"I don't care. My Shitou is getting a wife today, and I say it'll be Su Tao," Shi's mother declared, sitting stiff-necked in the Old Su Family's main hall as she spoke to Old Su.
Touching the scratches on her face, Shi's mother shot a hateful glare at Tian Aixiang. 'Looks like the Old Su Family's Erya is a lost cause, which only leaves this Sanyi. Just you wait. Once I get that damn girl Su Tao home, I'll see how I make this little vixen suffer.'
"Absolutely not. My Sanyi will not marry into your family," Tian Aixiang shot back with a fierce glare of her own. The scratches on her face were throbbing too. Though she prioritized her son, her daughter was still her own flesh and blood. No matter how much she might dislike the girl, she could never let her marry an idiot, especially when she wouldn't get a single benefit out of it.
"Marry that dark-skinned simpleton of yours? I'd rather die!" Su Tao shrieked, her face a mask of hatred as she stared at Shi's mother.
"Damn girl, then why don't you go ahead and die for us to see!" Shi's mother shouted at Su Tao before turning to Old Su. "Aunt Su, I've already paid the bride price. It was your Su Tao who lured my Shitou into her room, not the other way around. You have to give me a proper explanation for this."
Old Su was fuming. 'Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd just send that girl Su Tao to the Sun family and be done with it.' As for some future son-in-law from the county town, she'd given up on that dream. After all, the story of Su Tao and Shitou being cornered in a room together was known by almost the entire Lihua Village. And Lihua Village wasn't even that far from the county town. If anyone from a town family came to the village to ask about Su Tao, they'd learn the truth in a heartbeat. What decent family would want a daughter-in-law like that?
At least if she sent Su Tao to the Sun family, they could still get the two hundred and sixty yuan bride price.
But now Su Tao had learned to threaten them, either by going to the Women's Federation and the Public Security Bureau or by threatening suicide. 'This damned girl! She never learns anything useful, but she picks up every bad trick in the book!'
"Aunt Su, you have to give me a definitive answer!" Shi's mother pressed again when she saw Old Su scowling in silence.
"Well..." Just as Old Su was about to speak, her husband, Old Su, came out from the inner room and said to Shi's mother, "Shi's mother, let's just call off this marriage."
Shi's mother immediately grew anxious. "How can you do that? My family paid you two hundred and sixty yuan for the bride price! You took the money, and I already told my Shitou he was getting a wife. Now you're saying it's off? What's the meaning of this?"
"You saw it yourself. The village's brigade leader and party secretary were both here today. This business with Erya has already turned everything upside down. If this affair with Sanyi stirs up more trouble, our Old Su Family won't be able to live in this village anymore. So, let's just drop it. You can find another wife for your Shitou."
Old Su was inwardly fuming as well. 'I have no desire to take a trip to the Women's Federation and the Public Security Bureau,' he thought. 'If we really end up there, it'll be even more humiliating.'
With that said, Old Su turned to his wife. "Give the Sun family's bride price back. This matter is over."
"But my Shitou and your Sanyi..."
Before Shi's mother could finish, Old Su cut in, "Your Shitou ran into the wrong room in the middle of the night. We haven't even called him to account for ruining our Sanyi's reputation yet. Shi's mother, if you agree to a refund of the bride price, we can settle this privately. If not, we can just as easily meet at the Public Security Bureau."
Old Su was certain she wouldn't dare to involve the authorities.
Sure enough, upon hearing Old Su's ultimatum, Shi's mother ground her teeth in resentment. "Fine! We'll drop the matter. Now hurry up and give me my money back. Hmph! I must have been blind to even think of becoming in-laws with a family like yours. Ptooey! Your girls aren't good enough for my Shitou anyway."
Not only were common folk terrified of dealing with officials, but if this matter truly went to the Public Security Bureau, the Sun family would undoubtedly be the ones to suffer. Shi's mother understood this much, at least.
"Old woman, go get the money," Old Su said, glaring at his wife when she didn't move.
With Old Su having given the order, his wife, however reluctant, could only fetch the bride price and return it to Shi's mother. She thought about the five hundred yuan Su Qing had extorted, and now the two hundred and sixty being returned to the Sun family. In total, nearly eight hundred yuan had vanished in a single day. Old Su felt a wrenching pain in her chest, and her hatred for Su Qing intensified.
Seeing Old Su return the bride price, Su Tao breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced in the direction of Su Qing's new home, her expression flickering indecipherably.
Shi's mother collected the bride price and left Lihua Village with Shitou, cursing under her breath the entire way. Su Tao, on the other hand, was locked in her room by Tian Aixiang and beaten so severely that she couldn't get out of bed for the next few days.
Living right next door, Su Qing could clearly hear Su Tao's pained cries. She glanced toward the Old Su Family's house and arched a brow. 'Compared to the suffering my predecessor endured, this is nothing.' She knew the Old Su Family must hate her to the bone now, but she didn't care. What they thought of her was irrelevant. Right now, her main concern was figuring out what to make for dinner and how she was going to live from now on.
The stove and pot were already in place. When the family assets were divided earlier today, Zhao Youcai had forced the Old Su Family to give her some grain. In the end, all they parted with was a small bag of cornmeal and half a bag of sweet potatoes. Nothing more.
On his own authority, Zhao Youcai also loaned her twenty jin of cornmeal and ten jin of sweet potatoes in the village's name, to be deducted from her grain ration later. After that, the village women—the aunts and grandmas—chipped in, one handful at a time, giving her some vegetables. Aunt Tao even made a point of bringing her two large pickled vegetables, and Aunt Cuihua gave her a small, half-full jar of salt.
Su Qing took note of all the villagers' help, mentally vowing to repay each and every one of them in the future.
Combined with foraged wild vegetables, these rations would be enough to last her until the grain distribution at the end of October. But Su Qing pressed her lips together. 'I'm not used to eating such coarse food!'
She wanted meat!
Even during the apocalypse, she had relied on her Wood Ability to eat well. It made no sense that, having come to an era of peace, she should be reduced to eating bran and wild greens!
'Hmm, it's 1978. If I remember correctly, small private businesses will be permitted starting early next year. While that's still a few months away, there are already signs of restrictions loosening up everywhere. It's not as strict as it used to be. Maybe I can start there to improve my life.'
Su Qing pursed her lips and turned her head to look toward Baihua Mountain, just outside the village. Lihua Village was nestled against the mountain, and the villagers lived off its bounty. Because of Baihua Mountain, not a single person in Lihua Village had starved to death, even during the great famines.
Su Qing gazed at Baihua Mountain with a wide smile. 'A mountain is a good thing to have. As someone with the Wood Element, I love mountains more than anything. A forest is my own personal playground.'
With a clear path forward, Su Qing's mood lifted considerably. She hummed a song as she cooked a pot of cornmeal porridge, into which she dropped a few chunks of sweet potato. Then, she chopped up the wild greens the village women had given her and tossed them in as well. A simple wild green and sweet potato porridge was ready. Paired with some shredded pickles, well, it tasted surprisingly good.
The next day, Su Qing went to work to earn work points, just as she always had. Her predecessor had been proficient at these tasks, so they weren't difficult for Su Qing. Besides, she didn't want the villagers to suddenly notice a change in her; it would be too difficult to explain.
But as soon as work was done in the afternoon, she slung a basket over her back and made a beeline for Baihua Mountain. Some of the village women saw her heading for the mountain and, assuming she was just going to forage for wild greens, called out warnings not to go too deep and to be safe.
Su Qing smiled and acknowledged each of the well-meaning warnings. She chose a less-traveled path to enter the mountains, intending to first get the lay of the land on Baihua Mountain. But she had just rounded a large boulder when a rock came flying straight at her face.