It was also raining in Lushan City.
Su Youfu looked particularly disheveled as he carried the peach baskets, worried that the peaches would get drenched by the rain since he could not find any plastic sheets to cover them with. He could only put his jacket over the lid of the carrying pole.
Su Youqian, his third younger brother, also took off his jacket. The two of them foolishly wore only single layers, shivering from the cold, while using their jackets to cover the peaches on either side of the pole.
Su Youcai, the second son of the Su family and the sharpest of the three brothers, saw his brothers looking miserable in the distance. Despite wearing a tidy jacket himself, he did not approach them. Rather, he hid behind to avoid them, pretending not to see. He was too embarrassed to be associated with them, feeling it would be a loss of face.
To him, his eldest brother was silly and his younger brother was stupid. And their mother was overbearing and clingy.
He was the most cunning of the three brothers to begin with. After going to the city to work, he became more worldly and his mind more nimble.
He humored his uncle's family, though not with the blind filial piety his mother demanded. This was because after working in the city, he realized how difficult it was to find someone to help with things when needed.
His uncle's family had been in the city for many years and could help with some matters.
His cousin was also doing well. When he talked about him at work, he made him sound impressive, unlike a typical rural migrant, but someone with many urban relatives.
Su Youfu and Su Youqian did not see Su Youcai hiding. They entered the house and were met with many strange looks.
Su Youfu was used to it due to his disability. But Su Youqian felt very embarrassed as a hot-blooded youth.
He quickly put his jacket back on as it was quite new and he had not worn it many times. The shirt inside, however, had a stain on the chest that could not be washed off after too many wears.
When people saw that the pole actually contained peaches that looked quite soft and well-made into nice pointy shapes with red tips, they felt they were not clean, having been covered with the two farmers' clothes despite being separated by the lid.
Su Youfu did not care about the strange looks. He simply asked his uncle where to put the things.
The uncle looked down on these country nephews too. His own son had gifted a big cake. He did not think much of these peaches and said indifferently, "There's no place for them now, just put them aside for the time being."
He then asked someone to lead Su Youfu to put the peach pole in a corner of the back kitchen, with no intention of taking them out.
Su Youfu thought about how he and his wife and child had gotten up in the middle of the night to steam these longevity peaches. Yet his uncle clearly looked down on them. He felt wronged, but as usual, he endured unfair treatment, having grown accustomed to it, and did not say much. He figured he might as well take them back when leaving, since the wheat used for the flour was grown by them, and the peanut oil cakes were made with authentic white sugar.
On the other side, Sheng Juanhua brought vegetables to the hospital for her sister-in-law Xiao Qi.
Along with the vegetables was a sack containing the couple's luggage. She told Xiao Qi that they wanted to stay here for a couple of days.
Seeing Juanhua, Su Simoi smiled especially warmly.
"Sister-in-law, feel free to stay as long as you like. I usually sleep upstairs at night to help out in the wards anyway."
She wore a very thin and shiny gold chain around her neck, sent from the county seat. She had been shocked when she received it. The only gold jewelry she had ever received in her life was a gold wedding ring and a pair of very small gold earrings when she married her ex-husband. She did not get those back after the divorce. She did not expect someone to send her this.
Seeing it was from Xiao Qi, she immediately called Xiao Qi.
When Xiao Qi had lived with her before, she provided her food and lodging without asking for money. When Xiao Qi went to college, she even bought her new clothes and gave her some money, treating her no different than her own daughter. Su Simoi regarded Xiao Qi as her own daughter. Their daily companionship was mutual support, unable to say who helped whom more. When Xiao Qi was around, she felt at ease.
After Xiao Qi went away to university, she felt uneasy for a long time, preferring to stay in the ward and feeling empty when she came home.
Fortunately Xiao Qi was more obedient than her own daughter, often sending messages to ask after her and sometimes calling.
Receiving the gold necklace, she worried what was going on with Xiao Qi, where she got the money. Hearing it was prize money from a competition, Su Simoi felt gratified and very happy, but also felt the young girl should not spend money carelessly, having bought something so valuable. She even thought about sending Xiao Qi something or giving her some money.
Seeing Xiao Qi's mother Juanhua come, Su Simoi was much warmer than usual.
"Xiao Qi called to tell you, right? She sent you something, but the courier doesn't deliver to Gumu Village, so she sent it to me. I haven't opened it yet. Take a look."
Juanhua had heard Xiao Qi mention it in passing but did not take it seriously since the parcel was safely with her aunt.
Indeed it was there in the room, untouched. She went to open it.
Su Simoi, meanwhile, took the green vegetables her sister-in-law brought and distributed some to neighbors on both sides. She had lost a lot of weight now and looked spirited and cheerful, no longer obese and foolishly grinning. Her relationships with her neighbors seemed to have improved somewhat.
After handing out the vegetables, Su Simoi gave Juanhua the room key and went about her business.
Juanhua also felt reassured. She thought this cousin was truly decent. It was unfortunate that such a nice person had divorced.
Unwrapping the package, she discovered a small leather bag and a set of men's clothing, which was obviously for her husband. The ladies' bag was for her.
She examined the bag closely. It had no price tag, but the leather felt very solid. The layered floral pattern looked familiar and gave it a sense of quality. The strap was also leather.
She wore black pants today with a skintight undershirt inside, and a shabby outer layer to avoid dirtying it while carrying vegetables. Now inside the room, she changed into a red knit sweater, which went nicely with her leather shoes. Carrying the small bag, she looked even more cosmopolitan than city folk, a very elegant and capable woman, and rather good-looking.
She was born with fine features and fair skin. Tall from years of labor, she maintained a very fit figure.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Juanhua was quite satisfied.
She still wore a pair of delicate small gold earrings, also very fashionable.
After freshening up, she went to meet up with her husband.
When Juanhua arrived, she could not find her husband. Asking her brother-in-law, she learned that her husband had been called upstairs to fix a leaky roof.
Seeing his sister-in-law, Su Youcai was also surprised. He felt that although they had not seen each other for some time, his sister-in-law seemed much more dignified, carrying an air of sophistication. Before, he had thought her looks were decent for a village woman, but still coarse and countrified. Yet today she seemed rather cosmopolitan, especially with that small handbag, as if she was a different person.
Juanhua's face darkened. Her mother-in-law pestered them every day for money to celebrate her uncle's birthday, yet when she herself had gotten up in the middle of the night to steam longevity peaches, they were dismissed to do chores at an important time like this.
With her good looks and fashionable attire, plus an elegant bag, many tried to chat her up, but she ignored them and went straight upstairs to her husband.
Although her uncle's family lived in the city, they were like a village within the city, in self-built housing rather than commercial apartments. Going upstairs, she saw her husband soaked from the rain. Her young uncle was the same, still handing up tiles piece by piece. The rainwater striking the tiles splashed out muddy water.
Juanhua had no words for her honest husband and guileless young uncle. Her cunning second brother-in-law was chatting leisurely downstairs while these two were being so silly upstairs.
Seeing his wife come, Su Youfu said foolishly, "Juanhua, don't come over here, it's dirty and slippery. We'll be done soon."
Su Youcai also smiled. "Sister-in-law, we'll be done in a minute, just wait."
