RGL – Chapter 39

Su Changgui thought about it for two days but still couldn’t figure out how to get the money from Gao Hong. In the end, he had no choice but to borrow money from teachers at the school.

After finally scraping the amount together, he went to the town’s post office to make a call and left a message for Grandpa Su and Su Changfu.

Once Grandpa Su received the news, he immediately took the money and brought Su Changfu into the city to find Su Changrong.

On the ride there, Su Changfu complained, “When it really matters, it’s still Third Brother we can count on. It wasn’t for nothing that we treated him well back then. Big Brother’s just heartless now—he won’t even help when you went to ask him yourself. He clearly doesn’t take our Su family seriously anymore. If this keeps up, Dad, you might as well have raised him for nothing.”

Grandpa Su wasn’t feeling great either, especially when he thought about how he had been left speechless by Su Changrong and his wife the other day. He felt utterly humiliated. After being the head of the family for so many years, now even his son and daughter-in-law dared to walk all over him.

He lowered his head and sighed. “From now on, don’t provoke him anymore. Not for your own sake, but for Cancan’s future. If you hadn’t fallen out with him, it would’ve been easier for me to ask him for help this time. Changrong isn’t the same as before—he’s got money now and a lot more nerve. Arguing with him won’t get you anywhere. As for Cancan, there’s no hope of getting into the supply and marketing cooperative anymore. We’ll have to rely on Changrong to give her a hand in the future.”

Su Changfu didn’t look convinced. “Cancan doesn’t need him. He’ll get into university and move out. That’s way more respectable than running a business like he does. When the time comes, we’ll have Third Brother pull some strings and get him a good job. No way will he end up worse off than Su Changrong.”

“You shouldn’t talk so big,” Grandpa Su warned. “If you end up regretting it, you can’t take it back.” After this whole ordeal with the supply and marketing cooperative, he understood—things changed too fast these days. Who knew how the future would unfold? Cancan was only in middle school now; it would still be years before he even sat for the university entrance exams. By then, who knew if university graduates would still be as sought after as they were now? Besides, his grades weren’t great—nothing compared to what Third son used to achieve. Who knew if he would even get in? Regardless, having money would always be the most important thing. If Changrong could help Cancan get rich in the future, his life wouldn’t turn out badly either.

After thinking for a bit, Su Changfu suddenly said, “Dad, do you really think Big Brother won’t leave any of his money to Cancan? Last time he said he was going to give it to his son-in-law. How could he? Not giving it to his own family but to an outsider? What’s wrong with him?”

Thinking about it made Su Changfu furious. Why should an outsider inherit while his own nephew got nothing? In the old days, if Big Brother and Third Brother had no sons, everything would have gone to Cancan by default.

“This is still a long way off. Don’t think about it too much yet. If you do better than Changrong in the future, why would you even care about his money? Who knows how things will turn out for him?”

Su Changfu thought that made sense too. Who knew how long Big Brother’s good days would last? Easy money came easy, but it could disappear just as fast.

Chatting like this, the two quickly arrived in the county town.

Meanwhile, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang, seeing that Su Changgui hadn’t shown up or sent word for two whole days after that confrontation, were still talking about the matter. At first, they hadn’t intended to make things difficult for Su Changgui, but after getting so riled up, they decided they might as well teach him a lesson. Thinking about it, they felt justified. He always acted so high and mighty, but when it came time to lend a hand, he vanished without a trace.

“Do you think Changgui will be able to come up with the money? What if he can’t? Gao Hong is a tough one to deal with. Think about it—has Changgui ever brought a single cent home in all these years of marriage?” Sun Qiufang said, coming over to the counter to chat after finishing with a customer.

Su Changrong frowned. “Even if he can’t come up with it, it’s good to make him squirm a little. Otherwise, he’ll keep thinking we’re heartless for not giving him money. It’s not like money grows on trees. He asks, and we just have to hand it over? Where’s the logic in that?”

He had his own grudges against this third brother—not only the countless small frictions over the years, but all the mocking, backhanded remarks he had made.

Sun Qiufang nodded. “He does need a good lesson. Always acting like he’s better than us—if he’s been in the city so long and still hasn’t saved up anything, then he’s just useless.”

Su Changrong said, “Forget it, no point talking about it anymore. If he brings the money, we’ll help him make some supplier introductions. If he can’t, then that’s that.”

Hearing this, Sun Qiufang looked at him suspiciously. “You’re not planning to secretly give him money, are you? I’m warning you: you better not. If you help him this time, next time he’ll come running again. Our money doesn’t come easy. Every cent is earned with sweat and hard work. You might not care, but I do. Minzi is out there selling ice cream sticks in the summer heat just to make a few cents. Why should Su Changfu just sit at home waiting for us to hand him money?”

“I know,” Su Changrong said, feeling guilty. In truth, he had been planning to secretly lend a little if Su Changgui really couldn’t come up with it. As frustrated as he was with his brothers, he couldn’t bring himself to do absolutely nothing. Reasonably helping was something he could still manage.

But he didn’t dare say any of this to Sun Qiufang.

Since she had endured a lot of grievances back when they lived with his family, her temper had gotten fiercer ever since they moved out. When she blew up now, he really couldn’t stand up to her.

Neither of them expected that just that same noon, Grandpa Su and the others would show up, and Su Changgui came with them too.

As soon as Su Changfu saw Su Changrong and his wife, he wore an ugly expression, glaring coldly at them.

Su Changrong didn’t say much. He told Sun Qiufang to stay behind and watch the shop while he took the others to go buy goods. Before he left, Sun Qiufang pulled him aside and gave him another stern warning—no matter what they said, he was absolutely not to give them money. She even turned his pockets inside out, down to his socks, only leaving him with twenty yuan.

“That’s enough for lunch and for buying Dad and Changfu their bus tickets. As for the goods money, don’t even think about it,” Sun Qiufang said, stuffing the rest of the money into her own pocket and pushing him out the door.

Su Changrong wore a bitter smile — when had his little schemes ever slipped past his wife? Even the money hidden in his socks had been discovered.

Only after watching Su Changrong leave did Sun Qiufang proudly chuckle. He was always staring at his feet like he was worried people wouldn’t know he had cash hidden there.

Along the way, none of the father and sons said a word.

Su Changrong knew well enough that his brothers resented him, and his father was probably furious too, so he kept quiet. When they arrived at their destination, he simply led Su Changfu into the building.

Su Changrong was already a familiar face here; everyone recognized him and greeted him warmly.

It was only now that Su Changfu and Su Changgui realized just how much their eldest brother had changed. He was no longer the clueless country bumpkin who only knew how to bury his head in farm work. Now, doing business in the city, he had built his own network and had contacts everywhere.

Grandpa Su also noticed: among all his sons, the smooth-talking second son and the educated third son couldn’t compare to the reliability of the eldest. Just a few words from the eldest, and everything was neatly arranged, while the rest of them stood around like fools. He sighed inwardly — if only the eldest had a son, he would be able to treat the eldest even better.

Su Changrong helped explain Su Changfu’s situation, and out of respect for Su Changrong, the supplier didn’t hike up the price, charging them the same rate as he would for Su Changrong.

Even so, Su Changfu still pulled a long face, feeling that since they were acquaintances, it should have been even cheaper.

“Can’t you give me a bit of a discount? We’re all familiar with each other — I’m just trying to run a small business here,” he said.

The woman helping them, Sister Li, immediately darkened her expression. “I’m familiar with Su Changrong, not you. Who knows how your business will do? If it goes badly and you never come back, that’s none of my concern. I’m already giving you the wholesale price I give him. If you don’t want it, you can just leave.”

Su Changfu had intended to show off his bargaining skills, but he ended up bright red in the face, feeling deeply embarrassed. Back at the supply and marketing cooperative, he’d seen the older women haggling like this, but here, things clearly didn’t work the same way.

Su Changrong didn’t want the deal to fall through and cause even more trouble, so he hurried to smooth things over. “Sister Li, my brother is new to the business and doesn’t know the rules yet. Please bear with him.”

Only then did Sister Li’s expression soften a little. As she filled out the invoice, she said, “I’m doing this because of the relationship I have with you and Sun Hai. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother wholesaling to just anyone.”

“Yes, Xiao Hai still remembers your help. He said next time you’re free, come by his restaurant for a meal,” Su Changrong said.

“Sun Hai opened a restaurant, right? I heard Xiao Gao mention it last time. Business seems pretty good. I always said Sun Hai’s a capable guy — he’s bound to have a bright future,” Sister Li said.

Su Changrong smiled. “Business is decent, though he did have to eat a lot of bitterness to get there. You should come by sometime and try his cooking.”

“Sure, I’ll drop by when I have time,” Sister Li said, smiling as she handed the invoice over. “Go pick up your goods from the warehouse — don’t let anything else delay your business.”

“Alright, I’ll head over first. We’ll catch up another time,” Su Changrong said, laughing and leading Grandpa Su and the others toward the warehouse.

As soon as they left the office, Su Changfu, face dark, snapped, “Why did you have to embarrass me in front of them just now, saying I didn’t know what I was doing? What did I do wrong? How could you humiliate me like that in front of outsiders?”

Hearing this, Su Changrong turned and looked at him. Seeing how upset he was, he simply stopped walking and said, “What, you can’t even take a little grievance and you expect to do business? Back when your sister-in-law and I were just starting out, we were practically groveling for goods — acting like beggars, pleading left and right. If we’d thrown a tantrum every time we felt wronged, we would’ve starved to death a long time ago.”

He thought about the hard days he and Qiufang had endured compared to what Su Changfu was facing now — it was like heaven and earth. Back then, even with Sun Hai helping to find them suppliers, they were looked down upon as country bumpkins. Sun Hai had to put in a lot of good words for them, and even then, they had to visit constantly to build trust before they were given a chance. Meanwhile, Su Changfu had his whole family helping him, and still threw a fit over the smallest slight.

Grandpa Su could guess that when his eldest son first came to the city, it must not have been easy for him. Just from the attitude of that staff member earlier, it was clear these city people weren’t easy to deal with. Even now, with a familiar face around, they still didn’t show much respect — he could only imagine how tough it must have been back when the eldest had no connections at all.

He frowned and said, “Changfu, Changrong was helping you secure the goods. If he hadn’t spoken like that just now, you might not have gotten anything. You can’t keep this attitude if you want to do business — otherwise, who would be willing to let you make money off them?”

Seeing that even his father was siding with Su Changrong, Su Changfu felt even more stifled. As expected, grandsons and everything else didn’t matter — only money did.

At this point, he didn’t dare say anything more, fearing he’d really lose his shot at doing business.

Su Changgui hadn’t said a word the whole time. Watching Su Changrong flatter and ingratiate himself with others just now made him feel disgusted. Acting all tough and throwing a fit in front of family, but groveling like that in front of outsiders — so what if he had money? If making money meant losing all your dignity like that, he wanted no part of it.

After picking up the goods from the warehouse, Su Changrong hailed a cart and helped them transport everything to the station.

Originally, he had wanted to keep them for lunch before they left, but none of them were in the mood to eat, so he didn’t insist. After they were loaded onto the vehicle, Su Changrong said, “I’ve already walked you through it once. Next time, you’ll come by yourself. Doing business is all about slowly learning. If you don’t know something, you learn.”

Su Changfu couldn’t stand being lectured like that. Waving his hand, he said, “Alright, alright, I won’t bother you anymore. You can rest easy.” After all, he already knew the process and didn’t feel he needed any more help from the eldest.

Su Changrong didn’t say anything else. He went to buy some food, handed it through the window to them, then turned and left.

Su Changgui stayed behind for a bit to chat with Grandpa Su. Several times he wanted to bring up the issue of repaying the money sooner but couldn’t bring himself to say it. In the end, he just asked a bit about the situation back home before leaving too.

“They’re all so boring,” Su Changfu muttered.

Grandpa Su sighed and said nothing. How had the second son, who used to seem so clever, turned so useless once he got to the city?

When Su Changrong got home, Sun Qiufang immediately asked him about the situation with the supplies.

Su Changrong summed it up in a few sentences. Hearing that Su Changfu had already offended people on the very first day and even said he wouldn’t come to them for help anymore, Sun Qiufang sneered, “Him not coming to us — that’s exactly what we want.”

Now that the matter with Su Changfu was settled, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang focused all their energy on setting up their own branch store.

They had already found a shop space, but Su Changrong wanted to renovate it properly. His daughter had said it herself — the storefront was the face of the business. Everyone liked good-looking things. If the place looked rundown and shabby, who would want to come in and buy anything?

Though Sun Qiufang was reluctant to spend the money on renovations, since both Su Changrong and Su Min agreed, she eventually went along with it too. She carefully did the math, calculating how much money opening the branch would cost and how much would be left over for buying a house. Luckily, the branch store wasn’t very big, so even after renovations and stocking up, it wouldn’t cost too much.

At dinner, Sun Qiufang brought it up to Su Changrong, saying that opening the store wouldn’t actually use up that much money, and they could start looking for a suitable house.

When Su Min heard her mention buying a house, she paused mid-bite and said, “Mom, Dad — maybe we should wait a bit on the house.”

Sun Qiufang was puzzled. “Why wait? We have the money now. The sooner we buy, the better. Renting now, I don’t even dare buy furniture. If we buy a house, we could also finally get a TV! I heard there’s something called a refrigerator too — a cabinet that can keep things cold even in the summer. You can put popsicles inside and eat them slowly.”

“Mom, you could buy a fridge for the store to chill sodas during the summer, but there’s no rush for the house yet. We’ve lived this long without it; a little longer won’t hurt. Right now, if you rush, the only ones selling are those who don’t want to live there anymore — the worst places. Shouldn’t our first real home be something better?”

“It’s not that I’m rushing — but the longer we wait, the fewer houses there’ll be left. Then what if we really can’t find anything to buy?”

Su Changrong also said, “That’s right. Your mom and I already discussed it. Since we have enough money right now, we might as well just buy a house early.”

“Don’t buy yet, Dad, Mom. Listen to me. Don’t buy now — wait until a good house comes along. The place we’re living in right now is perfectly fine. I don’t want to move.”

Su Min had made up her mind — there was absolutely no way she would let them buy a house now.

Since Xue Mian had already gotten some news, it was likely that the county would start construction next year. By then, there would be lots of houses for sale. If they bought now and later had no money to buy a better house, what would they do? Besides, she was sure their family wasn’t the only one who had caught wind of it. Those with relatives working in the county government had probably gotten the news too and were quietly preparing to buy houses.

Seeing that she just didn’t want to move, Su Changrong smiled and said, “But this house belongs to someone else. Eventually, we’ll have to give it back. If we buy our own place, we won’t have to worry about moving anymore.”

When Su Min saw her parents still insisting on buying, she grew anxious. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Dad, Mom, I already asked Xue Mian to help me find a place — one that’s in a good location and cheap. You two wait a little bit. Once he finds something for us, we can buy it.”

“You’re asking your classmate again? How can we trouble him like that? We already bothered him once,” Sun Qiufang said disapprovingly. She felt embarrassed relying on a young person for so much of their family’s affairs.

Seeing her mother still unconvinced, Su Min hurriedly made up more nonsense, “It’s not actually Xue Mian — it’s one of his relatives. Anyway, I already talked to them. If we go ahead and buy something ourselves, and later they find a better one for us, wouldn’t it be super awkward? They’ve helped us so much already. If we turn our backs on them now, wouldn’t that be ungrateful?”

Hearing their daughter even bring up being “ungrateful,” the two adults didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Su Changrong said, “Alright, alright. We’ll wait for your classmate’s news first.”

Sun Qiufang also smiled and said, “You should bring your classmate over for a meal sometime. We keep troubling him like this, and you don’t even hesitate to ask. How are we ever going to repay this favor?”

Su Min thought to herself: with Xue Mian’s background, it was unlikely she would ever have the chance to truly repay him. She could only try to treat him better in the future.

Su Min originally thought that even if news had leaked from the county, actual construction wouldn’t start until the end of the year at the earliest.

She hadn’t expected that by November, work had already started — they were marking out foundations in the eastern part of town. The government had even sent out notices to the neighborhoods: they were planning to build a residential complex there, and the houses would be sold to the public for fifty yuan per square meter.

As soon as this news broke, the whole county buzzed with excitement.

When Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang heard, they felt incredibly lucky — if they had bought a house earlier, it would’ve been not only more expensive but also old. Now they could get a cheap, newly-built house by the government, and the location wasn’t even that remote.

That evening, when Sun Hai came back from the shop and heard the news, he was happy too.  “I bet a lot of people are going to rush to buy. Anyone with some savings will probably want to get a house first.”

In the city, there wasn’t a shortage of anything — except housing.

After living in the city for so long now, Sun Qiufang and the others deeply understood this reality.

Sun Qiufang said, “Why don’t you buy a unit too? You can use it when you get married. If you don’t have enough money, your brother-in-law and I can help you out.”

Sun Hai laughed, “Sis, there’s no rush. Even if I had the money, I wouldn’t qualify. These houses are reserved for city residents. Besides, with so many people buying, a lot of rental houses will open up later. It’ll be easier for me to find a place to rent then.”

Sun Qiufang thought about it and realized that was true. Her little brother’s household registration hadn’t been moved into the city yet — he wasn’t eligible to buy.

Su Min didn’t say anything on the side.

It wasn’t until Sun Hai went to bed that she followed Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong into the room and shared her plan.

“Uncle still can’t buy a house since he doesn’t have a local household registration, but renting a place isn’t a long-term solution. If Uncle gets married in the future, we can’t have him moving house all the time with Aunt. How about we buy two houses first? We can lend one to Uncle to live in. When Uncle is able to, the house can be transferred to him. If he buys his own house later, we can keep this one for me to live in when I grow up. Buying a house now will definitely cost less than buying later.” She had initially wanted to suggest helping her uncle buy a house and letting him pay her back once he had money, but she realized that wouldn’t sound good. People have their own interests, and she wasn’t sure how far her parents would be willing to go with the idea, so she changed her wording. In the end, the outcome would be the same.

After hearing the plan, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang both thought it over seriously.

After a while, Sun Qiufang said, “I think it’s fine. Anyway, with this price, we can afford to buy two houses.”

Su Changrong nodded as well, “This works. We’ll let Uncle live there first, and when he’s no longer staying, the house will be for our daughter.”

The couple discussed it and decided not to tell Sun Hai yet. They would wait until the houses were bought before telling him to avoid putting pressure on him.

Sun Qiufang said, “I wonder what’s on Xiao Hai’s mind. Li Meng has been with him for months now, but there’s been no movement at all.”

Not only was Sun Qiufang anxious, but Li Meng was also feeling uneasy.

That night, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Her roommate, a young girl she shared the apartment with, asked, “Li Meng, why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I can’t sleep.” Li Meng rolled over and looked at her. “What do you think I should do if I like someone? How can I make him like me too?” After working with Sun Hai for a few months, Li Meng couldn’t help but want to express her feelings to him, but she worried that if Sun Hai found out she had liked him from the beginning, he might suspect her of intentionally causing trouble between him and Liu Li.

So, for the past few months, she had kept her feelings to herself, hoping Sun Hai would notice her good qualities and talk to her first.

But Sun Hai’s attitude never changed.

Was it because she wasn’t as pretty as Liu Li, and that’s why he couldn’t see anything good about her?

Li Meng rubbed her face, feeling very frustrated.

Her roommate said, “What era are we in? You’re still waiting for the guy to approach you and ask you to be his girlfriend? You’re usually so smart, but how come you’re being so foolish now?”

“You mean I should take the initiative?” Li Meng didn’t think she was too shy to speak up; she just felt it wasn’t appropriate.

“Isn’t it embarrassing? He’s not married, but his family is probably urging him to. If you get along with his family, doesn’t that solve half the problem? I’ll tell you, my aunt, she was interested in the only teacher in our village. What did she do? She went to their house every day to help out, and took care of her future in-laws. Not long after, they got married.” Of course, she didn’t mention that after her aunt and uncle married, her aunt had quickly taken control of the household.

Hearing her roommate’s words, Li Meng suddenly had an epiphany.

“You’re right. But his sister seems to be happy with me too, but nothing has come of it.”

“You need to start with his mom. She’s soft-hearted.”

Li Meng nodded and then curiously asked, “You’re so clever, why haven’t you found someone?”

Her roommate coughed awkwardly, “I just talk a good game. When I’m actually in front of someone, I’m more soft-hearted than them.”

Li Meng covered her mouth and laughed, “So you’re a paper tiger.”

“Can’t you let people sleep?” another roommate shouted from the other bed, and the two of them quickly quieted down, holding their mouths and laughing.

With a new plan in mind, Li Meng felt more confident.

Sun Hai’s mother was in their hometown, and she couldn’t just go to her house to visit the old lady because that would be too obvious.

So, she decided that Sun Hai should bring his mother to the city.

While they were chatting after working at the store, Li Meng smiled and said, “Sun Hai, you’ve been running this store for a while now. Why don’t you bring your mom over to see it? She must be thinking of you back home. Why don’t you bring her here for a visit? She’ll be happy too.”

Sun Hai wiped the table, and when he heard Li Meng mention his mother, he smiled, “My mom’s at home helping my brother take care of the kids. There’s still work to be done at home, so she can’t leave.”

“That’s even better! Let your mom come here for a break. She’s getting older, and she’s always working so hard. Her health can’t handle it. Even if she wants to rest, she probably doesn’t feel comfortable asking. If you bring her here, your brother and sister-in-law can’t say anything. When I have time, I can help you take her around too.”

Sun Hai thought for a moment and started to feel moved by the idea.

The last time his mother came to the city, he didn’t have a proper job, and she had ended up helping out with a few chores, braving the cold. It had been almost a year since then, and the store was now open. It was time to bring his mother here to visit and reassure her.

Seeing the thoughtful look on Sun Hai’s face, Li Meng felt happy. “I heard there’s a Beijing opera at the county theater. Your mom loves that, right? She probably can’t see it in the village. Why don’t you bring her here to watch it?”

Sun Hai happily replied, “My mom loves that. She can even sing a few lines herself.”

Li Meng was secretly relieved, glad that she had already checked with his sister-in-law about his mother’s preferences. “Then hurry up and bring her over! If you miss this chance, who knows when it will happen again?”

Sun Hai smiled and nodded. “I’ll talk to my sister tonight. I’ll find a time to go back home soon.”

When Li Meng heard him agree, she smiled, her little dimples briefly showing.

After being reminded by Li Meng, Sun Hai started thinking more about the matter. He recalled how his mother had constantly worried about his situation the last time she visited the city. She must have been thinking about him for the past year.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he should go back home and bring his mother to the city.

That evening, when Sun Qiufang and the others came over for dinner, he brought up the idea.

Sun Qiufang laughed when she heard it. “That’s a good idea. Now that you’ve opened the store, it’s time to make your mom happy. Xiao Hai, if you settle down here, we’ll bring your mom here. She’s all alone back home, and your brother and sister-in-law are busy with their own things. I worry about her.”

When Sun Qiufang talked about this, she also felt guilty.

Before she got married, she always said she would visit her parents every month. But after marrying, she realized it wasn’t as easy as she thought. There was always work to be done at her in-laws, and whenever she went home, it felt like a big hassle.

Plus, her relationship with her sister-in-law wasn’t great, so she ended up visiting even less.

She wiped her eyes. “I’ve been blaming my brother for not being filial, but I’m probably the most unfilial one.”

Su Changrong patted her back. “We’ve settled down now. If you want to bring mother-in-law here, go ahead. Sun Hai’s settled here too. Life will be easier from now on.”

Sun Hai also said, “Once I find a rental, I’ll talk to Mom about bringing her here.”

Su Min smiled. “When that happens, I’ll take my grandma out for walks after school.”

Once the decision was made, the next morning Sun Hai told Li Meng that he wanted to take a day off to go back home and bring his mom to the city.

Li Meng almost didn’t know how to react because she was so happy.

She had only casually mentioned it, but it seemed to work.

“Don’t take a day off,” she said. “I can handle the cooking now. You go ahead and pick up your mom. I’ll definitely take care of the store.”