RGL – Chapter 37

To support Sun Hai’s new restaurant opening, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang hung a sign outside their own shop that read, “Family Celebration — Closed for One Day,” shut the doors, and went together to help out at Sun Hai’s place.

Naturally, Su Min wanted to join in on the excitement too. After all, her uncle’s restaurant opening was a historic moment.

But it just so happened to fall on the first day of school, and she had to attend.

When she arrived at school in the morning, there weren’t many people in the classroom yet.

Xu Mian, however, had arrived early and had even wiped down Su Min’s desk and chair for her.

Su Min thought about how lazy he used to be, and now seeing him cleaning desks for others, she was touched — it felt like her boy had truly grown up.

They both wrote their names on their textbooks, guessing which class they might be assigned to. If they weren’t placed in the same Class One, how would they stay in touch?

When the bell rang, Teacher Wu entered the classroom and announced that there would be no class reassignment this year. Everyone should study hard, and the classes would be reshuffled in Grade Nine.

Su Min had hoped to switch classes to get away from Su Wenwen, and now she was a little disappointed to hear that wouldn’t happen.

But seeing how happy the other classmates were, she felt at ease again. Although Su Wenwen was annoying, most of the other students were quite lovely.

As usual, the first class of the new semester started with rearranging seats.

Top students Xu Mian and Su Min didn’t even budge — they stayed firmly in their original seats. The others had grown used to their stubbornness.

Thanks to their long-term influence, many students actually preferred the rows near the two of them, especially the back few rows close to them. The best-performing students quickly claimed these spots.

It seemed everyone had formed an unspoken agreement: either this spot had great study vibes or simply good feng shui. Either way, it had to be lucky — otherwise, why would the first and second-ranked students stay put here year after year?

Unexpectedly, Su Wenwen’s grades had dropped out of the top twenty, landing her in the lower half of the class.

Su Min remembered that Su Wenwen used to have decent grades. After the first exam, her third uncle even boasted proudly that she ranked ninth. Motivated by that, she stayed within the top ten for a while. But starting last semester, her performance began slipping. Now, she had fallen to twenty-eighth place.

Su Min glanced over and saw Su Wenwen lying face-down on her desk — it was hard to tell if she was crying.

The first day of class felt scattered; students’ minds were wandering, and even the teachers seemed half-hearted. Su Min herself couldn’t concentrate, distracted by thoughts of how her uncle’s restaurant was doing.

As soon as the school bell rang for dismissal, she rushed out. Xu Mian wanted to catch up and talk to her but didn’t even get the chance.

When Su Min arrived at Sun Hai’s little restaurant, it was right in the middle of the busy lunch rush.

Sun Qiufang was wiping down tables, Su Changrong was manning the counter and handling payments, and Sun Hai stood at the entrance, wok in hand, expertly stir-frying dishes.

“Uncle!” Su Min called out happily, running over. Seeing how packed the place was, she immediately rolled up her sleeves to help.

Sun Qiufang, seeing her arrive, smiled and said, “You don’t need to clear the dishes. Go help your dad collect the money.”

Su Min agreed cheerfully and slipped over to stand beside Su Changrong. “Dad, business looks pretty good today!”

Su Changrong was all smiles. They had initially just planned to test the waters and hadn’t even prepared that much food. But after serving the first few dishes, the customers kept coming.

“Your uncle is clever,” he said. “He picked the first day of school — the high schoolers who have some money are all treating themselves to a meal. Plus, factory workers are bringing their kids out to eat after school too. Your uncle priced the food lower than regular restaurants. Let’s just hope we still make a profit.”

Su Min glanced around at the customers and whispered, “We definitely will. Restaurants spend a lot on rent and labor, but we’ve saved on both — that’s why we can sell cheaper. Plus, my uncle’s cooking skills haven’t dropped. Once people eat here, they’ll definitely come back.”

“That’s good then. Your mom’s been worried sick that your uncle might not make it. Now that his business is off to a good start, as long as there are no big problems, he’ll be making a living soon enough. Seeing him doing well makes us all feel at ease.”

Su Min felt the same. As long as her parents and uncle were doing well, life would keep getting better around her.

Still, she thought, her uncle was missing one thing — a wife. She wondered when his fate would come around. Hopefully, he wouldn’t end up with someone like Liu Li again.

Meanwhile, at the Rongfang Supermarket, Su Changfu was standing outside, stomach growling with hunger.

He had come into town early that morning, only to find the shop door shut. He went to their house too but found no one home.

Now, after waiting the whole morning, neither Su Changrong nor Sun Qiufang had shown up.

Su Changfu and Li Yulan were growing more and more impatient.

Lighting a cigarette, Su Changfu smoked silently, his face growing increasingly irritated.

If he hadn’t come without informing anyone beforehand, he would have suspected that his elder brother’s family was deliberately avoiding him.

Thinking about how he would have to say a few flattering words when he finally saw them made him feel even more stifled.

But now, there was no other choice. He had already realized things weren’t looking good before the New Year. Back then, he had started thinking of ways to send gifts and make connections, hoping to find another job. But with so many people and so few opportunities, there was no luck for him.

Without a job, he couldn’t just sit around. There were still debts at home to pay off, and he remembered that Su Changrong had promised during the New Year to help with stocking goods. So, he decided to come find him and ask if he could buy some products to sell and open a small shop at home.

This was the first time Li Yulan had visited Su Changrong’s place. Upon seeing Rongfang Supermarket, her eyes widened in surprise.

Before, Su Changfu had returned home and told her how well Su Changrong and his wife were doing in the city, running a shop. During the New Year, she had noticed how Su Changrong’s family looked dressed up and saw the hundreds of yuan that Su Min, that little girl, had in her hand. She figured they were definitely making money, and quite a bit at that.

Now, seeing the shop, she realized how wrong she had been to think they were only making a little money. In fact, they were making so much that it was hard to believe.

“Changfu, how did Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law come by so much money? It’s only been two years, where did all this money come from?” Li Yulan had been thinking about it all morning and still couldn’t figure it out.

Su Changfu replied, “They say they earned it from collecting scraps. When they first came out here, they only had a little over a hundred yuan, right?”

Li Yulan shot him a sideways glance, “What do you know? People who can do business are clever. I must have misjudged them. Maybe they were secretly saving money all along. After they came here, they finally had enough to open a shop. Otherwise, where would they have gotten the capital?”

“Well, now that you mention it, that makes sense.” Su Changfu suddenly felt like this theory could work. Otherwise, how could money be so easy to make in the city?

Li Yulan said, “Those two are clever indeed. When they lived under the same roof, they acted like they had nothing. Luckily, our parents only gave them a little over a hundred yuan. Otherwise, they would have taken advantage of us. If we hadn’t given them that money, we would have enough now to build our house, wouldn’t we?”

After hearing his wife’s analysis, Su Changfu felt more and more that she was right. His expression grew darker. “They only had a daughter, and now they’re playing these tricks. In the future, everything will go to Cancan. Mom already said that everything in the Su family belongs to Cancan.”

“You think too highly of them. Didn’t you see how much they fought during the New Year? I think Big Brother has changed. Even our parents can’t control him now. He said before that he would rather give money to his son-in-law than to us.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Cancan is the Su family’s heir, how can they give our things to outsiders?”

Su Changfu didn’t believe that Su Changrong would do this. The Su family’s property couldn’t be given away. His daughter would get married, and at most, she would take some dowry. Maybe they could get some bride price money back, but they wouldn’t need a huge family fortune for that.

Li Yulan saw that he was still daydreaming, so she didn’t say much more. Anyway, this matter should be left to Changfu and the in-laws to argue over. Eventually, they would get some good things out of it.

They stood there for a while longer, and by two o’clock in the afternoon, hunger got the best of them. They took some money and went to a nearby vendor to buy two steamed buns, eating them quickly.

People walking by looked at them curiously, and when they saw the two sitting on the ground, they assumed they were beggars.

In the afternoon, after school, Su Min went as usual to help out at Sun Hai’s restaurant.

This type of small eatery only really made money during lunch and dinner rushes.

By around 8 p.m., there were hardly any customers left in the restaurant.

Sun Hai stir-fried a few dishes with the leftover ingredients, and the family sat around the table inside the restaurant for a good meal.

Raising his glass, Sun Hai said, “Sister, Brother-in-law, I want to toast you both. Today really depends on you.”

Su Changrong clinked glasses and took a sip. “It’s nothing. You’ve helped me and your sister a lot too. We’re all family, no need to be so formal.”

Sun Qiufang smiled. “Your brother-in-law is right. We should help each other out when there’s something to be done. But your restaurant really does need to hire someone. Not that you need many people, but at least one to help with serving food and washing dishes. Otherwise, you really can’t handle it alone.”

Sun Hai nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. I was worried business wouldn’t be good, so I didn’t hire anyone. Now I’ll watch for a few days to see if things stay this busy. If it does, I’ll hire someone to help.”

Su Changrong agreed, “That’s true. If we hire someone and the business doesn’t go well later, we won’t even have money to pay their wages.”

Sun Qiufang glanced at him, “It’s good luck for the business to open, so let’s say some good words. It’ll definitely make money. In the future, one person won’t be enough, you’ll need to hire two.”

She then looked at Sun Hai, “And now you’re in charge of cooking, but who’s going to take care of the cash? If it’s someone unfamiliar, you can’t just have them handle the money, right?”

The more she talked, the more worried she became. She also felt that if her younger brother had gotten married, things would be easier. They could collaborate and help each other out. But now he had to manage everything alone, inside and out. What could be done about that?

“Xiao Hai, when are you going to get married? You’re at that age, and now you’re running a shop, you’ll need to settle down. Or should I ask Mom to help you find someone back home?”

It used to be difficult to talk about marriage, but now that her younger brother had a shop in the city, finding a match was definitely easier.

What did it matter if the man had bad legs? Having skills was what really mattered.

“Sis, I’m not in a hurry about this, I’ll think about it later,” Sun Hai said. He didn’t want to talk about marriage right now; his focus was on getting the business running well.

Sun Qiufang felt unsettled seeing his attitude. “You’re always like this. You used to complain about not getting married, but now you’re putting it off again.”

“Sis…” Sun Hai looked at her helplessly.

Sun Qiufang couldn’t stand his expression and quickly waved her hand. “Alright, I won’t say anything more. I’ll stop.”

Su Min was quietly eating her food when she suddenly thought of Li Meng.

If Li Meng really liked her little uncle and treated him well, then that would be good. It was better than waiting for someone who didn’t even know when they’d show up.

Unfortunately, her little uncle had clearly been hurt by Liu Li, and whenever marriage was mentioned, his mood soured. This was truly a troublesome situation.

After the family finished their meal, it was already past nine.

They cleaned up the dishes quickly and headed home.

Su Changrong had drunk a bit too much and, holding onto Sun Hai, started talking about how to make the restaurant profitable in the future and what kind of house they should buy once they made money.

Sun Hai patiently kept up with the conversation.

When they reached the door of the house, they saw two people sitting by the entrance.

Sun Qiufang was startled, thinking they were beggars, but upon getting closer, she realized it was Su Changfu and Li Yulan. “Changfu, Yulan?”

Su Changfu and Li Yulan, who had nearly fallen asleep, were startled awake by her voice. They jumped up quickly and looked at Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang with wide eyes.

Su Changfu said irritably, “Big Brother, where have you been? Yulan and I have been waiting here all day!”

Li Yulan added, “Yes, it’s been a struggle to even stay awake. We almost had to sleep on the street.”

Hearing their complaints, Sun Qiufang’s face fell. As she opened the door, she said, “How were we supposed to know you were coming? Do you expect us to wait here all day for you?”

She opened the door and walked in, turning on the lights in the main room. The house immediately became bright.

When Sun Hai saw that it was people from Su’s family, he didn’t follow them inside and instead went to his room to wash up and get some sleep.

Su Changrong, though a bit tipsy, was still somewhat clear-headed. Upon seeing Su Changfu, he became more alert. “Changfu, what are you doing here?”

Su Changfu and Li Yulan hurriedly found seats and, hearing Su Changrong’s question, Su Changfu said, “Big Brother, Yulan and I haven’t eaten anything all day. Could you get us something to eat?” They had only eaten a couple of steamed buns at noon and had nothing since.

Everyone had worked hard all day and didn’t want to go into the kitchen to cook.

Sun Qiufang quickly went to the kitchen, grabbed a few pork buns from the previous day that hadn’t sold, steamed them, and prepared some water for them to eat.

Su Changfu took a bite of the bun. “Could we at least get some noodles?”

Sun Qiufang replied unhappily, “There’s no noodles at home, just eat this. You’re hungry, so eat quickly. It’s late, we all need to rest. Tomorrow we’ll be up at four or five to work again. Who has time to wait on you?”

Seeing that Sun Qiufang had a stern look on her face, Su Changfu didn’t say anything more. The couple ate quickly, and only then did they have the energy to relax.

By this time, Su Changrong had lost most of his energy. After sitting for a while, he was ready to rest. But Sun Qiufang stopped him, not letting him into the room. “Rest? What about your brother? Where will he sleep?”

The only room left was a storage room, and it couldn’t be tidied up in time.

Su Changrong thought for a moment and decided, “Let Changfu and Xiao Hai share a room, and Yulan can squeeze in with Minzi. It’s just for one night; it’s not a big deal.”

Sun Qiufang thought about it for a moment and agreed. She turned and went to Sun Hai’s room to talk to him about the arrangement.

Sun Hai didn’t have any objections, but Su Min had strong objections in her heart.

Having to share a room with Li Yulan was simply disgusting to her.

However, she wasn’t the kind of person to make a scene, and no matter how she felt, she couldn’t make things difficult for her mother. She reluctantly nodded and climbed into bed early.

Su Min’s bed wasn’t large, so Sun Qiufang used the old bed board from her grandmother’s house, propping it up with two stools to make a makeshift bed. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t too cold, so they didn’t need too many blankets. One blanket and a quilt were enough for them to sleep.

Li Yulan was initially upset. The house clearly had four rooms, yet they were asked to squeeze into one. However, once she entered Su Min’s room, she didn’t feel as disgusted as before. Su Min’s room was decorated nicely, and even the light was brighter than in the other rooms.

Moreover, Li Yulan had made up her mind to take advantage of the evening to ask Su Min how the family was making money. Su Min was stubborn, but she was still a child. Li Yulan didn’t believe she couldn’t get the information from her.

Once inside the room, Li Yulan lay down on her bed and saw Su Min reading a book. She smiled and said, “Minzi, I want to ask you something. How are your parents making money? You guys have only been here for a short time, yet you have such a big shop and live in such a nice house. Did you bring a lot of money with you when you left?”

Su Min didn’t want to respond to Li Yulan, but when she heard the last sentence, her irritation flared up.

She frowned and looked at Li Yulan. “What money did my parents bring? Didn’t they give it all to you to build your house? Aunt, if you have questions, just ask my mom directly. Don’t guess things here. Honestly, when we were living in the countryside, do you not know how much money the family had? Saying my parents secretly took money is just nonsense. I want to ask you, Aunt, how come my parents worked so hard at home, yet didn’t see a penny?”

“You child!” Li Yulan glared at Su Min, her face turning pale with anger, her teeth gritting. She had initially thought Su Min was a child she could easily talk to, but it turned out the girl spoke more fiercely than many adults. Instead of getting any useful information, she ended up getting scolded.

Su Min felt better after speaking her mind and decided not to engage with Li Yulan further. She placed her book on the bedside table, turned off the light, and lay down.

If this had happened back home, Li Yulan would have rushed over to Su Min’s bed and given her a good beating. But now they were in someone else’s house, and since she still needed something from them tomorrow, she didn’t dare ruin the relationship. She could only silently fume in bed.

In the master bedroom, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong had also gotten into bed.

Su Changrong had originally planned to sleep early, but Sun Qiufang woke him up. “I’m telling you now, tomorrow, no matter what requests they make, you’re not allowed to agree to anything without my approval. Otherwise, we’re done.”

“What could they possibly ask for? I already said during the New Year, do what you can, don’t expect too much help from others,” Su Changrong replied, feeling a bit frustrated.

Su Changrong was feeling a bit tired after drinking and just wanted to get some sleep. His brother had come to visit late at night, and now his wife wouldn’t let him sleep. It was tough.

Hearing Su Changrong’s assurance, Sun Qiufang said, “Just make sure you listen to me tomorrow, understood?”

“Got it, got it,” Su Changrong muttered, his eyes barely open. He was too tired to care about anything else; he just wanted to sleep.

Before dawn the next day, Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong had already gotten up.

Sun Hai was also up early, and their movements had woken Su Changfu and Li Yulan. Seeing that it was still dark outside, Su Changfu, who hadn’t fully woken up, was a little unhappy.

He usually doesn’t get up this early for work. He would sleep until the sky was bright, so waking up this early was quite unusual for him.

He lay in bed for a while, listening to the noises coming from outside. Since he couldn’t sleep anymore, he reluctantly got out of bed.

“Big Brother, what’s going on this early? You’re making so much noise that nobody can sleep,” Su Changfu complained.

Li Yulan also emerged from the room, her dark circles under her eyes very obvious. After Su Min had fallen asleep last night, she had been so angry that she couldn’t sleep for a long time. When she finally managed to fall asleep, she was woken up again.

Seeing them, Sun Qiufang couldn’t hide her displeasure. “This isn’t even that early. During the winter, Chongrong and I would wake up even earlier. You two wanted to know how Chongrong and I make money, right? Now’s your chance to see for yourselves. You don’t think money just falls from the sky, do you? Even if it did, you’d still have to get up early to pick it up.”

With her sarcastic remark, Su Changfu and Li Yulan lost their desire to sleep, their faces stiffening and their anger clearly building up inside.

Now that Sun Hai also ran his own small restaurant, he had things to do early in the morning. After getting ready, he headed straight to the restaurant. Sun Qiufang packed a few buns for him to eat on the way.

“Sis, don’t cook lunch today. I’ll have Minzi bring lunch for you guys. After all, I am already making the food, so it’s easier that way.”

Sun Qiufang laughed. “Alright, looks like your niece and I are in for a treat.”

Once Sun Hai left, Sun Qiufang got busy. She kneaded dough and steamed buns, making dumplings and working tirelessly.

Su Changfu and Li Yulan were instructed by Sun Qiufang to help out, essentially acting as assistants.

After moving the freshly made steamed buns to the shop, they began setting up the store.

By the time the sky started to brighten, customers had already arrived to buy breakfast. Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong were busy working.

Su Changfu and Li Yulan, however, were no longer in a position to help. They could only stand aside and watch the couple run their successful business. But at this point, they didn’t envy them as much as before.

Sure, they were making money, but it wasn’t comfortable. There was no time to sleep at night, and they had to wake up so early in the morning. It wasn’t too bad now, but how could they handle this during the dead of winter?

Once the morning rush was over, the group sat down to eat their breakfast of buns and steamed bread.

As they ate, Su Changrong asked, “So, what brings you two here this time?”

Su Changfu, thinking about how to start the conversation, quickly replied when he heard Su Changrong’s question, “It’s about the small shop thing Dad mentioned to you last time. The family wants to open a small convenience store and buy goods from the city to take back. You promised Dad that you’d help us with the connections, but we haven’t heard anything, so we came to ask you.”

Sun Qiufang couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. This second brother of hers was indeed experienced, using a few words to get straight to the point. He was invoking their father’s name to pressure them, and also subtly accusing Chongrong of not keeping his promises.

Su Changrong immediately understood what was happening. Fortunately, the business he had been running for the past two years wasn’t in vain, so he responded, “Don’t blame me. After that mess during the New Year, how could I have had the energy to handle anything? Besides, the family has been so busy, I didn’t have time to go to the town. But…” He looked at Su Changfu. “Didn’t Dad say there was no money for the goods? How come there’s money now?”

Su Changfu had initially planned to get Su Changrong to agree to helping them with the purchase and then bring up the issue of not having enough money. He had already prepared an explanation, but he didn’t expect Su Changrong to ask about the money for the goods. He was caught off guard.

It was Li Yulan who quickly responded with a smile, “Big Brother, you know our situation. If we had the money, we wouldn’t be starting a business. We’re really out of money and need to pay off debts, so we had no choice but to come and ask for your and Big Sister-in-law’s help.”

“Help us, help us with what?” Sun Qiufang said coldly. These two really thought they could play them for fools. Did they think that without explaining things, they would just hand over the money? There was no such thing as a free lunch. Thinking back to the injustices she had suffered back in their hometown, especially when they divided up the family’s assets, she made up her mind not to lend them any money. If she had it, she’d rather spend it on buying her daughter some pretty clothes.

Li Yulan awkwardly said, “We just want Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law to help cover the cost for now. Once Changfu and I start making money, we’ll definitely pay you back.”

Su Changfu also chipped in, “Yes, didn’t Dad mention this during the New Year? He said we should ask for help. After all, we’re brothers, family is thicker than water.”

Su Changrong, hearing this, fell silent. He remembered that when their father had brought up this matter before, he had rejected it outright. He didn’t expect that the second brother’s family would come knocking on his door. Had they really figured him out and thought he was easy to manipulate?

Sun Qiufang was also furious, “When Chongrong and I first came to the city, why didn’t you say anything like this? When you took Chongrong’s job, why didn’t you think about how we’re all brothers? Now that you’re asking us for help, you bring up all this nonsense about brotherhood?”

Hearing Sun Qiufang’s sarcasm, Su Changfu couldn’t hold it in anymore. He was usually the most talkative one at home, but now in front of his eldest brother’s family, he felt like he was being treated like a subordinate.

“Big Sister-in-law, what do you mean by that? If you’re not going to lend us money, fine, but don’t make us feel so embarrassed. Can I be blamed for not getting the job done? That was something our parents said should be given to Cancan.” He was upset that he didn’t have a son, yet others were blaming him for not being fair.

Bringing up this topic only made Sun Qiufang’s long-held grievances explode. Her face instantly turned pale with anger, “What’s wrong with not having a son? I’m still living just fine, better than some people. You think you can just come here and ask us for help, why don’t you just have more sons if you’re so good at it? That’ll solve everything, right?”

Su Changrong could tell that Sun Qiufang had lost her temper and quickly tried to smooth things over, “Alright, alright, no need to argue.” Then he turned to Su Changfu and Li Yulan, “I already told Dad before, I don’t agree with this. You should do what you can afford. If you have money, you can do business, if you don’t, you need to earn it slowly. You haven’t even paid off your house yet, how can you come asking for money now? The money my wife and I made back then was all given to Dad and Mom to help you build your house, and we didn’t complain. Now your wife and you are facing tough times. The goods in this shop cost money, and if we don’t sell them, we’ll be at a loss. This house isn’t even ours; we’re renting it. If you want to compare, we’re actually worse off than you.”

Once he started speaking like this, Su Changrong felt he could see things more clearly than before. He had been in the dark about certain matters, but now, after being out for two years, he understood everything.

Su Changfu heard Su Changrong’s speech and immediately realized that his brother wasn’t going to lend them any money. He felt that the humiliation he’d endured yesterday and this morning had all been in vain.

He was furious, “Oh, so this is how it is, huh? You’re talking about brotherhood and all, but when it comes to helping, it’s nothing! Fine, if you don’t help me now, don’t come to us when you need help later!”

Li Yulan saw he was saying things in anger and feared it would make the situation worse, so she tried to intervene. But before she could, Su Changfu pointed at Su Changrong’s nose and said, “Su Changrong, you won’t have a son in this life, and in the future, it’ll be my son who’ll burn paper money for you at your grave! You’re all smug now, but wait until you’re old—how will you manage then? Do you really think your daughter will take care of you? You’re dreaming!”

Su Changrong’s face turned livid as soon as he heard that, “Get out! Get out of here! I don’t need your son to burn paper money for me when I’m dead! So what if I have a daughter? My daughter will be far more filial and successful than your son, just wait and see!”

Sun Qiufang gritted her teeth and said, “Yeah, we’ll live just fine even if you two burn paper money at our graves. Is this how you treat family? Just because we don’t lend you money, you turn your backs on us, like we owe you something.”

Su Changfu was speechless with anger. It wasn’t enough that he had been put in his place by the third sibling, but now, his eldest brother was riding roughshod over him. It really irked him.

“Fine, we’ll see. I don’t believe we’ll end up worse off than you two!” He stormed out after saying this.

Li Yulan hurried to catch up with him, but not before turning around and spitting at Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang.

Sun Qiufang spat too.

After such a loud argument early in the morning, all the good feelings were gone. Su Changrong silently put the steamed buns on the stove to steam and sighed.

If the second brother were a good person, someone willing to work like Xiao Hai, Su Changrong would have no hesitation in helping. But the second brother had always relied on others, and after having a son, he felt like the whole family owed him. With such an attitude, Su Changrong just couldn’t bring himself to help. Everyone had their limits, and he wasn’t about to take all that nonsense just to help them. Helping others could build good karma, but helping them might just make him regret it.

Seeing Su Changrong deep in thought, Sun Qiufang mistakenly thought it was because of what Su Changfu had said about not having a son and no one burning paper money for him when he died. She felt a pang of guilt. “Changrong, I’m sorry for not giving you a son. If you want… we could go to the hospital and see if we can have another one?”

“What are you talking about?!” Su Changrong looked up at her with a furrowed brow. “Didn’t we already say it? We only want Minzi, why would we have another one?”

“Is it because of what Changfu said? You’re worried about not having anyone burn paper money for you after you’re gone?”

Su Changrong pouted, “Who cares about that? As long as we make money while we’re alive, who knows what will happen later? Besides, I don’t believe having a daughter means we’ll be worse off than others. Let’s work hard, raise our daughter well, and one day, she’ll bring home a good son-in-law and make them envious.”

Sun Qiufang, who had been feeling guilty, couldn’t help but smile at his words. “You’re already thinking about your daughter’s future son-in-law, huh?”

Su Min, although unaware of what her uncle and aunt were up to, had guessed something was off. When she returned from school at noon, she looked around and saw no one.

She quietly asked Sun Qiufang and found out that her uncle and aunt had had a big fight earlier and had returned home defeated.

After hearing this, Su Min immediately gave her parents a thumbs up, “Mom, Dad, you’re awesome!”

Sun Qiufang chuckled, “We’re just making our case with reason.” She looked at the time and said, “You should go to your uncle’s restaurant for lunch. He said he wanted us to come over. I haven’t cooked, so go there and eat. Afterward, bring some food back for me and your dad.”

“Got it!” Su Min grinned and quickly headed for her uncle’s restaurant. She figured she could help with some work there.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she expected it to be busy, but to her surprise, it was rather calm. Her uncle was leisurely cooking, while a girl was quickly clearing plates and handling payments.

Su Min’s eyes widened as she recognized the girl—Li Meng, a colleague from her uncle’s previous restaurant.

So, this girl really did come looking for her uncle.

“Sun Hai, one green pepper beef,” Li Meng called out from inside.

On this side, Sun Hai quickly responded, “Got it.” After transferring the dish from the pan to a plate, he hurriedly started chopping more vegetables.

Su Min ran over to Sun Hai, “Uncle, isn’t this your colleague from the restaurant? What’s she doing here?”

Sun Hai continued chopping, saying, “Oh, I put up a help-wanted sign this morning. She came by to check it out, and then said she wanted to work here.”

“Wasn’t she doing well at the restaurant?”

Sun Hai shook his head, “She said she wasn’t happy there and wanted to switch jobs. The pay here is about the same as what she was getting there. After all, she’s doing the work of several people by herself.” He paused for a moment. “Honestly, I still feel a little awkward around Li Meng, but she’s a colleague from the same place. Since she came here asking for a job, I didn’t want to turn her away.”

Su Min thought to herself, It’s not that she wasn’t happy there, she just wants to follow you around. The pay was the same, but at the restaurant, there were several partners, and the environment was better, not to mention the lively atmosphere. Here, she had to do everything on her own.

Sun Hai said, “You go sit inside for a bit. Once I’m done with the vegetables, I’ll make you something to eat.”

“I’m not in a hurry, I’ll go inside and help out,” Su Min replied with a smile, then went into the shop to help with the dishes.

Li Meng was busy, but when she saw Su Min come in, she immediately recognized her as Sun Hai’s niece. Her face turned a little flushed.

She had the day off and came out to look for Sun Hai. When she passed by, she unexpectedly saw him. Thinking he was working here, she came to find him. Upon asking, she learned that this restaurant was his. Since it had just opened and was looking for staff, she signed up without a second thought. Fortunately, Sun Hai didn’t know her intentions. The two were getting along just fine. But now that she saw this little girl, Li Meng felt like her secret had been discovered. She couldn’t help wondering if Sun Hai would eventually find out that the previous situation was something she had deliberately caused, and then he might ask her to leave.

Li Meng stole a few glances at Su Min. Seeing that Su Min was casually cleaning the dishes without staring at her oddly, she felt relieved. This was just a little sister who probably didn’t know anything.

She smiled at Su Min and went back to her work.

Su Min quietly observed Li Meng. She was indeed efficient at her work, moving quickly. Sun Hai wasn’t underpaying her, and Su Min thought he should probably raise her salary a bit more. But she always felt that the girl wasn’t just after the wages Sun Hai was offering.