Chapter 4

“Our family can still afford to support you, but a good young man like Deng Hongda—if you miss this chance, you might not find another like him. Little sister, you really should treasure this opportunity.”

Xu Lihong genuinely felt concerned for her sister-in-law. A woman’s prime years didn’t last long—if she didn’t find a reliable man while she was still young and attractive, it’d be much harder to find a good match later.

“Big Sis, let me think about it,” Jiang Yao replied.

The moment she heard Deng Hongda’s name, she recalled the original host’s traumatic memory of hemorrhaging during childbirth. There was no way she would agree to even meet him.

If she wanted to stop the Jiang family from pushing her into marriage, she had two options: either go along with their wishes and find someone other than Deng Hongda to marry, or prove her value was higher than simply becoming someone’s wife.

Jiang Yao wasn’t ready to rush into the first option. How could she be sure the next candidate wasn’t just another pretentious scumbag like Deng Hongda?

To convince the Jiang family that she was better off not getting married, Jiang Yao figured she’d need to do what the original host had tried—go into the county to search for a job.

In this particular era, Jiang Yao never dreamed of escaping the Jiang family. In a time and place where you couldn’t go anywhere without an introduction letter, where could she even run?

“All right, all right, take your time,” Xu Lihong said. “I won’t bother you anymore.”

Because Jiang Yao hadn’t outright refused, Xu Lihong thought her persuasion was working. Beaming with satisfaction, she went off to report her “success” to Li Guihua.

Her little sister-in-law clearly trusted her more than the older folks. She hadn’t even needed to use her prepared talking points—Jiang Yao had already agreed to think it over.

As soon as she left Jiang Yao’s room, Xu Lihong marched over to Li Guihua’s room, so pleased with herself she didn’t even notice Grandpa was inside. “Grandma, Yao Yao said to give her some time to think it over!”

“Really?” Li Guihua paused just as she was about to lie down, then sat up on the heated brick bed.

Grinning proudly, Xu Lihong continued, “Grandma, the bond between me and Yao Yao is much stronger than your average sisters-in-law. She only agreed because she respects me as her older sister-in-law.”

Li Guihua wasn’t quite as optimistic. She doubted Jiang Yao would change her mind so easily, but she didn’t want to dampen Xu Lihong’s spirits.

“Qisheng’s wife, I didn’t misjudge you. You really are the best granddaughter-in-law in this family. You’ve helped me so much. Back when Qisheng was courting you, I could tell right away you were a good and capable girl.”

The praise had Xu Lihong glowing with pride. She felt she had clearly outshined the daughter-in-law from the second household and was now Grandma’s favorite.

She had initially just wanted her sister-in-law to marry well so her son Shitou could benefit—but now she was genuinely invested. She eagerly volunteered:

“Let’s go find Aunt Meng and set a date for the meeting.”

“Then tomorrow, since I have the day off, I’ll go back to my mother’s place and have them look into Deng Hongda’s background.”

Her offer to investigate the prospective groom caught Li Guihua by surprise—but she approved. Yao Yao’s marriage was important and needed to be handled carefully. No matter how capable her eldest son was, there was no substitute for having family investigate locally.

“Good. Granny thanks you for your thoughtfulness, but let’s not rush the meeting. Wait until your family finishes gathering information. Then we can make plans.”

After all, if they met first, started dating, and then found something negative about the guy, it could ruin Yao Yao’s reputation. But if they ignored the bad news and moved forward, it would feel like they were selling her short.

“All right, Grandma, just wait for my good news.” Xu Lihong now felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders and made up her mind to push her own family to really dig deep.

At the same time, something nearly magical happened in Jiang Yao’s room. After Xu Lihong left, Jiang Yao got up to drink some water. But she stumbled, accidentally grazing her hand on the sharp edge of a metal tin.

A single drop of blood fell… then disappeared into thin air.

And then—she got a golden finger.

A cookbook?

Back in her modern life, she had never even stepped into a kitchen, much less tasted most rich or oily dishes.

Jiang Yao studied the cookbook for a long time and realized it wasn’t real—it was some kind of virtual guide that only she could see.

The characters on the cookbook changed continuously, with the recipes gradually decreasing in difficulty until they stopped on tasks even a kitchen novice like her could manage.

She was baffled. “Brewing a cup of malted milk counts as a recipe?” And under that, a guide for “Frying a perfect egg.”

As the colors of the virtual recipe page shifted, Jiang Yao followed the instructions. She poured hot water into a cup, gauged the temperature with her hand, and once it was just right, stirred in the malt powder clockwise as instructed.

When she finished brewing the drink, the cookbook unlocked completely: as long as she completed tasks from it, she would earn “Caihua Coins.”

One Caihua Coin per completed task.

These coins could be used to redeem items from the cookbook.

Jiang Yao used her mind to navigate the virtual menu. There were various recipes and an unlockable space—a kind of inventory that could store items and help her practice cooking.

To access the storage space, she needed to complete 50 recipe-related tasks.

However, there was a daily limit—only one Caihua Coin could be earned per day.

As she examined the space option more closely, she discovered it could even be upgraded—though the further it progressed, the more coins it would require.

Excitement surged through Jiang Yao. She was captivated by the idea of a space to store things and became determined to complete her daily cooking missions.

Thankfully, the cookbook was beginner-friendly. She flipped through the first ten open tasks—simple things a novice could handle, like slicing a plate of potatoes or boiling a plain noodle soup.

The Next Morning

Xu Lihong took her son and returned to her mother’s home. She brought along some precious items: a few pieces of hard fruit candy sent back from the army by Jiang Yao’s older brother, and a few bags of dried vegetables plus a small slab of preserved pork packed by Li Guihua.

With these treasures in hand, she stood tall and proud. Before heading straight home, she made a point to circle past the neighboring second household—just to make sure everyone saw what she was carrying.

“Yao Yao, Big Sis is heading back to my parents’ place today. I’ll be back tomorrow. There’s still a warm egg on the stove—make sure to eat it while it’s hot!”

“Okay, thanks Big Sis. Hey, want to wait a bit? I can give you a ride on the bike to the Jianhua Brigade,” Jiang Yao offered.

She had plans to head into the county early that morning. The recipe task would have to wait until she returned.

“Oh—how can I accept that?” Xu Lihong grinned so wide her mouth nearly split. Her eyes flicked to the women standing next door—especially the young wife with the neat bun on the far right.