After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Yun returned to the middle courtyard.
Along the way, everyone who saw the bag of oranges in her hand stared at it with bright eyes. Su Yun remained friendly, but she did not give any more oranges away.
In her previous life, when her family fell into trouble, only the Gao family in the front courtyard and the Wang family in the rear house had helped them. Everyone else had either stayed indifferent or talked behind their backs.
Especially Widow He—when she slandered the Su family in the courtyard, she was the most vicious of all.
As soon as Su Yun entered the middle courtyard, she heard Widow He shouting angrily:
"…You wasteful girl! You used so much oil just to stir-fry cabbage. This month's two liang of cooking oil is already gone. Should I sell you to make up for it? Every time I ask you to do something, you move like a lazy donkey at the mill! What's going on with that boyfriend of yours? It's been days—when is he coming to propose? Can't you be a little more capable and secure him sooner? How did I end up giving birth to such an idiot!"
Widow He stood at the door of the west wing room with her hands on her hips, scolding He Hua nonstop while He Hua cooked in the kitchen.
As Su Yun passed by, Widow He glanced at her. Then her eyes suddenly widened and she hurried over.
"Oh! Oranges!"
"My heavens! I've never seen oranges this big and fresh in my whole life!"
Hearing this, He Hua poked her head out of the kitchen.
The moment she saw Su Yun, jealousy, hatred, and resentment flashed across her eyes.
Seeing this, Su Yun deliberately lifted the bag of oranges for Widow He to see clearly and smiled.
"Aunt He, aren't these oranges beautiful?"
Widow He was practically drooling and nodded repeatedly. "Beautiful, beautiful!"
Then her cloudy eyes rolled slightly. In the tone of an elder, she said, "Su girl, look at me—I've worked hard all my life and never even tasted what an orange is like. You have so many oranges, surely you wouldn't mind giving one to your Aunt He as a sign of respect?"
Su Yun smiled but shook her head.
"Aunt He, although you've never tasted oranges, you've certainly tasted roast chicken and braised meat. In the future, He Hua and her boyfriend will naturally take good care of you. You won't lack people to show you filial respect. Who am I to compete with He Hua?"
"Well then, Aunt He, it's getting late. I should go home. Bye!"
After saying that, Su Yun walked away, deliberately skipping cheerfully. She quickly returned to the Su family home.
Behind her, the jealousy in He Hua's eyes grew even stronger—she nearly snapped the spatula in her hand in half.
Since Widow He didn't get any oranges, she began grumbling angrily and turned back to torment He Hua again.
Hearing the commotion outside, Su Yun felt extremely satisfied and happily hummed a tune.
Usually, He Hua was the one who picked fights with her. Today she had struck first—consider it returning the favor.
Widow He, who had been craving oranges, would probably be in a foul mood tonight. The one who would suffer the most would definitely be He Hua.
The sun gradually set, and evening arrived.
Most families in the courtyard had already turned on their lights.
At the Su family dinner table that night, the meal was once again simple: porridge, corn buns, and stir-fried cabbage.
The oranges Su Yun had brought home were locked away in a cabinet by Chen Xiue. Then she gave Su Yun another long lecture.
After Chen Xiue finished speaking, Su Yun comforted her.
"Mom, didn't I tell you before? I know someone who sells things without requiring ration coupons. Today he happened to have oranges, and they were so fresh. If I didn't buy them, it would've been such a loss."
Su Baoguo, the loyal supporter, nodded happily. "Second Sister is right! If you don't take advantage of a bargain, you're a fool—"
Smack!
Su Baoguo received a sharp knock on the head.
"Shut up! I'm talking to your sister. Why are you butting in? Eat your meal! And after dinner, finish your homework. If you dare fight with your classmates again, I'll strip off your pants and hang you up before beating you!"
Su Baoguo immediately shrank his neck and became as quiet as a quail.
After disciplining the younger one, Chen Xiue rolled her eyes at Su Yun.
"You only earn that little salary every month. If you don't listen to your elders, you'll regret it later. When your money runs out, we'll see how you cry!"
Su Yun grinned and said, "Mom, I know you mean well. But the person I know has some strange hobbies—he likes collecting things he finds pleasing. He said that as long as I keep an eye out for him at the recycling station, if there's anything he likes, he'll exchange goods with me."
"For example, this bag of oranges today—each one only cost two cents…"
"How much?" Chen Xiue asked in shock.
"Two cents," Su Yun repeated without the slightest guilt.
Oranges that normally cost twenty cents each had been reduced tenfold by her.
Hearing the price, Chen Xiue nearly dropped the corn bun in her hand.
"My goodness! How could oranges be that cheap? Xiaoyun, did you run into a scammer?"
At that moment, Su Wenshan, who was chewing on his corn bun, spoke calmly.
"Xiue, did you forget? A few days ago Xiaoyun also met someone who came to visit our courtyard. He traded away the bowl we used to feed the chickens and gave us twenty jin of rice and a chicken for it."
"I figure maybe he really just likes collecting those things."
Su Wenshan was an honest man who always tended to think the best of others.
Su Yun quickly nodded. "That's right. Some people are like that. Their hobbies are very unique. Something we think is useless might be exactly what they treasure."
Gradually, the father and daughter managed to convince Chen Xiue.
Chen Xiue frowned, still unable to understand how someone could like such useless things.
After thinking for a moment, she said to Su Yun, "How about this? Find a time to invite that person to our house for a meal. Then he can see if there's anything in our home he likes. Whatever price he offers, we'll sell it to him."
Su Yun immediately agreed. "Sounds good to me!"
Su Baoguo also seized the opportunity to raise his head and say, "Sounds good to me too!"
Then he quickly lowered his head and continued eating, afraid Chen Xiue might hit him again.
Su Wenshan had no objections either.
The family atmosphere was very harmonious.
After dinner, before Chen Xiue had even finished clearing the table, several children from the courtyard came over in a group. They claimed they were looking for Su Baoguo to play, but all of them were staring expectantly at Chen Xiue.
Chen Xiue naturally understood their intentions. She immediately asked Su Yun to open the cabinet and take out two oranges, cut them into small pieces, and distribute them among the children.
Su Yun was quite biased—she gave the larger pieces to the three children from the Wang family in the rear house.
After the children left, Su Yun sat on the heated brick bed and looked at Su Wenshan, who was rolling a cigarette. Her eyes gleamed.
"Dad, has Uncle Xia been very busy lately?"
Su Wenshan asked curiously, "Why are you suddenly asking about your Uncle Xia? Is it because Yingzi hasn't come to see you? I heard from your Uncle Xia that Yingzi recently became a sales clerk at a state-run department store, so she's been very busy."
Su Yun replied casually, "When I got off work today, I happened to see Uncle Xia riding his bicycle in a hurry. He looked very anxious. I wondered what he might be busy with."
"Oh, I did hear him mention something," Su Wenshan said. "Recently a factory from another region came here with a batch of grain and cooking oil they want to sell in this area. Since your Uncle Xia is the head of the purchasing department, he has to hurry to place an order after hearing the news. That factory will be leaving in a couple of days, and many people are trying to buy from them. Your Uncle Xia is afraid that if he goes too late, he'll miss the opportunity."