When he first got together with Su Manxiu, he simply felt that Su Manxiu was a very simple, virtuous, and suitable woman for a life together.
With such a woman, he could feel peace and tranquility.
Therefore, even though he knew the Su family's financial situation was not good, he did not hesitate.
From the time they got married, he was prepared to subsidize the old Su family.
In fact, that's what he did at first.
He never expected that later on, the old Su family would subsidize him even more.
Their small family of three lived comfortably and freely, thanks in part to the support from his in-laws.
In the past two years, his former leader had repeatedly asked him to look after the old Su family.
But it was he who received care from the old Su family.
At this moment, Chen Zi'an felt like he had profited from marrying his wife.
While Chen Zi'an was silently contemplating, Secretary Kang had already walked over to greet the Su children.
The Su children were brought by Su Laosan.
Although Su Laosan had met some leaders in the county town, this was his first time meeting someone of Secretary Kang's level, and he couldn't help but feel intimidated.
The other children had never met such a high-ranking leader as Secretary Kang.
Fortunately, Principal Guo was also present, and seeing Principal Guo calmed the children's nerves considerably.
"Hello everyone, I'm so happy to see you all. You are all the future pillars of our country!"
Secretary Kang's words, seeing the future hope of the country, made Su Shouwen and the others' hair stand on end.
They had only managed to achieve decent grades by chance; how could they already be pillars of the country?
"Secretary Kang, you, you say that, we dare not accept..." Su Shouwen, being the boldest, quickly spoke up, but his voice was still trembling.
Su Ciliang was better, at least he stood steady, but Su Sangong unconsciously took a step back.
"Secretary Kang, the children are a bit shy," Chen Zi'an quickly explained upon seeing his nephews in such a state.
Principal Guo also immediately smiled and said, "Secretary Kang, please don't mind, the children are just studying at school and haven't seen much of the world!"
"I don't mind, I don't mind. Such outstanding children are from our county. What do I have to mind?" Secretary Kang waved his hand generously, a hint of pride in his tone.
Indeed, why wouldn't he be proud?
Their school accounted for three of the top five in the province, which was an unparalleled honor.
Secretary Kang had managed to remain in his position as the top leader in the county for many years, and even corrupt influences couldn't topple him, so he naturally had his own abilities.
The most important of these was his kindness and his refusal to look down on anyone.
Even a farmer from the countryside would be treated politely by Secretary Kang.
Moreover, these children undoubtedly had bright futures, so he had to foster good relations with them.
Secretary Kang was amiable and polite, and the children gradually relaxed, soon able to communicate normally. They had a pleasant conversation.
After this brief meeting, Su Shouwen and the others returned home with Chen Zi'an.
They were all in a daze on the way.
They had received money again?
And not small amounts like the five yuan from the team leader or the twenty yuan from the commune.
But a full three hundred yuan.
Each of the three brothers held three hundred yuan, a thick stack of "Da Tuanjie" (a colloquial term for the 100 yuan banknote depicting Chairman Mao).
"Brother, I heard that when we go to school, we get a subsidy of fifteen yuan a month?" Su Ciliang asked.
"Teacher Shen said it's fifteen yuan."
"Secretary Kang gave us twenty months of subsidy at once!" Su Ciliang murmured.
Having never seen so much money in his life, he felt as if he were still dreaming and couldn't believe it was real.
Su Sangong, however, looked more serious upon hearing Su Ciliang's words and hesitantly asked, "If we take Secretary Kang's subsidy, does that mean we won't receive the school's subsidy for the next two years?"
Su Shouwen and Su Ciliang also looked serious. If that were the case, it wouldn't be as meaningful.
"What are you thinking?" Chen Zi'an chuckled. "This is a reward from the county to encourage you to study hard. It's not just you; other students who performed well also received rewards, just not as much as you!"
The county had indeed made a generous gesture this time, allocating a total of three thousand yuan for rewards.
To disburse this money, the county held three meetings before finally deciding.
The reward money was divided into several tiers. The first tier was 300 yuan, given to those who ranked in the top ten in the province, with each person receiving 300 yuan.
There were three people in this tier, namely the three Su brothers.
The second tier was for those ranked outside the top ten but within the top twenty in the province, receiving 200 yuan.
Su Xiaomei was the only one in this tier.
This meant Su Xiaomei received a reward of 200 yuan from the county.
Further down, the prize money varied significantly depending on the ranking.
Su Xiaomei tightly clutched the envelope in her hand, extremely excited.
Although Shen Zizhen personally came to pick them up to go to Beijing and repeatedly stated that he would support them in the future,
Su Xiaomei was still worried that she and Xiaogang, being burdens, would make things difficult for their mother.
After all, they had no blood relation to Shen Zizhen, and Shen Zizhen had two children of his own.
Who would prioritize supporting someone else's children over their own?
Now that she had over two hundred yuan, plus the monthly subsidy from the school, she wouldn't have to spend Uncle Shen's money.
If she could find a way to earn some money in Beijing, perhaps even Xiaogang wouldn't have to spend Uncle Shen's money.
She had no other desires; she just felt that her mother had worked hard and wanted her mother to live her life without burdens in the future.
Shen Zizhen and Su Taohua were unaware that the young Su Xiaomei had already thought so much, even considering earning money herself.
If they knew, Shen Zizhen would definitely tell her that although he didn't earn much, he wouldn't be unable to support his own children.
Su Shouwen, however, noticed the fluctuating expressions on Su Xiaomei's face and quietly asked, "Xiaomei, what are you thinking about?"
Su Xiaomei smiled and said, "I'm not thinking about anything, just looking forward to the future. I never dared to imagine that I would have a chance to go to university."
At that time, her biological father, Li Changming, had said that girls didn't need to study too much; they were all going to get married, and it was a waste of money.
But unexpectedly, after a few years of twists and turns, she had actually been admitted to university.
"Uncle Shen has a very good personality and treats you like his own daughter," Su Shouwen whispered to comfort her.
Even if Su Xiaomei didn't say it, Su Shouwen could tell what she was truly worried about.
Su Xiaomei was silent for a moment, then smiled in response.
"I'm just worried that Uncle Shen will be burdened by supporting our entire family when we go to Beijing."
Su Shouwen said nothing more. Su Xiaomei's concern was not without reason.
In the countryside, it was not easy for one man to support a family.
Let alone in a place like Beijing, where the cost of living was said to be high; how could one person support a family?
"If you need anything, tell me, and I'll find a way to help you!"
Su Shouwen looked at this girl he had grown up with and offered her support.
Su Xiaomei smiled.
The others in the old Su family learned from Su Manxiu that the children had met the county's top leader today and would receive a bonus.
And after hearing it was a large bonus, they were all astonished, their mouths agape.
"No wonder people say there's gold in books; I didn't believe it, but now I do!"
Wang Xianghua slapped her thigh, overjoyed.
Thinking about it, studying was indeed good; they earned three hundred yuan at once. How much could their large family earn by toiling in the fields for a whole year?
"I was also confused. I should have realized the importance of studying when you all came to work in the county!"
Wang Xianghua muttered her joy.
Qi Liangying's attention was also drawn to the astonishing figure of three hundred yuan.
Three hundred yuan was more than she could earn in a year of hard work at the factory.
She hadn't expected Ciliang to earn so much so easily.
Just by studying, he earned so much money!
Thinking further, her elder sister-in-law's family, Shouwen and Sangong, earned six hundred yuan together, making her feel her own family had lost out.
But such things couldn't be forced.
At that moment, Qi Liangying firmly resolved to make her remaining three children study hard as well.
"I even told my second sister-in-law that we would earn more money to support the children when they go to school, so they wouldn't have to suffer. Who knew these children would earn money on their own without a word," Liang Xiu said with a giggle, her smile very sincere.
Although this money wasn't earned by her own children, she was genuinely happy for her nephews.
The Su children were outstanding, and even the way others looked at them was different.
Liang Xiu didn't know that she felt this money had nothing to do with her own children.
Except for Su Xiaotian, no one knew that she had benefited significantly from this.
Just a moment ago, she had surprisingly discovered that she had activated a hidden task.
The name of this task was "First Pot of Gold."
The main content was that Su Xiaotian's brothers could earn their first money through diligent study.
The system's limit for this money was one hundred yuan within a day.
The highest completion rate could reach 200%.
She had completed it for three people at once.
Moreover, the completion rate for all three was 200%, allowing her to receive the maximum reward.
Because of this, she received a considerable amount of points, a total of three thousand points.
Looking at the points in the system store, Su Xiaotian was a little confused.
Through several small tasks and this large influx of points, she now had nearly four thousand points.
She had points, but the system store had nothing.
How could these points be spent? She couldn't just leave them there, could she?
But if she didn't leave them, what else could she do?
"Anna, what do you mean by this system? When will the store open? Will my points be valuable then?"
The system Anna, however, had no intention of answering Su Xiaotian this time, as if it were asleep.
Unable to get a response, Su Xiaotian stopped dwelling on the issue.
Reluctantly closing the system interface, Su Xiaotian went outside to play with little Chen Xiuyuan.
After all, whatever the system gave was free, so any amount was a gain.
Little Chen Xiuyuan was now thoroughly developing into a chubby child.
Su Xiaotian found his pink and chubby little face particularly cute.
She couldn't help but pinch his little cheeks.
Speaking of which, it was strange. Little Chen Xiuyuan was actually a cold and aloof child and didn't like others pinching his face; he wouldn't even let anyone touch his hand.
But when facing Su Xiaotian, he instantly reverted to the soft and cute baby persona.
Even when Su Xiaotian always pinched him, he didn't resist.
Moreover, after Su Xiaotian pinched his left cheek, he would offer his right cheek.
He was as obedient as a big calico cat next door.
Su Xiaoba and Su Xiaojiu, seeing Chen Xiuyuan's obedient demeanor in front of Su Xiaotian, felt like they had been hit by ten thousand points of damage.
Did this little guy also favor girls over boys?
It was okay for their sister to pinch his face, but not for their brothers?
Su Xiaojiu refused to be outdone. While little Chen Xiuyuan wasn't paying attention, he secretly pinched his smooth little cheek.
Before Su Xiaojiu could retract his hand, little Chen Xiuyuan immediately retorted impolitely.
"Bad brother, stinky brother!"
Su Xiaotian was first stunned when she saw Chen Zi'an facing Su Xiaojiu.
Then, seeing little Chen Xiuyuan's incredibly cute appearance and Su Xiaojiu's bewildered expression, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The way the little guy pouted his little butt and cursed was truly hilarious.
And Brother Nine, why did he have to provoke this little bun, Chen Xiuyuan?
"Xiaotian pinches your face, why don't you call her a stinky sister?" Xiaojiu asked aggrievedly.
"Sister is sister!" Chen Xiuyuan put on a look of "you're so silly."
Alright, this reason, there was truly no one like him.
Su Xiaoba burst into laughter, and Su Xiaojiu couldn't help but laugh himself.
As they were all laughing heartily, Chen Zi'an returned with Su Shouwen and the others.
"What are you talking about? Why so happy?" Chen Zi'an's mood was cheerful. He entered the room, smiling, and lifted little Chen Xiuyuan high, asking.
"Bad brother, bad brother, pinch me, pinch me!" Little Chen Xiuyuan still indignantly gestured with his little hands on his face and then pointed at Su Xiaojiu to complain.
Oh, Chen Zi'an looked at his son, then at Xiaojiu.
"Second brother will pinch you back!"
Su Ciliang instantly became happy and rushed to Su Xiaojiu's side, pinching Su Xiaojiu's little face without any warning.
Su Xiaojiu's face, although not as soft and cute as the little bun Chen Xiuyuan's, was still quite tender.
Now, being pinched by his own brother, Su Xiaojiu suddenly felt that Chen Xiuyuan's words "bad brother, stinky brother" were indeed very sensible!
Chen Xiuyuan, seeing the person who pinched his face being pinched by his second brother, was very happy and clapped his little hands in cheer.
This was how it should be!
"Hurry up and eat once you're back; we have to go to the provincial capital after dinner," Su Manxiu called out from outside.
Hearing the mention of food, the children happily ran into the house.
They could smell the aroma of food from the courtyard; it was the smell of meat.
Although the Su family's conditions were quite good now, and they had eaten plenty of meat during the first lunar month, the smell of meat always made people feel good.
These children were all growing boys, at an age where they would feel hungry again within half an hour of finishing a bowl of rice.
[Author's Note]
I had to work overtime again today and couldn't write diligently. But my babies are very supportive; many people have voted for Time. I'll try harder later and add an extra chapter around eleven o'clock. Time is working hard; send the votes flying over!