Su Wureng was fortunate to be a nimble boy and quickly dodged, otherwise he would have been plastered against the door.
"Who is it, so rough!" Su Wureng grumbled.
"Su Manxiu, why aren't you home, what are you doing here?" As soon as the person spoke, Su Wureng recognized him as his eldest aunt's husband.
He had wanted to greet him, but seeing the furious demeanor, he ultimately refrained from speaking.
"Why are you here?" Su Manxiu stood up abruptly, trembling all over, clearly frightened.
"If I don't come, you prodigal son won't even know to go home. Can I not come?" Wang Jiefang didn't offer any greetings to his elders from start to finish. He directly grabbed Su Manxiu's arm and dragged her outside.
"What are you doing?" Grandpa Su couldn't stand it and stood up to scold him.
"Old man, your daughter is a barren hen. Besides me, Wang Jiefang, being kind-hearted enough to still want her, go ask around. Any other family would have divorced her long ago," Wang Jiefang said proudly.
Although his words were extremely unpleasant, the phrase "barren hen" instantly took the wind out of everyone's sails.
Even Su Manxiu herself immediately lowered her head.
It was her inadequacy, her inability to have a child, that led to Wang Jiefang treating her this way.
"Aren't you going back? There are so many things waiting for you at home. If you don't go back, how will the family eat?" Wang Jiefang, seeing that everyone present had wilted, grew even more smug. "Remember to get something good for Xiao Cui and send it over. Even this small matter, you can't handle it. What use am I to you? Might as well get a divorce!"
Wang Jiefang's words were satisfying, but Su Manxiu's face had already turned pale.
In the end, Su Manxiu followed Wang Jiefang home.
Su's three brothers wanted to stop her, but Su Manxiu herself refused.
"Brother, this is fate! This is my fate!"
As Su Manxiu left, this was the only sentence she uttered.
Su's brothers watched their sister being taken away by Wang Jiefang, and they could even hear Wang Jiefang scolding Su Manxiu.
A group of men, unable to bear it, could only squat in a corner, mourning silently.
Su Xiaotian wanted her family to keep Su Manxiu no matter what, but ultimately did not say it.
At this moment, saying anything more would be like poking at their hearts.
The Xiao Cui that Wang Jiefang mentioned earlier was likely the young widow he had found.
Wang Jiefang, that scoundrel, was already having their eldest aunt send good food to the young widow, which showed that he didn't care about their eldest aunt at all, giving her no face whatsoever.
When that young widow forced him, divorce would be inevitable.
Since that was the case, keeping their eldest aunt or letting her go back would result in the same outcome.
All the problems would still require their eldest aunt to return to the Wang family to resolve them.
For the first time, she felt useless. Although she had a study system, it was of no help in solving the current problem.
Of course, the main reason was that she was still a child and had no say.
Even if she said something, others would just dismiss it as idle talk and wouldn't take it to heart.
The old Su family was already very sad and grieved, but this Mid-Autumn Festival was destined to be unsettled.
The next morning, the old Su family received news that Su Xiaoqin was missing.
It turned out that when the second branch of the Su family was making mooncakes that morning, Liu Xiuying was in a bad mood and had beaten Su Xiaoqin again.
Su Xiaoqin ran out crying.
Liu Xiuying didn't take it seriously and even cursed Su Xiaoqin for being increasingly sensitive.
When Su Xiaoqin didn't come home for lunch and didn't cook, Liu Xiuying didn't pay attention. She even said it was better not to eat, saving grain.
When it was time to cook dinner, Su Xiaoqin still hadn't returned. Liu Xiuying grumbled and cooked herself. After the family ate, no one thought to look for Su Xiaoqin.
It wasn't until dawn that Su Xiaoqin still hadn't returned that Liu Xiuying felt something was wrong. She called Su Xiaoqin's parents to look for Su Xiaoqin together, and while looking, she muttered, "Could she have gone up the mountain and been eaten by wolves?"
One person missing was no small matter. Su Changjiu couldn't sit still and immediately mobilized all the young and strong men in the brigade to help search.
However, after the entire brigade searched the surrounding area, they still couldn't find Su Xiaoqin, not even a trace of her having been there.
When everyone returned, they could only express their helplessness, stating that the person truly could not be found.
Su Xiaoqin had disappeared as if she had vanished into thin air.
When Su's three brothers returned home, they were still worried about Su Xiaoqin.
After all, she was a girl of about ten years old. If something really happened, it would be too late to regret it.
Su Xiaotian was also very surprised. In her previous life, it seemed that Su Xiaoqin had not gone missing.
Where did Su Xiaoqin go? Why did she suddenly disappear?
She was beaten, but in her previous life, Su Xiaoqin seemed to have endured many beatings and still managed.
For three consecutive days, people in the brigade searched for Su Xiaoqin, but still found nothing.
Autumn harvest arrived, and they couldn't let all the old and young men in the village neglect their farm work to look for someone. The search for Su Xiaoqin was thus put aside.
Su Xiaoqin's disappearance caused a stir in the brigade, but it quickly subsided.
Three days later, with the arrival of the busy farming season, the villagers seemed to have forgotten about Su Xiaoqin's disappearance.
Except for Liu Xiuying, who would miss having Su Xiaoqin around to serve the entire family with chores while she was working, everyone else had forgotten her.
This included Su Xiaoqin's parents.
Due to the busy farming season, school was on holiday. Su Xiaoqin had never wanted to go to school, and now her wish was granted.
The atmosphere at school was not good. With this time, it was better to study diligently at home.
As for Su's other brothers, Su Xiaotian also planned to take more leave and go to school less after the farming holiday ended.
Farming was a major event. As long as one was a member of the brigade and could walk, from eighty-year-old elders to three or four-year-old children, everyone had to participate.
The Su family had more than ten people. Grandpa Su and his three sons and three daughters-in-law were considered strong laborers. Grandma Su was second-tier. The four teenage Su boys could each do half a person's work.
As for the remaining children, they were generally responsible for tasks like picking potatoes and gleaning grain, earning very little work points.
But undoubtedly, the large family moving in a grand manner still made many villagers envious.
Especially Granny Chang. Seeing the line of Su family boys, her eyes almost went straight, and she couldn't help but scold her sons and daughters-in-law for being stingy and giving birth to a bunch of money-losing goods.
Granny Chang's daughters-in-law dared not have opinions about their own grandmother, so they could only have opinions about the Su family.
Especially towards Su Xiaotian, they had immense opinions.
After all, seeing Su Xiaotian made them more self-conscious and feel that their lives were even less human.
People are like this. When they are living a hard life, they often don't reflect on whether they have made mistakes, but rather feel that the reason they are not living well is entirely the fault of others.
They schemed to give Su Xiaotian a hard time, but who was Su Xiaotian?
She was the little sweetheart protected by nine brothers, how could she suffer?
Throughout the entire autumn harvest, the daughters-in-law of the Chang family did not get their wish.
After the crops were harvested, school reopened, but Su's children took leave together.
Grandpa Su initially had objections. Hearing from Su Shouwen that the school had already descended into chaos, and he didn't want to follow those people in their misbehavior, he became understanding.
One must not have a guilty conscience. No matter what, living honestly is the most important thing.
On days when they were not going to school, except for Su Shouwen helping with work during the contract period, the younger siblings went to the mountains every day.
At first, the family was worried, but then they got used to it.
These children went to gather pig feed every day. Besides earning a small amount of work points, they also brought back a lot of mountain goods to supplement the family's income.
Especially after September, there were even more edible things on the mountain.
Chestnuts, walnuts, and wild persimmons, the children brought down many of them. They didn't know why there were so many good things in previous years, but overall, the Su family's meals improved significantly.
In the beginning, only Su's siblings went up the mountain to search for treasures. Later, Chi Yiyuan would also follow.
However, they did not leave the village together. Instead, they left separately and met halfway up the mountain.
When Su Xiaotian went up and down the mountain, she was mostly carried by her brothers in turns.
She herself did not want to enjoy such treatment, but unfortunately, her brothers were very persistent. They insisted that going up and down the mountain was too hard and resolutely wanted to carry her, otherwise, they wouldn't take her up the mountain.
When Chi Yiyuan followed them up the mountain, he also took meticulous care of Su Xiaotian, even making Su's brothers feel inferior.
Sometimes, they even felt as if Little Sweetheart was Chi family's daughter, but clearly, she was their old Su family's child.
If it weren't for the consideration that Su Xiaotian and Su Ciliang would be studying under Chi Ge, they really wouldn't want to bring along this clingy pest, Chi Yiyuan.
Chi Yiyuan sensed this.
He solemnly said, "Xiaotian is your sister, and she is also my junior. Therefore, I am also her brother, taking care of her together with you. There's nothing wrong with that!"
Although these words sounded fine, and even Su's young men found them acceptable, Su Xiaotian felt something was not quite right.
Wasn't she Professor Chi's student? Chi Yiyuan was Professor Chi's grandson. Was the generation gap really not an issue?
The crops in the fields had been harvested. Su Changjiu gave the commune members a few days off to tidy up the crops in their own private plots.
Moreover, he specifically went to the Su family's private plot to take a look.
As expected, the Su family's grain grew very well.
"Captain, what are you doing? Have you finished harvesting the crops in your private plot?" Su Laosan, seeing Su Changjiu not leaving his own private plot, couldn't help but ask curiously.
Su Changjiu rubbed his hands and said excitedly, "Laosan, I've long noticed that the crops in your private plot are growing well. So I came specifically to take a look. And what a sight it is! They are indeed growing much better than the crops in our large fields. The yield per mu is estimated to be thirty percent higher."
Thirty percent higher yield, that was not a small amount.
If the entire brigade's crops could yield thirty percent more, then their brigade would definitely become an advanced brigade. They would receive many commendations, and they would also get more farm tools.
He heard that next year the commune had a quota for a tractor, and their brigade should also strive for it.
Su Laosan did not know that Su Changjiu had already thought so much, even considering next year's matters.
He only saw a foolishly happy Su Changjiu.
The rest of the Su family also saw a foolishly smiling Su Changjiu. What was wrong with the team leader? Why was he smiling at their crops?
Their crops were indeed yielding better, but this was their private plot, and all the harvest belonged to their own family.
"Laosan, tell me, how do you grow your crops?"
The captain, a rough man, his eyes were almost sparkling, as if the person in front of him was not Su Laosan, but a great beauty!
"We just plant them normally, without much worry. However, Xiaotian said that crops need to grow well and have balanced nutrition, so we prepared some fertilizer." Su Laosan was an honest person and truly did not lie to Su Changjiu.
But Su Changjiu didn't believe it. Su Xiaotian was only a child of a few years old, how could she have such ability? Don't lie to me!
Wait, could it be that this child caught the attention of a high-ranking official in the county, and they specially gave the Su family fertilizer?
He heard that fertilizer was very effective, but unfortunately, the fertilizer plant in their county was still under construction, and fertilizer was very precious. Their brigade had not seen a single jin of fertilizer yet.
Su Laosan used to seem honest, but he didn't expect him to be able to fool people. But was he someone who could be easily fooled?
Hmph!
"Laosan, are you talking about fertilizer? I heard that thing is very useful. Did a high-ranking official from the county give it to your family?"
"Captain, what are you thinking? Minister Chen only gave our family some grain and other supplies because my father saved his superior. We really didn't get any fertilizer, not a single bit!" Su Laosan became anxious and quickly retorted.
When Su Xiaotian and her brothers arrived at their family's private plot, they happened to overhear these words.
She sweetly smiled and approached the captain.
"Xiaotian, you child, you came up to Uncle so quietly, you startled me!"
Looking at the lively and cute little girl in front of him, Su Changjiu reached out his rough hand and stroked Su Xiaotian's fluffy little head.
This child's hair is so good, smooth, fine, and soft. Unlike the children of other families in the village, which are greasy like wild grass.
It's the first branch of the Su family that knows how to raise people. Look at these children, they are all handsome and beautiful, not a single one is unattractive.
Especially recently, after eating better and gaining some weight, they look even more beautiful.
"Uncle Changjiu, do you want to know why our family's crops grow better than others?" Su Xiaotian asked, tilting her little head.
Su Changjiu looked at Su Xiaotian foolishly, thinking, could it be that this girl Su Xiaotian really knows why their family's crops grow so well?
But she's only seven years old? At this age, what else can she do besides playing with mud and making fires?
"You little girl, can you even know this?" Su Changjiu clearly didn't believe it!
"Of course, I know!" Su Xiaotian said with full confidence.
However, many times, even when telling the truth, others don't believe it, and there's nothing that can be done, just like now. Su Xiaotian clearly told the truth, but Su Changjiu just didn't believe it.
[Author's Note]
Babies, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I originally planned to admire the moon tonight, but the sky was overcast and I couldn't see the moon. But it doesn't matter, as long as there is the moon in the heart, there is brilliance in the world!