Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 398 - 384: The Ending of Chen Juxiang

Chapter 398: Chapter 384: The Ending of Chen Juxiang

"It’s comfortable to be at home for a thousand days, but difficult to step out even for one day. Although our family’s conditions in the village aren’t the best, at least we manage to keep you fed and warm. You haven’t done any heavy labor or suffered much since you were a child. If you were to leave and had to fend for yourself, how could you withstand that?"

He Damei shook her head repeatedly.

"Yes, the Lu Family has already loosened up on us now, haven’t they? Next year, once we plant potatoes, we can sell them at a high price too. Our family will definitely be able to save up money quickly. Worst comes to worst, we don’t need to find a bride from around here; we could even buy one for you if we have to."

Su Lao Liu also deeply disapproved of the only seedling of the Su Family leaving home to venture out.

"Grandpa, I’ve long hated staying in this village; I feel suffocated," Su Kai said, his face twisted in anguish. In Yushu Village, not to mention children from other families who refused to play with him, even kids his age from his own family ostracized him.

The reason his family didn’t realize he was being beaten by that girl’s brother for over half a year was because getting beaten up outside was normal for him. At first, he would come home and tattle, then his family would accompany him to confront the offenders. But no one was afraid of them; more often than not, they ended up further humiliated.

Their family was weak and had no backing from the clan. Every time, it would end with nothing more than another round of humiliation. Gradually, when he was bullied or beaten outside, he stopped coming home to complain, claiming he had just fallen.

His family actually knew the truth but was powerless to change anything. He truly didn’t want his future kids to endure the same treatment.

"And Grandpa, do you really think if our family ’bought’ a bride she would stay with us?" Su Kai asked rhetorically, pulling at the corners of his mouth with disdain, "Aren’t you afraid that as soon as we bring her home, someone would tip off the police and get us thrown into jail?"

Su Lao Liu was left speechless; he didn’t need to think much about it—the possibility his grandson mentioned was indeed something the villagers were capable of.

"Where do you want to go?" Su Family’s old third, who had been silent till now, finally spoke up after listening for a while and weighing the situation for a long time.

"Down south. I’ve heard there are a lot of people working there. I plan to earn enough money to marry a bride there, then after having kids and a few years, I’ll decide whether to come back or not," Su Kai said, his eyes shining with an eager light.

"You don’t want to come back? Not coming back is like being rootless. How can that be? No matter what, Yushu Village is our foundation," He Damei was shocked by Su Kai’s thoughts.

Su Lao Liu and Su Family’s old third also showed disapproval.

"Grandpa, Dad, Mom, I think it would be ten times better to just sell our land and house and make a living elsewhere than to stay here. I’m even considering whether, after I get married and have children outside, I’ll come back with them to find us still at the bottom of the pecking order here in the village. They’d probably leave me and run away themselves."

Su Kai gave a bitter smile, "What have you been doing all these years, always staying put here without making a move?"

"You’re young; you don’t know how hard it is to make a living out there," Su Lao Liu sighed, and the old third and He Damei nodded in agreement.

"All I know is that if Lu Aiguo hadn’t taken his family out, he wouldn’t have made such a fortune today. A tree dies when it’s uprooted, but a person thrives when they move. It definitely isn’t as difficult as you think it is," Su Kai, still young and impetuous, had the boldness of a calf that is not afraid of a tiger.

"If everyone leaves, how would we take care of her?" Su Lao Liu scratched his head in irritation. He didn’t want to leave; he felt the tide was turning for the better and there was no need to suffer out there. But his grandson was right, so he pointed at Chen Juxiang and asked.

"Why don’t we just not sell the house and the land, rent the land out instead, and leave some grain for her each year for her to stay behind? As long as she doesn’t starve, it’ll be fine," Su Kai, with a look of aversion, said dismissively without thinking, "We surely can’t take her with us, can we?"

"We need to think this over," said Su Lao Liu as he crouched to one side, took out his dry tobacco pipe, stuffed it with tobacco, lit it, and took a deep draw, his gaze turning vague.

Su Kai’s mouth twitched slightly, and in the end, he nodded without continuing to persuade.

He Damei and the third son of the Su Family also fell into deep thought.

Not far away, Chen Juxiang, who had heard every word from her spot on the ground, showed despair in her eyes. She wiped away the two lines of tears that streamed down her murky eyes with her sleeve and, shakily standing up, carried on toward the pigsty with the half-bucket of pig feed remaining.

...

Half a month after the wedding of Lu Yun and Shitou, a major event shook the Su Family in Yushu Village.

Lu Yun’s biological grandmother, Chen Juxiang, hanged herself in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Su Lao Liu did not adhere to the village customs for handling her funeral arrangements: there were no ceremonies, the body was simply taken away by the funeral home staff, and she was swiftly cremated and buried.

The next day, the Su Family silently left the village.

Given that she was Lu Yun’s blood grandmother, Yushu Village relayed the news promptly.

"Chen Juxiang is gone?" Lu Yun was genuinely stunned for a moment after hearing the news from Shitou.

"That’s right. The others from the Su Family had already discussed moving south to try their luck days ago and had sealed a lease agreement for their land, entrusting it to relatives of the Su Family. In their plans, there was no intention of taking Chen Juxiang with them. Instead, they arranged to have the majority of the annual rent from the land converted to grain and sent to the Su Family’s old home for Chen Juxiang’s provisions," Shitou explained as he carefully observed Lu Yun, who, aside from shock, exhibited no other mournful emotions, which reassured him.

"In her previous life, Chen Juxiang was quite the long-lived one in Yushu Village, making it to her nineties. When I left, she was still vigorous enough to shout and curse loudly. I had witnessed firsthand the saying ’good people don’t live long, a scourge lasts a thousand years’ apply to her."

Lu Yun fell silent for a while, finding that the sense of satisfaction she expected to feel didn’t arise within her.

No satisfaction, no sadness, no melancholy...

It was as if what she had heard was about someone completely unrelated to her, so mundane that it didn’t stir a single emotion in her heart. Could it be that over the years, she had unconsciously let go of the Su Family?

Lu Yun took a deep breath, "Do you think I’m heartless to have no feelings at hearing this news?"

"How could that be? I know everything that’s happened. How could I think of you in that way?"

Upon hearing Lu Yun’s words, Shitou first raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smiled and said, "However, we should still make a trip back to Yushu Village. After all, there’s a blood connection. When someone dies, they are like a snuffed candle, and no matter what they did in life, people tend to be more forgiving towards the deceased. If we don’t show the proper respects, some might gossip behind our backs. If we can avoid such slanderous talk, why not do so?"