Title: Su Yu’s Promotion Record in the ‘60s
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 14 - It made a black-hearted person like herself a bit embarrassed (3)
There was an old woman with her grandson in the neighboring bed. She looked at Su Dazhi and said, "Young fellow, you’re really useless. As a man, how can you not stand up to your wife? If your parents hadn't died, would they also be under your wife’s control? Are you still a man?"
Another person said, "Exactly, look at how well you've been raised and then look at your older sister's current condition. Open your eyes. The two of you are siblings. Even if you're separated, family ties can't be broken."
Su Yu sighed and said, "I don't expect him to repay me. I'm just worried that he'll be bullied by others. He was still so young when our parents died. We relied upon each other when we grew up… He's my baby brother."
Su Dazhi's face had turned red, and he finally couldn't hold it any longer. He rushed to her bed and cried, "Big Sis, Big Sis…"
Su Yu reached out her hand and repeatedly patted his head. "Be good, don't cry, don't cry."
As the saying goes, a crying child has milk to drink. The original owner unconditionally supported her younger siblings without break. She never told them about her difficulties, and she raised her siblings into selfish people. They didn't keep in mind that their good lives all originated from the original owner's selfless dedication.
Su Dazhi cried for a while before easing up. "Big Sis, I… I won't split up the family."
Su Yu shook her head and sighed. "How can we stay together? Aren't you scared of Liu Mei? All your money is under her control. Ai, tell me, why are you living such a lousy life? What kind of man doesn't manage money?"
"Isn't that so? My son is the one in charge in my family," the old lady said.
Su Dazhi said, "Big Sis, I… I won't give her any money anymore. I'll take care of it myself."
"What will you do if she refuses?"
"..."
"If only our mother was still here, she could still help you manage your money. After all, you still see me, your sister, as an outsider in your heart."
"Who said that? Big Sis, I don't treat you as an outsider."
Su Yu didn't bother acknowledging his empty words. "Do you know why Xiaozhi doesn't want to study? It's because he sees that our family's life is too difficult, so he's planning on going out to work. He said that he'll give me his future salary to save for him. He said that when he gets married, he won't let me pay the bridal price and wedding expenses. He'll use the money he earned himself. Xiaozhi said that he definitely won't follow in your footsteps."
Su Dazhi suddenly remembered that he had spent his family's money when he got married and said with a guilty conscience, "Big Sis, I'll give you my salary. You can help manage my money too."
Su Yu looked at him. "Dazhi ah, don't even mention that money. Right now, Big Sis can't even believe that you can buy me a meat bun."
Su Dazhi: "..."
When Yan Xiaofang came back, Su Dazhi was driven back to work by Su Yu.
For Su Dazhi's character, Su Yu concluded that the original owner took care of him too well. He hadn't experienced any trials and hardship. He hadn't had to assume responsibility for himself and also had a soft temperament. A person like him, who hadn't experienced suffering, was easily influenced and instigated by others. Even her cowardly father was better than him. Although she didn't like people like him, he was still a permanent worker that would be paid every month and had various benefits from his employment. He was a ready-made meal ticket, so she had to keep him.
Su Dazhi, who had been treated as a meal ticket, was eager to eat.
After leaving the hospital, he felt increasingly hungry. To be honest, although he had often not eaten enough over the years, he always had some food to eat. So, missing one meal was enough to make him uncomfortable. On the way back, smelling the fragrance coming from the government-run restaurants, he gulped down the saliva in discomfort.
It was a pity that when he reached into his pocket, he couldn't find a single dime, much less a food stamp.
When he thought of the words that his older sister had said to him in the hospital, he felt even worse. How could he live such a lousy life? He was a salaried worker who couldn't even afford to buy a bite to eat!
In the afternoon, Su Dazhi hurriedly returned home to eat. He planned on asking Liu Mei for money and food stamps while they were home. He would go to a government-run restaurant to buy a meat bun for his older sister and bring it to her.
However, when he returned home, he only saw Su Lin, his younger sister, squatting at the door with her hands clutching her belly. Her eyes practically glowed green when she saw him return.
Su Dazhi asked, "Where is your sister-in-law?"
Big Sis was in the hospital, and he was used to Xiaozhi running wild. Why hadn't Liu Mei come back?
Su Lin pulled his arm and said, "I'm the only one home. Older brother, quickly, take me to eat something. I'm starving." She hadn't eaten anything all day and night and only drank water. All she accomplished was tormenting herself.
This was embarrassing. Su Dazhi touched his empty pocket. "We can't go out to eat. We'll cook food ourselves."
Then, he hastily went to the cabinet containing food and saw that it had been locked… Why was there a lock here?
Translator Ramblings: I think Su Yu's assessment of Su Dazhi's character is fair. He fails in basic problem-solving. An adult would know to borrow money from a coworker or a manager for bus fare and return the money the next day, especially when there's an emergency. It's an easily solved problem, but this doesn't even occur to Su Dazhi.
I wonder if it'll ever occur to him that the reason he doesn't have money to buy lunch is because the rest of the family is used to Su Yu cooking lunch every day, and not because his wife is deliberately mistreating him. I think Su Yu would actually like him more if he didn't fall for her manipulation.
In her concluding thought about Su Dazhi, she thinks that her father, a person that tried to sell her off into a marriage alliance, is better than him. Based on that, I think we can infer that Su Yu is a person that values competency over morality and her personal feelings about someone. If she had to work with a friendly, but incompetent coworker or a competent coworker she dislikes, I think Su Yu would pick the latter option.
Anyways, I like that Su Dazhi isn't depicted as a selfish person and that he has room to turn around =).