Daily Life of Raising Kids and Running a Stall - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Argument

Qiu Yuruo had already figured that Su Yunting had probably stopped taking medicine.

In modern society, even with some government support, serious illnesses still drove ordinary families into poverty. Let alone in this time period, without a decent family foundation, people with long-term illnesses usually stopped treatment once the money ran out.

It always came down to a lack of money.

Qiu Yuruo already had a plan to earn some. But with a comatose patient at home who needed turning, feeding, cleaning, and probably even massages to prevent muscle atrophy, someone had to be by his side at all times.

When Su Yunting’s mother was alive, she had likely been the one taking care of him. After her death, since Su Jingshu was a girl, she could only help with turning and feeding. Tasks like changing clothes and cleaning up probably fell to Su Yunting’s younger brother.

But Su Yunting had already been in a coma for almost three months. His chances of waking up were getting slimmer. In this time, whether a woman could support a family or not, a family still needed a man to carry the family name and stand as its head.

There were four siblings in the Su family, two boys and two girls. With Su Yunting unconscious, the only male left in the family was his younger brother. If he had good character, Qiu Yuruo planned to send him back to school once the family’s finances recovered.

If not, she would have to push him to go out and learn a trade. Either way, she couldn’t leave him at home just to take care of his brother.

So going forward, the one who would need to look after Su Yunting would be her.

That meant if she were going to start selling food, she couldn’t go too far from home.

While she was thinking about where would be a good place to set up a food stall, the courtyard outside grew noisy again.

The banquet had ended and the escorting family was preparing to leave.

Whether or not they truly felt reluctant, Qiu Yuruo still had to go out and see them off.

As she stepped out of the bridal chamber, the Su family members all got tense, worried she was about to cause a scene.

Just because she hadn’t made a fuss when she arrived didn’t mean she wouldn’t lose it after spending some time with a man who was unconscious.

The lively send-off scene suddenly fell quiet.

Her escort from the Qiu family was her third uncle, who knew she had taken Old Man Qiu’s silver and agreed to the marriage willingly.

Seeing her come out, Third Uncle said, “Yuruo, we’re heading back now. I’ll come get you for the return visit the day after tomorrow.”

After he spoke, the Su family members realized Qiu Yuruo wasn’t going to make a scene. In fact, she looked calm and even wore a faint smile, just like a normal bride saying goodbye to her family.

Seeing how surprised they looked, Qiu Yuruo added, “Don’t worry about me, Third Uncle. Even though Yunting is sick, it’s not just the two of us here. We have younger siblings. No matter what, I’m not alone anymore.”

Only then did the Su family remember that Su Yunting had lost both parents and was in a coma. He wasn’t exactly a good match.

But Qiu Yuruo had also lost her parents and had no siblings. With such a cursed fate, marrying into the Su family didn’t seem like such a loss.

With that in mind, and seeing that she wasn’t crying or throwing a tantrum, they no longer found her behavior strange.

The mood warmed up again.

After seeing off the Qiu family, Qiu Yuruo was getting ready to thank the helpers.

Old Man Su, who had stayed quietly in the back, now came forward. He had made sure Qiu Yuruo had no complaints about marrying his unconscious grandson before showing his face.

As the grandfather of the groom, someone quickly introduced him to Qiu Yuruo.

Seeing her politely greet him, Old Man Su felt more reassured. He said, “You’re now part of the Su family. You’re the eldest daughter-in-law of this generation. You must respect your elders, care for the younger ones, and be a good example to the women who come after you.”

Qiu Yuruo smiled coldly in her heart. There weren’t even any elders left in this house, so who was she supposed to respect?

Old Man Su had already forced Su Yunting’s whole branch out of the family, yet now he wanted to enforce rules and demand respect. Say what you will about Old Man Qiu, at least he had some sense of shame.

But Old Man Su really had none.

Even so, Qiu Yuruo couldn’t be disrespectful. Just because she had to show courtesy didn’t mean she would let him walk all over her.

She let him finish his speech without interrupting. Then she said, “I’d heard you had split this part of the family off and kept ten mu of land for retirement, saying you wouldn’t get involved anymore. But from what you’re saying now, I guess those rumors weren’t true after all.”

Old Man Su was pleased by her words. He stroked his beard and nodded, clearly satisfied.

Qiu Yuruo continued, “Since you’re still involved, that’s wonderful. Yunting’s condition can’t go on like this. Do you think you and Second Uncle could take him into the county to see a doctor? Even just getting a few more herbs would help. If we care for him slowly, maybe he’ll wake up someday.”

Just a moment ago, Old Man Su had looked so proud. But after hearing this, he stopped nodding and dropped his hand from his beard. He put on a sorrowful expression and said, “Yunting’s illness has hit me the hardest. Of course I want him to get better. But I’m already old. I want to help, but I just don’t have the strength anymore.”

Qiu Yuruo replied, “You might be getting older, Grandfather, but we still have Second Uncle. We’re all family. There’s no need to draw such a hard line. We should support one another.”

Before Old Man Su could respond, Second Uncle cut in, clearly unhappy.

He was beginning to realize that this niece-in-law was a lot more difficult than her late mother-in-law had been.

Old Man Su might still be hoping to keep this branch under control, but there was no point anymore.

Second Uncle said directly, “We split the family, so now we’re two familys. Everyone has to handle their own affairs. There’s no reason an uncle has to take a nephew to the doctor.”

He had barely finished speaking when he noticed Qiu Yuruo’s face change. He expected her to lose her temper, which would give him an excuse to cut ties completely.

But to his surprise, Qiu Yuruo held it in and said calmly, “Even if we’ve split the family, we’re still family. I’m not asking you to pay for his treatment. I only hope you can help us borrow a cart tomorrow so we can take Yunting to see a doctor in town.”

Her tone was soft, but Second Uncle could see the sharpness in her eyes.

She was trying to trap him into taking responsibility.

He scoffed to himself. These were the same tricks he used on her late mother-in-law. If Qiu Yuruo thought she could pull this on him, she had another thing coming.

If they were going to fall out, better do it now. Otherwise, she’d never stop clinging to him in the future.

He waved his hand and refused bluntly. “The crops in the fields are almost ready to harvest. If I go running off to town with you, how am I supposed to manage my own family? Look, Yunting’s condition is what it is. The doctors already said there’s little chance he’ll wake up. Don’t make things difficult for your uncle. This is just your fate. Sometimes, you have to accept it.”

He rejected her outright and even blamed it on fate.

But Qiu Yuruo didn’t go along with that line of thinking. She just said, “Taking one day won’t delay the harvest.”

Second Uncle cursed under his breath. She really was sticking to him like glue.

Determined to shake her off, he started saying harsher and more direct things.

But Qiu Yuruo simply kept repeating that even if they’d split familys, as an uncle he still had a responsibility to Su Yunting.

Just then, Second Aunt, who had been gathering leftover meat into a basin, heard the argument and rushed outside.

With her joining in, the scene quickly turned chaotic.

…

Su Yunting’s consciousness slowly returned. His brain hadn’t caught up yet, but the noise outside caught his attention.

It was his second uncle and second aunt, arguing with a woman he didn’t recognize.

As his mind became clearer, he didn’t need to hear the exact words. He already understood. The woman arguing with them must be his wife.

In the courtyard, his second uncle was making excuses, saying he had his own family to take care of and couldn’t spare the time.

His second aunt was more vicious. She said Qiu Yuruo had the fate of a jinx and that Su Yunting had brought misfortune on his own parents and brother. She even claimed his older brother had died because of him.

She slapped her thigh and shouted, “You two are cursed! You’ve already ruined your own parents. Don’t drag us down with you. We’re separate familys now. Don’t come to us with your problems!”

Qiu Yuruo didn’t get angry. She only said, “You’re Yunting’s uncle and aunt. If we don’t turn to you, who else can we turn to?”

Second Uncle felt like she was impossible to shake off. “I already have enough on my plate just taking care of your grandfather. I really don’t have the energy or money to help you. From now on, we’ll live our own lives and not bother each other.”

After that, he tried to involve the clan elder. “You were there when we split the family. Everything was written down. If she doesn’t agree with it now, you need to set things straight.”

The clan elder didn’t say anything at first. If Qiu Yuruo had already been married in back then, they wouldn’t have been able to force this separation so easily.

He felt sorry for Su Yunting’s family, but he had to follow the written agreement. So he tOld Man Qiu Yuruo, “When the family was divided, it was clearly stated that from then on, neither side would be responsible for each other’s matters, whether it was illness or funerals or weddings. Your mother-in-law was still alive then. She agreed, and she signed the contract.”

When the elder finished, Qiu Yuruo looked stunned. Then her expression turned helpless. She couldn’t say a single word.

No one else in the courtyard spoke. Only the quiet sobs of the two younger sisters could be heard.

Hearing everything, Su Yunting was filled with rage. His heart ached. He hated his grandfather’s coldness and his uncle’s greed and selfishness.

Most of the family’s land had been bought by his father while trading with his cousin. Yet all these years, the profits from that land had gone to his grandfather, who never paid a single coin for his studies.

When his father died and he fell unconscious, his grandfather, with all those years of land income, only bought him medicine for one month. During the split, he gave them a few bits of silver, divided the land equally between them and Second Uncle, and even took an extra ten mu from their share for his own retirement.

Every time Su Yunting thought about it, his hatred deepened.

And today, it grew even stronger.

But no matter how much he hated them, he couldn’t do anything.

All he could do was repeat to himself again and again.

Just wait. Wait until I wake up.

Cultural Notes:

• Ten mu of land: One mu equals about 666 square meters or 0.165 acres.