Chapter 146: As Soon As Possible
“Young man, I’m just preparing to head back to the brigade.”
“Hahaha, talk about perfect timing!”
Su Jianqun said as he quickly got off the ox cart, helping her carry all the things onto the cart, “Let’s go, bro will take you home!”
“Thanks, young man.”
Sweetly thanking him, Su Ning didn’t stand on ceremony and quickly climbed onto the ox cart. Heaven knows how heavy these scattered-looking things were; catching a ride on the ox cart straight to the Second Brigade was perfect!
“Sit tight, here we go~”
Once she was seated and holding steady, Su Jianqun smiled and cracked the whip in his hand on the big yellow ox’s butt.
As the ox cart rocked forward, he turned his head and casually asked, “Ning Ning, bringing so many things, planning to stay at home for a few days?”
“Yeah, the old residence has been left abandoned like this, which isn’t good. Taking advantage of the break to come back for a few days to liven up the room a bit.”
“Staying a couple days is good too. Right now there are plenty of good things up in the mountains that are still in season. You staying at the brigade won’t be boring!”
They chatted back and forth idly, and time passed quickly.
……
Once they arrived at the brigade, Su Jianqun saw it through and first took her to the Su Family Ancestral Home, then helped move her things into the yard before leisurely leaving.
It seemed he had taken care of what Old Master Su asked last time; someone came by the yard now and then to clean it, so aside from being empty, there was no dust.
She temporarily placed the things on the empty ground in the main hall, then took out a lot of grain from the space and mixed it in among them.
After thinking for a moment, she took out a bottle of Maotai liquor bought in Shanghai City, a pack of cigarettes, a pack of White Rabbit Milk Candy, and a box of chocolate.
These four gifts wouldn’t seem light anywhere.
Carrying the things, she locked the courtyard gate and turned onto the field path following the route to Old Master Su’s house before.
The autumn harvest had passed, and now the fields were being fertilized and rested, so there was no farm work.
The villagers who had finished work early finally had some leisure time to rest at home and put on some autumn weight.
Groups of three or five women were just about to disperse and head home to prepare dinner when they saw this unfamiliar girl and couldn’t help but stop to watch.
“Is this girl a new educated youth?”
“Doesn’t look like it, and I haven’t heard of any new educated youths coming down.”
“Hiss, quick, look at what she’s carrying! That liquor, isn’t it the kind leaders drink, the super expensive one Wu Mazi mentioned last time, what was it called, Mao something?”
“You from the Xiang family, what a terrible memory! What Mao, that’s Mao, Maotai liquor!”
“Ah yes yes, that’s it, Maotai!”
The woman with the droopy triangular eyes next to them shot the two a glance and irritably spoke up, “I’m telling you two, all you see is the liquor? Take another look at the rest!”
“Whoa, and such a big pack of White Rabbit? How many pieces is that!”
“Eh? And that long red strip and the round one tied with such pretty silk ribbon, what are those?”
Where did this rich girl come from?
Carrying such expensive and heavy things, whose house is she going to?!
A spicy heat rose unbidden in their eyes, and their feet followed behind her like cats smelling fishy, keeping a not-too-close distance.
As for whether they were really just watching the excitement or had other ideas in mind, only they themselves knew.
Hearing his little grandson say Su Ning was back, knowing she should come over, Su Qingshan held his polished pipe stem and squatted at his own doorstep.
When he really saw the person walking this way, a smile unconsciously bloomed on his face; he tapped the pipe bowl and stood up with hands behind his back.
“Old man!”
“Hey, Ning Ning is back! Quick, come in!”
He was just about to call her into the yard when his peripheral vision caught the things in her hand; the old face that had been smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum moment before immediately darkened.
“You come, just come. Coming home, why bring anything?!”
“Last time I came in a rush; this time coming back, how could I not bring some filial piety from this junior?”
Glancing at the old man whose expression was still unpleasant, Su Ning didn’t back down and continued smiling, “Which junior with prospects doesn’t bring good things back home to give face to their elders? Old man, aren’t you right?”
“Heh, you clever imp, were these slick words all taught to you hand-in-hand by your maternal grandfather?”
Unable to keep a straight face, Su Qingshan’s seriousness melted from his eyes in an instant; he helplessly reached out and pointed at her, “The meaning of this is forcing me to praise you for having prospects and thank you for giving your old grandpa face?”
“That’s exactly it~”
“Hahahaha! You, you!”
Among all his children and grandchildren, whoever saw him with a stern face didn’t get weak in the knees and scared; yet this girl wasn’t timid at all, could even counter-general him, her words were amusing and soothing to the heart.
Su Ting has a good granddaughter! One of her is worth ten or eight from other families. Good, good!
“You old thing, dragging Ning Wa out here to eat wind and dust!”
Hearing her husband laugh so heartily, Liu Juan couldn’t help but laugh and curse, grabbed Su Ning’s arm and headed inside, “Us mother and daughter ignore him, come on Ning Wa, quick into the room.”
“Old woman.”
“Hey.”
Responding loudly, Liu Juan led her into the room while instructing the eldest daughter-in-law to pour her brown sugar water.
In the main hall, Su Ning placed the things from her hand on the table, then sat smilingly beside her and chatted a few family matters.
With her rich experience with the elderly, in no time she had the old folks grinning ear to ear, unable to stop laughing.
“This distant relative who popped up from who knows where really has a personality that elderly folks like.”
Hearing the bursts of laughter from the room getting louder, among the several daughters-in-law busy in the kitchen, one plain-looking but tall and busty one sourly grumbled.
“Eldest brother’s wife, keep it down, if father-in-law hears…”
“Only you know, such a blabbermouth!”
Thinking of how her son was the one who got badly injured delivering her last time, Mu Hongxiu’s face darkened further; she snapped back at her sister-in-law, threw down the kitchen knife, and strode straight out of the kitchen.
“She still puts on a face for me to see…”
“Enough, say less with a guest here. Really want to quarrel and let people laugh?”
Unaware of the near-quarrel in the kitchen because of herself, Su Ning was now taking advantage of Su Qingshan’s words to state her purpose this time.
Hearing the general situation, Su Qingshan stroked his pipe stem with a somewhat serious expression.
These sent-down people, the First Brigade now had three; originally five, but two were sickly and didn’t last.
He didn’t understand the policies from above, but having lived to such an age, Su Qingshan had seen all kinds of people.
Those labeled as bad elements weren’t necessarily bad people.
Luckily the countryside didn’t follow the city ways; as long as they didn’t cause trouble and were willing to work, he had no mind to deliberately make things hard or bully them.
But living in cattle sheds and pigsties, doing the dirtiest and hardest work, eating husks and bran with wild vegetables.
These weren’t him being harsh but requirements issued from above.
“I understand these, old man rest assured, I just want you to quietly look after them a bit without special treatment.”
“Got it.”
Since no special treatment, just quietly take care and protect, not let villagers bully them deliberately, cover for her and such—simple.
Su Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement without further trouble.
“By the way, Ning Ning, what relation is this Yan family you’re going to?”
“The one from when you were young, you know him too.”
“Hm?”
The Yan surname was rare around here, and someone he knew—Su Qingshan suddenly looked up as if realizing: could it be Engineer Yan?
“It’s him.”
“This, such a fine young man, how could he…”
Swallowing the rest, Su Qingshan secretly gripped the pipe stem in his hand tight.
The brigade’s semi-automatic blower, the new farming tools improved for the fields, and the big equipment approved with difficulty from the commune for irrigation—all relied on Engineer Yan…
“Ning Ning, even if you didn’t say, I’d take good care of them!”
“Thank you old man, Yan Bei should be on the road now; Grandpa Yan and Grandma Yan will take another day or two.”
“Let me think, think.”
The brigade had only one big yellow ox; the cattle shed wasn’t big and housed one person.
The separated small room by the pigsty housed two people adequately; where to arrange these three grandfather and grandsons without seeming too special but secretly more comfortable than crammed in cattle shed or pigsty?
“Old man, what about that broken house not far from my place?”
“That house?”
Calling it broken was generous: two of the four walls had collapsed, the thatch on top long rolled away by brigade folks.
But don’t say, collapsed as it was, it really was quite suitable!
