The Su Aidang party was going to join the militia, and Su Aiguo also wanted to go.
“Mom, how about I go too?”
Gao Xiulan smacked him on the back of the head. “You can’t even fart when you talk, and you want to join the militia? Who’s going to arrest you, or who are you going to arrest?”
“I’ll go, I can do it,” Su Aihua said quickly. “I can talk well.”
Gao Xiulan gave him a side glance. “You fool! Can’t do anything but run your mouth!”
Su Aiguo and Su Aihua felt like they had been hit with a ten-thousand-point critical strike.
Su Aidang finally felt better. His mother and eldest sister agreed to let him go. That meant they believed in his ability.
His wife, Tian Xiaomei, also looked proud. Her man was capable—she hadn’t picked the wrong person back then.
“Aidang, I support you!”
Everyone in the Su family got chills. Damn, goosebumps all over their arms.
Comrade Su Aidang listened with joy.
Gao Xiulan frowned in disgust, rubbing her arms. She was about to talk to her third daughter-in-law again.
Seeing her mother about to speak, Su Qinghe quickly interrupted, “By the way, I have good news to share with everyone!”
When she heard her daughter say there was good news, Gao Xiulan forgot everything else and immediately asked, “What is it? What's the good thing? Is my son-in-law coming back?”
“...” Su Qinghe thought that definitely wasn’t good news. He still had a few years before retiring from the army...
“No, I’m now a formal worker at a state-owned hotel. I’m the head chef!”
Everyone in the Su family was stunned. “...”
Gao Xiulan was the first to react. “Really, Qingmiao’er? You’re a master now? A real chef who can cook meat?”
Su Qinghe nodded. “Yes. I don’t need to do much at the restaurant now. I eat and drink every day. And I’m a formal worker. I can transfer my household registration to the state-owned restaurant. I’ll have food rations from now on. If our food isn’t enough, I can help supplement the family’s supply. We won’t go hungry this year.”
Gao Xiulan was already happy about her daughter becoming a chef. When she heard about becoming a city resident and eating food rations, her heart burst like fireworks, blooming with joy.
Her daughter was going to be a city person. She’d be eating proper rations. Even if her son-in-law treated her badly in the future, their daughter would still have confidence. She wouldn’t need to rely on her maternal family anymore. She could stand on her own.
It was so good, so very good...
Gao Xiulan burst into tears. “My daughter is a city person—she eats food rations—”
Su Qinghe: “...” After the third brother cried, now Mom is crying too...
She looked at her three brothers and sisters-in-law. They were all staring at her with admiration. What used to be affectionate looks had now turned into respect and awe.
Before they knew it, the little sister they used to protect had grown up—grown into someone they could rely on.
They even started wiping their red eyes.
The kids didn’t understand. Dabao asked, “What’s food rations?”
Erya said, “It’s food.”
Sanya said, “City people eat that.”
Daya looked at her younger siblings and thought they were right. “City people get rations every month. Even if they don’t work, they can still eat.”
The children looked at Su Qinghe with wide eyes. They suddenly remembered what their aunt had told them before—that people should be kind. Because of kindness, she could eat even without working... Like before, Grandpa gave her food. Now Auntie had become a city resident and would get food even if she didn’t work...
That afternoon, the brothers and sisters went to work. Gao Xiulan took Su Qinghe to open the household registration transfer papers.
Along the way, if they met anyone, Gao Xiulan would ask deliberately, “Is Guo Changsheng home?”
Someone replied, “He’s not in right now. Try again later.”
“That’s fine,” Gao Xiulan said loudly. “Our Qingmiao’er is now a formal worker. She’s becoming a city resident. It’s a big deal—she’ll have rations and food supply!”
She said it like she was singing, her voice rising and falling, making people shiver just hearing it.
The villagers were stunned. Then came the envious looks… Before long, Gao Xiulan was surrounded by people.
Su Qinghe watched from outside the crowd as her mother was completely wrapped up and proudly chatting away. She quietly walked to Guo Changsheng’s house.
Let her mother boast. It was just a bit of excitement. She couldn’t let her get carried away and end up dancing in the square.
When she got to Guo Changsheng’s house, he had just returned, and his wife, Su Cuihua, was serving food. Seeing Su Qinghe, he smiled and said, “Qinghe, it’s done. I went to the county with Secretary Hao today. I patted my chest and said we had to try it, and the county agreed. The fertilizer will be delivered in a few days, and the county’s technicians will come guide us on how to use it.”
“No trouble?” Su Qinghe asked.
“No trouble at all. Deputy County Magistrate Gu pushed for it. Secretary Sun and Magistrate Lin didn’t agree, but they can’t say much now. They said it’s not spring planting yet. I said it should’ve been done earlier. If Deputy County Magistrate Gu had been in charge earlier, our county wouldn’t have suffered so much last year. It was all Secretary Sun and the others messing around.”
Su Qinghe agreed in her heart, though she didn’t say it out loud.
Then she talked to Guo Changsheng about transferring her household registration.
Guo Changsheng almost spat out his food. “Really transferring it?”
Su Qinghe nodded and showed the certificate from the County Personnel Department.
After reading the document, Guo Changsheng believed it. Lao Su’s little girl really had made something of herself.
This lazy person really had lazy luck... No, it was a good person being rewarded. Lao Su’s girl wasn’t lazy. If she really was, she wouldn’t have become a chef at a restaurant. People in those places aren’t blind.
By the time Su Qinghe returned home, the entire village already knew something big had happened in the Su family. Not only had someone become a city resident, but a chef at a state-owned restaurant—the kind of chef who could eat meat every day.
The next day, Su Qinghe set off with bacon on her back.
Before she reached town, she saw someone waiting at the crossroads. As she got closer, she realized it was her uncle, Gao Fusheng.
“Qingmiao’er, you’re here! I didn’t know you were back until I got off work last night. I’ve been waiting since morning!”
Gao Fusheng greeted her happily.
Seeing him, Su Qinghe got off the bike, about to say something. But Gao Fusheng quickly hung a package on her bike handle and ran off, turning back to wave at her. “Don’t be polite with your uncle. Just let me know if you need anything!”
He ran off quickly.
Su Qinghe looked at the package silently. Inside was cloth, brown sugar, and some dried sweet potatoes.
“...” Too kind. It was a burden, really.
She smiled helplessly, put the things away, and decided to bring something back for her uncle next time. Can’t let this kind of kindness go unanswered.
When she arrived in the county, Su Qinghe first went to the Gu house and dropped everything off.
Mother Gu saw her come in with so much stuff early in the morning and said, “No need to bring anything home. Keep it for your own family. Otherwise, your brother and sister-in-law might complain.”
“It’s all from my mom and uncle. No one will say anything.”
“Oh, they’re so polite. I’ll put it in your room, and you can use it slowly,” Mother Gu said quickly. She wasn’t giving it to anyone else anyway.
In her heart, she liked this third daughter-in-law more and more. Qingmiao’er was such a good child. Her family truly cared for her. If it were another in-law’s family, they’d probably complain about things being brought to the husband’s side.
Seeing Su Qinghe go out to work, Mother Gu suddenly felt like she hadn’t done enough for her. She wanted to find her a good job, but in the end, Qingmiao’er became a regular worker on her own.
At lunch that day, the family sat together, and Mother Gu brought it up again.
“If only Chang’an were home, they wouldn’t have to be apart for so long. We’ve let Qingmiao’er down.” She was still upset—she never agreed to let Chang’an go!
Deputy County Magistrate Gu also felt guilty. He knew this fertilizer project must have been arranged by the third daughter-in-law. She was always thinking of his family...
Gu Changping noticed the heavy mood and wanted to say something to lift the atmosphere. It should relate to the third sister-in-law, so he said, “I heard the third sister-in-law is planning to attend night school to study for technical secondary school.”
Everyone looked at him.
Deputy County Magistrate Gu asked, “How do you know?”
Gu Changping quickly replied, “My friend from the state-owned hotel heard it from her coworkers. They said she reads books in the kitchen every day to prepare for the entrance exam.”
“Of course!” Mother Gu said immediately. “Our Qingmiao’er loves learning. Otherwise, how could she have thought of helping us from a book? Old Gu, Qingmiao’er wants to improve herself, and we weren’t thoughtful enough to support her.”
Second Sister-in-law Gu asked curiously, “But didn’t she only finish elementary school? She hasn’t studied in years. Why does she want to study now?” She felt like the third sister-in-law had new skills.
Before she finished, Mother Gu glared at her. “So what if she only finished elementary school? I didn’t even finish elementary school! Qingmiao’er just didn’t have the chance. If she did, she’d be in university now! Anyway, I don’t care. Old Gu, you need to help arrange for her to go to school. She doesn’t need to do her current job—it’s tiring working all day and studying at night.”
Deputy County Magistrate Gu said, “You don’t understand Qinghe. This child is hardworking. She wouldn’t quit just to study. She just became a formal worker and wouldn’t feel right quitting now. She definitely won’t agree. I think she plans to study while working. That’s very good—hardworking and motivated, with high ideals. She’ll go far. I’ll talk to the county night school and get her a spot.”
Then he said to his eldest son, “You pick her up at night. Don’t let her come back alone.”
Mother Gu nodded, “Yes, let Changzheng pick her up. As a police officer, he should protect the people.”
Comrade Gu Changzheng immediately promised, “I’ll complete the task!”
…
Su Qinghe spent a day at the state-owned hotel, handling her transfer paperwork and napping with a book during the break.
After resting all day, she rode home relaxed and even felt like singing on the way.
The seed issue was solved, her cooking skills improved, and her household registration was transferred. Finally, she could enjoy a few peaceful days.
She decided to write more letters to Chang’an in the future. Just warm letters from home, so Comrade Chang’an could feel the love of his family.
When she opened the door and walked into the house, she saw the whole family sitting at the table, staring at her.
Even Gu Lei and Gu Lin looked at her excitedly.
Su Qinghe: “...” Why does this feel like a bad sign?