word.
Wang Hongmei was extremely jealous.
As soon as she came back, she heard her family members praising Su Tianli - saying that Su Tianli was not only beautiful and had a skill, but was also good at business.
A beautiful and capable girl like this, I wonder how many young men and boys would want to pursue her!
At that time, she was quite disapproving, thinking how good could a woman who came back from the countryside be?
Later I heard that Su Tianli already has a boyfriend, Cheng Yu?
Wang Hongmei didn't think too much about it.
She knew these two. In her memory, Su Tianli was pretty, but dark and thin.
She also had an impression of Cheng Yu, who was also a taciturn man as thin as a bamboo.
She really couldn't understand why two people like this were frequently mentioned as a popular couple in the family compound, as if they were so great.
Until one day, Wang Hongmei saw a very handsome young man in the staff compound!
This is just a one-time encounter.
Wang Hongmei then understood what it meant to be a glance that lasts a lifetime!
She felt as if she had fallen directly in love...
Then after some inquiries, Wang Hongmei found out that this handsome young man was actually Su Tianli’s boyfriend - Cheng Yu!
Wang Hongmei thought: Oh my God, after not seeing you for a few years, Cheng Yu has become so handsome?
For several days afterwards, she couldn't eat or sleep well, and her mind was filled with thoughts of Cheng Yu...
Until yesterday, Wang Hongmei met Cheng Yu for the first time in the true sense.
She was really happy...
But unexpectedly, neither Cheng Yu nor Su Tianli gave her face!
She was so angry that she ran away.
Later, she stayed at home all night without eating or sleeping.
After thinking about it, she felt that Cheng Yu was right - Cheng Yu really didn't understand her! So, Cheng Yu's behavior yesterday was entirely due to Su Tianli's nonsense!
Wang Hongmei almost hated Su Tianli to death.
She thought, if only she could teach Su Tianli a lesson! If she could break up Su Tianli and Cheng Yu, that would be even better...
What’s so great about Su Tianli? She’s just pretty. Does anyone know if Su Tianli is wearing makeup?
Humph, only a girl like Wang Hongmei, who is as beautiful as a lotus in pure water, can be called good!
I spent the whole night thinking about this.
Today, Wang Hongmei was urged by her mother to go out to buy some sauce.
As a result, as soon as she opened the door, she heard the conversation between Su Tianli, Cheng Yu and Fu Yan.
Wang Hongmei heard it all clearly and completely.
She became even more jealous.
——Even Fu Yan likes Su Tianli?
Wang Hongmei lowered her eyelids and clenched her teeth.
She thought: Fu Yan is a married man! How dare he do this behind He Wanqian's back?
Wang Hongmei smiled sinisterly.
But when Su Tianli hurried home, Su Dejun and Su Tiancai were busy at home.
The father and son were very happy to see Su Tianli come back.
Su Dejun, "Sister, why did you come here alone? Where is Cheng Yu?"
Su Tianli asked Su Dejun first, "Dad, did you ask Fu Yan to buy New Year's goods?"
Su Dejun was stunned, "Yes!"
Su Tianli held her forehead with her hand and said bluntly: "Dad, don't get so close to Fu Yan in the future... Because I hate He Wanqian, Fu Yan is He Wanqian's lover, I hate Fu Yan as well!"
Su Dejun was startled and subconsciously defended himself, "I bought something from Fu Yan and paid him. I didn't take advantage of him."
"That won't work either!"
As she said that, Su Tianli ran to the door and yelled down the stairs, "Cheng Yu! Take his things! Come back quickly!"
Cheng Yu responded, took the things in Fu Yan's hand, and went upstairs quickly.
Su Tianli even looked behind Cheng Yu and was relieved to see that Fu Yan did not catch up.
Su Dejun quickly said to his daughter: "Okay, okay, if you don't like him, I won't like him in the future! I will never talk to him again..."
Su Tianli rolled her eyes at her father and turned to go into the house.
Su Dejun was embarrassed. Just then he saw Cheng Yu carrying a lot of bags into the house. He could only scold Cheng Yu, "Since you are here, why are you carrying so many things?"
Su Tiancai pulled Su Tianli to his room and said, "Look, second sister! I have cleaned up my room... I will move in with Dad, and this room will be left for you and third sister."
Su Tianli looked around the room and found it was indeed bright and clean.
All the clothes and books that originally belonged to Su Tiancai have disappeared.
"Just let your third sister live here. I already have a place to live now." Su Tianli said.
Su Tiancai: ...
He wanted to fight for it again, "Second sister——"
Su Tianli has already walked out of the room.
Su Tiancai had no choice but to shut up.
On the other side, Su Dejun and Cheng Yu had already entered the kitchen and started working.
Su Tianli also went there to see if there was anything she could do to help.
In the end, Su Dejun drove her away, and Cheng Yu also drove her away...
Su Tianli had no choice but to ask A-di for his recent test papers. After discovering his shortcomings, Su Tianli asked him for the textbooks and began to explain the questions to him.
Even so, the atmosphere was pretty good.
Soon it was five o'clock in the afternoon.
Su Dejun and Cheng Yu have finished preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, so it's time to eat now.
But--
Everyone looked towards the door.
——Su Qianzi hasn’t come back yet.
Su Tianli said, "Dad, do you have any melon seeds?"
Su Dejun, "Yes, yes, yes!"
"Then let's eat some melon seeds and chat!" Su Tianli said.
Su Dejun was pleased with his daughter's suggestion. He quickly took out the melon seeds, peanuts, walnuts and tangerines he had bought in advance.
Everyone started eating melon seeds together.
Su Tianli recalled the old story that Old Lady Su had told her, so she asked Su Dejun, "Dad, do you have a grudge against Grandma... Grandma Liu?"
Su Dejun was originally very happy, but when he heard his daughter mention his stepmother Liu Fang, his face fell and his tone became angry, "How dare I have a grudge against her!"
Su Tianli asked: "Did she raise you?"
Su Dejun snorted.
"Is there any, Dad?" Su Tianli asked again.
Su Dejun said reluctantly, "Yes, yes, yes..."
Su Tianli, "Dad, how did you live as a child? Are you and your second and third uncles like me and Su Youzi?"
After she said this, Su Dejun fell into memories.
He spoke slowly:
When he was five or six years old, Liu Fang remarried and moved into his home with her son Sun Shaoying.
Before his father remarried, Su Dejun had been living in a daze. He was brought up by his father, and his food, clothing, housing and transportation were sloppy and casual...
After her stepmother came into the family, Sun Shaoying was half a year younger than Su Dejun, but half a head taller than Su Dejun. Her clothes were worn but clean, and she was fair and well-proportioned.
The villagers all praised Sun Shaoying for being well educated by her widowed mother at a young age, and for being well-mannered and polite.
Looking back at Su Dejun, he was jumping up and down like a wild monkey...
So Su Dejun and his stepbrother Sun Shaoying became the control group.
In any case, Su Dejun's life did become better after his stepmother came into the family.
Before his father remarried, he never cared whether he had bathed, changed clothes, or was hungry;
Anyway, his father cooked for several days at a time and let him eat when he was hungry. He would cook again after several days...so Su Dejun often went hungry.
Later, Su Dejun learned from experience that whenever his father cooked, he had to eat it quickly, otherwise it would go bad.
But eating stale rice is better than having no food at all!
So the eating pattern of young Su Dejun was: eat too much in the first two days, eat rotten food in the middle two days, and have diarrhea and starve to death in the last two days...
After my stepmother came,
People began to urge him to take a bath, wash his hair, brush his teeth, wash his face and change his clothes every day.
Someone cooked three meals a day, chased him all over the mountains and fields, and called him to come home for dinner.
Someone restricted him from knocking the bowl with chopsticks, smacking his lips, crossing his legs or shaking his legs...
There are so many rules!
"But Dad, isn't this good?" Su Tianli asked curiously.
Su Dejun snorted and fell silent.
After a long while, he said, "It's mainly because the villagers love to gossip."
In that era, there was not much entertainment in the village.
The greatest entertainment is gossip.
The Su family is a reconstituted family, and they also have the buff of revisiting the old dreams of childhood sweethearts, which makes them the focus of the villagers.
Many people would deliberately ask Su Dejun:
Does your stepmother abuse you?
Is your stepmother better to you or to your brother? Is she fair in this?
If there is a stepmother, there will be a stepfather. Is your father better to you or to your brother now?
Did your stepmother fight with your father?
…and so on.
After asking so many questions, Su Dejun naturally became annoyed.
Later, Liu Fang became pregnant.
Originally, Su Dejun didn't know she was pregnant.
One evening while eating, he was squatting at the doorstep with his bowl in hand. Halfway through his meal, a friend suddenly called him from the opposite hill, saying that the cage he had put up seemed to have caught a pheasant.
Su Dejun became excited when he heard it.
He put the unfinished bowl aside and left.
Later, he really caught a pheasant in the trap he set.
When he came back excitedly carrying the pheasant,
I found that the house was empty!
His father, stepmother and Sun Shaoying are not here? !
Only the half bowl of rice that he hadn't finished eating was kicked by someone and spilled on the ground... and was stepped on all over the floor.
Three days later his father finally came back.
As soon as he entered the house, he beat Su Dejun severely and cursed him with the most vicious curses.
Only then did Su Dejun realize that her stepmother had slipped when she went to collect bowls for him that day...which caused her to have a miscarriage.
His father said that Su Dejun deliberately spilled the rice, and the oil in the rice spilled all over the floor, causing his stepmother to slip;
Su Dejun tried hard to say that when he left, he put his job down properly.
His father scolded him again, saying that he shouldn't put the food on the ground anyway...
Perhaps because he was so angry, he beat Su Dejun so hard that he couldn't get up.
It took Su Dejun more than half a month to recover.
After the stepmother left, she never came back until she gave birth to the child.
During the time when his stepmother was away, Su Dejun once again became a wild boy who was not loved by his parents.
But by this time he had grown up a little and at least could cook for himself.
Later, when the stepmother came back with her youngest son and Sun Shaoying,
Su Dejun never submitted to her again.
In addition, after my stepmother gave birth to my third child, she could no longer do as much work every day as before for almost two or three years;
He also neglected to take care of Su Dejun.
However, because Su Dejun had grown up, he became the half-pillar of the family, half out of anger and half forced by his father.
Not only did he have to do heavy farm work, but he also had to watch his father and stepmother loving each other every day. Sun Shaoying was always praised by the villagers, and his younger brother was always loved by his parents.
Only Su Dejun, who is obviously the pillar of the family, is looked down upon by everyone.
At this point, Su Dejun's tone sank slightly: "I lost my biological mother when I was born. Although my stepmother wasn't a bad person, she wasn't much better to me either."
"My biological father is just an ordinary man. It really proves the old saying that if there is a stepmother, there will be a stepfather..."
"So when I was fifteen or sixteen years old, I was fed up with that home. I thought I must leave there and never go back again," said Su Dejun.
So later, Su Dejun worked very hard and was finally hired by the old factory director. When he arrived at the chemical factory, he was spotted by the beautiful, rich Tian Xiu...
Su Dejun is really grateful.
He also felt that he had little kinship with her, but Tian Xiu was willing to give him a home and bear children for him.
He was really grateful.
Su Dejun said slowly: "I am an uneducated person with a narrow vision. I am very happy that your mother is willing to give me a home, and a home centered on me. So I am willing to spoil her... I once thought that no matter what mistakes she made, I could forgive her."
"But after she divorced me, I was awakened by what you said, Lizhi, 'Don't pin your future on others.'"
"Then I tried to live my life well..."
"I didn't expect that after the divorce, my life would be much better than before the divorce! At least I don't have to put myself in a difficult position to serve my living ancestors..."
"So your mother said she wanted to divorce the old man and remarry me...but I don't agree."
As he said that, Su Dejun looked at Su Tianli, "Sister, I know that although you are still willing to go home now, it is not because you have forgiven me, but because you are still willing to recognize this family."
"Your feelings towards me and your mother...may be similar to the feelings I have towards my father and your grandmother Liu."
"I have no right to blame her because I am not her child."
"Your grandfather only beat me because I'm the oldest, tough, and can't be killed. Your second uncle is not your grandfather's son, so your grandfather is always polite to him. Your third uncle is your grandfather's late son, so your grandfather is even more reluctant to beat him..."
"So their family was so happy and lively, but I could never fit in."
"But childhood experiences may really affect a person's whole life. It's not that I don't want to acknowledge the kindness of your grandma Liu, but when I see her, I will think of the old days, and the time when I was almost beaten to death by my father because she fell..." Su Dejun said sullenly.
Only then did Su Tianli know about her father's childhood and past.
She just opened her mouth and was about to speak -
“Knock knock knock—”
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
The family looked at each other in confusion. Could the person coming be Su Qianzi?
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