Chapter 18 "Aren't you hot?"

Su Wanwan knew that everyone hadn’t eaten well the night before, so she took out the meat and fish from her space and cooked braised pork and braised fish, along with two vegetable dishes. She also gave the gifts she bought that afternoon to her parents.

Su’s father’s eyes welled up with tears. It was he who had wronged his wife and children, making them suffer alongside him. Today, the cellar digging was finally set to begin.

Su Wanwan handed a shirt to her second brother.

Su Heng hadn’t expected there to be one for him and was overjoyed, feeling even more protective of his sister. “Sis, return it tomorrow and exchange it for one for you. Second brother still has clothes.”

Su Wanwan asked, “You really don’t want it?”

Su Heng shook his head. “I have mine. You should change into the skirt.”

Feigning indifference, Su Wanwan said, “If you don’t want it, then fine. I’ll save it for my future boyfriend. From now on, I’ll only buy clothes for him. Anyway, second brother doesn’t like what I buy, so it’s better if I stop buying altogether.”

Hearing this, Su Heng snatched the shirt from her hands. “Who said I don’t like it? By the time you find a boyfriend, the clothes will be ruined.”

He quickly took off his worn shirt and put on the new one. Feeling the fabric, he sighed in comfort—it fit perfectly.

“Sis, you’ve got a good eye,” he praised.

Su Wanwan smiled faintly.

Seeing the affectionate siblings, Su’s father felt comforted. Then, recalling the village rumors from today, he said, “Daughter, when you go to work tomorrow, head to the western field to pull weeds. There will be more people there.”

He looked at his son and added, “You should go to the city tomorrow and inquire about Director Yang’s son. I want to see if your mother and father are really pushing their daughter into a fire pit.”

Su Heng nodded repeatedly. “Got it.”

He didn’t tell his sister about the village rumors. He intended to handle the matter himself the next day.

“All right.” Su Wanwan hadn’t expected the day to come so soon. She’d never done fieldwork before—how would she manage?

She thought pulling weeds shouldn’t be too difficult; it was manageable.

Back in her room, she imagined weeding under the scorching summer sun, when ground temperatures could reach over 40 degrees Celsius, and she suddenly felt unwell.

Before sleep, she fashioned a sunshade hat from a straw hat to protect herself.

The next morning.

Zhao Hefen went to the chicken coop to collect eggs and was shocked to find six eggs. She couldn’t believe three chickens could lay six eggs in one day.

She told her family about it.

Su Jianjun asked if she had forgotten to collect eggs the previous days.

Zhao Hefen insisted she hadn’t—collecting eggs was the first thing she did every morning.

Only Su Wanwan knew that the three chickens had indeed laid six eggs because they had spent the night in her space and had surely drunk from the sacred spring by her creek.

Su Wanwan arranged to have breakfast with her second brother at their grandfather’s house.

On the way, she briefed him on everything.

They arrived at the old Su family home just in time for breakfast.

Su Heng smiled, “Grandpa, Grandma, we’re here for breakfast.”

Su Wanwan greeted them with a smile as well.

Yang Guixiang suddenly remembered the old man’s words—those two rascals really came to eat.

Jinhua placed the freshly made breakfast on the table. “Why are you two eating here? I didn’t make anything for you this morning.”

“Our grandpa asked us to eat here. The whole village heard it. Over the years, the food has been taken here by Grandpa and Grandma. Are we not allowed to eat now?”

After saying this, Su Heng ignored them, grabbed six large pancakes from the table, handed them to his sister, pocketed two eggs, and picked up two bowls of noodle soup, heading out swiftly.

He didn’t forget to call back, “I’m taking food to Mom and Dad.”

His sister had said they shouldn’t be shy—if they were, they wouldn’t get fed.

Yang Guixiang couldn’t believe it. She glared, “You little rascals, those eggs are for Bao’er. Are you bandits?”

Jinhua lunged to snatch the pancakes from Su Wanwan’s bowl. “What are you trying to do? If you take them, what will we eat?”

Su Wanwan quickly dodged behind her brother. “Grandma, you know they’re bandits, right? Every time they take our food, have you ever thought about what we eat? Didn’t you teach them that? Next time, make extra.”

Jinhua missed her grab and thought, ‘Next time? Dream on.’

Su Mao wore a stern face. “You two stop messing around. The whole village saw it last night. Jinhua, hurry and make another batch.” They were doing this on purpose, and with many villagers watching, no one could refuse them.

Jinhua, thinking of the eggs and white flour pancakes, felt sympathy.

Su Heng carried the two bowls of noodle soup steadily and ran ahead, never having been so pleased. He even carried three extra bowls back home.

Looking at the bowls, they were from their own house.

Su Wanwan looked at the pancakes made from fine flour, tore off a small piece, and tasted it. It was far better than the coarse grain pancakes from home.

Her throat slightly choked from eating the home-made pancakes, she said, “See, Grandpa and Grandma’s life is better than ours.” She tore another small piece and fed it to her brother.

Su Heng ate and said, “Honestly, there’s more oil in these than Mom uses. They taste better. We’ll have more at noon.”

Back home, Su’s mother had prepared a meal and placed it on the table.

Su Heng recounted their breakfast at Grandpa’s house.

Su Jianjun thought, what harm was there in the kids eating one meal? It wasn’t even his rationed food. He grabbed a pancake and took a big bite.

Seeing the white flour pancake, while their household usually ate coarse grain ones, he felt a pang of envy.

After breakfast, Su Wanwan picked up the water bottle her eldest brother gave her and the sunshade hat she made the night before, then left.

Su Heng watched as his sister wore long sleeves and pants, with her hat shielding her entire face and neck, leaving only her eyes exposed. “Aren’t you hot?”

Su Wanwan adjusted her hat. “Yes, but rather than being hot, I don’t want to get any darker. I’ve finally gotten a bit fairer.”

Su Heng noticed his sister had indeed become much prettier lately—she really couldn’t afford to tan more. “Just pull a little in the morning to get the hang of it, then rest in the shade. Wait for me to come and pull the rest; I’m faster.”

“Okay.” Without hesitation, Su Wanwan agreed. She wasn’t being fussy—she truly had never done farm work and worried a little about doing it well.

The two headed to the tool shed.

Meanwhile, Su’s father was worried in the tool shed about the many villagers and educated youths taking leave today.

Yesterday, over ten people had asked for leave; today, the number was even more absurd—42 people, all unmarried young women.

Given the rumors targeting his daughter, this was unacceptable. He shouted loudly among the crowd, “Everyone here must gather at the grain drying yard in ten minutes for a meeting. Attendance is mandatory. Notify others now—those absent will have work points deducted.”

This matter had to be settled today.

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances, whispering among themselves.