Having food right in front of her but being unable to eat it made Lin Hongni drool with longing. Timidly, she tugged at Lin Hongxiang’s sleeve.  

“Sis, I’m hungry.”  

“Even if you’re hungry, you can’t eat Auntie’s food. If Grandma finds out, she’ll sell you off.”  

The moment Lin Hongni heard that Grandma might sell her, tears began streaming down her face like broken strings of pearls.  

“…I won’t eat it… Grandma, don’t sell me…”  

Lin Wanwan looked at her little niece, whose face was now a messy mix of tears and snot, and wrinkled her nose slightly in disgust.  

This crying was just too gross.  

Unbeknownst to her, Lin Hongxiang, standing in front of her, noticed her aunt’s expression of disdain and panicked. In a fluster, she covered Lin Hongni’s mouth with her hand while sneaking glances at her aunt. Only when she saw that her aunt wasn’t angry did she finally relax.  

If Grandma found out they’d upset their aunt, she’d definitely give them a beating when she got home.  

That broomstick hurt like hell when it hit.  

Seeing the little girl stop crying, Lin Wanwan’s expression softened instantly. She turned to Lin Hongxiang and said, “Look how dirty her face is. Go wash it for her.”  

This was the first time Lin Hongxiang had heard her aunt speak to her so gently. Stunned, she glanced at her a few more times.  

Was her aunt… possessed by something evil?  

Noticing the little girl’s probing gaze, Lin Wanwan quickly imitated the original host’s temper and snapped,  

“What are you standing around for? Quit dawdling, or I’ll tell your grandma when she gets back.”  

There, that was more like her aunt.  

Always ready to scold at the drop of a hat, just like Grandma.  

Though scolded, Lin Hongxiang felt oddly reassured. She pulled Lin Hongni inside to wash her face, scrubbing it extra clean.  

Lin Wanwan shoved the peanut candies she hadn’t managed to give them earlier into Lin Hongxiang and Lin Hongni’s hands.  

“These are your aunt’s rewards. If anyone dares not eat them, I’ll tell your grandma, and she’ll deal with you when she gets back.”  

Though she had no idea what her aunt was plotting, Lin Hongxiang figured that since she’d get a beating either way, she might as well focus on filling her stomach first.  

Even if she died, she’d die with a full belly.  

With that thought, her hands moved swiftly. She tore open the candy wrapper and stuffed the peanut candy into her mouth.  

It was delicious.  

She’d never tasted anything so good—so good she could’ve swallowed her own tongue.  

Once the candy was gone, a flicker of regret crossed Lin Hongxiang’s face.  

If she’d known it was this tasty, she would’ve saved some for her parents and older sister.  

Meanwhile, Lin Hongni mimicked her sister’s actions, quickly unwrapping the candy and popping it into her mouth.  

It was so delicious her eyes squinted into happy slits.  

Even her usually scary, mean aunt seemed kind and lovable under the influence of the peanut candy.  

Her aunt was so nice to her, giving her such delicious treats.  

When her aunt died someday, she’d go to the old carpenter and get her the most expensive coffin.  

As the work whistle blew, the exhausted team members dragged their weary legs home.  

Wang Xiu’e had been waiting at the entrance of the educated youth dormitory early. When she saw Zhou Zhongwen chatting and laughing with a few other educated youths approaching, she hurried forward on her old, rheumatism-plagued legs.  

“Zhou Zhongwen, I need to talk to you. Let’s step aside.”  

Zhou Zhongwen’s heart sank when he saw Wang Xiu’e looking for him.  

Did she know that Lin Wanwan, that fat pig, had jumped into the river because of him?  

If that were the case, given how much Wang Xiu’e doted on Lin Wanwan, she’d probably tear him apart.  

Zhou Zhongwen thought of Wang Xiu’e’s notorious temper in the village and shuddered involuntarily.  

He subtly took a few steps back, making sure he was at a safe distance before speaking.  

“Auntie, just say what you need to say here. I’ve got work to do after lunch.”  

Though Wang Xiu’e was unruly, she knew what to say in different situations.

Forcing an educated youth to marry her daughter—if word got out, it would ruin her daughter’s reputation.  

It might even affect the marriage prospects of the younger kids in the family.  

Especially Lin Hongying, the eldest daughter-in-law’s child, who had just turned sixteen this year. Once her own daughter was married off, she’d have to start worrying about Hongying’s marriage.  

This old bones of hers never got a day of rest.  

“Auntie just wanted to invite you over for a meal.”  

Wang Xiu’e was the kind of person who’d pluck fur off a stray dog passing by her door. For a stingy, scheming old country woman like her to suddenly invite him for a meal?  

That was impossible. Zhou Zhongwen was sure there was some bigger scheme behind it.  

Dinner was just an excuse. More likely, they’d lock him up and beat him as revenge for that fat pig.  

At the end of the day, it was all that fat toad’s fault for clinging to him like she had a chance, ruining his reputation in the brigade.  

Self-serving as ever, Zhou Zhongwen conveniently ignored the fact that he’d taken plenty of gifts from Lin Wanwan.  

For the sake of his own safety, he firmly refused Wang Xiu’e’s invitation.  

“Auntie, everyone’s tight on rations these days. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”  

She had come in person to invite him, and this little brat still had the nerve to act high and mighty? She itched to slap him so hard he’d see stars.  

But then she thought of her daughter and forced the anger down.  

Right now, her daughter was the priority.  

“It’s just an extra pair of chopsticks—no trouble at all. We’re slaughtering a chicken today, so don’t forget to come over for dinner. It’s settled then. I’ve got things to do at home, so I’ll head back first. I’ll send someone to fetch you tonight.”  

Before Zhou Zhongwen could refuse, Wang Xiu’e turned and left.  

These days, just having enough to eat was a struggle, let alone meat. Among the educated youths, only Zhou Zhongwen occasionally got some meat thanks to Lin Wanwan’s handouts. The others could only dream of it.  

They hadn’t tasted meat in over half a year.  

When they heard the Lin family was slaughtering a chicken, their mouths watered with envy.  

They looked at Zhou Zhongwen with barely concealed jealousy—lucky bastard, to be favored by Lin Wanwan.  

Sure, Lin Wanwan was a bit fat, a bit ugly, didn’t care much about hygiene, and was illiterate—but her family was well-off.  

In the entire region, she was the only girl plump enough to resemble a freshly fattened sow.  

That alone spoke volumes about her family’s wealth.  

Being with her, at least, meant never worrying about starvation or waking up at night to gulp down cold water to stave off hunger.  

Though Zhou Zhongwen disliked the Lin family, the undisguised envy in everyone’s eyes stroked his ego.  

When fellow educated youth Wang Yonghao asked if he was really going to the Lin family for dinner, he agreed without hesitation.  

That was real meat.  

Even back in Shanghai, chances to eat meat had been rare.  

His family was large—his mother had given birth to six sons and two daughters. His parents had to feed all of them, plus grandparents who were constantly sick and needed medicine.  

Every penny had to be stretched to its limit, especially in the city where everything cost money.  

He wasn’t the eldest, nor the youngest favorite—just another middle child, overlooked and unloved.  

Back home, even a full meal was a luxury.  

So when he heard from a friend that signing up to be an educated youth in the countryside came with a monthly grain subsidy, he signed up without much hesitation.  

Little did he know, rural life was nothing like the city. Instead of holding a pen, he had to work the fields—and the promised grain subsidies never materialized.  

Like the locals, they had to earn work points in the fields and wait until year-end to exchange them for food.  

The farm work was brutal for someone like him, but luckily, his parents had blessed him with good looks.  

With that face, he’d managed to secure himself plenty of benefits.  

One of them being Lin Wanwan, the Lin family’s treasured daughter.