RGL – Chapter 31

“Xue Mian, how do you solve this question?” Sitting in front, Su Wenwen suddenly turned her head and asked Xue Mian, who was lying on his desk.

Last time, she couldn’t manage to switch classes, so Gao Hong pulled some strings and forcibly arranged for her to sit in front of Xue Mian.

Fortunately, Xue Mian was already seated in the last row of the class, and the students in the row ahead were happy enough to swap seats with Su Wenwen.

However, Xue Mian barely paid her any attention. Upon hearing her question now, he merely lifted his eyelids slightly but didn’t respond.

Su Min, who sat nearby, also pretended not to hear anything, focusing on her own work. The final exams were just a few days away—this was the most important term of the year—and she was determined to achieve good results to bring home.

Next semester, when registration reopened, she would officially be a student at this school, and she’d be able to take the exams directly here. So she was more motivated than ever to study hard.

Seeing that Xue Mian ignored her, Su Wenwen’s face instantly flushed red. She subconsciously glanced at Su Min, and upon seeing that Su Min didn’t speak up for her, resentment welled up inside her. She glared at Su Min and snapped, “You never talk. What are you pretending for?”

Hearing this, Su Min looked up at her and said, “Better to stay silent than to chirp like a noisy sparrow.”

“Who are you calling a sparrow?”

“Whoever keeps chirping, that’s who,” Su Min said, staring at Su Wenwen, not yielding at all just because she was a child. Ever since witnessing Su Wenwen’s scheming nature, Su Min could no longer view her as just an innocent kid.

Compared to some honest adults, Su Wenwen’s heart was even blacker.

Infuriated, Su Wenwen reached out to grab the book on Su Min’s desk. Before she could touch it, a loud bang echoed. She turned around and saw Xue Mian glaring at her.

She instantly felt guilty. “What are you doing?”

“What are you trying to do?” Xue Mian said coldly. “Su Min and I are studying properly here. Why are you causing trouble? You’re dumb and have bad grades, and now you want to drag others down too?”

Xue Mian’s words were blunt and unreserved. Hearing them, the other classmates all turned to look at Su Wenwen.

Su Min was also surprised, glancing at both Xue Mian and Su Wenwen.

She had thought that Xue Mian didn’t want to be friends with her anymore since he had been ignoring her these past few days. She hadn’t expected him to stand up for her against Su Wenwen.

But wow, this kid sure had a sharp tongue. Su Wenwen looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Why do you always help her?” Su Wenwen pouted, feeling wronged.

Xue Mian rubbed his head. He hated nothing more than girls who cried easily, especially the delicate and talkative kind. “I’m just calling it like it is. Do you have better grades than us? Instead of studying hard, you spend your time bothering others. I don’t want to sit near someone like you. Either you switch seats, or I’ll swap with Su Min.”

Su Min looked at Xue Mian. When did I say I wanted to switch seats? But when she saw the warning look Xue Mian shot her way, she sensibly kept quiet.

Sometimes, kids could be very stubborn.

After Xue Mian’s harsh words, the entire class started whispering about Su Wenwen. Although Xue Mian was a bit mischievous usually, he was not the kind of boy who bullied others. Clearly, Su Wenwen must have done something to really anger him, enough for him to want to change seats.

Everyone in the class knew how much Su Min and Xue Mian liked their current seats. Throughout the semester, despite many opportunities to move, they had stubbornly stayed put without budging an inch.

No matter how devious Su Wenwen was, at the end of the day, she was still just a young girl. Facing the whispered gossip and finger-pointing from her classmates, she finally broke down, burying her head in her arms and crying.

After class, Xue Mian really did act on his words and directly requested a seat change.

As for his reason? It was because the classmate in front was too disruptive to his studies.

Upon hearing Xue Mian’s request, Wu Yong felt that these three years were going to be a real ordeal thanks to this kid.

Looking at Su Wenwen’s red, swollen eyes, Wu Yong felt a bit sorry for her and didn’t want to rearrange her seat. So, he simply agreed to Xue Mian’s proposal, swapping the last two seats in Group One with those in Group Four.

This time, Su Wenwen had no face left to insist on switching together. She just lay on her desk, sobbing quietly.

Su Min glanced at her, then looked at Xue Mian, who was nonchalantly sketching on a rough piece of paper. After thinking for a moment, she wrote a note and passed it to him.

“You’re not mad at me anymore?”

Seeing the note Su Min passed over, Xue Mian, who had kept a straight face all this time, finally smiled. Lowering his head, he wrote back:

“I was never mad.”

Su Min looked at the note and wrote a simple reply: “Oh, as long as you’re not mad, that’s good.”

Though honestly, she had no idea what this kid had been angry about in the first place.

She thought the matter was settled, but unexpectedly, after reading the note, Xue Mian narrowed his eyes and glared at her before flopping back down on the desk and ignoring her again.

Su Min looked at him, feeling completely helpless. As expected, age really did create a significant gap. It was truly difficult to be friends with someone who was much younger.

Su Min attentively finished listening to the lecture, and after school, she finally pulled Xue Mian aside and asked, “What exactly are you angry about? What did I do to upset you?”

The exams were coming up soon, and she didn’t want Xue Mian’s foul mood affecting his grades.

Xue Mian had been about to pack his bag and leave quickly, but when his sleeve was tugged, he looked down and saw Su Min holding onto him. Her fair little hand made his heart skip a beat. Subconsciously, he thought, So this girl really isn’t dark anymore. A whole semester, and she’s all fair now.

Looking at Su Min’s calm face, Xue Mian’s heart became even more chaotic.

He didn’t even know what was wrong with himself. Just thinking about how Su Min had good friends besides him, how he wasn’t her only good friend, made his chest feel sour and prickly, like he wanted to lose his temper.

Especially over the past few days, when he didn’t approach Su Min and she hadn’t sought him out either—it made him feel frustrated and wronged.

Now, with Su Min tugging at him, the anger suddenly dissipated, but he couldn’t just admit it outright. So he stiffened his neck and said, “I just don’t feel like talking.”

Su Min looked at his awkward, scrunched-up little white face—it was so adorably pinched-looking that she couldn’t resist. She reached out and lightly pinched his cheek. Sure enough, it was soft and tender. She was a little shocked inside—How could a boy’s skin be this good?

Xue Mian froze in place, staring wide-eyed at her, like he had been struck motionless. A moment later, he snapped back to reality, his face instantly turning red.

“Why are you pinching my face?!”

Su Min, realizing she had just pinched someone’s face, remembered that she wasn’t an almost-thirty-year-old “weird auntie” anymore—she was now the same age as the boy in front of her. She knew her action wasn’t appropriate and was about to explain.

But then she saw Xue Mian looking at her like he had suffered a huge loss, and couldn’t help wanting to tease him more. On purpose, she said, “So what if I pinch your face? Haven’t you pulled my hair plenty of times before? Don’t you know? A girl’s hair is like her face!”

Xue Mian really didn’t know that.

But at that moment, his brain had short-circuited. He swallowed hard, grabbed his backpack, and fled toward the door as if running for his life.

Watching his panicked back, Su Min subconsciously touched her own face. Was I that scary just now?

Su Min was a little worried that because of this incident, Xue Mian would really get angry and maybe even start ignoring her from now on.

But unexpectedly, when Xue Mian returned that afternoon, he awkwardly approached her to “make up.”

Su Min had never even felt that they were having a cold war, so when she heard him say he wanted to make up, she naturally nodded eagerly.

Thus, this baffling “cold war” was resolved in such a clumsy way.

The final exams came quickly.

After two days of exams, the school finally announced the start of winter break. Once the tests were done, students excitedly made plans to visit each other’s houses to hang out during the holiday.

Su Min knew that Xue Mian was originally from City B, and that he would definitely be going home for the holidays. Because she had rejected his invitation once before, he had sulked about it for a while. This time, Su Min simply decided to invite him to her house before he left town.

Although she always found it a little awkward to be friends with younger boys, Xue Mian was different. She was willing to make an effort to get along with him like true peers.

Sure enough, when Xue Mian received Su Min’s invitation, he was overjoyed and immediately promised he would come.

“Your classmate is coming over to play, huh? When is he coming? I’ll go buy some groceries and prepare a good meal,” her mother said.

When Sun Qiufang heard that the classmate who had helped their family transfer their household registration was coming over to visit, she immediately took it seriously. Last time, they had only benefited from the classmate’s help without properly thanking him—not even having a chance to say thank you face-to-face. She had been thinking about it ever since.

Now that the classmate was coming to their house, she naturally wanted to treat him well.

Su Mi understood her mother’s thoughts and said, “I don’t know exactly when, just sometime in the next couple of days. There’s no need to prepare anything in advance anyway; the market is close by.”

Sun Qiufang nodded, “Alright then. When the time comes, I’ll ask Uncle Zhu to save us some good pork.”

Xue Mian arrived on the second day of winter break.

Su Min had just finished breakfast when he showed up at the house. As soon as he stepped inside, he looked around curiously.

“You came over today already?” Su Min said, surprised. She had thought he’d at least rest at home for a day first.

Looking at Xue Mian’s hair, which seemed to be slicked down with hair gel, and the formal black plaid overcoat he was wearing, Su Min couldn’t help but laugh.

Xue Mian didn’t know why she was laughing. Thinking she was just too happy to see him, he smiled and said, “I’m leaving for home tomorrow, so I came to hang out today.”

Of course, he would never admit that he had been so excited about coming over that he barely slept the night before.

Su Min poured him a cup of hot tea and had him sit down. “Wait here for a bit. I’ll finish washing the dishes first, and then I’ll show you around, okay?”

“Washing dishes? I’ll help you,” Xue Mian said, putting down his cup and following after her.

The Su family’s kitchen had a traditional raised stove. Xue Mian looked at it as if seeing something novel, studying it curiously. When he saw Su Min carefully washing dishes, he asked,  “Your kitchen setup is really strange.”

“What’s strange about it? Lots of families in the countryside use this kind of stove. You’ve really become someone who can’t even tell grains apart—you should get out and see more of the world.”

“I haven’t been to many places,” Xue Mian admitted.

“I lived in City B with my grandparents. But when my grandmother’s health worsened, I moved in with my aunt and uncle.”

Talking about his situation made Xue Mian’s face darken slightly.

Su Min felt a pang of sympathy and said gently, “Actually, it’s not so bad. No matter who you live with, they all love you. Having so many family members who care about you—you’re already very lucky.”

Seeing the concern on Su Min’s face, Xue Mian couldn’t help but break into a mischievous grin.

“Hahaha, you actually thought I was upset? I’m perfectly happy with the way things are now! No one’s hovering over me anymore. When I lived in City B, if my grandparents got mad, they’d punish me by making me run laps. My grandpa even hired people to watch me run. And my dad? He’d chase me around with a stick! After coming here, my uncle’s way nicer. At most, he just calls me a little rascal—he’s never laid a hand on me.”

“…”

Su Min felt like patting her own forehead. She had just fallen into a sudden rush of motherly affection—for this brat of all people.

Still, judging from what he said about being chased with a stick, she could imagine just how much mischief Xue Mian must have caused in the past.

She quickly finished washing the dishes, then drew some water and used soap to wash the grease off her hands before leading Xue Mian out of the kitchen.

Inside the main room, Su Min set up a small stove, inviting Xue Mian to sit and warm up by the fire. She also threw in some sweet potatoes and peanuts to roast.

“I know this!” Xue Mian said excitedly.

“That’s a sweet potato! My grandpa used to love roasted sweet potatoes. Every time we ate them, he’d lecture us about how hard life used to be, telling us to always remember to appreciate what we have.”

He said it with the air of a little adult. 

Su Min just smiled without saying anything. Xue Mian tossed two peanuts into the fire and looked at her again.

“Is this house your family bought? Why did you buy one here?”

“No,” Su Min shook her head. “We’re renting. Buying a house isn’t easy—it costs tens of thousands of yuan. If we had that kind of money, it would be better to expand the family business.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot—what kind of business does your family run? You always mention going to ‘watch the shop,’ but you never said what kind of shop it is.”

“You really want to know?” Su Min looked up at him. Seeing him nod eagerly, she smiled, covered the stove with some ash to control the fire, then stood up and said, “Come on, I’ll show you.”

The Rongfang Supermarket wasn’t far from the house. The two of them walked over in just a few minutes.

Sun Qiufang was busy helping a customer when she saw Su Min leading a well-dressed little boy into the store. She immediately realized it must be the classmate Su Min had mentioned—the one who had helped their family.

“Minzi, this must be your classmate, right?”

“Mm-hmm, his name is Xue Mian,” Su Min confirmed.

Seeing Sun Qiufang, Xue Mian immediately greeted her, “Hello, Auntie!”

“Good, good! What a polite boy,” Sun Qiufang said, instantly liking him. She then had Su Min take care of him and get him some snacks from the shop.

Su Min led Xue Mian into the store and showed him around. Xue Mian looked curiously here and there and said, “Your family’s shop looks a lot like a big store back in City B. They have the same kind of layout, but theirs is on a larger scale.”

“We just don’t have enough capital. Otherwise, we could run a store that big too. Once things develop better, we’ll expand. Customers just come in, pick out what they want, and then pay all at once,” Su Min explained. She remembered that in her past life, there were supermarkets where people could spend the whole day browsing without getting bored. Of course, that was still a distant dream for now.

Clearly, Xue Mian found Su Min’s “supermarket theory” very interesting and kept pulling her along to ask question after question.

Su Min didn’t know much about it either—her practical experience was limited. She just repeated what she had seen before.

But Xue Mian listened with great interest, and in the end, he looked at Su Min with a look of admiration in his eyes, “Who would’ve thought? You, a bookworm, actually have so many clever ideas.”

Su Min felt a little awkward admitting that these weren’t really her own ideas. “I just heard it from someone else,” she said.

But Xue Mian clearly didn’t believe her. If someone else really knew all this, those kinds of stores would have popped up already, at least in City B.

He thought for a moment and asked, “How much capital do you think it would take to open a supermarket like you described?”

“Probably a lot. At least a million yuan,” Su Min replied. And that was based on the current price standards—after a few years, it would easily require hundreds of millions.

Xue Mian’s eyes lit up. “If only I were already an adult,” he said eagerly.

“Look at you, such a little money-grubber,” Su Min teased. “Don’t think too much about it. Your family isn’t short on money anyway. Focus on your studies. Making money can come later.”

“You don’t get it,” Xue Mian said seriously. “That money belongs to our parents’ generation. We have to rely on our own hands to make something of ourselves.”

There was a light of determination in his eyes, and Su Min realized that in this boy, there was a real fighting spirit.

Maybe Xue Mian was a second-generation rich kid, but he looked like he would actually accomplish something on his own.

To welcome Xue Mian, Sun Qiufang had prepared a whole table full of dishes. The couple didn’t really know what to say to a child, worried about making him feel uncomfortable, so they just kept encouraging him to eat more.

By the end of the meal, Xue Mian’s belly was so full it looked like a little balloon. Su Min took him out for a walk around the neighborhood to help him digest. Seeing him walking slowly with a stuffed look, she laughed, “You’re usually not this obedient. How come when my parents told you to eat, you just kept eating without refusing?”

Xue Mian lowered his head shyly, “I was afraid they wouldn’t like me.”

Su Min had originally wanted to tease him but was caught off guard by his answer. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter, covering her mouth. “I didn’t expect you to have moments where you worry about whether people like you! You usually give even Teacher Wu such a headache!”

Embarrassed and angry, Xue Mian glared at her and stomped ahead. Su Min hurried to catch up and said a bunch of sweet words to coax him.

In the afternoon, the two of them stayed inside and did some drawing.

Xue Mian had decent drawing skills, and they each worked on their own sketches using rough paper. Every so often, Xue Mian would glance up at Su Min before lowering his head and continuing to draw.

Su Min wasn’t really interested in drawing. She was just playing along to keep him company. After sketching a few ugly doodles, she gave up.

When she tried to peek at what Xue Mian was drawing, he quickly used his hand to cover it. “Not done yet,” he said.

They didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, the sound of a car horn came from outside. Only then did Xue Mian stop drawing. He covered his sketch with another piece of rough paper and said, “My ride is here. I have to go.” Then he opened the door and dashed out.

Su Min followed him to see him off, watching as he got into the car before turning back toward the house.

Seeing the now empty house, Su Min felt a sudden pang of loneliness. She suddenly remembered the drawing Xue Mian had been working on and, curious, went inside to grab the rough paper from the table.

When she flipped it over, she was stunned.

On the rough paper, there was a girl with a long ponytail, seriously writing and drawing. Even her sitting posture and small movements were captured vividly.

“I can’t believe he was drawing me,” Su Min thought. She looked closely again, “It actually looks pretty good.”

Without hesitation, she grabbed some paste and stuck the drawing on the wall above her bed.

During the winter break, the family’s business was even better than before. They restarted their old business of selling roasted sweet potatoes and rice cakes. Plus, they continued selling buns and steamed bread—business was booming.

Every day was busy from morning till night.

Su Min had to help take care of the stall at home, but she also wanted to earn some pocket money with Liao Zhaodi. After thinking it over, she simply set up a little stall at her own doorstep to sell skewers (chuànchuànxiāng).

Although Su Min didn’t know the exact seasoning recipe for authentic chuànchuànxiāng (skewered hotpot), she understood one thing: in this cold winter weather, as long as the food was hot, sour, and spicy, there would definitely be a market for it.

So she simply partnered with Liao Zhaodi to start a chuànchuànxiāng business.

Since Uncle Zhu sold pork and was familiar with the vendors at the market, when Su Min went to buy ingredients, the vendors often gave her small discounts here and there. Of course, Su Min didn’t tell Uncle Zhu that this business was something she and Liao Zhaodi were doing together.

At night, Su Min and Liao Zhaodi would sit at home and prepare the skewers, so that by morning, they could start boiling and selling them at the stall.

People who came to the supermarket to shop, upon seeing the steaming hot skewers and smelling the delicious aroma, would come over to ask about the price. The prices were quite reasonable: vegetarian skewers were three cents each, meat skewers were six cents each. If you added two more cents, you could also get a bowl of spicy broth.

Some customers who came to buy buns and steamed bread would pick up a few skewers to whet their appetite, and with a bowl of spicy broth and a bun, it made for an extremely satisfying meal.

Seeing how good the business was, Su Min suggested to Sun Hai that during this freezing weather, he could also set up a stall at the market to sell this. People would definitely want something hot to warm themselves up while out shopping.

Recently, Sun Hai had been carrying a shoulder pole around to do business here and there, but winter business wasn’t as good as in summer.

Even after a whole day, he couldn’t earn as much as he did when he was selling near the school gates before. He had been thinking about giving up setting up a stall during the winter break and just staying home to help out his sister and brother-in-law.

Hearing Su Min’s suggestion, he came over to see how the chuànchuànxiāng business was going.

“Uncle,” Su Min said, “this doesn’t cost much to make, and it’s perfect for winter. Actually, it’s good for summer too. If we had a refrigerator, we could also sell chilled sodas and beers. These skewers go really well with cold drinks.”

Although Sun Hai had never sold this kind of food before, after learning from Su Min for a few days, he simply got himself a charcoal stove and went to set up a stall at the spot where Su Changrong used to sell.

Chuànchuànxiāng could serve as a meal, a dish, or just a snack. People who were hungry bought more; people who were just craving a snack bought less.

Business was nonstop from morning until night.

After a full day, the income was surprisingly good— even better than the earnings from his previous stall at the school gates.

Now that he was making good money, Sun Hai became even more motivated. He would prepare the skewers every evening in advance, and thanks to the cold weather, he didn’t have to worry about the food spoiling overnight.

When Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong came back from the shop at night, they also helped out by preparing skewers.

“Brother-in-law, sister, you’ve already worked all day. You should just rest early. I have to get up at four or five in the morning anyway. Don’t wear yourselves out for my sake,” Sun Hai said.

Sun Qiufang smiled and replied, “We’re all family, why say such distant words? If you can find a way to make money, I’m truly happy for you.” Looking at Sun Hai’s rough, calloused hands, she sighed and said, “Xiao Hai, I’ll say it again: If you want to open a shop, your brother-in-law and I can spare some capital for you. You’ve seen for yourself— doing business in the city is all about being fast. Whoever gets started first makes the money first. If we keep standing around and watching others, we’ll miss our chances.”

Su Changrong also said, “Right now, the rent for shops in the county town isn’t expensive. Why don’t we give it a try?”

Sun Hai smiled and shook his head, his hands still busy skewering food, “I’ve actually been thinking about what kind of business to do. I had thought about setting up a stall inside the school, but without connections there, I simply couldn’t get in. Selling outside like this isn’t a long-term solution either. Once a small shop opens inside, the business outside will definitely decline. I do have some capital on hand, but since I haven’t found the right opportunity yet, I haven’t made any moves.”

Hearing this, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang both understood the reasoning.

Doing business isn’t just about having money — you also have to find the right kind of business.

As the New Year approached, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong discussed stocking up on New Year’s goods. During the New Year, people needed to visit relatives and exchange gifts. With so many residents nearby, if they set up a stall at their storefront, they weren’t worried about things not selling.

At first, they just intended to test the waters, but starting from the Little New Year festival, the supermarket business exploded even more than before — the place was packed with people.

Su Min simply handed over the spicy skewer stall to Liao Zhaodi to manage, and she stayed at the shop to help her family.

One business drove the other: as a result, the spicy skewer stall also became incredibly popular. Not only on Su Min’s side, even Sun Hai, who had his stall at the mall entrance, took advantage of the opportunity and made a lot of money.

Because of the booming business and the unpleasant events of last year, Su Changrong suggested they go back to their hometown only on New Year’s Eve.

When Sun Qiufang heard they were planning to go back for New Year, she immediately said that Su Changrong could go back himself — she would stay and look after the shop. She had made it very clear earlier: she wouldn’t return home for the holidays anymore.

Hearing this, Su Changrong looked extremely troubled, “Qiufang, no matter what, as long as my parents are still around, we need to go back to the hometown and celebrate a family reunion.”

“Reunion? With whom? Your mother already refuses to acknowledge me as her daughter-in-law — didn’t she even ask you to divorce me?”

“It’s the New Year, what nonsense are you talking about? I said I wouldn’t divorce, and no one can make me.”

But Sun Qiufang refused to budge. She insisted firmly on not going back for New Year, no matter what he said.

Su Changrong could only turn to Su Min for help persuading her.

Without even thinking about it, Su Min refused, “Dad, Mom just said not long ago that she wouldn’t go back for New Year. If she suddenly gives in now, won’t that just give Grandma another excuse to bully her even more in the future?” In any case, she fully supported not going back. New Year was supposed to be the happiest time of the year — why should they go back every year just to be humiliated? What was the point?

Seeing that both his wife and daughter didn’t want to go back, Su Changrong became extremely anxious.

His parents were still alive, and if he didn’t return for New Year, he would be harshly judged by relatives and neighbors — people would gossip and bad-mouth him behind his back.

However, once business got really busy, he didn’t have much time to dwell on it anymore.

On the night of the 29th, the whole family sat down and calculated their earnings over this period.

Su Min and Liao Zhaodi, just from selling spicy skewers alone, had made three hundred yuan.

Since the two of them had jointly invested the startup capital, and Su Min provided the location and equipment, they followed their initial agreement to split the profits 60-40.

Liao Zhaodi held the one hundred and twenty yuan in her hands, feeling as if she were dreaming.

Before, she thought earning thirty yuan was already a lot; she never imagined she could actually have this much money.

Clutching the cash, Liao Zhaodi hurried home.

Meanwhile, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were still busy calculating their accounts. Since they had more goods and the numbers were more complicated, it took them longer to finish. On the other hand, Sun Hai, who kept daily records, had already added up his earnings easily.

“Little Uncle, how much did you make?”

Sun Hai smiled and made an ‘eight’ gesture with his hand.

“Eight hundred?” Su Min’s eyes widened in shock. The business was booming! But thinking about it carefully, since there weren’t many people selling spicy skewers yet, and with the huge crowds in the market — especially with everyone rushing to buy New Year’s goods — the heavy foot traffic, plus the fact that her Little Uncle worked from seven in the morning until after nine at night, it made sense that the business was this good.

“Little Uncle, after the New Year, come back early. You might be able to earn even more.”

Sun Hai laughed, “I’d like to, but Grandma’s at home. I haven’t been back all year — I need to spend a good New Year with her.”

Hearing this, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong, who had just finished their own accounting, smiled and said, “I’m not going back home for New Year this year. You go back and stay a couple of days, then bring Mom over to the city for a few days. There’s plenty of room at home. You can still do business, and Mom can come and enjoy herself too.”

Su Min also chimed in, “Exactly! It’s the perfect time — there’s no farm work during the New Year, and my Eldest Uncle and the others won’t be busy either. Bring Grandma out for a little vacation.”

Hearing this, Sun Hai felt a bit tempted. Now that he had some money on hand, he really wanted to bring his mother to the city, to let her see a world beyond the village.

Sun Qiufang added, “Then it’s settled. I’d be bored staying home all alone during the New Year anyway.”

Su Min laughed, “How would you be alone? I’m still here!”

“You? You’ll be going back with your dad for New Year.”

As she spoke, Sun Qiufang glanced at Su Changrong, who was pulling a long face.

Hearing this, Su Changrong was stunned, “Qiufang, you’re letting me go back for New Year?”

Sun Qiufang nodded, “You think I’m an unreasonable person? You can go back for New Year, I won’t stop you. But I’m definitely not going. Your family is too troublesome — I’m afraid you’ll get bullied again if you go alone, so I want Minzi to go with you. Honestly, sometimes your daughter’s sharper than you are.”

Although Su Min didn’t really want to go back to the old home and face that crowd, she was also worried her father wouldn’t be firm enough — if he got tricked and taken advantage of again, that would be bad.

So she simply nodded, “Tomorrow, I’ll go back with Dad.”

Originally, Su Changrong had hoped that Sun Qiufang would also go back with him, but thinking about what his daughter had said before, he didn’t insist anymore. After all, his wife had suffered too much mistreatment from his family over the years. Now that she was finally living freely, it was only natural she didn’t want to go back and suffer again.

The next morning, after helping Sun Qiufang open the family store, setting everything up and getting the business started, Su Changrong finally took Su Min and Sun Hai to the bus station to catch a ride.

This time, Su Changrong also followed Su Changgui’s example — he didn’t buy much meat or vegetables for home, only brought some white liquor and a few small gift packs that city folks use when visiting relatives.

It was Su Changrong’s first time returning home on New Year’s Eve, and he hadn’t expected to run into Su Changgui’s whole family on the bus.

Su Changgui, too, was surprised to see Su Changrong. He had thought his eldest brother must have gone back early to help out. He didn’t expect he would be traveling today as well. “Big Brother, how come you’re only going back today?”

Su Changrong and Su Min found seats and sat down, smiling as he replied, “The shop kept us busy. Today’s the first chance we had to return.”

“Shop?” Su Changgui looked at him in astonishment.

Only then did Su Changrong remember — nobody knew they had opened a store, except for Su Changfu, who had stumbled upon it by accident last time. He chuckled and said, “My wife and I opened a small supermarket over on Xining Street. We sell food and daily necessities. Business is doing alright.”

All this time, Su Changgui had thought Su Changrong was just collecting scrap in the city. They rarely ran into each other, and even when they did, they barely talked.

He hadn’t expected that, out of the blue, his big brother had already opened a store.

Last year during New Year, he was still scavenging for scraps — and now he already had a store? This was too fast!

Looking again at his big brother’s appearance — wearing a padded jacket underneath a black overcoat, his hair neatly combed, and polished leather boots on his feet — he looked even better dressed than himself. There was no trace of the down-and-out image from before. Suddenly, Su Changgui felt a bit stifled inside and said to Su Changrong, “Doing business isn’t a long-term thing. With fields and land at home, life’s pretty good here too.”

Su Changrong just smiled, “That’s alright. We’ll just take it one day at a time. If it ever becomes impossible to continue, we can always come back and farm the land. For now, your sister-in-law and I are still capable, so we’ll just keep trying outside. Besides, life’s been pretty good lately.”

After Su Changfu found out they had some money from the store, Su Changrong no longer bothered pretending to be poor. He dressed himself properly and neatly.

Just like his daughter said: Clothes make the man. Dress well, and you’ll carry yourself with more presence.

So, this time returning home, he had specially dressed himself up in a slightly flashy way under his daughter’s guidance.

Su Changgui opened his mouth but didn’t say anything else.

Gao Hong, however, gave Su Changrong an extra glance, frowning slightly.

From the moment Su Min boarded the bus, Su Wenwen had been glaring at her. Seeing Su Min chatting away with Sun Hai without even looking at her, Su Wenwen grew even angrier, her mouth pouting higher and higher.

After the bus reached the town center, Sun Hai headed off alone toward Sunjia Village.

Before they parted, Su Changrong reminded him, “When you head back to the city, make sure to bring Grandma Sun along for a few days, otherwise, Qiufang will be upset.”

Sun Hai agreed with a smile, patted Su Min’s head, and slowly made his way toward the village.

“Cripple!” Su Wenwen sneered, watching the direction Sun Hai had gone.

Su Min was just about to turn around and follow Su Changrong toward their village when she suddenly heard Su Wenwen’s curse. Instantly furious, she stormed over, grabbed Su Wenwen, “What did you just say? Say it again if you dare!”

“What are you doing, Su Min!” Gao Hong rushed over to pull her away.

But Su Min dragged Su Wenwen aside, gave her jacket a hard yank, then shoved her away fiercely.

“You child, how could you get physical like that?” Gao Hong rushed over to shield her daughter,  and Su Changgui also glared at Su Min. “Minzi, you’re being completely uncultured. How could you be so wild and even lay hands on an elder?”

“Third Uncle, who’s the one being uncultured here? Would a person with manners curse others behind their backs? Su Wenwen just insulted my Little Uncle — so what if I hit her? If anyone dares insult my family, I won’t let them off.”

She glared fiercely at Su Wenwen and Su Changgui.

Her Little Uncle had already lived such a hard life in his past life, and even in this life, he was trying so hard to change his fate. She would never let anyone hurt her family again.

Hearing this, Su Changgui turned to Su Wenwen, “Wenwen, why were you cursing people?”

Su Wenwen pouted and muttered, “I was just telling the truth. He is a cripple.”

Su Changrong frowned and said, “Changgui, you really should discipline Wenwen properly. A young girl who doesn’t know how to respect her elders — what right does she have to talk about manners?”

Seeing that both Su Changrong and his daughter were scolding her own child, Gao Hong immediately turned red with anger. “What’s wrong with what she said? Isn’t he actually a cripple? You call my Wenwen uncultured, but it’s you wild people who use your fists that are truly uncultured!”

“Enough, Gao Hong,” Su Changgui said, rubbing his forehead in frustration. Seeing Gao Hong glaring furiously at him, he didn’t dare say anything more. He could only turn to Su Changrong,  “Big Brother, let’s just drop it.”

Su Changrong said, “I didn’t say much — it’s you all who started yelling and making a scene.” As he spoke, he pulled his daughter along, heading toward Su Changfu’s house in town.

While walking, he thought, It’s the same chaos every year. Last year when they came back on the 29th, there was drama. This year, on New Year’s Eve, there’s drama again. Maybe the noisier it gets, the more prosperous the family business will be. Maybe next year business will be even better.

Gao Hong was so angry she didn’t even want to go to Su Changfu’s house for New Year’s. It took a lot of persuasion from Su Changgui before she reluctantly followed behind.

Su Wenwen glared fiercely in the direction Su Min had gone, gritting her teeth hard.

“Oh, Big Brother and Minzi are back!” Li Yulan came over with a beaming smile to help carry their things. But when she saw what they were holding, she froze, “Big Brother, you didn’t bring any meat or vegetables?”

She glanced behind Su Changrong but didn’t see Sun Qiufang, so she smiled, “Maybe Sister-in-law is carrying it with her?”

Su Changrong handed her the bags. “The store at home is too busy — your sister-in-law couldn’t leave, so she’s not coming back for New Year’s this year. As for the meat and groceries, we were too busy to prepare them. Anyway, since you all live in town now and things are convenient, we didn’t bother buying any.”

Ever since he started doing business, Su Changrong found himself getting smoother and more polished with these kinds of polite excuses.

Su Min pursed her lips and smiled quietly at her father, thinking he looked pretty cool telling such seamless little lies.

Meanwhile, Li Yulan’s face turned quite ugly, but she couldn’t lash out, so she could only hold it in with great effort. After leading Su Changrong and Su Min into the main hall, she went to serve tea and water.

Hearing the commotion, Grandma Su came out of the kitchen in the backyard. The moment she saw her eldest son, her face darkened.

“Hmph, at least you still remember to come back.”

Su Changrong said, “Mom, of course I had to come back for the New Year.”

“Yeah, you came back, but why so late? You didn’t even think of coming back earlier to help with the family chores.”

While speaking, Grandma Su looked around, “Where’s Sun Qiufang? Why isn’t she here?”

Su Min smiled, “Grandma, didn’t you forget what Mom said? She’s not coming back for New Year’s anymore.”

Upon hearing that Sun Qiufang indeed wasn’t coming back, Grandma Su twisted her mouth, “She really doesn’t dare come back!” Since the small year, she had been waiting for Sun Qiufang to return for New Year’s to settle some old scores. She had also been planning to mock Sun Qiufang about the harsh words she had said before. She didn’t believe that as the daughter-in-law of the family, Sun Qiufang would dare to not come home for the New Year. But to her surprise, she actually didn’t come back.

“Changrong, your wife is no good. She hasn’t come home for the New Year at all. How is that even like a proper daughter-in-law? You should just divorce her, what’s the point of keeping a wife like that? She has a bad temper and can’t even bear you a son.”

Upon hearing this, Su Changrong’s temper flared, and he stood up, saying, “Mom, if you really don’t want me as your son, I’ll take Minzi and leave right now. I won’t come back for New Year’s again. If you want to make a scene, you go ahead. It’s the New Year, and you’re asking your son to get divorced? Is this what a mother should be doing?”

This was the first time Su Changrong had raised his voice at Grandma Su. The moment he spoke, Grandma Su froze. She never expected that the son she had always had in the palm of her hand would shout at her and even threaten her.

After a moment of stunned silence, she collapsed onto the ground, “Oh, this is just too much!”

When Su Changgui’s family entered, they saw the old lady throwing a tantrum on the ground, and instantly regretted coming back. Last year was embarrassing enough, and this year, even before they stepped through the door, the old lady had already made a spectacle of herself.

He turned back and looked at Gao Hong, who was now quietly sneering.

Su Changgui took a deep breath and entered the house, “Mom, get up quickly. This is so embarrassing for everyone.”

Seeing Su Changgui had come back, Grandma Su immediately clung to him like she had found her pillar of support. She grabbed his arm and stood up, pointing at Su Changrong, “Look at this! Your elder brother actually shouted at me and said he won’t come back for the New Year. When I was raising you all, I did it with a mix of sweat and tears. Now, all of you have grown wings and don’t even recognize your old mother!”

“Mom.” Su Changgui’s head began to ache at the sound of her wailing.

He looked at Su Changrong but saw him sitting calmly in his chair, gazing out the window.

“Elder Brother, can’t you at least apologize to Mom? Why make such a scene on New Year’s?”

Su Changrong turned his head and looked at his brother, “Changgui, if Mom told you to divorce Gao Hong, what would you do?”

Su Changgui was speechless. He had a good life right now, and only a fool would get divorced.

Su Changrong continued, “If Mom told me to divorce Qiufang, what would I do? If I listened to her, my whole family would fall apart.”

Li Yulan quickly tried to mediate, “Big Brother, don’t get mad. Mom was just speaking out of anger, she wasn’t really asking you to divorce.”

She definitely didn’t want Su Changrong to divorce Sun Qiufang. If he did, and then remarried someone who could bear him children, all their property would go to the new wife. Her own son would end up with nothing.

With no one supporting her, Grandma Su couldn’t keep making a scene. After a few more yells, she glared at her eldest son before directing her youngest son and his wife to go upstairs to rest.

Li Yulan, unsure of Su Changrong’s thoughts, didn’t say much more and smiled awkwardly before heading into the kitchen.

Su Min sat next to Su Changrong, smiling, “Dad, you were awesome just now.”

She had been worried that her dad would get bullied when he came back, but to her surprise, even Grandma Su couldn’t get the better of him.

Su Changrong smiled, “What’s so great about it? In the past, I didn’t know any better and thought everyone in the village lived like this, muddling through life. But after going out and seeing more, I know what living really is. How could I live happily if I’m always being pushed around? Besides, your mom has suffered alongside me for so many years. I won’t let her be bullied by your grandma again.”

Su Min smiled as she leaned on his shoulder, “Dad, it’s so good to have you.”

If her father hadn’t passed away from illness in the last life, maybe their family wouldn’t have been so hard off.

After a while, Su Changfu and Grandpa Su returned. They had just been out delivering New Year’s gifts. The current situation at the supply and marketing cooperative wasn’t good, and there were rumors that it might shut down after the New Year. So Grandpa Su wanted to build some connections in case he could help Su Changfu retain a position.

When Grandpa Su saw Su Changrong return, he smiled, “You came back a bit late this year. Was the family business busy?”

“Not bad,” Su Changrong nodded, still getting used to his father suddenly being so kind.

Su Changfu also sat at the table, looking at Su Changrong’s attire, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Back in the old days, he always dressed better than Su Changrong, clean and tidy. But now, looking at it, he realized he couldn’t compare to his brother anymore.

Unable to stop himself, he said, “Big Brother, your clothes must have cost quite a bit, huh?”

Su Changrong smiled and patted his coat, “I’m not sure. Minzi and Qiufang bought them for me. I don’t wear them often, just for the New Year and holidays.”

“This fabric is nice. How about I try it on?” Su Changfu looked eager to try it.

Su Min immediately knew what her second uncle was up to. She tugged at Su Changrong’s sleeve, “Dad, this was a gift from Mom. It’s a heartfelt present, so it’s not for anyone else to wear. If Second Uncle likes it, he can ask Second Aunt to buy him one.”

Just as Su Changrong was about to take off his coat to let his brother try it on, he heard this and stopped, laughing, “This is the first gift your mom got me. Haha.”

_{A very long chapter. I dislike wenwen. She really has a dark heart.}