Chapter 8: Silly Brother Su Ping

Chapter 8: Silly Brother Su Ping

The car swayed and traveled for more than two hours before it finally stopped at the mining area.

Su An walked on the muddy road toward the mine.

Her brother, Su Ping, was about to turn 21 this year, a year older than Su Wan from the second branch of the family. Su Wan already had a son, yet even at 21, Su Ping was still being exploited by his family.

When Su An arrived, a group of workers, their safety helmets on and covered in dust, were preparing to head down into the mine.

Seeing her brother, still strong and sturdy, Su An’s eyes welled up with tears.

"Brother, Brother~"

Su Ping was filling a plastic bottle with water under the tap. Hearing the call, he was startled and looked around.

"An'an?"

There was unmistakable joy in his tone.

Holding the plastic bottle, he ran over, his footsteps loud. He smiled foolishly, his eyes sparkling, "An'an, why are you here?"

Looking at her brother, Su An’s eyes instantly reddened. Her brother wasn’t smart; due to a fever in his childhood, his reactions were slower than most people’s. But he had spent his whole life trying to protect his sister.

During the first two years, Su Ping was at home, and Su An had a relatively peaceful life.

If anyone in the family tried to hurt his sister, Su Ping wouldn’t hesitate to protect her, no matter who it was—Dad, Grandma, or anyone else.

Three years ago, Su Jianjun insisted that Su An, who was in junior high, quit school and work as an apprentice at a garment factory with her aunt, Su Wan.

Su An knelt and begged him, saying she wanted to continue studying. Her grades were always among the top in the school, and her teachers had always told her that education could change her fate.

Both Su Jianjun and Ji Qingqing said the family had no money and couldn’t afford to support so many children.

Su Ping immediately stepped forward and said he would go to work and that Su An must continue her studies. He would support his sister without asking the Su family for money.

When Su An heard her brother say this, she refused and agreed to drop out and become an apprentice at the garment factory.

But Su Ping held onto his sister and said, "An'an, you know I don’t like studying. Even if the teacher explains things seriously, I can’t understand them. My grades are always at the bottom of the class."

"Even if I continue studying, I won’t achieve much. You’re good at studying. It’s better if you go. When you succeed, you’ll be able to take care of me."

Without even taking the middle school entrance exam, Su Ping packed his bags and left for the mine.

His monthly salary was sent back home on time for his sister’s education.

To earn more money, he rarely came home for the holidays, and even during the Spring Festival, he only stayed at home for two days before leaving again with his pack.

Without her brother’s protection, Su An’s life became increasingly difficult, even though she was able to continue her studies.

Years later, Su An learned from her former teacher that she had indeed been accepted into a prestigious high school in the city, but Ji Qingqing had intercepted her acceptance letter and given it to Su Jiao.

"Brother~"

Su An choked back a sob, calling out to her brother as tears streamed down her face.

Su Ping panicked, unsure of what to do. "An'an, don’t cry. Who hurt you? Tell me."

"No, I just miss you, Brother."

Su Ping wiped Su An's tears. "You're a big girl now, why are you still crying? Your brother is here, what's there to miss? When the New Year comes, and I've earned some money, I'll go back and visit you, and buy some flower-patterned fabric to make you a skirt."

Su An held her brother's hand, which was rough and scraped her palm painfully.

At 20, he was still young, but his hands were already full of calluses from hard labor and dead skin left from burst blisters.

Seeing that it was time to go down the mine, Su An hurriedly said, "Brother, please ask the foreman for a half-day leave. I need to talk to you."

Su Ping, realizing he hadn't seen his sister for four or five months, nodded. "Okay, wait a moment, An'an. I'll ask Brother Liu for leave and get an advance on my wages. Then I'll take you to eat something good."

Su An quickly grabbed Su Ping's hand. "Brother, no need to get an advance. I have money. Just ask the foreman for leave..."

Su Ping ran towards the front, speaking to a man wearing a yellow safety helmet, pointing towards Su An, and soon came back happily.

"An'an, let's go. I'll take you to town and buy you some soda to drink."

Su Ping smiled brightly, just like when they were kids in the countryside, holding her hand as they ran together, the wind in their faces.

It wasn't far from the mine to the town. After a short run, they arrived. Su Ping led Su An to a small shop, felt the 3.3 yuan in his pocket, and shouted to the shopkeeper inside, "Boss, one bottle of soda and a sesame pancake."

"Soda is 0.25 yuan, sesame pancake is 0.3 yuan."

Su Ping handed over a one-yuan note, carefully counted the change, and put it in his dirty upper pocket. He then handed the soda and a sesame pancake the size of an adult's palm to Su An with pride.

"An'an, eat quickly. Da Chuan told me it's very delicious."

Su An felt a pang in her heart. "Brother, what about you?"

"I don't like eating these. You eat."

Su An ran inside and shouted, "Boss, one more soda and a sesame pancake."

"Ah, An'an, don't. It's expensive. I can just eat..."

"Brother, don't say anymore. Listen to me. If I treat you, you treat me."

At the big locust tree at the entrance of the town, the two siblings sat shoulder to shoulder on a stone bench, drinking soda and eating sesame pancakes, their laughter carrying far.

"Brother, if you stop working at the mine, can you leave immediately?"

"No, the wages are withheld. If you leave immediately, you won't get the money. You have to give advance notice so the foreman can find someone to replace you."

"Brother, don't do it anymore. You like cooking, right? Go back to the city and find a restaurant to apprentice as a chef."

Su Ping instinctively nodded at his sister's suggestion. "Okay."

But soon, he shook his head. "No, apprentices don't get paid."

Su An's voice choked. "Brother, I'm not studying anymore. You don't have to support me."

Su Ping's voice rose. "What do you mean you're not studying? Didn't I send money back? Was it not enough?"

"Brother, please sit down and listen." Su An pulled her brother's hand to make him sit.

"Brother, promise me you won't get angry or act impulsively."

In another life, Su Ping only found out half a year after Su An's marriage that his sister had been married off, and even became the mother of three children.

Despite what Su Jianjun and Ji Qingqing said about the Zhao family, Su Ping was stubborn and insisted on bringing his sister back from the Zhao family.

But by then, Su An was already pregnant. Facing her brother who came to find her, she could only insist that she had chosen this path.