Chapter 38: with translation of chapter title

Xu Honghua, upon hearing that she didn't need to raise this little girl, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "No objection, no objection; this lady can tell at a glance that the family conditions are good, and An'an living with her in the future would also be a blessing for An'an."

Battalion Commander directly took out the certificate Su Ruo had written and said, "Good, just sign this certificate of severing ties; from now on An'an will have no relation with your family."

Wu Honghua hesitated, saying, "Women's Director, look, we've raised An'an this big, and she's not our child; we can't just raise her for nothing, can we?"

Battalion Commander angrily slapped the table and said, "Is that what you raised? From childhood, has An'an ever eaten a bite of food from you, her aunt? An'an was raised by your brother and sister-in-law; what relation do you have with her?"

"That's not what the Battalion Commander meant; our Xu family has raised An'an for so many years—if it weren't for us, she would have starved to death long ago."

Battalion Commander pointed at Xu Honghua; he never expected that after a few years in the city, Xu Honghua would become so shameless, for money she wouldn't even care about her face.

Su Ruo, having come this far, had already learned Xu Honghua's character from the Women's Director, so this was no surprise.

She coldly looked at Xu Honghua and said, "Then what do you want me to compensate?"

Xu Honghua gritted her teeth and said, "We've raised An'an for six years; you ought to compensate us twenty… no, fifty yuan."

At this point even the Women's Director couldn't hold back, pointing at Xu Honghua and saying, "Fifty yuan? Xu Honghua, why don't you just go rob? An'an is just a child—how could she possibly spend that much money?"

Su Ruo readily agreed: "Fine, I'll give you fifty yuan—consider it as payment for the Xu family's upkeep of An'an over the years; take the money and you'll have no further relation with An'an."

From now on, no matter birth, aging, sickness, or death, you may not look for An'an again.

Xu Honghua's face lit up with joy; she happily took the money and signed and stamped her fingerprint on the severance certificate and receipt.

In Xu Honghua's view, being able to rid herself of the big burden An'an and still get fifty yuan for free was a great deal.

Seeing Su Ruo and the Battalion Commander about to leave, she immediately asked, "Battalion Commander, what about our family's house?"

The Battalion Commander said unhappily, "Your family's house collapsed; your parents and older brother and sister-in-law are all gone, so from now on the land will revert to collective village ownership."

Xu Honghua immediately panicked, "Battalion Commander, although my parents are gone, our family still has me—you can't take back our family's homestead!"

The Battalion Commander shut her down with one sentence: "The homestead is collective village property; are you even a villager? If you want the homestead, first pay for your parents' funeral expenses."

Xu Honghua felt as if her throat had been gripped; she couldn't utter a word. The fifty yuan in her pocket hadn't even warmed up yet—she didn't want to just spend it like that.

Su Ruo had already taken An'an and left; the Battalion Commander and Women's Director both gave Xu Honghua a contemptuous glance before departing—this daughter of the Xu family was now considered ruined.

Leaving Xu Honghua's alley, Su Ruo's mood was pleasant; having finally come to the county, the three of them went together to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The Women's Director and Battalion Commander bought some daily necessities.

Su Ruo bought several sets of clothes, shoes, hair clips, and other daily necessities for An'an.

These were things she had wanted as a child but never got; now she wanted to make up for them by giving them to An'an.

An'an was naturally cute and pretty; after dressing up, she looked even better.

The supply and marketing cooperative's clerk, seeing An'an as pretty as a New Year painting's blessed child, couldn't help but praise, "Your little sister is really pretty."

Su Ruo smiled, touched An'an's face, and said, "This is my daughter."

The clerk stared in surprise for a long time before saying, "You look really young..."

She hadn't expected that Su Ruo, who looked about eighteen or nineteen, would actually have such a big daughter.

Su Ruo smiled and didn't explain.

Su Ruo also bought some cigarettes and alcohol, white sugar and pastries, and Big White Rabbit milk candy.

She gave the cigarettes and alcohol to the Battalion Commander, the pastries and white sugar to the Women's Director, and kept the Big White Rabbit milk candy for An'an to eat.

The Women's Director and Battalion Commander had accompanied her all day; Su Ruo naturally couldn't let them help for free.

The Battalion Commander and Women's Director initially refused a few times, but seeing Su Ruo insist, they accepted—after all, these were good things they normally wouldn't even buy for themselves.

After all that, when Su Ruo and the others returned to Qingshui Village, Su Ruo again took her belongings and herbs, and by the time she got back to Li Family Village it was already evening.

As soon as Su Ruo entered the gate of the Zhiqing Dian, she saw that two large tiled houses had been built beside her room.

Because it was off-work time, everyone at the Zhiqing Dian was present; they were stunned to see Su Ruo return.

Chen Wei was the first to react; she walked up to Su Ruo and said proudly.

Su Ruo, do you see? That's the house Shi Rou and they built; from now on, our Zhiqing Dian won't just have you with a house—Shi Rou and Ze Yu brother also have their own houses.

Li Shirou raised her chin and glanced at Su Ruo, instantly feeling a sense of pride and vindication.

Actually, Li Shirou and they didn't bring much money when they went to the countryside; to build this house, they even spent all their savings.

Therefore, she and Li Zeyu these days have had to go to the fields to earn work points; not only are they exhausted half to death each day, but they've also gotten sunburned dark.

But at this moment, Li Shirou felt it was all worth it—Su Ruo just has one more house than her!

Now she also has her own house, and it's even bigger and better than Su Ruo's.

Su Ruo gave a half-smile, looking at Chen Wei, who was hopping about like a clown on a beam, and said, "Oh, so this is Li Shirou's house! Looking at you like this, I thought you were the house itself!"

Now that Li Shirou has a house, and you get along so well with her, she must have invited you to live together, right!"

Su Ruo knows Li Shirou; someone as selfish as her would never let Chen Wei move into her room.

In her previous life, she had waited on Li Shirou hand and foot, but every time she entered Li Shirou's room, she was despised, as if she were something dirty.

As Su Ruo had expected, Chen Wei's face changed instantly upon hearing her words.

She also wanted to move into Li Shirou's new house, not wanting to live with those Old Youth.

But Li Shirou said she had always lived alone since childhood, wasn't used to living with others, and refused her.

After being refused, Chen Wei felt resentful; Li Shirou's room is so big, they get along so well—why can't she live there too?

But she quickly realized that if she were to marry Li Zeyu in the future, she could then move into that house.

Moreover, if she moved into Li Shirou's house now, later when she courts Li Zeyu, people would think she had already been sleeping with Ze Yu brother.

Chen Wei knows how important reputation is in the countryside; she absolutely cannot let herself and Li Zeyu acquire such a stigma.

Thinking this way, Chen Wei's little resentment vanished instantly; one has to say she knows how to self-brainwash.

Chen Wei continued to swagger, saying to Su Ruo, "Su Ruo, you don't need to stir up trouble here; although I don't live with Shi Rou..."

But we now cook separately, eat and work together, unlike some people who are all alone with no friends; I get along well with Shi Rou, so your envy and jealousy are useless."

Su Ruo's cold smile widened: "You cook separately—can Li Shirou and her siblings even cook?" That remark left the scene silent once more.

Just by looking at Chen Wei's face, Su Ruo knew that during this period, she had certainly been the one responsible for cooking.

In my past life, I was this gullible fool, serving Li Shirou and her sibling; now it looks like Chen Wei has taken over.

Su Ruo didn't want to deal with it; Chen Wei, that fool, her willingness to serve Li Shirou and her sibling is her own business, as long as she doesn't come in front of me and be an eyesore.

Su Ruo picked up An'an and headed to her own room.

At this moment, Wu Qingqing asked in surprise: "Su Ruo, who is this little girl you're holding?"

For a moment, everyone's gaze fell on An'an, successfully defusing the embarrassment of Li Shirou and Chen Wei.

"This is my daughter."

An'an will be living here from now on, so there's nothing to hide about her identity, but Su Ruo also didn't explain further to these people; after saying that, she held An'an and went into the room without looking back.

But her words were like a stone stirring up thousand waves, causing the entire Zhiqing Dian to erupt in an uproar.

They never expected that Su Ruo would go out on a rescue mission once and return with such a big daughter.

Everyone started chattering, and Chen Wei said: "You say, Su Ruo couldn't be that legendary child bride, right? Otherwise there's no way to explain why she has such a big daughter."

Although everyone thought it was unreliable, it seemed that this was the only explanation that could make sense.

Chen Wei became more convinced she was right, she spat lightly and said disdainfully: "I said how could she have money to buy a house; turns out she sold herself to get it, nothing impressive, and I don't know what that man of Su Ruo is like—won't he have kicked them out onto the street?"

The others didn't speak further, but it was obvious they believed Chen Wei's speculation.

Chen Wei originally wanted to take revenge on Su Ruo; now such a good opportunity has been delivered to her doorstep—how could she possibly let it pass?

Chen Wei could no longer contain her excitement; she immediately sought out the village's favorite gossipmonger, and the two whispered to each other for half a day.

When she returned to the Zhiqing Dian, Chen Wei wore a smug look, and as she passed Su Ruo, she gave her a provocative glance.

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