RGL – Chapter 77

It seemed that Changgui was just like Changfu—although he didn’t appear as eager to take advantage of others as Changfu, deep down they were the same kind of people, both believing that others owed them something.

“Qiufang, don’t be mad anymore. I won’t lend money again in the future. From now on, I’ll discuss everything with you, alright?”

Just then, Granny Sun came over to call her daughter and son-in-law for lunch. Seeing her son-in-law apologizing to her daughter, she quickly tried to mediate, saying, “There’s no overnight grudge between husband and wife. No matter how big the issue is, talking it out calmly solves it. You and Changrong have been through a lot over the years—don’t you know what kind of man he is? Even if he did something wrong, just talk to him properly. Why be so angry?”

Listening to the old lady, Su Changrong couldn’t help but want to call her his dear mother.

At critical moments like this, a mother-in-law truly shines. All that effort to be filial to her hadn’t been in vain.

Sun Qiufang gave her mother some face, and also didn’t want to hurt her relationship with Su Changrong over this matter. So her expression softened a little.

She kept a stern face and said, “Let’s just put this matter behind us. But from now on, I’ll be the one in charge of all the money at home. We only have Minzi as our daughter, so it’s all for her in the future. I’ll manage it on her behalf.”

Su Changrong quietly asked, “Can we manage it together?”

“No,” Sun Qiufang firmly refused.

This whole incident had taught her a lesson—this man was too easily influenced. He might seem firm now, but who knew what he’d be like later. For the sake of their daughter, she had to firmly take control of the family finances.

If something like today happened again—lending money and not even being appreciated—she’d be so angry she could vomit blood.

Although Su Changrong wasn’t happy about it, he had been in the wrong, so he couldn’t do anything about it.

It just made him feel uneasy, thinking he wouldn’t be in charge of the money anymore.

At noon, the couple went to eat at Sun Hai’s place. Seeing Sun Qiufang chatting with Li Meng, Su Changrong quietly slipped into the kitchen to talk to Sun Hai, asking him to help persuade Qiufang. A man not managing money—how was that acceptable?

Sun Hai laughed and said, “Brother-in-law, a man’s job is to make money. Managing money should be left to the women. Women are more meticulous and better at handling finances than us.”

“Your wife handles the money at your place?”

“I handed it all over to Mengmeng when we got married. Back then, the shop had just started and we didn’t have much money. Later on, we built it up together. I had her manage it from the very beginning.”

Listening to Sun Hai describe his household, Su Changrong realized how free he’d actually been before. Qiufang didn’t tightly control him—he still had money on hand for purchasing goods and selling items. Though she managed part of the household finances, it wasn’t everything. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to pull out four thousand yuan so easily this time.

In comparison, Su Changrong thought his wife was actually very considerate. When they first started the business, they managed the money together. She wasn’t like Sun Hai’s wife or his own sister-in-law, who both had tight grips on their households’ assets.

It was only because he made a mistake this time that Qiufang was so upset.

Thinking this through, Su Changrong came to terms with it. He had brought this on himself, and he had to endure it.

Luckily, Sun Qiufang wasn’t the type to overly restrict her husband. So when they got home in the evening, after he handed over his passbook, she gave him a hundred yuan. She said he could spend it as needed and ask for more when it ran out, as long as he had a valid reason.

Su Changrong put the money in his pocket and thought about how to spend it. But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with anything he needed to buy. His wife bought all his clothes, prepared all his meals, and everything in the shop was readily available. Even if he wanted a drink, Sun Hai had a place for that. There really wasn’t anything he needed to spend money on.

Qiufang treated him so well, and yet he had still lent money to Changgui behind her back. No wonder she was angry.

That night, Su Changrong personally cooked a meal to apologize to Sun Qiufang and even asked Su Min to help put in a good word.

This time, Su Min didn’t refuse. After all, he was her father, and she couldn’t just let them keep arguing and ruin their relationship.

“Mom, now that you hold the family’s financial power, stop being mad at Dad, okay? I promise on his behalf, he definitely won’t do something like this again.”

Su Changrong behaved decently enough, and with Su Min’s help to smooth things over, Sun Qiufang finally picked up her chopsticks.

Only then did Su Changrong feel relieved.

But the consequences of lending money this time were serious. Not only did it make his wife angry, but it also cost him control over the household finances. Su Changrong had learned a hard lesson and silently vowed never to do something so foolish again. This was just the first time, and she was already this angry—if it happened again, she’d probably skin him alive.

“Mom, did you see the way Dad looked just now? You’re really something,” Su Min said as they watched TV together after dinner, while Su Changrong went to the shop.

Sun Qiufang smiled, “I only realized after all these years that men act immature because women let them. You know Aunt Wu from the shop, right? Her husband listens to her completely. She told me that if things go wrong, don’t argue with your man. If you fight, he gets annoyed and won’t listen to you. You have to do the opposite—cool off and take control.”

Su Min knew Aunt Wu. She looked rough, but she was hardworking, and her husband treated her really well. When the shop held events and closed late, her husband would even come by bike to pick her up. “Aunt Wu is truly impressive.”

Sun Qiufang said, “Your dad is a good man. But life is different now, and who knows what the future holds. Honestly, I was really angry about what he did this time, and I’m also a bit worried. He never treated me this way before—so what gave him the courage now?”

Su Min suddenly understood. In the past, forget four thousand yuan—even forty yuan, her dad wouldn’t have dared to give away so casually. Now he just handed it out without blinking. Clearly, they were getting too comfortable with money and no longer valued it. If this continued, her dad would become reckless.

“Minzi, you have to be smart in the future too. Don’t think you’ve spent a lifetime with someone and everything’s settled. Life isn’t over yet, and no one can guarantee it will go smoothly to the end.”

Sun Qiufang said with emotion.

Hearing her mom talk about the future, Su Min suddenly thought of Xue Mian, who had confessed to her earlier.

Speaking of which, she still didn’t know how to respond to him.

She’d heard that if young people didn’t handle emotional matters properly, it could leave lasting negative effects—some would spiral, and some might even take it too hard.

In her heart, she liked Xue Mian like a friend and didn’t want him to suffer emotionally because of her at such a young age.

Two days later, after Su Min received a letter from Xue Mian, the knot in her heart finally loosened.

Before opening the letter, Su Min had worried about what it might say. But once she nervously tore it open, she found that the tone and contents were just like his previous letters. He even encouraged her to study hard and get into a good university.

Su Min thought to herself, maybe she misunderstood, or maybe Xue Mian’s feelings had just been a fleeting moment. Now that they weren’t seeing each other, he probably didn’t think about it anymore.

She let out a breath of relief, and after some thought, wrote a reply to him as well.

In early August, the exam results were released.

Su Min ranked third in the entire school. The county high school was the best in the area, and placing third there meant she was among the top five in the entire county.

With that score, she could definitely get into a top city-level high school.

Liao Zhaodi also ranked tenth in the school—much better than her final mock exam. She also qualified for the top city high school, but Zhaodi still intended to attend the county high school.

The results came out today, and everyone at home was quite happy. Su Min felt relieved and decided to give herself a rare break—watching TV and eating ice pops at home. She planned to work on the autumn clothing designs for Sanye in a few days.

Just as she was about to eat her ice pop, she didn’t expect Zhaodi to suddenly return—and she was crying quite miserably.

Su Min hurried to her fridge and took out another ice pop. “Don’t cry yet, have some first and tell me what happened. There’s no problem in this world that can’t be solved.”

Zhaodi took the ice pop, wiped her tears, and while still sobbing, began eating.

After a few bites, she hiccuped and said, “My mom just won’t let me go to high school. She says if I go, I’m being ungrateful to Uncle Zhu. But what does my studying have to do with Uncle Zhu? Why won’t she let me continue school?”

Zhaodi burst into tears again. The ice pop in her mouth had lost all flavor.

Hearing this, Su Min guessed as much. When they got the scores earlier, she had wanted to ask Zhaodi about it but didn’t dare, fearing it would upset her.

She had long predicted it wouldn’t be easy for Zhaodi to keep studying.

“So what do you plan to do, Zhaodi? Honestly, this is your decision to make. No one else can choose for you.”

“I want to go to school, Su Min. I don’t want to live with Xiaobing, and I don’t want to sell vegetables in the market.”

“Then make your own decision. You’ve got money, and you don’t need the Zhu family. You can register on your own. If you’re worried about money, we can keep selling clothes, and I can lend you some. You can pay me back when you start earning.”

Su Min felt that there was no reason for Zhaodi to compromise herself for anyone right now. Since her mother had already chosen to give up her daughter’s future for her own reputation, then Zhaodi didn’t need to sacrifice herself for that family anymore. In her previous life, Zhaodi had likely followed her mother’s wishes, quit school, and even married Zhu Xiaobing.

Forget the education—just look at Zhu Xiaobing. He wasn’t just mischievous; he was a full-fledged delinquent. He was already eighteen—an adult. In the village, people married early, and many were already heads of households by that age. But Zhu Xiaobing spent all day fooling around with shady friends. If Zhaodi married someone like him, not only would she never live a good life, she’d probably have to support him.

Aunt Zhang Hui had been married and divorced—she should’ve understood all this even more clearly. Yet she still asked Zhaodi to drop out and go into business, and even planned for her to stay with Zhu Xiaobing. Wasn’t that like pushing her into a fire pit?

Su Min used to think that Zhang Hui had good reason for divorcing and leaving her daughters—after all, Zhaodi’s father had violent tendencies. But now, she saw that Zhaodi’s mother was selfish. To preserve her reputation, she was willing to sacrifice her daughter’s future and still claimed it was “for her own good.”

“Zhaodi, don’t wrong yourself for others. Uncle Zhu may have supported you for three years, but you worked hard for the family too. You can be grateful to them, and repay them later—but don’t throw away your whole life. Just imagine—if you really ended up living with Zhu Xiaobing, what kind of life would that be?”

Zhaodi shuddered at that last line. She didn’t even want to imagine it—let alone live it.

“Su Min, what should I do? I don’t want to go back. If I go back, my mom will make me drop out again. And once… Xiaobing peeked at me while I was changing clothes.”

As Zhaodi said this, she lowered her head, lips trembling. It was too humiliating to speak of. She had only told her mother, but her mother merely sighed and did nothing. She didn’t want her second sister to worry, so she kept it all to herself.

Su Min’s expression changed instantly.

Zhaodi was sixteen now, already a young woman.

If she stayed in the Zhu household, and with Uncle Zhu frequently away… Su Min, being mature for her age, could already foresee what might happen. A person like Zhu Xiaobing wouldn’t stop at just peeking. He could truly harm her.

“Zhaodi, come with me to the city and go to the city-level high school. Your grades are good enough!”

Zhaodi had to leave the county—staying would be too dangerous.

“But my second sister…”

“Isn’t your second sister about to graduate? She’s doing fine here, and you can’t stay with her forever. Are you planning to follow her even when you go to college?”

Su Min was anxious, so her tone came off rather forceful.

It was the first time Zhaodi had seen Su Min like this, and she didn’t know how to respond.

Su Min said sternly, “Zhaodi, your fate is in your own hands. Don’t wait until it’s too late and regret it. We don’t get do-overs. Even if we did, the price would be too high. You have to fight for yourself.”

Zhaodi listened silently.

After a long while, she finally nodded and said, “Okay. I’ll go to the city with you. I can stay in the school dorm, and I won’t have to go back to Uncle Zhu’s house.” She was no longer a burden to anyone.

Zhaodi didn’t want to go home, so Su Min simply let her stay at her house for a few days—until school started.

At noon, Sun Qiufang came back to make lunch. When she saw Zhaodi, she was quite happy.

Hearing that Zhaodi would also attend the city high school, she smiled and said, “It’s good that you’ll be with Minzi. You girls can look out for each other.”

Zhaodi glanced a little shyly at Su Min. She wasn’t sure how Auntie Sun felt about her staying there for a few days.

Seeing her glance, Su Min smiled and said, “Mom, I want Zhaodi to stay here during the summer. There are only a few days left before school starts, and we can keep each other company. Can you help us explain it to Auntie Zhang?”

“No problem. We’ve got room. I’ll go to the shop later and stop by your mom’s place to talk with her. Don’t worry and just stay here.”

Zhaodi gave a shy smile and nodded. “Thank you, Auntie.”

After lunch, Su Min took Zhaodi out shopping.

She had been busy with studying and earning money, and rarely went out. Now that she had gotten into high school, she wanted to enjoy herself a little before classes began.

Sun Qiufang gave her fifty yuan and told her to treat Zhaodi and not be stingy. After washing the dishes and resting for a bit, she headed to the shop and also went to talk to Zhang Hui about Zhaodi—so she wouldn’t worry.

“So Zhaodi went to your place?” Zhang Hui finally let out a breath of relief.

When Zhaodi ran off earlier, she hadn’t been able to catch up and didn’t dare tell Zhu Qiang about it. So she just waited at home, worried something might happen. She’d even lost her appetite at lunch.

She sighed, “The child is getting older and more disobedient. She used to listen to me, but now she argues at the slightest thing. Sorry for troubling your family. I’ll go pick her up after I pack up the stall.”

“No need to pick her up,” Sun Qiufang smiled and waved her hand. “I just came to let you know—not to ask you to take her back. School’s starting soon, and once classes begin, she won’t have time to play. Let her enjoy a few days with Minzi. We have plenty of room, and since Changrong and I are usually out, it’s good for the two girls to keep each other company.”

Zhang Hui sighed, “Qiufang, I still need to go get her. There are things I need to talk to her about seriously. We can’t just leave things unclear like this.”

Hearing this, Sun Qiufang was puzzled. “What happened? Sounds serious.”

“You don’t know how stubborn this child is,” Zhang Hui said, feeling aggrieved. She told Qiufang everything and ended up crying, “I married into the Zhu family, and Zhu Qiang was willing to take us in—I’m so grateful to him. How can I let him be troubled because of me? Zhaodi is a girl. Even if she hadn’t come with me, her father wouldn’t have let her go to university back in our hometown. She used to be so obedient—why did she suddenly change after coming to the city?”