RGL – Chapter 69

She had never worried about making ends meet in her entire life. Now that her husband was gone and her daughter was getting divorced, how was she supposed to get by, taking care of both her and Wenwen—one old, one young?

“Wenwen, you really shouldn’t have stirred up trouble. If you hadn’t, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.” Mother Gao wept as she looked at her granddaughter through tears. “From now on, you’ll be living with your mother. Don’t cause any more trouble, or else your mother will have too hard a time.”

Hearing that, Su Wenwen bit her lip and stayed silent, eyes red with tears.

She hadn’t intended for her parents to divorce. She just wanted to make things difficult for her father, teach him a lesson so he wouldn’t treat her and her mother badly again. She never thought things would go this far.

But now, her father didn’t seem upset at all, while her mother and grandmother had been crying for days. She couldn’t help feeling a little regretful. Why was everything she did always wrong? Heaven was so unfair to her!

“Grandma, don’t worry. I’ll definitely find a rich man in the future and let you and Mom live a good life.”

After divorcing Gao Hong, Su Changgui brought Shao Yun and Li Hao back to the countryside to visit the elder Su couple.

Su Changrong only found out about the situation after receiving a call from Grandpa Su. But Grandpa Su’s reason for calling was to invite him back for the wedding banquet, which Su Changrong declined.

Whether or not this counted as a joyous occasion aside, given the grudge he now held against Third Brother, he really didn’t want to go back.

However, he didn’t say it was because of the grudge. He just said he was too busy with work and had no time to return.

Back in the old hometown, when Grandma Su heard that Su Changrong wasn’t coming back, her face immediately turned sour. No matter how much you fight, blood is thicker than water. If your brother’s getting married and the eldest doesn’t show up, what will people say? Just because he has money now, he’s lost all sense of family!

“If he’s not coming, then fine. I’ll just pretend I don’t have a son like him.”

Grandpa Su’s face darkened. “What are you saying, Woman? This isn’t even Changgui’s first marriage. It’s not such a big deal.”

If he had his way, this marriage wouldn’t be happening at all. He didn’t really like Gao Hong, but at least when she married his son, she was a proper young lady. And no matter how bad Wenwen was, she was still a child of the Su family. Now this Shao Yun—divorced and bringing along a child from another man? He’d rather his son stay with Gao Hong and live a proper life.

But the boy was grown now and wouldn’t listen. There was nothing he could do but turn a blind eye.

Su Changgui didn’t like what he heard and spoke up, “Dad, how is this not a big deal? The first wedding was held in the city, we didn’t even do anything in the hometown. This is the first real wedding for me and Shao Yun.”

“Exactly! You fathers and brothers don’t take Changgui’s marriage seriously. Doesn’t that make Shao Yun feel wronged?” Grandma Su said angrily. She had heard from Shao Yun herself—she was planning to give Changgui a son. Shao Yun had already given birth to one son, so clearly she had the luck for bearing sons. She’d definitely be able to give Changgui a son too. For the sake of a grandson, this marriage had to happen.

“Mother, it’s okay. Big Brother’s busy in the city. Changgui and I understand, we won’t hold it against them. As long as Changgui treats me well, that’s all that matters.”

“When your son is born, if he dares treat you badly, I’ll beat him!” Grandma Su said with a laugh. Hearing Shao Yun’s words, she liked this sensible daughter-in-law even more—far better than the eldest one, and no need to even mention that woman Gao Hong.

Seeing how a few words from Shao Yun had completely pleased the old woman, Li Yulan pursed her lips and walked into the kitchen. When she saw Su Changfu enter the room, she said unhappily, “What’s with Mom? It’s just a second marriage, and she’s treating it like it’s some treasure.”

Su Changfu frowned. “Why do you care what Mom thinks? No matter how happy she is now, her favorite is still our Can Can.”

“Who knows? If this woman gives Changgui another son, then who she favors most might change.”

“At her age, who knows if she can even have another kid. And even if she does, our Can Can is still the eldest grandson. Nothing will go to them. Don’t waste your energy worrying about this.”

“I’m not worried. It’s not like I’m the one playing stepdad. Let’s see how good it’ll be for Su Changgui raising someone else’s kid. That Li Hao is already eleven. You think he’s going to bond with him? If Su Changgui had any sense, he’d support our Can Can instead—at least he’s family and might help out in the future.”

Su Changgui didn’t make a big fuss over the wedding this time. He just held a few tables at a restaurant in town, invited some relatives over for a meal, and introduced Shao Yun. That way, people wouldn’t ask about Gao Hong during New Year visits and make Shao Yun feel awkward.

Of course, Su Changgui’s divorce was still quite a big deal among the relatives.

Su Changgui, a college graduate, marrying a city girl—wasn’t that the dream of so many people? And yet, here they were over ten years later, with a child already so big, getting a divorce. It left many people sighing in pity.

“So what if he went to college? Still ended up getting divorced. Isn’t that embarrassing?”

But Su Changgui didn’t hear any of this idle gossip. After the wedding banquet, he simply took Shao Yun and Li Hao back to the city.

He had already left his job at the county elementary school. But being a college graduate and having taught for so many years, finding a new job wasn’t hard. He had already made contact with the private school where Shao Yun worked and could take on substitute teaching there. The pay wasn’t any worse than at the public school—the only issue was that he didn’t have a place to live.

After returning to the city, he moved into the small house Shao Yun was renting.

They hadn’t been living there for more than a couple of days when Shao Yun brought up an idea. Now that they had a house back in the county and there were policies allowing people to buy first and repay later, why not buy a small house of their own? They could pay it off slowly with their salaries—what mattered was starting their life together properly.

Hearing her suggestion, Su Changgui finally felt like he was really building a life.

Back when he was with Gao Hong, he not only had to hand over all his money, but after all those years, he hadn’t even seen any decent furniture added to the house. Everything had gone to feeding and clothing Gao Hong. And when it came to buying a house, they used Gao Long’s money. But once Gao Long got into trouble, the house slipped away too.

Now, he had just married Shao Yun, and she was already thinking about buying a house. This—this was what living a proper life looked like.

But money for a house… that was going to be a real problem.

“Xiaoyun, you know I’ve given all my money over to Gao Hong all these years. I’ve only got a few hundred yuan left. We spent some of that on the wedding banquet too—there’s barely anything left. We don’t even have enough for a down payment.”

House prices had gone up, too. Buying one cost five to six thousand yuan. Even the down payment would be at least two thousand. Where was he supposed to get that kind of money? And he wasn’t a formal employee anymore—no work unit to guarantee the purchase. They might not even qualify to buy.

Hearing this, Shao Yun’s face flashed with displeasure, but she didn’t say anything directly. She just looked disappointed.

“I thought we were finally married and had a home. But I didn’t expect we’d still be drifting around like this. If we were young, that’d be one thing. But at our age, isn’t this just something for people to laugh at?”

Su Changgui thought about it and agreed. He was already nearing forty—this couldn’t go on.

He could still keep working, but without a stable home, how was he supposed to live? And he wanted to have a child with Shao Yun. If they didn’t even have a proper place to live, how could they raise a child?

But he only had this little bit of money. His parents were dirt poor. Where could he possibly get the money?

Frustrated, Su Changgui covered his face with his hands.

Shao Yun said, “Why not try talking to your older brother? Didn’t you say he’s doing pretty well in the city? Your mom said he’s got three stores now. Isn’t that supermarket, Rongfang Supermarket, one of his?”

“Ah… maybe if it were before, I could have asked. But lately, things between us have gotten really ugly.”

Su Changgui’s face was full of gloom. He thought about how his relationship with his brother had been ruined by Gao Hong and her mother, and his dislike for the two women deepened.

Shao Yun was surprised. “No matter how ugly things get between brothers, they still have to help each other. I don’t believe he’d really just stand by and watch us end up homeless without doing anything.”

“You don’t understand the situation,” Su Changgui sighed, and briefly explained everything that had happened.

After hearing what Su Changgui had said, Shao Yun silently cursed Gao Hong for being so brainless. If it hadn’t been for her father back then, she might not have even been able to marry Su Changgui. Now that her father was gone, she still acted so arrogant and disrespectful. And to think she had fallen out with Su family’s richest elder brother. That daughter of hers wasn’t smart either—who wouldn’t cherish a wealthy relative in the family? Instead, they were actively trying to cause trouble.

Frowning in thought, Shao Yun still didn’t want to cut ties with the Su family just because of Gao Hong and her daughter. “Changgui, from what I’m hearing, there wasn’t any direct conflict between you and Big Brother’s family. They were angry because of Gao Hong and Wenwen. You got dragged into it through no fault of your own. Now that you and Gao Hong are divorced, there’s no reason to let her ruin the relationship between brothers. I think we should find a time to invite Big Brother and Sister-in-law out for a meal and reconnect.”

Su Changgui hadn’t really planned to cut ties with Su Changrong’s family forever either. The previous drama was mainly due to saving face. Now that Shao Yun had brought it up, he was willing to go along. “Then you arrange it. You’re managing the household now anyway.”

Shao Yun smiled. “Alright, I’ll pick a nice place for dinner in the next couple of days.”

Lately, Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang had also been very busy. The supermarket had been doing well selling daily necessities, and now with Su Min helping to source goods from Sanye, they were even selling clothes.

Now that they were selling clothes, Sun Qiufang didn’t mind dressing up herself. She picked a few styles that suited her and dressed quite smartly. Even Li Meng started learning how to dress up. Business at Sun Hai’s store was going well, and with several staff hired, Li Meng no longer had to serve customers herself. She was now a proper boss lady, just sitting at the front desk all day collecting money.

Li Meng felt a little guilty after accepting a few pieces of clothing from Sun Qiufang, so when the store wasn’t busy, she came by to see her and buy a few items herself—so that she wouldn’t be always accepting free stuff.

“Why be so polite with me? It’s not like you can wear that many clothes,” said Sun Qiufang, who now genuinely liked Li Meng. Although she had once been suspicious, worried that Li Meng might treat her brother poorly and turn out to be another Zhang Guihua, she now saw that Li Meng was a very considerate person. Not only did she help Sun Hai with the business and brought prosperity to the household, but her manners and attitude left no room for criticism. She treated her, the elder sister, warmly—how could she not like her?

Li Meng laughed, “If I keep taking stuff for free, Sun Hai’s going to get upset with me.”

Sun Qiufang retorted, “If you two are going to be that petty, then Changrong and I should be too embarrassed to keep eating your food every day.”

“The food’s just what the family has—it doesn’t cost much. But these clothes, some are several yuan apiece, some even over ten. I can’t just keep taking them.”

As she spoke, Li Meng pulled out her wallet. “If you won’t take money, I won’t take the clothes.”

Seeing she was quite insistent, Sun Qiufang laughed. “Alright then. Since we’re all family, let’s just go with the cost price.”

She took the money and gave her the change.

This time, Li Meng didn’t hesitate. She put the money away and carefully packed up the clothes. Noticing it was getting late and worried the store would get busy, she quickly said, “I’ll head back now. I’ll send someone over later to bring you food.”

Sun Qiufang walked her to the door. “I can come pick it up myself—easier that way.”

The two were chatting at the door when Su Changrong suddenly spotted Su Changgui and a woman walking toward their store.

He tugged on Sun Qiufang’s sleeve. “Changgui and his wife are here.”

Both Sun Qiufang and Li Meng looked over.

Li Meng let out a soft “huh” when she saw Shao Yun walking beside Su Changgui.

Shao Yun also noticed Li Meng and felt a little awkward, but she quickly composed herself and pretended not to recognize her.

Li Meng saw that it was getting late, so she didn’t say much. After greeting Sun Qiufang, she quickly left.

Sun Qiufang watched Li Meng walk off into the distance before turning to look at Su Changgui. “What are you doing here?”

“This must be my sister-in-law. I’m Shao Yun.” Shao Yun had a bright smile on her face. “Changgui and I got married. You and Big Brother didn’t come back last time, so I didn’t get a chance to meet you two. That’s why I asked Changgui to bring me over today to meet the family.”

“What family?” Sun Qiufang’s face was firm. “I’ve already told Su Changgui—we’re not keeping in touch anymore.”

Su Changgui’s expression shifted at those words. Shao Yun quickly tugged his arm and smiled, saying, “Sister-in-law, don’t be upset. Changgui already told me everything. It was all his fault back then for not handling Gao Hong properly, which is why there was conflict with you and Big Brother. I’ve already scolded him about it. After all, they’re blood brothers—cut the bones, and the tendons are still connected. How can we just never speak again? Now that I’m married to Changgui, we’re all one family. Let’s get along well and be good sisters-in-law. Don’t you agree, Sister-in-law?” As she spoke, she reached out with a smile to take Sun Qiufang’s hand.

This was the first time Sun Qiufang had heard someone speak so warmly and fluently. She’d thought Li Meng had a good way with words and people, but she hadn’t expected her third brother-in-law to find a new wife who was even smoother-talking.

Compared to Gao Hong, they weren’t even on the same level.

As the saying goes, “You don’t hit a smiling face.” Although Sun Qiufang’s temper had improved a lot, her personality hadn’t really changed. Seeing someone so friendly and eager to connect, she didn’t put on a sour face again.

However, her attitude toward Su Changgui still wasn’t warm.

Seeing that Sun Qiufang wasn’t hostile anymore, Su Changrong didn’t stop the two and even brought out stools for the couple to sit and chat in the shop.

When Su Min came into her parents’ shop, the first thing she saw was the four of them chatting pleasantly. Her eyes widened when she saw Shao Yun chatting cheerfully while holding her mother’s hand.

Shao Yun had sharp eyes and immediately spotted Su Min. Seeing her features resembled Sun Qiufang’s, she smiled and said, “Is this Minzi?”

“Yes, this is Minzi,” Sun Qiufang replied, then called Su Min over. “This is your third aunt.”

Hearing the words “third aunt,” Su Min didn’t know how to respond. She knew her third uncle had divorced and quickly remarried, but suddenly being asked to call a complete stranger “third aunt” was a bit much to take in.

Shao Yun smiled and took out a ten-yuan note. “This is our first time meeting, and I didn’t prepare a proper gift. Here’s some money to buy school supplies.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Sun Qiufang quickly tried to stop her.

Shao Yun said with a smile, “It’s fine. As your third aunt, I should give you a little something for our first meeting.” With that, she stuffed the money into Su Min’s pocket.

Su Min felt the money in her pocket and looked at Sun Qiufang, unsure how to react.

Ten yuan would be pretty exciting for an average middle schooler, but Su Min already had plenty of money herself. Since this ten yuan came from Shao Yun, it felt like a hot potato in her hand.

To be honest, she didn’t like Gao Hong—but she didn’t like Shao Yun either.

Say what you will, the fact that she was already involved with her third uncle before the divorce—what else could that make her but a mistress?