Chapter 16: Brother, Why Do You Need to Brace Yourself?
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“Third sister, it’s me. Dad’s turning sixty this year. I checked, and the fifth day of the Lunar New Year is a good day. I’m thinking of hosting a banquet for Dad with two tables. Do you know a good chef? Could you recommend one?”
Su Xiaoyan was surprised. “You’re really going to hold a banquet?”
Her expression showed some hesitation. “It’s going to cost quite a bit.”
As a daughter, she had already coordinated with her other sisters long ago. But since everyone’s life was hard and no one could spare much money, Su Xiaoyan planned to just chip in for a birthday peach cake, contributing the largest share. She hadn’t expected her younger brother to want to go all out.
Given the situation in Liangshan, a red envelope for the chef alone would be fifty-two yuan. Add in the ingredients and other costs, and two tables would easily cost four or five hundred yuan.
Earlier, after she visited their parents’ home, she had secretly saved some money, but almost all of it went to their parents. She didn’t have any spare cash.
Su Chen smiled, “Third sister, don’t worry, I’ll prepare the money.”
“There are still about twenty days until the New Year. I’ll try my best to save up some; it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Then it’s settled.”
“I’m heading to the city now.”
Su Xiaoyan opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. Watching Su Chen walk away in his sweater, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief.
Someone called out to her from behind. Turning around, it was her husband Jiang Wanshui carrying half a pig.
Su Xiaoyan hurried over to help unload.
Jiang Wanshui asked, “Who were you talking to just now?”
“My little brother.”
“Ah Chen?” Jiang Wanshui’s eyes reddened immediately, and he snapped, “Is he here asking you for money again? Don’t give him any!”
“No, no. Ah Chen asked me to help find a chef. He said he wants to hold Dad’s sixtieth birthday banquet on the fifth day with two tables, and that he’ll pay for it.”
Jiang Wanshui was instantly annoyed. “He pays? What money does he have? Always gambling, always begging your parents for money. He’s a good-for-nothing!”
“Jiang Wanshui!”
Though Jiang Wanshui was a burly pig butcher with a rugged, pockmarked face that intimidated others, he was somewhat afraid of his wife.
Su Xiaoyan’s sharp reprimand immediately softened him, but he couldn’t help muttering disdainfully about his brother-in-law, “He’s always been a loser, and he even got his wife killed. Who in Liangshan Town doesn’t know that?”
Su Xiaoyan ignored him and tidied the cutting board, placing the pork on it. Then she said, “Old Zhao’s skills are good. Later, you can give Old Zhao a shout.”
Jiang Wanshui lazily replied, “Got it~”
Arriving at Chunming Street, as usual, Su Chen had a hot bowl of food near Old Zhang’s stove at the pancake stall, then went over to the front of Abiao’s hardware store.
Today, Abiao opened early. Seeing him arrive, he busily took out all the items Lin Jingyu had left in the store.
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He asked again, “Have you eaten breakfast?”
Su Chen nodded, about to say something, when Abiao called across, “Aunt Chun, Aunt Chun!”
“The fortune-telling brother is here!”
Voices immediately responded from the yarn store: “Hey hey hey, he’s here!”
Meeting Su Chen’s curious gaze, Abiao grinned, “Aunt Chun wants to have a reading for her sister. She told me last night she has to be the first today.”
Su Chen understood.
Aunt Chun had burst out with her birth chart in hand, her hair all messy and her shoes on the wrong feet.
After awkwardly fixing herself, Aunt Chun turned back and ran into the store, pulling a woman out. She smiled at Su Chen and said, “Young man, I run a shop here and am close with A Yu. Could you give us a discount?”
Seeing Su Chen shake his head, she sighed, “I knew it.”
She then handed over her sister’s birth chart and slipped him twenty yuan. “My sister works at the meat processing plant. You know how hard things have been these years. Since last year, the plant has been delaying wages. I’ve tried persuading her to come sell at the market after work to earn some pocket money, but she wouldn’t listen. This year’s even worse—six months without a single cent. I tried persuading her again, but she’s so stubborn...”
“Sis~” the woman pleaded.
Aunt Chun rolled her eyes. “Calling me ‘sis’ won’t help. We agreed last night: if the reading shows she’s meant to sell at the market, she’ll take a leave without pay after the New Year to start.”
The woman glanced around awkwardly, noticing hardly anyone was around so early, then forced a couple of smiles at Abiao and Su Chen.
Su Chen studied her carefully.
The woman had a fashionable perm, with a faint scent of hair gel—the same as Aunt Chun’s.
Her face was long and gaunt, skin taut over bones, eyes bloodshot and dark beneath, her complexion sickly yellow and frightening.
Su Chen had already formed an impression. He recalculated her birth chart and sighed.
Seeing him look up, Aunt Chun hurriedly asked, “Well? What do you think? Surely my sister is meant to sell at the market? It can’t be otherwise—Old Liao manages it, so why not my sister?”
The woman tugged at Aunt Chun’s sleeve nervously. “Sis~”
Su Chen looked at the woman: “Aunt Chun, you were well-loved by your siblings and had a smooth childhood. Your parents were fair.”
Aunt Chun immediately glanced at Abiao, who waved his hands frantically. “Aunt Chun, I didn’t say a word about your family’s situation!”
Aunt Chun snorted lightly, then turned to Su Chen. “Oh, young man, I believe in your skills now. Stop talking and just tell me if my sister’s suited for market vending.”
Su Chen sighed. “Aunt Chun, it’s not that I don’t want to say, but you have to believe it too. After all, the one who decides is her. If she hesitates, the effort will be wasted.”
Aunt Chun was stunned, then slapped her thigh. “You’re sharp, young man. Right, right, say it all so my stubborn sister will be convinced.”
Su Chen nodded and continued. “Aunt Chun, I won’t go into your life before marriage. After you married at nineteen, having fallen in love freely with your husband at the factory, your first two years were good. Unfortunately, due to a poor relationship with your mother-in-law and having a daughter first, by your third year of marriage, serious problems arose. You almost divorced, but you were pregnant then, so it didn’t happen.”
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No sooner had he finished than Aunt Chun raised her voice. “What? Only three years of marriage and you almost...”
She looked at the woman in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
The woman awkwardly rubbed her fingers. “Sis, that’s all in the past. Life’s been like this anyway.”
“You!” Aunt Chun shook her head in frustration.
Then she paused, “Wait!”
Su Chen nodded. “Yes, that child was lost due to domestic violence afterward.”
“What?!” Aunt Chun’s eyes flared with anger. “That scoundrel Zhao Jingpeng actually hit you? Caused you to miscarry?”
The woman avoided her gaze but soon pleaded at Su Chen, “Please don’t say more. I believe you—doesn’t that count?”
“No.”
The woman was stunned. “What?”
“Because of the miscarriage, your health has deteriorated. You have severe back pain, constipation, and insomnia.”
The woman’s eyes darted away.
“No, no,” she stammered.
Su Chen turned to Aunt Chun. “Aunt Chun, you should take her to the hospital soon. She has serious gastrointestinal problems that could be life-threatening if untreated.”
“Really?” Aunt Chun was alarmed and hurriedly pulled the woman to leave.
“Wait.” Su Chen called after them.
“Young man, we’ll talk later. My sister’s health is the priority.”
Su Chen nodded, “I know. Just a reminder—when you go to the hospital, visit the gynecology department as well and prepare yourselves mentally.”
“...Huh?”
Aunt Chun blinked in confusion, unable to understand, but she gave up thinking and quickly dragged the woman into the yarn shop, soon leaving briskly again.
Abiao quietly asked Su Chen, “Brother, why did you say to prepare mentally?”