"Oh, there's food! Doudou wants soda, soda is yummy."
A child's greatest joy is good food, bouncing and circling Xie Sui.
"I didn't buy soda today, drinking too much of that stuff isn't good for you. I'll make you fruit juice later. We have cake, fruit candy, and hawthorn jerky, malt candy. I originally wanted to buy some sour plum powder, but then I thought you're boys, you definitely wouldn't like sweet and sour things, so I didn't buy it."
Ding Ding scrunched his little face in a dilemma. He liked sour plum powder too. His friends had let him taste a small spoonful before, and the sweet and sour taste was unforgettable.
You can even brew it to drink, he wanted some too.
"Um, Dad, Ding Ding can be a girl."
Lin Wanwan, who was bringing water for Xie Sui, "... "
Silly son, he'd even be a girl for sour plum powder, he was truly simple-minded.
"Don't bother your dad. You must be tired, have some water."
"Thanks, wife. The water you brought is extra sweet."
"It's the same water, I didn't add sugar, what are you talking about being sweet!"
Xie Sui picked out a piece of sponge cake for Doudou: "Take this to great-grandma for me, can you run this errand for Dad?"
"I will complete the mission."
After sending the two children away, Xie Sui sneakily pulled Lin Wanwan into the house: "I bought something nice for you too. Don't say I don't think of my wife."
He took out a floral shirt, and Lin Wanwan's eyes lit up. She held it with adoration but said, "Why did you buy this? Such a waste of money, I have clothes to wear."
Xie Sui looked at her rough, blue cloth half-sleeve shirt, the hem still bearing a patch. It was loose and coarse, making her waist look even slimmer, as if it could be held in one hand.
If this were his past life, such a figure would be what countless girls dreamed of having, but Xie Sui didn't find it attractive, because she was emaciated to this extent.
Since following him, Lin Wanwan had probably never eaten a full meal.
He couldn't help but hug her gently: "I'm sorry, wife. I made you suffer before."
"Who lives without hardship? Let go, are you trying to take advantage of me!"
"You're my wife, what's wrong with a hug?"
Xie Sui's words lacked conviction because he didn't have a strong argument. His wife was indeed his, but he hadn't fulfilled his duty as a husband.
"I wanted to buy you pants. Wen Feng said it would be cheaper to buy cloth and make them, so I bought cloth. And clothes for the children. Can you sew them?"
Lin Wanwan had already seen the fabric. She measured it with her hand and had already figured out how to make clothes for the children. "Do you think I can't? If I can't sew, what would the three of us wear?"
She didn't know how to sew at first. Life had forced her to learn everything. Lin Wanwan could now even make the children's cotton-padded clothes look decent.
"You're so capable, wife. Next time we'll buy shoes, we've spent all the money we earned this time."
"Spent it all again. Xie Sui, you won't go broke from eating or wearing, but you'll go broke from miscalculation. You have the demeanor of a nouveau riche. From now on, all purchases must pass through me, understand?"
"Yes, I understand. I'll go see Dad and Mom. We'll make the preserves when I get back."
He took some flour, pork, homemade preserves, and brown sugar, filling a large basket. He headed to the old house.
Xie Sui's father, Xie Dahe, was less than fifty but looked over sixty, his face covered in wrinkles like old bark. He was tall and thin, with a hunched back, the picture of a standard old farmer.
Xie Sui's mother, Zhao Xiue, looked equally aged, her eyes filled with kindness. She had worried herself sick for her children her entire life.
Xie Sui was the youngest son, with three older sisters. When Zhao Xiue was young and didn't have a son, she endured much gossip. Her mother-in-law also disliked her. Fortunately, her husband was honest and reliable. She only managed to straighten her back after Xie Sui was born.
When it came to spoiling her son, Zhao Xiue was even more excessive than her mother-in-law. Xie Sui was the "brother" in the legendary "sister-spoiling-brother" dynamic.
"Husband, people are saying Xiao Sui is doing business now, he's on the right path and making money. Why don't we go take a look?"
Zhao Xiue held a winnowing basket, rubbing corn cobs. When the weather cooled, she would take it to the village mill to grind into cornmeal. This small amount of corn would last them a week. The old couple could barely survive.
"Look at what? If he remembered us old folks, he would have come to see us. How can a father go to see his son? I won't lose face like that."
Xie Dahe knew Xie Sui was making preserves. He'd tell any villager he met about his son's affairs. Before, he was complaining and mocking; now, he was praising and congratulating, which he found unsettling.
His hunched back had straightened considerably.
He had originally thought he could enjoy his son's success. However, after waiting for several days, there was no sign of him. Xie Dahe was seething with anger.
"You're stubborn. If you don't go, I'll go myself tomorrow. I miss Doudou and Ding Ding."
"Dad, Mom, I'm back."
Xie Sui looked at the low courtyard with mud walls, the house also made of adobe with a thatched roof, where even a strong wind could blow through.
He sighed inwardly. The old house definitely needed to be renovated.
His own house was built with his father's last bit of effort and many borrowed funds. He had originally intended to live with his son, but Xie Sui had been too disappointing, relying on his parents so much that he had to move back to the old house.
"You still remember you have parents!"
Xie Dahe puffed on his pipe, not even wanting to look at him.
"Dad, I forgot myself, but I can't forget my own father. I was too busy the past few days and didn't come to see you. It's my fault. Look what good things I brought for you."
He gave his father a box of Shilin cigarettes left from his trip to the county town.
"Oh my, you little scamp, buying such expensive cigarettes, you're courting death!"
Xie Dahe was heartbroken. He could buy a pound of pipe tobacco for that price, lasting a month. These were just a few cigarettes.
"Dad, pipe tobacco is bad for your health. From now on, your son will buy you good cigarettes.
Mom, here's some food. Eat as much as you want, don't be stingy. Your son can earn money. From now on, our family will eat meat every meal."
"Oh, that's good, making money is good. So much. You don't need to give it to us, give it to Wanwan and the children. We won't starve, we can still move around and support ourselves."
Zhao Xiue wiped her eyes, touched. Her son had finally become filial. She had dreamed of this day.
"There's enough for everyone, Mom. Eat with peace of mind."
"You've only earned a little money, and you're spending it so carelessly. You never knew how to manage money since you were little."
Xie Dahe gnashed his teeth, heartbroken. He hadn't bought this much meat even for New Year's. There must be two pounds of brown sugar. His hand itched to hit him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"About a dozen or so a day."
Zhao Xiue almost dropped the winnowing basket. "Heavens, son, don't lie to your mother to make her happy. What can you do to earn so much money? City workers only earn a few dozen a month. We can't do anything illegal."
"How could I? Your son even performed a good deed. It's all hard-earned money."
He told the old couple about his business of exchanging preserves for grain and then selling it in the county town. This was to put their minds at ease, otherwise, they wouldn't dare to eat these things even if killed.
"Good, our son was smart since he was little. He can cause trouble and trick people, but he needs to be able to trick them. He has the ability!"
Xie Dahe said happily. Xie Sui's cheeks twitched. With such a doting father, he wasn't surprised by all the bad things he did in his past life.
"Dad, Mom, the youngest brother is also at home."
A middle-aged woman entered from outside the door. She looked less than thirty, her toes sticking out of her worn shoes, and she looked at them nervously.
"Eldest sister, come in quickly. How is everything at home?"