[176: I Have Something to Tell You]

Su Hanyan stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "I know exactly who Wu Jiaojiao is, and I'm not mad at her. It's not worth it!"

"Then are you mad at Big Brother?"

"No, I'm not. It's unnecessary!" Su Hanyan smiled at him and said, "You always listen to him no matter what. You have no backbone as a man. You apologize to me now, but as soon as your wife beckons, you'll be back in her arms, siding with her. It doesn't matter anymore. We have no relationship left. Let's go our separate ways!"

Su Jingheng felt uneasy being talked to like this.

He was more easy-going compared to Su Jingrui, not prone to anger even when uncomfortable. "Hanyan, Big Brother also has his own difficulties..."

"Stop!" Su Hanyan didn't want to hear it and hurriedly said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving. Deal with your difficulties with your wife."

Su Jingheng fell silent and finally nodded. "Alright, just make sure you visit Dad more often."

"How's Dad been lately?" Su Hanyan asked.

"He's been alright. Just hasn't been to work these past few days."

"Why?"

"Mom's back acting up again, and Tongtong has been running a fever for several days. Your sister-in-law can't handle both of them alone, so Dad took leave to take care of Mom."

"Why is Tongtong sick? Is it serious?" Su Hanyan asked, concerned about her niece.

"She's been getting injections for three days with no improvement. She had an IV today, and her condition is improving. She said she misses her aunt..." Su Jingheng struggled to continue, "Hanyan, you might dislike us, but could you find time to visit Tongtong? She really misses you..."

"I understand. I'll find time to go."

"Okay. Thank you, little sister!" Su Jingheng was overjoyed. He hadn't expected his little sister to care so much about Tongtong. "You should go on your way now. I'll go to work."

Watching Su Jingheng ride off on his bike, Su Hanyan returned to her dormitory after putting away the items.

Thinking about how she would start studying tomorrow, away for five days, and then immediately joining a research team for another week, it would be almost half a month before she could return. She decided to visit Tongtong today.

She bought two cans of canned food, a box of cake, some dried fruits and candies that Tongtong liked. Remembering her father loved tea, she also bought a pound of good tea leaves before heading home with her purchases.

Usually, chaos would erupt when she returned home, but today it was unusually quiet.

Perhaps because Wei Guiqin's back pain made her not in the mood to bother her, and Su Jingrui wasn't around, the house was much calmer. Su Hanyan visited Tongtong, gave her the pile of snacks, and Tongtong happily hugged her, kissing her non-stop.

After spending some time with her, she went to see Su Dajiang and gave him the tea leaves, deliberately not giving anything to Wei Guiqin.

Wei Guiqin felt jealous but had no way to express it.

Around noon, Su Hanyan prepared to leave.

Su Dajiang walked her to the gate. She walked alone towards the alley. Just as she had taken a few steps, she heard Su Jingrui calling her from behind.

She turned around and saw him leaning against the gate with bruises on his face, obviously having been in a fight. She didn't care who he fought with, nor did she have any interest.

"Hanyan, Third Brother has something to tell you."

Su Hanyan raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I..." The words choked in his throat, difficult to say.

"Hurry up!" Su Hanyan was impatient. "I don't have time to wait for you here!"

Su Jingrui took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and hesitated before speaking, "About that... you were right. Damn it, I was blind... I'm sorry..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes suddenly stared ahead, and he froze in place...

[177: Learn a Lesson]

Seeing his expression change, Su Hanyan followed his gaze.

Three policemen in uniforms appeared, walking towards them.

Su Jingrui's face turned pale.

Seeing this, Su Hanyan asked, "Did you get into trouble?"

"I'm not sure if it counts..."

"What did you do?" Su Hanyan was curious.

"I saw Lin Zhiqiu, that despicable woman, cozying up to Zhou Ningkai, so I went up and beat Zhou Ningkai up... that's all!"

Su Hanyan sighed and couldn't help but scold him, "Are you out of your mind? If you wanted to hit someone, it should have been that shameless Lin Zhiqiu. Why did you hit Zhou Ningkai?"

It's not that hitting wasn't an option, but Su Jingrui might have targeted the wrong person.

Su Jingrui muttered, "Damn, that wasn't the plan!"

"I've been telling you, but you wouldn't listen. You even thought I was slandering your Qui'er. Now you see who's truly despicable, right?" Su Hanyan mocked him, "I have to say, your thought process is quite unique! Now I can only wish you good luck. You've picked a fight with someone you shouldn't have!"

"What do you mean?" Su Jingrui asked.

Su Hanyan smiled lightly, "You'll find out soon enough. Good luck!"

"Oh, come on, what do you mean?" Su Jingrui pressed.

But Su Hanyan just smiled and didn't answer. She turned and walked away, passing by the arriving police officers without looking back.

She could hear their conversation behind her:

"Are you Su Jingrui?"

"Yes!"

"You were involved in a fight at the factory yesterday?"

"It wasn't a fight, it was a brawl!"

"Now he's undergone surgery and is hospitalized. It's been classified as a work-related injury. You intentionally harmed someone. Come with us!"

"It wasn't a fight, it was a brawl! A brawl!"

Su Hanyan smirked. It looked like Su Jingrui was in for trouble.

Well, it would teach him a lesson. Hopefully, he'd think twice before using his brain next time.

...

Su Hanyan spent five days studying outside. Upon returning to the factory, she immediately joined a study tour with the leaders to another province, spending a week on study and research.

By the time she returned to the factory, almost half a month had passed. This trip had been quite rewarding; upon her return, each member of their team submitted a research report.

She even wrote a news article overnight and submitted it to the "Capital Daily". The article was published the next day.

In addition to earning a fee for the article, she received praise from the factory leadership.

On the third day after her return, three new recruits joined the propaganda department. To her delight, one of them was Zhu Lin, her dormitory mate, who became a publicity officer in the department. Another girl, named Bai Xiuling, came from the employee reading room.

The third girl, Pan Yawen, was recruited from outside.

The office, which had been quiet for a long time, suddenly became lively again.

Lin Qingyu, in her role as the elder, took it upon herself to mentor these new employees, acting as a small leader and big sister figure.

Su Hanyan didn't want to get involved in these matters. She had become busy lately. The registration for the university entrance exam was about to start, and having worked in the factory for five years, she felt she was eligible to take the correspondence exam.

She needed to start studying those books. Despite her confidence, studying was necessary to refresh her knowledge. Besides this, she also had to translate English materials for Professor Fu.

One urgent matter at hand was to set up study classes. Zhang Tiancai had been urging her several times since she returned. Seeing that the weekend was approaching, she needed to go back to her rented house to prepare for the classes.

[178: Everything Goes Wrong]

On Saturday, Su Hanyan returned to the rented courtyard and tidied up. She converted two rooms, one accommodating over thirty people, and the other three rooms could fit around a hundred.

Currently, there were about two hundred registrations. She divided them into two groups, teaching one group on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays, leaving the weekends free for herself.

This arrangement ensured no overlap.

Once everything was set up, she promptly informed Zhang Tiancai.

On Sunday, over two hundred people arrived in a grand procession to register. The course consisted of eight classes per month, each two hours long, with a monthly fee of ten yuan per person.

The government now permitted tutoring classes, but most were aimed at correspondence exam or vocational university exam preparations, with few focusing on English for current students like hers.

Currently, teachers volunteered to stay and tutor children whose grades were poor, without charging a penny, diligently.

Therefore, such tutoring classes were actually unnecessary.

However, many teachers found teaching English challenging because they had limited exposure to the language compared to Su Hanyan, who was proficient. Hence, learning English was more difficult for them.

Her appearance gave hope to children struggling with English. The country strongly advocated education, and many families saw the college entrance exam as a critical path to changing their fate. Thus, they began investing in their children's education, not sparing any expense.

Opening this class earned Su Hanyan over two thousand yuan in tutoring fees that month, significantly easing her financial situation. Even if the factory closed down, she wouldn't have to worry about money.

A week later, Su Hanyan's tutoring classes were on track, with more and more people signing up. The team was growing stronger, and income was increasing day by day.

While everything went smoothly for her, troubles brewed at home.

Su Jingrui had gotten into a fight with Zhou Ningkai, resulting in serious injuries to Zhou Ningkai. Police investigated, and the outcome wasn't favorable: Su Jingrui not only had to compensate Zhou Ningkai for medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional distress but also faced imprisonment.

If he went to prison in this day and age, wouldn't his life be ruined?

Su Dajiang was distressed. He had a troublesome son, but what could he do?

[poor daddy su]

To secure his son's future, he visited the hospital almost daily to care for Zhou Ningkai, pleading with He Sulan with a basketful of sweet words, hoping they could settle things privately and avoid legal proceedings.

If the Zhou family accepted a settlement, a bit of money could resolve the issue, sparing Su Jingrui from jail. If they insisted on prosecution, however, Su Jingrui would have to go to prison.

"What can we do? Old Su, you have to think of a way! We mustn't let our son go to jail!" Wei Guiqin sobbed helplessly, relying on her husband for help.

"What can I do?" Su Dajiang's hair had noticeably grayed overnight. "If they don't accept a settlement, the third child will have to go to prison."

"They just didn't offer enough money," Wei Guiqin cherished her son dearly. "We can sell a couple of rooms. If we offer enough money, show enough sincerity, we can definitely move them!"

[179: Each Goes Their Own Way]

"Sell the house?" Wu Jiaojiao opposed immediately upon hearing her mother-in-law's plan to sell a house. "Which house are you planning to sell?"

"Of course, it's Su Hanyan's room. Lao San still needs to get married, so that room needs to be kept. Your houses shouldn't be sold either. The only option is to sell Su Hanyan's room," Wei Guiqin replied, eyeing the room that Jiaojiao wanted. "Selling the house is fine, but the money should be split evenly between us. Otherwise, count me out!"

"It's already this late, and you're still fixated on this house! Have you no conscience? With your little brother about to go to jail, how can you be so heartless as his sister-in-law?" Wei Guiqin was so angry she wanted to pick up a broom and hit her.

"Mom, please don't be angry!" Su Jingheng intervened quickly to prevent a fight between his wife and mother, proposing, "It might not be easy to find a buyer for the house right away if we decide to sell. Lao San is in urgent need. Why don't we call Chuanjuan and Hanyan back to discuss a solution?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wu Jiaojiao approved of her husband's decision. "Mom just wants money, right? Let's have Chuanjuan and Hanyan both come back. It's a difficult time for the family right now. Let them pitch in! I heard Hanyan started a tutoring class. It should be making good money. Although Chuanjuan doesn't earn money, Baojun does with his driving job, and his income isn't bad."

Wei Guiqin felt uneasy about involving Su Hanyan, but she saw no better options at the moment.

She was willing to do anything for her son's sake, even if it meant swallowing her pride.

"Alright! That's settled then." Wei Guiqin agreed, then turned to her husband, "I'll go ask Chuanjuan. You go to Hanyan."

"Forget about Hanyan." Su Dajiang disagreed with bringing his youngest daughter back. "She's managing on her own, and that money is for her livelihood..."

"Su Dajiang, have you thought about your son? If he goes to jail, his life will be ruined! Your daughter is your flesh and blood too, isn't she?" Wei Guiqin's tears flowed freely. She looked at her husband, clenching her teeth. "Dajiang, we're husband and wife. Do you really want me to kneel down to you?"

"No, I won't go." Su Dajiang refused adamantly. "How much money can she have? You're forcing her like this! I won't agree to her coming back, and I won't go ask! I'll go to the hospital again and see if there's any way to settle this. If it can't be smoothed over, then let Su Jingrui go to jail! A lesson might do him good..."

"Dajiang!" Wei Guiqin couldn't sway her husband and could only watch helplessly as he left.

Though Su Dajiang spoke harshly, he couldn't let go in his heart. After all, it was his son's future, his entire future... He didn't want to burden his youngest daughter and could only try to find a solution through the factory, asking someone to approach the leaders of the foundry to see if they could find an indirect route.

"Jingheng, go talk to your younger sister," Wei Guiqin refused to give up, "You only have this one brother. You can't just stand by."

"I understand, Mom!"

Su Jingheng reluctantly went back to the factory to find Su Hanyan, explaining the situation at home and pleading for her to return and help.

"I don't want to hear it!" Su Hanyan firmly refused. "When I left home, I made it clear that we would each go our own way. If the Su family has any trouble in the future, don't come looking for me. It's only been a few days, and you've already forgotten about this?"

"Hanyan, even if you dislike us, you don't dislike Dad, right? These days he's been so worried, he's lost weight, and I'm afraid he might fall ill!" Su Jingheng appealed to her soft spot for their father.

Chapter 180: Speechless

"I'll let Dad come find me then!" She decided firmly that she absolutely wouldn't wade into the murky waters of the Su family again, lest it leave her seething with anger.

"You really can watch your third brother go to jail?" Su Jingheng pleaded with her earnestly. "We're siblings from the same mother. We might joke around on ordinary days, but at crucial moments, we must stand united!"

"Is that so?" Su Hanyan's lips curled slightly. "Since Big Brother says so, why don't you contribute all your savings? If you can do that, then I'll help!"

Su Jingheng was instantly speechless.

"You see, since you can't even do that, what right do you have to ask anything of me?" Su Hanyan threw down these words and turned to leave for the factory.

However, her heart wasn't completely unfeeling. Even if not for Su Jingrui, she had to think for her father.

During the lunch break, she went to Changfeng Machinery Factory to find her father.

Outside his office, just as she was about to knock, she heard dialogue inside—her father was borrowing money again.

"Lao Su, it's not that I don't want to lend to you, but you know my family isn't well-off. Besides, the amount you're asking for isn't small..."

[again, Lao is used as an honorific for someone of seniority.]

"Lao Liu, I know. I heard your son's in business and has some means, so I'm shamelessly asking you for a loan. What if I pay you interest? I'm really in a bind because of my son's difficulties..."

"Lao Su, aren't you putting me in a tight spot? My son needs capital for his business, how can I ask him..."

Witnessing her father's humility in seeking money, Su Hanyan felt a pang of heartache.

She gently knocked on the door and entered directly. "Dad, I've come to talk to you about Third Brother's situation!"

Seeing Su Hanyan arrive, Lao Liu took the opportunity to slip away.

Father and daughter closed the door and began discussing the matter face-to-face.

"Dad, Big Brother came to see me, and he mentioned the family's difficulties. Why didn't you tell me about borrowing money? It's better to use your daughter's money than someone else's, right?" Su Hanyan said softly.

"You're having difficulties..." Su Hanyan continued, "Although there are difficulties, there's also money." She said to her father, "How much do you need? Just say it."

The last time her father was angry, he tore up the thousand yuan in front of Su Jingheng and his wife, and she had returned it all to him. Now, it was all in her hands.

She had intended to return it to her father earlier, but hadn't found the right opportunity.

Now, this money could be put to use. It could solve the current problem and also make Su Jingrui owe her a big favor. This money would come out of her father's hands and would be repaid by Su Jingrui in the future.

Anyway, she would earn from it, so no matter how it was calculated, she wouldn't lose.

She couldn't let her father be taken advantage of, but Su Jingrui could certainly be taken advantage of.

"Hanyan, your third brother is a piece of work, but you're still thinking about him at this time. Dad is really touched," Su Daqiang said, his eyes reddening as he sighed over his daughter's hardships, "If he can come out this time, I'll make sure he thanks you well."

"I'm not counting on him. If I didn't see Dad so worried, I wouldn't bother with him." Su Hanyan complained for a few sentences, then returned to her subject, "Dad, how much does the other side need?"

Su Daqiang sighed, "The medical expenses plus hospital fees and mental compensation fees. The other side suggested 2,000 yuan! However, even if that money is paid, the Zhou family will still keep your brother in prison! What do you say to that?"

"In that case, there's no other way. We can only go and negotiate with the Zhou family..." Su Hanyan thought for a moment and said, "Dad, I'm asking for leave to go to the hospital with you!"