Chapter 31: Telling On
After selling out the malt candy, Su He went home with the two kids.
Su He set down the cart and went inside to count the money.
Most of it was small bills and coins, but there were a few one-yuan bills as well. After counting, she found she had earned 23.40 yuan.
It was roughly what she had expected.
She had been too conservative with her inventory today. Next time, she'd prepare more.
"Mom, are we not making candy tomorrow?" Niu Niu asked beside her.
"You can't have candy every day. It'll ruin your teeth."
Niu Niu immediately flashed her teeth at Su He and said, "Mom, my teeth are fine. No cavities!"
"Me neither," Zai Zai added, grinning at Su He.
Su He had to laugh. "Alright, alright. You're such good children."
Pleased with the praise, the two kids ran off to play in the dirt.
Meanwhile, Su He got started on lunch.
After cooking the rice, she took out the potatoes brought from the Fu family and cut them into thin strips. Then, she pulled out the ribs she had gotten from her space, planning to make sweet and sour ribs.
Many people in the village kept chickens and ducks, but Su He was broke—she had no money.
Besides, most families kept their poultry for eggs and rarely ate them themselves.
Her space did have chicken, duck, fish, and meat, but how could she explain the chicken? She could explain the pork as something their father had left behind, but chicken?
Even if the kids were young, they'd probably realize something was up. The village didn't even sell pork daily—you had to go to town to buy it.
The town wasn't far, just twenty minutes on foot.
Why didn't anyone question where Su He got her meat? Because her house was at the edge of the village, with a small path leading directly to town without passing through the village entrance.
Who'd notice whether she bought meat or not?
Once the food was ready, Su He called the kids in to eat.
"Wow~ Mom, what kind of meat is this? It looks so yummy!" Niu Niu pointed at the sweet and sour ribs, over-the-top with excitement.
"It's called sweet and sour ribs. Try it and see if you like it," Su He said, serving each child two pieces.
"It's delicious! If I could eat sweet and sour ribs every day, I'd be the happiest kid in the whole world!"
Clearly, Niu Niu loved the dish—she was even saying things like that.
"What about you, Zai Zai? Do you like it?" Su He asked the quiet boy.
"I like it. I like everything Mom makes," Zai Zai replied expressionlessly.
"Good boy. But we can't have sweet and sour ribs every day—you'd get sick of them," Su He said regretfully.
Sick of them? Shouldn't the reason be that they couldn't afford meat every day? Zai Zai gave his mother a puzzled look but didn't ask anything.
Not long after finishing the meal, an uninvited guest arrived.
Indeed, it was Fu Dajun's sister-in-law, Chen Shufen.
Given her shameless behavior at the Fu family before, Su He was annoyed to see her now.
"Well, Auntie, what brings you here?" No matter how much she disliked Chen Shufen, since Chen hadn't directly offended her, Su He still put on a polite smile.
"Oh, Su He, I heard you've been selling that malt candy, right? I was just busy in the fields and came back to find you'd already packed up. Do you have any left? My grandson's been throwing a tantrum for some," Chen Shufen said brashly.
"All gone. It sold out in just over an hour." Su He spread her hands helplessly.
"Ah, why didn't you make more? Besides, if you're making it, you should save some for family. My grandson hasn't even had a taste yet," Chen Shufen complained.
Hearing this, Su He's smile vanished.
"Auntie, when making things, whether they'll sell or not is uncertain. I didn't expect them to sell so fast. If they hadn't, I'd be losing money. Would you have covered my losses then?" Su He said with a sardonic smile.
Chen Shufen immediately took offense—why should she care if Su He lost money?
Just as she was about to retort, Su He added, "Besides, I've already given some to family. How can you say I didn't save any?"
Now Chen Shufen had no grounds to say she and Su He were family. She could still mention Fu Dajun—before the family split, they were indeed one household. But since Su He had moved out, their connection was even more distant.
"If every relative came asking for free food, I wouldn't be able to run a business at all. So, generally, I charge for it," Su He said meaningfully.
Now Chen Shufen understood—this Su He even wanted money for a bit of candy.
Finding no advantage here, she immediately went to the Fu household to confront Fu Dajun.
The Fu family had just finished their meal. Seeing Chen Shufen, they assumed she'd come to scrounge a free meal. Before Fu Dajun could speak, Chen Shufen started ranting.
"Dajun, you need to keep your wife in line. Selling candy and not saving any for my grandson? She even said she'd charge him! What kind of logic is that? Charging family for candy? Disgusting! Never seen someone so money-grubbing!" Chen Shufen ranted.
Luckily, Su He wasn't there, or she would've snapped back right away.
Before Fu Dajun could respond, Wu Yanhua snapped back, "Why should she save any for your grandson? My daughter-in-law is just trying to sell some candy, not running a charity. Selling things is about making money. If she saved some for everyone, how could she keep trying to make a living? Even I paid Su He for the malt candy I ate. Who do you think you are, expecting free treats?"
The two began going at it right at the Fu family's doorstep, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
Chen Shufen was known in the village for always taking advantage of the Fu family, so opinions were divided. Each side had their own version of the story.
Someone who loved gossip quickly ran to inform Su He—none other than Aunt Niu.
"Miss Su, Miss Su! Your mother-in-law... your mother-in-law is arguing with your aunt!" Aunt Niu said breathlessly as she reached Su He's house.
Hearing this, Su He immediately said, "Aunt Niu, please keep an eye on the children for me. I'll go check."
Without waiting for a reply, she took off running, leaving Aunt Niu calling after her in vain.
Meanwhile, Wu Yanhua and Chen Shufen were still going at it.
"All these years, I've tolerated you taking advantage of our family. Now my daughter-in-law is just trying to sell some candy, and just because she sold out and didn't save any for you, you have the nerve to badmouth her? Chen Shufen, have you no shame?"
"Me, shameless? My husband worked himself to death raising your husband and his siblings and died young. Your family owes us! You should be waiting on us hand and foot!"
The villagers, seeing Chen Shufen constantly harping on ancient history and acting so high and mighty, felt relieved she wasn't their relative. There was simply no reasoning with such a nasty piece of work.