Chapter 2

“Mom, stop nagging about He Ting all the time. My ears are getting calloused from hearing it.”

Lu Jiaojiao said indifferently, “So what if He Ting is an educated youth from the capital? If his family has such strong connections, would he even need to come to the countryside?”

“Mom, don’t be so shallow. For all we know, something might have gone wrong with He Ting’s family, and that’s why he ended up in our brigade as an educated youth.”

“If I marry He Ting, I’ll end up suffering with him later.”

“Yes, Yin Zhihe is a bit poor right now, but as the saying goes, ‘a starving camel is still bigger than a horse.’ Before liberation, the Yin family was the wealthiest in our area. Who knows? There might still be a stash of gold and silver buried somewhere on their land.”

“Besides, Yin Zhihe has five sisters, all of whom married well. Each of them contributes a little to help their family. How hard could life with him possibly be?”

“Look, when Yin Zhihe was discussing marriage with my sister, his sisters pooled together 188 yuan as the bride price. His eldest sister, who works in the county’s supply and marketing cooperative, even managed to get a Plum Blossom watch.”

“That’s a Plum Blossom-brand watch! Worth hundreds of yuan! Only officials can afford to wear those.”

“Anyway, I won’t suffer if I marry Yin Zhihe. He’s clever and will make big money. When the time comes, you and my brother can live comfortably and enjoy life too!”

Noticing Lu Baiwei standing at the door watching her, Lu Jiaojiao wiped her eyes and started acting.

“Sis, you don’t think I stole Brother Zhihe from you, do you?”

“Brother Zhihe has always liked me. The reason I said I’d marry He Ting before was just to provoke Brother Zhihe and make him realize he cares about me.”

“Originally, the one Brother Zhihe wanted to marry was me, Lu Jiaojiao. Don’t look at me like that.”

“Brother Zhihe said you’re like your grandfather, Doctor Tang—too stiff and dull, with a strong medicinal smell. He doesn’t like your lifeless, gloomy personality. He only likes girls like me.”

Lu Jiaojiao played the victim first, complaining, “Dad, look how mean my sister is. She’s glaring at me.”

“She won’t hit me, will she?”

Lu Jiaojiao started crying pitifully, sniffling and sobbing.

Protective as ever, Liu Chunhua stepped in.

“What a mess between these two kids.”

“Old Lu, say something!”

“If Jiaojiao starts crying, Hua Hua will cry along with her. Those two siblings are so close.”

Liu Chunhua pinched Lu Wenhua, who let out a loud wail.

Lu Jianguo immediately softened. “Weiwei, Yin Zhihe has agreed to get a marriage certificate with Jiaojiao.”

“See? It’s already a done deal.”

“Don’t fight with Jiaojiao over Yin Zhihe. You can marry He Ting.”

As expected, Lu Jianguo was always the peacemaker.

Every time Liu Chunhua used Lu Wenhua as an excuse, Lu Jianguo would compromise.

Every time Liu Chunhua used Lu Wenhua as an excuse, Lu Jianguo would compromise.

The one who was always wronged was Lu Baiwei.

In her previous life, when Lu Baiwei saw the news about Lu Jiaojiao being rescued after being trafficked, it was likely that Lu Jiaojiao had also seen her interview on TV.

A rural woman like her, who supported her penniless husband in building a business empire and eventually inheriting a billion-dollar fortune in Hong Kong, had a legendary story. At the time, the interview program caused a big sensation.

Lu Jiaojiao only saw her glamorous surface but didn’t understand what she had endured after marrying into the Yin family.

Yin Zhihe’s mother had a difficult and eccentric personality, retaining the airs of a spoiled capitalist’s daughter. Despite being dirt poor, she insisted on living extravagantly and refused to settle for less, forcing her and Yin Zhihe to resort to black-market trading to make ends meet.

Then there were Yin Zhihe’s five sisters, who all married well.

But none of it mattered because Yin Zhihe’s mother was utterly unreasonable!

Yin Zhihe’s mother frequently used her life as leverage, pressuring her five daughters to take things from their in-laws to send back to their parental home, putting the sisters in very tough situations.

On the surface, Yin Zhihe’s sisters seemed like enablers who spoiled their brother endlessly. In reality, their relationship with Yin Zhihe and his mother was on the verge of collapse.

In her previous life, because of Yin Zhihe’s mother’s outrageous demands, the sisters eventually cut ties with the family and stopped interacting with Yin Zhihe.

It would have been bad enough to deal with a mother-in-law like that, but the extended family on Yin Zhihe’s side was just as troublesome. They kept a close eye on her and Yin Zhihe, always ready to report them if they didn’t get what they wanted. And Yin Zhihe’s mother, oblivious as ever, believed that daughters should naturally provide for their parents.

In her past life, she and Yin Zhihe suffered numerous setbacks because of these awful relatives.

Most importantly, Yin Zhihe was incapable in certain respects.

Until the day she died, she and Yin Zhihe never had a single child.

She endured a lifetime of gossip and curses, being called a “hen that couldn’t lay eggs.” Wanting a child became her dying wish.

That’s why she suspected that, even though Lu Jiaojiao and Yin Zhihe snuck into a haystack last night, they hadn’t gone all the way.

It was laughable that after being reborn, Lu Jiaojiao would destroy her own reputation just to compete with her for Yin Zhihe.

The good marriage Lu Jiaojiao sacrificed herself for? Lu Baiwei would give it to her.

“Dad, I understand,” Lu Baiwei said.

She pinched herself to force out some tears and pretended to sob, “It’s getting late. I’ll go cut grass for the cows.”

In these times, any bit of gossip became the talk of the town.

The news of Lu Jiaojiao and Yin Zhihe sneaking into a haystack caused a big stir. Early in the morning, people were already peeking around the Lu family’s door to see what was going on.

Just as Lu Baiwei picked up an empty basket and headed to the stream to cut grass, a group of women washing clothes stopped her.

“Baiwei, why are you crying?”

“This child must’ve been wronged!”

“Lu Jiaojiao sneaking into a haystack with Yin Zhihe last night, making the whole stack shake—what a shameful sight!”

“Last night, Lu Jiaojiao snuck into a haystack with Yin Zhihe, making the whole stack shake—what a shameful sight!”

In her past life, Lu Baiwei’s heart had been completely chilled by Lu Jianguo.

After Lu Jiaojiao ran off, Lu Baiwei was constantly pressured by Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua under the guise of filial piety. They found every way to make her support the family and even help raise her younger brother, Lu Wenhua.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the three of them leached off her like vampires.

Lu Baiwei was reserved by nature and never voiced her grievances. Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua exploited this weakness and had complete control over her.

Now, Lu Baiwei refused to let herself be controlled by Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua again.

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Why should the older sister have to raise Lu Wenhua? He wasn’t her child.

Lu Baiwei had made up her mind: she would blow up the scandal of Lu Jiaojiao and Yin Zhihe sneaking into the haystack. She wanted everyone in the team to see how biased Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua were, pushing her into a corner.

This time, Lu Baiwei decided to speak up.

Choking back tears, she began, “Aunties, my dad told me not to compete with Jiaojiao for Yin Zhihe…”

She broke down in tears halfway through her sentence, unable to continue.

The women surrounding her erupted into chatter, scolding Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua.

“People say stepmothers create stepfathers, but Lu Jianguo is just despicable. What kind of thing is that to say?”

“From start to finish, it’s been Lu Jiaojiao snatching Baiwei’s match! First, she made a fuss about marrying He Ting, and now she’s sneaking into a haystack with Yin Zhihe to pull off such a shameless act.”

“Baiwei, you’re just too soft-hearted!”

“This won’t do. You’re always being bullied. You need to go to the Tang family and ask your uncle to back you up.”

“If that doesn’t work, you’ve got us. We’ll tear into Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua’s smug faces for you!”

“Aunties, you’re kinder to me than my dad is,” Lu Baiwei said, nodding obediently, her eyes red with emotion. “I’ll finish cutting grass for the cows and go to work. At noon, I’ll take time to visit my uncle’s house.”

“My dad is being so unfair. How could I ever compete with Jiaojiao for Yin Zhihe?”

“He Ting is a city-raised intellectual with good looks. Just having him as a boyfriend would make me eat two extra bowls of rice.”

“How does Yin Zhihe even compare to He Ting? I’m not blind…”

What Lu Baiwei didn’t know was that, while she was cutting grass by the stream and chatting with the women, He Ting was walking down from the hill with a bundle of firewood.

Hearing Lu Baiwei praise He Ting’s good looks, one of the intellectual youths helping him carry wood couldn’t help but laugh out loud.