Chapter 1

At the end of April, the days were getting longer, but the spring chill in the north was reluctant to leave, with only occasional hints of greenery on the roadside.

In a small room on the second floor of the railway guesthouse, a small kang (heated brick bed) that could accommodate two people was just starting to warm up.

Tian Cuifen couldn’t withstand the cold, so she took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack by the door. Then, she picked up the bamboo-wrapped thermos flask with a green kickboard beside it and poured a cup for the siblings sitting opposite her.

“It’s been over five years since we last met, right? When we left, Wan Hui was only this tall.”

She gestured with her hand to indicate the height. “I didn’t expect him to grow so big in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t even recognize him at the station just now. Unfortunately, our kang collapsed, and these days we’re fixing it. We don’t even have a place to rest our feet, so we can only make do with staying at the guesthouse.”

She said this, but in her heart, she hoped they wouldn’t stay at her place, and it would be best if they didn’t come at all.

During the land reform years, her family’s old Li had a somewhat sensitive background because he had worked as an accountant. In order not to be implicated by the landlord, they had to sacrifice their only son and agree to a marriage agreement with the daughter of Xia Laosan, the leader of the militia.

Xia Laosan was capable, upright, and, most importantly, of good lineage, so they soon passed through this ordeal without much trouble.

The daughter of the Xia family was also remarkably beautiful.

Xia Laosan’s wife was already well-known in the village for her beauty, and Xia Shao, following her mother, had been sunbathing all summer, making her skin as fair as water. At the station just now, she was wearing blue and green clothes with braided hair, and with just one glance, she stood out from the crowd.

But no matter how beautiful she was, she wasn’t worthy of their precious son now.

In this vast and sparsely populated northeastern region, there has always been a shortage of labor since the founding of the country. Old Li had connections, so in 1957, he brought his family to the northeast. Now, he was the accountant for a vegetable and grocery store, while their son, Baosheng, had found a job at a machinery factory.

The Xia family was still scraping by in the rural areas of Guanli. Who would want a country girl when they could have a city wife?

Unfortunately, Xia Laosan had helped their family before, so they couldn’t take the initiative to mention the matter of the broken engagement. They had to delay it so as not to be criticized for being ungrateful.

So four years ago, when Xia Shao turned eighteen, they never even mentioned the idea of marriage, and they didn’t even send a letter back home to Guanli.

They thought the Xia family would understand and realize they weren’t suitable, and they would find a new husband for their daughter. But to their surprise, when this family saw them doing well, they shamelessly clung to them and insisted on sending their daughter over.

Three days ago, they received a letter from Guanli, and Tian Cuifen and Old Li stayed up half the night, still feeling angry.

If they had known this would happen, they wouldn’t have written a letter back home to report their safety when they first settled down.

Fortunately, Xia Laosan had passed away during the three-year famine, and Xia Laosan’s wife was not someone who would cause trouble. The Xia family only sent a half-grown child to marry, which was easy to fool. When she said they had no place at home, they believed it and came to the guesthouse with her.

Tian Cuifen deliberately sighed, “Mr. Li, we received your letter, and we also know the purpose of your visit this time. It’s not that we’re delaying, it’s just that your son, Baosheng, went to the army, and he even changed his age on his household registration to be three years younger. The army has regulations; you have to be 25 to get married.”

Li Baosheng was two years older than Xia Shao, now twenty-four; with the age change, he would have to wait at least another four years.

But Xia Shao had already waited for four years. If she waited longer, she would be a spinster in her late twenties.

Xia Wanhui, across the table, immediately furrowed his brow. Seeing this, Tian Cuifen’s tone became even more apologetic. “I also know Xiao Shao is not young anymore. If your son insists on going, Mr. Li and I can’t stop him. If necessary, if you find someone suitable, please find another husband for Xiao Shao. This is our oversight; our family will definitely not hold it against you.”

In the countryside, girls married early, and at twenty-two, a girl was considered old, let alone twenty-six or twenty-seven.

Even if the Xia family could endure the gossip, in three or four years, she would have other ways. Xia Shao couldn’t possibly wait until she was thirty or forty, could she?

Sure enough, Xia Wanhui’s expression changed when Tian Cuifen didn’t mention it earlier.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? My father wrote a letter two years ago asking about the marriage, but you never replied…”

Xia Wanhui stood up abruptly, intending to say more, but Xia Shao pulled his sleeve.

Since earlier, Xia Shao hadn’t said much, keeping her eyes downcast, as if feeling timid in a completely unfamiliar place. When Xia Wanhui looked at her, she shook her head, making him sit back down, feeling frustrated.

Tian Cuifen knew Xia Shao was just like her mother, timid and afraid of trouble.

Back then, when Xia Shao’s family was still there, they often bullied her, making her do this and that, and she had to endure it all without a word.

Anyway, as long as they could send the siblings back, it would be fine. This was just right. Tian Cuifen pretended not to hear and took out a bowl of buns wrapped in a plate from her cloth bag. “These were made in the afternoon. You two should rest early. Tomorrow, I’ll buy tickets to send you back to Guanli.”

As soon as she left, Xia Wanhui started pacing around the room in agitation.

They say it’s easier to marry off a daughter than a son. If they hadn’t been desperate, their family wouldn’t have sent Xia Shao over.

Xia Laosan was capable all his life. While others earned 10 work points, he could earn 12.

But no matter how capable he was, he couldn’t withstand the three years of famine. Each person could only get 12 pounds of grain per month. With nothing to eat in the past two years, everything from sweet potato skins, elm bark, wheat bran, corn kernels… all went into the mill, mixed into the grain.

Xia Laosan had a big appetite and ate too many corn kernels in one go, causing indigestion and ultimately his death.

With the father gone, there was only the older brother, who was an adult and fully capable of labor. Life became difficult for the younger siblings.

Xia Wanhui was fine because Xia Mother secretly supplemented him a bit. But Xia Shao, being a girl, would be scolded even if she took an extra spoonful of porridge. After being hungry for a long time, she couldn’t bear it anymore and stole some corn seeds from the village seed stock during spring planting.

To prevent birds from digging up the soil and eating the seeds, those seeds were soaked in pesticides.

When Xia Wanhui heard some noise and rushed over, Xia Shao had already passed out, foaming at the mouth. The barefoot doctor in the village had to give her five or six bowls of mung bean soup before she barely regained consciousness. The corn kernels she vomited were still whole.

Those corn kernels were so hard. If she hadn’t been desperate, who would have swallowed them whole?

This time, Xia Mother was truly scared. She couldn’t control her son, so she could only send her daughter away to marry in the northeast. But unexpectedly, when they came all the way here, Li Baosheng had joined the army. Where could they find a match for him now?

Moreover, if he went to the army for a few years, they couldn’t wait any longer. It wouldn’t sound good if they talked about it.

Xia Wanhui was sweating profusely with worry, but when he turned his head, he saw his sister leaning against the kang, calmly eating a bun as if nothing was wrong.

Frustrated, he exclaimed, “It’s already this late, and you’re still leisurely eating buns?”

“It’s already this late, but we still need to eat,” Xia Shao’s voice matched her appearance, soft and non-confrontational.

She picked up a bun from the bowl and handed it to Xia Wanhui. “This one isn’t bought with grain coupons, so why not eat it?”

It made sense. Nowadays, when you go out to eat, everything requires grain coupons, and you even need national grain coupons.

Only people who travel out of the province for work receive national grain coupons from their units, and those in the countryside have no idea where to exchange them. During these three days on the road, Xia Wanhui had been nibbling on dried sweet potatoes. He took the bun subconsciously and took a bite.

“What filling is this? It’s quite tasty.”

“It’s shepherd’s purse, also called large leaf celery in the northeast. It’s pesticide-free and fertilizer-free, absolutely pure green food.”

“Our celery at home doesn’t use fertilizers either.”

“Sis! This matter could affect your entire life. Can’t you take it more seriously?”

Fertilizer was a scarce commodity, and you had to get permission from higher-ups to use it. Xia Wanhui didn’t see why this was worth emphasizing. He finished the bun in three or two bites and was about to reach for another when he suddenly realized.

I wonder if it’s the poisoning that’s weakened Xia Shao’s body. For nearly half a month, she’s been feeling lethargic and lacking energy. She’s become lazy at work, ignoring her elder brother’s stern looks during meals and eating more than anyone else with her head down.

Fortunately, after that incident, the village started gossiping about her brother, but he didn’t dare to overstep his boundaries too much.

The same happened when they came to the Northeast. His sister was timid, never daring to go out of the village alone, even for the market. Unexpectedly, when their mother suggested it, she agreed readily. She enjoyed the journey, eating and drinking well and sleeping soundly on the hard seat of the green-skinned train, even better than him.

Seeing his genuine worry, Xia Shao leisurely took a sip of water and said, “Do you really believe Li Baosheng joined the army?”

“Isn’t it true?”

“Li Baosheng is the only son of Uncle and Auntie Li. They dote on him so much, how could they bear to let him endure hardships in the military?”

Li Baosheng was the cherished child of the Li family, especially since after having three daughters—Zhao Di, Yin Di, and Daidi—they finally had a son. Later, they had another daughter named Laidi, but even after almost twenty years, they couldn’t have another son.

With only one son, let alone enduring military hardships, the Li family didn’t even let Li Baosheng work in the fields.

“Is Auntie Li deceiving us?” Xia Wanhui finally caught on.

But being young, he hadn’t experienced much and couldn’t comprehend, “Why would she deceive us?”

“What else could she do? She doesn’t want to fulfill the engagement, nor does she want to bear the stigma.”

In the original story, the Li family dragged her to the age of 35 and never fulfilled the engagement, let alone mentioned breaking it off.

In the book, she was portrayed as weak. When the other party didn’t reply, she didn’t dare to come to the Northeast. So she remained a spinster. Later, as the village gossip increased, her elder brother, who conveniently owed someone thirty yuan, married her off to an old widower.

That widower wasn’t a good person either; he and his mother chased away his previous wife. She had been married to him for seven years and suffered three miscarriages.

Unable to bear it anymore, she ran away and became a maid in the main characters’ house. However, after a few years, she was persuaded again by the widower and his son. Although the subsequent events were not mentioned, it was evident they weren’t pleasant.

When Xia Shao read this part of the plot, she felt like shouting “MMP” ten thousand times in her heart as if galloping on a horse.

Sharing the same name was one thing, but to endure such suffering and not divorce, and then return?

Her son, too, knew nothing about the life his mother led at home. Didn’t he know what kind of life his mother was living? When his mother secretly went to fetch him, he didn’t leave, instead, he told the widower and took him to find his mother.

That’s right, Xia Shao transmigrated into a book. She entered a period drama after the original protagonist was poisoned by pesticides.

Thinking that in this era, not getting married was impossible, she, who couldn’t even keep a cactus alive, certainly couldn’t stay in the countryside and pursue a farming path. Although Li Baosheng was a bit of a mama’s boy, at least he could work as a laborer. When Xia’s mother suggested going to the Northeast, she agreed.

It wasn’t until Tian Cuifen kept persistently trying to dissuade her that she began to suspect she might have transmigrated into a book.

This was really messed up. Before, she couldn’t afford a house, but now she couldn’t even afford food, and her life was in danger.

Compared to this messed-up life, her previous life, with a stingy boss who only knew how to give motivational talks without a raise, seemed much more adorable.

If she had known she would transmigrate, even if it meant struggling in Beijing for four years, where salaries didn’t rise as fast as housing prices, she would have never resigned and gone back to her hometown.

She’d rather go bald than end up drinking fake alcohol at a farewell party organized by friends and perish, right?

Of course, Xia Shao didn’t have any other strengths; she just had a positive attitude.

She wasn’t the original owner, so she wouldn’t idly wait until her thirties to be sold off for thirty bucks by her own brother. Since she had already come to the Northeast, she certainly wouldn’t obediently stay in the guesthouse and wait to return to Guanli just because Tian Cuifen said so.

Seeing Xia Wanhui still puzzled, Xia Shao grabbed another bun and said, “What’s going on exactly? Let’s finish eating and then go out to inquire.”

Merely pondering over it here wouldn’t help; they could only proceed this way for now.

Xia Wanhui hurriedly finished the two buns, wiped his mouth, and was about to leave when Xia Shao glanced at the sky outside and sat back down. “It’s already 1962; why are we still working overtime? How about we go after nine o’clock tomorrow morning?”