RGL – Chapter 7

Once they decided to go to the city, Su Changrong didn’t delay. After returning home, he packed up the pots and bowls that had been allocated to them, tied them securely with rope, greeted the neighbors, and then led Sun Qiufang and Su Min back to the old house.

Li Yulan was sweeping the courtyard. Seeing the family returning with their belongings, she laughed and said, “It hasn’t even been a full day—what, already regretting it and coming back?”

Hearing the commotion, Grandma Su came out of the kitchen. When she saw her eldest son return, her expression immediately turned stern. She hadn’t wanted the family to split in the first place. If her eldest son wanted to come back, she wouldn’t necessarily oppose it—but given how rude his family had been before leaving, if they wanted to come back, they’d need to learn a lesson first.

With a cold face, she said, “Weren’t you all so proud when you left? What, now you’re crawling back?”

Su Changrong had only come to say goodbye, but hearing that made him feel uncomfortable. “Mother, I’m not coming back. I just came to let you know—we’re planning to head to the city. I’ll be taking Qiufang and Minzi with me.”

“What? Going to the city?”

Grandma Su was stunned by this sudden declaration. Then she sneered, “I don’t have any money to give you. I already gave what I was supposed to.”

She had expected this—once a family splits off and comes back, it’s never for anything good.

Li Yulan laughed, “So this is why you came back—turns out you’re here to ask for money!”

“Bullshit!” Su Min couldn’t hold back any longer. If she were just a bit older—if she weren’t only thirteen—she really would’ve wanted to beat this sharp-tongued, mean-faced second aunt of hers.

“You little brat, who are you cursing at?” Li Yulan’s expression changed instantly.

Su Min pushed past Sun Qiufang and stepped forward. “We’re only here to say goodbye before we leave—we never even thought about asking for money. You two pocketed the money that belonged to my parents, black-hearted as you are, and you think we don’t know? Let me tell you something—once our life gets better, don’t come running to us.”

Li Yulan gritted her teeth. “No manners at all. And you think you can make it in the city? Keep dreaming!”

Sun Qiufang didn’t want to argue just as they were leaving. She tugged on her daughter’s arm and said, “Minzi, forget it, let’s go. If we’re late, we’ll miss the bus.”

Su Min shot a vicious glare at Li Yulan.

In this life, even if she had to crawl, she would carve out a path of her own—she would never allow herself to live a worse life than these people.

After they left the old house, Su Min said, “Dad, about our farmland—I think we should let Third Aunt’s family use it. With how the Second Aunt is acting, we shouldn’t let them benefit.”

Sun Qiufang agreed. “Even if our land goes unused, we’re not letting Li Yulan touch it. Come on, let’s go talk to Third Aunt and let her family use it.”

Su Changrong sighed and nodded. He had originally thought, since they were brothers and he couldn’t farm it himself anymore, it made sense emotionally and practically to let his younger brother’s family use the land. But after what his mother and sister-in-law had said today, he was deeply hurt.

After settling the matter of the farmland, the family quickly headed for the town’s bus station.

At this time, there were two buses a day to the city—one at six in the morning, returning at noon, and another at four in the afternoon, returning at six.

The three of them hurried all the way and finally reached the town just before the bus departed.

Su Changrong still felt uneasy and nervous about life in the city. Su Min, however, was excited. In her past life, she had lived in the city for a long time and knew where to find cheap places to rent and how some private businesses got started.

Even though she didn’t have much ability now, just following those paths would save them a lot of trial and error.

After loading their belongings onto the roof of the bus, the family boarded.

There weren’t many passengers at this hour, so there were still empty seats. Sun Qiufang paid three yuan for the fare and sat down with a pained expression. “Just the bus fare costs three yuan. How are we supposed to survive in the city?”

Su Changrong looked worried too.

Su Min knew how conservative her parents were. Even now, though they had decided to go to the city, their hearts were probably still wavering. She quickly said, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ve already figured out how we’ll live.”

Sun Qiufang laughed at her daughter’s grown-up tone. “You’re only thirteen—what could you possibly have figured out? Once we get to the city, don’t stress about anything. Your dad and I will work hard and earn money. You still have to go to school.”

Su Min said seriously, “In the old days, thirteen-year-olds could already run a household. Don’t underestimate me. As for school, you don’t need to worry—once life gets better, there’s no need to fear not being able to study.”

Su Min had her own plans when it came to school. She knew that in the future, there were ways to study even outside of school. She hadn’t touched a textbook in years, so if she wanted to catch up to a middle school level, she needed to build up a strong foundation at home first. Only then could she enroll in seventh grade again. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to keep up and wouldn’t be able to get into a good school.

Sun Qiufang sighed, “I don’t have any other hopes in this life—just want you to live a good one.”

“Second Sister!”

A voice called out from outside the window.

Sun Qiufang immediately looked out and saw her younger brother, Sun Hai, calling to her from outside the bus. She quickly rolled the window down. “Haizi, what are you doing here?”

Su Min also looked out and saw a man with a close-cropped haircut, dressed in a gray jacket—it was her uncle, Sun Hai.

Seeing him, Su Min’s eyes turned warm. In her past life, her uncle had gone to the city to work in construction. He carried cement on site, but his legs weren’t agile, and he fell from a building and died.

“Uncle!”

Sun Hai was of average height and had a dark complexion. Now that he had found them, he grinned happily. “I thought I wouldn’t make it. I went to your village looking for you, but someone said you’d gone to town to catch a bus to the city, so I rushed over.”

“What are you doing here? It’s such a long walk. How did you make it with your legs?” Sun Qiufang asked.

Sun Hai lifted his left leg and smiled. “It’s fine—I can still walk. I came home today and heard from Mom that you split from the family and were heading to the city, so I wanted to come see you off.” As he spoke, he pulled out a neatly wrapped bundle of money from his pocket. “You’ll need this when you get to the city. It’s not much, but it should help for a few days.”

Both Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong waved their hands quickly when they saw the money.

“Haizi, we can’t take your money,” Su Changrong said. “We’ve still got some. You keep it.”

“It’s fine. Just take it. I don’t really have any use for money right now. If you get settled in the city, just pay me back later,” Sun Hai said with a smile, stuffing the money into Sun Qiufang’s hands. “If you don’t take it, you’re not treating me like family.”

Tears welled up in Sun Qiufang’s eyes.

Her younger brother had been born with leg problems and had always walked with difficulty. Over the years, he had lived with their eldest brother’s family and barely scraped by—who knows how many fish he had caught and sold from the fields just to save this bit of money.

“Haizi, I will pay you back this money—double the amount,” Sun Qiufang said firmly.

Sun Hai grinned, “Just come visit when you have time.” Then he turned to Su Min, “Minzi, you have to listen to your parents when you’re out there, okay? Don’t go wandering around.”

Su Min nodded seriously, lips pressed together. “Don’t worry, Uncle.”

As the bus began to move, Sun Hai took a step back.

Su Min kept her eyes on Sun Hai outside the window. Even after the bus had pulled out of the station, he was still standing in place, watching them go.

Sun Qiufang turned around and said to Su Min, “Minzi, when you grow up, you must treat your uncle well, do you understand?”

Su Min nodded solemnly. “I’ll make sure my little uncle enjoys a good life.” In her past life, because of his leg and their poverty, her uncle never managed to get married. This life, he was already pushing thirty and still had no one. If she could really change her parents’ fate this time, then she had to change her uncle’s as well.

It took nearly two hours before they arrived in the county town.

At this time, the county was still far from prosperous. But in Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang’s eyes, it already felt like a whole different world.

They’d been to the county town before, but only to visit relatives. Back then, they never really paid attention to the place. Now that they were here to live, both of them were feeling something completely different. A place without fields or land—how were they going to survive?

Sun Qiufang said nervously, “Changrong, where do we go now?”

Su Changrong replied, “Should we go find Changgui?”

Su Changgui was the third brother in the Su family, a schoolteacher who had settled down in the city.

Hearing this, Su Min quickly interjected, “What for? Auntie doesn’t like our side of the family. If we go, we’ll just be making trouble for them. Mom, Dad, I already asked my teacher before. I know where we can rent a cheap place. Let’s find a place to stay first. Tomorrow we’ll look for work. If all goes well, we might start earning tomorrow already!”

Su Changrong knew his daughter had a point. He never really wanted to go to his younger brother’s house—it just slipped out because he was feeling a little lost. Now, hearing his daughter had everything figured out, he relaxed a bit and said happily, “Really? Your teacher knows that kind of stuff?”

“Of course. How else would someone be a teacher? They’re educated. They know a lot more than we do,” Su Min said, lifting her small bag and a bucket. “Let’s go! If we’re late, we might not get a spot!”

She took the lead and walked ahead confidently.

Su Min was familiar with the area. Without needing to ask for directions, she led her parents straight to a place where she had once rented a room in her previous life.

These so-called “rental houses” weren’t much—just shacks built by first-floor residents on the open space outside their homes. They were rundown, usually used to store junk, and rarely lived in.

Su Min picked the sturdiest-looking one and knocked on the door, explaining she wanted to rent.

Since it was just a storage shack, renting it out meant extra income, so the owner was naturally happy. After checking out the family—who all looked like honest folks—the landlord offered a fair price.

Rent was 8 yuan a month, paid monthly. The first month had to be paid in advance. After that, rent was due at the beginning of each month.

Even though the thought of spending 8 yuan before they even started working made Sun Qiufang’s heart ache, being able to settle down in a place of their own brought her more comfort than anything else.

After paying, Su Min also asked for a rental agreement. They signed for a minimum of six months, and the rent would remain the same during that time. She had Su Changrong sign the agreement.

The landlord chuckled. “This child may look young, but she handles things like a grown-up.”

Su Min smiled. “We’re poor, so we have to grow up fast.”

Once all the formalities were settled, the family began organizing their little shack.

It was tiny—just a bit over ten square meters. But the landlord was kind enough to bring over a big wooden board so they could use it as a bed.

Sun Qiufang was all smiles as she swept the place clean. She laid out the bedding they brought, neatly arranged the pots and pans, and by nightfall, the little room already looked tidy and homely.

As they ate the flatbread they’d brought, Sun Qiufang still couldn’t quite believe it. “Changrong, Minzi… have we really settled down in the city?”

Su Changrong also felt like he was dreaming. Just yesterday they were still living in a shabby mud hut in the village, and today they were already renting a place in town. He looked out through the door at the tall concrete buildings, the paved roads, and the city folk in clean clothes chatting and carrying groceries.

“Qiufang, this life… really is something good,” he murmured.

_{Ok Now I am sure that I have read this before, where I don’t remember.}