Chapter 17 Making Inquiries
Seeing Su He like this, the Fu family were taken aback.
They hadn't interacted with Su He much, but they were certain that the old Su He was nothing like this.
In the past, not only did Wu Yanhua disdain Su He, but Su He also scorned Wu Yanhua.
After all, Su He had grown up in the city. Even if her looks weren't great, she still had a superior attitude, believing herself to be a city dweller who looked down on these rural relatives.
So, she also disdained her country mother-in-law.
Fortunately, Wu Yanhua disliked Su He and wanted her to stay away, so while their relationship was tense, it never got too ugly.
The Fu family were well-brought-up. Wu Yanhua wasn't the type to make waves like Auntie Liu, or else this household would have been anything but peaceful.
Perhaps Wu Yanhua was also considering Fu Tinghua's reputation, not wanting to put him in a difficult position. That's how parents are.
The two children weren't comfortable staying at the Fu household. The Fu family had many kids, and they were very curious about the twins.
Since both children were Fu Tinghua's, none of the Fu women had ever spoken ill of Su He, Niu Niu, or Zai Zai in front of their own kids.
It couldn't be helped—their youngest uncle was the most successful in the family. Every month, he sent home part of his salary and ration coupons, and they all benefited from it.
The Fu family got along well together. Apart from Su He, all the daughters-in-law were sensible and tactful.
Especially now that Fu Tinghua was doing better and better in the city, the women in the family all hoped to benefit from his success in the future.
So, while their mother-in-law might give Su He and the two children the cold shoulder, they still had to show them basic respect.
Seeing that it was late, Su He said to the Fu family, "It's time to go back and make dinner for the kids."
"Don't be silly!" Third sister-in-law Chen Sufen, hearing Su He's words, came out of the kitchen and said,
"Sis, I've already prepared food for you and the kids. Stay and eat before you go back."
Chen Sufen was the most outspoken person in the family, cheerful and easygoing, someone who got along with everyone.
Su He glanced at Wu Yanhua, who also said, "Since you're already here, of course you should eat before leaving. Your father and the older brothers are still working at the site, but they should be back soon. After dinner, I'll have one of them see you home."
After saying this, Wu Yanhua thought for a moment and added, "Or you could stay the night here. Ting Hua's room has always been kept empty."
The room of her most beloved youngest son—Wu Yanhua wouldn't hear of letting anyone else use it.
Her son came back occasionally during holidays, and she certainly wouldn't let him stay in that old house. How could she bear that?
To be honest, the old house where Su He lived now had only been occupied by her during this visit. Before this, apart from her wedding and last year's New Year, Su He had never returned to Shangyao Village.
"Mom, we don't have anything here. We'll go back after dinner," Su He replied with a smile.
Honestly, when people offer, it doesn't necessarily mean they genuinely want you to stay.
Besides, she didn't want to make her two children uncomfortable. They weren't comfortable here, so it was better to go back.
Seeing her refusal, Wu Yanhua didn't insist.
Before long, the men of the family returned.
"Oh, everyone's here. Su He, you've come too," Fu Tinghua's father, Fu Dajun, said upon seeing Su He.
To be honest, Su He and Fu Tinghua's marriage only worked out thanks to Fu Dajun.
Fu Dajun was a straight-laced man. Since Su He was the daughter of Fu Tinghua's mentor and was already carrying his child, getting married was the obvious thing to do.
Even now, the Fu family still didn't fully understand how Fu Tinghua and Su He had gotten together, but Wu Yanhua firmly believed her son must have been forced—how could a man of his discerning taste ever take a liking to Su He?
Fu Dajun had nothing against Su He and treated her no differently than his other daughters-in-law.
However, he doted on his daughters-in-law, and since Su He clearly couldn't stand their family, he never interfered with the separation of households or Su He's infrequent visits.
"Hey, Dad," Su He immediately stood up and greeted Fu Dajun, then turned to acknowledge the brothers following behind him.
After that, she had the two kids call him "Grandpa" and greet their uncles—eldest, second, and third.
The men were taken aback by Su He's polite behavior. Later, when they heard about the incident between Su He and Auntie Liu, they were ready to go give Auntie Liu a piece of their minds.
"She didn't take any advantage of me, so there's no need to dwell on it," Su He quickly said.
The kick she had delivered to Auntie Liu earlier wasn't light—she had gotten her payback right then and there. Su He wasn't one to hold grudges.
As long as no one provoked her again, she wouldn't go looking for trouble.
"The real issue is that you've stayed away from the family. If you visited more often, no one in the village would dare bully you," Fu Dajun, who rarely spoke up, remarked.
"Dad is right. It was my fault before," Su He replied immediately.
After her response, even Fu Dajun did a double-take.
She really had changed. In the past, Su He used to look at them like they were dirt, yet now she didn't even get angry after being criticized?
"It's good that you understand," Fu Dajun nodded in satisfaction.
In rural households of this era, sweet potatoes were still what most folks lived on—rice at every meal was a luxury.
With wheat yields not yet high, sweet potatoes were the safer bet.
But for this dinner, the Fu family served both sweet potatoes and white rice, considering Su He's urban background and her likely preference for rice.
They put out more food than usual to entertain Su He, but the food of this era was still quite poor, with little oil or salt, and Su He still couldn't get used to it.
However, she wasn't about to let on in front of the Fu family. Though she only ate one bowl—after all, she was trying to lose weight.
After Zai Zai and Niu Niu finished eating, Su He sent them off to play with their cousins while she discussed the family's hillside land with the Fu elders.
"Dad, Mom, I was actually planning to visit you these past few days to ask if our family has any relatively flat hillside land. I'd like to use it to grow something," Su He inquired.
Her words immediately made the Fu women's faces fall.
Since Su He's family had already separated from them, if they let her have that hillside land, that'd mean less to go around if they ever split households in the future.
"We do. Which plot do you want?" Unexpectedly, Fu Dajun just said yes and told her to take her pick.