Relatives Came to Visit
“I only used to live in the same village as her. Anything else?”
“I just want to ask, since you’re from the same village, why won’t you help her when she’s in difficulty?”
Su Su inhaled, then smiled. “Student, why don’t you first go and understand what ‘moral kidnapping’ means before using that accusing tone to speak to me?”
Cheng Guodong froze. He hadn’t expected this young teacher to still be able to smile at this point.
What he expected even less was that her next words would make his face darken.
“Do you think I owe Qin Yueyue something? Do you think that just because we’re from the same village, I have to lend to her again and again? Do you think you’re some messenger of justice? Mind less of other people’s business. This is a school, not your backyard.” The smile on Su Su’s face suddenly cooled. Then she hugged her lunchbox and left.
Cheng Guodong’s face turned green and white. Since growing up, he had never been lectured like this before. But what she said was also very reasonable, and he actually had no way to refute it.
Just at this moment, Qin Yueyue came running over. “Student Cheng, Student Cheng, I heard someone say you were speaking with Su Su here. Don’t plead for me. She… she’s not easy to deal with.”
One of the men said, “She really isn’t easy to deal with.” She was simply cool beyond words. With just a few sentences, she had extinguished Cheng Guodong, who had grown up lecturing others. She was indeed impressive.
Cheng Guodong immediately said, “No, I just exchanged a few words with her.” A woman that formidable—he really didn’t seem able to suppress her.
“That’s good.” Qin Yueyue seemed to let out a breath of relief. “Her husband is a soldier in the army, and he’s a battalion commander. I’m afraid you might get into trouble.”
“You don’t need to worry. We’ll be careful. If she really dares to bully students, I don’t believe no one can deal with her.” Cheng Guodong said indignantly.
“We’d better not go against them.” Qin Yueyue knew that the more she said this, the more this group of hot-blooded young men would do the opposite.
“We absolutely cannot bow our heads to evil forces. But forget it for today.” Cheng Guodong suddenly asked Qin Yueyue, “By the way, you said you were relatives. What kind of relatives?”
“Nothing much. Let’s go.” Qin Yueyue couldn’t exactly say that she was Su Su’s younger sister-in-law. Recently, the persona she had established at school was that of an independent, self-reliant woman who had been bullied by her family and come to study alone. She couldn’t let that collapse because of this.
Su Su also knew this, which was why she had made Cheng Guodong ask that question. At this moment, Cheng Guodong frowned. He always felt that Qin Yueyue had certain things she didn’t want him to know, but he couldn’t ask in detail, so he could only set the matter aside for now.
However, when school ended, he deliberately went to the school gate to see Teacher Su’s man. He had heard that he was somewhat of a bully relying on power.
But look at him: a battalion commander, carrying a small basket of vegetables, standing at the gate waiting for his wife. When she came out, he went up and held her arm as they walked forward. He didn’t look oppressive at all.
On the contrary, he looked a little like a “little wife” coming to pick up her “man.” Where was even the slightest air of a battalion commander?
As a man, this really seemed a bit lacking in dominance. But he was not young anymore. If he really had married a young wife like Su Su, anyone would treasure her like a jewel.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for Lin Chuan to leave. It was said that this time, once he left, he would be gone for more than a month, so he was truly very worried. Before leaving, he entrusted all kinds of people to take care of her, showing just how nervous he was about the child.
Su Su wasn’t someone who never went out, and she didn’t care at all. After all, she had food, drink, and money. What was there to be afraid of?
Even so, she still reluctantly and tenderly saw Lin Chuan off for a long distance before coming back. On the road, a spring wind rose, and sand got into her eyes. She gently rubbed them a few times, and somehow, she ended up bumping into someone.
She was bounced back a step, and the other party cursed, “You woman, do you not want to live?”
Su Su stepped back. She smelled a strong scent of alcohol and felt that she had bumped into some drunkard.
This person was far too crude. She inhaled and was just about to say a few words to him, but the moment she raised her head, she saw a familiar face. Her eyes widened. What a coincidence.
“It’s you, Su… Teacher Su.” The other party probably hadn’t expected to run into someone he knew either, especially after treating her like that just now.
“Song Laosan.” Su Su was just about to say something when she saw someone suddenly walk over and grab her. “You, man, stay away from her. If you’re drunk, go somewhere else to act crazy.” After saying that, the person forcefully pulled Su Su away.
“No, you’ve misunderstood…” But on the other side, Song Laosan was also pulled away by his friends. Just like that, the two of them separated in a rather dramatic manner.
When they reached the corner, the man who had “saved” Su Su stopped and said, “What misunderstanding? You’re a teacher at X East University, right?”
Su Su looked up and saw that the person who had saved her was a rather handsome young man, probably around twenty years old.
“You are?”
“I’m a student at X East University, Guan Zhendong. Did I scare you just now?”
“No, no. Thank you.” What else could she say? In truth, she had wanted to say a few words to Song Laosan, but she had ended up being pulled over here. What could she say? The other person had meant well, so thanking him was enough.
But he was also surnamed Guan. Could he be…
In the book, it was written that the male lead’s second younger brother, who was also a child of the Guan family, was saved by the male lead. He discovered that this man looked especially like his grandfather when he was young. So he went home and told his father. In the end, they went to the Lin family and learned that the child they had abandoned there during wartime was still alive, so they took him back.
She remembered that the male lead’s second younger brother was called Guan Zhendong, and later, the male lead changed his name to Guan Donghe.
There really was no story without coincidences. But looking at him now, this Guan Zhendong did indeed look a little like Lin Donghe.
“Teacher Su, I also attend your class.” Seeing that she seemed to have spaced out, he asked again, “Teacher Su, did you get frightened?”
“I’m fine. Thank you very much today. I have to go back now. Goodbye.”
The younger brother had appeared, so the plot should not be far away, right?
Once the plot appeared, the male lead would return to his wealthy family, and then the story between the male and female leads would begin. After the male lead returned home, he would feel that his woman had been snatched by his cousin and that his child had been aborted, all because he himself had no ability. Then he would enter his grandfather’s company and work desperately. At the same time, he would continue pestering the female lead, and many things would happen between them.
Those things seemed to have nothing to do with her, right?
Su Su felt a little dazed. Mainly, it had been a long time since she read this book. Besides, she had read carelessly and hadn’t looked closely, so remembering it now was somewhat troublesome.
Forget it. She would take things one step at a time. Right now, as a pregnant woman, she had to properly nourish the baby and give Lin Chuan a beautiful little daughter… or a beautiful son.
Who told him to have been constantly schemed against in the book? Now he no longer had to keep thinking about lending money to the female lead or supporting her education. That was truly wonderful.
People often had too many things they couldn’t think through. But once you thought things through, you could turn bad things into good ones. Su Su was like this now. However, a few days later, she discovered that her temper had changed. She had become extremely irritable.
Then she also gained the title of “the most difficult teacher to provoke.”
Although she was young, she was proactive and hardworking, and she was very strict about studies. Most importantly, when she became serious, she was quite frightening. At least, students who truly wanted to study were rather afraid of her.
Guan Zhendong, however, wasn’t afraid. He felt that this little teacher of his was actually just a young girl pretending to be strong. Previously, when he saw her look dazed after something happened, even if she now stood on the podium ten times fiercer, he still felt it was a kind of milky fierceness.
Especially since she was so beautiful. Heaven knew how much he liked attending English class.
Ah, ah, she was angry again. She had even snapped the chalk.
After class, he found some questions and wanted to discuss them with the teacher. A male classmate said quietly, “Guan Zhendong, going to ask the teacher questions again?” After saying this, he nudged him.
Guan Zhendong nudged him back. “Can’t I? If you have the guts, you go ask too.”
“Don’t dare, don’t dare. But speaking of which, how old is our teacher?”
“She must be in her twenties. Otherwise, how could she be a teacher?”
“She doesn’t look it. She looks tender…”
Then that male classmate was knocked on the head.
They were all fresh high-school graduates. Even after being admitted to university, they were only seventeen or eighteen, unlike those who had tested in from society. They were at a naive and youthful age.
So after Guan Zhendong dealt with his friends, he went to find his teacher. As he went, he still felt nervous. What if she gave him a cold face? But thinking about it, no matter what, he was still her life-saving benefactor. She shouldn’t be too heartless, right?
The previous few times he had gone to ask her questions, her reaction hadn’t been particularly warm. It seemed she was maintaining the dignity of a teacher.
As he was thinking this, he discovered that Teacher Su had not returned to the office. Instead, she was sitting by the newly sprouted grass, drinking water from her flask and staring blankly. Her flask looked strange; at least, he had never seen one like it on the market.
She also looked very tired. All of the momentum she had in class just now was gone.
He couldn’t help walking over. Then he heard Teacher Su actually talking to herself.
“Why am I so irritable? I clearly said I should stay calm, but in the end, I still yelled. Sigh. Will everyone hate me?” After saying that, she rubbed her eyes, looking very troubled.
Guan Zhendong hadn’t expected Teacher Su to be like this. So she also regretted being so fierce in class. But in his view, it was alright. After all, she was a teacher. It was fine for her to be a little fierce.
But seeing her reflect on herself like this made him feel that this teacher was truly adorable.
He was just about to quietly retreat. If he asked questions now, it would definitely be very awkward. But unexpectedly, Su Su happened to stand up and turn around, and their eyes met.
He clearly saw Teacher Su’s face turn red. He immediately said, “I just got here…” Would she believe him if he said he hadn’t heard anything?
“Is that so? You just got here. Did you need something?” Su Su asked somewhat awkwardly.
“I just wanted to ask whether these words have any other pronunciations.” She was unhappy, but it was already too late to hide.
“I don’t want to repeat classroom matters a second time. Listen carefully next time.”
“Alright. Then I’ll go first.” It seemed he had been disliked. Better to leave first.
Su Su didn’t dislike him. She just felt that she needed to maintain her temperament.
But before she had even practised how to control her temper properly, she discovered that she had begun becoming saintly. Although her little belly still hadn’t reacted and still looked perfectly flat, almost another month had passed, and everything was changing in a good direction.
For example, morning sickness. She had thought it would last until after three months, but unexpectedly, it was no longer that serious now.
It was just that her appetite wasn’t very good, and nothing tasted fragrant. Although she was clearly pregnant, she had actually lost weight. Of course, she herself hadn’t noticed it. She had heard it entirely from others.
Another thing was that her temper, which had been good one moment and bad the next, had finally improved a little. She could now avoid offending people.
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she received a phone call. It was said that Lin Donghe and Lin Hai were coming over. They had called the school office before getting on the train and should arrive at the station around noon tomorrow.
Su Su had originally wanted to go pick them up, but they refused and insisted she just wait at home.
Lin Hai was anxious and said from the side, “If you come pick me up, I’m afraid Father and Mother will beat me together when I go back.” Too terrifying. He didn’t dare try it.
Su Su burst out laughing. The teacher next to her asked, “Teacher Su, what happy thing happened?”
“Oh, my younger brother is coming.” Lin Chuan’s younger brother was her younger brother too. Speaking of it, she did miss them a little. After all, it had been a long time since she had seen them.
But during summer break, she would be able to go back. Although by then she would have a big belly, sitting in a sleeper berth should be fine.
When school ended that evening, she went to prepare ingredients. Two men could definitely eat. Usually, she made do by herself, but since relatives were finally coming, of course she had to make something good.
To be honest, living by herself was lonely. Usually, when she was at school, it was fine. But once she came home alone, she felt it was rather meaningless. Her appetite was already poor, so she just made do with meals.
The next day at noon, after finishing her morning classes, she spoke to Principal Guan and came home early. But when she returned, she saw that Lin Donghe and Lin Hai were already standing in front of her house.
“Ah, you’re so early.” She quickly opened the door. Only then did she discover that the two of them had brought many things.
When Lin Hai saw his sister-in-law, he was a little embarrassed. Scratching his head, he said, “Sister-in-law, are you alright? Father and Mother keep thinking about you. They even caught the old hens at home and brought them over.”
“What? Then what will they eat for eggs at home? Besides, what am I going to do with so many chickens?” Although she said this, she was still very grateful in her heart.
After letting them in, she poured them water and then started preparing food.
She had now learned how to cook and light the coal stove by herself. People really did adapt to their environment.
But Lin Donghe said, “Don’t busy yourself. Your… body isn’t comfortable.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just cook some rice.” Since relatives had come, she was happy. She really did cook a large basin of mixed rice. Then she stir-fried two small dishes, mixed a block of tofu, and stewed the meat she had bought. Then the meal was ready.
In this era, using four dishes to entertain guests was already very good. She even brought out liquor.
“Lin Chuan is away on a mission and isn’t at home, so he won’t drink this liquor either. You two have some.” After saying that, she poured some for Lin Donghe and Lin Hai. Lin Donghe got one cup, and Lin Hai half a cup.
Lin Hai asked in confusion, “Sister-in-law, why did you only pour me this little?”
“At your age, getting even a little is already good. You still want to drink heavily?”
“My brother drinks two cups every meal.”
“Him? Each meal, he only gets this much.” Wanting to drink more was impossible.
“Ah?” Lin Hai suddenly understood what this meant. Sister-in-law was controlling how much his brother drank.
Forget it. Having some was already good enough.
The three of them quickly finished the meal. But Su Su had to go to class, so she said, “You two stay at home. If you have nothing to do, you can read some books.” She pointed to the bookshelf on one side, which held quite a few books.
“You go ahead. We’ll kill the chickens at home.” After Lin Hai said this, only then did he realise how busy working people were.
“Alright. If you’re tired, there’s a bed in the room. You can lie down for a while.” They hadn’t come by sleeper berth, so they must be very tired.
Su Su tidied up and went to work. In the afternoon, she had two more classes. After finishing them busily, she walked home.
When she reached home, she saw several patches of blood and chicken feathers in her courtyard. It seemed they had really killed the chickens. But when she entered the house and saw Lin Hai’s hand covered in blood, she couldn’t help saying, “Was this killing chickens or killing people?”
Lin Donghe said somewhat speechlessly, “This brat was chopping chicken and cut the back of his own hand.”
“You cut yourself? Let me see.” Su Su walked over and looked. “It’s quite serious. Wait.” She hurried into the room, took out the medical kit from her backpack, then applied medicine and bandaged him.
Lin Donghe said, “You really are fully prepared. And these things look even better than what the hospital has.”
“Yes. My classmate brought them back for me from abroad.” Su Su casually said this, then packed up the medical kit and carried it back into the room.
Lin Hai’s injury wasn’t serious, but the task of chopping the chicken was still handed over to Lin Donghe. After he finished tidying up, he said, “Lin Hai and I will go out and find a guesthouse to stay in. You can tidy these things up yourself. Lin Hai already stewed the chicken for you.”
“I’ll do it myself. He’s injured.” Then she said, “Why don’t you two stay at my place? I’ll go stay at another teacher’s house.”
“How can that be? You’re still carrying my little niece…” Lin Hai blurted it out directly. Then, probably because he had been frightened by Mother Lin’s scolding, after speaking, he looked around in all directions. Only when he saw there was no danger did he let out a breath of relief.
Su Su’s face reddened. “Then… there’s an education guesthouse not far from here. Go there and see if you can book a room, then come back for dinner.”
When she saw Lin Donghe off, Lin Hai had already placed the chicken into the pot. Men learned things quickly. By now, he had already handled the coal stove.
Aside from the chickens, Mother Lin had also brought her wild vegetables that could now be gathered in the village: dandelion greens, wild garlic, and quite a lot of other things. Su Su sat at the side picking through them while thinking of making some wild garlic stuffed pies. Mother Lin had made them once before, and they had been incredibly fragrant.
But she didn’t know how to make flatbread. She really could only crave them without being able to eat them.
“Sister-in-law, do you want to eat stuffed pies?” She was staring blankly while holding the wild garlic. He remembered that his sister-in-law quite liked eating them.
“Mm. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to make them.”
“I know how. I’ll make them for you tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Wait, that wasn’t right. She glanced at Lin Hai. “Is there no work at home?” Logically speaking, he should be in a hurry to return home at this time.
Lin Hai finished stewing the chicken and sat down. “There is, but the family doesn’t need my few work points. I heard that men from the surrounding villages who went out to work all bring money back home. I also want to come out and save money. Father and Mother said that as long as Eldest Brother can find me work, I can stay in the city, work, save money, and marry a wife.”
“…” This boy’s ambition was rather grand. He was even thinking of marrying a wife.
But then she suddenly thought of Song Laosan, and her mind stirred. Song Laosan should rise up in the next two years. After the female lead graduated, he would already be an entrepreneur. She had run into him before. If Lin Hai followed him, perhaps he might become successful too.
In the book, Lin Hai’s ending wasn’t very good either.
If she could change his fate, that would also be good.
Su Su nodded. “Alright. I’ll think about it for you tomorrow.”
“Sister-in-law, you agree with me coming out to work?”
Lin Hai said excitedly.
One had to know that he had spent a great deal of effort convincing his parents. However, they had also said that if Lin Chuan and his wife didn’t agree, then he had to return home and continue saving work points. He had originally thought that passing Sister-in-law and his brother would be very difficult, but unexpectedly, Sister-in-law agreed right away.
“Of course I agree. It’s very good that you have this kind of idea. You’ll have great prospects in the future. The country is developing now, and it needs ambitious young people to come out and make their way.”
“Sister-in-law, that’s exactly what I thought too. Unfortunately, I didn’t study much.”
“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t study much. In the future, you can attend night school to enrich yourself.”
She remembered that later, the male lead attended night school, so she felt Lin Hai could too.
After hearing this, Lin Hai’s eyes lit up. The Lin family actually all liked learning very much. He had only studied until junior high, then stopped. Originally, he only hoped that his two younger brothers could study properly and have great prospects in the future. But now, he suddenly had some thoughts of his own too.
“Alright. Thank you, Sister-in-law.”
“It’s nothing.” Su Su hoped the Lin family could live well, because the whole family were honest and simple people. They shouldn’t have ended up like they did in the book.
Lin Hai couldn’t be more grateful to his sister-in-law. After all, Mother Lin’s generation had never really left the mountains, so they were afraid of people going outside to make their way and didn’t want them to leave.
When it was time to eat, Lin Donghe came back. The three of them ate a rich meal. That evening, Lin Donghe was going to take Lin Hai away. But Su Su disagreed and said, “Aren’t you going to look for Qin Yueyue later? Lin Hai can stay with me. I’ll find him somewhere to sleep.”
Indeed, if the young couple met, why would Lin Hai squeeze in with them?
They hadn’t seen each other for so long. What man wouldn’t miss his wife? So how could Lin Hai go over?
Lin Hai was usually careless, but after hearing his sister-in-law say this, he also couldn’t shamelessly follow along. He could only stay behind.
Su Su’s neighbour was a single male teacher, so she let Lin Hai stay at his place for one night. They would think of something tomorrow. If there was really no other option, they could find an empty house in the family residential area for him to stay in for a few days.
Actually, if another younger brother came too, they could stay at her house. But Lin Hai was quite grown-up, so it really wasn’t too appropriate for him to sleep at his sister-in-law’s house like this.
Su Su herself didn’t care, but she knew Lin Hai definitely wouldn’t stay with her.
Tomorrow happened to be Sunday. She could try her luck and look for Song Laosan. If that didn’t work, she would find Lin Hai another place.
Unexpectedly, when she mentioned it to her neighbour, that teacher said, “If he’s looking for work, would temporary work be okay? My second sister opened a small clothing factory not far from here. Right now, she’s short of workers to move goods. I think your second younger brother has a good build. Why not let him try?”
“How much does it pay per month? My second younger brother also wants to learn something.” He wasn’t just here to do manual labour. A small clothing factory had only just opened, so who knew whether it was stable or not.
Leave a Reply