"Dad, Mom, I’m back." In the employee dorms of the Xiyuan County Food Factory, Su Shengguo’s family had just finished dinner when Su Mei opened the door and walked in.

"Ah, little sis is back! So, how are things going with my future brother-in-law?" Su Lidong asked with a laugh when he saw her.

"Yes, dear, how are you and Wu Tao getting along?" Zheng Erlian quickly chimed in.

Su Shengguo’s family was quite satisfied with Wu Tao. His father was the second-in-command at the textile factory, and his mother was an official there as well. Wu Tao himself had a formal job, and he was their only son. ’If Su Mei marries into their family,’ they thought, ’won’t all their assets eventually belong to the young couple? And surely his parents could arrange a job for their daughter-in-law, right?’

’Once they were all family, it wouldn’t be too hard to ask her in-laws to find jobs for Su Mei’s brothers, would it?’

Su Shengguo’s family was a family of five: Su Shengguo and his wife, plus their two sons and one daughter—the eldest son Su Lidong, the daughter Su Mei, and the youngest son Su Lifeng.

Of the five family members, only Su Shengguo had a formal job. Zheng Erlian was unemployed, earning just a few yuan each month by pasting together paper boxes. As for the three children, that was another story entirely. Su Lidong, already nineteen, had been loafing around at home for two or three years without finding a girlfriend. He was picky, either finding the girls not pretty enough or complaining they didn’t have a formal job. He was determined to find a beautiful girl who had one, but unfortunately, he himself was an unemployed drifter whose household registration was still in the countryside. After hearing his circumstances, women avoided him like the plague, yet he still considered himself quite the catch.

The youngest son, Su Lifeng, was still in school. As for their seventeen-year-old daughter, Su Mei, she had also been idling at home since graduating from middle school a year ago. Because she was pretty, she had caught the eye of Wu Tao, whose family had an influential background. Su Shengguo’s family was therefore pinning their hopes on Su Mei marrying Wu Tao so that his family could, in turn, help them out.

Su Shengguo earned a little over thirty yuan a month from his salary. Adding the five or six yuan Zheng Erlian made from pasting boxes, they had to give ten yuan to the main family home every month. The remaining thirty-some yuan was a tight budget for a family of five. Fortunately, they could get vegetables and grain from the main family home from time to time, which saved them some money. Even so, after several years of scrimping and saving, Zheng Erlian had only managed to put away a little over three hundred yuan.

"It’s going fine," Su Mei answered vaguely in response to her brother and mother’s questions. Then she asked, "Dad, Mom, do you know that Su Qing has separated from the Old Su Family?"

"What?" Su Shengguo and Zheng Erlian stared in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

’A wimp like Su Qing had the guts to separate from the family? And the elders actually agreed?’

Besides!

"That’s not right! Weren’t they arranging a marriage for her?" Zheng Erlian said hurriedly. She knew for a fact that the betrothal gift for that match was substantial. ’I was even planning to ask Old Su for some of it,’ she thought. ’After all, if Su Mei and Wu Tao really get married, we can’t skimp on her dowry. And in the entire Old Su Family, it’s the old lady who has all the money.’

’The Wu Family is no ordinary family. If her dowry is too small, not only will our daughter be looked down on, but we’ll lose all leverage when we ask them for favors.’

"Where did you hear about this?" Su Shengguo asked with a frown.

"I ran into Su Qing today. She was buying a ton of things." Su Mei briefly recounted her encounter with her cousin, finishing with, "And Su Qing said it herself. She said she’s already separated from the Old Su Family."

"That damn girl’s got some nerve now!" Su Lidong slammed his palm on the table.

"Shengguo, how come the family back home didn’t tell us about this?" Zheng Erlian asked indignantly. ’If this is true, doesn’t that mean my plan to get a cut of that girl’s betrothal gift is ruined?’

"So what if she separated? It has nothing to do with us," Su Lifeng commented blandly from the side. As the youngest grandson in the entire Old Su Family, he was only ten years old. He had been little when they lived at the main family home, and after they moved to the county seat, he rarely returned to Lihua Village outside of holidays. Consequently, he’d had little contact with Su Qing. He felt neither fondness nor dislike for his cousin; she was practically a stranger to him.

"Hush, son. Don’t butt into grown-up business." Zheng Erlian gently patted Su Lifeng’s shoulder. ’How could this have nothing to do with us?’ she fretted, turning to her husband. "Shengguo, if that girl Su Qing has really separated from the family, then what about your job...?"

Zheng Erlian hadn’t forgotten how Li Wan had forced Su Shengguo to sign and thumbprint the family division agreement. It stipulated that when Su Qing turned sixteen, he had to give the job back to her.

’Until now, Zheng Erlian had never taken it seriously. As long as Su Qing was under Old Su’s thumb, the girl couldn’t stir up any trouble. Ask for the job back? Old Su would beat her half to death!’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"That girl wouldn’t have the nerve," Su Shengguo said with a frown. "Look, why don’t you head back to the family home tomorrow? You can pick up some vegetables, rice, and flour, and at the same time, you can see what’s going on over there."

"Alright." Zheng Erlian nodded. Even if Su Shengguo hadn’t suggested it, she had been planning to go back and see for herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to rest easy.

Su Mei pursed her lips and said to Zheng Erlian, "Mom, I’m telling you, that damn girl Su Qing was something else today. She was so rude to me. And what’s more, she embarrassed me right in front of Wu Tao! You have to stick up for me."

"That wretched girl! Just you wait, I’ll teach her a lesson," Zheng Erlian said, then quickly asked Su Mei, "By the way, Wu Tao didn’t say anything, did he?"

"No, he even bought me candy. He treated me to lunch, too." At this, a smug look returned to Su Mei’s face.

"What? Candy!" Su Lifeng’s eyes immediately lit up. "Sis, I want some candy!"

"Alright, here you go." Su Mei took out a few pieces of candy for Su Lifeng, then gave half of the rest to Zheng Erlian before putting the remainder away for herself.

"Big Brother, are you home?" Just then, a knock came at the door, and Su Shengli’s voice called out from outside.

Zheng Erlian and Su Shengguo exchanged a look. ’Is someone from the main family home here with news?’

Zheng Erlian hurried to open the door and saw Su Shengli standing outside with Su Lihui.

"Sister-in-law," Su Shengli greeted, leading Su Lihui into the room.

Before anyone could even speak, Su Lihui spotted the candies laid out in front of Su Lifeng. His eyes lit up. He lunged forward, snatched a handful, and, quick as a flash, popped one into his mouth.

Su Lifeng was having none of it. "Second Brother, why’d you snatch my candy?"

As he spoke, he quickly stuffed the last two or three pieces into his pocket. He glared at Su Lihui, his eyes welling with tears and his face a mask of accusation. Then he stood up and smacked Su Lihui’s arm. ’This cousin of his was the worst! He didn’t like him one bit.’

"WAAAH—" Before Su Lifeng could say another word, Su Lihui let out a piercing wail, making Su Shengguo’s entire family jump in shock.