Chapter 5: The Eldest Son and Grandson of the Su Family, Su Bin, Makes His Entrance

Su Daqiang naturally did not accept the fish immediately. After a round of polite refusal and insistence, he pretended to be unable to resist and accepted the gift, personally seeing Su Yu off.

Passing by Huzi’s house, Su Yu knocked on the door again.

"Oh? Brother Yu, why are you here?"

"I just went to the old branch secretary’s place and stopped by to invite you to my house for fish. I caught a lot today; come over and have a proper meal."

The two had grown up together, so there was no need for formalities. In rural areas, when a family made something good, they would often send a bowl over or invite close neighbors to join them. This was how the tradition of becoming godparents started—two heads of families got along so well that they would simply formalize their bond: your son becomes my godson, and my son becomes your godson, bringing the two families even closer. This way of forming friendships always began with such small gestures.

"Ah! Why didn't you call me when you went fishing?"

Huzi didn't stand on ceremony. He told his parents, closed the door, and followed Su Yu. His grumbling about not being brought along was actually a sign of their firmest bond.

Likewise, whenever Huzi’s family made something delicious, they would remember Su Yu. The only reason they wouldn't send some over was if the portion was small, in which case they would just invite him over to have a taste. So, Huzi didn't hesitate and followed Su Yu straight home.

"Third Brother! Huzi Brother!"

As soon as they entered the courtyard, a little girl heard the commotion and ran out of the kitchen.

"You're back? Huzi’s here too? Come inside, wash your hands, and get ready for dinner."

Comrade Liu Yuzhi had returned. Su Yu called out "Mom," feeling a flutter of excitement. This was his first time seeing his mother since his rebirth. In his previous life, he had never noticed his mother aging until it was too late, but today, she was still in her prime, only in her forties.

"Hehe, don't stand on ceremony, Auntie. I'll go help serve the dishes."

Huzi didn't act like a guest and went straight to the kitchen. Liu Yuzhi followed, shooing him out, while Su Yu didn't linger and went straight into his room.

He saw a young figure inside, back turned to him, tinkering with something.

"Big Brother, you're back?"

Squatting on the floor sorting through wild vegetables was none other than Su Yu’s eldest brother, Su Sheng.

"Yeah, I'm back. I smelled the fish you were stewing as soon as I got home. Why did you stew it all at once? What if we can't finish it?"

"It's fine. It’s just the beginning of spring; it won't go bad."

"By the way, where’s the fourth one?"

The "fourth one" Su Yu asked about was fourteen-year-old Su Jin, who was in elementary school. However, in this era, schools were frequently closed for various reasons.

"You have the nerve to ask? Since you stewed all the fish, we obviously had to call Dad home. I sent Su Jin to get him. Looking at the time, he should be here soon."

His eldest brother was Su Sheng, the eldest sister was Su Li, Su Yu was the third, the fourth was Su Jin, and the youngest sister, Su Jing, had just started elementary school and was also home from a school break.

"Right, I heard you got beaten up? What happened?"

His brother stopped sorting the vegetables, put down the basket, stood up, and stared at Su Yu.

This couldn't be hidden, and Su Yu hadn't intended to. He had already told little Su Jing to mention that he was fine and only had a few scratches, which was why their mother hadn't questioned him when she saw he was unharmed.

In rural villages, boys fought often. His eldest brother, in particular, used to keep a machete under his bed, and their father, Su He, had made more than one trip to the police station to bail him out. But that was back when he was under fifteen; since turning eighteen, he rarely fought anymore.

"It's nothing, just some grazes. It was Lai San from Majiawan. I don't know what got into him, but he deliberately came looking for trouble."

Hearing it was Lai San, Su Sheng’s face turned fierce. Lai San was the same age as his brother, whereas Su Yu was much younger—Su Yu only had the advantage of height.

"As long as you're okay. I'll help you get revenge another day."

Hearing this, Su Yu quickly stopped his brother and spent a long time persuading him to let it go.

He wasn't joking; Su Sheng’s idea of revenge was simple and direct: going to Majiawan to beat the guy up. Su Sheng was a brute who relied on his size and weight to take on two or three people at once, or four or five if he had a weapon.

Perhaps it was good genetics; their father was tall, at 1.9 meters, and Su Sheng was also 1.9 meters. Only Su Yu, at eighteen, was 1.85 meters. They were a family of typical, towering Northerners.

"Speaking of Lai San, I ran into him on my way back. I saw him arguing with Su Bin, but they both stopped talking the moment Mom and I passed by. We only heard them arguing again after we left."

Su Bin, the eldest son of their uncle, was the eldest grandson of the Su family. He was only a year older than Su Sheng, at twenty-four—already a "mature" young man. Su Sheng hadn't married because his past fights had made him notorious, but Su Bin was different; he was purely idle, lazy, and jobless. He even slacked off when earning work points in the fields. With an uncle who had no particular skills—just a dirt-poor farmer—his marriage prospects had dragged on.

Idle people all shared a common flaw: they thought too highly of themselves, were hard to please, and were typical examples of people who ruined their own lives. If he had lowered his standards, he wouldn't still be unmarried at twenty-four.

Combining this with what his brother said about Lai San, Su Yu had a rough guess.

He had wondered why Lai San, five years his senior and from a neighboring village, would suddenly pick a fight with him. They barely knew each other. Now, the answer was clear. As a person who had lived to fifty before his rebirth, Su Yu had no lack of life experience or insight; it was easy to piece together.

"So that's it. Lai San didn't just pick a fight with me; Su Bin was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes."

That day, when he walked the educated youth, Xu, back, he had to pass through the center of the village. Educated youth were usually housed either by being boarded with a family that had extra space or in a communal dwelling provided by the village.

Clearly, Sanshuiwan didn't have families wealthy enough to house them, so the village had to provide a spot, usually a cave dwelling or a newly built adobe house. These houses were made of mud and straw, with no tiles on the roof, just mud that needed patching after heavy rain. They were heated by *kang* beds, so the cold was no issue.

Since Su Yu’s home was at the entrance of the village and the youth housing was at the end, he had to pass through the center. It wasn't strange that Su Bin had seen him. Everything made sense.

"What? Su Bin got Lai San to beat you up? Why would he do that?"