Chapter 116: Chapter 116: You Are Su Qing?

Old Su didn’t speak. With a dark expression, he shot Su Qing a look, then turned to scold Tian Aixiang. "Why aren’t you at the hospital taking care of your mother? You think Shunli can handle it all by himself, a grown man? Day in and day out, you do nothing but cause trouble for our Old Su Family. If you keep making a scene, I’ll have Shunli divorce you."

With that, he turned and headed back to the Old Su Family’s house.

Looking utterly wronged, Tian Aixiang didn’t dare say another word and quickly left as well.

Zhao Youcai watched the retreating figures of Old Su and Tian Aixiang, his lips pursed in displeasure.

Su Qing said, "Brigade Leader, thank you so much for today."

"It was nothing," Zhao Youcai replied. "If they come to make trouble again, you don’t have to be polite with them."

"Okay." Su Qing nodded. "Brigade Leader, I’d like to ask you for a favor."

"Go on."

"Here’s the thing," Su Qing explained. "I’m planning to leave in the next couple of days, and I don’t know for sure when I’ll be back. The snow gets heavy here. If it snows too much, I’d like to trouble you, Brigade Leader, to find a couple of people to help clear the snow off my roof. I’ll pay them to show my gratitude. I’ll pay one yuan for each clearing. What do you think?"

If the snow on the roof wasn’t cleared during the winter, her house could be crushed and collapse by the time Su Qing returned. That’s why, after some thought, she decided to entrust this matter to Zhao Youcai.

One yuan per clearing was already a very high price. Su Qing was being considerate of how difficult it was to work in the winter. If two people split the one yuan, getting five mao each was a great deal. After all, a work point was currently worth three fen, so five mao was nearly two days’ worth of work points for a strong laborer. Besides, clearing a roof would take one or two hours at most.

"Isn’t one yuan a bit too much?" Zhao Youcai thought Su Qing was being too generous.

Su Qing smiled. "Brigade Leader, working in the dead of winter is tough, so they should be paid a little more. Besides, as you know, I have a bit of money on hand right now."

"Alright, I’ll take care of arranging it for you." Seeing her insistence, Zhao Youcai nodded and agreed. Still, he couldn’t help but advise her, "Even though you have some money now, you can’t be too loose with it, understand?"

"I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful." Su Qing knew Zhao Youcai meant well, so she smiled. "In that case, Brigade Leader, I’ll bring you the key to my courtyard gate and the money before I leave. I’ll leave you with ten yuan for now. If it’s not enough, I’ll make up the difference when I get back."

Zhao Youcai laughed. "That’s more than enough. No matter how much it snows here, there’s no way it’ll snow heavily ten times before the New Year."

Su Qing smiled and nodded.

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Youcai added, "You’ll be out there on your own this time, so keep your wits about you. Don’t trust strangers easily, and don’t go to any secluded places. If anything happens, remember to find the police. Just be careful with everything."

"Okay, I’ll remember, Brigade Leader."

Things on the Old Su Family’s side quieted down for the next two days. Old Su’s injuries from this incident were quite severe, and she still hadn’t been discharged from the hospital. The house next door was silent.

Su Qing completely put the Old Su Family’s affairs out of her mind. Thinking about her upcoming trip to Yun Province and how she might not make it back for the New Year, she packed up some wild game and mountain delicacies and made a special trip to the Pan Family’s house.

As it happened, Fu Yuzhen was home resting today. When she saw that Su Qing had brought so much wild game and mountain delicacies, she knew she couldn’t refuse and simply accepted them. She then went back to her room and retrieved a set of cotton-padded clothes and a dark, coffee-colored woolen sweater and pants set. She said to Su Qing, "I just finished knitting this sweater and pants set yesterday. Why don’t you try it on and see if it fits?"

"Aunt Fu, you already made me a set of cotton-padded clothes. Why did you knit me a sweater set as well?" Su Qing said quickly.

"Keep the cotton-padded clothes to wear here. You’re going to Yun Province, where the weather is warmer than here. You can wear the sweater and pants there." Fu Yuzhen nudged Su Qing with a smile. "Quick, try them on."

"Okay." Su Qing nodded, trying on both the cotton-padded outfit and the sweater set. The size was perfect.

"They fit perfectly," Su Qing said, looking down at the clothes with delight. ’This is my first new set of clothes since I came to this world.’ "Thank you, Aunt Fu."

"Very nice." Seeing that they were a good fit on Su Qing, Fu Yuzhen also smiled and said, "A perfect fit."

Su Qing was still a little embarrassed. "This wool must have cost a lot of money and ration coupons. You’ve spent too much."

Fu Yuzhen had used pure wool yarn for the sweater. It felt wonderful—soft and comfortable. Knitting a full set like this would require at least three jin of yarn, which was not cheap. On top of that, it would have required wool ration coupons and the like.

Su Qing felt increasingly moved, knowing that Fu Yuzhen truly cherished her as if she were her own daughter.

"Silly child, why are you being so formal with your Aunt Fu?" Fu Yuzhen laughed. "Besides, you brought over plenty of wild game and mountain delicacies. That’s all good stuff. If you’re this polite with me, it’s like you’re treating your Aunt Fu as a stranger."

Su Qing pursed her lips into a small smile. Previously, when she had traded with Zhang Erlai, she had asked for a good number of cloth and cotton ration coupons. Her original plan was to give those coupons to Fu Yuzhen to compensate her for making the cotton-padded clothes, primarily so she wouldn’t be in her debt.

After all, she hadn’t spent any time with Fu Yuzhen before; to her, Fu Yuzhen was just a stranger. Compounded by her past experiences in the apocalypse, she had actually been keeping Fu Yuzhen at a distance in her heart.

But after spending time together these past few days, she could feel Fu Yuzhen’s genuine affection for her. The defensive walls around her heart had gradually begun to crumble, and she had come to see Fu Yuzhen as her own elder.

Su Qing understood that if she were to offer those cloth and cotton ration coupons now, Fu Yuzhen would definitely not accept them. Moreover, if she did that, she might even end up hurting Fu Yuzhen’s feelings. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

After helping Su Qing pack away the cotton clothes and the sweater set, Fu Yuzhen asked, "When are you planning to leave?"

"Tomorrow," Su Qing said.

"Then I’ll go see you off tomorrow," Fu Yuzhen said.

"There’s no need, Aunt Fu. You have to work tomorrow."

"It’s no bother. It won’t take long," Fu Yuzhen said. "Stay for dinner tonight."

"I can’t, I still have to go back and pack."

Fu Yuzhen thought about it and agreed. The bus from Xiyuan County to the city left only once, at eight in the morning. Since Su Qing was in Lihua Village, she would have to set out more than an hour early just to get to the county. So, she said, "That makes sense. When you get back from Yun Province, you can come over for dinner then."

"You got it," Su Qing agreed with a grin.

After leaving Fu Yuzhen’s house, Su Qing was just wondering whether she should visit the black market again when she saw Su Mei and a middle-aged woman walking toward her.

"Su Qing!" The moment Su Mei saw Su Qing, she seethed with anger. Remembering what had happened at the restaurant, her eyes practically shot fire.

"Su Qing? You’re Su Qing?" The middle-aged woman next to Su Mei started at the name, looking Su Qing up and down before asking.