Chapter 127: The Clear-Headed One
Zhao Cui’er and Su Yufen were completely stunned!
A branch factory? As workshop directors?
They wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a thing!
When they saw Su He nod in confirmation, the two were both dazed and overjoyed.
Su He smiled. “This is just a plan for now, so let’s keep it within the family. Don’t spread it around. Also, you’ll need to improve your literacy. Otherwise, it’ll be hard for me to justify your positions later.”
Zhao Cui’er and Su Yufen nodded repeatedly.
Maybe because they now had hope and confidence, both of them stood a little straighter than before.
Old Man Su coughed. “Su He, no one’s buying wild vegetables anymore. I feel so useless these days.”
He’d been quite the figure recently, strutting all over the mountains giving directions. But after the wild vegetables were all collected, he had nothing left to do, and the sudden drop in importance was hitting him hard.
“I’ll arrange for another dried veggie order with the commune in the fall. Grandpa, you’ll be the supervisor again then.”
Old Man Su nodded in satisfaction, already hoping for summer to pass quickly.
Su Yongguo hesitated before finally speaking. “Su He, about that tractor thing you mentioned before… I wasn’t trying to nag, just reminding you.”
Su He chuckled. “Dad, I didn’t forget. But the tractor only gets used during spring planting. Once the commune has more funds, I’ll ask Director Luo to buy one, and then you can drive it!”
Su Yongguo thought to himself: Who knows how many years that will take?
Still, he responded cheerfully. As long as his daughter remembered, that was enough. No need to pressure her.
Then Su Xiaoman tugged on Su He’s arm. “Sis, sis—what about me?”
Su He widened her eyes. “You? You need to study hard! Look at Jinbao—he got two perfect scores. What about you?”
Su Xiaoman immediately wilted, not saying another word.
Seeing her youngest daughter so dejected, Zhao Cui’er quickly chimed in, “Erya’s improved a lot recently! She comes home and finishes her homework on time every day. Yesterday, the teacher gave a dictation test—she got everything right!”
Su He softened her tone. “Keep it up. If you don’t study properly and I transfer you to a school in the county, how will you keep up?”
Su Xiaoman instantly sprang up like a rocket!
“Sis! My good sis! What did you say? You’re gonna transfer me to the county?!”
“That depends on your performance.”
Su He was seriously considering transferring Su Xiaoman to a school in the county. The education quality in Huangxi Village was simply too poor.
For Xiaoman’s future, moving to the county was the better choice.
When Su He nodded, Su Xiaoman practically went crazy—she dashed around the yard in circles before running back inside.
Su He: “…”
After wrapping things up with a few closing remarks, their second family meeting came to an end.
Later, Su Xiaoman wrote in her homework notebook:
June 25, 1975 – The Second Su Family Meeting
Attendees: Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Aunt, Sister, Me. (Tiedan was sleeping inside.)
- Shen the white-eyed wolf is a bad guy. A very bad guy.
- Third Uncle and Third Aunt are also bad people.
- Little Aunt must not find a man.
- Mom and Dad must not go soft.
- Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t eat what strangers give you.
- Adults must work hard. I must study hard. No one is allowed to fall behind.
After finishing, Su Xiaoman ran over to show off to Su He.
“Sis, I wrote all the characters I didn’t know last time! Look!”
Su He nodded and took a look. Everything else was okay… except the line “Little Aunt must not find a man.”
She drew a line through it and corrected it to: “Little Aunt must choose a man carefully.”
Still, credit where credit’s due—Su Xiaoman had great summary skills.
“When I get back from S City, I’ll bring you a gift.”
Su Xiaoman pouted. “A gift is a gift. A reward is a reward. Sis, you can’t trick kids like that.”
Su He: “…”
In the end, Su He gave her one yuan.
Xiaoman immediately dashed back outside, running laps around the yard like a happy husky let loose.
That evening, the villagers gathered as usual under the big willow tree at the village entrance to chat and cool off. Su He also wandered over.
Since the old Su matriarch had gone to the county, their neighbor Old Madam Liu had reclaimed her title as the queen bee among village grandmas. She was gossiping away, full of spirit.
But as soon as Su He arrived, all the aunts and great-aunts swarmed over.
“Su He! We just heard from Xu Xiaoman that you’re back—look at you! Getting prettier by the day!”
“I said from the start that Su He was bound for greatness. Never seen such a clever girl!”
“No wonder my third uncle’s second uncle’s little brother-in-law’s mother-in-law said the Su family’s old house sits on blessed land! See? It’s all coming true!”
…
Old Madam Liu was so angry her teeth itched. Pfft! A bunch of bootlickers!
Still, she forced a smile and shuffled over. “Su He, is your grandma settling in well in the county? I miss her already! Be sure to send my regards when you go back!”
Su He: “…”
Sure, the people in Huangxi Village could be a little shallow, but they were kind of cute in their own way.
Same went for her own family. They were all over the place, but to her, they were loveable—as long as they listened.
After chatting for a bit and boosting her popularity score again, Su He strolled home slowly.
*
The next morning, she rode her bicycle to the commune and took a small bus back to the county.
As soon as she walked through the door, the old matriarch asked how things were at home.
Su He smiled. “Don’t worry, Grandma. Everything’s fine. Oh—last night I ran into Grandma Liu. She asked me to send her regards and said she misses you.”
Old Madam Su curled her lip. “Her? Miss me? What a load of crap! With me gone, no one steals her spotlight—she probably wishes I’d never come back!”
Su He: … My grandma is the queen of clear-headedness.
