Chapter 3

When Ye Manzhi heard that Zhou Mu’s grandaunt worked in the physical examination department of the municipal hospital and that it was she who had swapped the medical reports, she immediately understood everything—

The Zhou family was no longer satisfied with her.

More precisely, they were no longer satisfied with who she had become.

This marriage had been arranged eighteen years ago by Ye Manzhi’s grandfather and Zhou Mu’s father.

At the time, her grandfather was the deputy director of the only large-scale sausage factory in the province, run by the Soviets, while Zhou Mu’s father was merely the head of a repair team at a small auto repair workshop.

For Zhou Mu to be engaged to her was, without a doubt, a step up.

Back then, the Zhou family elders treated her exceptionally well and constantly reminded Zhou Mu to yield to her in all matters.

But after the liberation, as foreign investors withdrew one by one, her grandfather’s situation deteriorated, while Uncle Zhou’s status steadily rose.

As the power dynamics between the two families shifted, Ye Manzhi gradually noticed a change in the Zhou family elders’ attitude toward her.

The most obvious moment was when Zhou Mu’s mother advised her to stop participating in amateur Chinese folk music rehearsals, claiming that playing the pipa and singing were for the lower class and unsuitable for a family like theirs.

Yet Ye Manzhi’s grandmother had been a storytelling performer in the old society, and from a young age, the Ye sisters had learned to play the pipa under her guidance.

Aunt Liu had known all of this when the engagement was arranged.

Ye Manzhi’s eyes burned, but her pride and self-respect wouldn’t allow her to shed tears at this moment.

She clenched her cold hands into fists, steadied herself, and asked, “If I hadn’t asked, were you planning to keep this from me forever?”

“No, that’s not—”

Zhou Mu rubbed his forehead in frustration.

When he first discovered the truth, he had been just as shocked.

The country invested heavily in training students to study abroad, and if a student had to withdraw due to health reasons, it would be a loss to national resources.

Yet after much inner turmoil, he had ultimately chosen to stay silent.

Deep down, he didn’t actually want to go to the Soviet Union with Ye Manzhi.

Ye Manzhi had many admirable qualities—she was beautiful, talented, and full of passion.

But having known her since childhood, these traits were the easiest for him to overlook. Instead, over time, her flaws became magnified.

To him, Ye Manzhi was domineering, willful, and overbearing. She was vain and gluttonous.

She bullied him as a child, bossed him around when they grew up, and dictated his choices.

Even the decision to study in the Soviet Union had been made by her.

Zhou Mu thought that separating for five years might be a good thing.

Ye Manzhi was always full of life, dazzling like the sun, but he wanted to step out from under her shadow.

Of course, no matter how righteous he tried to sound, it was still an awkward situation now that the truth was out.

He rubbed his nose and promised, “It doesn’t matter what my parents think. When I return from the Soviet Union, I’ll still marry you.”

Enraged and humiliated beyond restraint, Ye Manzhi grabbed a four-pound black rye bread and hurled it straight at his forehead.

“Zhou Mu, are you out of your damn mind?!”

---

The fallout between Ye Manzhi and Zhou Mu couldn’t be kept from the Ye family.

That very night, Chang Yue’e subtly tried to probe for details.

“I saw Zhou Mu waiting downstairs just now. I invited him up for a bit, but he didn’t dare come. Did you two have a fight?”

“Did you two fight?”

“He’s not afraid to come up—he’s afraid I’ll expose his family’s dirty secrets!”

Ye Manzhi was not the type to suffer in silence. Before her family could even ask, she took the initiative to explain everything that had happened.

Her voice was thick with congestion, her swollen eyes brimming with unshed tears. One look, and Chang Yue’e could tell that her daughter had suffered a great grievance this time.

Smoothing out her daughter’s messy hair, she asked, “If that Xu Yingxue gets disqualified, will you be able to go to the Soviet Union instead?”

“Probably not. I only took the preliminary exam at school—I didn’t take the provincial-level exam.”

Chang Yue’e nodded gravely, then proceeded to curse both families with the most vicious words she could muster.

Her daughter was skilled in sewing clothes, playing the pipa, and singing songs—anything related to beauty, she excelled at.

As for her academic performance… well, that was another story.

She had been in school for ten years but had never ranked in the top three.

Even if she had passed the medical exam and gotten the chance to take the provincial test, she might not have made the cut.

The Zhou family had tampered with the medical exam unnecessarily. Most likely, they had already set their sights on Xu Yingxue, the deputy chief engineer’s daughter, and wanted to use the study abroad opportunity to bring the two young people closer.

“Laiya, don’t worry about the rest. When your father returns from the second factory, he’ll make sure to seek justice for you!”

“Mm-hmm, let’s get Laimao back too.”

Laimao was her fifth brother’s nickname, given to him because he had sparse hair as a child.

Ye Manzhi’s nickname was Laiya because she had been slow to grow teeth—so she simply followed her brother’s name.

The siblings were cut from the same cloth; neither was more distinguished than the other.

“Stop crying. I’ll open a can of peaches for you later.”

Canned peaches were the Ye family’s premium comfort food—if a child was sick or upset, a can of peaches could cure most woes.

Ye Manzhi held the jar and nodded eagerly, but her father wouldn’t be back for another half month. How could she swallow this indignation for so long?

So that very night, she sat at her desk, sniffling as she poured her heart and soul into writing a detailed report to the provincial Department of Education.

She signed it boldly: Ye Manzhi.

“I’m willing to risk everything—if it means bringing the emperor down!”

She had no interest in sneaky, anonymous complaints. She was going to file this report under her real name!

Selecting candidates for the nation was a serious matter. If the fraudulent medical exam was exposed, there would be severe punishment—one that would set an example for all.

Despite her bold words, this was the first time she had done something so significant. After sending the letter, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

One day, she worried she had written the wrong mailing address.

The next day, she feared the letter had been lost in transit.

The day after, she agonized over whether the education department would even take her report seriously.

For half a month, she waited anxiously, each day dragging on like a year. Yet no response came.

Just as she was contemplating whether to write another report, the provincial Department of Education suddenly made a silent move.

Xu Yingxue, pale-faced, was taken by two staff members for a second medical examination at the provincial hospital.

Given her actual health condition, there was no way she could pass such a rigorous test.

Zhou Mu’s grandaunt, who worked in the physical examination department, was suspended from her job and placed under investigation.

Xu Yingxue’s government-sponsored study abroad qualification was swiftly revoked.

What shocked everyone, however, was that along with it, her high school diploma was also canceled!

At this time, the school system from elementary to high school followed a “ten-year continuous education system,” meaning that for this graduating class, their second year of high school was their final year in school.

On the day of the graduation photo, Ye Manzhi stood happily on a bench, preparing for the group picture.

As she turned to speak with Lin Qingmei, she unexpectedly caught sight of someone she hadn’t seen in a long time—Xu Yingxue.

Xu stood in the neighboring class’s lineup, looking frail and exhausted, her expression filled with resentment as she stared in Ye Manzhi’s direction.

That venomous gaze made Ye Manzhi shiver for a moment, but she quickly recovered, refusing to back down. She glared right back.

What are you looking at?!

Lin Qingmei whispered, “I heard from students in Class B that Principal Guo only gave her a certificate of completion. She’s the only one in our graduating class who didn’t get a diploma. No wonder she’s furious!”

Upon hearing this, Ye Manzhi let out a satisfied hum, her smile in the graduation photo turning three degrees brighter than everyone else’s.

After the photo session, she jumped off the bench, ready to discuss plans to go boating on the river with her friends.

But just then, someone grabbed her wrist.

Zhou Mu’s angry voice exploded beside her ear. “Ye Manzhi, what do you mean by this? Are you really going to break off our engagement?”

“That’s right.” Ye Manzhi pulled her arm free. “Didn’t my grandpa and dad already visit your house?”

Over a decade of childhood companionship wasn’t something one could simply discard. But what the Zhou family had done had crossed her bottom line.

Even though Zhou Mu’s grandaunt had taken full responsibility for the tampered medical exam, everyone knew the truth.

She was only eighteen—too young to live with a mask on, too young to pretend nothing had happened and continue living with such a family.

Besides, the weak could never win against the strong.

Zhou Mu’s father was a deputy factory director in a massive plant of 15,000 workers—his power was not to be underestimated.

Call her pragmatic or call her cowardly, but her father and brothers still worked in that factory. She couldn’t afford to drag her entire family down with her own personal grievances.

So, she might as well give them what they wanted—she would break off the engagement!

Zhou Mu hadn’t expected this outcome.

They had been engaged since birth. No matter how many times they fought, no matter how often they swore to never speak to each other again, neither of them had ever believed that day would truly come…

Seeing her firm stance and indifferent expression, Zhou Mu felt both humiliated and anxious. He blurted out, “Your dad is just a foreman. After breaking off our engagement, who else can you even marry? Do you really think you’ll find someone better than me? With that awful temper of yours, do you think you can survive the gossip in the compound?”

Ye Manzhi had been feeling a little sentimental, but upon hearing this, her expression turned icy.

“I don’t need you to worry about that! At least I’m beautiful. Next time, I’ll find someone who actually stands up for me when things go wrong! Just for that alone, anyone would be better than you!”

Zhou Mu had done whatever he pleased, never considering her feelings—because deep down, he assumed she had no other choice but him!

“Fine, fine, fine!” Ignoring the murmurs of their watching classmates, Zhou Mu growled in frustration, “You want to break off the engagement? Then forget about getting that job at the factory union!”

“I don’t even care!”

She wasn’t going to swallow her pride just for a job. This engagement was over, no matter what!

She had always taken a go-with-the-flow attitude toward work.

If Zhou Mu thought he could use a job to control her, he was sorely mistaken!

Ye Manzhi scoffed disdainfully, lifted her chin high, and strutted away.

As their classmates started reporting to their new job assignments…

Ye Manzhi was in no rush to find a job and spent most of her time at home.

Her family’s house had a two-bedroom, one-living-room layout, which was rather cramped for a household of eleven people.

However, with two of her older sisters married and her fifth brother having moved out, the remaining family members managed to squeeze in.

Her parents shared the smaller room with her nephew. In the larger room, a dividing wall had been built—her third brother and his wife occupied the eastern side, while the western side belonged to her.

Despite the limited space, her room had everything she needed: a heated brick bed (kang), a table, chairs, and a storage cabinet.

Each day, she played her instrument, accompanied Chang Yue’e to the market, occasionally visited the theater troupe to watch her eldest sister’s performances, and made time to check in on her pregnant second sister.

Some days, she followed the rhythm of sunrise and sunset, while on others, she simply lazed around, eating and sleeping the whole day. Honestly, she felt that not having a job was quite nice—she could live like this forever!

That was until she once again saw those golden, glowing words on her third sister-in-law’s forehead—

“Why hasn’t Ye Manzhi found a job yet? With how greedy and lazy she is, she’s probably planning to freeload at home forever!”

“She might as well have married into the Zhou family. At least she’d have worked for a few years before having kids and turning into someone like Ye Laosi—lying around, sponging off others, and stirring up trouble…”

Ye Manzhi: “…”

Startled, she quickly took a bite of her Changbai cake to steady her nerves.

By now, she had somewhat accepted her third sister-in-law’s… unique condition.

Having grown up hearing all sorts of supernatural folklore—and even having her soul summoned back by a shaman once when she was a child—she suspected that her sister-in-law was most likely possessed by a spirit, probably a fox or a weasel!

Still, the fact that this spirit kept calling her a troublemaker and accusing her of being greedy and lazy was something she strongly objected to!

…

Alright, maybe she had indeed caused some trouble at home lately.

Breaking off her engagement with the deputy factory director’s son while also being unemployed had turned her family into the subject of gossip. Many people took pleasure in their misfortune, and some even had the audacity to bring it up directly, making things uncomfortable for her family.

Moreover, after switching jobs, her third sister-in-law seemed to be working on some creative writing project. Given the chaotic home environment, it was definitely not ideal for her work.

The thought that her third brother might end up getting divorced for the third time because of her made Ye Manzhi lose any remaining desire to prove herself out of sheer stubbornness.

Finishing the last piece of Changbai cake in her tin, she dusted off the sugar from her hands and—for once—felt a bit of motivation.

It was time to find a job!

Since one person’s efforts alone were limited, she immediately mobilized her entire family to keep an eye out for hiring opportunities.

She even made a trip to her brother-in-law’s workplace to ask for his help.

However, most companies had already completed their hiring exams before high school graduation.

The few remaining job openings were either too far from home or restricted to male applicants. Despite a month of relentless searching, she still had no luck.

—

Just as Ye Manzhi returned home from another unsuccessful job hunt, she overheard Aunt Xu’s exaggerated boasting from the living room:

“My nephew is truly one of a kind! He’s the only son in the family—everything we own will be his in the future!”

Aunt Xu had cut ties with the Ye family months ago after obtaining a business license for her tailor shop.

So why was she suddenly sitting in their living room, talking nonstop again?

Not hearing the door open, Chang Yue’e coldly interrupted Aunt Xu’s rambling…

“We don’t plan to marry our daughter off so early, so please don’t bring it up again,” Chang Yue’e said firmly.

“Eighteen isn’t early at all! Miss this chance and she might never find a family with such good conditions again!” Aunt Xu replied haughtily, with clear disdain in her tone.

Chang Yue’e, however, politely but decisively declined once more.

She had seen Aunt Xu’s nephew before—only an elementary school graduate, with a sharp face and monkey-like features, and five older sisters above him.

Any one of those points alone was a dealbreaker for her, let alone all three at once.

But the fourth daughter-in-law tugged at her gently and whispered, “Mom, Aunt Xu meant well by offering to help arrange the match. Why don’t we at least hear her out? Our little sister has to get married sooner or later—another option just means another possibility.”

Shen Liangmei was honestly eager for her sister-in-law to get married as soon as possible.

Among the Ye family siblings, the eldest daughters Manjin and Manyu, and the sons Mantang and Mangui, were already married.

Her husband, Ye Mangui, was the least capable of the four.

With little education and no stable job, the two of them had been barely making do since moving into the apartment building, crammed into the tiny sitting room.

At night, they would balance wooden planks across four chairs to form a makeshift bed, and by day they had to dismantle it so others could use the space.

With this daily cycle of setting up and tearing down, they couldn’t even keep their child with them. Life was bland and full of compromises.

Even though the younger sister-in-law had a room to herself—which did make her jealous—she’d never said anything before. After all, the girl was supposed to marry into the deputy factory director’s family, and she had been counting on her to help Ye Mangui find a decent job.

But then, for some inexplicable reason, the sister-in-law had insisted on breaking off the engagement with the Zhou family.

Not only did she ruin a good match, but she also threw away a job Shen Liangmei herself could only dream of.

Now that things had reached this point, Shen Liangmei saw no reason to hold back anymore. She and her husband had already imagined how they’d decorate the room—just waiting for the girl to move out and get married.

Girls who had broken off engagements were actually easier to marry off. Sure, the best men might no longer be an option, but there were plenty of decent ones just a tier below.

Take Aunt Xu’s nephew, for instance.

Seeing that someone in the Ye family was supporting her, Aunt Xu straightened her back proudly, gaining confidence.

“Dear in-laws, I understand what you’re thinking. Your youngest has some education, looks decent, and you want her to marry into a well-off family. If there hadn’t been that arranged engagement, your hopes wouldn’t be unreasonable. But times have changed! She’s already broken off one engagement—back in the old days, she’d be sent to a nunnery for that! Now that someone is still willing to propose, you really shouldn’t be so picky!”

“You’re saying you want to send my daughter to a nunnery?”

Chang Yue’e flew into a rage. She grabbed the kang broom by her side and made to chase Aunt Xu out of the house.

It was the Zhou family that had wronged them. The shameless ones were also from the Zhou family. Yet somehow, her daughter was the one being judged and criticized by outsiders?

The more Chang Yue’e thought about it, the angrier she became. Ignoring her daughter-in-law’s attempts to calm her down, she angrily pushed Aunt Xu toward the door.

Just as they reached the doorway, her youngest daughter’s voice rang out, crisp and clear:

“Auntie, it’s the new society now. Why are you still thinking like it’s the old one? What was so great about the old society that you’re still clinging to it?”

Aunt Xu stumbled as she was pushed, bracing herself against the doorframe, and spat back, “Who’s clinging to the old society? Don’t twist my words!”

—Had it not been for her nephew begging her to play matchmaker, she wouldn’t have—

She didn’t want a sharp-tongued girl like that entering the family.

“Well then, Auntie, you’d better stick to saying things that belong in the new society! You’ve seen divorced couples before—so what’s the big deal about me breaking off an engagement? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone out of your way to come play matchmaker, would you?”

Aunt Xu might seem unreliable, but she did have a sense of propriety. She was there to propose a match for her nephew, after all—she couldn’t afford to really offend the other side.

After spouting off a few sharp words and venting some long-held frustration, she quickly backed down.

“I wasn’t trying to put you down—what I said is just the truth, isn’t it? My eldest nephew is a good man with a stable job. He doesn’t mind that you’ve been engaged before or that you don’t have a job right now. But I won’t talk further with you, a young girl—this kind of matter is for us adults to discuss.”

Seeing how confident she looked, Ye Manzhi’s eyes flashed with a hint of mischief. She asked in a hesitant tone, “Auntie, does Xu Xiaosheng know you’re here matchmaking on his behalf?”

Aunt Xu frowned, puzzled. “Why would I need to tell him about this?”

“Ah—”

Ye Manzhi deliberately raised her hand to smooth her bangs, twisted her fingers together bashfully, acting out every shy little gesture she could think of.

Only then did she lower her head and say in a buzzing whisper, “Not long ago, Xu Xiaosheng told me he wanted to date me, but I didn’t agree… If he finds out you’re trying to set me up with his cousin, won’t he be heartbroken?”

“…” Aunt Xu’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible! You can’t joke about things like that!”

Ye Manzhi’s face showed a trace of embarrassment. She darted her eyes at Aunt Xu, then said coyly, “Well… maybe I was just joking. Let’s just pretend I was, okay?”

Aunt Xu: “……”

Completely thrown off by her behavior.

What the heck just happened?

As ridiculous as it sounded, she didn’t dare brush it off. After all, Ye Manzhi had managed to get the business license for the tailor shop approved by the commerce office earlier—using the stolen household registration book that her own nephew, Xu Xiaosheng, had secretly handed over!

Thinking of that, she lost all desire to keep matchmaking for her nephew. Muttering that “Xiaosheng must’ve been joking,” she hurriedly left to go confirm with him.

Once she was gone, Ye Manzhi turned to her dumbfounded mother and sister-in-law and said with a grin, “Xu Xiaosheng really was just joking. He said it casually once. I just wanted to give Aunt Xu a taste of her own medicine.”

Chang Yue’e: “……”

Yeah… maybe it’s better if her daughter keeps her distance from Xu Xiaosheng.

After all, Xu Dajun and Xu Xiaosheng were real brothers.

—

Chang Yue’e acted normal in front of her daughter, but that night, three cold sores popped up at the corner of her mouth.

Ye Shouxin dabbed some sesame oil on her lips with his finger and tried to comfort her: “One girl like our second daughter is enough. I’m not sending another into the Xu family mess. You don’t need to worry.”

“Sigh, I’m not even worried about that!” Chang Yue’e muttered through her hand pressed to her mouth. “Manzhi’s been job-hunting for over a month now! She’s still running around asking about openings!”

“So what? Let her take her time. At least she’s done with school now. No more tuition, anything she earns is a bonus. I’m already pretty content.”

“When have you ever seen her this diligent?” Chang Yue’e sighed heavily. “If you ask me, it’s all because she got hurt by the Zhou family. Now she’s being stubborn and trying to prove something!”

For girls in this day and age, having a primary or middle school diploma was already more than enough…

Used.

Ye Laiya was never the studious type. Getting her out of bed for school was harder than driving cattle to the fields.

But this girl had been shrewd since she was little. She noticed early on that her dad never made her eldest sister or third brother—both still in school—do chores. So she just kept on studying all the way from primary school through junior high.

After junior high, she didn’t want to start working yet, so she went on to high school.

As graduation approached, she even started planning to study abroad in the Soviet Union—partly because she didn’t want to start working in a factory too early.

For a girl that lazy and afraid of hard work to suddenly become ambitious, it must’ve been the Zhou family and their snobby attitudes that gave her a real wake-up call!

Chang Yue’e tilted her ear toward the bunk bed, listened for any noise, and after confirming her grandson was asleep, lowered her voice and said, “That Xu Dajun’s mother may be unpleasant, but she actually reminded me of something today. Since it’s hard to find a job right away, how about we find a suitor for our daughter first, just to take her mind off things?”

“Our youngest just broke off her engagement two months ago. She’s still young—what’s the rush to get her married?”

“What do you mean, not urgent? I heard the Zhou family is already looking for a match for Zhou Mu—why shouldn’t our Laiya find someone new too?”

The gossip in the compound about their two families had been relentless, and Chang Yue’e had gotten into arguments more than once because of it.

She’d somehow earned herself the reputation of being the new “shrew” of the neighborhood—completely ridiculous!

Ye Shouxin listened to his wife’s grumbling, then mulled over it for a while before suddenly sitting up in bed.

“Old Chen from the Infrastructure Office said the organization is planning to introduce Wu Zhengrong to someone. Why not let our daughter give it a try?”

Chang Yue’e blinked. “Who’s Wu Zhengrong?”

“He’s our 656 Factory’s stationed military rep—the head of the Military Representative Office!”

The moment she heard “military rep,” Chang Yue’e’s eyes lit up. She leaned in curiously: “I heard people in our courtyard say the new military rep is a real looker, even better looking than Xu Jisheng from the drama troupe—is that true?”

The rep had been transferred from Beijing last year, and rumors of his good looks spread so fast that he became a minor celebrity within a week.

Even a housewife like her couldn’t help getting curious.

Ye Shouxin clicked his tongue. “Everyone’s got two eyes and a mouth—what’s the use of good looks? What matters in a man is capability and the ability to support a family! This Wu Commander was handpicked by the leadership of the General Logistics Department and assigned to our factory specifically. You don’t get to be the stationed rep at 656 just by being handsome—you need real skills!”

Unlike many of the semi-literate rough-and-tumble officers, Wu Zhengrong was an educated man who traded his pen for a military uniform.

The previous stationed reps only oversaw military supply deadlines and signed off on inspection sheets.

But now, the rep could also give feedback on the products and suggest improvements to quality.

Just one month after his arrival, he was already picking apart nearly half the factory’s military products, which led to serious tension with the chief engineer and the deputy technical director. If he wasn’t capable, he would’ve been squeezed out and sent back to Beijing long ago.

But over the past six months, it was clear that Captain Wu had serious technical skills. It was said his own grandfather was the dean of the Provincial Polytechnic Institute.

After hearing all that, the light in Chang Yue’e’s eyes dimmed. She sighed, feeling like her husband was getting ahead of himself.

“After all that with Zhou Mu, people in the compound already accuse our family of trying to climb the social ladder. If we let Laiya go on a blind date with the stationed military rep, that reputation will stick for sure!”

Ye Shouxin didn’t like hearing that kind of talk.

His daughter had both brains and beauty—why shouldn’t she aim high?

“It was that Zhou family who latched onto us, not the other way around! And even if we are climbing, so what? If Laiya settles for someone worse than Zhou Mu, people will say her suitors keep getting worse and worse!”

Their eldest daughter had found her own match. The second daughter had been introduced by her maternal grandmother.

Now, with their youngest daughter newly single, it was finally his time to shine!

The more he thought about it, the more he felt Wu Zhengrong was a perfect match—handsome, composed, impressive. Paired with their bright and beautiful Laiya, it would be like a perfect couple straight out of legend!

Way better than that greenhorn Zhou Mu!

At this point, everything was ready—all that was left was for them to meet!