Su Li didn't want to delve into the intricacies behind this, but she wouldn't let others manipulate her like that.

"Grandma, you're mistaken. Washing clothes, cooking, feeding livestock—aren't these all important matters concerning the livelihood of the whole family?"

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Su's face immediately darkened: "You all have too many fuss! When I first married into this family, I was busy with the fields and the house, so I didn't have any excuses! I think you just want to shirk your responsibilities!"

“If we stay in the fields to work now, not to mention that no one will take care of these things, just considering the time it will take, by the time we finish the work in the fields it will be late, and how much lamp oil will we need to cook in the dark?”

Su Li paused, then said meaningfully:

"Grandpa, my eldest uncle, and my second eldest uncle will all be exhausted after a long day. Can you bear to let them wait on an empty stomach?"

The figure behind the tree froze, remained silent for a moment, then Grandpa Su cleared his throat and tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, the child is right. We can't leave everything at home unattended. Why do you insist that they go to the fields too?"

Grandma Su's eyes widened in anger, but since Grandpa Su had already said so, she could only wave her hand and say impatiently, "Why aren't you getting back here? Standing here like a tree stump is getting in the way. Do you want to drive this old woman crazy?"

"Mother, I..."

Standing to the side, Mrs. Hu hesitated, her eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and forbearance. She didn't understand what she had done wrong, why she always made her mother-in-law angry.

Everyone seemed quite happy during dinner.

"Alright, Mom, didn't you hear what Grandma said? There's still a lot of work to do at home."

Su Li grasped her mother's hand and pulled her back, saying, "Mom, let's not delay Grandma's work. Let's go back quickly, or Grandma will get angry again, and if she gets sick, it will delay the autumn harvest. Let's go!"

"You! You brat! You dare to spout nonsense again!" Old Mrs. Su spat viciously, her chest heaving violently, her eyes almost spitting fire.

They looked as if they wanted to devour Su Li and Madam Hu alive.

He was indeed quite angry.

“Li’er, how could you speak to your grandmother like that…” Madam Hu stammered, her voice trembling, “What if she gets sick from anger?”

Su Li, however, rarely smiled. She shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Oh dear, we'd better hurry up so Grandma can't hear us!"

With Old Madam Su's energy and spirit, it would be good enough if she didn't drive others to their deaths. Su Li wasn't worried that the old lady would be angered by a few words.

Su Li would naturally not slack off on her duties, but if someone took advantage of her, she would not easily back down.

The autumn harvest is the most important thing for farming families all year round, and even if Old Mrs. Su wanted to cause trouble, she would keep to a certain extent.

Whether it was because Grandpa Su had given prior instructions or because they were truly exhausted after a day's work, the whole family went to bed early after dinner that evening, and everything seemed to have returned to its usual calm.

For several days in a row, the sky was clear and cloudless, and the air in the fields seemed to be on fire, so hot and humid that it was hard to breathe.

The whole family gathered in the peanut field, their busy figures moving about in the heat.

Grandpa Su skillfully pulled up clumps of peanuts, vigorously shaking off the soil from the roots, and the plump peanuts hung down like bells.

Grandma Su followed closely behind him with a basket slung over her shoulder, quickly picking up the peanuts that had fallen from the ground and putting them into the basket, making sure not a single one was missed.

Grandpa Su grew up in these mountains and fields, and started working in the fields with his parents when he was four or five years old.

Later, when he grew a little older, the village suffered from drought for several years on and off, and the crops failed. The wide river also dried up and became a narrow stream.

With corpses of the starving everywhere, his family tearfully sent him to a nearby landlord's house to save his life, where he signed a contract to sell himself into servitude.

The master of the house was a kind and generous man, and his wife was also a compassionate person. Old Master Su was clever and capable from a young age, and he was favored by the master of the house. He served as the young master's study companion for several years, and later worked behind the housekeeper. He was especially good at calculating.

Decades passed like this, spring after spring and autumn after autumn. The master and mistress passed away. The young master, being kind-hearted, saw that the old master Su was getting on in years, so he gave him a sum of money and told him to go back to his hometown to settle down and buy property.

The indenture from back then was naturally returned to Old Master Su.

It was precisely because of the broadened horizons he gained during those years in the mansion that he wholeheartedly hoped that his descendants would study hard and achieve fame and success in the future, thus completely changing the social standing of the Su family.

Unfortunately, the three sons only received basic education and did not continue their studies. Among the grandchildren, only Xiangming has some talent.

He originally intended to pool the family's resources to support Xiangming's education. In the future, when Xiangming becomes successful, would he possibly mistreat his uncles and brothers?

But now, who can understand his good intentions...?

Old Master Su had something on his mind, so he took the lead and worked silently without saying a word, which made things difficult for the two brothers, Su Qingyi and Su Qingtian.

I didn't even have time to drink water all morning.

“When Dad starts working, he never stops. If we follow him around like this every day, we’ll eventually collapse from exhaustion.”

Su Qingtian straightened up and rubbed his lower back. Sweat streamed into his eyes, making him wince in pain.

"We're human, not made of iron. Dad works too hard and never thinks about us. Honestly!"

Su Qingyi wasn't much better off. He was so exhausted these past few days that his back was almost broken. Even when he lay in bed at night, his calves were still trembling, and he dreamed of digging in the ground.

But what could he do?

"Second son, Dad works so hard, isn't it all for this family and for us? As sons, we should naturally be filial and share his burdens. What's a little hardship?"

Su Qingyi frowned slightly and pursed his lips: "Stop complaining and get to work. Look, Dad is doing almost as much work as both of us."

What a show-off!

Su Qingtian rolled his eyes, turned around and walked away without saying a word.

Beside her, Su Li's clothes were already soaked with sweat and clung tightly to her back.

She frowned and looked around, noticing that several figures were missing from the field today.

Apart from her aunt who stayed home to cook and Su Yao, Su Zhen didn't come either.

She only worked half a day yesterday before rushing home, and she hasn't even come today. Clearly, there must be something fishy going on behind the scenes...

In a secluded alley in Wuyang Town.

The hunched old woman stood in front of the dilapidated house with her thin grandson, craning her neck to look outside from time to time.

A fragrant breeze swept by, and a familiar voice rang in my ears: "Grandma Cai, I've finally found you! How did you end up living in such a awful place?"

"Oh, Miss Su, we've been waiting for you!"

When the old woman saw the newcomer, her cloudy eyes lit up instantly, and the wrinkles on her face bloomed like chrysanthemums.

"Your arrival is like a celestial being descending to earth, bringing with you all good fortune!"

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like