Because I got up early in the morning, I was just in time for dinner when I returned to my hometown.

The old man had already cooked the rice. Chen Mei put down her things and went to the kitchen to help. After a while, two vegetarian dishes and one meat dish were added, plus egg drop soup, and it was served.

Grandma Su asked Su Yang to go to the field and ask her uncle to come back for lunch. As she walked to the yard, she saw Su Xiang coming back with a hoe.

The originally strong and straight body had its back bent by the weight of time or the hoe.

The girl called out "Uncle" abruptly.

The man's tanned face squinted and smiled.

Su Yang smiled and took the cabbage that Su Xiang had just picked.

A bit heavy.

The cabbage grown by my uncle is really good.

"Grandma asked me to call you for dinner just now, but I'm sure I came back without me calling you."

Su Yang hugged the cabbage and followed the man.

"You must be able to smell the aroma of vegetables."

"Hey, you know it's time to come back when you're hungry." The man smiled honestly and looked very happy.

Su Yang, who grew up in the countryside, naturally knew that what Su Xiang said was a joke.

Su Yang remembered that when he was a child, he would shout into the field outside the yard, "Su Xiang - Su Xiang - come back for dinner -". The child's voice was shrill and the village was small. When Su Yang shouted, the surrounding neighbors could

You can hear it. Every time she hears the little guy calling her uncle's name in a crisp voice, the aunt next door will make fun of her.

At that time, little Suyang didn't know what he was doing that made the adults laugh. Grandma always called her that.

Anyway, Su Xiang just laughed every time, but never said anything to her.

But more often than not, Su Xiang would come back before Su Yang started calling.

Little Su Yang has been a curious baby since he was a child. He has asked many times, why do you always come back in time for dinner?

At that time, Su Xiang was still young, and his little niece would always make him laugh when she was jumping around. Every time, he would use various excuses to fool the little guy.

Little Su Yang also believed it.

When he thought about this incident when he grew up, Su Yang couldn't help but find it funny - he obviously came back only after seeing the smoke from the cooking stove, but he still had to keep it secret.

Su Yang carried Baicai into the kitchen, and Grandma Su asked, "Did you call your uncle?"

"is back."

"Wash your hands and eat."

*

There are no entertainment facilities in the countryside. Apart from an old radio, the only thing left at home is a half-new TV set bought two years ago for entertainment.

As someone who has experienced smartphones, tablets, and smart LCD TVs, Su Yang found that a small black box-like TV with a screen of only 25 inches is really unattractive.

But Su Xiang likes to watch TV after dinner.

Grandma Su hadn't seen her granddaughter for more than half a month. After dinner, she chatted with her granddaughter. The old man talked more, and it didn't matter whether the children were willing to listen. Once the chat box was opened, it seemed that she could tell all her life experiences.

once.

If Su Yang was just an ordinary girl who was only fourteen years old now, she would also be impatient.

But after her rebirth, her state of mind was naturally different from that of an ordinary little girl, not to mention that it had been a long time since she had eaten and chatted with her grandma.

Chen Mei was washing clothes for Grandma Su. Su Yang moved a small stool and sat down next to Grandma Su. Grandma Su took out half a handful of toffee from her pocket and gave it to her.

Su Yang pushed him away, so Grandma Su put the candy into Su Yang's pocket.

Grandma Su feigned anger and said, "Hold it, Liu Weitao will come over and see you later and start making trouble again."

Liu Weitao is the child of the aunt next door. He likes to run around. Every time he comes to their house, he must be given something to eat, otherwise the child will be unhappy again.

Hearing this, Su Yang withdrew his hand and clenched his fingers into fists, as if the rough touch of the back of Grandma Su's hand still remained on the fingertips.

Seeing that her granddaughter had accepted it, Grandma Su smiled and asked her what she had been doing in the city these days, whether her brother had played with her, whether she had fun, why she didn't come back with her, and whether her brother was studying well...

…

The old man's caring and slow words were like a warm sun, bringing a little warmth to Su Yang's frozen heart in this still cold afternoon.

Su Yang answered obediently, and when he turned his eyes away, the corners of his eyes were a little moist.

Grandma Su was very satisfied with little Su Yang's answer. As they chatted, they talked about the trivial things that happened in the village recently. Su Yang probably understood some of it, but because it had been so long, some of the names and relationships between the characters did not match up, but

She listened carefully.

The daughter of the aunt next door found a boyfriend and talked about Su Yang's uncle's 70th birthday some time ago. Finally, Grandma Su told Su Yang her own experiences growing up.

When Chen Mei finished washing her clothes, Grandma Su happened to talk about how she was beaten by Liu Weitao's great-grandmother after she married Su Yang's grandfather.

Chen Mei put the clean clothes in the basin and came over to ask Grandma Su where the clothes drying rack was.

Someone interrupted her words mid-sentence. Grandma Su was a little impatient and pointed casually, "It's on the cabinet in your eldest brother's room."

Su Yang glanced at Chen Mei and saw that her expression was as usual, Su Yang sighed slightly in his heart.

Grandma Su comes from a large family and is now in her seventies. Grandma Su is the eldest daughter in the family. She has several younger brothers and sisters, so in Grandma Su’s words, she is “not as tall as the stove.”

Well, I already have to get up early every day to cook for the whole family." All the housework for the whole family fell on the seven or eight-year-old girl.

In that era of not having enough food and internal and external troubles, in line with the idea of ​​filial sons emerging from under the stick, rural people had their own set of harshness and meanness. Grandma Su grew up in this environment until she was thirteen years old.

At the age of thirteen, she came to Grandpa Su's house and stayed with Grandpa Su. However, as an "outsider" and "thrown out water", Grandma Su's life was no better than at home. Neighborhood, sister-in-law relationship, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship

It was complicated and scary for Grandma Su, who was only thirteen years old at the time, not to mention that Grandpa Su was a man with serious male chauvinist ideas. In this arranged marriage in the old society, Grandma Su was more like "surviving through the cracks."

"Sacrifice.

As a result, Grandma Su's ups and downs in her life made her cold and mean in her bones.

Of course, this is relative.

At least Grandma Su is extremely doting on her grandchildren.

But this does not mean that Su Yang's mother, Chen Mei, can "be more valuable than her son" because of this love.

Su Mu was not Su Heng's son. Su Yang knew this very early. Su Mu's surname was Chen, but Su changed his surname later.

Chen Mei is also a hard-working person. She married once in the early years because her family was poor. Later, she divorced because her partner's family was complicated and he had violent tendencies. After the divorce, Chen Mei went to the north to make money alone.

She met Su Heng while working in the factory and fell in love and got married. It was then that Su Mu was brought to the Su family.

Although Chen Mei's experience is worthy of sympathy, as a woman, Grandma Su's life was much more bumpy than Chen Mei's. In Grandma Su's view, Chen Mei's experience is not worth mentioning at all. At the same time, as a mother, Grandma Su

She could not willingly accept a second-married woman with an oil bottle marrying into the Su family.

Grandma Su has always been prejudiced against Chen Mei. She has known it since Su Yang was sensible. The most serious moment was when Chen Mei first arrived at Su's house. Some of the things that happened during that period were only learned by Su Yang later when Chen Mei mentioned them.

tortuous.

Fortunately, as Grandma Su got older, she gradually became kinder and gentler. In addition, the second daughter-in-law who originally liked her became more and more calculating and stingy. Chen Mei's tolerance and kindness gradually won the favor of the elderly.

Of course, this all happened after Su Yang went to college.

At this time, Grandma Su still had some opinions on Chen Mei.

As picky and mean as he is right now——

"When you do something small, you have to come over and ask. People in their decades can't do small things well."

Su Yang sometimes felt worthless for Chen Mei, but more often than not he couldn't do anything about it. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in China has existed for thousands of years from ancient times to the present, and its complexity is comparable to the unsolved mysteries of the Egyptian pyramids. (To be completed.
Chapter completed!