Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 14: The 1970s Naive Supporting Girl (14)
The Song couple had always had a decent reputation. With the crowd stirring things up like this, the rest of the neighbors quickly grew indignant as well.
“The Song family is really something else, bullying two poor orphans with no parents like this. They’ve lived all these years for nothing.”
Ma Tieshuan's face changed upon seeing this scene. He hurriedly shouted, “Everyone’s misunderstood, my aunt isn’t that kind of person…”
“Shut it already! You’re that old woman Song’s nephew, and you still have the nerve to live here? Pack up and get out already!”
The crowd surged forward together, pushing and shoving Ma Tieshuan and Old Mother Ma, forcing them toward the door.
“Ouch! You dare push an old woman like me? If I fall and get hurt, I’ll bleed you dry with compensation!” Old Mother Ma screamed with her eyes wide open.
Song Susu immediately spoke up, “If you’re injured, I’ll pay the medical bills. If you die, I’ll cover the funeral. Thank you, uncles and aunties, for standing up for us orphaned siblings.”
The moment Old Mother Ma heard that, her feet slipped and she fell on her own. Furious, she screamed, “You little slut, you’re trying to kill me! I’m calling the police. I’ll have them arrest you for causing trouble!”
“If the police come, they’ll arrest you instead. You moved in without the owner’s permission, shamelessly trying to take over our house. You think you can get away with it?”
As soon as Song Susu finished speaking, the others clapped and cheered.
“We can all testify. This house belongs to Old Song’s family. You two came with nothing but a shabby bag asking to stay temporarily. Living here a few years doesn’t make it yours!”
Realizing things were going badly, Ma Tieshuan quickly shot his mother a look. He broke free from the crowd, grabbed her, and tried to drag her away.
But Old Mother Ma was unwilling. She had lived here for several years already. Thanks to this house, plenty of people had come to propose matches for her son. If they left like this, how could he ever marry a city girl?
“No! I’m not leaving. Even if I die today, I’ll die right here. Let’s see what you can do to me. I’m not afraid of the police!”
Old Mother Ma completely gave up pretending. She shoved through the crowd and tried to dash back into the house.
Song Susu was not about to indulge her. She lifted the small axe in her hand, making Old Mother Ma take a step back in fright.
“You—you're going to kill someone!”
Song Susu casually swung the axe once, scaring the old woman so badly that she fell flat on the ground.
“Aiyo! Murder! She’s killing people!” Old Mother Ma wailed like a banshee.
Song Susu rolled her eyes and said coldly, “Shut up. With a voice that loud, you look pretty healthy to me. Say one more word and I’ll use you to sharpen my axe.”
The screaming stopped instantly. Old Mother Ma glared at Song Susu viciously and muttered in a low voice, “So young and already this vicious. No wonder you brought death to your parents.”
Then she turned to the neighbors. “You people helping her should watch out too. You might get dragged down by her.”
Song Susu snapped and slapped her hard across the face. “Still running that filthy mouth? Want to see what the axe really feels like?”
“Aah!”
“Let go of my mom!”
Ma Tieshuan charged over angrily, reaching out to grab Song Susu.
Two middle aged uncles hurriedly blocked him. “Have you lost your mind? Living in someone else’s house and still trying to hit people? We’re calling the police today and getting a dangerous person like you locked up.”
The moment she heard about prison, Old Mother Ma struggled up in panic. “Don’t call them! Don’t talk nonsense. My son isn’t a dangerous person!”
She had finally dragged her son out of the countryside. With a city marriage, his life could turn around. If he went to prison, everything would be over.
Song Susu put the axe away and let out a soft scoff. “Why shouldn’t we call them? You’ve been squatting in my house for years without paying rent, and now you’re threatening to beat me. Either you’re hooligans or dangerous criminals. We absolutely should report this. Best if you get sentenced to eight or ten years and really learn your lesson.”
Ma Tieshuan, who had barely gone to school, went pale on the spot when he heard eight or ten years in prison.
“I didn’t even do anything to you. At least show some respect for family ties, if not for me then for Buddha’s sake. We’re distant relatives no matter what. I’ll make up the rent, okay? Can you not call the police?”
Old Mother Ma was furious, but she still knew how to weigh her options. She craned her neck and snapped back, “You’re holding an axe. You almost hurt me just now. If we really call the police, none of us will get out of this clean. I won’t argue with you. We’ll pay the rent and let this matter end here.”
Song Susu did not feel like dealing with the two of them, but there was no reason to turn down money.
“Houses around here can rent for at least fifteen yuan a month. You lived here for four years. That’s a total of seven hundred and twenty yuan.”
“You’re robbing us! Who can afford fifteen yuan a month?”
Old Mother Ma’s face darkened instantly, and Ma Tieshuan did not look much better.
Grinding his teeth, Ma Tieshuan said, “Song Susu, your price is way too high. The tube apartments nearby only cost five or six yuan a month. And we only lived here for a little over two years, not four.”
A nearby neighbor spoke up, “Those five or six yuan tube apartments are not even five square meters. You can barely fit a bed inside, and the conditions are awful. How can they compare to this big unit? Fifteen yuan for a place this size is not expensive at all. This is the City Center too. Even Grandma Wang next door charges eight or nine yuan for just one room. You’re occupying two rooms, so fifteen yuan makes perfect sense.”
“You, you’re all ganging up to scam us!”
Old Mother Ma stomped her feet in anger.
“You’ll pay this money whether you want to or not. If the police get involved, you’ll be paying money and going to jail,” Song Susu said lazily.
Ma Tieshuan opened his mouth, fists clenched tight. In the end, he could only lower his head in defeat. “We only lived here for two years and eight months. Before that, it wasn’t us. It was the woman Song Jiabao was keeping on the side.”
Song Susu raised an eyebrow. “What’s that woman’s name? Where is she now? Tell me properly and I might not call the police.”
After hesitating for a moment, Ma Tieshuan said quietly, “Her name is Wang Qianxiao. I heard she’s a capitalist’s daughter. Supposedly she was resettled in the neighboring He City.”
A sharp eared neighbor immediately chimed in with gossip. “No wonder we never really saw what she looked like that first year. We thought the Song family rented the place out. Who knew they were hiding a mistress inside?”
Another woman clapped her hands. “Oh my, that woman even lied to me, saying her husband was in the army. She looked pretty young too. Turns out she was being kept by someone.”
“Capitalists should be sent for reform. That Song Jiabao really has some nerve. The masses should report him…”
Hearing the talk of reporting, Ma Tieshuan grew nervous. He was afraid his aunt would find out he was the one who leaked it. Stammering, he said, “Song Susu, I’ve told you everything I know. Can we leave now?”
Song Susu casually picked at her ear. “Two years and eight months comes to four hundred and eighty yuan. How are you paying?”
Ma Tieshuan’s face stiffened. He could only turn back to his mother. “Mom, all the money I earned these past two years is with you. Count it out and give it to her.”
Old Mother Ma was extremely unwilling, muttering nonstop about being scammed. Ma Tieshuan was terrified his mother would kick up a fuss and cause even more trouble.
He hurried straight into the house, dug out his mother’s wooden box, found the cloth bag where she kept her savings, counted out four hundred and eighty yuan, and handed it to Song Susu.
“This is such cruel fate… All these years I only managed to save six hundred yuan, planning to use it to get you a good wife. Now nearly five hundred is gone just like that. How are we supposed to live from now on…”
Old Mother Ma clutched her money bag and broke down crying.
What else could Ma Tieshuan do? He felt miserable too, but when it came down to it, he did not dare to gamble. He packed up the valuable items into several large bundles, hoisted them onto his back, and left with his mother.
Song Susu immediately replaced the lock with a newly bought one and thanked the neighbors one by one.
Everyone promised to help keep an eye on the place and made it clear that no one would be allowed to move in again.
After dealing with her father’s work unit apartment, Song Susu headed straight for the courtyard house her mother had left behind.
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