As He Qiang and his mother were driven out, they happened to see Su Xiu standing in the courtyard.
With an arrogant tone, He Qiang said to her, "Xiuer, you must have heard what my mother said just now. I suggest you think it over carefully. Once you've made up your mind, come find me…"
"Get lost!"
Zhao Manfen rushed out with a shovel, forcefully driving the mother and son away.
Su Yonghe quickly shut the courtyard gate, preventing the neighbors from gathering to watch the commotion.
After Su Xiu entered the house, she noticed the table was set with a dish of salted vegetables stir-fried with meat, a plate of shredded cabbage, a bowl of cucumber soup, and several mixed-flour steamed buns.
This was practically their New Year's meal!
Throwing aside the shovel, Zhao Manfen called Su Xiu to sit down. "Xiuer, don't listen to that pair of nonsense talkers. You're now a proud member of the Public Security Bureau. Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare ruin your reputation. They just came here to take advantage of us. Do they really think I, Zhao Manfen, am easy to bully?"
In truth, when Su Xiu had just heard that her marriage with He Qiang might fall through, she had felt a strange sense of anticipation.
In the past, she had accepted her fate. But after today, she suddenly didn't want to anymore—she felt she could fight for her own future.
With that thought, she said to Zhao Manfen, "Mom, about my situation with He Qiang… I want to delay it for now."
Zhao Manfen didn't notice anything unusual and readily agreed. "It should be delayed! That He family has gone too far—coming here to threaten me. They don't realize I've seen tricks like theirs long ago!"
As she spoke, she handed Su Xiu a bun. "Xiuer, now that you work at the Public Security Bureau, that He Qiang is completely unworthy of you. I think you should find someone at the bureau instead. As long as he has a stable position, we don't even need him to marry into our family. You can just have a few children later and let one of them carry the Su surname."
Turning to her husband, she asked, "Xiuer's father, don't you agree?"
Su Yonghe thought for a moment, then nodded. "I agree. I never really liked that He Qiang in the first place. He was the one who insisted on marrying into our family, so I reluctantly accepted him. But after seeing his mother's attitude, I feel Xiuer has been treated unfairly. Let's just forget about it."
Their words made Su Xiu feel even more at ease.
Her eyes grew moist as she took a bite of the bun. "Dad, Mom, I'm just a clerk at the Public Security Bureau, not a police officer. Don't get it wrong in the future."
Zhao Manfen waved it off. "You work at the bureau, so you're part of the Public Security. A clerk is still part of it!"
Su Yonghe agreed, "Your mother is right."
Unable to change their minds, Su Xiu simply stayed silent.
After dinner, while Su Yonghe cleared the table, Zhao Manfen pulled out a stack of crumpled ration coupons from her patched clothing and handed them to Su Xiu.
"Xiuer, now that you're working, you'll need these grain coupons. I exchanged them with others today. Keep them with you and don't go hungry."
"And this morning you left in a hurry—you didn't even take the lunch I prepared. Did you go without eating at noon?"
At the mention of lunch, Su Xiu couldn't help but think of Zhou Ziyang, and a quiet sense of warmth rose in her heart.
She lied, "My colleagues are very kind. Someone lent me a lunchbox and even gave me a grain coupon. The canteen had everything—I ate very well."
Zhao Manfen snorted. "At least they know how to take care of a colleague!"
That was just how Zhao Manfen was—quick to criticize others, yet full of maternal affection toward Su Xiu.
After giving her the coupons, Zhao Manfen couldn't help but add, "At least your uncle's family has some conscience this time, finding you such a good job. Back then, they took all the benefits. This job can be considered compensation to our family…"
"Mom, why are you saying that again!"
Su Xiu tucked the coupons away and interrupted her unhappily. "Didn't I tell you not to bring up those old matters anymore?"
"And this time, it was Su Yun who helped me get the job. You once tried to match her with a fool, and yet she didn't hold it against you—instead, she helped me so much. And now you're still speaking badly about her family behind their backs. Don't you think that's too much?"
Seeing Su Xiu upset, Zhao Manfen didn't dare continue. She reluctantly promised, "Alright, alright, it's my fault. I was wrong. I won't say it again, okay?"
Su Xiu looked at her seriously. "Not only must you stop speaking badly about them, but we should also visit Uncle and Aunt to thank them. That's basic courtesy."
"What? You want me to thank Chen Xiue? Dream on! I'll never reconcile with her in this lifetime! You don't know how excessive she was back then—she had milk but refused to feed you. She deliberately wanted to starve you…"
"Mom!"
Su Xiu's gaze turned stern.
Zhao Manfen's momentum weakened. "Fine, fine, I won't say it anymore. But if you expect me to thank Chen Xiue, that's absolutely impossible!"
---
The next evening, Su Xiu brought Zhao Manfen and Su Yonghe along, carrying a box of pastries from the supply and marketing cooperative and half a pound of brown sugar, and visited Su Yun's home.
Zhao Manfen was awkward and stiff. After entering, she deliberately turned her head aside, refusing to look at Chen Xiue.
Chen Xiue pretended not to notice and warmly said to Su Xiu, "Xiuer, you've just started work—you must be busy. It's already so late; why make a special trip? You can visit another time when the bureau has a day off."
Su Yonghe, slightly hunched, saw Su Wenshan smoking on the heated bed and muttered, "Big brother."
Su Wenshan gave a neutral "Mm" and said nothing more.
At that moment, Su Yun was studying in her room with Xia Ying. Hearing the noise, she asked Xia Ying to stay inside while she went out to greet them.
Entering the main room, Su Yun immediately noticed Su Xiu in her olive-green uniform and said with admiration, "Sister Xiu, you look so good in that uniform—it makes you seem years younger!"
Zhao Manfen couldn't help but retort, "My Xiuer is already young—she's only twenty-one this year!"
Chen Xiue replied calmly, "Twenty-three. Xiuer is the same age as my Xiao Ling. My Xiao Ling is only a few months older—she's already twenty-three this year."
Zhao Manfen was stifled and protested unwillingly, "That's counted by nominal age! My Xiuer is only twenty-one!"
Seeing that the two women were about to argue again, both Su Xiu and Su Yun hurried to mediate.
Su Xiu quickly said, "I'm actually twenty-two this year—twenty-three by nominal age."
Su Yun added, "Sister Xiu looks so young—she could pass for eighteen. Her actual age doesn't matter!"
Zhao Manfen and Chen Xiue both snorted at the same time, clearly displeased with each other.