Excerpt From I Was Trapped In The 60s By The System
After returning home, the Su family became lively again because of this matter.
Lin Xueju pouted and complained, "Little sister, we're all one family. Don’t you think of me, your sister-in-law, when something happens? Isn’t your older brother part of the family too? Or are you only related to your second brother?"
Her words carried a hint of instigation.
Su Dazhu also looked a bit sad.
Su Man said, "Alright, next time I’ll come up with a new script and ask you and my older brother to perform it. It will be a story about a wicked daughter-in-law oppressing her honest husband."
Lin Xueju and Su Dazhu: "……"
Li Chunhua immediately laughed, clapping her hands. "That's great! Your sister-in-law will definitely play it well. She's just a wicked daughter-in-law, and your brother is a coward."
"Mom…" Su Dazhu called out, feeling wronged.
Li Chunhua was too displeased to even respond. Usually, he followed his wife like a shadow, but when trouble arose, he called for his mother—dream on!
Under the combined attack of Su Man and Li Chunhua, Lin Xueju immediately lost her temper, dragging her husband back to their room.
Su Qiuyue looked at her little sister with a sour expression. Even after returning to the room, she kept looking at her with resentment.
If it were before, she would have started lecturing her. After all, as the older sister, it was only natural to educate the younger sister.
Now that there were too many handles for others to hold against her, Su Qiuyue didn’t dare to utter a word. She could only express her feelings through her eyes, hoping Su Man would understand.
Su Man said, "I told you I’d add more to your role, but you didn’t want it."
Su Qiuyue was so angry that she nearly bit through her pillow. "Can’t you give me a positive role? I at least got into high school through my own efforts."
"How many favours did you curry with the teachers? Should I bring that up in your role?"
Su Man lay on the bed and waved a fan. "If you want a positive role, then you need to perform well. As soon as you do, I’ll arrange one for you. Otherwise, you can keep playing the antagonist."
Su Qiuyue bit the pillow and pretended to fall asleep.
Before long, an official notice came from the commune. Director Hao of the Women’s Federation personally led a team to arrange for another cadre from the Daqiaowan brigade to take these actors to perform in other brigades.
Team Leader Guo knew that once his brigade’s cadre went out, they would definitely meddle in things. So, to avoid complicating Su Man’s work, he decided not to assign anyone else and let Su Man represent the brigade.
The women’s federation of the brigade was unhappy about it. "Is it appropriate for Teacher Su to go for our Women’s Federation work?"
"What’s inappropriate about it?" Team Leader Guo replied. "She does her job no worse than you in the Women’s Federation."
Team Leader Guo wasn’t genuinely defending Su Man; he understood the character of these cadres all too well. They weren’t very capable but knew how to take advantage. If they messed up the performance by blindly giving orders, it would be a blow to his reputation. He was counting on this event to go well so he could reap the benefits.
After all, he was the team leader of this brigade; any good work done by the people below was thanks to his brilliant leadership.
This matter was settled under Team Leader Guo's unilateral decision. From then on, Su Man and the others going out to perform would work in the morning and head out in the afternoon.
Su Man temporarily didn’t stop her classes but proposed to the team leader that Su Qiuyue take over a few days of lessons. It was better than letting the kids have nothing to do. It was hard to cultivate their habit of attending classes; she couldn’t let them become unruly again.
Su Man said, "This is just a suggestion. If the team leader thinks it's not suitable, I can give the kids a break."
Although Team Leader Guo looked down on Su Qiuyue, at least she had graduated from high school. Even if her grades weren’t good, that was better than having no education at all.
Considering how useless Su Qiuyue was at work, letting her teach for half a day was not out of the question.
"Then let her take over for half a day. Just half a day."
Su Man nodded in agreement.
After everyone finished work at noon, Su Man shared the news with Li Chunhua and the others.
Li Chunhua immediately smiled, looking at Su Tieshan, "Husband, why do you think the brigade likes me?"
Su Tieshan replied, "Because you perform well."
Li Chunhua smirked, holding back her smile.
Su Man rubbed her arms and then looked at Su Qiuyue, who was sunburned and looking dishevelled. "Also, big sister, I’ve already spoken with the team leader, and you’ll be taking over my classes for half a day in the afternoons."
Su Qiuyue, who had been slumped over the desk, perked up immediately as if she had been injected with adrenaline. "I—I get to teach?"
"Yes," Su Man nodded, her expression calm. "Work hard and don’t just go through the motions. If I come back and find you haven’t done well, I’ll send you back to work. I’d rather give the kids a break than let you teach badly."
"Don’t say I’m heartless; if you don’t do well, it’s my face on the line. The team leader will blame me and make my life difficult."
Li Chunhua immediately patted her elder daughter's hand when she heard that her little girl would be affected. "Daughter, you have to work hard! Don’t embarrass your little sister."
She had actually fallen to relying on her little sister to get by.
In the afternoon, Su Man took Su Qiuyue to class to observe her performance.
On the way, Su Qiuyue curiously glanced at her. "Little sister, why are you suddenly being so kind to help me?"