Chapter 13: Fighting Fire with Fire

Both men waded into the pool. Lin Yu smiled and said, "Brother Shen, she is the daughter of the brigade leader I mentioned to you last time. Don't you think she's prettier than Liu Caixia?"

Xie Beishen leaned lazily against the stone where she had just been sitting, a faint smile playing on his lips. "No need to look for the black dog anymore. Also, how much do you know about the brigade leader's family?"

Although Lin Yu was curious as to why Brother Shen had stopped looking for the black dog, he knew better than to ask; Brother Shen wouldn't tell him anyway. After pondering the brigade leader's situation, he said, "The brigade leader's eldest son is a soldier in the army, which is probably why their living conditions are better than most. His second son and youngest daughter are twins. They don't work in the same fields as us, which is why you rarely see them. Not long ago, I heard an educated youth named Zhang Feng say that the brigade leader's daughter is seeing Ma Zhiming..."

The sentence cut off abruptly. Lin Yu suddenly realized something, his eyes lighting up. "Holy cow, I remember now! It was Su Heng who was beating someone up that night. No wonder the silhouette looked so familiar. It must be him! Did you notice that, Brother Shen?"

Xie Beishen said, "Keep talking."

Lin Yu waded deeper into the water and continued, "I heard it from Zhang Feng, who shares a dorm with Ma Zhiming. He said the two are dating, and Ma was even bragging to Zhang about the delicious treats she sends him. Zhang Feng asked Ma if he was just after Su Wanwan's looks—otherwise, why would he be interested in a country girl who hadn't even finished primary school?"

"I saw Su Wanwan today and realized that Ma Zhiming is definitely after her looks. She really is beautiful."

Xie Beishen’s deep eyes darkened, and he felt a tightness in his chest that made him incredibly irritable. He attributed it to the fact that Su Wanwan had a boyfriend yet still chose to flirt with him, kiss him, and then pretend not to know him. Today, she had even kissed his chest—her methods of seduction were truly formidable; he had almost fallen for it. He didn't even notice the suppressed anger etched into his brow.

Lin Yu continued to talk, but Xie Beishen interrupted him, his tone icy. "Stop talking."

Lin Yu swallowed his words, looking up to see that Brother Shen was in a bad mood. Everything had been fine just a moment ago, hadn't it?

Su Wanwan walked down the mountain in high spirits. This was the happiest day she had experienced in the half-month since she had transmigrated. It must have been fate that brought her here to meet Xie Beishen. She decided that this time, she would pursue him aggressively; she didn't want any more regrets.

As she walked, she asked, "Brother, when did Xie Beishen come to the countryside? Where is he from? When will he be able to return to the city? And..."

Su Heng stopped in his tracks. "Why are you asking about him? What are you up to?"

Su Wanwan realized she had asked a bit too much. "Just asking."

Su Heng knew that in their village, many girls her age were already married or involved with someone. Her best friend had already married, so he said sternly, "These educated youths will all return to the city eventually. You mustn't get attached to them; you'll only end up getting hurt."

Su Wanwan understood his concern—it was the same logic Ma Zhiming held. Once they returned to the city, they wouldn't care about their country wives. But she liked Xie Beishen. She couldn't agree to her brother's request. She was determined to pursue Xie Beishen; even if she didn't succeed, she wouldn't leave behind regrets like she had in her modern life. At least if she tried, she wouldn't have any regrets.

Su Wanwan nodded. "I know, Second Brother. But do you know anything else?"

Su Heng continued walking. "He's been here for half a year. That's all I know."

Su Wanwan had more questions, but she didn't dare ask anymore, lest she ruin her chances with Xie Beishen before she even began.

When the two returned home, Mother Su was delighted to see the fish her son had brought back. "Take one to your grandfather's house and one to your maternal grandfather's."

Su Heng felt a sinking heart at the thought of his paternal grandparents, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse. His mother added, "Go to your maternal grandfather's house first."

Su Heng picked out three fish—the two largest for his maternal grandfather and the smallest for his paternal grandparents. He put them in his basket. He went to his maternal grandfather's first; if he had gone to his paternal grandparents' house first, they would have taken all three.

After finishing there, he went to his paternal grandparents' house. They lived with his uncle. Su Heng arrived and gave the fish to his grandmother.

Yang Guixiang took the fish with a smile and shouted toward the house, "Chunhua, come out and gut the fish! Are you waiting for an old woman like me to serve you?"

Su Heng watched his grandmother, a master of changing faces. One second her wrinkles were deep enough to crush a mosquito, and the next, she looked like she wanted to skin someone alive. He adjusted his basket and said, "Grandma, I'm going home."

Yang Guixiang grabbed his arm. "How many fish did you catch?"

Su Heng replied coolly, "Two."

"Why didn't you bring them all? Bao'er is still growing. You kids shouldn't eat any tonight; bring the rest over tomorrow morning," she demanded.

Su Heng was used to this. It was always Bao'er this, Bao'er that. Were they not her grandchildren too? "Grandma, the fish I brought today is over three pounds. You can't finish it in one meal. We already ate some for lunch."

Yang Guixiang frowned. "Then why did you bring it so late? You only think of yourselves! Tomorrow is your father's birthday, and we’re all coming over to eat. Tell your mother to cook something good."

"Fine."

Su Heng headed home, feeling frustrated. He shouldn't have agreed to give them the fish. When he got back, Su Wanwan noticed his mood and asked what happened. Su Heng told her about the fish.

From the original owner's memories, Su Wanwan recalled her biased grandparents. Her grandfather was Su Mao and her grandmother was Yang Guixiang. They had two sons: Su Jianwei and Su Jianguo. Uncle Su Jianwei and his wife, Jinhua, had three daughters and one son; the daughters were married, and the youngest son was in middle school.

Before the family split, the three siblings had been skinny as monkeys, starving every day. Mother Su would watch her uncle's children growing up plump and healthy, then look at her own children. Realizing they would likely starve to death if they stayed, she threatened her husband that if they didn't separate, she would take the children back to her parents' home.

They fought constantly. The grandparents were biased toward the eldest son and only allowed the split on the condition that they move out, receive no furniture, and pay a monthly allowance of one yuan. Mother Su agreed just to get out. They left with nothing but their clothes and moved into her parents' old house. Only then did the children have enough to eat. Later, when the eldest brother joined the army and sent money back, they were finally able to renovate the house.

Even so, the grandparents constantly squeezed them for more, raising the monthly allowance to five yuan. Every visit, they would take everything they could find, not caring how the family would survive. Mother Su eventually started hiding their grain at her parents' house, retrieving only what they needed weekly.

Su Wanwan muttered, "That's just like bandits raiding the house." No wonder they didn't have decent furniture or even enough pots and pans. They were likely the poorest family in the entire village.

"They are bandits," Su Heng said. "But Father is held back by the concept of filial piety. The uncle once saved Father's life and was injured in the process, and they always use that as an excuse. Plus, Father is the brigade leader; he has to maintain his reputation, so he just lets them be."

Su Wanwan realized tomorrow was another "bandit raid" day and whispered something into her second brother's ear.

Su Heng's eyes lit up. "Sister, do you think that will work?"

Su Wanwan smiled. "As long as you’re thick-skinned enough, we can use magic to defeat magic."

Su Heng replied firmly, "Alright. If Grandma stops raiding our house like a bandit, we'll do it. Let's execute the plan the day after tomorrow."