RGL – Chapter 6

Su Min instantly recognized the plump woman—it was her eldest aunt, Zhang Guihua, looking just like a younger version of herself from a decade ago.

Zhang Guihua wiped her hands on her apron and smiled. “Oh, it’s Qiufang and her family. Come in and have a seat!”

Although Sun Qiufang didn’t get along well with her sister-in-law, she had come to ask for a favor today, so she felt a little awkward. She followed Zhang Guihua into the house.

“I was just about to head out to do some work. If you’d come a little later, I wouldn’t have been home,” Zhang Guihua said as she poured water for everyone and handed Su Min a handful of peanuts. “Here, Minzi, have some. Qiangqiang and Yanzi love these salt-boiled peanuts.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Su Min said as she accepted them, thinking to herself that this cheerful facade wouldn’t last long. Once her mom mentioned leaving her here, her aunt’s smile would definitely vanish.

Zhang Guihua was a lot like Li Yulan—petty and intolerant—but she was more cunning. She always acted polite and kind in front of outsiders, giving people the impression that she was easy to get along with. Su Min used to think so too, but after her family fell on hard times, she had seen the coldness of human nature. She had heard plenty of harsh words from this aunt. So now, watching her smile, Su Min knew it was all a fake.

Grandma Sun came into the room too, beaming with joy at the sight of her daughter. “I thought you wouldn’t be able to come because of the busy farming season.”

Zhang Guihua chimed in with a smile, “Exactly, Mom was just talking about how it’s been a while since you visited. You should stay today. I’ll go to the town later and buy some meat—we’ll make a nice meal.”

“No need to go to the trouble. We’ll be leaving shortly,” Sun Qiufang said quickly. She knew exactly what kind of person her sister-in-law was. If she really intended to host them for a meal, she wouldn’t need to make a show of going to town for meat. If she and Changrong really stayed, they’d be seen as being too forward.

Grandma Sun, unaware of her daughter’s inner thoughts, was simply delighted her daughter and son-in-law had come. She didn’t want them to leave so soon. “Just stay for one meal. No need to buy meat—we’ll just pick some vegetables from the garden and make a simple meal.”

“Yes, I’ll go pick some vegetables later,” Zhang Guihua added with a smile, though it clearly didn’t reach her eyes anymore.

Su Min noticed this and deliberately turned to her mother, saying, “Mom, weren’t you going to talk to Grandma about me staying here?”

“What? Staying here?” Zhang Guihua’s smile froze.

Sun Qiufang had planned to bring it up later, but her daughter had blurted it out already. She forced a smile and said, “Changrong and I have moved out, but we haven’t found a place yet. We were hoping Minzi could stay here for a while. Once we’ve settled down, we’ll come pick her up.”

“You two moved out?” Grandma Sun was surprised. “Why’d you move out without even having a place to stay? What kind of move is that?”

She actually supported her daughter moving out, but not if it meant ending up homeless.

Sun Qiufang replied awkwardly, “We just wanted to live on our own. Since Changrong and I only have one daughter, we didn’t ask for a house. Besides, we’re both able-bodied—we can build our own house soon.”

“What a mess,” Grandma Sun sighed, frustrated but unwilling to say too much in front of her son-in-law. When her daughter had married into the Su family, she thought it was a good match. Who would’ve thought that just because she gave birth to a girl, she’d be treated so poorly? If her husband were still alive, maybe he could’ve helped, but he had passed away early. Her eldest son was a pushover, and her younger son was disabled. No one in her family could really stand up for her daughter.

She said, “As long as you two know what you’re doing. Minzi can stay here. Don’t worry.”

Sun Qiufang’s eyes turned red with emotion. “Thank you, Mom.”

“How can that be appropriate?” Zhang Guihua suddenly smiled. “Qiufang, it’s not that I don’t want to let Minzi stay here, but you know, your brother and I already have two children to take care of. Sun Hai’s legs aren’t good, so he also needs someone around to look after him. Now you want to drop Minzi here—what’s that supposed to mean? Besides, even if you’ve split from the family, her grandparents are still around. It shouldn’t fall on us to take care of her, right?”

Though she spoke with a smile, everyone could tell she wasn’t agreeing to let Su Min stay.

Sun Qiufang pursed her lips and forced a smile. “Sister-in-law, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate. It’s only for a little while.”

“A little while?” Zhang Guihua laughed again. “How long is a little while? You’re building a house—must cost a pretty penny, huh? I’d guess it’ll take at least a year or two to finish. So Minzi will be staying with me for years?”

“I’ll take care of her. I’m not asking you to,” the old lady said with a frown.

Zhang Guihua sneered. “Mom, no offense, but how much can you really do? You haven’t even been able to properly take care of your own grandkids. Now you’re going to help raise someone else’s kid? If you keep playing favorites like this, don’t blame Qiangqiang and Yanzi if they stop seeing you as their grandma.”

The old lady’s face turned red with anger. “Qiufang’s not an outsider! How can you say that?”

“Forget it, Mom,” Su Changrong finally spoke after remaining silent. “We’ll take care of Minzi ourselves. We won’t trouble sister-in-law.”

“Changrong,” Sun Qiufang frowned at him.

“It’s fine. Minzi is old enough. We’ll manage as a family. No need to burden big sis.”

“But where will Minzi live?”

“Mom, I want to live with you and Dad,” Su Min chimed in quickly. She never wanted to stay here anyway. Now that this last option was off the table, her parents had no choice. She’d use this chance to persuade them to head to the city. Even scavenging for junk there was better than farming in the village.

The old lady looked at her daughter and son-in-law, pained. “Why are you both being so stubborn? Minzi is still young. How can you drag her into hardship? She still needs to study. What if this delays her education?”

Zhang Guihua smiled. “Mom, you sure didn’t worry this much about Qiangqiang and Yanzi. And Minzi has her own grandparents. Why should you be so concerned?”

“Guihua, how can you talk like that? Qiufang is my daughter. Minzi is my biological granddaughter. Why wouldn’t I worry?”

“Well, then you’d better have the ability to help! If they were just visiting, I wouldn’t say a word. But asking me to help raise their child? Sorry, I can’t. Life is tough. We can’t even afford to raise our own three kids. Qiangqiang and Yanzi already share a room. If you throw Minzi in there too, how’s that going to work?”

It was clear from those words that it wasn’t going to happen. Even if her mom somehow talked Zhang Guihua into agreeing, Minzi wouldn’t have a good time here—and it would only make things harder for her grandmother.

“Forget it, forget it. Changrong’s right. We’ll take care of Minzi ourselves.”

The old lady grew anxious. “Then where will Minzi sleep?”

Su Min smiled. “Grandma, we’re going to the city. We’ll start our new life there.”

Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were both shocked.

Zhang Guihua snorted with disbelief. “You don’t even have a house to live in now, and you’re talking about moving to the city?”

Su Min replied, “Exactly because we don’t have a place here, we’re heading to the city. Life’s better there. My parents are hardworking—there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

She turned to her parents. “Right, Mom and Dad? We’ll be just fine in the city.”

Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang were at a loss for words. It was Sun Qiufang who reacted first and nodded stiffly. “Yes, as long as we’re able-bodied, we can live anywhere.”

Zhang Guihua rolled her eyes. “Well then, best of luck to you. But let me be clear—we’re tight on money too. Don’t expect us to send any living expenses or anything.”

Sun Qiufang’s expression shifted. “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. I wouldn’t ask even if you offered.”

The old lady said, “Aiya, we’re all family. Don’t speak like strangers. Go give the city a try. If it doesn’t work out, come back.”

Hearing her mother-in-law take her sister-in-law’s side again, Zhang Guihua pressed her lips together, clearly unhappy.

Seeing Zhang Guihua’s sour expression, Sun Qiufang felt even more upset. She didn’t want to stick around and suffer more indignities, so she stood up. “We’ve got to head back and pack. We’ll come visit Mom again when we get the chance.”

“You’re not staying for lunch? Your Elder brother and Hai will be back soon.”

The old lady looked at them, full of reluctance.

Sun Qiufang shook her head. “No, we’ve got a lot to sort out. Better to get started early.”

The old lady nodded reluctantly. Since they’d just split from the family, there must be a lot going on. And with her daughter-in-law acting like this, she had no way to persuade them to stay. “Then go get everything in order. If you run into trouble, come back. No matter what, your brothers won’t ignore you.”

“I know, Mom.” Sun Qiufang’s heart ached. As a married-out daughter, she wasn’t in a position to help her family—she was only adding to their burden. Now her elderly mother even had to worry about her.

The old lady walked them all the way to the village entrance and stood under the big locust tree, watching them disappear into the distance.

Su Min turned around and saw her grandma still watching. “Mom, Grandma’s still looking,” she said softly.

“I know. Let’s walk faster—once we’re out of sight, she’ll go back.” Sun Qiufang didn’t turn her head. At this point, turning back would only make things harder—it would make Grandma even more worried.

“Mom, Dad, we’re not really going back to Sujia Village, are we? We don’t have a house. Are we really going to stay in that rundown shack? If Grandma finds out, she’ll worry even more. And I just told them we’re going to the city—if we don’t go, they’ll know I was lying.”

Su Changrong sighed. “Why did you say that to your aunt? We never even talked about going to the city. And now if we don’t go, we lose face.”

Su Min, hearing the slight hesitation in her father’s voice, quickly said, “Dad, I just couldn’t stand how Aunt looked down on us. Let’s just go take a look. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll come back. That way we won’t lose face.”

“But how are we supposed to live in the city?” Su Changrong was full of worry.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve thought it through—we’ll collect junk! Scrap paper, metal, anything can be sold. If we all work together, I’m sure we’ll make more than we ever could farming.”

“You can make money collecting junk?” Sun Qiufang looked shocked.

“Yup.” Su Min nodded seriously. “My teacher told us. She used to go to the city and said there are recycling stations there that buy scrap metal, paper, and stuff. It all adds up.”

Hearing it came from a middle school teacher made the couple more inclined to believe it. There really wasn’t any better option. No house in Sujia Village. The crops wouldn’t yield until next year. And all they had now was that makeshift hut. The family had promised they were leaving—there was no turning back. If it really was like her teacher said, picking up scrap might not be such a bad gig. They weren’t afraid of dirt or hard work. It might be just the thing.

Su Min saw the two of them go quiet and knew they were considering it. She jumped in quickly. “Mom, Dad, don’t hesitate. The early bird catches the worm. If we wait too long, we’ll miss our chance.”

“Changrong, let’s try it,” Sun Qiufang said, turning to her husband.

Su Changrong looked out over the endless fields and the faint outline of the mountain range in the distance. He had lived in these mountains his whole life. But now, there was no longer a place for him here.

He turned and looked at his wife and daughter, their faces full of hope and expectation. Finally, he nodded.

“Alright. We’ll go to the city.”