The Su Family: Raised on the mountain.
The next morning, bright and early, Su Xiaoman packed her things and prepared to return to the Su family home. She didn’t go empty-handed; she brought plenty of gifts for her family—cigarettes for her father, clothes for her mother, cold cream for her sister-in-law, and shoes and belts for her brothers.
Xie Mingtu had gotten up even earlier. It was clear he had already been out and about; he returned carrying a small basket in hand.
Su Xiaoman thought to herself that he must have secretly prepared something again. After all, he was accompanying her to visit her family and wanted to be a good son-in-law. Naturally, he’d want to win over her parents and brothers.
She originally assumed the basket might contain a dried rabbit, but to her surprise, it held a freshly slaughtered chicken.
Su Xiaoman blinked and tilted her head, unable to resist looking at Xie Mingtu with sparkling eyes. “Did you hide some more meat?”
Forget about the rabbit—now there was even a chicken, freshly slaughtered at that.
It seemed Xie Mingtu had truly mastered the art of “outwardly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chen Cang”—a man of many tricks. Raising such a robust figure wasn’t easy, and Su Xiaoman gave his firm back a light pat.
**Nomad: The proverb “outwardly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chen Cang” means creating a distraction to hide your true intentions. It involves showing one thing openly to mislead others while secretly pursuing a different, unexpected plan. This strategy is about deception and clever thinking to achieve your goal.**
A chicken wasn’t cheap, and to impress her mother, Xie Mingtu had pulled out his prized stash.
Seeing the starry look in her eyes, Xie Mingtu couldn’t help but smile and nod. “There’s more.”
Su Xiaoman was genuinely curious and grabbed his hand, lowering her voice to ask, “Tell me, where did this chicken come from?”
Given how stingy Sun Mei was, always pinching pennies, how had Xie Mingtu managed to secretly get a live chicken? Chickens weren’t cheap these days—did he spend money on it?
Xie Mingtu replied, “From the mountain.”
Su Xiaoman: “???? You raise chickens on the mountain?”
Was it even possible to raise chickens in the mountains? Sure, there were dense forests near their Qiao Xin Village, but people rarely ventured deep into them, fearing encounters with wolves, tigers, or other dangers.
Xie Mingtu hesitated, then nodded and shook his head. “I left a few chicks there before. They grew up.”
Su Xiaoman: “…”
Was that even possible? So these chickens grew up in the wild on their own?
Su Xiaoman was stunned for a moment and then thought it wasn’t a bad idea. Letting chickens roam freely in the mountains meant they would forage for food themselves, eating bugs and wild greens when there was no feed.
Wouldn’t this be like those free-range orchard chickens?
Such chickens were likely lean but would have excellent meat—sweet, tender, and well-exercised, resilient and self-reliant.
Were these chickens considered wild or domestically raised?
“But wait,” Su Xiaoman suddenly questioned, “wouldn’t someone else find them on the mountain? What if they get caught?”
Xie Mingtu shook his head confidently. “They won’t.”
Su Xiaoman guessed he probably had some secret spot for raising them.
“Want me to show you?” Xie Mingtu offered without hesitation, hiding nothing from her.
But Su Xiaoman shook her head. “The fewer people who know about this, the better. You alone is fine. I know you’re agile and can handle yourself, but the two of us together would leave a trail. If anyone finds out, it’ll be trouble.”
At the very least, they should wait until they weren’t living with the Xie family anymore.
“As for rabbits, that’s fine, but don’t bring out the chicken meat often. It’s too conspicuous.”
Xie Mingtu nodded. “I’ll do as you say.”
Then he added, “I’ll catch you a rabbit.”
Su Xiaoman couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you really think there are that many rabbits just waiting for you to catch them?”
Xie Mingtu blinked. “I know over a hundred rabbit holes. Haven’t even caught them all.”
Su Xiaoman was speechless: “…”
She believed him—Xie Mingtu never exaggerated. If he said he knew that many rabbit holes, he probably did. He likely had a deep understanding of all the little rabbits’ homes in the mountains.
Su Xiaoman suddenly realized how naïve she’d been. With Xie Mingtu’s sharp ears, he’d never go hungry in the mountains.
He rarely brought meat back to the Xie family because there was never enough for him to eat there anyway.
“Do you ever feed the rabbits sometimes?” Su Xiaoman asked.
Xie Mingtu nodded honestly. “I cut some grass for them.”
Su Xiaoman: “…” Sustainable development, huh?
With his keen hearing, he could probably tell whether a rabbit was home just by listening outside its burrow.
Su Xiaoman sighed in admiration. How amazing her man was!
But…
Standing on tiptoe, she pinched Xie Mingtu’s earlobe and leaned closer as he bent down. In a soft whisper, she said, “Don’t let anyone else know about your sharp ears.”
While it was a remarkable ability, if people found out, they would fear him, distrust him, and alienate him, worried that he might eavesdrop on their secrets.
“I understand, Xiaoman.” Xie Mingtu wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a gentle hug.
He had known this since childhood.
But Xiaoman’s careful reminder, her concern for him, filled his heart with sweetness.
“Let’s go. Time to visit my family.”
—
“Aunt Xiaoman came back yesterday, right? Is she coming over today? I haven’t seen her in so long—I’ve missed her terribly. Tang Hong, you must be eager to see your Aunt Xiaoman too, right?” Aunt Yang Guihua couldn’t wait to drag Su Guodong back to the Su family home after hearing that Su Xiaoman had returned. She was eager to see Xiaoman and her “down-and-out pauper” husband.
“I do want to see Aunt Xiaoman and Uncle,” replied Tang Hong. She was a round-faced girl with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Not stunning, but not unattractive either. She wore a new outfit she had recently tailored and, now engaged to be married, had begun copying city girls by pencilling her brows and adding a touch of red to her lips.
While city girls might find her look rustic, in the countryside, it was considered trendy. After all, most rural women went bare-faced, not bothering with makeup or creams.
Tang Hong, in her current attire, felt pleased with herself, thinking she might outshine the once-gorgeous Su Xiaoman.
No matter how beautiful Su Xiaoman had been, marrying poorly would surely cause her to wither like a once-proud flower.
She had seen plenty of married women in the countryside. Most of them, after getting married and taking care of their husbands and children, ended up with rough hands and faces.
Marrying a city man was still better. Now that she was already a worker’s wife, what did Su Xiaoman’s beauty matter if her marriage wasn’t as good as hers?
Initially, Liu Shufeng was overjoyed to hear that her daughter had returned. However, her mood soured upon seeing the troublesome mother-daughter duo in the house.
Still, her happiness was undeniable—no one was more eager than she was to see her daughter.
The Su family’s eldest sister-in-law teased her, “Mother, Xiaoman came back yesterday, and our eldest uncle went to visit her. You didn’t go, nor did you let anyone else from our family go to see her.”
Liu Shufeng huffed twice, “She’s married now; do I, as her mother, need to stand at the village entrance, eagerly waiting for her return?”
The eldest sister-in-law, Yang Yingzi, lowered her head and chuckled to herself, thinking her mother-in-law was just trying to save face.
“I heard Xiaoman’s return caused a big stir yesterday. Everyone says Xie Mingtu looks completely different now—taller and more handsome, a perfect match for our Xiaoman.”
“Of course! I already knew that,” Liu Shufeng said, her face calm, but inside, she was incredibly anxious. She couldn’t wait to see her daughter and son-in-law.
But she couldn’t appear too eager. She had to wait for her daughter and son-in-law to visit her properly.
“Xiaoman’s husband has changed? How much could he have changed?” Yang Guihua, accompanied by her daughter Tang Hong, laughed behind her hand.
A poor boy couldn’t have changed much, could he? No matter what, he couldn’t compare to Tang Hong’s fiancé.
“Mom! Mom!” Su Xiaoman’s eldest brother called out from outside. “Xiaoman and her husband are here!”
Su Xiaoman’s eldest brother’s eyes were like daggers as he stared at Xie Mingtu standing beside her at the entrance. As her elder brother, the more he looked at his brother-in-law, the more dissatisfied he felt. This lump of cow dung had stolen away his beautiful little sister.
However, today, after not seeing his brother-in-law for over half a month, he found him slightly more tolerable.
Word had it that he had even learned to drive a tractor for transportation.
Cleaned up, Xie Mingtu actually looked like a decent person.
“Xiaoman’s here!” The eldest sister-in-law and Liu Shufeng quickly set aside their work and ran outside to greet them. Yang Guihua and her daughter exchanged glances and followed suit.
Su Xiaoman greeted everyone in turn. “Big brother, could you help me carry these? Take this to the kitchen—it’s a little gift Mingtu prepared.”
Her eldest brother lifted the cover and was surprised to see fresh chicken meat. He gave Xie Mingtu a second glance.
It seemed the boy had gone out and not only improved his appearance but also come into some money.
The once-reluctant Xiaoman was now sweetly calling him “Mingtu.” Clearly, their relationship had progressed significantly.
With a faint smile, her eldest brother relaxed. “Alright, alright, I’ll take it to the kitchen and chop it up. Your sister-in-law can make something good later.”
“Xiaoman!” Liu Shufeng called out as soon as she saw her daughter.
“Mom!”
“Oh, my child! And this must be Mingtu!” Liu Shufeng’s eyes lit up brighter than a light bulb when she saw Xie Mingtu. Her gaze remained fixed on him, as though she had forgotten to blink.
Beside her, Su Guodong looked a little jealous.
Xie Mingtu smiled gently and called out, “Mom.”
At that, Liu Shufeng was at a loss for words to describe her feelings. The tall, handsome, and gentle young man before her was her son-in-law. He looked honest, obedient, and even smiled warmly.
And her Xiaoman’s fair, delicate hand was holding his.
Liu Shufeng rubbed her face—she couldn’t hide her overwhelming joy.
“Mingtu, right? Such a good-looking boy! I remember you as a child—fair and chubby, like a little lucky doll. Among the kids in the village, you and Xiaoman were the cutest. I always thought you two had a connection, and it turns out you really did!”
“Come, come, bring Xiaoman in to sit.”
Liu Shufeng practically embodied the saying, ‘the more a mother-in-law sees her son-in-law, the more she likes him’.
Meanwhile, Yang Guihua and Tang Hong were left dumbfounded. That tall, handsome man was Su Xiaoman’s husband, the poor boy from the village, Xie Mingtu?
Wasn’t he supposed to be cow dung?
How did this cow dung grow so good-looking? And now he could even drive a tractor. My goodness, the young, good-looking couple standing together was almost too eye-catching.
Tang Hong’s expression darkened as she stared at Su Xiaoman. After marriage, this woman had become even more beautiful, her radiant appearance a clear sign of being cherished. Already stunning to begin with, her sweet smile only enhanced her charm upon returning home.
Looking at Su Xiaoman’s face, Tang Hong suddenly felt self-conscious. She wanted to wipe off all her makeup. No amount of makeup could compare to Xiaoman’s natural beauty, pure and flawless like a lotus emerging from water.
Standing opposite her, Tang Hong felt like a clown.
The only thing she could take pride in was her fiancé. Tang Hong thought bitterly that no matter how good-looking Su Xiaoman’s husband was, he was still a poor boy from the countryside, while she was marrying into the city.
“Dad, Mom, Sister-in-law… Mingtu and I prepared some gifts for you.” Su Xiaoman gestured for Xie Mingtu to bring out their offerings. For her father, Su Guodong, they had brought premium tobacco and a pipe. When Su Guodong saw the high-quality tobacco, he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“My daughter always thinks of me. Oh, such fine tobacco.”
“Mingtu picked it,” Su Xiaoman quickly credited her husband, trying to boost his approval rating. She noticed that the most critical person in the family towards Xie Mingtu was her father.
As expected, upon hearing it was his son-in-law’s choice, Su Guodong’s expression soured. “Still not great at picking. You’ll need to learn more.”
Xie Mingtu nodded earnestly.
Liu Shufeng kicked Su Guodong’s leg and clicked her tongue in disdain. “Look at you, acting all smug.”
“Mom, I made this outfit for you.”
“You made me clothes? You silly girl. I’m old and already have plenty of clothes—I’m not short of anything to wear. You should save the fabric to make more for you young folks, right, Mingtu? Xiaoman, you should make a few more outfits for your husband.”
Holding the new clothes, Liu Shufeng was overjoyed, though her words didn’t show it.
“Mom, Xiaoman already made me some,” Xie Mingtu said, standing stiffly like a block of wood in front of Liu Shufeng, but with an unending smile on his face. It was the first time he’d felt such care and affection from an elder.
His mother-in-law took his hand and began asking all sorts of questions about his well-being.
This sudden and overwhelming affection caught him off guard, leaving Xie Mingtu feeling both flattered and bewildered.
Seeing this, Su Xiaoman simply handed him over to Liu Shufeng, letting her mother talk to her son-in-law to her heart’s content. She wanted Xie Mingtu to fully experience the intense mother-in-lawly love.
As Xie Mingtu stood there, stiff as a board with his scalp tingling, he cast her a pleading look with puppy-dog eyes. But Su Xiaoman merely smiled and offered no help.
“Big sister-in-law, I got you some snow cream. Try it—it’s perfect for keeping your skin moisturized during autumn and winter.”
“Oh, you even prepared this for me?” The eldest sister-in-law was delighted and leaned closer to whisper with Su Xiaoman.
“And here are shoes for Big Brother, a belt for Second Brother, and for Third Brother…”
Third Brother, who had been waiting impatiently, couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out, “Little Sis, I’ve been waiting forever! Did you even remember your Third Brother?”
“Of course, Third Brother. I even got you a lighter.”
The eldest sister-in-law and eldest brother went to the kitchen to cook. Meanwhile, Xie Mingtu, unable to endure any more of his mother-in-law’s blazing summer-like affection, followed his father-in-law, Su Guodong, to help with chores.
Liu Shufeng, seeing her husband and son-in-law standing together, couldn’t stop laughing. She couldn’t help but tease, “Old Su, if you had looked like this when you were younger, I would’ve married you years earlier.”
Su Guodong snorted coldly. Back in the day, he was the most handsome young man in the area. It was only age, wrinkles, and a broader face that had changed him.
He shot a fierce glare at Xie Mingtu. His daughter, who had been so resistant to marrying this Xie boy, had now gone off for a mere ten days and returned holding his hand and calling him “Mingtu.” His precious daughter had clearly been won over by this rascal.
Women’s hearts were as inscrutable as needles at the bottom of the ocean; their minds could change in an instant.
Both mother and daughter, it seemed, had a penchant for handsome faces.
“You there, grab an axe and chop wood,” he barked at Xie Mingtu.
Back inside, Liu Shufeng chatted with Yang Guihua. She was in such a good mood that she didn’t care about whatever her niece was marrying. As far as she was concerned, her daughter Xiaoman was living a happy life with her husband, even if he was from the same village.
“Our Xiaoman and her husband are doing well. Sure, she doesn’t have the fortune of your Tang Hong to marry into the city, but at least she didn’t marry far away. Having her in the same village gives me peace of mind.”
Yang Guihua’s smile froze. Although Liu Shufeng’s words suggested modesty, her face radiated pride and joy, as if she couldn’t contain her happiness.
What was there to be so smug about? Just a poor rural son-in-law. Sure, he was good-looking, but so what?
“This kind of son-in-law isn’t bad,” Liu Shufeng continued. “Our Xiaoman used to fancy a young intellectual—a son of a cadre family. But how could a family like ours hope to marry into such wealth and status? If she’d married into a family like that, even if they were rich, she would’ve suffered.”
“I raised my precious daughter to be cherished. I couldn’t bear to see her mistreated, especially since we couldn’t support her against an overbearing in-law family.”
“It’s better to marry into a humble family like Mingtu’s. Xiaoman has her brothers to back her up. Their life will only get better.”
Yang Guihua couldn’t let Liu Shufeng stay too smug and retorted, “That’s not entirely true. Your Xiaoman is so beautiful that she could’ve easily married that intellectual, Jiang. If it had been Jiang who saved Xiaoman, wouldn’t that have been the best outcome? He’s from a cadre family, after all. I hear even city girls line up to marry him.”
“If your Xiaoman had been a little luckier and married Jiang, her status would be completely different. Who knows? She might have even gotten a city job through her in-laws.”
Hearing this, Liu Shufeng felt a wave of discomfort. She snorted dismissively, “You’re dreaming too big.”
“As you said, city girls are lining up to marry him. Wouldn’t his family have already picked out a city girl with a good job and education? How could they take a liking to Xiaoman?”
“Even if they did, what if they gave her a hard time? What if she was bullied? I wouldn’t let my daughter suffer like that. Besides, men from those kinds of families are often unfaithful. What if he returned to the city and fell for some other woman?”
“I’d rather avoid families like that. I don’t want to climb higher only to suffer.”
Compared to having her daughter marry a man she’d have to lower herself for, Liu Shufeng preferred a life where her daughter could be happy and carefree.
“That’s why I chose Mingtu for Xiaoman. His family situation is just right.” Liu Shufeng spoke as if she was entirely practical. In truth, it was largely because Xie Mingtu was tall and handsome, and his family background was acceptable for theirs.
—
Outside, Xie Mingtu was chopping wood. He paused for a moment and felt grateful that his mother-in-law had chosen him.
After lunch at the Su family home, Su Xiaoman and Xie Mingtu packed their things to leave. Before they went, Liu Shufeng stuffed two more packs of brown sugar into their bags and almost had her eldest son chop two pounds of pork for them to take. Su Xiaoman had to stop her.
During lunch, Liu Shufeng subtly hinted that they should consider splitting from the Xie family and living on their own. On the way back, Su Xiaoman nudged Xie Mingtu and asked for his opinion.
“Split the family,” Xie Mingtu said firmly. He had no intention of staying with the Xie family. The sooner they separated, the sooner they could live independently.
He wanted to work hard, build a big house for Xiaoman, and give her a good life.
Su Xiaoman nodded and analysed the situation. “Third Sister-in-law will definitely want to split, but as for Eldest Sister-in-law… I’m not sure yet. Your mom and Second Sister-in-law will probably cause a fuss and refuse.”
In the Xie family, the ones most opposed to splitting were likely Sun Mei and the second son’s family. Sun Mei especially favoured the second son’s family, spending much of the family’s money on them. They probably wished the other brothers would work for free to support their comfortable life.
“Just wait another month. Eldest Brother will be back,” Xie Mingtu suddenly mentioned.
“Hmm?” Su Xiaoman looked puzzled.
“Last year, Eldest Brother wanted to split the family, but Mom refused.”
Su Xiaoman thought, Of course, Sun Mei wouldn’t agree.
“She might be willing to let you and Third Brother split, but not Eldest Brother.”
Eldest Brother, a soldier stationed away from home, sent money back every month. Sun Mei controlled this money, yet she treated Eldest Brother’s children poorly. Meanwhile, the second son’s child, Xie Yaozu, lived a life of luxury. It was infuriating.
“When Eldest Brother comes back, he’ll probably bring up splitting the family again.”
Hearing this, Su Xiaoman’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect. Let’s split!”
With everyone present, it would be the perfect time to settle everything, including some other unresolved matters.
“Mingtu, did you hear anything last night?” Su Xiaoman asked.
Xie Mingtu paused for three seconds before replying, “I heard.”
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