Chapter 384 Returning to My Parents’ Home (8)

Chapter 384: A Trip Back Home (8)

This was Fu Zhengtu’s first time stepping into Su Taotao’s room.

To be honest, it was quite a surprise.

In his eyes, Su Taotao was a strong-willed and independent woman, but he never imagined her room would be so…kiddish?

“Do you like these things?” Fu Zhengtu picked up a small rabbit plushie.

Then he thought of Chenchen’s little tiger plush, probably hand-sewn by her crafty mother.

Truthfully, this was also Su Taotao’s first time in this room. None of the girlish knickknacks filling the space were hers, but she had to play along.

She tapped the small wind chime by the window and smiled at the rows of spotless little plushies neatly arranged on the bed:

“My mom thought I liked them, so she’d make one or two every year from fabric scraps. Over time, they just accumulated.”

Fu Zhengtu nodded. With two older brothers, the baby of the family was always doted on.

Fu Zhengtu put the plushie back.

“They’re in the way on the bed. Let’s put them in the cabinet.”

Chenchen, who had somehow slipped in unnoticed, stared at the bed full of plushies and exclaimed, “Whoa! Tiger’s buddies! Mama, is your bed a zoo?”

Su Taotao: “…” Indeed—the whole menagerie. Tigers, elephants, lions, rabbits, hippos, turtles…you name it. Mrs. Su must have sewn every animal she knew, essentially creating a whole zoo.

Her craftsmanship had evolved from clumsy at first to refined and exquisite. By the time she made Chenchen’s little tiger, it was already realistic.

Every stitch carried the love of a great mother for her child.

“Su Taotao” had grown up drenched in affection. At the very least, the old Su Taotao, who had little parental warmth, was deeply envious.

“If you like them, Chenchen, we can take them all home when we leave, okay?” Su Taotao said.

Chenchen blinked. “Really?”

Su Taotao casually picked one up and squeezed it. “These were all made by Grandma for me. Since we don’t come back often, it’s better to take them home than leave them here to gather dust.”

Of course, Chenchen wouldn’t refuse. Taking them back meant he could open his own zoo—imagine how jealous as heck other kids would be!

“Yeah, yeah! Dongdong and Pangpang will definitely be jealous too.”

Su Taotao mussed his hair and said nothing more.

After traveling nonstop for a day and a night, exhaustion finally caught up with them. After bathing and changing into fresh clothes, the whole family crashed for some sleep.

Mr. Su and Mrs. Su, of course, kept busy. It was almost time to start preparing dinner.

In those days, the apartment building didn’t have private kitchens—just one large communal one where all the families gathered to cook during mealtimes.

“Oh, you had chicken for lunch, and now you’re eating so well for dinner too? Your son-in-law isn’t some backwoods nobody, right? Weren’t you unhappy with him before and refused to let him step foot in your home?”

“Yeah, yeah, or did you take one look at him and suddenly find him pleasing? Don’t mind him bringing the whole family to mooch off you anymore?”

“Cut the crap! Old Man Wang at the gate said the Su family’s son-in-law is a real looker with class—posher than city boys. How could he be some backwoods nobody?”

“Then Taotao’s really lucky! Back then, she married some farmhand without telling a soul and didn’t come home for years. I thought her husband must’ve been a total embarrassment…”

"Enough!" Mrs. Su was picking off old vegetable stems when she'd heard enough of the absurd remarks. She threw the stems back into the water with a loud splash and snapped sharply:

"The rice in your pots, the greens in your bowls—none of it would exist without farmers breaking their backs in the fields. You call them 'dirt-poor farmers,' yet you feast on what they grow. Why not just live on air and sunshine if you're so clever?"

The usually gentle Mrs. Su's sudden outburst left everyone stunned.

Mr. Su also swept a cold gaze across the room. "Watch your mouths—kindness is free."

They could dismiss such talk among themselves, but if it reached Fu Zhengtu’s ears, what would they say for themselves?

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances. The couple had always been the most good-natured, never even getting angry when people joked about their son being a kept man. Why were they so upset over a few remarks about their son-in-law?

Mr. Su was the most senior technician in the factory, earning the highest salary with his unmatched skills. He held the know-how, training countless apprentices who owed their careers to him. Everyone respectfully addressed him as "Master Su."

The men in the households of those who had spoken earlier all aspired to technical positions—positions that required Mr. Su’s approval. Without it, they had no chance.

Truthfully, they meant no harm. They were just idle and gossipy, used to picking apart every family’s affairs.

Most took such talk as casual dinner-table chatter, rarely taking it seriously.

"Sorry, Master Su, we didn’t mean anything by it—just jawing."

"Yeah, yeah, we’ve got big mouths. Really didn’t mean it."

"Our bad! We’re done here, so we’ll head out first. Take your time cooking—make sure your son-in-law gets plenty of good food…"

…

In an instant, the communal kitchen emptied, leaving only Su Donghan and his wife.

"I blame you for this!" Mrs. Su fumed. "If you’d just let me visit Tao Tao in the countryside back then, we’d have known what kind of man Zhengtu was from the start. Would we be putting up with this trash talk now?"

If not for Su Donghan stopping her, she would’ve gone to see her daughter long ago.

Later, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to go—her eldest grandson was born by year’s end. Though she wasn’t the primary caretaker, she still had to help often, and one thing after another kept her tied up.

Their second son had always wanted to visit, but as a temp worker, taking extended leave wasn’t easy. He was frequently sent on business trips, and once, even after buying a ticket near Qinglian County, plans fell through and he couldn’t go.

By then, Su Taotao had already left with Fu Zhengtu for the base, only returning now.

Su Donghan did have someone in Qinglian County keeping tabs, and even if Su Taotao didn’t write, word she was safe (Ping An) still reached them regularly.

But both sides had dug in their heels, neither willing to back down.

Even now, with everything turning out well and Fu Zhengtu proving to be an excellent son-in-law, hearing him dragged through the mud still stuck in her craw.

She hadn’t even been this angry when people mocked her eldest son for freeloading.

"Alright, alright, it’s all my fault. The kids are finally back—let’s just focus on making them a good meal. Least said, soonest mended."

Mrs. Su knew he was right. What else could they do? Parade Fu Zhengtu around to prove he was a son-in-law you’d be lucky to find?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt she needed a plan—something to show everyone just how exceptional Fu Zhengtu truly was.