Chapter 477 Sometimes Being a Bit Selfish Isn’t a Bad Thing

Chapter 477 Sometimes It's Not a Bad Thing to Be a Little Selfish

Seeing how envious the two girls were of Niu Niu, Su He asked, "Where are your flowers? I’ll help you put them on too."

Upon hearing this, the two girls quickly took out the flowers they thought were the prettiest.

Su He patiently tucked each girl’s flower into her neatly tied hair.

"All done, you're both beautiful little princesses," Su He said with a smile, praising Da Ya and Ya Ya.

Being called princesses for the first time, the two girls instantly felt overjoyed.

Children love wearing flowers and things like that, especially when a group of little girls gathers together.

Soon, more children from the village joined the Fu family, and they all started playing together.

Su He remained standing at the door, watching the children. Fu Tinghua, feeling that it was cold outside, frowned and said, "You go inside and warm up by the fire. I’ll keep an eye on the children."

"It’s fine, I’m not cold right now. By the way, I saved some tangyuan (sweet rice balls) for you inside. Go ahead and eat them," Su He suddenly remembered.

"Alright," Fu Tinghua replied without hesitation and went into the warm room.

Not long after Fu Tinghua left, Aunt Niu, who had been picking vegetables from the garden, passed by Su He’s house.

"Oh my, I wondered why I heard talking over here last night. So it really was you all coming back," Aunt Niu said delightedly.

"Yes, it’s been a while, Aunt Niu," Su He replied with a smile.

"It really has been a long time," Aunt Niu said, feeling a little awkward facing Su He.

After bothering Su He in the city last time, she and her husband had left without saying goodbye to avoid putting her out more and returned to the village.

Their family used to be much better off than the Fu family, but now all their sons had split off, and their youngest son, who was once the most favored, was still in prison, serving his sentence.

Thinking of this, Aunt Niu couldn’t help but feel awkward around Su He.

"Aunt Niu, about that piece of land—"

Su He had rented a plot of land from Aunt Niu and planted over twenty durian trees on it.

They had agreed that Su He could use the land for ten years, and the rent could be adjusted according to market prices.

But the price Su He had given Aunt Niu’s family was already higher than the market rate.

Aunt Niu had previously said she wouldn’t charge as much the following year, but given how difficult things were for her now, how could Su He cut the rent?

It was only a matter of ten yuan or so, and Su He didn’t feel like bringing it up again.

She simply wanted to say that she would continue renting that sloped plot next year.

But just as she was about to speak, Aunt Niu interrupted her.

"You’re talking about the land where you planted the durians, right? Don’t worry about that plot. I didn’t give it to any of my sons. If you want to rent it again next year, you can. As for the rent, I’ll charge fifteen yuan less than last year. I won’t ask for more."

As she said this, Aunt Niu’s expression turned somewhat bitter.

"That piece of land—my sons fought so hard over it because they knew they’d get rent from you every year. They all wanted it. But they never once considered me or their father. They didn’t want to leave us two old folks any means to survive."

Aunt Niu sighed deeply before looking up at Su He and asking, "Su He, tell me, how did all the sons I raised turn out to be such ingrates? My youngest son wrote to me recently, begging me to save him. Hah, what a joke. He took all the blame himself, and the crime is already proven. How can I save him? This son is as good as useless now. All those years raising him—wasted."

Su He looked at Aunt Niu and realized Aunt Niu, once so spirited, now looked as if she had aged more than a decade.

Indeed, worrying over kids can truly accelerate a woman’s aging.

"Aunt Niu, cheer up. Your kids aren’t your whole world. Sometimes, it’s okay to be a little selfish."

Su He’s words made Aunt Niu’s eyes go wide instantly.

In this day and age, a woman’s husband and kids were her whole world.

This was the first time someone had told her to be a selfish person.

"You’re right. Look at me—I’ve slaved for this family for half my life, and in the end, it’s gotten me nowhere," Aunt Niu sighed.

Her other sons and their wives always felt she favored her youngest son, believing she had left something for him, which led to much resentment toward her.

But in all honesty, she truly hadn’t left anything for her youngest son.

The family’s conditions were good, and the sons were always at each other’s throats.

They always thought their mother had something good stashed away, afraid it would end up benefiting their siblings.

And Aunt Niu’s family was a textbook case.

"Your youngest son..."

"Don’t worry about him. Anyway, he only got a few years. Let him think about what he’s done in prison. Since the family couldn’t knock some sense into him, let others teach him," Aunt Niu said coldly.

A son she had once loved so dearly now just made her tired.

What was even more absurd was that in the letter her youngest son wrote her, he mentioned his girlfriend.

He said he was worried about her and asked Aunt Niu to check on her at her home.

A son so hung up on some girl would be better off rotting in there.

That girl couldn’t care less about him. So much time had passed, and she hadn’t even written him a single letter, let alone visited him in prison.

Aunt Niu felt she was no longer just mad he didn’t turn out right—she now thought her son was a complete fool, wrapped around some girl’s finger.

Thinking of this, Aunt Niu couldn’t help but glance at Su He again.

How had she ever had the nerve to suggest that Su He marry her youngest son and become her daughter-in-law?

With her son’s behavior, what made him good enough for Su He? It was truly embarrassing.

"Alright, my husband is waiting for me at home. Let’s talk another time," Aunt Niu said, not wanting to dump all this on Su He any longer. She decided it was best to head home.

Lately, she had too much going on and didn’t want to bring Su He down with her problems.

"Sounds good. I’ll be back for a few days during the New Year, and I’ll come by to stop by," Su He replied with a smile.

"Yes, the New Year is almost here."

At this thought, Aunt Niu couldn’t help but feel envious of Wu Yanhua.

So many sons, and all of them so close.

Even though Su He’s family had moved out on their own, they still treated Wu Yanhua and her family so well, always including them when good things happen.

"Yeah, let's have a good chat during the New Year then," Aunt Niu replied with a smile before leaving.

Fu Tinghua had also just come out after finishing his tangyuan and was looking for Su He.

As soon as he stepped out, he caught a glimpse of Aunt Niu's back as she was leaving.

"Did you run into Aunt Niu?" Fu Tinghua asked.

Su He nodded to Fu Tinghua, then couldn't help but sigh.

When it came to Aunt Niu's problem, she wanted to help but really didn't know where to start.

All she could do was hope Aunt Niu found the inner strength to slowly come to terms with her son's troubles.