Chapter 120: You Come Too

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: You Come Too

Su Jue waited for Aunt Zhao to return before heading out to a newsstand to make a phone call.

"Hello? Su Jue? You brat, why are you calling again? Aren’t phone calls expensive? As soon as you earn a little money, you waste it all on this," Mother Su nagged.

Su Jue said in a somber voice, "Mom, the results of Sis’s checkup are back. It’s twins."

Before Mother Su could feel happy, Su Jue added with a grave expression, "But one of the babies isn’t developing properly. The doctor said it will require more money for treatment. We need to have at least one or two thousand yuan ready."

"That much!" Mother Su exclaimed. Her expression grew heavy, and her lips became dry with anxiety. "Then what do we do? We can barely scrape together a couple hundred yuan at home."

"How much do you two have over there? Is it enough?"

"Mom, it’s not enough. What Wanwan and I have put together is only a thousand yuan. Even with two hundred from you, it’d be a drop in the bucket."

Su Jue pressed his lips together. "Mom, the problem now is that if Wanwan wants to save both babies, the subsequent costs will be even higher. We don’t know how much the underdeveloped child will need after it’s born."

"The two thousand we’ve calculated is just for the costs from now until the birth, plus hospital fees for the delivery and so on."

"Wanwan insists on saving both of them. What do you think?"

Mother Su’s eyes widened. "What do I think? How else could I think about this? Of course we have to save both of them! They’re both my grandchildren. We can’t lose a single one."

Su Jue knew it would be like this. The family would never give up on any of its younger generation.

"Mom, has Second Sister-in-law Su given birth yet? When is she due?"

"Second Sister-in-law Su is almost due. Her due date is September 18th, so sometime this month," Mother Su said.

"Here’s the thing. I want you to come to the Capital to start a small business and earn some money, and you can take care of Wanwan at the same time." Su Jue proposed this as his own idea, not Su Wan’s, because he was afraid it would make his other brothers and sisters-in-law uncomfortable.

"For now, we can lend the money you earn to Wanwan for her medicine to save the babies. Once I make money later, I’ll pay you back."

Mother Su shot back instantly, "You brat! Wanwan is my daughter, not your child! She’s in trouble now. If I, her own mother, don’t help her, who will?"

"And you’ll pay me back? Don’t be ridiculous. Just give me a straight answer now. If I go to the Capital, will I just be a burden to you, or can I really earn money to help Wanwan?" Mother Su was more concerned about whether she could actually help solve the problem.

"Mom, I have no reason to lie to you. Only if a family member runs this small business will all the money we earn stay within the family, and only then can it all be used to help Wanwan. With an outsider, no matter what, as soon as money is involved, it becomes a loan."

Su Jue felt helpless.

This was just how it was for ordinary families. They didn’t have deep pockets. If someone in the family got sick and needed money, the entire family had to pool their efforts for any chance of resolving it.

It wasn’t like wealthy families, where someone could be hospitalized for preventive care at the drop of a hat.

"I understand. Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll go!" Mother Su said without the slightest hesitation.

"Don’t you worry about things at home. I’ll arrange everything. You just need to help me buy a train ticket first."

Mother Su made the arrangements decisively.

Not wanting to waste any more money on the phone call, she finished giving her instructions and hung up.

Mother Su didn’t go home. The first thing she did was go look for Father Su.

Father Su saw Mother Su almost trip and fall off the ridge between the fields and hurried over to steady her.

"Honey, what are you doing? What are you so lost in thought about? You nearly fell."

"Old Su, I have something serious to tell you. Come home with me first."

"Then I’ll go ask the brigade leader for leave." Father Su rarely saw her with such a grim and heavy expression, and his heart skipped a beat.

When Father Su returned after getting his leave, Mother Su was sitting on the field ridge. Other people tried to talk to her, but it was as if she didn’t hear them. Seeing that a misunderstanding was about to start, Father Su rushed over, made a couple of cursory remarks to them, and quickly led the preoccupied Mother Su home.

"Honey, what on earth is going on? Didn’t our third son call you? Did he get into some kind of trouble?" Even as Father Su asked, he felt that couldn’t be right. ’Although our third son has a bit of a domineering personality, he’s reliable and smart. Even if he did make a mistake, he would never drag the family into it.’

"Our third son wants me to go to the Capital," Mother Su said, pressing her lips together.

"What? That brat! It’s bad enough he ran off so far away himself, but now he wants to whisk my wife away too?" Father Su was instantly displeased.

’Who wants to be separated from their lifelong partner in their old age?’

’He wouldn’t have it.’

"He asked me to go to the Capital to start a small business and make money. Thinking about it now, you really should come with me. I might not be able to handle it all by myself," Mother Su said, as if to herself, after staring at Father Su for a moment.

Father Su broke into a toothy grin. ’My wife is the best,’ he thought. ’Of course she’d be thinking of me no matter where she goes.’

"Honey, I don’t think I’ll go. A trip to the Capital costs a lot of money. I hear the fare alone is several dozen yuan. I can’t bear to spend that kind of money."

"Then you need to figure something out. Go borrow some money from your eldest brother and the others," Mother Su said with a frown.

"Borrow money? For the fare? That brat, our third son, asks you to go to the Capital but won’t even pay for your ticket? How unfilial is that kid?" Father Su rolled up his sleeves, ready to take action.

But Mother Su’s next sentence froze him in place.

"It’s Wanwan who needs the money. Wanwan is pregnant with twins, and one of the babies is malnourished in the womb. She needs a lot of medicine and a lot of money. We might not be able to save the baby, but both Wanwan and I are determined to. Since this child chose to be born into our family, as long as I can still work, I won’t give up on her."

"...What? There’s a problem with the baby?" Father Su froze completely. It took him a long moment to come to his senses, and then he started pacing around anxiously.

"How could this happen? They said it was a single baby at first, so how did it suddenly become twins? This child... We can’t give up on this child," Father Su said, slapping one hand with the other in a mix of anxiety and worry.

"That’s why I’m going with you to the Capital to start a small business. First, we’ll earn the money we’re still short."

"Then we’ll have to leave things at home to our eldest son’s wife."

"But our second son’s wife is about to give birth too, so we have to leave some money at home. We’ll discuss this tonight, after everyone gets back."

Father Su nodded repeatedly. "Okay, we’ll discuss it. No need to rush."

That evening, the whole Su Family returned home.

Father Su had also quietly gone to ask his eldest brother for help. His brother was willing to lend a hundred yuan, but in this day and age, which village family had much in savings? Besides, his brother had so many of his own children to raise.

Father Su sighed and took the initiative to speak. "The other baby in Wanwan’s belly isn’t doing well. It will take a lot of money to save her. Your mother and I have discussed it, and we’ve decided to go to the Capital to become individual entrepreneurs and earn money."

This single sentence stunned all the young people in the family.

"Is Wanwan okay?" Eldest Brother Su and Eldest Sister-in-law Su asked anxiously.

Second Sister-in-law Su stood up, holding her own belly, and frowned. "Didn’t they say it was a single baby before? How is it twins now?"

"Honey, don’t get worked up. You need to think about your own belly," Second Brother Su said, quickly steadying her.