Chapter 26: The Troublesome Aunt
The meal was really enjoyable for everyone. After everyone was full, the Fu family went back to rest.
It couldn't be helped—Su He's place was way too small. With over a dozen members of the Fu family, there wasn't even enough space for them to find a spot.
Su He suggested cooking dinner there again, but the Fu family declined, saying they'd eat at their own place in the afternoon. Su He didn't refuse.
It was only now that Su He truly managed to improve relations with all members of the Fu family.
After the Fu family had all left, Su He finally had time to hug her two children and ask, "Zai Zai and Niu Niu, did you have fun at Grandma's today?"
The two children were clearly excited and replied, "Yes!"
Their older cousins had been very considerate, taking them along wherever they went to play.
"That's good. You must get along well with your older cousins, understand?" Su He said gently, smiling at the adorable pair.
Honestly, after some care, the two children had become fair-skinned, soft, and completely adorable.
They were still too skinny, but Su He wasn't worried—she'd fatten them up sooner or later.
After a quick nap, Su He took the two children up the mountain to plant saplings.
By the time she arrived at the site, her sisters-in-law had already started working.
"Sisters-in-law, when did you get here?" Su He asked, a little embarrassed that she was late.
"We just arrived," Second Sister-in-Law He Fangfang said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
Su He: "..."
They'd clearly been here awhile, hadn't they?
Looking around, she saw that seven or eight saplings had already been planted, and the holes for the rest had been dug. They'd probably finish planting all the saplings today.
Way too few—only seventeen Fire Durian Saplings—but Su He didn't have enough system points to buy more right now.
"Mom, mom, mushrooms!" The two lucky little ones suddenly exclaimed from under a nearby tree.
Sure enough, her lucky little ones had found mushrooms again.
Su He walked over and saw these mushrooms were different from the ones before.
There were many of them under the tree. Third Sister-in-Law Chen Sufen came over and immediately warned, "Oh, these mushrooms aren't safe to eat."
Su He looked up and smiled. "We're not eating them. They have other uses."
Chen Sufen wondered to herself—what else could mushrooms be used for besides eating?
But she didn't ask further and went back to work.
Su He pulled up one mushroom carefully and placed it in her basket.
"Customer service, are you there? Can you check if the mushrooms in my basket can be exchanged for points?" Su He tried contacting the system without entering the space, but got no answer.
It seemed she'd have to enter the space after all, but there were too many people nearby.
Taking advantage of a moment when the children weren't paying attention and no one else was looking her way, she quickly shifted her attention into the space to call customer service.
"This type of mushroom isn't as rare as the last one, but it's still worth twenty points each."
Twenty points—that's still good money!
The key point is, there are so many of these mushrooms. They're all over—under every tree on their land.
Su He quickly waved the two kids over to start digging.
Why didn't Xiao Qi notice these mushrooms when it came out last time?
So annoying—she'd shelled out a hundred points for that robot!
"Last time when Dad and I came to check the land, we didn't see these mushrooms," Su He muttered while digging.
"These mushrooms probably sprouted after the rain these past few nights," said the eldest sister-in-law, Zhang Xiaohua.
Nobody minded Su He ditching the tree-planting to hunt for mushrooms.
Luckily, the sisters-in-law weren't the petty type, or there would have been an argument by now.
Seeing the sisters-in-law sweating buckets, Su He felt a bit guilty. She handed the mushroom-digging task to the kids and went back to help with the planting.
The afternoon flew by. Since they were eating at the Fu family's place, Third sister-in-law Chen Sufen had already headed back early to cook.
"Just one tree left—but Su He, will these even produce enough fruit to sell?" Zhang Xiaohua asked skeptically.
"Once I've scraped together enough cash, I'll order more saplings," Su He replied casually.
It finally dawned on them that the saplings probably cost a pretty penny.
"Maybe we should talk to Mom and Dad and chip in?" He Fangfang hesitated before speaking up.
"No need, I can handle it," Su He said with a smile.
Getting all seventeen trees planted in a single day had Su He grinning ear to ear.
The sisters-in-law were incredibly capable. So far, the Fu family had made her feel so at ease—she hadn't run into any drama yet.
But she spoke too soon. That evening, she truly met a difficult one.
During dinner, an unwelcome guest showed up at the Fu household—Fu Dajun's elder brother Fu Dacai's wife, Zhang Shufen, who was brazen as could be.
She brought along one grandson and three granddaughters to mooch a free meal.
Just as they were about to start eating, Zhang Shufen started hollering for Fu Dajun from outside the house.
"Dajun, Dajun!"
Su He lingered by the door, keeping an eye on the kids while waiting for dinner when she heard the loud voice of a woman calling her father-in-law's name.
Fu Dajun hurried out to meet her, responding, "Ah, sister-in-law."
"Is dinner ready? The kids are famished," Zhang Shufen said, already heading inside.
Fu Dajun had no choice but to trail after her.
Su He barely recognized this aunt and was weirded out by how she waltzed in as if it were her own home. Too curious not to, she tagged along.
Zhang Shufen, without a shred of boundaries, yanked the lid off the pot and saw sweet potatoes, corn, and rice buried underneath. Her face lit up like a kid's on Christmas.
"Oh, you're cooking white rice today?"
After saying that, she went to check the dishes already prepared on the table—all vegetarian and nothing to write home about.
"Look, I don't mean to be nosy, but with so many people in your family, you could at least buy some meat once in a while. You and my nephews work at the construction site every day, and the wages aren't low."
Su He, listening from behind, was speechless. This aunt was a real piece of work—not only did she meddle in other people's family affairs, but she also had the nerve to nitpick as a freeloader.
"Pork's pricey these days. We only splurge on it for holidays," Fu Dajun replied, seemingly accustomed to his sister-in-law's behavior, showing no sign of anger.
"Is dinner ready yet? Come, come, my dear grandson, sit here." Zhang Shufen plopped down at the table and beckoned her grandson to join her.
Su He glanced at her sisters-in-law and saw them rolling their eyes hard enough to see their own brains—clearly, their frustration with this aunt had reached its peak.
But since her father- and mother-in-law didn't say anything, the younger generation couldn't speak up either.
Just then, Wu Yanhua returned from picking vegetables in the backyard. Her face fell the moment she saw Chen Shufen.
Noticing Zhang Shufen and her grandchildren already seated at the table, Wu Yanhua immediately said, "Elder sister-in-law, I don't mind you coming for dinner, but my kids always stand while eating since we don't have enough stools. Your family has taken up four seats—where's my husband and sons supposed to sit?"