As the city lights began to flicker on, Su Youfu prepared a basin of hot water to soak his wife's feet.
Sheng Juanhua sat on the couch and naturally dipped her feet into the basin as Su Youfu sat on a small bamboo chair opposite her.
Next to them were some bars of soap and a bottle of cheap moisturizer.
Su Youfu seemed accustomed to this task, having washed his wife's feet with soap, dried them, and then applied a generous amount of moisturizer, proceeding to massage and knead her feet.
Back in Gumula Village, Su Youfu used to do the same, but often in the dead of night or by carrying water upstairs, as the countryside homes were never fully secured, with people dropping by at any hour.
Su Youfu, being small in stature and limping, left most of the strenuous farm work like rice planting, woodcutting, bamboo digging, and bamboo cutting to Sheng Juanhua.
In her youth, Sheng Juanhua had been slender and delicate, but now her frame had expanded, maintaining a good figure yet with a robustness from years of farming, accompanied by several lingering ailments.
There was a lump on Sheng Juanhua's foot, which had been there for many years, yet she never sought medical attention.
The couple never mentioned this to their daughter, sometimes joking privately that they feared it might be a tumor and it's better not to look, believing that as long as one doesn't step into a hospital, they'll remain healthy, as hospitals bring about all sorts of illnesses.
Su Youfu persisted in massaging his wife's feet, hoping that the lump would eventually disappear with enough pressure.
During the day, they would tidy up a house near the city museum.
With the assistance of Ms. Liang, they hired some workers for renovations, but Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua preferred to oversee the work themselves. In order to open the house quickly, both of them pitched in, realizing that hiring a worker cost over three hundred a day, so with both of them working, they earned over six hundred a day, a significant sum compared to the earnings from rural activities back home.
After finishing their work there, Su Youfu would then engage in bamboo weaving while Sheng Juanhua went back to her hometown to fetch bamboo strands.
Some said that Su Youfu and his wife were living the good life with their newfound wealth in the city, but seeing Sheng Juanhua still returning home to cut bamboo, they doubted it.
Since Su Youfu's limp kept him from returning, Sheng Juanhua was left to handle things alone, which made everyone a bit more restrained, refraining from making casual jokes. Sheng Juanhua was, after all, a daughter-in-law from elsewhere and didn't have Su Youfu's easygoing nature. Even Xiaoqi's Grandma toned down her nagging; she knew that no matter how much she scolded, Sheng Juanhua wouldn't be affected.
Of course, the nagging persisted.
As Sheng Juanhua chopped bamboo and split it into strips, she neither argued nor responded to the old lady's constant chatter.
Xiaoqi's Grandma felt a pang of anger and suspicion. Her son had money now but didn't think about repaying her or her brother. He was heartless, not even coming home. Though after ranting for a while, she started to doubt again: did he really have money? She always felt her eldest son was the least capable, always quick to anger and scold. But seeing his wife still wearing old clothes while working, she was certain they were broke. Her eldest son was smitten with his wife; if he had money, he'd surely buy her new clothes first.
Recently, Su Youfu and his wife, Sheng Juanhua, have been busy as can be. During the day, they work together to renovate their shop, and at night, they work on bamboo weaving. Sheng Juanhua even has to go back to her hometown to fetch bamboo from the mountains.
Luckily, Xiao Qi, the cultural center teacher, surprisingly introduced them to a two-bedroom apartment. Though it's on the ground floor, it comes with an irregular little courtyard and a reasonable rent. Upon inquiring, they found out that the surrounding apartments were much pricier. Xiao Qi's teacher, referred to as Director Zhou, mentioned that they were looking for someone to help with inspecting the property, so they didn't charge a high price.
Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua felt a bit intimidated by Director Zhou, who was associated with Xiao Qi's cultural center. Though Mrs. Liang, whom they had newly met, seemed straightforward and easy to get along with being in business, Director Zhou made them feel somewhat out of place. They didn't dare to ask too many questions and ended up renting the place in a daze.
Initially, Su Youfu thought they didn't need a two-bedroom apartment and that a one-bedroom would suffice, likely at a lower cost. However, Director Zhou casually mentioned that Xiao Qi would stay there during holidays, and with that, they decided on the place.
It turns out that the property they rented was the one Xiao Qi and Zhou Meiling had looked at and eventually bought.
Xiao Qi had the agent cancel the lease and then asked Director Zhou to introduce the place to her parents.
Liang Huaying was quite surprised; Director Zhou seemed genuinely concerned about Xiao Qi's parents, having already found them a house.
She had wanted to help as well.
Despite feeling tired, Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua felt fulfilled and satisfied. Their shop would open in another month, giving them more time to work on bamboo weaving.
Su Youfu sat on a small bamboo chair, humming as he massaged his wife's feet. His touch felt as professional as the girls at the foot massage parlors, given his years of experience. He also soaked his own feet while massaging hers, ensuring both were relaxed by the end.
As they finished massaging one foot, they were startled by a knock on the door. They hadn't shared their address with anyone.
Su Youfu stood up, grabbed an iron rod used for bamboo weaving, and approached the door.
Unlike in the village, where doors were usually left open, here they kept it shut with a small peephole to see who was outside.
Su Youfu took a quick look and was surprised to see Mrs. Liang. She must have known they lived here and quickly opened the door.
It was getting dark, and Su Youfu wondered why Mrs. Liang had come; perhaps there was something urgent.
With a smile, Mrs. Liang stepped inside and greeted Su Youfu, calling him "big brother Su," and greeted Sheng Juanhua as "sister-in-law."
The house was neatly arranged, with a small living room. But seeing the foot bath tub and water on the floor, along with soap and moisturizer, Mrs. Liang couldn't help but wonder if they were having a foot bath or a foot massage.
"Big brother Su, sister-in-law, I hope I'm not disturbing you by coming at this time," Mrs. Liang said with a smile.
"No, not at all," Su Youfu quickly shook his head.
Sheng Juanhua also felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Are you hungry, big sister? Let me make you some noodles."
In the village, it's customary to offer food to guests as a sign of hospitality.
Eating out is convenient in the city, so people are less likely to accept invitations to eat at someone's home.
"I've eaten already. Look, I've brought you some good news," Liang Huaying said as she took out a newspaper from her leather handbag and handed it to Sheng Juanhua.
Sheng Juanhua wiped her hands and took it, then passed it to Su Youfu.
Although her husband was more educated than her, Sheng Juanhua lacked confidence despite studying hard these past few days.
Su Youfu took the newspaper and glanced at it. It was the Capital Evening News. He wondered what relevance news from the capital city had to a farmer like him. As he skimmed through, he noticed a prominently displayed photo of someone riding a horse.
Upon closer inspection, he realized he recognized the person.
"This... this... could it be our daughter?" Su Youfu exclaimed.
Sheng Juanhua leaned over to take a look. "Mother is more attentive than father."
"Yes, that's our Xiao Qi!" Sheng Juanhua confirmed at a glance, despite the helmet covering her head.
Liang Huaying had heard from her daughter Jiajia that Xiao Qi had participated in a horse racing competition. Jiajia was Xiao Qi's biggest fan and always kept track of her activities, almost instantly knowing everything. Curious, Liang Huaying had asked about Xiao Qi's recent activities, never expecting that her daughter would even win first place in a horse race. It was simply astonishing...
Even though he often thought he had become numb to surprises, hearing this news still shocked Su Youfu. Was horse racing really that easy? Could one simply win a championship so casually?
Liang Huaying genuinely admired Xiao Qi and wanted to impress Su Youfu as well. Upon learning that Xiao Qi had made it into the Capital Evening News, she purposely bought a copy of the newspaper to give to the couple.
"Indeed, it's your Xiao Qi. I always thought she was good at studying, but I never imagined she could also ride horses. To have horse riding featured in the newspaper, your future is bright," Liang Huaying remarked.
"Horse riding? Xiao Qi has never ridden before," Su Youfu said, still puzzled. There were no horses in their village, only a single mule, a donkey, and two water buffalo. He had never seen his daughter ride any of them.
Sheng Juanhua immediately patted her husband's arm and said, "Don't you remember when our daughter was three years old? You put her on a big dog, and she rode it so well, going quite far without falling."
Su Youfu vaguely remembered this incident and hurriedly nodded in agreement.
The couple thanked Liang Huaying repeatedly and even offered her a meal, but she politely declined, claiming to have other matters to attend to. She left after leaving the newspaper with them.
The couple sat on the sofa, laughing foolishly as they read the newspaper. After a while, Su Youfu slapped his forehead and said, "Wife, the water's cold. Let me fetch a fresh basin for you."
"Why bother washing? Let's go buy more newspapers instead. We should stock up; this is our daughter's newspaper. It's good to have some spare copies to read whenever," Sheng Juanhua suggested.
With that, Su Youfu became anxious too.
The couple forgot about eating and rushed out separately to buy more newspapers, planning to search every newsstand and place that sold newspapers in town.
As the city lights began to flicker on, Su Youfu prepared a basin of hot water to soak his wife's feet.
Sheng Juanhua sat on the couch and naturally dipped her feet into the basin as Su Youfu sat on a small bamboo chair opposite her.
Next to them were some bars of soap and a bottle of cheap moisturizer.
Su Youfu seemed accustomed to this task, having washed his wife's feet with soap, dried them, and then applied a generous amount of moisturizer, proceeding to massage and knead her feet.
Back in Gumula Village, Su Youfu used to do the same, but often in the dead of night or by carrying water upstairs, as the countryside homes were never fully secured, with people dropping by at any hour.
Su Youfu, being small in stature and limping, left most of the strenuous farm work like rice planting, woodcutting, bamboo digging, and bamboo cutting to Sheng Juanhua.
In her youth, Sheng Juanhua had been slender and delicate, but now her frame had expanded, maintaining a good figure yet with a robustness from years of farming, accompanied by several lingering ailments.
There was a lump on Sheng Juanhua's foot, which had been there for many years, yet she never sought medical attention.
The couple never mentioned this to their daughter, sometimes joking privately that they feared it might be a tumor and it's better not to look, believing that as long as one doesn't step into a hospital, they'll remain healthy, as hospitals bring about all sorts of illnesses.
Su Youfu persisted in massaging his wife's feet, hoping that the lump would eventually disappear with enough pressure.
During the day, they would tidy up a house near the city museum.
With the assistance of Ms. Liang, they hired some workers for renovations, but Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua preferred to oversee the work themselves. In order to open the house quickly, both of them pitched in, realizing that hiring a worker cost over three hundred a day, so with both of them working, they earned over six hundred a day, a significant sum compared to the earnings from rural activities back home.
After finishing their work there, Su Youfu would then engage in bamboo weaving while Sheng Juanhua went back to her hometown to fetch bamboo strands.
Some said that Su Youfu and his wife were living the good life with their newfound wealth in the city, but seeing Sheng Juanhua still returning home to cut bamboo, they doubted it.
Since Su Youfu's limp kept him from returning, Sheng Juanhua was left to handle things alone, which made everyone a bit more restrained, refraining from making casual jokes. Sheng Juanhua was, after all, a daughter-in-law from elsewhere and didn't have Su Youfu's easygoing nature. Even Xiaoqi's Grandma toned down her nagging; she knew that no matter how much she scolded, Sheng Juanhua wouldn't be affected.
Of course, the nagging persisted.
As Sheng Juanhua chopped bamboo and split it into strips, she neither argued nor responded to the old lady's constant chatter.
Xiaoqi's Grandma felt a pang of anger and suspicion. Her son had money now but didn't think about repaying her or her brother. He was heartless, not even coming home. Though after ranting for a while, she started to doubt again: did he really have money? She always felt her eldest son was the least capable, always quick to anger and scold. But seeing his wife still wearing old clothes while working, she was certain they were broke. Her eldest son was smitten with his wife; if he had money, he'd surely buy her new clothes first.
Recently, Su Youfu and his wife, Sheng Juanhua, have been busy as can be. During the day, they work together to renovate their shop, and at night, they work on bamboo weaving. Sheng Juanhua even has to go back to her hometown to fetch bamboo from the mountains.
Luckily, Xiao Qi, the cultural center teacher, surprisingly introduced them to a two-bedroom apartment. Though it's on the ground floor, it comes with an irregular little courtyard and a reasonable rent. Upon inquiring, they found out that the surrounding apartments were much pricier. Xiao Qi's teacher, referred to as Director Zhou, mentioned that they were looking for someone to help with inspecting the property, so they didn't charge a high price.
Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua felt a bit intimidated by Director Zhou, who was associated with Xiao Qi's cultural center. Though Mrs. Liang, whom they had newly met, seemed straightforward and easy to get along with being in business, Director Zhou made them feel somewhat out of place. They didn't dare to ask too many questions and ended up renting the place in a daze.
Initially, Su Youfu thought they didn't need a two-bedroom apartment and that a one-bedroom would suffice, likely at a lower cost. However, Director Zhou casually mentioned that Xiao Qi would stay there during holidays, and with that, they decided on the place.
It turns out that the property they rented was the one Xiao Qi and Zhou Meiling had looked at and eventually bought.
Xiao Qi had the agent cancel the lease and then asked Director Zhou to introduce the place to her parents.
Liang Huaying was quite surprised; Director Zhou seemed genuinely concerned about Xiao Qi's parents, having already found them a house.
She had wanted to help as well.
Despite feeling tired, Su Youfu and Sheng Juanhua felt fulfilled and satisfied. Their shop would open in another month, giving them more time to work on bamboo weaving.
Su Youfu sat on a small bamboo chair, humming as he massaged his wife's feet. His touch felt as professional as the girls at the foot massage parlors, given his years of experience. He also soaked his own feet while massaging hers, ensuring both were relaxed by the end.
As they finished massaging one foot, they were startled by a knock on the door. They hadn't shared their address with anyone.
Su Youfu stood up, grabbed an iron rod used for bamboo weaving, and approached the door.
Unlike in the village, where doors were usually left open, here they kept it shut with a small peephole to see who was outside.
Su Youfu took a quick look and was surprised to see Mrs. Liang. She must have known they lived here and quickly opened the door.
It was getting dark, and Su Youfu wondered why Mrs. Liang had come; perhaps there was something urgent.
With a smile, Mrs. Liang stepped inside and greeted Su Youfu, calling him "big brother Su," and greeted Sheng Juanhua as "sister-in-law."
The house was neatly arranged, with a small living room. But seeing the foot bath tub and water on the floor, along with soap and moisturizer, Mrs. Liang couldn't help but wonder if they were having a foot bath or a foot massage.
"Big brother Su, sister-in-law, I hope I'm not disturbing you by coming at this time," Mrs. Liang said with a smile.
"No, not at all," Su Youfu quickly shook his head.
Sheng Juanhua also felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Are you hungry, big sister? Let me make you some noodles."
In the village, it's customary to offer food to guests as a sign of hospitality.
Eating out is convenient in the city, so people are less likely to accept invitations to eat at someone's home.
"I've eaten already. Look, I've brought you some good news," Liang Huaying said as she took out a newspaper from her leather handbag and handed it to Sheng Juanhua.
Sheng Juanhua wiped her hands and took it, then passed it to Su Youfu.
Although her husband was more educated than her, Sheng Juanhua lacked confidence despite studying hard these past few days.
Su Youfu took the newspaper and glanced at it. It was the Capital Evening News. He wondered what relevance news from the capital city had to a farmer like him. As he skimmed through, he noticed a prominently displayed photo of someone riding a horse.
Upon closer inspection, he realized he recognized the person.
"This... this... could it be our daughter?" Su Youfu exclaimed.
Sheng Juanhua leaned over to take a look. "Mother is more attentive than father."
"Yes, that's our Xiao Qi!" Sheng Juanhua confirmed at a glance, despite the helmet covering her head.
Liang Huaying had heard from her daughter Jiajia that Xiao Qi had participated in a horse racing competition. Jiajia was Xiao Qi's biggest fan and always kept track of her activities, almost instantly knowing everything. Curious, Liang Huaying had asked about Xiao Qi's recent activities, never expecting that her daughter would even win first place in a horse race. It was simply astonishing...
Even though he often thought he had become numb to surprises, hearing this news still shocked Su Youfu. Was horse racing really that easy? Could one simply win a championship so casually?
Liang Huaying genuinely admired Xiao Qi and wanted to impress Su Youfu as well. Upon learning that Xiao Qi had made it into the Capital Evening News, she purposely bought a copy of the newspaper to give to the couple.
"Indeed, it's your Xiao Qi. I always thought she was good at studying, but I never imagined she could also ride horses. To have horse riding featured in the newspaper, your future is bright," Liang Huaying remarked.
"Horse riding? Xiao Qi has never ridden before," Su Youfu said, still puzzled. There were no horses in their village, only a single mule, a donkey, and two water buffalo. He had never seen his daughter ride any of them.
Sheng Juanhua immediately patted her husband's arm and said, "Don't you remember when our daughter was three years old? You put her on a big dog, and she rode it so well, going quite far without falling."
Su Youfu vaguely remembered this incident and hurriedly nodded in agreement.
The couple thanked Liang Huaying repeatedly and even offered her a meal, but she politely declined, claiming to have other matters to attend to. She left after leaving the newspaper with them.
The couple sat on the sofa, laughing foolishly as they read the newspaper. After a while, Su Youfu slapped his forehead and said, "Wife, the water's cold. Let me fetch a fresh basin for you."
"Why bother washing? Let's go buy more newspapers instead. We should stock up; this is our daughter's newspaper. It's good to have some spare copies to read whenever," Sheng Juanhua suggested.
With that, Su Youfu became anxious too.
The couple forgot about eating and rushed out separately to buy more newspapers, planning to search every newsstand and place that sold newspapers in town.
