Wang Xianghua, after tidying up after her son and nephews, hurried back to the chicken farm, only to learn that the five newly packed crates of eggs had been smashed.
She felt a pang of heartache, liver ache, and lung ache. Each crate of eggs at their farm contained two hundred eggs!
Five crates smashed meant one thousand eggs!
So many eggs, smashed like this, it was only natural to feel distressed!
Wang Xianghua slapped her thigh and, with red eyes, asked, "Who smashed so many eggs for this old lady?"
She was determined to smash the head of whoever did it; it was too infuriating!
"Auntie, it was some strangers, never seen them before!" a young wife said in a low voice.
Strangers?
Wang Xianghua clearly hadn't expected it to be strangers. She furiously followed the direction pointed out by the people at the chicken farm to settle the score with the egg smashers!
************
Su Xiaotian and the others stayed home obediently reading books. Even the two brothers, Little Eight and Little Nine, didn't dare to cause any trouble.
They were waiting for Grandpa Su and Grandma Su to return from town.
However, the first to return home were Second Master Su, along with Su Shouwen and Su Ciliang.
Second Master Su asked in surprise, "What's going on today? Why is everyone reading so obediently? Little Nine, don't you dislike reading?"
Su Xiaojiu was Second Master Su's son, so he naturally knew what kind of child his son was.
He was the type who got a headache at the sight of a book. Normally, if other children could write two pages of homework, Little Nine would be doing well to write one page.
If it weren't for the fact that all the children in the family were studying diligently, Su Xiaojiu himself would definitely not be willing to study.
Su Xiaojiu glared fiercely at the book, clearly unhappy.
But his little sister had said they needed to be good today!
Seeing that none of the children spoke, Second Master Su guessed.
"What trouble have you caused today?"
The children exchanged glances. Although they hadn't exactly caused trouble, it wasn't far from it.
Su Xiaotian particularly felt this was true.
When the children at home suddenly became good, it definitely wasn't real goodness, but rather that they had caused trouble. There was a saying from later generations.
Su Xiaotian leaned forward and said to Second Master Su, "Second Dad, don't say that. Why must it be trouble? Can't we just be good?"
Second Master Su smiled and ruffled her hair, saying, "I'm not stupid, I know you kids."
Su Xiaotian was frustrated. Her second dad was really something!
"I'm going to the pig farm. You kids, clean up these things, don't let anyone see them!"
Second Master Su was referring to the baskets they had carried down from the mountain.
In these baskets, apart from the wild vegetables at the very top, there was meat underneath.
As Second Master Su carried them down, he had been wondering if these children, or rather, if Su Xiaotian's luck was getting better and better.
With so much meat, anyone who didn't know would think the wild animals on the mountain were being farmed!
Second Master Su left in a hurry, and Su Xiaotian and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
In the current weather, meat would start to spoil after two days and needed to be dried for preservation.
Wild chickens and rabbits could be split in half and hung up directly, but dealing with the yellow sheep was a bit more difficult.
Fortunately, the male children of the Su family were not pampered. After working hard for more than half an hour, they actually managed to butcher a sheep.
Looking at the pile of meat, Su Shouwen wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
It was really hard work!
What looked like an easy task was indeed difficult when actually doing it.
Moreover, why did the meat they cut look different from the meat Grandma cut?
Grandma's cut meat strips were neat and tidy.
But the meat they cut was truly a sight to behold, and a lot of it was also broken.
"Grandma works so hard to cook for us every day!" Su Shouwen exclaimed.
That's right, Grandma Su was currently cooking for the old Su family.
The three daughters-in-law each had their own tasks, so Grandma Su had to work harder.
A whole family of over a dozen people, and one old woman cooking, was indeed not easy.
Although Su Xiaotian always wanted to help, Grandma Su didn't let her, at most letting Su Xiaotian help with picking vegetables.
"I'll help Grandma cook from now on!" Su Sangong blurted out.
"Third Brother, aren't you afraid people will say you're useless for going into the kitchen?" Little Six Su asked foolishly.
The adults in the production team all said that men shouldn't cook, and men who cooked were looked down upon.
"What's all the fuss about? What's wrong with men cooking?"
It was just this era where men still had a sense of machismo.
In a while, men would also cook, and no one would look down on them!
"But everyone else in the production team says so!" Su Xiaoliu retorted unconvincingly.
These words weren't his own.
Su Xiaotian sneered and said, "If there's no woman to help cook, and a bunch of men are left, are they going to starve to death?"
Grandma Su happened to come in and hear Su Xiaotian's words. She said, "Oh, my dear child is right. Why should women be the only ones cooking? Why can't men cook?"
As she spoke, Grandma Su also specifically glanced at Grandpa Su.
Grandpa Su suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and returned to the main hall in silence.
Didn't Grandpa and Grandma go to town to buy things? Why did they return empty-handed?
Su Xiaotian looked at the two of them with confusion.
Their expressions didn't seem very good. What was going on?
Although Su Xiaotian had a guess in her heart, she didn't ask. She just happily said that her brothers had cut a whole yellow sheep into small pieces, and they could hang them to dry later and eat them for a long time.
Hearing this, Grandma Su's face broke into a smile.
"My dear child is amazing!"
The male children were instantly petrified.
Why was there such a big difference?
It was they who had butchered the yellow sheep, wasn't it?
Why was Xiaotian the one being praised?
But then they thought, forget it, praising their sister was equivalent to praising them.
"Dear child, what do you want to eat tonight?" Grandma Su asked affectionately.
Su Xiaotian remembered Su Xiaojiu saying he wanted to eat meat dumplings, so she directly said, "Grandma, we have meat now, can we have dumplings?"
Hearing Su Xiaotian mention dumplings, Su Xiaojiu's eyes sparkled.
"Lamb dumplings are delicious too!" Su Xiaojiu nodded repeatedly, looking no different from a greedy cat!
Grandma Su originally didn't have much mood to make dumplings. With so many people, how long would it take to make dumplings!
Now that the daughters-in-law were not around, making dumplings was not easy.
Su Xiaotian's eyes rolled, and she said, "Grandma, can I invite Auntie Taohua and Grandma Yu to come and help make dumplings?"
Grandma Su thought this was acceptable and nodded.
Then, she quickly added, "You don't need to go, let your second brother and third brother go!"
It was better not to let Xiaotian go alone on this path.
Su Ciliang and Su Sangong immediately ran off to invite people.
"You two brats, wait up. Don't just invite your Auntie Taohua and Grandma Yu. Don't forget Grandpa Chi's family either!"
Grandma Su shouted loudly, not knowing if the two brats had heard her.
"Grandma, don't worry, they're not stupid!" Su Shouwen said. "Grandma, shall I help chop the meat filling?"
With the whole family eating dumplings, a lot of meat and vegetables would need to be chopped.
If Grandma had to do it all herself, she would be exhausted.
"Big Brother, you chop the meat, I'll go pick vegetables." Su Xiaotian immediately hopped and skipped to find a basket, planning to go to the vegetable garden.
"How about lamb and pumpkin dumplings?" Grandma Su said. "I remember we have several pumpkins that have grown in our garden. We'll have enough to eat tonight!"
Pumpkin and lamb dumplings were also delicious. Su Xiaotian nodded repeatedly and went to pick pumpkins.
"Be careful of the thorns, don't prick your hand, it hurts!" Grandma Su cautioned worriedly.
In fact, in other families, Su Xiaotian's age would be doing a lot of work, but Grandma Su doted on her granddaughter.
"Grandma, Little Nine and I will go help!" Little Eight patted his chest and said, "We're strong!"
Looking at her two grandson-like monkeys, Grandma Su smiled.
The remaining boys, seeing their older brothers and cousins going to help, immediately expressed their desire to help as well.
Peeling onions, pounding garlic, fetching water, the brothers each found something to do and got busy.
Grandma Su watched the children busying themselves, and suddenly felt her heart warm, even forgetting the unhappy events of the day.
As for Grandpa Su, he was unaware of what had happened outside.
He held an old pipe in his hand but didn't smoke it.
His expression was very grim.
Occasionally, he would sigh.
When Grandma Su came in, she saw Grandpa Su's expression.
"Old man, don't think about it. Dear child said we're having pumpkin and lamb dumplings tonight. Professor Du and the others will be here soon!"
Grandma Su's words lessened the worry on Grandpa Su's face.
"We don't have lamb at home either!"
They had gone to town to buy meat today, but in the end, they hadn't bought any.
Instead, they were angered by Kang Rende.
She really didn't know what Manxiang had seen in Kang Rende back then.
That man had dared to flirt with a young widow in town right in front of them.
Although they had long decided not to care about Su Manxiang, she was still their own daughter.
Seeing her son-in-law like this, how could they not be angry?
Grandpa Su went up and said a few words, but Kang Rende cut him off, saying that he would divorce Su Manxiang as soon as he got home and marry the young widow.
Grandpa Su was so angry he almost fainted on the spot.
What's more, Kang Rende arrogantly flirted with the young widow in front of Grandpa Su.
That young widow was also shameless. In front of outsiders, she was extremely affectionate with Kang Rende, even touching and groping him.
Grandpa Su, who had been upright his whole life, had never seen such a shameless scene. He was so embarrassed that he turned around and left on the spot.
Grandma Su cursed Kang Rende and the young widow a few times, then hurried back after Grandpa Su.
"Manxiang, that girl, has been crooked for a long time. Didn't we agree not to care about her?" Grandma Su said, seeing that Grandpa Su was still unhappy.
"You say, what kind of luck do we have? Wang Gouzi before, and now Kang Rende!"
The luck of their two daughters was worse than each other!
He was starting to doubt if he had been blind to have found such sons-in-law.
Grandma Su didn't know how to answer. She heard voices outside and knew that Chi Ge and others had arrived, so she hurried to urge Grandpa Su to go out and talk to the guests.
Grandpa Su also knew that it was not good to have a cold face when guests were present.
So, he forced a smile and went out into the yard.
As expected, the people from the cowshed had all come.
Too many things had happened today, and everyone's mood was not very good.
Now that the old Su family was calling for dumpling making, they quickly came over to change their mood by making dumplings and chatting.
"Auntie Ga, I'll knead the dough, and you and Aunt Yu can help pick vegetables later!" Su Taohua said with a smile.
Grandma Su said happily, "No, no, the children have already prepared everything. I'll cut the vegetables, Teacher Yu, you can sit and rest first!"
Yu Ruiyuan felt a little embarrassed and said, "I should do something too. I feel ashamed just sitting here doing nothing!"
"You can help make dumplings later!" Grandma Su said.
A large basin of white flour was placed on the chopping board. Su Taohua took a small basin and mixed warm water to knead the dough.
"Taohua, where are Xiaogang and Xiaomei?" Grandma Su asked.
"Xiaomei went to find Xiaogang. The two children will be here soon."
Su Taohua also didn't intend to be polite with Grandma Su. Therefore, after the old Su family sent word, she asked Xiaomei to find Xiaogang to come and eat together.
"In a while, the children will be going to county town to study, so we'll have fewer opportunities to eat together!" Yu Ruiyuan said with a smile.
As she spoke, she glanced at Su Taohua.
If Shen Zizhen really returned to the capital, would Taohua go with her, or would she choose to stay here?
Judging by Shen Zizhen's intentions, she would definitely take Taohua back to the capital.
But Shen Zizhen's ex-wife and children were not easy to deal with, and Taohua, in her current state, would definitely not be able to cope.
Originally, seeing Taohua and Shen Zizhen doing well, she thought Taohua had good luck, remarrying a man who doted on her after her divorce. Who knew she would encounter this situation again.
These two people might not be able to go on together in the future!
Thinking of this possibility, Yu Ruiyuan couldn't help but sigh.
However, to avoid worrying Grandma Su, Yu Ruiyuan kept her expression neutral and continued to talk about irrelevant things.
"Xiaomei did very well on this exam."
"It's just that Xiaogang, this child, doesn't really like to study and only wants to be a soldier!" Su Taohua sighed.
Her two sons, she didn't know what was going on, both of them wanted to be soldiers.
She didn't know what was so good about being a soldier!
"Being a soldier is fine. Speaking of which, can Xiaoliang come home for a visit?"
"He wrote a letter a while ago saying he couldn't come this year and would have to wait until next year!" Su Taohua said.
Once they joined the army, they would be away for several years. Her heart as a mother!
"Xiaogang is still young, his ideas might change in a couple of years!" Grandma Su said.
Her own grandchildren used to dislike studying, but now they were studying diligently?
"Children are fickle. Besides, being a soldier once is also good. If they work hard, they can also achieve a future," Yu Ruiyuan comforted Su Taohua.
Indeed, these words made Su Xiaotian much happier.
Of course, Xiaoliang had said in his letter that he had performed well in the army and the leaders above liked him very much.
In the kitchen, it was so busy that they could barely move.
In the yard, Grandpa Su, Chi Ge, Du Tong, and Shen Zizhen were discussing matters related to fields and water conservancy facilities.
Chi Ge didn't understand, but the others did. He had listened for two years and could understand some of it.
The atmosphere inside and outside the house was very harmonious!
But no one expected that such a good atmosphere would abruptly end when Su Xiaomei returned.