She wanted to leave, but others didn't want her to!
The young woman hadn't reacted at first when she heard Liang Xiu was going to work.
Now, seeing Liang Xiu eager to leave, she suddenly felt it was all bragging.
This wouldn't do. How could someone be so shameless?
To brag about such a thing? Wasn't she afraid it would burst and blow her up?
She immediately spoke up, "I've never seen anyone so shameless. She doesn't even look at herself, yet she dares to say she's going to work in the city."
After saying this, she specifically looked at Su Xiaotian.
"Such a young child is following along with lies. I don't know how she was raised. Truly, the rotten wood cannot be carved!"
Finally, she snorted with a very nasal tone, expressing all her contempt and disdain.
Su Xiaowu couldn't stand it. His little sister was someone he cherished and doted on. How could she be slandered like this?
"What are you saying? What do you mean, 'such a young child is following along with lies'? My little sister never lies!"
The young boy's handsome face was slightly distorted with excitement, but it didn't detract from his good looks.
When Xiaowu spoke, Xiaoba immediately followed.
"Exactly, my sister doesn't lie, you're slandering us!"
The little one seemed very agitated. He was actually only two years older than Su Xiaotian, but he was diligently acting as a good older brother.
Being yelled at by two little children, the young woman felt embarrassed, her expression worsening.
Protected by her two brothers, Su Xiaotian felt like the happiest girl in the world.
The middle-aged woman, seeing the argument start, felt a headache coming on.
She regretted speaking up here. Wouldn't it be better to go home and stay warm on the heated kang?
"Xiuer, it's so cold. Look how frozen the children are. Hurry and take them home to warm up," the middle-aged woman said, urging Liang Xiu to leave quickly.
Liang Xiu was also speechless. She was about to leave, but this Li Juhua insisted on causing trouble. What could she do?
"I'm slandering you? You little brat, with your mother being a woman who can't even recognize a single character, she can go to the city to be a worker?"
"It's not that I look down on her, but if she can be a worker, I could be an official!"
After saying this, the young woman let out a scoff, clearly showing her disdain.
Liang Xiu's face turned red. Why was it that no one believed her when she told the truth?
"You said that!"
"I said it, so what?"
She would go to her sister's place later and tell her sister to properly deal with these brats who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.
Just then, two young people walked by on the road.
Seeing that it was Liang Xiu, the taller one immediately smiled and greeted her.
"Sister Xiuer, are you back to see Fourth Dad and Fourth Mom?"
Liang Xiu recognized him as her paternal cousin. He had been recruited for a job a couple of years ago and was now working in a factory in the county town.
"Bingzi, you're home today too?"
Liang Xiu had a good impression of this cousin and spoke more politely.
Liang Bing was accompanied by another young man. Liang Xiu glanced at him but didn't recognize him, so she didn't pay much attention.
"Xiao Zhou, this is my Sister Xi. You should call her Sister Xi too!" Liang Bing said, seeing Liang Xiu glance at the person beside him, and quickly made the introduction.
The young man shyly called out, "Hello, Sister Xi!"
Liang Xiu responded with a smile.
"This is a colleague from our factory. He's off today, so I'm bringing him to my home."
Liang Xiu looked at Xiao Zhou's age and his shy expression, and she knew why Liang Bing was bringing Xiao Zhou.
Liang Bing was the eldest son of Liang Xiu's seventh uncle. He had a younger sister who was nineteen this year.
This young man seemed quite honest, but his family conditions didn't seem very good.
Indeed, if a family's conditions were good, city workers generally wouldn't come to the countryside to find wives.
"Xiao Zhou, my Sister Xi is now a worker at the cake factory. When we return to the county town, we'll have more opportunities to meet," Liang Bing couldn't help but praise.
"What?" the middle-aged woman asked in surprise.
She looked at Liang Xiu in disbelief. This daughter from the Fourth family had actually become a worker?
She looked at Li Juhua with a contorted expression.
Li Juhua had also heard Liang Bing's words and was completely stunned.
She actually went to be a worker?
This Liang Xiu was already over thirty, right? How could she be recruited at such an age?
She heard that her sister-in-law, after divorcing, married a high-ranking official in the city.
This matter needed to be discussed properly with her sister.
Not taking advantage of a good opportunity was like being a scoundrel!
"Xiuer, you really became a worker? And at the cake factory? Those cakes are so expensive, and you need coupons!"
The middle-aged woman's eyes sparkled as she spoke. A city worker, what good fortune!
She really didn't expect the Fourth couple to have such good fortune!
Liang Xiu responded perfunctorily and didn't continue the meaningless conversation with the two boring women. She took the children and left.
This time, she finally left in peace. Neither the middle-aged woman nor Li Juhua stopped her!
Pushing open the wooden gate, before Liang Xiu could even stop her bicycle, she saw the curtain being lifted.
The person who came out was Liang Xiu's third sister-in-law, Li Cuihua, who was Li Juhua's sister.
Li Cuihua and Li Juhua looked similar and spoke with the same sharp, sarcastic tone.
In any case, Su Xiaotian really disliked this third aunt.
Li Cuihua came out upon hearing the sound of the gate. Seeing her sister-in-law, who was so poor she had nothing, her face immediately lengthened considerably.
"It's not a festival, why are you here? We don't have much food to entertain you!"
Li Cuihua's sarcastic voice was no different from Li Juhua's earlier tone.
"Third Sister-in-law!" Liang Xiu's expression was not good, but she endured it.
Su Xiaotian couldn't help but roll her eyes. What kind of person was this? A relative visits, and before they even settle in, she starts!
Li Cuihua didn't reply. She turned and went back into her room.
Su Xiaotian could still hear Li Cuihua banging things around inside, clearly very unhappy about their arrival.
Just then, the curtain of the main room was also lifted. It was Liang Xiu's mother, Old Mrs. Liang.
Old Mrs. Liang had given birth to eight children in her lifetime, but only four survived: three sons and one daughter.
The three sons were older, and the youngest was the daughter, Liang Xiu. Logically, in such a family, even under normal circumstances, the youngest daughter wouldn't be too mistreated.
However, the old Liang family was clearly not like that. Liang Xiu was not favored when she was at her parents' home, which was why she had to do everything herself and was capable of anything.
"Mom!" Liang Xiu forced a somewhat awkward smile and said.
Old Mrs. Liang didn't seem happy to see her daughter return. Instead, her face also fell.
"Why are you back?"
This attitude clearly showed she was not welcome.
"The Laba Festival is coming soon, so I came to see you and Father in advance!"
Liang Xiu's heart was also made of flesh. At this moment, she felt somewhat chilled.
Seeing her mother's cold face, she decided not to come again for the Laba Festival, lest she be unwelcome.
Old Mrs. Liang snorted and went into the house without acknowledging Liang Xiu.
Despite the cold reception, Liang Xiu still carried her basket and led her daughter and two sons into the main room.
Old Mr. Liang was half-lying on the kang, leaning against the quilt, smoking his old pipe.
Even when he saw his daughter and grandchildren arrive, he showed no expression, not even blinking.
"Xiaowu, greet him!" Liang Xiu nudged her son.
Although Xiaowu was very unhappy, he still asked, "Hello, Grandpa!"
Xiaoba and Su Xiaotian also greeted him afterward, but Old Mr. Liang, lying on the kang, gave no response at all.
It was as if these people weren't even in the room.
Liang Xiu forced a smile, "Mom, are you and Father doing well recently?"
"What's good or not good? We're still alive!" Old Mrs. Liang replied stiffly.
Well, the conversation was dead again!
Looking at the situation, Su Xiaotian felt her heart was completely heavy.
She couldn't understand why her mother wanted to come here.
Although they were her own parents, with this attitude, they were worse than enemies!
Liang Xiu lowered her eyes, concealing the pain in her eyes, and forced another smile, saying, "Mom, my life is better now. You don't need to worry about me..."
Before Liang Xiu could finish her sentence, Old Mrs. Liang interrupted her.
"A married daughter is like spilled water. Since you're married, whether you're doing well or not has nothing to do with me!"
Her tone was devoid of any warmth, as if she were speaking to a stranger.
"If you're doing well, it's yours. You can't give it to me. If you're not doing well, I won't give it to you either!"
Old Mrs. Liang said this while sitting on the edge of the kang, not looking at Liang Xiu at all.
Su Xiaotian's little face was drawn tight, and her mouth was pouting.
She just felt that they shouldn't be treated like this.
Her mother always came here like this, not even a sip of water was offered.
The little girl's eyes darted around, and she suddenly said, "Grandma, I'm thirsty!"
"Why are you always so troublesome? Just a little girl, and you're thinking about drinking water? What else do you want?"
Old Mrs. Liang scolded Su Xiaotian back unceremoniously.
She was a person who favored sons over daughters. She didn't even have a good expression for her own daughter, let alone Su Xiaotian, her granddaughter.
Su Xiaotian was acting deliberately. Of course, she knew what kind of person her grandmother was.
Therefore, even though she was scolded, Su Xiaotian was not angry.
"I'm hungry too, I want to eat!" Su Xiaotian replied indifferently.
Old Mrs. Liang felt like she was about to spit out a mouthful of old blood.
Was she asking if she wanted to eat?
She was already such a big child, why couldn't she understand human language?
She didn't know how the Su family raised her, what a silly girl!
Su Xiaotian looked at Old Mrs. Liang and knew that she had no intention of giving her anything to eat or drink.
She waited for a while. Seeing that Old Mrs. Liang didn't respond, she directly took out white flour steamed buns from the basket she brought, and not just one, but three white flour steamed buns at once.
Her small hands could barely hold them. She quickly stuffed two of the buns to Su Xiaowu and Su Xiaoba, one for each.
The two brothers looked at the buns in their hands, confused. Weren't these meant as gifts for their grandmother's family? Why were they eating them?
"Brother, you eat buns too. Grandma's family isn't giving us food, so we can't starve ourselves!"
Su Xiaotian said this and took a bite of the white flour bun.
Old Mrs. Liang watched Su Xiaotian take out several white flour buns from the basket, and her eyes changed.
Then, seeing the three Su children, each holding a bun and eating heartily, she felt a pang of heartache.
"You, you..." Old Mrs. Liang was so angry she could barely speak.
She had originally thought that the basket contained nothing different from before, perhaps just cabbage, radishes, or pumpkins and winter melons. How could it be white flour steamed buns this time?
Her white flour steamed buns, how could they be ruined by these greedy children?
In fact, they had eaten breakfast that morning and weren't very hungry at this time.
But thinking of Old Mrs. Liang's anger, the mischievous little person in Su Xiaowu's heart quickly jumped up.
He was already a young man, and his eating speed was not slow.
In just a few bites, a white flour bun larger than an adult's fist was gone.
Su Xiaowu looked at Old Mrs. Liang's distorted face and felt happy.
He had come to his grandmother's house so many times, but this was the only time he felt happy.
He casually reached into the basket again and took out two more large buns, casually giving one to Xiaoba.
Xiaoba was younger and couldn't eat much, but he still reached out and took it, expressing his gratitude to his older brother.
Su Xiaotian looked at Su Xiaowu and felt that her brother was truly teachable!
The children ate with gusto, but the more they ate, the more Old Mrs. Liang's heart ached.
Her things, how could they be given to these shameless, cheap brats for free?
"Why don't you choke to death? White flour steamed buns are not for you to eat! You wretched things, why don't you choke to death!"
Finally, Old Mrs. Liang, with a red face and thick neck, let out the words she wanted to curse.
Her curses were vicious. Liang Xiu's face immediately fell upon hearing them.
Although the children ate the buns they brought, she felt it was inappropriate.
But as an elder, was it appropriate to scold children like this?
No matter what, they were still her own grandchildren!
Su Xiaotian ignored Old Mrs. Liang and continued to eat heartily.
Old Mrs. Liang couldn't bear to see the good white flour steamed buns being eaten by the siblings, so she immediately ran over to snatch them.
Anything that came to her house was hers, and no one could take advantage!
The siblings were young and nimble, how could they let Old Mrs. Liang succeed?
"You heartless little brats, these are my buns, meant for Dazhuzi and Erzhuzi. Put them down, put them down!"
Old Mrs. Liang stumbled after the grandchildren. Seeing the buns in the children's hands getting fewer and fewer, she finally sat on the ground and began to curse.
Even with Liang Xiu's patience, she couldn't stand it anymore.
"Mom, how can you curse the children like that?"
She was a mother herself. How could she not care when her own children were cursed by her mother?
But Old Mrs. Liang didn't think she had done anything wrong. Instead, she felt Liang Xiu was wrong.
She had raised several children, and not one of them was good.
When they came to visit, they didn't behave like guests!
How could they take things and eat without being offered? Truly a sign of poverty, as if they hadn't eaten good food in eight lifetimes.
Old Mrs. Liang, who considered these white flour steamed buns as her own property, completely forgot that these buns originally belonged to the Su family.
"What, I can't even scold them? I raised you to grow up, and you're unhappy when I say a few words about these little brats?"
"You heartless thing, if I had known you were such an unfilial thing, your father and I shouldn't have raised you. We should have fed you to the wolves long ago!"
Old Mrs. Liang vented all her anger on Liang Xiu.
From the beginning, Old Mrs. Liang had always been like this. She was timid with her three daughters-in-law, but she treated her only daughter as she pleased, beating and scolding her, and using the most vicious words when scolding.
"Mom..." Liang Xiu wanted to say something, but in the end, she was destined to be interrupted by Old Mrs. Liang.
"How is my life so bitter? Other people have daughters who are like caring little cotton-padded jackets, but mine is a debt collector! Marrying into such a poor family, and still coming to my house to eat!"
Old Mrs. Liang cursed fluently, completely forgetting that in the many years since her daughter got married, she had basically never given her a single meal when she visited her parents' home.
Su Xiaotian had already finished one white flour steamed bun. Speaking of which, white flour steamed buns were indeed fragrant. She looked at the basket with lingering desire, considering whether to take out another bun to eat!
But hearing Old Mrs. Liang's harsh scolding, she finally decided it was best to go home soon.
"Mom, I'm scared. Let's go home!" Su Xiaotian pretended to be scared and trembling, grabbing Liang Xiu's clothes.
Old Mrs. Liang looked at Su Xiaotian and then her gaze shifted to the basket. She immediately pounced over, pressing down on the basket with her whole body.
Su Xiaotian could even hear the basket creaking under the pressure.
She felt sorry for the basket!
"You shameless good-for-nothing, you still want to eat my white flour steamed buns? Dream on! Look at your appearance, does it match?"
Su Xiaotian widened her eyes and looked at Liang Xiu, asking blankly, "Mom, aren't these buns ours? Why don't I deserve them? Everyone in the brigade says I'm cute and the prettiest little girl in the whole brigade!"
Su Xiaowu heard Su Xiaotian say this and didn't know how to respond.
His little sister was indeed beautiful, but it was one thing for others to praise her, but to praise herself like this?
However, why did it sound so pleasing to the ear?
"My Xiaotian is indeed the prettiest little girl in the whole brigade. No, not just the prettiest in the whole brigade, but the prettiest in the whole commune!" Su Xiaowu sincerely praised his little sister.
Liang Xiu also feared that her daughter would be wronged, so she quickly hugged her younger daughter and whispered, "Your grandma is joking with you. My Xiaotian is the prettiest little girl."
Since her birth, her daughter had been carefully raised in the Su family and had never suffered such grievances.
Liang Xiu truly regretted it now. Why did she bring the children? She could have suffered alone!
Liang Xiu couldn't help but cry.
Old Mrs. Liang saw this and became even more displeased, directly scolding Liang Xiu for crying and bringing bad luck to their home.
Su Xiaotian hugged Liang Xiu back and said, "Mom, don't cry. Xiaowu, Xiaoba, and I all love you!"
Liang Xiu was actually a jealous and love-deprived person. From childhood, she was disliked by her parents and scorned by her brothers. As an adult, her sisters-in-law treated her as a thorn in their side.
What she craved most was warmth from her family, but clearly, the Liang family did not provide that.
At this moment, Su Xiaotian suddenly said that she and her brothers all loved her. Liang Xiu was stunned for a moment.
She looked at Su Xiaotian and suddenly felt her heart open up. The clouds that had been obscuring her for so many years seemed to have disappeared.