After saying that, Su Baoguo made a face at Jiang Yaozu and sneered, "Shame on you! You look like a pig, yet you can't even beat me. How embarrassing!"
Chubby and big-eared, Jiang Yaozu scrunched his features together upon hearing this, and his crying instantly grew louder and more pitiful.
"Mom, he called me a pig! Waaaah…"
Mother Jiang felt heartbroken. She first coaxed him gently for a few moments, then shot Su Baoguo a vicious glare and turned angrily toward Chen Xiue.
"Look at the fine son you've raised! At such a young age, he's already bullying others. With the kind of upbringing your family has, even if our Jiang family never finds a daughter-in-law, we would never want your daughter!"
With that, she ignored the matchmaker's attempts to stop her and dragged her two sons away.
As he stepped over the threshold, the young Jiang Guangzong could not help but glance back at Su Yun, who was still sitting dazed on the kang. A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes, but unable to resist his mother's tugging, he could only leave with regret.
The matchmaker hurried after them, trying to smooth things over.
Chen Xiue anxiously chased them to the entrance of the courtyard. Only after watching them disappear into the distance did she stamp her foot in frustration. Returning to the main hall, she saw Su Baoguo still standing stubbornly in the middle of the room, refusing to move. Unable to hold back, she scolded him:
"Look at what you've done! Matchmaker Zhang finally introduced a good family to your second sister, and you've ruined it. If your sister is forcibly sent to the countryside later, it will all be your fault!"
Hearing this, Su Baoguo's small face turned pale. He pursed his lips, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
Chen Xiue spun around, grabbed the broom by the door, and struck Su Baoguo without hesitation. "I'll teach you to be so capable! I'll teach you to hit someone else's son! I'll teach you to refuse to apologize! They're right—you're poorly brought up!"
With each sentence, she struck him once. Knowing he had caused trouble, Su Baoguo did not even dare to dodge.
The broom smacked against his thin legs with sharp, snapping sounds.
At that moment, Su Yun, who had finally accepted the fact that she had been reborn, hurried forward to stop her mother. She pulled Su Baoguo behind her and said to Chen Xiue, "Mom, don't hit Little Five. He didn't do anything wrong."
Chen Xiue's voice instantly rose. "He didn't do anything wrong? So I'm the one who's wrong? Who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for you?"
"You're seventeen this year—exactly within the age range for this round of being sent down to the countryside. Each family is only allowed to keep one child in the city, so you'll definitely be the one forcibly sent away. Jobs in the city are tight right now. Everyone is competing for them. Your father and I have tried every possible way but can't find a position to keep you here. The only option is to marry you off quickly to a good family so you can stay in the city!"
"Your father and I have five children. Your eldest brother, second brother, and elder sister have already gone to the countryside. Only you and Little Five are left by my side. If you leave too, what am I supposed to do?"
As she spoke, Chen Xiue began to cry. "Among all the matches the matchmaker introduced, the Jiang family has the best conditions. The young man who came today is a truck driver. Not only does he have a respectable job, but his father is also the deputy director of the steel factory. With such conditions, if you two get along, you'll be blessed once you marry into their family!"
Su Yun had heard these words in her previous life as well.
The Jiang family's conditions were indeed good. In this era, they lived in an apartment allocated by their work unit, wore the most fashionable dacron clothes, each owned a bicycle, and ate meat every few days. Everyone envied them.
But in her previous life, Su Yun had never been attracted to Jiang Guangzong.
Not long afterward, however, a batch of steel went missing from the warehouse managed by Su Yun's father, Su Wenshan. The public security bureau arrested him under the charge of "embezzlement by taking advantage of his position." It was Jiang Guangzong's father, Deputy Director Jiang, who stepped forward and guaranteed Su Wenshan without hesitation, preventing him from facing a firing squad.
After such an incident, the steel factory had originally intended to dismiss Su Wenshan. Once again, it was Deputy Director Jiang who ran around pleading on his behalf. In the end, the factory decided to keep Su Wenshan on as a boiler worker, which preserved the Su family's livelihood.
Grateful for Deputy Director Jiang's righteousness, Su Yun agreed to marry Jiang Guangzong.
But after entering the Jiang family, she did not enjoy a blessed life. Instead, she worked like an ox or a horse for over twenty years.
In her previous life, being beaten to death by Jiang Guangzong could be considered repayment of Deputy Director Jiang's kindness. From then on, the two families owed each other nothing.
Now that she had returned to 1977 and knew what would happen in the future, she would naturally help her father avoid that impending disaster.
With this in mind, Su Yun repeated the same words she had once said in her previous life. "Mom, actually, I don't like Jiang Guangzong."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiue pointed at her fiercely, clearly frustrated that she was not living up to expectations.
She threw the broom aside, sulked for a moment, then spoke earnestly. "Xiaoyun, you're still young. There are things you don't understand. When you marry a man, it's about having food and clothing. Don't focus on the fact that the Jiang boy looks a bit plain… and is slightly short. What matters is that he has a good job and can earn money!"
"If you marry into their family, you can stay in the city and live well. Isn't that better than anything else?"
"As for men… once the lights are off, they're all the same. Just don't look at his face."
After saying that, Chen Xiue herself felt it was too blunt and showed a trace of embarrassment.
She quickly added, "Forget it. Since the Jiang family has already been angered away by Little Five, so be it. Their conditions are good, but you're one of the prettiest girls in this alley. You won't have trouble finding someone."
"This afternoon I'll go see Matchmaker Zhang again and ask her to put in more effort to introduce someone better. If that doesn't work, your second aunt mentioned someone before. I'll secretly go take a look when I have time."
Though she said this, Chen Xiue's brows remained tightly furrowed from beginning to end.
While Chen Xiue tidied up the house, Su Yun pulled Su Baoguo out of the main hall.
As soon as they stepped outside, she saw He Hua, who lived in the west wing across the courtyard, leaning against her doorway, cracking sunflower seeds and watching the Su family with a gloating expression.
When He Hua noticed Su Yun's new clothes, jealousy flashed in her eyes, and she could not resist sneering, "Hmph, some people can dress up as much as they like, but in the end, no one wants them."
Before Su Yun could respond, Su Baoguo shouted back angrily, "Who are you saying no one wants? You ugly spinster—no one would want you even if you threw yourself at them!"
Those words were like a sharp knife stabbing straight into He Hua's heart.
He Hua was eighteen, only one year older than Su Yun, and she was also within the age range for forced relocation to the countryside. She had been going on blind dates these past few days, but because her looks were ordinary and she lacked decent clothes, none of the men had been interested.
She had just returned from another failed blind date today. Before even entering the courtyard gate, she saw Mother Jiang dragging her two sons away in anger. She hurried home to watch the Su family's drama, only to be struck by Su Baoguo's cruel words.
He Hua's face turned ashen. She spat out the sunflower seed shells and pointed at Su Baoguo as she cursed, "You brat! Do you think your sister is any better? She looks like a vixen. No respectable family would want her. She's the one destined to never marry for the rest of her life!"