"Second Sister, Mom said that in three days the steel factory will be showing a movie. She told us to finish dinner early and go there to save seats!"
A movie at the steel factory?
Su Yun suddenly remembered. The day her father, Su Wenshan, had the accident in her previous life was the night after the movie showing!
She immediately began calculating in her mind. Her plan could be carried out exactly three days later. At that time, the timing, location, and circumstances would all be perfect—even telling a lie would be easier.
"Second Sister? Second Sister?"
Seeing Su Yun frozen in thought, Su Baoguo called her twice.
Su Yun snapped back to her senses and smiled.
"Watching a movie sounds great. We haven't seen one for a long time. By the way, what movie will they show this time?"
Su Baoguo answered excitedly,
"Huo Yuanjia! It's about him fighting Japanese warriors. It's really good!"
After speaking, Su Baoguo noticed the sugarcane Su Yun had brought back.
"Second Sister, what's wrapped in that newspaper? It looks like the sugarcane you brought back last time."
Su Yun lifted the old newspaper and pulled out two pieces of sugarcane, handing them to him.
"You've got sharp eyes. Take these and share them with Tianci and the others."
Su Baoguo cheered again when he received them.
Just then, Chen Xiue walked in carrying a ladle. When she saw the scene, she immediately began lecturing.
"Xiaoyun, why are you spending money again? Sugarcane is such a luxury. It's fine to taste it once in a while, but if you have spare money, wouldn't it be better to buy grain?"
When the topic of grain came up, a worried look appeared on Chen Xiue's face.
"This month we didn't send any grain to your eldest brother and the others. I wonder if they're able to eat enough in the countryside. Last time your second brother wrote to say his wife is pregnant again and wants the family to send some malted milk powder. But that stuff requires a special permit to buy. Where could we possibly get one?"
"And there's your elder sister Xiao Ling. I heard she still has to work in the fields even with her big belly. I don't know what her husband does all day—letting a pregnant woman support him. How shameless!"
"Sigh… your brothers and sisters really never stop giving me something to worry about."
As she spoke, Chen Xiue opened the cabinet and scooped half a ladle of flour.
Su Yun couldn't bear to see her mother so worried. After thinking for a moment, she said,
"Mom, leave the malted milk powder to me. Tomorrow I'll see if I can buy two cans from that generous friend of mine. Since my eldest sister is about to give birth, we can send one to her as well."
The truth was that Su Yun's system store didn't have malted milk powder—but it did have milk powder, which was even better.
Hearing this, Chen Xiue looked hopeful but also a little hesitant.
"Will that really work? I was only mentioning it casually. Don't trouble yourself over these things…"
"It'll work! Mom, don't worry. My friend is very capable—it'll definitely be fine!"
Su Yun reassured her a few more times and then placed the sugarcane in the cabinet.
Originally, she hadn't wanted to bother with her brothers and sisters. Considering what they had done in her previous life, she didn't even want to deal with them.
But now those things hadn't happened yet. Chen Xiue still loved all her children dearly. Recently, Su Yun had been bringing good things home, and now that Chen Xiue herself could eat well, it was only natural for her to think about her children living in the countryside.
In order to reassure both Chen Xiue and Su Wenshan, Su Yun didn't mind treating her siblings a little better. She only hoped that in the future they would at least have some conscience and not repeat the heartless things they had done in her previous life.
---
Far away in the southwestern mountains.
Pingshan Village was a remote settlement deep in the mountains. Over the years, many educated youths had come there and settled down. Su Yun's eldest brother, Su Jianguo, was one of them.
Su Jianguo had been sent to Pingshan Village at eighteen. At twenty, he married Meizi, the only daughter of the village party secretary. After marriage they had three sons and a daughter.
With the grain and money sent regularly from home, Su Jianguo only needed to teach the village children to read and write. His life in Pingshan Village was fairly comfortable.
One morning, as Su Jianguo was washing up, his wife Meizi said to him,
"Jianguo, today is the day your family usually sends grain. After work, don't forget to stop by the post office and bring it back."
"Mm."
Su Jianguo responded casually. He had long grown accustomed to picking up packages from the post office on that day every month.
However, when he returned from the post office that day, his face was dark. With a loud bang, he slapped the letter from Su Wenshan onto the table.
Meizi, who was cooking, heard the noise and hurried in, wiping her hands.
"What's wrong? Where are the things your family sent?"
Su Jianguo's face was gloomy, and his tone was unpleasant.
"There's nothing! And there won't be anything for the next few months!"
"How could that be?"
Meizi didn't believe him. She picked up the letter and opened it while speaking.
"How can this be? Your second sister found a job in the city, so they're cutting off our grain and money? On what grounds?"
"She's just a girl—why should your parents spend money on her job? You're the eldest son. The family's money should belong to you. Now it's being used by your second sister. Who is supposed to reason with about this?"
The more Meizi spoke, the angrier Su Jianguo became.
Finally, he grabbed the letter and rushed to the kitchen. He stuffed it into the fire.
"So what if they stop sending money? From now on, I'll pretend that family doesn't exist. I'll treat myself as an orphan with no parents and see who ends up regretting it!"
---
At the same time, in a drought-stricken village in the northwest, Su Yun's second brother, Su Weiguo, also received a letter from home.
Su Weiguo had married in his second year of being sent to the countryside. His wife, Xu Hongying, was also an educated youth from the capital.
After their marriage, they built a small courtyard beside the educated youth dormitory. They had three daughters in a row, and now Xu Hongying was pregnant again.
Because she had been constantly pregnant and giving birth, Xu Hongying rarely worked in the fields. The family survived mainly on Su Weiguo's work points, along with the money and grain sent monthly by the Su family.
That day, Xu Hongying waited at home as usual for the postman.
But in the end, she only received a letter from Su Wenshan. The contents were the same as the one sent to Su Jianguo—it said that for the next few months they would temporarily stop sending money.
When she read the letter, Xu Hongying's expression changed.
At noon, when Su Weiguo returned from work, he found the house cold and empty. There wasn't even a pot of hot water.
Tired and hungry, he looked at the heavily pregnant Xu Hongying and their three thin daughters. He asked patiently,
"Hongying, why haven't you cooked yet?"
Xu Hongying threw the letter at him and sneered.
"From now on we've run out of food. What's the point of cooking? Our whole family might as well find a crooked tree and hang ourselves!"
The three little girls burst into tears beside her.
Su Weiguo picked up the letter and quickly read it. His first reaction was actually happiness.
"My second sister found a job and can stay in the city? She's only seventeen this year. If she stays in the city she can marry a good man. If she were sent to the countryside, what hope would she have?"
Hearing this, Xu Hongying felt a lump in her throat.
When she had been sent to the countryside, she was only seventeen as well. Why hadn't anyone cared enough to help her find a job and stay in the city?
"Su Weiguo, are you stupid? Your second sister gets to stay in the city, but your parents won't send you money anymore! Are your eyes covered in filth? Didn't you see what the letter says?"
Su Weiguo didn't take it seriously.
"My father said they'll temporarily stop sending money. He didn't say they'll never send it again…"