Chapter 129: The Current State of the Su Family
Ma Dapao was caught off guard and fell headfirst, landing right in front of Su Tao.
When he got up in a daze, he realized that his surroundings had completely changed—he was now in Taoyang.
He was too shocked to speak.
Su Tao patted the teleportation gate to get his attention and said,
“Dapao, this door connects Taoyang and Panliu Mountain. Whenever you’re free, you can come to Taoyang to work or just visit. In a few days, I’ll arrange an office for you.”
Ma Dapao rubbed his face in amazement. “This… this… is incredible! Can anyone use it, or…?”
Su Tao replied, “For now, only you and Fangzhi can. I might add more people later.”
Ma Dapao marveled, “This is amazing. Even though we’re thousands of miles apart, people and resources can move freely.”
In essence, Taoyang and Panliu Mountain were now operating as one unit instead of being separate places.
Su Tao had the same thought—if she could unlock new areas through hidden missions in the future, that would be ideal.
Or perhaps she could expand Taoyang itself.
She really needed more land.
The plantation needed land, the increasing number of tenants required land for housing, and she even wanted to build a school…
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the system notification sounded in her head:
[Hidden missions are issued randomly. Completing them will unlock a hidden shop and grant management rights over new areas.]
[To expand the existing land, the host must level up to Lv5. Once upgraded, crystal cores can be used to unlock land expansion rights.]
Su Tao was amazed.
Lately, the system seemed to have become more intelligent. Previously, she had to figure everything out by trial and error—like her first hidden mission, which she only realized was a mission after completing it.
She had also guessed that crystal cores might be needed to expand her land, but now the system was directly giving her clear instructions.
This was a great improvement, no matter the reason behind it.
Now, her priorities were to level up, accumulate crystal cores, and wait for hidden missions.
And, of course, to catch Su Zhengqing.
Pei Dong had been searching for Su Zhengqing in Dongyang for days but hadn’t found a trace of him, as if he had vanished into thin air.
So Su Tao decided that every night after dark, she would send Black Sesame out to patrol and investigate throughout Dongyang.
However, after a few days, there were still no useful discoveries.
That night, though, she did get a glimpse of the current state of the Su family through Black Sesame.
Su Jianming had lost his stable job as an engineer due to layoffs and was now desperately searching for work.
Without an income, his temper worsened. Seeing Li Ronglian as an incompetent woman who only consumed resources without contributing and even brought along her unrelated granddaughter, he grew increasingly resentful.
Every day, he would scold Li Ronglian and three-year-old Tangdou to the point of tears, sometimes even resorting to physical violence.
Adding to the chaos, Lan Minghui had stormed into the Su household, exposing Su Zhengqing’s disgraceful deeds, making the scandal widely known. Su Jianming felt utterly humiliated.
Fortunately, his younger son, Su Zhenglan, still had a stable job, and his salary barely supported the five-person household.
But barely was the key word.
With prices soaring, meat and vegetables had become luxuries. The family survived on artificial food—nutritionally poor, unappetizing, and ridiculously expensive.
At that moment, three-year-old Tangdou lay on the floor wailing, crying for rice porridge, milk, and her mother.
Li Ronglian, still unaware that Jiang Jinwei had run off with someone else, cradled Tangdou in her arms and tried to comfort her:
“Be good, Tangdou, Mommy is just at work. She’ll be back soon.”
She coaxed her for half an hour, but the child wouldn’t stop crying. Feeling both heartbroken and helpless, she turned to Su Zhenglan, who had just come home from work, and hesitantly asked,
“Zhenglan… your niece is still so young. She can’t keep eating this stuff every day. Could you buy a little millet…?”
Su Zhenglan, already struggling to support five people, had been under immense pressure, unable to sleep properly. Hearing this request, his eyes instantly turned red.
“My niece? Does she share my blood? Aunt Rong, haven’t I done enough for you? I didn’t throw you out on the streets to fend for yourselves, I let you stay here, gave you food and shelter for free, and now you’re asking for more?”
Tangdou, terrified by his expression and tone, burst into an even louder, gut-wrenching cry:
“Mommy! I want Mommy! Waaaahhh!”
Li Ronglian was also startled. Holding Tangdou, she comforted the child while silently weeping.
She couldn’t understand—she was supposed to be the mistress of this house, so why was she now on the verge of being thrown out?
The people in this house felt so unfamiliar and frightening.
Frustrated by their crying, Su Zhenglan snapped:
“If you keep crying, get out into the hallway! You can come back in when you stop!”
…
Su Tao exited Black Sesame’s vision.
To her, they were just familiar strangers. She had no interest in how they were doing.
What she didn’t know was that an hour later, Su Jianming returned home after another failed job search, only to find his younger son—the only remaining pillar of support—clutching his head in distress.
“Dad, let’s sell the house. I really can’t do this anymore…”
Su Jianming immediately exploded, “Absolutely not! You little bastard! The house isn’t yours, so of course you don’t care! I worked for twenty years to buy this—sell anything but the house!”
Su Zhenglan, eyes red, retorted, “Have you ever considered my struggles? I work two jobs—one in the day, one at night—I barely sleep four hours a day. I’m drowning in stress, and I can’t take it anymore!”
Su Jianming softened. “Zhenglan, I know you’re suffering… but if we sell the house, where will we live?”
Su Zhenglan didn’t even hesitate. “We go to Xiaomei and apologize. She has connections in Taoyang—she can speak for us. The money from selling this house would be enough for us to live well in Taoyang for years.”
“My coworker told me that Taoyang not only has great living conditions and abundant food, but prices are low, and even fresh vegetables are affordable for ordinary people. Dad, this is our best option!”
Su Jianming rubbed his aching head.
“Zhenglan, after what your brother did—especially his connection to the Taoyang explosion—you really think Xiaomei can get us in, even if she wanted to?”
Su Zhenglan’s lips trembled. He had nothing to say.
For the first time, he realized that his so-called family had been the ones destroying his life.
Su Jianming, worried that he might lose his younger son too, quickly switched to emotional manipulation.
“Sigh, it’s my fault for being useless and dragging you down. If you really can’t take it anymore… you can go live your own life. I’m not kicking you out, I just don’t want to see you suffer because of us. I’ll bear the burden alone.”
Su Zhenglan was overwhelmed with pain.
He wasn’t like his older brother—selfish and heartless. If he were, he would have left long ago and lived comfortably on his own.
But his pathetic sense of family responsibility and his pity for his aging father made him endure yet again.
