Chapter 473: Leaving the Su Residence
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Gu Zi served Su Shen a piece of stewed chicken, and said, “I’m not worried about them causing trouble for me. What I’m afraid of is that they might continue to target the pig farm. You should be extra vigilant, and I will also keep an eye out. If anything happens, I will have someone inform you.”
After dinner, Su Shen left the house. The two boys had books to read and skills to practice. Gu Zi and Su Jing were left to clean up the kitchen. Su Jing recalled the incident that afternoon when a few women had tried to provoke her. “I just remembered something after hearing what you discussed with my brother. This afternoon, some people from Chen Village came to provoke me, but I dealt with them.”
Gu Zi responded, “I just heard from Su Bing. You did well. They might have been trying to use you against the Su family. Since Su Shen refused to cooperate with them, they won’t easily give up.”
Su Jing nodded. She thought Gu Zi was really smart, able to easily guess others’ hidden motives. Having such a knowledgeable, smart, and capable daughter-in-law in the Su family made it difficult for anyone who wanted to mess with them. She regretted treating her as an enemy in the past. How foolish she had been.
If Gu Zi really left the family, it would be like the Su family cutting off its own arms.
She asked Gu Zi, “I’ve always wanted to ask you, how can you be so magnanimous? Can you really accept me and return to this family?”
Gu Zi wiped the washed dishes dry with a cloth and put them away. “You think my attitude towards you has changed, but it hasn’t. From the first time I met you until now, it hasn’t changed. I never intended to treat you as an opponent. It’s your choice what kind of person you want to be, and that determines how I interact with you.
“In a family, whether it’s a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or a sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law, we’re all women. There’s no need for one to suppress the other. The sister-in-law and your brother are the ones who are married and depend on each other. Sometimes your brother might side with his wife because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“But that doesn’t mean that the sister is not important to him. Because you are his forever family, sharing the same blood. Helping each other is what makes a family prosperous. In your brother’s heart, there’s always a place for you. If you think about what he’s done, you should understand.”
Tears welled up in Su Jing’s eyes as she listened. In her memory, her elder brother had always been cold, never showing a smile to anyone, devoid of warmth.
Even before her sister-in-law had spoken these words, Su Jing had held this perception. In fact, she had always felt a lack of closeness towards her elder brother, even fearing to approach him.
But now, it seemed she understood. Her elder brother was simply a person who was a little different from others, not truly cold and heartless. It was her who had not tried to understand him, yet she blamed him for his aloofness. When her elder brother had disagreed with her relationship with Tian Hai, it was because he didn’t want to see her jump into a pit of fire. Yet, she had held a grudge against him for a long time…
The next day, Su Jing left the Su family and returned to the Tian family. Outsiders watched as Su Jing went to the station alone to catch a train, spreading idle gossip. They said that Gu Zi was too domineering, that the poor sister-in-law had no home to return to and had no choice but to go back to the Tian family.
But Gu Zi didn’t care. There had already been plenty of gossip due to Aunt Chu and the Lin family’s affairs. A little more wouldn’t make a difference. After all, people’s mouths were their own, and Gu Zi felt he couldn’t control what others said or did.
If they found joy in spreading such idle chatter behind his back, then let them. It wouldn’t affect the Su family’s earnings, nor would it affect her own peaceful life.
Gu Zi’s days continued as usual, leisurely and content, yet full of interest.
On the day of the winter solstice, Su Li was clamoring for dumplings filled with taro and meat from early morning. And since it was Saturday, he didn’t have to go to school. He could make the dumplings himself, a thought that excited him greatly!
Gu Zi sat in front of her computer early in the morning, creating new promotional posters for her shop. With New Year’s Day just over a week away, and the grand opening approaching, things would become busier. While Mother Lin and the others were busy preparing, Gu Zi took care of the promotion. So, during this time, Gu Zi was running around promoting the shop.
Gu Zi would even take his own braised food to the city for people to taste as part of the promotion. The results were very good each time, with many customers wanting to buy after tasting. But Gu Zi insisted on only offering samples, not selling, thus whetting their appetites.