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Chapter 6: She’s His Woman Now

At the Commune Marriage Registration Office, Yi An’an walked out with a beaming smile, holding two little red marriage certificates.

In 1977, getting a marriage certificate didn’t require a photo — a letter of introduction and household registration booklet were enough.

However, Zhan Nanhui was a “bad element” undergoing reformation in Yan Family Village, so his procedure was more complicated. Even with a letter from the village, it had to be reviewed by the town. Yi An’an had stirred up a scene all morning, saying they had already been sleeping together and even had a child. The officials, unable to deal with such a “shameless” woman, finally relented. By noon, they successfully obtained the marriage certificate.

Yi An’an held the certificate under the sun, glanced at it, and couldn’t help but smile — in this life, she wouldn’t have to marry Yan Dabao!

In this life, if this man was willing, she would live well with him and create her own happiness.

“Gurgle!”

“Gurgle!”

Their stomachs rumbled in unison.

Yi An’an turned to look at Zhan Nanhui and asked, “You’re hungry, huh?”

Zhan Nanhui looked uncomfortable and said in a low voice, “You follow me, and you don’t even get to eat.”

Since Zhan Nanhui hadn’t gone to work today, the production team didn’t provide food — which meant going hungry all day.

Yi An’an thought for a moment and pulled Zhan Nanhui along.

She dragged him toward the back mountain behind the village.

Behind Yan Family Village lay a mountain and a small river. The geography wasn’t bad.

Past the dam beside the river stood a dilapidated temple.

The temple had existed for over a hundred years, but due to the “Four Olds” movement, it had fallen into disrepair. Since yesterday had been the Cold Clothes Festival — a day to remember the dead — there were still some offerings inside today, left by villagers in secret.

Although the temple was run-down, it carried a long-standing scary legend in the village.

It was said to be a “Double Death Temple” — whenever someone died, another would follow within seven days.

Though people had stopped worshipping there in recent years, the pattern continued. The old folks in the village still viewed the temple with fear and reverence.

Yi An’an dragged Zhan Nanhui inside and saw that on the broken altar were indeed some fruits and several flatbreads.

She went forward, took the food, gave Zhan Nanhui a flatbread, and took a bite herself.

It was white wheat bread — cold and hard after sitting out overnight, dry and hard to swallow.

Yi An’an chewed for a long time before she managed to swallow her bite. Then she took another and muttered, “If only we had a bowl of hot water.”

Zhan Nanhui watched her eat and, for some reason, felt something stir in his heart — an indescribable feeling.

These past years, after being sent to the countryside as a target of political crackdown, he had lived in a pigsty, sometimes eating pig feed to survive. He had endured mockery and abuse from the villagers. He had gotten used to being alone.

But now, suddenly having someone by his side, his heart softened just a little.

This woman had just gotten a marriage certificate with him — she was now his woman!

But seriously, where in the world could you find such a foolish woman? Following him, she couldn’t even eat a decent meal.

“Hurry up and eat — we still need to find a place to sleep!” Yi An’an nudged Zhan Nanhui with her elbow.

“Sleep?” Zhan Nanhui instinctively crossed his arms over his chest.

Why did this woman keep bringing up sleep?

Yi An’an glared at him. “What are you thinking? I mean really sleep — we need to find somewhere to settle down, at least.”

She took another bite of the bread, tugged a big piece off, and as she leaned back, nearly bumped her head on the altar behind her.

“We can’t even fill our stomachs — who has time to think about that stuff?” she grumbled, cheeks puffed.

Zhan Nanhui turned his face aside, slightly blushing.

Just as they were chewing the dry bread, they suddenly heard voices outside.

“Crap, someone’s coming!” Yi An’an quickly grabbed Zhan Nanhui’s hand and ran toward the back door, swiping the last flatbread on the way out.

There was a rear exit in the temple.

As they ran out, Zhan Nanhui glanced down at the hand holding his. Her hand was small, rough, but strong — she was gripping him so tightly it hurt.

Once they reached the riverbank and confirmed no one was following, Yi An’an let go of his hand and pointed at a nearby shack. “Perfect, we’re here — let’s check it out.”

Zhan Nanhui was stunned when he saw the shack.

It belonged to an elderly villager who had no family. He had lived there guarding the dam — if the water rose dangerously, he’d run to the village to give the alarm.

“He died yesterday. The shack is empty now,” Yi An’an said.

She remembered this clearly — even after decades, she hadn’t forgotten. In her past life, she had married Yan Dabao on the same day this old man died.

At the time, the village chief thought the funeral was unlucky and forbade it. The old man’s body rotted in the shack and was later buried casually in the sand.

Yi An’an led Zhan Nanhui inside — sure enough, the old man’s corpse was still lying in bed.

“Go tell the village. I’ll change him into clean clothes. If they don’t take care of it, we’ll bury him ourselves,” Yi An’an said.

She wanted to inform the village to avoid future trouble.

Zhan Nanhui glanced around. The shack wasn’t big but was tidy. It was clear the old man had valued cleanliness. There were even pots and pans to cook with.

Still… starting their married life in a shack where someone had just died?

“You going or not?” Yi An’an asked.

Zhan Nanhui nodded. Well… it was still better than a cold, damp pigsty.

He left quickly, and when he returned, he brought along a village accountant.

The accountant took one look and muttered, “Well, that’s one less month of wages we have to pay.”

Yi An’an immediately stood up. “What do you mean you don’t have to pay? Doesn’t a funeral cost money?”

The accountant wanted to slap himself — why did he have to say that out loud?

“If you don’t pay, I’ll take the body to the commune and let them judge,” Yi An’an threatened.

The accountant frowned. That morning, Yi An’an had already raised hell at the commune office to marry this “bad element.” She didn’t even care about being unmarried and pregnant. If she made another scene, who knew how ugly it might get?

Besides, dealing with a corpse was unlucky!

“Fine, fine! It’s only one yuan and twenty cents. Here!” He counted out the money into a plastic bag and handed it to her. “Now we’re even. The funeral is your responsibility.”

Yi An’an took the money. “Okay.”

The accountant hurried off, terrified of lingering around the dead.

Yi An’an wasn’t afraid. She had lived through a hellish past life — this current one already felt sweet in comparison.

She and Zhan Nanhui wrapped the old man’s body in a mat and buried him in the sand, then cleaned the shack. She asked Zhan Nanhui to bring his bedding over.

When he returned, carrying his only ragged blanket, he was shocked to see a red double happiness wedding character pasted on the shack door.

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Chapter 7: Sleeping in His Arms is Warm

The shack was dilapidated, but the red “Double Happiness” character on the wall was brand new. Combined with the faint yellow candlelight flickering inside, Zhan Nan Hui actually felt a rare warmth in his heart.

But it only lasted a moment before he regained his composure.

Looks like he really had gotten too used to rural life—how could something as small as a “Double Happiness” symbol move him?

Zhan Nan Hui wouldn’t allow himself to feel any emotional fluctuations. With a cold face, he stepped into the shack.

Inside, Yi An’an was tidying up the bed.

Earlier, she had quietly slipped home. There was a back door at her house that she used to access the river for washing dishes. Since Yi’s mother and Yi Jixiang rarely did housework, they had no idea about it.

She had sneaked in, taken a glance at her deeply sleeping father, then quickly grabbed her bedding and some clothes before running back.

Now, all she had was the 1.2 yuan the old man had given her. She needed to earn money quickly—only then could she have the confidence to stand up to the Yi family.

When she heard the door, Yi An’an looked up and glanced at the man. She stepped forward to take his blanket and placed it on the wooden bed.

At least this shack had a bed, which was better than Zhan Nan Hui’s former pigsty.

“If there’s nothing else, just wash up and sleep. We don’t have many candles left,” Yi An’an said.

Though the village had electricity, the shack didn’t. She had only found half a candle.

Nowadays, even daily necessities like candles required ration tickets. She had to be frugal.

Zhan Nan Hui nodded, stepped outside to quickly wipe his body with a towel, then returned and lay down fully clothed.

Yi An’an gave him a glance, then blew out the candle.

With the candle out, the shack went dark. Zhan Nan Hui could hear the woman’s breathing getting closer.

There was no light in the shack, and Yi An’an, fumbling around, finally found his arm and lay down snugly next to him.

Zhan Nan Hui tensed slightly, thinking she might do something. But after a while, her breathing grew deep and steady—she had fallen asleep.

He was stunned.

Last night, he’d been drugged and had held her in a daze. Though nothing substantial had happened, he still remembered the soft feeling of holding her in his arms.

Now, the woman lay beside him. He could smell her light fragrance and hear her gentle breathing.

Zhan Nan Hui was twenty-four this year. He had joined the army at sixteen and for the past eight years had never been so close to a woman…

He let out a silent sigh, scolding himself for his lack of discipline. He didn’t even know why this woman was trying to get close to him, and yet he was already swayed.

Closing his eyes, Zhan Nan Hui forced himself to fall asleep quickly.

In the middle of the night, as the temperature dropped, the woman curled into his arms again.

Zhan Nan Hui was usually a light sleeper. When she moved toward him, he immediately woke up.

He frowned slightly and pushed her away. But half an hour later, she nestled into him again.

After repeating this a few times, Zhan Nan Hui, tired out, finally gave in and let her hold onto him while they slept.

---

The next morning, Yi An’an woke up and casually touched the man’s firm chest muscles. She curled her lips slightly.

So last night wasn’t a dream—sleeping in someone’s arms really was warmer than sleeping alone.

Zhan Nan Hui opened his eyes and looked down at the hand that was moving across his chest. He was about to snap at her when she suddenly sat up.

Yi An’an quickly freshened up and headed out—she had something important to do today!

When Zhan Nan Hui got up, he saw a line of words written on the ground with chalk. Yi An’an had left them, saying she was going to the town today.

He looked at the half piece of flatbread left on the table, picked it up and ate it, then went to the pigsty.

As a designated “undesirable element,” he wasn’t allowed to go to town. All he could do was feed the pigs and clean the pen.

Yi An’an had woken up so early to catch the only bus into town.

It was at least a half-hour walk from Yan Family Village to the bus stop.

She managed to catch the bus just in time.

The fare was eight cents. Yi An’an paid it, and since there were no seats left, she had to sit on a flat wooden pole that a fellow villager had brought aboard.

From the stop to the town center, it took another hour and a half by bus.

By the time she arrived in town, it was already 8:30 AM.

Following the route she remembered, Yi An’an went straight to the scrap recycling station.

She remembered clearly that in her previous life, someone had found a copy of the “Math, Physics, and Chemistry Self-Study Series” there—an edition that had changed the fate of many students.

The 1977 college entrance exam had been announced suddenly. On October 21, the government issued the policy, and just one month later, the exams were held. Most students didn’t even have textbooks. But one person had found that self-study series in the scrap yard and ended up becoming that year’s top scorer in Yan County.

Yi An’an remembered it so clearly because that year, she too had wanted to take the college entrance exam. But after being sent to live with Yan Dabao, she wasn’t even allowed to leave the house, let alone take the exam. Her whole life had been ruined.

Yi An’an rushed into the scrap yard without a word and began rummaging through a pile of books.

“Hey! What are you doing?” A large, rough-looking woman came out and, seeing Yi An’an like that, thought she was there to steal something and gave her a shove.

Yi An’an staggered and nearly fell.

But right where she stumbled, she looked down—and saw it.

“The Math, Physics, and Chemistry Self-Study Series!”

“I found it!” Yi An’an immediately grabbed the book. She ignored the woman’s roughness and quickly asked, “How much is this? I’ll buy it!”

The woman glared at her. “These are all items reclaimed by the state! Not for sale!”

She reached out to snatch the book from Yi An’an.

Yi An’an quickly tucked the book into the waistband of her pants and grabbed the woman’s hand, acting coy. “Big Sis, I really need this book. If you won’t sell it, how about this—I’m great at doing perms! I’ll give you a trendy hairstyle and shape your eyebrows too. You’ll be the center of attention, I swear!”

The woman was about to lose her temper when she heard that and hesitated. “You know how to do that hairstyle?” she asked, pointing to a photo calendar hanging on the wall.

Yi An’an glanced at it. Big waves—the trendy style from Hong Kong.

“Yes! I can do it with just a curling rod. If you’re satisfied, let me have the book. If not, you can take me to the Public Security Office. Deal?” Yi An’an said quickly.

The woman hesitated.

Despite her looks, she had a decent job. Sorting recyclables was a formal position. She had a blind date tomorrow, and if she could tidy herself up a bit…

“If you mess it up, I’ll kill you!” the woman growled.

Yi An’an patted her chest. “Don’t worry, I used to work at a state-run salon. I’m an expert at perms!”

To convince the woman, she had to make up a background on the spot.