Susu, who was said to have become enlightened, was holding Xiao Yu in her arms, both deeply asleep, completely unaware of the conversation her in-laws were having. Had she known, she certainly would have been curious about who the Old Blind Man was.
The little guy's cheeks were rosy red as he nestled in Susu's arms, even the corners of his mouth turned up.
Cautious not to wake the little monkey in her arms, Susu tiptoed out of the bed, but as soon as she looked up, she met the little guy's sleepy eyes.
Xiao Yu rubbed his eyes and swiftly climbed out of bed, "Aunt, wait for me."
Susu helplessly led the little rascal out to wash up.
Sitian Village
"What? Are you saying my Erya is setting up a stall in the county?" Mrs. Su, Li Chunjuan, exclaimed in disbelief, then waved her hands indicating it was impossible, "My Erya is enjoying life in the Provincial City, how could she come back to run a stall? Jianguo's mother, you must have seen wrong."
"How could I? Even if your Erya turned to ashes, I would recognize her. Not to mention she was there with her mother-in-law and a little kid."
Jianguo's mother, cracking sunflower seeds and with her bulging eyes, added, "Plus, I watched for quite a while. They were doing brisk business, probably making at least seven or eight yuan a day."
"What? Seven or eight yuan?"
As soon as Mrs. Su heard this, she grabbed a hoe and dragged her husband and child back home.
The other women who heard were all wide-eyed, exclaiming in astonishment.
...
In those days, everyone hoped to get a factory job and hold onto the iron rice bowl, except for those with families dependant on them; for these unmarried lads and lasses, one full belly meant the whole family wasn't hungry.
Sure enough, a pot of marinated goods under the enthusiastic purchase of textile factory workers sold out in no time.
There were also many who came late complaining there were too few marinated goods, urging the owner to make more next time.
Even on the way home, Mrs. Lu suggested making more each day, since they could manage the extra work anyway.
Susu, in a good mood, explained to her mother-in-law, "Mom, this is called 'hunger marketing.'"
"What is 'hunger marketing'?"
Being stared at with curiosity and confusion by the young and old, Susu briefly explained it to the two of them.
Mrs. Lu nodded, "Oh, so it's about making people rush and compete to buy our goods, right? Is that the idea?"
"Yes! That's about right."
Susu gave her mother-in-law a thumbs-up, a sincere smile on her face, which made Mrs. Lu somewhat embarrassed.
From afar, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law threesome could already see three people squatting at their front gate. Before they even got to the door, they heard Mrs. Su's loud voice.
"Oh, Erya, mother-in-law, you finally came back."
Mrs. Su, her face full of wrinkles from smiling, leaning against her bicycle, looked around east and west, "Oh my, everything sold out? So that's around thirty yuan a month?"
Susu looked at her original self's mother's face, full of sycophancy, and her head started to hurt, "How do you know?"
"Oh, you dead girl, coming back and not visiting your own home. You don't know how much Baocai missed his second sister every day. If it weren't for Jianguo's mother who just happened to see you in the city, you ruthless girl..."
Susu's head buzzed with the noise, walking home impatiently.
Expecting it to be another freeloading visit from her mother-in-law, Mrs. Lu, although not fond of the idea, still greeted the mother and son cheerfully.
"Second sister, why did you come back so late? I'm starved to death." Su Baogen pouted, headed straight for the kitchen, rummaging through cabinets and looking for food.
Susu immediately frowned, grabbed Su Baogen by the ear, and dragged him out, "What bad habits? Helping yourself without asking is stealing. Be careful, or I might call the police on you."
"Waah waah waah～ Mom, second sister is bullying Bao～～"
Looking at the constant reference as 'Bao' and holding back to cajole the two on the ground, Susu couldn't help but laugh in frustration.
Seeing this, Mrs. Lu hurriedly spoke nicely, then went inside to get some money to buy food.
Susu ignored the ceaselessly wailing mother and son, and started to wash the pots and pans on her own.
Seeing no one paying attention to her, Mrs. Su cheerfully approached, "Erya, is that your eldest brother-in-law's kid? How come I remember your eldest brother-in-law having two daughters…"
Spitting words dry, Mrs. Su, seeing that the younger son ignored her, wished she could beat the girl, but intimidated by the fierce look in the girl's eyes, she dared not lay a hand on her.
"What's that all about?"
"Is this little thing adopted by the younger son's family? It's not your relative, is it?"
Mrs. Lu was startled by the aggressive mother-in-law, only to see Mrs. Su, who had been amiable before, now pulling a long face.
"It's not for me to say, but someone else's brat will never be one of yours. Even if my son-in-law earns a lot, he shouldn't be squandering money like this."
"Exactly, where did this little bastard come from? Don't you cling to my sister's family. Be careful, or I'll beat you."
Su Baogen, as he spoke, even swung his fist menacingly.
"Smack—"
Susu directly slapped him and coldly said, "Calling someone a little bastard, is this the kind of upbringing you have? Hurry up and apologize to Xiao Yu!"
"Ouch, it hurts, it really hurts, you damned girl, how could you hit your brother for an outsider, your mother…"
Mrs. Su, raising her dry, cracked hand as she spoke, was intimated by the fierce look in Susu's eyes and hesitated to strike.
Seeing that his mother couldn't help him, Su Baogen, with a face full of snot and tears, stuttered in a low voice, "Sor-sorry."
"Louder!"
"Sorry!"
Watching Su Baogen with a face full of snot and tears, Susu disgustingly averted her eyes and quietly comforted Xiao Yu, who was obviously frightened.
Su Baogen: "."
Seeing the daughter-in-law, unlike usual, actually subdued this outrageous mother and son, Mrs. Lu could hardly believe it.
Finally, when things calmed down, and Susu was dozing off, the outrageous mother quietly approached again.
"Erya, mother is only thinking of your best, you and your husband have that money, why not give it to your mother…"
With a buzzing in her ears, Susu irritably opened her eyes, staring speechlessly at Mrs. Su.
Mrs. Su, stared down by those pitch-black eyes, couldn't help but shiver.
Mrs. Lu, having purposely bought a large meat bun for her mother-in-law at noon, packed it up and led her to the door, taking a long sigh of relief.
"Ouch, my poor son, that damned girl is getting worse."
Mrs. Su, with a look of sorrow for her son, and seeing the slap mark on his face, whispered curses under her breath as she hopped with anger.
Su Baogen pouted and grabbed a large meat bun to gnaw on.
"Huh…"
Mrs. Lu, scolding vigorously, was suddenly interrupted when the door was flung open.
Susu, watching the stunned mother and son at the door, furrowed her brows so deeply it could have killed a mosquito.
The Su mother and son, as if they had seen a ghost, ran off in a flash.
Susu: "…"
"Thud, thud, thud—"
Thinking it was again that outrageous mother and brother, Susu irritably dropped the ingredients in her hand, holding a kitchen knife.
"Again?"
"E-Erya? What's this?"
Susu, holding the kitchen knife in one hand, looked dazedly at the door, blinking, "Haha, why, why did you come back?"
At the door were indeed siblings from the Lu Family.
Lu Xiaoting frowned, glanced around, took the kitchen knife from Susu's hand, and whispered, "What happened? Did something happen?"