Su Wenshan lowered his head, took a sip of thin porridge, and ate a steamed corn bun before muttering, "If they're unwilling, then forget it. Xiaoyun is only seventeen. Logically, she shouldn't be looking for someone to marry so early…"
Before he could finish, Chen Xiue slammed her chopsticks down in anger. "Forget it? You father and son are exactly alike—always holding us back! Do you think good marriage prospects are that easy to find? I've been begging everyone these past few days just to secure a match with the Jiang family. The others are either temporary workers or don't even have jobs. If Xiaoyun marries into one of those families, she'll only suffer!"
"Do you think the situation will allow us to keep choosing for much longer? At most one more month, and Xiaoyun will have to go to the countryside! The matter is urgent, yet you, as her father, aren't worried at all!"
Amid Chen Xiue's scolding, Su Wenshan quietly ate half his meal before gritting his teeth and saying, "If it really comes to it, I'll retire early and give my job to Xiaoyun. No matter what, I won't let her go to the countryside."
"Your job at the steel factory? What could Xiaoyun possibly do there? Do you expect a young girl to do hard labor alongside a bunch of rough men?"
Chen Xiue shot him a glare and continued chewing her corn bun angrily, her movements practiced and efficient.
After finishing the last bite, she clenched her teeth. "There's still one month left. During this time, I'll do my best to find Xiaoyun a good family. If I truly can't… then I'll retire and give her my job at the textile factory!"
Hearing this, Su Yun felt deeply moved.
Her mother had always been like this—tough on the outside but soft-hearted within, willing to sacrifice everything for her children.
In her previous life, after marrying into the Jiang family, she had been deliberately tormented by her mother-in-law for being childless. Chen Xiue had often gone to their house to argue on her behalf. Later, when Su Wenshan was in a car accident and became a vegetable, Chen Xiue's hair turned white overnight. Not long after, she passed away. Su Yun became motherless, and her life in the Jiang family grew even more difficult. Even visiting the hospital to care for her father required tremendous effort.
Thinking of all this, tears welled up in Su Yun's eyes. She silently vowed that this time, she would never again be constrained by any supposed gratitude to the Jiang family, nor would she jump into that burning pit.
She gazed longingly at Su Wenshan as he lowered his head to drink his porridge, then looked at Chen Xiue with tear-filled eyes, full of filial affection.
Seeing her like this, Chen Xiue's heart softened. She immediately lowered her voice and said gently, "Xiaoyun, don't worry. As long as your mother is here, I'll find a way to keep you in the city. Your eldest brother has been in the countryside for eight years and still hasn't returned. Your second brother and your sister have been gone for six years with no news. I can't lose you too!"
Su Yun nodded emotionally. "Mm, Mom, don't worry either. I'll think of a way to stay in the city too."
"What way could you possibly think of?" Chen Xiue said dismissively, finishing the last bite of her corn bun. "Just dress yourself up nicely these days and wait for me to bring back good news."
"All right, hurry up and eat. Xiaowu, after breakfast, go feed the chickens. Don't run off to fool around with those kids in the alley every time you're free. And what about the window at Widow He's house yesterday afternoon—was that you?"
Su Baoguo immediately denied it. "It wasn't me! Widow He has offended plenty of people. Who knows who couldn't stand them and secretly got revenge? Don't accuse me!"
"I got it. I'll feed the chickens after eating!"
That was what he said, but after dinner he disappeared without a trace.
Chen Xiue scolded him a few more times before taking the dishes out to wash. Su Wenshan sat on the heated brick bed in the main room, silently taking out his pipe and lighting it.
Su Yun, meanwhile, skillfully mixed the leftover rice soup from dinner with sorghum bran. She walked around to the chicken coop beside the main room and poured the mixture into the feeding bowl.
As she did, her fingers accidentally touched the grimy bowl, and a dry mechanical voice sounded in her ear—
"Ding! Detected: one Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain bowl, minor flaws. Recycling price: 40 yuan. Sell?"
Su Yun widened her eyes and instinctively looked around. No one was there.
What was there to hesitate about?
She immediately chose yes.
The three chickens that had been eating suddenly froze.
Where was the bowl?
Su Yun withdrew the forty yuan for the second time. Now more familiar with the process, she quickly tucked the money into her pocket and returned to the west side room on unsteady legs.
Placing five crisp ten-yuan bills on the desk, Su Yun felt a surge of excitement.
On the first day after her rebirth, she had become the wealthiest person in the family!
Although her parents earned a combined monthly salary of eighty-three yuan, and as residents of the capital they received about ninety jin of grain rations per month, her elder brothers and sister were still in the countryside.
Over the years, unable to return to the city, they had married and had children there. Her eldest brother, Su Jianguo, now had three children alone.
Every month, her parents sent most of their wages and grain rations to their children in the countryside, fearing they would suffer. Meanwhile, at home they lived on coarse corn buns, saving the steamed buns and rice for Su Yun and Su Baoguo.
According to Su Yun's memory, her mother, Chen Xiue, could not possibly have more than fifty yuan on hand at the moment.
Su Yun carefully touched the money on the desk. Her heart suddenly felt lighter, and she began to look forward to the future.
If this so-called treasure-detecting system could continue working, perhaps she could buy a job and stay in the city without her mother having to humble herself and beg others for help.
With that thought, Su Yun went to wash her face and soak her feet before going to bed in a good mood.
Early the next morning—
As dawn broke, the chickens in every household in the courtyard crowed one after another, and people gradually got up.
Su Yun put on an old shirt, braided her hair, and stepped out. Chen Xiue had already prepared breakfast.
From the west wing across the courtyard came Widow He's usual scolding: "The rooster has crowed three times! In this whole courtyard, you're the laziest girl! Your brother still has to go to work after breakfast, and you're still not up cooking? Do you want me to beat you before you listen?"
"And did you eat the sunflower seeds your brother brought back yesterday? Those were for when he meets a prospective bride! How dare you eat everything?"
Then came He Hua's scream: "Mom, I'm up! I'm really up—don't hit me…"
The door of the west wing opened, and He Hua ran out clutching her face, wearing the same patched shirt as yesterday. When she saw Su Yun, she snorted. "What are you looking at? Happy to see someone else getting beaten? You're vicious!"
Su Yun had just finished brushing her teeth. Without a word, she lifted a ladle of water as if to splash her.
He Hua jumped aside and quickly darted into her kitchen, turning back to glare at Su Yun.
Su Yun snorted in return and went into her own main room, unwilling to look at her smug face.
She regretted it now—she had really been too kind to her yesterday. What a character!