Chapter 10: Let Aunt Xiu Be Your Mom

The little girl was Ningning. Gu Ye usually spent his time with the team, and since Ningning had no one to look after her, she was sent to Li Hongying’s house. Gu Ye would come to pick her up later in the evening to take her back home.

Upon hearing Li Hongying’s words, a confused and terrified expression appeared in Ningning’s big eyes.

The confusion was because she was still young and could not fully understand Li Hongying’s coaxing, and the fear was because she had heard the name Jiang Yue.

“Sis, don’t say that to Ningning! Look, you’ve scared her!” Li Xiuxiu hurriedly said to Li Hongying as she saw Ningning on the verge of crying but holding it back.

She then tried to comfort Ningning. “Alright, Ningning, don’t cry! Aunt Xiu will peel melon seeds for you to eat later.”

Li Hongying, with melon seed husks hanging from her mouth, looked at her younger sister with a playful grin. “What’s this, Xiu, you haven’t even married Regiment Commander Gu yet, and you already care so much about someone else’s child?”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuxiu immediately blushed bright red, glaring at her sister. “Sis, what nonsense are you saying! I didn’t!”

Li Hongying gave her a knowing look and giggled, winking at Li Xiuxiu. “Didn’t? Didn’t you have an interest in Regiment Commander Gu?”

“Sis!” Li Xiuxiu’s face turned even redder, and she lowered her eyes, looking shy as though her secret had been exposed. She flicked her braid and took Ningning’s hand, heading inside the room. “I’m not talking to you anymore!”

“Oh, Regiment Commander Gu has come to pick up Ningning!” Li Hongying suddenly said.

Li Xiuxiu immediately turned around, looking around expectantly, but she couldn’t see Gu Ye’s figure. She realized that she had been played by her own sister, and her face became even more embarrassed.

“Xiu, still saying you don’t like Regiment Commander Gu?” Li Hongying burst into loud laughter. “Regiment Commander Gu is handsome, and he’s an officer too. Our Xiu has a good eye!”

“Sis, stop it!” Thinking of Gu Ye, Li Xiuxiu’s face turned so red it seemed like it might bleed.

Li Hongying looked down at Ningning, who appeared somewhat dazed, and asked: “Ningning, your mom is too bad, right? Your dad will eventually get rid of her. How about letting Aunt Xiu be your mom instead, okay?”

Ningning stared blankly, as if she didn’t understand what Li Hongying was saying. She pursed her small lips but didn’t say anything.

Li Hongying curled her lips slightly. “This little fool! Only Regiment Commander Gu treats her like a treasure!”

“Sis, don’t say that in front of Ningning!” Li Xiuxiu whispered: “What if Ningning goes back and tells Regiment Commander Gu…”

Li Hongying, however, looked dismissively. “This little fool would even spread rumors?”

Still, just to be safe, she bent down, smiling, and fed Ningning a melon seed kernel that she had just peeled. With a skillful motion, half threatening and half coaxing, she said: “Ningning, you can’t tell anyone what you hear from Auntie, okay? Otherwise, the big bad wolf will bite you!”

She even curled her fingers as if to grab Ningning. Ningning, terrified, pouted and shrank behind Li Xiuxiu’s legs, about to cry. Li Hongying, still teasing, threatened: “Don’t cry! Otherwise, I’ll go get your mom to come take you away!”

Upon hearing this, Ningning’s little face turned pale with fear.

“Alright, sis, stop scaring Ningning!” Li Xiuxiu said quickly, worried that Ningning might get sick from the fright. She had always been the one to take care of Ningning, and if Li Hongying scared her into an illness, Gu Ye would surely think poorly of her.

“Fine, Xiu, go wash the clothes and add a dish for dinner.” Li Hongying said. Since she didn’t have to work for Jiang Yue today, she was in a good mood and decided to lie down inside the house.

“Okay!” Li Xiuxiu replied obediently. With her left hand holding the baby, she took Ningning’s hand with her right and headed for the courtyard.

Two years ago, there had been a famine back in their hometown, and there wasn’t even enough food to eat. To survive, Li Xiuxiu had left and come to live with her sister and brother-in-law.

Li Hongying had five children at home, and with seven or eight mouths to feed, there wasn’t enough grain for them. Her husband’s monthly allowance was thirty yuan, but he had to send ten yuan back to their hometown. However, with Li Xiuxiu there, not only could she help look after the children, but she could also cook and take care of the household chores, which made things much easier for her. It was just a matter of one more mouth to feed and one more set of chopsticks at the table.

Li Xiuxiu could also take on work at Gu Ye’s house. Gu Ye paid her twenty-five yuan a month, which was almost the same as her husband’s earnings.

Li Hongying, lounging with her legs crossed, was cracking melon seeds and humming a tune. She had long realized that Li Xiuxiu was interested in Gu Ye. Gu Ye must be blind! How could he not see how capable Li Xiuxiu was? He chose to run off and look for someone like Jiang Yue, who couldn’t even lift a bucket of water or carry a bag of rice.

But it seemed like Gu Ye and Jiang Yue wouldn’t last long. When that time came, she would definitely make sure her daughter-in-law, Xiu, seized the opportunity!

Li Hongying, feeling quite pleased with herself, thought to herself that Gu Ye was the captain, with an allowance of over a hundred yuan a month. That was a lot of money, and when the time came, she would definitely have Xiu ask Gu Ye to give it to her to manage.

After sending Li Hongying away, Jiang Yue couldn’t be bothered to make lunch. She took the half-steamed bun she hadn’t finished in the morning, tore it into pieces, and placed it in a bowl. She poured hot water over it and ate it. Though it didn’t taste great, at least it filled her stomach.

Once she finished the bun, Jiang Yue decided to take a short rest and plan what she needed to do in the afternoon.

Jiang Yue had already explored Gu Ye’s house, inside and out, following her memory.

It was a brick and tile house with three rooms, front and back courtyards. Upon entering, there was a hall with an Eight Immortals table and benches, and portraits of great leaders hanging on the wall.

To the left was the master bedroom where Jiang Yue stayed. It had windows on both sides, allowing for good airflow, with a large wardrobe, a five-drawer dresser, and a sewing machine against the wall.

In the drawer of the desk, Jiang Yue found a women’s plum blossom watch. It was common for weddings during this era to have three turns and a sound, and from the items Gu Ye had prepared, it was clear that he had married the original owner with serious intentions of living a good life. There was no sign of him mistreating her.

Jiang Yue couldn’t help but sigh again, thinking that the original owner was truly unlucky.

Gu Ye was bound to achieve great things in the future, but what kind of good life did the original owner ever think she would have by following him?

Seeing the large full-length mirror beside the bed, Jiang Yue remembered that since she entered this world yesterday, she hadn’t looked in a mirror. She was quite curious about what this body looked like!

The book had mentioned that the original owner was beautiful, with a tall, slender figure, but despite her looks, she was quite empty-headed—a few words barely touched upon it.

As Jiang Yue stood in front of the wardrobe mirror and saw her reflection, she froze for a moment. The person in the mirror was herself! 

She had a small face, almond-shaped eyes, a slightly curved, delicate nose with a bit of a hump, and lips that were slightly fuller in a diamond shape. These striking and beautiful features, while not identical to hers, at least resembled her by seven or eight points.

The main difference was that this body was too thin—so thin that the eye sockets were sunken, the cheeks lacked flesh, and the chin was sharp enough to poke someone.

Moreover, probably because the original owner had lived a difficult life for so long, her expression looked quite bitter. The corners of her mouth turned down, giving her an air of bad temper and a poor, suffering appearance.

Jiang Yue took a spin in front of the mirror. Her height seemed to be about the same as her own in her previous life—around 166 cm. But the biggest problem was still how thin the body was. It was withered and lacked any sense of beauty.

Suddenly, Jiang Yue’s gaze darkened. She nearly forgot that the original was based on her. Hadn’t she modeled her “best friend” character in the story after her own appearance?

Even the special physical condition she had once secretly told her best friend about had been written into the book.