Su Wuliang was called into the house by Liang Xiu and asked what had happened today.
The young man looked blank. What had happened? He didn't know!
Liang Xiu looked at her son's foolish appearance and was filled with anger. Why did she give birth to such a simple-minded child?
"Where did you pick those mushrooms? Why are there so many?"
"It was on the mountain. The area we went to today had so many mushrooms. Little Jiu said that the mushrooms were like Little Sweet, growing wherever she went."
As soon as Su Wuliang said this, Liang Xiu suddenly understood. It must have been that Little Jiu said this and her mother-in-law overheard it, which is why she was scared by her mother-in-law.
Thinking of her mother-in-law's affection for her daughter, Liang Xiu felt ashamed.
How could she know that her daughter had actually frightened Grandma Su quite badly.
Grandma Su hid the gold nugget in the box and then returned to the kitchen to prepare to cook.
"We can't finish so many mushrooms tonight. You and the children should dry these mushrooms. When they are dried, we can still eat them in winter."
Grandma Su took out some mushrooms to cook mushroom soup for the evening and asked the daughters-in-law to dry the rest.
"Grandma, I'll send some to Grandpa Chi and the others." Su Xiaotian remembered that Chi Ge and the others lacked food and drink, and quickly said.
"Don't go. Let your second brother go. He runs fast." Grandma Su agreed.
Su Ciliang diligently took the mushrooms prepared by his grandma and ran out. Su Xiaotian felt that there was nothing else for her to do, so she returned to her room to read.
The other people in the family busily laid the mushrooms to dry in the backyard against the wall.
Why put them in the backyard? It was to prevent Liu Xiuying from seeing them.
As long as Liu Xiuying saw them, she would find ways to take them away. They didn't want to benefit outsiders.
In the evening, after Grandma Su closed the door of the main hall, she took out the gold nugget from the box and secretly showed it to Grandpa Su.
Grandpa Su was drinking water. When he saw his wife take out such a gold nugget, he almost choked.
"Old man, slow down!" Grandma Su quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath.
"You must keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone." After Grandpa Su's breathing stabilized, he said seriously, "Our Little Sweet is too lucky. This must not be known, lest it cause more trouble."
Grandma Su nodded, "Don't I know this? I haven't even told her parents."
"We can't just keep this gold nugget in the house. I think we should find a small jar and bury it. When the time comes... we'll dig it out again."
Grandpa Su originally wanted to say that he would dig it out as a dowry when Su Xiaotian got married, but just thinking about it made his heart ache.
"I'll bury it in our house, so we don't have to dig a hole outside and be seen." Grandma Su strongly agreed with this.
At this time, holding a gold nugget, it wasn't for eating or drinking. It was better to save it.
The next morning, before going to work, they heard the several girls from the Old Chang family crying.
"I really don't know what they were thinking. Those girls are diligent and capable, but Old Madam Chang is still not satisfied," Grandma Su said while feeding the chickens.
Although she doted on her granddaughter, she had never abused her grandsons.
Whether she doted on them or not, they were all her own children, and they should be treated well.
"Mother, there aren't many open-minded elders like you in our brigade," Liang Xiu said with a smile.
These words were sincere. Grandma Su was indeed a good elder.
"Don't try to please me." Grandma Su smiled and took out two eggs from the chicken coop. "These chickens of ours, ever since they were fed according to Little Sweet's advice, have been laying eggs so diligently."
Eggs, this was a treasure.
With eggs at home, there was nothing to worry about.
"It's a pity we can't raise more chickens. If we could raise a few more chickens, we wouldn't have to worry about the children not having eggs to eat," Wang Xianghua sighed.
"Who says not? I wonder if Little Sweet has any way to increase the yield of grain in the fields. If the grain in the fields could grow more, we wouldn't be afraid of starving," Grandma Su said.
In these years, they had truly been starved, always hoping that the crops in the fields would grow better and better.
But things went against their wishes, and the crops grew worse year by year.
"Grandma, I don't have a way, but Grandpa Du does." Su Xiaotian happened to be going out and heard this, so she ran over with her short legs and said.
"Grandpa Du? Are you talking about the new person in the cowshed?"
"Yes, Grandma. Grandpa Du is very capable."
"They all come from big cities, so they must be more capable than us farmers. However, do city people know how to farm?" Grandma Su clearly didn't believe it.
There might be many people from the city, but when it came to farming, she really didn't believe it.
"Grandpa Du said that our crops don't grow well because the soil fertility is insufficient. Planting the same crops year after year requires supplementing nutrients according to the needs of the crops," Su Xiaotian said earnestly.
With that little expression, no one could compare.
Grandma Su laughed heartily and said, "My dear, don't listen to his nonsense. Crops also need to be supplemented with nutrients according to their needs. In this day and age, even people are malnourished. Come, Grandma will boil eggs for you. Today, I'll boil four eggs, one for you and one for each of your three brothers."
Su Xiaotian didn't argue when she heard Grandma Su didn't believe her.
"Grandma, let's save for two more days, and then we can have one egg for two people and eat together," Su Xiaotian didn't want to eat alone.
Grandma Su thought about so many people in the family, and even one egg for two people would require more than ten eggs, so she was a bit reluctant.
"Grandma, let's raise chickens well. We can get five or six eggs a day," Su Xiaotian reminded her opportunely.
Grandma Su thought that she could get four or five eggs in the next two days, and she felt full of hope, so she said, "Then let's eat eggs today and let everyone taste the eggs."
"Grandma is the best!" The little girl flattered Grandma Su like a fawning dog.
Fortunately, her grandmother was not biased against men. Otherwise, her life would have been like Chang Daya and the others.
"You mischievous girl, you only know how to please me." Grandma Su took her granddaughter's hand and happily went to the kitchen. "Those girls from the Old Chang family, I wonder when they will live a peaceful life."
This sentence reminded Su Xiaotian. She remembered that the girls from the Old Chang family all had rather tragic endings.
After they grew up, Old Madam Chang exchanged their betrothal gifts for money. They were either married to disabled men, widowers, or even married to a violent man, who eventually beat her to death.
Thinking of this, Su Xiaotian felt even luckier and squeezed Grandma Su's small hand tighter.
Grandma Su thought her granddaughter was scared by the Old Chang family and said cheerfully, "My dear, don't be afraid. Grandma will protect you. Grandma is not like that Old Madam Chang."
Su Xiaotian nodded and said, "Grandma, you love me. When I grow up, I'll earn money to spend on you and buy you sponge cake every day."
"Oh my, then I'll wait to enjoy the blessings. My dear granddaughter is filial to Grandma! Those bratty boys don't even think about their grandmother."
The innocent brothers who were hit by the crossfire felt that they were very innocent and their grandmother was unreasonable!