Su Yun looked at him in surprise and asked, "Gu Hai, did you change into new clothes?"
Gu Hai replied, "Mom gave me these clothes. I couldn't bear to wear them before, but today I changed into them on purpose so I could wear them to show Mom!"
This was the second set of clothes Chen Xiue had given Gu Hai. Made from blue fabric and styled like a navy uniform, they looked fashionable and refined. On Gu Hai, they made him appear especially spirited and handsome.
Su Yun had wanted to say something else, but at that moment, the rich aroma drifting from the lunch boxes completely captivated her.
She greedily sniffed the air, staring fixedly at the two lunch boxes. She swallowed hard, wishing she could snatch them over immediately and stuff the food into her mouth just to taste it.
Suppressing her craving with great effort, Su Yun said, "Gu Hai, it's getting late. Let's hurry back."
By the time they returned to the courtyard house, every household had already begun eating dinner.
Su Baoguo was standing guard at the entrance to the middle courtyard. The moment he saw Su Yun and Gu Hai, he immediately turned and ran toward the Su family's main room, shouting as he ran, "Mom! Second Sister is back! And Second Brother-in-law is here too!"
At the neighboring He family's dinner table, Widow He heard Su Baoguo's shout and curled her lips in disdain.
"Hmph. They're not even married yet, and he's already calling him 'brother-in-law' every day. If he ends up marrying someone else later, won't the Su family be laughed at by everyone?"
He Hua took a bite of her coarse steamed bun and bitterly agreed, "Exactly! That Gu Hai looks dishonest at first glance. Su Yun will definitely get abandoned. Then she'll have no choice but to marry some old widower and spend her life raising someone else's children!"
Widow He nodded deeply in agreement. "That girl Su Yun doesn't look blessed at all. If she gets to become someone else's stepmother, that'll already be her good fortune."
Their words made He Cheng extremely irritated.
He tapped his chopsticks against the table, narrowed his eyes, and said sternly, "Enough. Are you going to let people eat in peace or not? Also, I didn't like that Xiao Zhang the matchmaker brought today. Tell her to find me someone prettier. Don't just throw any random woman at me. At the very least, she has to be prettier than the Su family's eldest daughter before I'll agree."
Hearing this, Widow He immediately forgot about the Su family and turned to He Cheng with a flattering smile.
"Son, don't worry. Right now, we're the ones choosing. Our family can afford a bride price, and we also have the 'three turns and one sound.' Your sister will soon marry into Deputy Factory Director Jiang's family. Plenty of people want to marry into our family, so take your time choosing…"
Meanwhile, at the Su family home, as soon as Su Yun and Gu Hai entered, they saw Chen Xiue with a dark expression on her face.
Su Wenshan was sitting on the kang bed as usual, rolling tobacco leaves into cigarettes. When he saw Gu Hai come in, he lifted his head slightly and gave a small nod as a greeting.
Su Yun's eyes shifted slightly. Smiling, she said to Chen Xiue, "Mom, Gu Hai specially made his family's secret braised pork for you today. On the way back, just smelling it made me so hungry I could barely stand it. Why don't you try it first and see how it tastes?"
At the mention of braised pork, Su Baoguo's eyes lit up instantly.
"Oh! More meat to eat!"
Chen Xiue shot him a disappointed glare, then said to Su Yun, "Your father and I are already full. We don't need that little bit of meat."
Su Baoguo pouted and immediately exposed her lie.
"Mom, you just said we were waiting for Second Sister to come home before starting dinner. I'm starving!"
Chen Xiue snapped, "Missing one meal won't kill you!"
Su Baoguo pursed his lips unhappily, feeling wronged.
Su Yun quickly changed the subject. She had Gu Hai turn around in place and said to Chen Xiue, "Mom, look how well this outfit fits him! Your taste is truly one of a kind!"
Gu Hai cooperated fully, giving a flattering smile that made him look like an obedient young man.
Seeing this, Chen Xiue hesitated, then finally couldn't hold it back any longer.
"Gu Hai, that collector identity you used before—was that also a lie? I already found it strange. How could someone as young as you be a collector? Just as I suspected. The sewing machine and bicycle you exchanged for us the first time you came to our house—where did they come from? Were you secretly doing something illegal?"
Gu Hai quickly shook his head.
"I wasn't! I didn't!"
Su Yun immediately said, "I can vouch for Gu Hai on this. He really didn't do anything bad… Mom, I'll tell you the truth. There really is a collector, but he can't show himself, so he asked Gu Hai and me to act as middlemen."
"At that time, I just wanted to improve our family's living conditions, so I secretly made deals with that collector. I helped him move goods, and he sold things to me at a low price. I promise, this time I'm absolutely not lying!"
The Treasure-Hunting System was that collector. Su Yun was only its middleman. Technically, she wasn't lying.
"Mom, Dad, think about it. If there really wasn't such a person, then where did all the supplies we gave Uncle Xia come from? And what about our bicycle and sewing machine? I couldn't have just created them out of thin air, right?"
"If I had told you directly that I was helping someone trade goods, you definitely wouldn't have agreed. So I dragged Gu Hai into this and made him take the blame."
Hearing this, Chen Xiue exchanged a look with Su Wenshan.
Su Wenshan asked gravely, "Gu Hai's father really was a martyr?"
"That's absolutely true!" Su Yun hurriedly said. "Other than the collector matter, everything else is true. Gu Hai's father really was a martyr, and it's also true that he entrusted all his money to me!"
"Mm!" Gu Hai obediently chimed in like an echo, looking rather aggrieved.
Su Yun added, "Dad, don't forget—Sister Xiu's job was thanks to Gu Hai's help. Director Sun only agreed to give her the job because of Gu Hai's father."
Hearing this, Su Wenshan nodded.
"In that case, neither of you really did anything wrong. If that collector doesn't want to show himself, he must have his own reasons. Since we benefited from him, we shouldn't pry too deeply."
Seeing this, Chen Xiue had just raised her hand to poke Su Wenshan when he suddenly sniffed the air and asked curiously,
"What smells so good?"
Gu Hai immediately opened the lunch box and said eagerly, "Dad, it's braised pork. I specially made it for you all."
The moment the lunch box was opened, everyone in the room forgot every other thought.
A short while later, at the dinner table, Su Baoguo swallowed the last piece of braised pork and nearly bit his own tongue.
"Second Brother-in-law, you're amazing! This is the best meat I've ever eaten in my life! If I could eat this every day, that would be heaven!"
Su Wenshan also smacked his lips in satisfaction and nodded in agreement.
Chen Xiue took the opportunity to smack Su Baoguo lightly with her chopsticks.
"You little glutton! Gu Hai made this meat, and he only ate two bites. You stole the rest, and you still have the nerve to say that?"
Su Baoguo covered his forehead and pouted.
"I didn't! Clearly, Second Brother-in-law was too busy putting meat into Second Sister's bowl, so he didn't have time to eat! Besides, Dad was fighting for it too—why don't you scold him? You only bully the weak and fear the strong!"
"What did you say, brat?" Chen Xiue snapped. "Say that again! Where is your father strong? You think I'd be afraid of him?"