Chapter 2

“Guli, I’ll go home and discuss it with my husband before giving you an answer.”

Although Li Guihua was tempted—thinking Deng Hongda would make a fine grandson-in-law—she didn’t immediately agree. Instead, she shifted the decision to her husband.

Her eldest granddaughter’s marriage needed to be handled carefully. She had to talk it over with her husband and son at home.

Her eldest granddaughter had a proud temperament. Having grown up without a mother, she was a bit spoiled by the family.

Even though she didn’t get into college, she kept running off to the county town, hoping to find a job on her own.

Only recently had she settled down a bit and stopped going so frequently.

But since it was her granddaughter she had raised herself, she knew her well. The girl had never done any hard labor growing up. Now insisting on coming with her to work in the fields—Li Guihua doubted she could endure the hardship. She was likely to run off to the county again.

“Auntie, no rush. Take your time discussing with Uncle Jiang. I’ll get back to work.”

Li Guli gave a hearty laugh, waved her hand at Li Guihua, and returned to the field she’d been assigned.

“Alright, once I’ve discussed it with your uncle, I’ll let you know right away!”

Li Guihua had the matter on her mind, and worked even harder than usual. By the time the sun was only halfway up in the sky, she had finished her fieldwork.

She walked over not far away, intending to tell her the news, but found that Jiang Yao looked pale and frightened.

Li Guihua, distressed, came over to her side. “Yao Yao, go home for now. The rest of the work can wait.”

“Grandma has something she wants to discuss with you.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yao picked up the sickle she’d just placed on the ground, along with the round military canteen, slung them over her shoulder, and silently followed Li Guihua home.

She didn’t dare say a word, afraid Li Guihua would realize she wasn’t the original Jiang Yao.

Back at the Jiang household, Jiang Yao subtly observed her surroundings—the bamboo fence enclosing the yard, the mud-brick walls—and couldn’t help but doubt if these yellow-clay houses were even safe to live in.

Entering the main hall, her vision dimmed. The floor inside was just freshly leveled dirt, hardened only because of frequent foot traffic.

She had never lived in such a crude house before.

Faced with these poor conditions, the excitement she once had about a healthy body had completely vanished. All she felt now was resentment toward whoever brought her to this strange time and place.

That heartless person behind it all—why take away the original Jiang Yao and make her take the fall?

By the time they got back, it was almost noon. Lunch had already been prepared by Jiang Yao’s sister-in-law, who was home caring for her one-year-old son.

After a full morning of labor, the Jiang family washed their faces, brushed off the dirt from their clothes, and sat down together to eat.

When Jiang Yao saw the food on the table, she frowned slightly, her determination to find a job in the county town growing even stronger. Though she had heart problems and always ate bland food, this was simply too plain.

Forget about meat—none of the dishes even had a trace of oil. She could barely bring herself to pick up her chopsticks.

Jiang Jianguo, the head of the family, sat in the main seat. His stern face softened a little when he looked at Jiang Yao sitting beside him and called for the family to start eating.

Although he valued his eldest son and grandson more—since they would care for him in old age—he was still fond of Jiang Yao, the only female high school student in the entire brigade.

“Yao Yao, you worked hard this morning. Grandma saved a white flour bun just for you.”

Li Guihua took the only pure white flour bun from the plate closest to her and placed it in Jiang Yao’s bowl. Then she distributed the remaining mixed-flour buns to everyone else.

“Thank you, Grandma.”

Jiang Yao froze at Li Guihua’s kindness, unsure how to react.

Having suffered from congenital heart disease, she had spent most of her childhood in the hospital. After her parents had a second child, they essentially acted like she didn’t exist—at most, renewing her hospital fees to keep her alive.

Only her grandmother visited her daily without fail.

“Yao Yao, what are you staring at? Hurry and eat! Your grandma specifically asked for a white flour bun to be made just for you. There’s more tonight, so go on and eat.”

Her sister-in-law chuckled, urging her to eat.

Thanks to her little sister-in-law, their whole family got to eat mixed-flour buns today—a luxury in her own family, where only the men could eat such food during holidays.

So she wasn’t the least bit jealous of the white flour bun. Just having a mixed-flour bun was already a blessing.

“Alright.”

Biting into the bun, Jiang Yao suddenly didn’t feel as resentful. The earlier distaste had quietly faded.

Only she had the white flour bun. Everyone else was eating a mix of corn and wheat flour.

After the meal, Li Guihua found an excuse to coax Jiang Yao into her room and stuffed a toddler inside with her.

Jiang Yao stared wide-eyed at the little child on the bed, completely at a loss.

This…

This was her elder brother’s first child. The couple treasured the baby greatly, always keeping him in their arms. Even when their grandfather wanted to see his great-grandson, the sister-in-law insisted on being present—afraid any slip would result in injury.

In the original memories, Jiang Yao had never been tasked with looking after the baby. She’d never even been alone with him. So why was she now suddenly left to watch him?

Meanwhile, in the main hall—

Li Guihua called out to Xu Lihong to set aside what she was doing, and the family sat once again at the table.

Just then, Jiang Chaomin, who had gone to the commune for a meeting, happened to return. Seeing the family still sitting at the table after lunch puzzled him.

Especially since he hadn’t seen his daughter all week. A bad feeling crept into his heart.

“What’s going on? It’s so hot—why aren’t you resting? Why are you all sitting here?”

“Where’s Yao Yao? I brought back gifts for her and Xiao Shitou from the commune.”

“You’re back just in time, eldest son. Don’t worry about the gifts just yet—come sit down. I have something to discuss with you,” Li Guihua said, motioning for her son to sit.

Frowning, Jiang Chaomin obeyed his mother and sat down. Just as he did, she dropped a bombshell.

“Eldest son, this morning while we were working, Old Meng’s daughter-in-law came to see me.”

“She’s suggesting a match for our Yao Yao—a good one. It’s that young man from Lihong’s home village who started working as a temp in the county a few years ago.”

A marriage match… for their Yao Yao?

Jiang Chaomin couldn’t believe his ears. His daughter was still so young—how could someone already be eyeing her?

“Yao Yao is still a child. There’s no rush. Her partner must be carefully chosen.”

He had heard of that young man before. His reputation hadn’t been good in the past—he relied on being the youngest son of the Deng family to do nothing useful, always stirring up trouble and loafing around the brigade.

It wasn’t until he suddenly found temp work in the county that people’s opinions of him began to change.

But this wasn’t the kind of man Jiang Chaomin had in mind for his daughter.