This Life, I'm Raising the Right Man
Chapter 40: It’s Done

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: It’s Done

At noon, it was time for lunch.

Grandma Su scooped a large ladle of porridge from the bottom of the basin, with plump, white grains of rice packed closely together, making one’s mouth water.

She placed this bowl of porridge in front of Uncle Su.

Using the same method, she served a second, third, and fourth bowl of porridge. When it came to the last bowl, she handed the ladle handle directly to Second Aunt Su.

"If you want to eat, serve yourself. Which daughter-in-law still needs an old woman to serve her? Aren’t you afraid of the heavens striking you with lightning?"

Second Aunt Su was long accustomed to such matters. She pursed her lips and calmly ladled out a scoop of rice broth.

It was always like this; the first bowl of rice served at home was always dry and thick, meant for her precious son. The second bowl was for her precious grandson. The third bowl was hers, and the fourth was for her husband. As she ladled more, the porridge got thinner. The last bowl, which she didn’t even want to ladle, was for her, an outsider.

Second Aunt Su wasn’t foolish either. She secretly picked up an egg earlier and ate it raw when they weren’t looking. After all, the chickens didn’t lay eggs every day, and an occasional stolen egg wouldn’t be noticed.

Besides the thin porridge, there were also a few pancakes on the table. Second Aunt Su aimed for the largest one and reached out, but Grandma Su tapped her hand with the end of her chopstick.

Despite the pain, Second Aunt Su held onto the pancake and quickly took a large bite before Grandma Su could scold her. Then, she drank a mouthful of porridge and swallowed it down.

"Were you reborn as a starving ghost? Haven’t you eaten before? Why does a woman like you eat so much—food should be prioritized for men, who need strength for farming."

Second Aunt Su bowed her head, drinking her porridge as if she hadn’t heard Grandma Su’s words.

Let her scold; as long as she’d eaten it, she didn’t mind. The scolding wouldn’t cost her any skin.

Uncle Su glared at Second Aunt Su: "Mother is right. Why are you so greedy?"

Su Xiaobao mimicked Uncle Su’s tone and said, "Mom’s so greedy, grabbing our pancakes."

Voices came from the courtyard: "Mom, Dad, I’m back."

Upon hearing the voice, Second Aunt Su quickly finished eating the pancake and gulped down the rice broth.

Su Guilan stepped into the main hall, saw everyone eating, sat down, and grabbed a pancake to eat.

"What are you doing here?" Grandma Su snatched the pancake from her hand, split it in half, and only gave her one portion. "You didn’t let us know in advance, so we didn’t prepare food for you."

"I don’t like porridge, so it wouldn’t help to tell you in advance. It’s porridge anyway. Mom, I want some eggs. Can you fry me a few eggs?" Su Guilan requested.

"My little sister-in-law has quite a big appetite," Second Aunt Su said sarcastically. "Our family only has thin porridge; those eggs are for Xiaobao to regain strength. You’re a grown-up now; surely, you wouldn’t take food from a child, right?"

"I can solve a big problem for you soon. Isn’t it fair for me to eat a few of your eggs?" Su Guilan said proudly.

"What do you mean?" Uncle Su asked.

"I just went to the Feng family and asked them. They said everything is going according to plan. Zhang Zhaodi took the bait and signed an IOU, agreeing to compensate them one hundred taels of silver. Didn’t Zhang Zhaodi look unwell when she came back yesterday? It’s because the Feng family starved her for two days and nights."

"How did the Feng family manage this?" Second Aunt Su asked.

"Initially, I wanted the Feng family to make it seem like Zhang Zhaodi damaged something expensive, worth one hundred taels. But the Feng family had a daughter who unfortunately passed away, and they blamed Zhang Zhaodi for it. No matter how Zhang Zhaodi explained, the Feng family insisted she was responsible and locked her in the woodshed, starving her for two days and nights until she agreed to pay one hundred taels of silver. Only then did they release her. Don’t be fooled by how Zhang Zhaodi looks like nothing happened; she’s actually very anxious!"

"I bet she’ll start borrowing money everywhere soon. Just wait and see, a hundred taels of silver. Even if they sold both mother and daughter, they wouldn’t gather enough, and they’ll eventually come to us."

"What are you planning to do?" Uncle Su asked.

"I’ll offer her a deal: if her daughter marries Mutou, I will persuade the Feng family to reduce the compensation to twenty taels instead of one hundred. If she doesn’t agree, the Feng family will keep causing trouble at their doorstep, and they won’t have a peaceful day. Those fields are worth thirty taels, and if she’s desperate for money, she’ll sell them cheaply. You all should buy them. Once she pays the Feng family twenty taels, they’ll agree to split half with me. By then, I’ll return the ten taels to you all without keeping a single cent. That way, you’re basically getting fields worth thirty taels for just ten taels. Isn’t that quite the deal?"

The Su Family members showed satisfied smiles.

"I specifically went to see how Zhang Zhaodi was doing yesterday. That disaster star is quite the actress; I couldn’t read anything from her face."

"You’ve eaten three pancakes already; why are you still eating?" Uncle Su noticed that Su Guilan had eaten a few pancakes, practically finishing theirs, and angrily slammed the table.

Su Guilan picked her teeth and retorted, "If it weren’t for me, would you have gotten such a good deal? It’s just a few pancakes; need you be so stingy?"

"Alright, just a few pancakes. If this works out, she can have ten, and it’s still fine," Grandma Su said. "Today, don’t go out to work. First, find out what Zhang Zhaodi is up to."

Second Aunt Su, hearing she didn’t have to work but just gossip, perked up eagerly. Before long, she returned with the latest news.

"Zhang Zhaodi went borrowing money in the village."

"A hundred taels of silver, and she went borrowing in the village?" Grandma Su sneered. "Is she out of her mind?"

"I bet no one will lend her a hundred, even a hundred cents. They’re widows making a living from midwifery, and they don’t always have work. Lending them money is like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it won’t come back," Second Aunt Su said, "From what I’ve gathered, only Blind Li lent her fifty cents."

"Leave her be. Once she hits a wall, she’ll naturally think of us," Grandpa Su said, "What a fool."

In the afternoon, after going around the village, Zhang Zhaodi borrowed a total of three hundred cents. Now, only Zhong Lanhua’s family and Grandpa Su, Grandma Su, and Uncle Su’s family were left to approach.

At this moment, Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu returned.

Seeing them back, Zhang Zhaodi began crying at the courtyard gate. Many in the village witnessed this, speculating on what kind of trouble had befallen their family that they were borrowing money everywhere.

"Oh, this pretending is exhausting." After closing the courtyard gate, Zhang Zhaodi wiped her tears and said, "Daughter, I did as you said. What’s next?"