Su Chen smiled bitterly: "Mom, what are you thinking? How could I steal money? I helped others a lot, and they thanked me. One gave me a hundred, and the other gave me fifty."
Liu Chunhua looked at Su Chen's face carefully: "Really?"
“Truer than real gold!”
Liu Chunhua then smiled and said, "That's fine."
She turned around and couldn't help scolding again: "Ah Chen, Mom is so old, her cloth shoes can be worn after mending them, why spend that money to buy a new one? And Honghong, girls are all money-losing goods, why buy a coat? It would be better to buy one for Ah Sheng."
"Honghong and Apeng are the oldest, so the clothes they bought are also big. Asheng and Yueyue can wear them later. Mom, I have considered this."
Before Liu Chunhua could say anything, Su Chen immediately turned around and looked at Su Xiaoyan: "Third sister, have you had dinner?"
Su Xiaoyan nodded: "I ate it."
When Liu Chunhua heard this, she hurriedly put down the bag in her hand and went to bring the hot noodles from the pot over.
"Ah Chen, your third sister brought a pound of fat meat today. The oil is so fragrant. Come on and eat it."
Su Chen was really hungry, so he didn't hesitate and took a pair of chopsticks to eat it all.
Su Xiaoyan felt distressed when she saw this.
"I heard you fell yesterday. You were busy then. You just rushed back from selling meat today. Did you hit your head?"
"No, I'm fine." Su Chen smiled at her, "Third sister, you spent a lot of money today, didn't you?"
Su Xiaoyan glared at him: "What nonsense are you talking about? Buying things for your parents and brother, is that called spending money?"
Su Chen smiled and didn't answer.
As I recall, although my third brother-in-law didn't express any dissatisfaction, he almost never came back with us, which is a good example.
That’s right, who would like a wife who keeps giving money to her parents?
It seems I have to find a way to visit my third sister's house before the New Year and bring some gifts.
Thinking of Su Chen, he finished the noodles and the soup.
Su Xiaoyan took the bowl and washed it, then asked him, "Little brother, how did you help others?"
The fortune-telling matter could not be concealed, so Su Chen simply told the truth.
When they asked him how he could tell fortunes, Su Chen made an excuse: "I used to go to the old Taoist temple on the mountain. The old Taoist priest there taught me. It's really quite accurate."
Su Xiaoyan was surprised: "That old Taoist priest can also tell fortunes?"
"I thought he only knew how to weave baskets."
"Third sister, you are judging people by their appearance, aren't you?"
Su Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Yes, yes, my little brother has the sharpest eyes. Others think you are just wandering around aimlessly all day, but I didn't expect that you learned this trick at some point. Mom and Dad, if my little brother can really predict things accurately, don't even mention it, he can really make money."
Liu Chunhua was proud: "Of course not! I just paid the bill and he bought me some leather shoes."
As he spoke, he glared at Old Man Su and teased, "Some people don't even have a hair on their head."
Old Man Su snorted: "Show off, Xiaoyan also brought me a box of tobacco."
"That's just a few bucks, Ah Chen, tell me, how much did this pair of shoes cost?"
Su Chen found the conversation between the old couple quite interesting, and said with a smile: "It's not expensive, not expensive. The store said it would cost 59 yuan, and I calculated the purchase price, and it came down to 18."
Su Xiaoyan stared and looked Su Chen up and down in disbelief.
"Little brother, can you even calculate the purchase price?"
"Well, more than that. In fact, if you have enough Taoism and open your third eye, a quick glance is enough. There is no need to calculate at all."
Su Xiaoyan took a breath and said, "Is this possible?"
Su Chen scratched his head: "This is not, my kung fu is not good enough."
"Humble, Mom and Dad, I just realized that my little brother is too humble."
Under the dim light, Su Xiaoyan and Liu Chunhua had smiles on their faces, and even the always old-fashioned old man Su had a smile in his eyes.
Honghong tried on the coat and found it was not too big and warm. She happily went to show it to Yueyue, then trotted out and took Apeng's coat in. Soon Apeng came out for a walk in the coat. Liu Chunhua saw that his legs were still bare, so she hurriedly pulled him into the house.
"My dear grandson, it's so cold, your nose must be sniffling."
Seeing this, Su Xiaoyan got up, boiled some water, and made a bowl of milk powder, which she handed to Su Chen: "Little brother, Ayun is awake, you feed her yourself."
"Ayun?"
"Well, when Ah Hua was pregnant, she told me that the younger one would be named Ah Yun. This name is suitable for both boys and girls. Unfortunately..." Su Xiaoyan sighed, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Little brother, if you really can tell fortunes, you can't always go back and forth to the city. The round-trip fare is quite expensive. If that doesn't work out, you can rent a room in the city. Your brother-in-law said that renting a room in the shanty town of Cuicheng is cheap, only about ten yuan a month."
When she said this, Old Man Su's ears perked up and his hands, which were rubbing the tobacco, paused.
Su Chen sighed: "Third sister, I actually have the same idea, but the child is still young, and we can't just leave it to our parents."
"If that doesn't work, why not rent a bigger one and bring my parents over as well?"
Seeing Su Chen get up and go into the house, Su Xiaoyan followed him in: "Little brother, my parents are old. When Ah Hua was here, they could help to cultivate some of the land at home. Now that Ah Hua is gone, my parents probably can't handle it. I was thinking about how your eldest and second brothers had a falling out with my parents when you got married. Now they don't talk to you anymore. If you can really move to the city, you can let them cultivate these lands. Maybe their relationship will be better."
Ayun, who was not even a month old, was a tiny ball. When Su Chen picked her up, he suspected that he would crush the baby with just a little force.
He fed him carefully with a spoon, afraid that he would choke. After he finished the whole bowl, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
It seems that I need to buy a bottle.
Seeing how cautious he was, Su Xiaoyan felt both relieved and sad.
"Third sister, let's talk about this later. I'll be working hard for a while and running around the city more often. When I have some extra money, I'll discuss it with my parents and talk to my eldest and second brothers. They're both tough on the outside but soft on the inside, so they're easy to talk to."
Just as Su Xiaoyan nodded, Liu Chunhua came in, walked around in front of the two of them in leather shoes, and asked, "Yan'er, how are you?"
"Mom, do they fit? These shoes look beautiful."
"Of course not! It's made of leather. It used to sell for 59."
Liu Chunhua said as she walked out in front of Old Man Su and raised her eyebrows: "Does it look good?"
Old man Su took a puff of his water pipe and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"He's in his seventies or eighties, how good can he be?"
Liu Chunhua immediately squinted her eyes and said, "You old fool, you've never spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Can you die if you say something nice?"
The old couple started quarreling again, and the whole house was noisy.
Su Chen smelled his armpit and smelled a foul odor.
He had been busy all day and had walked up the mountain twice, so it was time to wash.
But it’s so cold, and there’s no bathroom at home…
After hesitating for a while, Su Chen got up and went to the stove to boil water, and then used the hot water to scrub outside the house.
When he came back after finishing, Yueyue was already fast asleep in the quilt, and little Ayun beside her was also sleeping soundly. He carefully turned Yueyue over, raised his arms to protect little Ayun, and then closed his eyes.
The next day before dawn, Su Chen heard the noise and got up to go out. Su Xiaoyan immediately raised her index finger at him.
"Don't wake up Mom and Dad. I have to go to town to sell pork."
Su Chen looked outside. It was still dark. It would be scary to walk alone on the mountain road.
He lowered his voice: "Third sister, I'm with you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Old Man Su's voice came from the side: "What are you two talking about in whispers? If you want to leave, leave quickly. I'll take care of the child."
The two were startled, then burst into laughter.
