Hearing his youngest daughter's heart-wrenching cries, Su Sanlang strode into the house.
He reached out to hold her.
Strangely, as soon as Su Xiaolu was in his arms, her cries subsided, but she still felt aggrieved.
Her lively eyes were filled with tears as she pouted and whimpered, as if she was saying that she's aggrieved.
Su Sanlang's heart melted. "Simei, be good. Daddy is here. Let's not cry anymore."
Su Xiaolu looked at Madam Zhao and then at Su Sanlang.
Su Sanlang understood a little and said to Madam Zhao, "Darling, have you not rested for a long time?"
Madam Zhao sighed. "Sanlang, I thought that since I was going to be done soon, I let Sanmei coax her first…"
Su Sanlang looked at Madam Zhao with pain in his eyes. He said gently, "Darling, I know what you're worried about. It's not cold yet. There's no need to be so anxious. You're not well. You have to rest well."
"Simei is sensible and feels sorry for you."
Su Sanlang coaxed Su Xiaolu and placed her beside Madam Zhaoo. As expected, Su Xiaolu stopped crying.
Su Sanmei said, "Sanmei, keep an eye on your mother at home. If she refuses to rest, tell Father."
Su Sanmei nodded obediently. "Yes, I'll listen to Father and take good care of Mother."
Madam Zhao sighed helplessly. Although she was helpless, she said with a smile, "Okay, okay, okay. I'll listen to you, alright?"
Su Sanlang smiled warmly. "That's better."
With that, Su Sanlang called out to his two sons, "Chong, Hua, wake up. Let's make breakfast and go to work."
Su Chong and Su Hua nodded and got up quickly.
Su Sanmei also got up to help cook.
After breakfast, Su Sanlang took Su Chong and Su Hua up to the back of the house to turn the soil.
Su Sanmei watched as Madam Zhao drank the medicine and helped to change Su Xiaolu's diaper. Then, she took the diaper out and went to wash it.
When she was done, Su Sanmei went to catch insects to feed the chickens.
Su Sanlang was watching from not far away. He watched as Su Sanmei diligently made another trip to the chicken pen. He couldn't help but wonder, how could there be so many insects by the well?
However, he didn't have time to think about it. The old land was dry and overgrown. He spat into his red-smoothed palm and started to dig.
In the afternoon, a silhouette carried a basket toward Su Sanlang's house.
Su Sanlang saw the figure and recognized it as his little sister, Su Xiaozhi.
"Xiaozhi, why are you here?"
Su Sanlang put down his hoe and came out of the land.
Su Sanmei, who was catching bugs, looked at Su Xiaozhi and smiled shyly. "Hello, Aunt."
Su Xiaozhi smiled and said to Su Sanmei, "Hey, Sanmei is so sensible."
Then, Su Xiaozhi looked at Su Sanlang with worry in her eyes. "Third Brother, how are you guys doing?"
Seeing that Su Xiaozhi was about to cry, Su Sanlang smiled and waved his hand. "Xiaozhi, it's rare for you to come by. Come inside. Drink some water and look at my little daughter. She's so beautiful."
Su Xiaozhi's heart ached when she saw how carefree Su Sanlang was, but she had no way to help.
She followed behind Su Sanlang and said, "Third Brother, go back and apologize to our parents. Take the children home, okay?"
Winter was always exceptionally cold. Her parents did not give much to her third brother at all. How was he going to get through this winter? Su Xiaozhi did not dare to think about it. She knew that her third brother's family had suffered, but she still wanted to persuade them. It was better to suffer than die.
"Third Brother, listen to me. Go back and apologize to your parents. I know you're sad, but think about the children. They'll be fine when they grow up."
Su Xiaozhi followed behind Su Sanmei and tried her best to persuade.
Su Sanlang paused and said in a heavy voice, "Xiaozhi, let's not talk about that. Our family is doing well now. Don't worry about us. Live your life well."
The determination in Su Sanlang's heavy voice made Su Xiaozhi's heart tremble. What could have possibly made her third brother completely give up on their parents?
She knew Su Sanlang's personality. At this point, Su Xiaozhi knew that there was no way to persuade him anymore.
She followed Su Sanlang into the house and put down the basket. "Third Brother, this is a little gift from me for Third Sister-in-law."
Su Xiaozhi brought forty eggs and a hundred copper coins.
Su Sanlang hurriedly declined. "Xiaozhi, take it back. I-"
Before Su Sanlang could finish, Su Xiaozhi interrupted her and said, "Third Brother, if you don't accept this, it means that you don't want to acknowledge me as your sister. If it weren't for you back then, I wouldn't be where I am now. Although I'm not rich, my husband's family treats me well. If you hadn't stood up for me back then, I wouldn't be where I am now."
Su Xiaozhi recalled that ten years ago, when she proposed marriage, Madam Wang and Old Master Su had chosen two families for her. One family gave her a lot of money for the betrothal gifts, but their family's atmosphere was not very good. The other family's background was average, but they were simple and good people.
Madam Wang and Old Master Su were about to give her away to the family that offered more money for the dowry.
It was Su Sanlang, her third brother, who had stood up against her parents and even beat up that family's son. He told their domineering mother, Madam Wang, that if he dared to marry his sister over, he would snatch her back.
His attitude shocked Madam Wang and Old Master Su. Hence, Su Xiaozhi married into the family with an average family background in the end. Although she was not rich in the past ten years, she led a good life. She was not cold nor hungry.
Every time she thought about it, Su Xiaozhi was filled with gratitude, especially as she grew older. She understood how precious it was for Su Sanlang to protect her.
Since Su Xiaozhi had already said so, how could Su Sanlang reject her? He sighed. "I'll take this money as a loan from you. I'll return it to you when I have money in the future."
Su Xiaozhi smiled. "Sure."
As long as Third Brother accepts it, she thought.
Looking at the renovated straw hut, Su Xiaozhi sighed.
Su Sanlang knew what she was worried about. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'll flip the soil and sow some vegetables in a few days. In the back mountain forest, I also set up a few traps that can catch wild animals. I caught some just a few days ago and sold them to buy cloth and cotton. Your third sister-in-law is cutting cloth to make clothes right now."
With that, Su Sanlang brought Su Xiaozhi into the house to take a look.
Looking at the cloth, Su Xiaozhi was relieved, but she still could not calm down.
When Madam Zhao saw Su Xiaozhi, she smiled and said, "Xiaozhi, you're here. Thank you for coming to see us."
Su Sanlang smiled and said, "Xiaozhi, sit and chat with your sister-in-law. I'll cook."
With that, Su Sanlang left.
Su Xiaozhi sat down beside Madam Zhao and held her hand. "Sister-in-law, what happened? Tell me, why… did it end up like this?"
Even if she gave birth to another daughter, her parents would scold her, but it would all pass after a while.