“Sister Zhang, you know a lot of people. Please put in more effort for our Huanhuan. I’m not expecting her to marry into wealth—just as long as the man doesn’t look like a rotten melon and his family has enough to eat. It’s fine if he’s a bit older.”

“But the ones I just mentioned—none of them are good enough for you?”

Li Xiufen mentally reviewed the candidates Sister Zhang had listed. The one surnamed Fang was far too skinny, like a dry twig—not the type to live long. The one surnamed Wang was way too fat, his face like a steamed bun, so chubby you couldn’t even see his nose or eyes.

The one surnamed Liu was ten years older than Huanhuan and already divorced, dragging along a kid… She absolutely refused to let her daughter become someone’s stepmother.

The one surnamed Chen was decently presentable and the right age, but Li Xiufen happened to know his family. The young man himself was fine, but his mother was notorious for being difficult—a real shrew. No one in the entire alley dared mess with her. If Ye Huan married into that family, wouldn’t she be bullied?

Not a single one of the introductions pleased her.

Li Xiufen still had to rely on Sister Zhang  for her daughter’s marriage prospects. Although she was frustrated, she didn’t dare show it and could only smile obsequiously. “ Sister Zhang, please keep looking around and help our Huanhuan find someone good.”

Sister Zhang wasn’t in the mood. “Didn’t I already find a good one for you before? But you were so ‘enlightened’ that you gave him up. Otherwise, Ye Huan would’ve been married off by now and you wouldn’t still be here worrying.”

That was something Li Xiufen couldn’t bear to hear. Just the mention of it made her blood boil.

Sister Zhang caught her expression and decided to stop there. “You know better than anyone how rare young men with jobs are these days. They’re hot commodities—already snatched up. At this point, where do you expect me to find someone good-looking, gainfully employed, and from a decent family? Let me be blunt—if someone like that exists, they wouldn’t even look our way.”

Of course Li Xiufen understood that.

The government’s notice had already come down—each household could only keep one child at home. Anyone unmarried and unemployed would be sent to the countryside.

As soon as the notice was issued, marriage rates skyrocketed.

Her daughter didn’t have a job. If she couldn’t find a husband, her only option was to go to the countryside.

She had raised her daughter like a treasure. How could she bear to let her suffer in the village?

Because of this, she’d been losing sleep night after night.

But no matter how anxious she was, she couldn’t just marry her daughter off to anyone. It was a lifelong matter.

As they talked, Li Xiufen walked Zhang Saozi out of the alley.

They lived in a place called Labahu Tong—an alley lined with courtyard homes. Just outside was a wide, straight main street.

As the two women stepped out of the alley, they saw a jeep drive up and stop by the roadside. A young man in military uniform stepped out—about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He was tall and handsome, with striking features and a straight posture.

He went into a nearby grocery shop and soon came out holding a netted bag full of large apples. He got back into the jeep and drove off.

Li Xiufen couldn’t take her eyes off him. She murmured, “Whose boy is that? So good-looking. I wonder if he’s married.”

She was so obsessed with finding a match for her daughter that she now automatically considered every eligible-looking man.

Sister Zhang snorted. “You like him? Let me pour some cold water on that dream. Even if he’s single, he’s out of reach. We can’t possibly match with someone like that.”

Military uniforms had different pockets—two pockets for enlisted soldiers, four for officers. This young man had four. He was clearly an officer.

He drove a jeep and could afford apples, which were a luxury this time of year. Ordinary families wouldn’t dare buy them, yet he bought a whole bagful.

Tall, handsome, well-off, and an officer. As the old folks would say, he was a dragon among men—no doubt from a wealthy or influential family. Definitely not someone a family like theirs, living in a courtyard alley, could hope to marry into.

Li Xiufen awkwardly smiled. “I just thought he looked especially spirited. I was just talking.”

As they chatted, a bus pulled up. Sister Zhang was getting on, and Li Xiufen gritted her teeth and pulled two jiao from her pocket, stuffing it into Zhang Saozi’s hand. “Sister Zhang, I’ll have to trouble you again for Huanhuan’s sake.”

Sister Zhang clutched the money and said, “Come on, we’ve been friends for years. No need to say that. I’ll keep looking. If I find someone good, I’ll definitely save him for Huanhuan. Alright, I’m off.”

She stuffed the money into her pocket and boarded the bus.

Li Xiufen watched the bus drive away, still frowning.

She’d paid, said all the right things, and Sister Zhang had agreed to keep looking. But Li Xiufen didn’t hold much hope.

She’d already promised Sister Zhang 20 yuan as a matchmaking fee. If she really knew someone good, would she still be hiding it?

Li Xiufen was at her wit’s end.

The ground was littered with melon seed shells and candy wrappers—all from Zhang Saozi, who had eaten non-stop from the moment she entered. The noise and chatter had given Li Xiufen a headache.

***

Ye Huan called out, “Qiangqiang!”

Ye Mingqiang came trotting in, sniffling. “Second Sis, what is it?”

Ye Huan gestured for her newly recruited little brother to look at the floor.

“Got it!” Ye Mingqiang grabbed a dustpan and broom and swept the floor clean with a series of loud clangs.

Ye Huan slumped back in her chair and waved her hand dismissively. Ye Mingqiang scurried off again.

This was her second day in this place. After just one night’s sleep, she had somehow transmigrated to 1970s China.

And she arrived just in time for the grand “Down to the Countryside” movement.

Their house was close to the subdistrict office, and every day, the loudspeaker blared from morning to night, a woman’s high-pitched voice shouting:

“To the countryside! To the frontier! Go where the country needs you most! Take root in the vast world and make unshakable vows…”

The slogans were so passionate they made her ears buzz.

Sister Feng peeked in with a basket of vegetables. “Huanhuan, I just saw Sister  Zhang again. Was she matchmaking for you?”

Ye Huan nodded.

“Anyone catch your eye this time?”

There were no secrets in a courtyard compound. Everyone knew Li Xiufen was in a rush to find Ye Huan a husband to keep her from being sent down, and the entire yard was invested. Whenever they saw Li Xiufen or Ye Huan, they would ask for updates.

Ye Huan replied, “Too ugly. Not interested.”

After reviewing the photos Sister-in-law Zhang had brought, Ye Huan felt that she’d rather go to the countryside than marry any of those men.

Sister Feng was speechless. What’s gotten into this girl? Did she get a shock or something?

She comforted her, “Don’t worry. You’ll find someone decent eventually.”

Madam Chi chimed in from the water tap, “The list for going down to the countryside will be finalized soon. No wonder they’re anxious.”

“Can you blame her?” another voice added. “I’ve never seen a mother like that—cares more about her stepkids than her own daughter.”

“Alright, enough. Xiufen’s in a tough spot too. If she really let Huanhuan get married first, people would say stepmothers are biased and pity poor Ye Qing.”

***

Outside, several women were washing vegetables at the faucet while discussing the Ye family’s affairs.

The original owner’s family was somewhat unusual. Her father, Ye Yongguo, and mother, Li Xiufen, were a second-marriage couple. Ye Yongguo’s first wife had died of illness, leaving behind two children: his elder son, Ye Mingliang, and younger daughter, Ye Qing.

When Ye Yongguo’s first wife passed away, Ye Mingliang was six years old, and Ye Qing was just over a year old. Unable to care for them alone, Ye Yongguo asked a matchmaker to find him a new wife, which led him to Li Xiufen.

Li Xiufen was a childless widow. After their marriage, she gave birth to Ye Huan the following year, followed by Ye Mingqiang.

Li Xiufen didn’t work, but Ye Yongguo was a seventh-grade fitter, earning a monthly wage of 85 yuan—more than enough to support the family.

Then came the sudden policy about going to the countryside.

This time, the policy was stricter than ever before: anyone over sixteen, unmarried, and unemployed was required to relocate to the countryside.

Ye Mingliang the eldest had married the previous year, and Ye Mingqiang was only thirteen, so neither met the criteria.

Ye Huan, at eighteen, and Ye Qing, at nineteen, were both unmarried and unemployed—perfectly matching the requirements.

If they wanted to avoid being sent down, they needed to get married immediately.

So Li Xiufen asked everyone she knew to help find eligible bachelors, and also relied on matchmaker Zhang Saozi.

Among the candidates, Li Xiufen took a liking to one named Chen Yongqing.

Chen Yongqing worked at the city’s Third Radio Factory as a formal employee. He looked decent—medium build, thick brows, large eyes, and seemed honest.

At 25, he was already considered an older bachelor. He hadn’t married yet because his father had died early, and his mother had been bedridden for years. He also had a younger brother and sister to support. No girls wanted to marry into that kind of burden.

But this past winter, his mother passed away, lightening his load significantly. And since he was a formal worker, once the policy came down, he suddenly became a hot commodity.

Sister Zhang told Li Xiufen, “This boy’s in high demand now. You need to decide quickly—do you want me to match him with Ye Qing or Ye Huan? I need your decision so I can set up a meeting. If they like each other, they can get married right away.”

Li Xiufen outwardly maintained impartiality, but inwardly she favored her biological daughter, Ye Huan. She didn’t want Ye Huan to be sent to the countryside and naturally hoped to secure Chen Yongqing for her.

When news of this reached Ye Qing’s ears, she began to scheme.