RGL – Chapter 22

Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang didn’t stay at home for long. After breakfast and visiting a few familiar families in the village to exchange New Year’s greetings, they packed up their luggage and prepared to return to the city.

When the Su family elders outside saw the couple coming out with their luggage, both their faces turned dark. The third son’s family had just left, and now the eldest was in a hurry to leave too. Did anyone even consider this place their home anymore? One after another, they were all so unfilial.

Li Yulan said sourly, “Good thing Mom and Dad raised our Changfu. We sure can’t count on the others. Each one is only thinking about their own little household, not caring about the elders at all.”

She glanced at the items in Sun Qiufang’s hands—glutinous rice cakes and some flour and noodles—and immediately snapped, “Why are you taking so much stuff?”

Hearing her yell, Grandma Su also looked over and saw that her eldest son’s family each carried a snakeskin bag, clearly filled with things. “Why are you taking so much?”

Listening to these words, Sun Qiufang let out a cold laugh. When the third son’s family left, they had even given rice cakes as gifts. Yet when her own family took a few things, this was the reaction they got?

Su Changrong was also feeling uneasy and replied with a tight face, “These aren’t from the family. They’re from Third Aunt’s family. Since they farmed our land, they gave us some grains in return.”

At that, Grandma Su and Li Yulan immediately turned red with embarrassment. Grandma Su stiffened her neck and snapped, “If you’re going to leave, then go. No one’s stopping you. Heartless things. We really raised a bunch of ungrateful wolves. Not only do you not help the family, but you’re leaving before the New Year’s even over.”

Su Changrong felt a pang of guilt. If word got out, this situation really wouldn’t sound good. No matter what the elders had done, they were still his parents. Leaving home on the first day of the New Year with his family… people would talk.

But regardless, he couldn’t care anymore.

If they stayed, who knew if a fight would break out right during the holiday?

“Dad, Mom, I’ll stop by the town to see Lanzi, then head back to the city.”

“If you’re going, then go. Don’t talk to me.” The old lady waved her hand without even sparing him a glance.

Su Changrong sighed and looked silently at his family, then led his wife and daughter down the road toward the town.

The whole way, neither Su Changrong nor Sun Qiufang said much. In the past, they would still grumble about the family’s unfairness. But now they’d seen things clearly and didn’t even want to talk about it. All they wished for was to live their own life well. As long as they didn’t rely on anyone in the future, they wouldn’t have to endure these grievances anymore.

Sun Qiufang suddenly recalled how Gao Hong had talked about how much money they spent raising their daughter—buying new clothes, hiring tutors—and she couldn’t help feeling tempted. Even though they were poor, she only had this one precious daughter. Within her ability, she wanted to give her the best life possible.

Before, she hadn’t realized a daughter could be raised so delicately. But now she understood. Since they lived in the city, their daughter should grow up like a proper city girl. She gently patted the top of Su Min’s head and sighed softly.

Su Min, however, was thinking about something else. Originally, she was fine with going back to the city, but as soon as she heard her dad mention visiting her aunt, she felt uncomfortable.

Truthfully, she hadn’t interacted with Su Lan much, but the few times they’d met had left a bad impression.

Girls from the village rarely married into town families, especially from remote places like Sujia Village behind the mountain. But because her aunt Su Lan often went to the town due to her father’s job there, and thanks to her good looks, she ended up marrying a town man. But ever since getting married, she’d completely distanced herself from her family. During holidays she would just eat a quick meal and leave. On normal days, she never visited. Even when Grandma Su went to ask for some help, she came back empty-handed.

Back when her dad was sick and they were desperately trying to raise money, they’d asked everyone, even her aunt Su Lan. But when Su Lan found out, she had coldly kicked her out. With a frosty expression, she had said, “I don’t owe anyone anything in this life. Don’t think the Su family can squeeze another cent out of me.” Then she slammed the door in her face.

From that moment on, Su Min had stopped seeing her as family. Even though nothing had happened yet, returning to this timeline, she still didn’t want to get close to that aunt. But her feelings didn’t decide what her parents wanted.

Su Changrong, in contrast, valued his sister a lot. Among the three brothers in the family, there was only one sister, and naturally, she was dearly loved.

“She doesn’t even like us. Why should we go visit her?” Su Min couldn’t help but say.

Su Changrong held her hand and replied unhappily, “Don’t say nonsense. How could your aunt not like you?”

“She always rushes off when she visits, never even talks to us. Isn’t that dislike?”

“Hey now, your aunt had a hard life growing up. It’s understandable if she has grievances.” Su Changrong felt a pang of sadness as he recalled the past. His grandmother had never liked girls, so Lanzi had a tough childhood. She hadn’t even gone to school, just stayed home doing chores. After Grandma passed away, his mother went back to her old ways, constantly ranting that daughters were worthless. If it weren’t for all that, maybe Lanzi wouldn’t have cut ties after getting married.

Su Lan’s husband’s family lived on the innermost street of the town. It was a quieter area with only a few households, not as lively as the central streets. But compared to the remote Sujia Village, the environment was far better.

Su Lan’s husband was named Li Hua. He worked with the government construction team, going around to different work sites and putting in hard labor. It was considered a secure “iron rice bowl” job. Thanks to that, the Li family had also built a house—an entire one-story red brick tile-roofed house.

When Su Changrong’s family arrived, the Li family was still bustling around, entertaining New Year guests. Upon seeing Su Changrong, Li’s father quickly called toward the kitchen, “Lan’er, your big brother from your maternal family is here!”

As he called out, he warmly invited Su Changrong’s family into the house.

A moment later, a middle-aged man stepped out from the house. He was dark-skinned and thin, looking like a steady and honest man.

“Hua’er, come greet your brother-in-law!” Father Li called out cheerfully to his son.

Li Hua looked surprised to see Su Changrong’s family, but he still hurried over to welcome them, calling a few more times toward the kitchen as he did.

Just as Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were sitting down at the table, Su Lan came out from the kitchen.

Su Lan had delicate and pretty features. Even though she was married and already had a child of seven or eight, she still looked better than most women her age. But upon seeing Su Changrong, there wasn’t much of a smile on her face. “Why’d you come today? I’m heading back tomorrow.”

Su Changrong was quite happy to see Su Lan and grinned, “Your sister-in-law and I are heading back to the city today, so we figured we’d stop by and see you before we left.”

“You’re going to the city? For what?” Li Hua interjected in surprise.

Su Changrong chuckled, “We don’t want to farm anymore, so we’re heading to the city to make a living. As long as we’ve got hands and feet, we can survive anywhere.”

Hearing this, Su Lan glanced at Su Changrong. “Couldn’t stay at home anymore, huh?”

Li Hua gently patted her hand. “Lan’er, don’t talk like that.”

Su Changrong chuckled, “It’s fine, Lan’er’s right. The family split up and we don’t have a place to stay, so your sister-in-law and I figured we might as well go to the city.”

Su Lan’s expression softened a bit. “Are you staying for lunch? If so, I’ll go cook.”

Li Hua chimed in as well, “Yeah, have lunch here and take the afternoon bus.”

Su Changrong quickly declined, “No need, we still have to go home and tidy up. It’s New Year’s after all—still need to get the house in order. There are buses now, and it gets dark early in the winter. If we wait for the afternoon bus, it’ll be too late.”

Sun Qiufang smiled politely, “That’s right. We’re hoping to get an early start.” She wasn’t very familiar with this sister-in-law either and felt a bit awkward interacting with her.

After hearing that, the Li family didn’t insist. Su Lan pressed her lips together and quietly went back to the kitchen without saying a word.

Su Changrong wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. He could only pick up their things and prepare to leave.

Just as they were about to step out the door, Su Lan came over, carrying a fried fish and a small bag of meatballs. “It’s New Year’s, and it’s hard to get by. Take these home for the holiday.” Without waiting for a reply, she handed the food bag directly to Su Changrong.

“Lan’er, how could I accept this?” Su Changrong hurriedly tried to push it back.

Li Hua also stuffed the food into his arms. “Don’t be so polite. We’re family. It’s not worth much anyway.”

Su Lan’s expression stayed cold. “Just take it if I said so.” Without another word, she passed the bag to Li Hua and turned back into the kitchen.

Watching his sister’s retreating back, Su Changrong suddenly felt his eyes sting with tears.

The Li family walked them all the way to the yard gate before turning back. Only then did Su Changrong lead Sun Qiufang and Su Min away. On the road, he stayed quiet and looked heavy-hearted.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Su Min looked up at him.

Su Changrong wiped the corner of his eyes. “Minzi, if you ever make something of yourself, and you get the chance, be good to your aunt. She’s just like you—had a hard life.”

Hard life? What part of her life was hard?

Still, seeing her aunt give their family food earlier really surprised Su Min. In her memory, even when their grandmother had personally gone over, she hadn’t gotten anything out of her aunt. So it was unexpected that her aunt would now take the initiative to give them something.

On the bus ride back to the city, Su Changrong didn’t speak at all. He just stared out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Min watched him for a while, then leaned against Sun Qiufang and closed her eyes to rest. To her now, the rest of the Su family no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered was living her own life well and not repeating the mistakes of her past.

After returning to the city, they found a couplets banner had been pasted at the entrance of their house. It turned out the landlord’s family had done it for them, as a gesture of good luck.

Sun Qiufang quickly brought over a few pieces of ciba (glutinous rice cakes) to the landlord’s family. The items weren’t expensive, but they were homemade specialties—meant as a token of appreciation. When she came back, she had an extra bowl of meat dishes in her hands.

Sun Qiufang smiled and said, “Sister Chen insisted on being so generous. I just gave her a few pieces of cake, and she gave me a whole bowl of meat. I feel embarrassed now.”

Su Changrong said, “We’ll bring more gifts over when we get the chance. They’ve been good to us, and we should remember that.” After everything that had happened with his own family, Su Changrong had grown even more appreciative of kindness from others.

While the New Year atmosphere was still lively, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong went out again and collected some more recyclables. But since it was the holiday season, no one was selling recyclables, and the collection station was closed too. It wouldn’t reopen until the eighth day of the lunar month.

On the fifth day of the New Year, Liao Zhaodi and her mother Zhang Hui also came over to pay a New Year’s visit.

Sun Qiufang was thrilled. She quickly prepared a few good dishes at home, and everyone had a cheerful time together.

After they left, Sun Qiufang said, “Would you look at that—Changgui and his wife live so close, and they didn’t even come visit us. They’re worse than outsiders.”

Su Changrong replied, “Forget it, why bother getting worked up over this kind of thing?”

“It’s not that I’m being petty. I just think it’s not right,” Sun Qiufang muttered, clearly feeling that the in-laws’ side of the family was really disappointing. Then her thoughts turned to her own family again, and she started looking forward to her younger brother arriving soon.

Sun Hai came on the tenth day of the New Year. He originally planned to come after the Lantern Festival, but their mother kept urging him, so he packed up his things and headed into the city.

Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong had already rented a small shack nearby for him. After helping Sun Hai settle in, the whole family had a hearty meal together at Su Changrong’s place.

Su Changrong happily drank some wine and said, “Xiao Hai, let’s work hard together and live a good life here in the city.”