RGL – Chapter 153

Su Min had a deep sleep. When she woke up, it was already getting dark.

Sun Yan woke her up, also getting dressed and getting out of bed. Seeing Su Min still groggy, she urged, “Aunt’s been calling for a while. Hurry up and get moving.”

Su Min threw on her padded jacket and casually tied up her hair before following her out of the room.

Outside, Sun Qiufang and Chen Juan had already finished preparing the food. Even though they were just eating dumplings, since her daughter was coming home for the first time, Sun Qiufang didn’t want to treat her poorly. So she simply made a large table full of dishes, setting the whole table to overflowing.

Su Min saw the feast and her stomach started to growl. She pulled the still-hesitant Sun Yan over to sit at the table.

Seeing Sun Yan finally come out, Sun Qiufang knew her daughter must’ve persuaded her. Smiling, she said, “Come on, eat up. Your Aunt Juan made all this today.”

Chen Juan said with some embarrassment, “My cooking isn’t great—please don’t mind it.”

“If you know your cooking isn’t good, why bother making it?” Sun Yan shot coldly.

Hearing that, Chen Juan forced a smile.

During the meal, Sun Qiufang steered the conversation toward the topic of Chen Juan and Sun Bing’s upcoming wedding.

Even though Sun Bing didn’t want a formal banquet, Sun Qiufang still wanted the family to gather and celebrate. Later, they’d invite some close friends from the village for a small dinner to make their stance clear.

Chen Juan smiled and said, “I’ll go with whatever Sun Bing wants. I’m fine either way.”

Sun Yan ate silently, looking a bit dazed. Seeing Chen Juan smiling so happily made her uncomfortable. Although she had listened to Su Min’s advice earlier in the room and did think her dad deserved to remarry and live a better life, she didn’t feel it had to be with Chen Juan.

So seeing Chen Juan now just made her feel awkward in all kinds of ways.

After dinner, Chen Juan rushed to help with the chores. Sun Qiufang didn’t stand on ceremony and the two of them cleaned the kitchen thoroughly. Seeing Su Min and Sun Yan watching TV in the living room, Sun Qiufang said, “Spend some time alone with Yanyan later and have a good talk. She’s a little stubborn, but she’s not a bad kid. She’s sensible—she’s not unreasonable.”

Chen Juan sighed, “She doesn’t seem to like me much.”

“It’s not about like or dislike just yet. These things take time. Besides, we’re not expecting the kids to be overly filial. As long as you and my big brother live well together, that’s enough. Look at me and Changrong—we don’t expect our daughter to stay with us forever. As long as she lives a good life out there, we’re content.”

“Yeah.” Chen Juan nodded, looking a bit worried.

Once the kitchen was cleaned, Sun Qiufang called Su Min into the bedroom for a chat, leaving Chen Juan and Sun Yan in the living room.

Sun Yan wasn’t too willing at first, but after a moment of hesitation, she agreed.

Chen Juan was visibly delighted when she nodded.

“Mom, do you think Sun Yan can come around?”

“Who knows. I think it’s possible. Your uncle has had it rough—it’s not easy finding someone decent, and I don’t want him to miss this chance. Say what you will about Chen Juan, but at least she’s willing to put in effort. She knows Yanyan isn’t thrilled about the marriage, so she took the initiative to come pick her up and said she wanted to build the relationship first. That way, it won’t be so hard on your dad when she moves in.”

Su Min said, “She’s definitely trying. And my uncle doesn’t have much money right now—this is the tough time. If a woman is willing to be with him now, that means she’s genuine. Better than finding someone later when he’s rich.”

She believed that her uncle’s ventures in fruit tree planting and fish farming would definitely make money in the future. Even if they didn’t become super wealthy, they’d certainly be considered well-off in town.

Sun Qiufang hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I just think Chen Juan’s a decent person. After being widowed for years, she still took care of her mother-in-law and is even willing to take her with her when remarrying. A woman like that may not be perfect, but she can’t be bad either. I couldn’t do that.”

Thinking about her own mother-in-law, she truly couldn’t even stand a single day.

Seeing her daughter deep in thought, she added, “It’s good to be a kind woman, but don’t ever wrong yourself. We can admire Chen Juan’s choice, but don’t feel like you have to do the same. If your mother-in-law treats you poorly, don’t just swallow it.”

“Mom, what are you talking about? I’m not even thinking about that stuff yet.”

“You might not be thinking about it now, but one day you will. When choosing a man, you also have to consider what his mother’s like. If she’s anything like your grandma, forget about living a peaceful life.”

Speaking of Grandma Su, she suddenly remembered something. “You remember Cancan got married, right? I heard his wife isn’t a good person. Your second aunt and grandma have been completely shut down—she controls all the money now. Cancan even told your grandma and grandpa to move back to the old house in the countryside. A few days ago, your grandpa called, hinting he wanted to come live with us, but I didn’t agree.”

Hearing that, Su Min immediately said, “If Dad wants to give them more money for their retirement, that’s fine. But having them live with us? Absolutely not. If Grandma really moves in, your good days and Dad’s good days will be over.”

“Exactly what I think. I definitely won’t agree. Your dad didn’t agree either. He’s suffered enough. As for giving money, we’ll contribute our share. Even though your second and third uncles aren’t as well-off as we are, their lives aren’t bad—they can do their part. It’s not all on us.”

Su Min nodded. Thinking about her past life, even after all these years, she still couldn’t let go of the way those relatives acted.

Some memories had been carved into her brain—she couldn’t forget them even if she wanted to.

In her past life, although her parents’ tragedy was partly due to their own weakness, it was also heavily influenced by her grandparents. Even though nothing had happened yet in this life, she just couldn’t view them with a calm heart.

While the mother and daughter were chatting in the room, the door knocked. Su Min opened it to see Chen Juan standing outside.

“What’s up? How did the talk go?”

Sun Qiufang, concerned, pulled her into the room. Su Min, not wanting to intrude, went to find Sun Yan.

Sun Yan had already returned to Su Min’s room and was sitting by the desk in a daze.

Su Min walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “What did you guys talk about?”

Sun Yan turned around with a nonchalant look. “Nothing much. I just told her that if she wants to marry my dad, she’d better not have any more kids. Qiangzi and I will take care of them.”

“Not letting them have children?” Su Min looked at Sun Yan in shock. “They’re getting married and having children — that’s not something you can just restrict.”

“Yes. Anyway, once they get married, they can’t have kids. My dad already has me and Qiangzi. She’s a widow herself, so whether she has kids or not doesn’t matter. Since she’s joining our family, she has to be prepared to be a stepmother.”

“Sun Yan, don’t you think you’re going too far?” Su Min said directly. She hadn’t expected that after all the persuasion, this was what Sun Yan had come up with. Agreeing to marriage but forbidding children?

Sure, her eldest uncle already had children, but this Chen Juan was still young and had been widowed for years without any children. If she wasn’t allowed to have children now, wouldn’t that mean she’d never have a child of her own in this lifetime?

How many women could bear the pain of not having their own child?

With a cold face, Sun Yan said, “Anyway, I’ve made my thoughts clear. Whether they agree or not is their business. I can’t force them.”

Su Min realized that sometimes, no matter what you said, people wouldn’t completely change. Maybe Sun Yan had taken in a bit of what she said earlier, but the rest, she’d chewed over and decided on herself.

Since Sun Yan had made up her mind, Su Min felt it was unfair, but she also knew there was no convincing her now. All she could do later was mention it to her mom.

The next morning, Chen Juan was ready to return to her hometown with Sun Yan.

At breakfast, Grandma Sun came over — mainly to see Chen Juan.

She had bought some things for Chen Juan to take back to her family’s elderly matriarch.

“Just some clothes. It’s cold at home — let the elder wear more layers. And tell Bingzi to treat your mother-in-law well.”

Grandma Sun was a widow herself and knew how hard it was for women who had lost their husbands. She had two sons and a daughter, which gave her hope for the future. But for someone like Chen Juan and her mother-in-law, not only were the days hard, they had nothing to look forward to. Thinking about that made her want to help out a little. Besides, once Chen Juan married her eldest son, they would be family — it was important to maintain a good relationship.

“Auntie, you’re being too kind. I really can’t accept these things,” Chen Juan said with an embarrassed smile, trying to refuse.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Take it. We’re all family.” Grandma Sun turned to Sun Yan. “Go back nicely with Aunt Juan now, and don’t throw any tantrums. It’s the New Year — our family should be lively and cheerful, not a joke to others. I’ll be heading back in a few days with your younger uncle and them.”

Sun Yan pouted. “I got it.”

Su Changrong drove Chen Juan and Sun Yan to the station. Su Min stayed back to chat with Grandma Sun. After Grandma Sun left to look after Doudou, Su Min remembered to bring up the matter of Sun Yan with Sun Qiufang.

When she heard that Sun Yan wanted to stop Chen Juan from having children, Sun Qiufang angrily said, “She’s still just a girl — what business does she have interfering in adult matters? And besides, she’s a woman too. Saying something like not letting another woman have kids — how can she even say that!”

After ranting, her expression softened a little. “But we don’t need to worry too much. Your uncle definitely won’t agree to this. Whether or not to have kids — that’s not something Sun Yan can control. If Chen Juan ends up pregnant, it’s not like they can force her to get rid of it.”

Hearing that, Su Min felt a little more at ease. But deep down, she still didn’t think things would be that simple. She knew Sun Yan well — she wasn’t stupid. If her mom could think this through, Sun Yan could too.

If she dared to propose such an idea, she must have follow-up plans.

“Forget it, let’s see what Uncle says.” Thinking about it too much gave her a headache. This really wasn’t something she should be worrying about anyway.

That year, as usual, Su Changrong didn’t go back home for New Year’s.

But on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Sun Bing planned to have the whole family eat together in the hometown — kind of like a wedding banquet. So Sun Qiufang started preparing early. She not only had to arrange the store matters but also buy gifts for the relatives back home. After all, they hadn’t returned in years — there would be a lot of social obligations to fulfill this time.

On the second day of the new year, Su Changrong drove back home.

His driving skills had improved a lot. He had already been driving back and forth to the county town for business inspections. This time, for the New Year, he simply drove his old car straight from the county to his hometown.

“Our shop in the county town is doing really well now. I was thinking of expanding the store into the city too. But our current location is great and it’s our own property, so I don’t plan to move. I’m thinking of opening a second branch instead. The city is big, and even if we open two stores, we don’t have to worry about getting customers.”

On the road, Su Changrong started chatting with his daughter about plans to open a new branch this year.

“Dad,” Su Min sat in the front passenger seat, carefully watching the road, “Speaking of that, I meant to ask you — that capable store manager you mentioned from the county town, what ideas did she come up with?”

“Nothing too complicated. She said the market is pretty big now, and since we’ve already built a good reputation, we should keep going. She even figured out her own management methods. Said that even if we opened more branches, she could still manage them. I took a look and thought it wasn’t bad.”

“What kind of methods?” Su Min asked curiously.

“Her business plan is pretty detailed — hard to explain all at once. How about this, after lunch today we go back to the county and stay at our home there. Tomorrow you can talk to Jiang Ping yourself and see what she thinks. I think it’s good. We might need to hire more people, but as long as the work gets done well, I don’t mind spending a bit more on salaries.”

From the back seat, Sun Qiufang laughed, “Your dad just loves to mess around with stuff.”

“I’m only doing this for my daughter. When we make money, it’s all going to her anyway.”

Su Changrong looked proud and satisfied.

Su Min didn’t think she actually needed her parents to keep supporting her, but seeing how happy he was, she didn’t want to say anything to disappoint them. She just kept thinking that she should meet this Jiang Ping tomorrow and find out what kind of person she was — could she be the strong businesswoman from her past life?

She wondered if her return had “butterflied” a strong woman’s rise. The thought made her feel uneasy.

At that time, owning a car was still a rare thing in rural areas. Especially a shiny car like Su Changrong’s — it attracted a lot of attention.

The car drove through the town straight into Sun Family Village.

“Which family in Sun Family Village has such fancy relatives? That car looks so good.”

“Who knows? I’ve only heard that Su Sangeng’s in-laws made money.”

“They’re probably back for the New Year, so it can’t be them.”

A few old men were chatting in the town when they saw Grandpa Su come out of his house looking glum. One of them asked, “Sangeng, your eldest didn’t come home for New Year again?”

Grandpa Su looked a bit embarrassed but forced a smile. “Business is busy in the city. They’re big bosses now — even one day off means a few hundred yuan lost. I told him not to come back.”

“Wow, a few hundred yuan a day — that’s serious business,” the old men exclaimed.

Now feeling a little pride, Grandpa Su smiled, “It’s alright.”

After he walked away, the old man who had asked the question scoffed, “What’s he so smug about? No matter how successful his son is, it has nothing to do with him. He kicked his eldest and their whole family out. Now that they’ve made it, he wants them to support him in old age? Dream on.”

Others chimed in, “Exactly. Our lives aren’t bad — our sons and grandsons are filial. Look at him — his family’s about to kick him out to the old house. Nothing to brag about.”

With that round of complaints, the old men who had felt a bit envious now only felt pity for Grandpa Su.

When Su Changrong’s car arrived in Sun Family Village, it caused a bit of a stir. A bunch of villagers came out to see what was going on. When they realized it was Sun Qiufang’s family returning, those who recognized them greeted them warmly.

Seeing the eldest Sun daughter, who had nearly starved to death years ago, now living such a good life — many people couldn’t help but sigh at how unpredictable fate was. Life, indeed, was all about luck.

Sun Bing had already heard the sound of the car and had come out with Chen Juan to welcome his younger sister and brother-in-law.

Since his elder sister’s family had moved to the city, they hadn’t come back for New Year in years. Now, he couldn’t help feeling a little emotional.

It was rare for Sun Qiufang to come home. Many villagers came by to see her, and she handed out some candies from their supermarket to them.