From Fiancée to Slum : A Tale of Loss

“The sun is burning your butt, and you still can’t get up. Are you waiting for me to serve you?”

“Born without the fate of a lady but full of lazy bones, what bad luck for me to be your mother!”

“In all of Nanhe Village, whose daughter is as lazy and greedy as you? You’re a born slacker, yet you act like a capitalist lady!”

Jiang Yu turned over and slowly woke up. Outside, her own mother was scolding her.

This happened every morning, she was used to it.

She sat on the kang, her little face full of fatigue.

She usually slept in, but today she genuinely hadn’t slept well.

It was because she had a dream last night, like a movie playing in her head, and she couldn’t wake up no matter what.

Jiang Yu tilted her head slightly, and a strand of hair slid down to scratch the side of her jaw.

Last night’s dream was so vivid, as if she had truly experienced it.

She saw herself getting what she wanted and marrying a city man.

The man was a mechanic at the No. 2 National Cotton Mill, named Fu Xiangyang.

She still remembered Fu Xiangyang’s appearance in her dream. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but had a delicate look and was about ten centimeters taller than her.

Compared to being a “city dweller,” other conditions mattered less to Jiang Yu.

What troubled Jiang Yu all night was that her dream self didn’t have a good life.

The city mother-in-law was strong-willed. When she saw Jiang Yu hadn’t gotten pregnant after a year of marriage, she began insisting on various folk remedies to make her conceive.

After drinking bitter and smelly Chinese medicine for several years and even drinking boy’s urine, she still didn’t get pregnant. Her mother-in-law became more and more dissatisfied and beat and scolded her at every turn.

Until Fu Xiangyang’s eldest sister passed away, her two children were left unattended and were adopted by Fu Xiangyang.

But the two children are old, and no matter how much she gives, they are still outsiders.

What’s even more terrifying is that it was not until the moment before her death that she found out that it was Fu Xiangyang who was infertile, but her in-laws kept it a secret from her, leaving her with a heart full of guilt and working like a slave for the Fu family for the rest of her life.

Jiang Yu held his chest and frowned slightly.

She wanted to marry into the city and have a job with the government, but she never thought of marrying this kind of person.

Snap, snap, snap——

“Jiang Yu! Jiang Yu! You’re going to die! If you don’t get up, I’ll skin you alive!”

Wang Meili had been honing her cursing skills for ten years, and she was so good at it that everyone could hear her clearly.

Jiang Yu hurriedly got up, changed her clothes, put on her shoes, and walked outside.

She yawned while braiding her hair.

“Mom, I’m awake. Stop scolding me.”

Jiang Yu’s voice was soft, as if sweetened with sugar, sounding almost like she was acting coy.

No matter how pleasant the voice was, it couldn’t soften Wang Meili’s heart.

Wang Meili snorted and slapped Jiang Yu in the face. Jiang Yu was prepared and dodged to the side.

This slap with full force happened to land on her younger brother Jiang Hao.

Wang Meili gave birth to four children, but Jiang Hao was the only son, whom she treasured like the apple of her eye.

After being slapped, Jiang Hao immediately started howling “Mom, why did you hit me!”

Wang Meili felt so distressed that she immediately started rubbing Jiang Hao’s arm.

“Mom didn’t mean to hit you. It’s all your big sister’s fault. Why are you hiding?”

Jiang Yu spat out the toothpaste in her mouth and simply wiped her face.

“I’m not stupid. If I don’t hide, am I just waiting for you to hit me?”

Her face was tender and white, like a lotus flower in clear water, and she didn’t look like someone who often worked in the countryside.

Jiang Yu really didn’t do much work, she always looked for ways to slack off.

In Nanhe Village, she was known for being both lazy and greedy, yet Wang Meili couldn’t do anything about it. She even hoped that her pretty daughter would marry well and bring in a high bride price.

Since she couldn’t vent her frustration on Jiang Yu, Wang Meili turned her anger toward Jiang Ting.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and make some food. Cook an egg for your brother, he needs to replenish his strength.”

Jiang Ting and Jiang Yu were twin sisters, with Jiang Yu being just two minutes older.

They looked somewhat alike, but Jiang Ting was more dull-witted and spoke less, like a gourd with a sawed-off mouth.

When Wang Meili slapped her hard, she didn’t utter a word.

Jiang Yu shook her head, sighing inwardly.

She had tried teaching her sister when they were younger, but there was no need for her to be so obedient.

In Wang Meili’s eyes, her son was precious, while her daughters were worthless, besides marrying off for a bride price, the only value was finding a good husband to help support her brother.

But Jiang Ting couldn’t accept this. She felt her sister was speaking nonsense, obediently following their parents’ commands, and seemed eager to become a blood donor for Jiang Hao.

Over time, Jiang Yu stopped trying to persuade her.

“Jiang Ting, make me an egg too, I didn’t sleep well last night!” Jiang Yu called out.

Jiang Ting didn’t respond, but Wang Meili started scolding again “Eat, eat, eat! Do you think you deserve to eat an egg? That’s for your brother to regain his strength! Do you understand anything?”

Jiang Yu curled her lip. “If Jiang Hao keeps getting replenished, he’ll be pushing two hundred pounds.”

Her brother was a rare chubby boy in the village. Both Jiang Yonghua and Wang Meili were tall, but Jiang Hao was less than 1.7 meters.

At 180 pounds, he was indeed overweight.

Just as Wang Meili was about to lash out again, Jiang Yu hadn’t even run away when she heard Old Lady Ye shout angrily, “What’s all this commotion early in the morning!”

Seeing her mother-in-law getting angry, Wang Meili sheepishly lowered her hand.

“It’s still this little slacker, wanting to snatch eggs from her brother, completely thoughtless!”

Jiang Yu replied lazily, “Mom, stop calling me a slacker. I’m your daughter. If I’m a little slacker, what does that make you and Dad? Big slackers? Is my grandma an old slacker? So basically, the whole family is filled with slackers?”

Old Lady Ye shot her a glare as she walked in, and only then did Jiang Yu notice that there was someone else standing behind her.

“Old sister, sorry for the trouble!”

Seeing Old Lady Ye smile in such a dismissive manner, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but wonder who this person was.

Wang Meili was the first to ask, “Mom, who is this lady…?”

Old Lady Ye affectionately pulled the elderly woman beside her close, as if they were sisters.

“This lady is a famous matchmaker from the city, her last name is Yao.”

As soon as Jiang Yu heard she was from the city, her heart sank.

Yao the matchmaker, she had dreamed of her last night, but hadn’t clearly seen her face.

But this floral top and dark blue pants matched the outfit of the matchmaker who had sung Fu Xiangyang’s praises!

At this moment, Wang Meili had already taken the initiative to walk in with Yao the matchmaker.

“Lady, please have a seat. Jiang Ting, cook two more eggs for Grandma Yao!”

Then she shot a glare at Jiang Yu. “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and bring a glass of sweet water! Grandma Yao came a long way, she must be thirsty.”

Jiang Yu felt that even if her own grandmother came over, Wang Meili wouldn’t be this enthusiastic.

But Wang Meili’s attitude pleased Yao the matchmaker.

“No need to be so polite, I’m not one of those poor relatives looking for handouts. I’m here to talk about matchmaking.”

Wang Meili smiled broadly, “Lady, it’s fortunate for us that you’re here, because we actually have two daughters who aren’t married yet.”

Yao the matchmaker chuckled with satisfaction, “I’ve heard that your twin daughters are quite beautiful, famous in the surrounding area.”