Chapter 2: Fooling Lao Wu

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Fifth son Cheng Junguo was even more stunned after hearing that and hurriedly followed the old lady inside.

“Mom, let me rub your legs.”

Outside, the four families exchanged several knowing glances. The fifth son was always good at flattery, but they all had their own thoughts—what exactly did the old lady mean?

No matter what she meant, none of them wanted this job to go to the fifth son. Not every good thing should fall to him.

Soon, the families dispersed, each retreating to their rooms to discuss the matter.

Inside Su Li’s room.

Su Li sat on the kang bed, while Cheng Junguo massaged her legs beside her.

“Mom, give me the job. After all, I at least finished middle school. I’m not any worse than my older brothers.”

“When I start earning money, I’ll bring you to live in the city, where you can enjoy the best food and comforts. How wonderful will that be!”

Su Li smiled wryly inside.

Always the last in every exam, skilled in smashing glass, fighting, and skipping school—she was good at everything except studying.

Wait for you to bring her? Even waiting for her deceased father to do that would be more reliable.

Only the old lady still believed that; Su Li didn’t have a shred of faith in it.

“Fifth son… you’re breaking Mom’s heart.”

Cheng Junguo looked up, bewildered.

Su Li wiped her tears and spoke earnestly.

“Fifth son, tell me, who does Mom love the most in this family?”

“You!”

“Then how can you doubt Mom’s good intentions toward you? You’re stabbing Mom right in the heart!”

Cheng Junguo panicked.

“Mom, please don’t cry. I know you care about me, which is why I want a job, so I can earn money to support you!”

“Smack!”

Su Li slapped Cheng Junguo on the head.

“You scoundrel, you still don’t understand Mom’s intentions. If this job goes to you, it will only harm you!”

Cheng Junguo was completely dumbfounded.

Getting a job was a good thing—how could it possibly harm him?

“Mom, don’t you have it backward?”

Su Li shook her head and sighed.

“Silly son, if this job really went to you, would your brothers be willing to accept it?”

Cheng Junguo shrugged indifferently and stood up, no longer massaging his leg.

“If they’re not willing, so what? Mom decides in this house; why care about them?”

“Smack!”

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Su Li slapped Cheng Junguo again as he was just standing up, making him squat down once more. His eyes were clear yet confused as he looked at her.

“Mom—why are you hitting me again?”

If you weren’t always on my side, I’d suspect you were doing it on purpose.

Su Li’s eyes showed painful frustration, a finger tapping his head.

“You fool, when I gave you candy or a few eggs before, those were small things. But this job is such a big matter—how would the other families react? If they cause a commotion, the job that was offered might be taken away. What then?”

Su Li’s face was full of sorrow as she pounded her leg and sighed. She waved a hand before Cheng Junguo’s eyes, who blinked and unconsciously started massaging his legs again.

Suppressing the corners of her lips, Su Li put on a heartfelt expression.

“Junguo… Mom’s doing this for your own good. You’re too young and don’t see far enough. Think about it—we haven’t divided the family property. Even if you work, you’d have to hand over your wages. You’d end up doing all the work but bringing the money back to support the whole family. Would you want that?”

Cheng Junguo slowed his leg rubbing, clearly reluctant.

“Then divide the family! Why are you hitting me again?”

“Not hitting you won’t make you wiser!”

Su Li withdrew her hand, somewhat addicted to the act, and spoke earnestly.

“This family doesn’t divide whenever you want, are you crazy? Your four older brothers are all married. You’re the only one unmarried. If the family divides now, what would people outside say about you?”

“If your reputation isn’t good, how can you find a good wife?”

“That deadbeat over at the east end of the village, still a bachelor in his thirties, all because of his bad reputation when he was young. In the end, he married a widow in her forties with a pockmarked face. Do you want a wife like that?”

Immediately, Cheng Junguo’s mind conjured a nagging woman’s face full of pockmarks, sending chills down his spine.

“I don’t want that!”

“I wouldn’t want that for you either. My son is so handsome, tall, and even went to school. You should find a fair-skinned, pretty girl who’s educated.”

Cheng Junguo’s ears flushed red, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Su Li pursed her lips and continued.

“Mom will definitely find you a good one. For now, let them all work. The money will be in Mom’s hands. When you marry, Mom will go live with you, and the money will all be yours.”

Cheng Junguo’s eyes brightened.

Right… why hadn’t he thought of that?

“Mom, you’re really good to me!”

“Smack!”

“Nonsense! If I didn’t care about you, who else would? And yet you don’t trust me. It breaks my heart…”

“Mom, I was wrong. I won’t do that again. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“Really?”

Su Li asked, and Cheng Junguo nodded.

She smiled with a hint of meaning, but Cheng Junguo didn’t notice.

“The pain I cause you is the pain I feel in my heart. From now on, when we’re around others, I can’t show too much favoritism toward you. If I do, and someone gossips, it’ll ruin your reputation.”

“Mom wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. You’re meant to make big money someday!”

“People who make big money don’t have bad reputations, right?”

Cheng Junguo thought it over and realized that was true.

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“Mom, you’re really good!”

“As long as you understand.”

Su Li successfully “pacified” Cheng Junguo and sent him away without another glance.

Soon after, the eldest daughter-in-law, Miao Xiaocao, entered with foot-washing water.

She stepped inside quietly, head lowered and back bent, her face marked by hardship—the kind that anyone would recognize as the hardest in the whole story, tears ready to fall at any moment.

The former Old Lady Su despised her most, always feeling that this little happiness in the house would be washed away by her tears.

Miao Xiaocao immediately began to remove Su Li’s socks, but Su Li refused. She wasn’t used to being cared for like this.

“I’ll do it myself,” Su Li said, reaching in to take off her socks.

She stretched her hand out, bent over, and lifted her leg as much as she could.

Just two more inches!

But she couldn’t reach.

Or… maybe she shouldn’t wash?

“Mom, shall I help?” Miao Xiaocao asked timidly, tears welling in her eyes, surely feeling rejected again.

Why didn’t she have a son?

With a bitter expression, Miao Xiaocao took off Su Li’s socks and brought the foot basin.

Su Li felt a bit embarrassed, her ears warming, but she couldn’t let her image collapse too much.

She quickly rubbed her feet a few times and finished washing. Miao Xiaocao carried the basin out.

Old Lady Su loved foot washing every day—not because she was especially clean, but because she enjoyed being served by her daughter-in-law.

Late at night, Su Li began searching the old lady’s secret stash.

To live well, one’s hands cannot be empty.

One must have money!

Though the whole family seemed to be under her control, it was like holding sand—it slipped through her fingers the tighter she grasped. Balance was needed.

Relying on them to support her in old age was no better than saving money herself.

After a thorough search, Su Li smiled so broadly her eyes nearly disappeared. Her waist no longer ached, her legs no longer ached, and her ears no longer felt muffled.

The secret stash held a total of one thousand one hundred and thirty-seven yuan.

The old man who first made an offering to heaven had harvested a wild ginseng root and sold it without the family’s knowledge. Along with a three hundred yuan compensation and less than two hundred yuan saved from labor points over the years, the total came to this amount.

Having money in hand eased her heart. Tomorrow, she would go to the town to inquire about the job. No one said the successor had to be a child, after all.