Chapter 14

He Ting left in a hurry, almost as if he was escaping. As Lu Baiwei stuffed clothes into the wardrobe, she couldn’t help but let her lips curl into a smile. 

Was He Ting shy just now?

What exactly had crossed his mind to make him blush at the mention of living together? 

It turns out that someone as seemingly aloof as He Ting also had a shy and innocent side. The thought amused Lu Baiwei, and she couldn’t help but chuckle softly. 

Hearing movement outside the house again, Lu Baiwei walked out of the inner room. “Didn’t you say you were heading to the youth housing to grab your things? Why are you back already?” 

Expecting to see He Ting, she stepped out only to find her eldest uncle, Tang Jingshan, carrying a ladder. 

“Uncle, why are you here?” 

Tang Jingshan grinned sheepishly. “Your third uncle mentioned you got married and moved into the health clinic. This place has been unused for two years and leaks when it rains, so I thought I’d come replace the broken tiles for you.” 

“I brought a load of tiles with me; it should be enough.” 

Tang Jingshan set up the ladder and called to Lu Baiwei, “Come over, Baiwei, and help hold the ladder steady.” 

Her eldest uncle, Tang Jingshan, was an honest and hardworking man. 

He was always quiet and reserved, simply focusing on his work. But whenever someone needed help, he would show up without even being asked. 

These past few days, the brigade had been busy with the rice harvest, plowing the fields, and preparing seedlings for the autumn crops. 

As a seasoned farmer, her uncle was undoubtedly exhausted after a long day of work. 

Yet, upon hearing from her third uncle that she had been mistreated by Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua, he hadn’t even taken the time to change out of his mud-streaked clothes. He had grabbed a ladder and hurried over. 

And now, without saying much, he had already set up the ladder and was ready to climb up to replace the roof tiles for her. 

Lu Baiwei felt deeply touched, her eyes becoming misty with emotion. 

“Baiwei, hand me the tiles from down there. I’ll make sure the roof is fixed before it gets dark.” 

“Got it, Uncle.” 

Her marriage to He Ting had happened so quickly that she hadn’t even had time to visit her uncles and tell them about it. 

In her past life, she had been manipulated by Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua into growing distant from her uncles—a regret and source of guilt that had haunted her until the end. 

Thankfully, she now had the chance to make amends for her mistakes and repay the care her uncles had given her. 

Working seamlessly together, uncle and niece passed tiles back and forth—one handing them up, the other placing them onto the roof. 

The uncle and niece worked seamlessly together, with one passing tiles and the other fixing them onto the roof. 

Lu Baiwei struck up a conversation with Tang Jingshan. “Uncle, today He Ting and I went to the commune to get our marriage certificate. I didn’t have a chance to stop by your place and let you and Auntie know.” 

“He Ting bought two bottles of wine for you. I asked my third uncle to bring them over. Once this place is tidied up, I’ll cook a meal and invite you and Auntie over for dinner.” 

Tang Jingshan, pleased to be on the receiving end of such thoughtfulness from his niece and her new husband, beamed. “The wine has already been delivered to our home,” he said. “Baiwei, getting married is a great thing. That young man looks capable and dependable.” 

Lu Baiwei had married He Ting partly because of the arranged marriage her late grandfather had set up, but also to escape the greed and selfishness of Lu Jianguo, Liu Chunhua, and the rest of that household. 

So far, from getting the marriage certificate to now, her impression of He Ting had been overwhelmingly positive. 

Many things had turned out differently in this lifetime. 

He Ting was proving to be a much better person than she had imagined. 

Love and romance—those were the stuff of melodramatic novels. After being reborn, Lu Baiwei believed that the most important thing was to leave that toxic household behind and find someone reliable to share her life with. 

Besides, He Ting was easy on the eyes—his presence alone brightened her mood. 

“Uncle, the person Grandpa picked for me couldn’t possibly be wrong,” she said with a smile. “I’ll make sure He Ting and I live a good life together.” 

“That’s good to hear!” 

Hearing Lu Baiwei praise He Ting’s character seemed to put Tang Jingshan at ease. He continued deftly replacing the roof tiles, occasionally responding with a contented sigh. 

While Tang Jingshan was working on the roof, her cousin Tang Yunling arrived, carrying a bamboo basket. From a distance, she waved enthusiastically. 

“Baiwei, come see what I’ve brought you! Something delicious!” 

“My mom made fish soup,” Tang Yunling said excitedly as she reached the house. “You’re amazing, Baiwei. Over the past few days, our whole Tang family has been worried that you were being bullied too badly. But wow, when you strike, you really strike hard!” 

“While your big cousin here spent the entire day helping my mom block the dam and catch fish at our aunt’s place, you pulled off a major win!” 

“Uncle Tang, the third one, told us all about it when he got home. He said you completely put your dad and stepmom in their place today. That’s exactly how it should be—what a power move! You truly live up to being a member of our Tang family!” 

The “Uncle Tang, the third one” that Tang Yunling mentioned was Lu Baiwei’s third uncle, Tang Jinghe. 

Although Tang Yunling wasn’t a biological cousin—they were one step removed since Tang Jinghe was her paternal uncle—she was still considered family. 

The Tang family was known for having mostly sons—Lu Baiwei had five or six male cousins—but her third uncle, Tang Jinghe, had one daughter: Tang Yunling. 

The Tang family only had sons; Lu Baiwei had five or six male cousins. The only daughter among her paternal uncles’ children was Tang Yunling, the daughter of her uncle Tang Jinghe. 

Lu Baiwei grew up in her grandfather’s home and got along with Tang Yunling like sisters. 

Tang Yunling had several older brothers and younger brothers. Daughters in the Tang family were highly valued, with plenty of family backing them up, which nurtured Tang Yunling into a fiery and straightforward personality who couldn’t tolerate being mistreated. 

Tang Yunling also couldn’t stand seeing Lu Baiwei suffer. 

First, Lu Jiaojiao fussed about wanting to marry He Ting, who had a childhood engagement with Lu Baiwei. Then, Liu Chunhua encouraged her to pursue a match with Yin Zhihe, a poor man from the village. To make things worse, Lu Jiaojiao later led Yin Zhihe into a haystack. 

Bullying Lu Baiwei like this made Tang Yunling so angry after the threshing yard incident that she couldn’t eat. 

When Tang Yunling heard that He Ting was preparing gifts to propose, Lu Baiwei turned around and registered a marriage certificate with him. She also dealt with Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua, which finally let Tang Yunling vent her frustrations and feel a great sense of relief. 

This even made her see He Ting in a new light. 

“Vivi, my mom and I went to the next village to fish with a dam net today. This fish soup is freshly made. I knew you and He Ting just moved in and hadn’t started cooking yet, so I asked my mom to make it. We also brought some cornbread.” 

Carrying the basket of food into the house, Tang Yunling took out the fish soup and placed it on the table. She also brought out the cornbread made by Lu Baiwei’s third aunt, along with two pounds of flour, a pound of oil, freshly picked vegetables, and seasonings like salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. 

“You just moved in, so you probably can’t cook tonight. Make do with some fish soup and cornbread. 

Save the flour for making flatbreads tomorrow. This cucumber I picked can be smashed with a knife to make a cold dish for breakfast.” 

While Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling chatted in the house, Tang Jingshan finished replacing the broken tiles on the roof before nightfall. 

Tang Jingshan was skilled at all sorts of tasks around the house and had no trouble fixing the roof. 

After finishing the job, he carried his ladder and called to Tang Yunling, “Yunling, let’s head home.” 

“Uncle, why don’t you and my sister stay for dinner?” 

“No, no. You just moved in and haven’t started cooking yet. You drink your fish soup.” 

Tang Jingshan waved his hand, picked up his ladder and basket, and left. 

Tang Yunling chased after him. “Uncle, don’t leave so fast. Wait for me.” 

He Ting wasn’t aware that while he was at the educated youth station moving things, Tang Jingshan had already helped him and Lu Baiwei replace the broken roof tiles. 

Zhou Yanfeng was helping him carry things to the clinic. The two were still discussing how to fix the roof. 

“Ting-ge, I don’t think it’s worth making a special trip to the Hongqi Village tile kiln. At most, we’ll need one basket of tiles, and the kiln workers might not even bother with us.”