Chapter 2

What ideas could Tian Mi possibly have?

In the early 1970s, in an environment like this, not getting married wasn’t very realistic. She had already mentally prepared herself for marriage.

But… Liu Xiangdong was out of the question. He was a scumbag who liked to abuse women—a piece of trash not even worthy of being called human.

Of course, she couldn’t tell her father this directly. After pondering for a moment, Tian Mi pursed her lips and said tactfully, “I… don’t think it’s quite suitable.”

“…What?” Tian Hongxing looked at his daughter, surprised.

He was genuinely astonished. Even though the Liu family lived in town, they were still one of the most prominent families, living more lavishly than most people in the county. It was rumored they had connections too.

His second daughter was beautiful, and in recent years, many had sought to marry her, but most of them had worse conditions than their own family.

Marrying a daughter into a wealthy family and finding a bride from a less wealthy one—it had been a custom since ancient times. As a parent, he naturally hoped to marry his child out of the farm life.

Tian Hongxing knew his second daughter had high standards, but she wasn’t registered as a city resident, nor did she have a stable job. The Liu family’s son was the best match they could hope for at this point.

Moreover, he had met Liu Xiangdong himself. The young man was good-looking—not quite as handsome as he had been in his younger days, but still decent. More importantly, he was lively, not rigid, and every time he saw him, he respectfully called him “uncle” and offered him cigarettes. He was certainly a good match for his daughter.

Though Tian Hongxing had his own interests at heart, he wasn’t heartless and truly believed Liu Xiangdong was a fine young man.

“Dad… I’ve heard some things about the Liu family. Liu Xiangdong’s father beats his wife.”

“How do you know that?” Tian Hongxing squinted at his daughter in suspicion. The town was small, and despite being a veteran police officer for over twenty years, he had only heard vague rumors. How had his second daughter found out?

Of course, Tian Mi knew. Not only had she transmigrated here, but to be precise, she had transmigrated into the world of a novel.

A novel she found… baffling and difficult to understand.

The general plot was that the male lead fell in love with the original host of this body at first sight and went to great lengths to marry her. According to the fairy-tale plotline, life after marriage should have been filled with happiness.

But life had its twists. Though Liu Xiangdong was quite capable at work and steadily climbed the ranks, even reaching a high-ranking position before retiring, in his personal life, he was a complete scumbag. After marrying the beautiful woman, he cherished her for less than six months before revealing his true nature. Whenever he encountered frustration outside, he would come home and beat his wife.

At first, he would apologize profusely, kneel, and slap himself in repentance, but eventually, it became something he felt entitled to do.

The original host had tried to resist, but during this era, people encouraged staying together rather than divorcing. Her maternal family came to help a few times but to no avail. Moreover, her mother-in-law, who had grown accustomed to being beaten, constantly advised her to accept her fate. Over time, the original host resigned herself to this life.

And she lived like this for the rest of her life.

She gave everything, exhausting herself until her dying breath, only to finally receive a few kind words from Liu Xiangdong and their children.

The plot was so messed up that Tian Mi hadn’t had the patience to read it thoroughly. She had skimmed through most of it and didn’t remember many details, but one thing she vividly recalled: the male lead was a complete jerk.

She didn’t have the right to judge the original host’s choices—after all, the circumstances of that time had a huge impact on one’s decisions—but Tian Mi absolutely couldn’t accept someone like Liu Xiangdong. “I heard it from a high school classmate. That classmate is a distant relative of Liu Xiangdong’s family.”

“You’re worried that Liu Xiangdong might take after his father?” Tian Hongxing, with his many years of experience in law enforcement, had seen cases like this. After hearing what his daughter said, he immediately understood her concerns and his expression became serious.

Tian Mi nodded. “Dad, I don’t want to marry someone like that. A man who beats his wife isn’t a real man.”

“Well, that’s not necessarily the case. We can’t judge him solely based on his father. How about I go find out more about him?” If Liu Xiangdong really was like his father, Tian Hongxing definitely wouldn’t push his daughter into such a disaster.

But… what if the young man is actually a good catch? With such great conditions, it would be a real shame to miss out.

Tian Mi raised an eyebrow, understanding that her father still hadn’t given up. However, she didn’t want to push the issue too hard for now. After all, it wasn’t at that point yet; she just needed to keep things steady for the time being.

With that in mind, she stood up, added another bowl of water to the earthenware bowl, and prepared to head back to her room to rest for a while. “Then you can inquire a bit more.”

Father Tian was a typical patriarch of the era—valued face, emphasized established standards, and though he favored sons over daughters and had a bit of a classist mindset, he treated his daughters much better than many fathers who didn’t even see their daughters as people.

Everyone has their own little thoughts; she wasn’t the type to be selflessly devoted either.

“By the way, Dad, there’s no rush on finding out about Liu Xiangdong. I’ll be making black fish soup tonight, so drink plenty to nourish your body.” As she stepped into the west room, Tian Mi seemed to remember something and turned back to remind him.

With his daughter’s concern, Tian Hongxing, who initially planned to head to the town immediately, retracted his steps and responded with a smile, “Alright, I got it.”

=

The layout of the Tian family’s house was typical of old three-room homes. Entering the door led to the dining area, with the east side being the master bedroom of the elderly couple, which was about twenty-odd square meters. On the west side, there was a room of similar size, divided into two rooms—one larger, facing the sun, where Tian Mi and her sisters lived, while the smaller, north-facing room was for the boys.

It wasn’t that the elderly couple favored the girls by giving them the better room; rather, the family had four daughters, and a small room simply couldn’t accommodate them.

Speaking of this, we must mention the members of the Tian family.

Father Tian and Mother Tian were distant relatives who had known each other since childhood and married at eighteen.

Tian Mi’s eldest sister was thirty-two this year. After her, it was said that several children had failed to thrive in succession. After finally stabilizing the second child, which was Tian Mi’s older brother, it had already been six years.

In the following years, Mother Tian did not get pregnant again. Having given up hope and thinking they would only have two children, the couple was surprised to welcome their third child when they were thirty-one—Tian Mi.

Since she was long-awaited and also because Tian Mi had grown up looking like a beautiful child, Tian Hongxing surprisingly didn’t feel disappointed that they had another daughter; instead, he gave her a lovely name.

With Tian Mi’s arrival, Mother Tian subsequently gave birth to two more daughters.

With a line of daughters, Tian Hongxing’s face darkened. If it weren’t for the fact that they at least had a son to uphold the family name, he would have been laughed at for being a father without a male heir.

Fortunately, after having Lai Di and Pan Di, they finally had a son.

That son was the youngest in the family, Tian Xiang Yang, who was only ten this year.

Having six children seemed outrageous to Tian Mi, but in that era, it was quite normal. In their village, there was a family that had raised eleven children just to try for a son—how terrifying!

Tian Mi placed the earthenware bowl on a small table that had lost its paint and then picked up a newspaper from the side to cover it.

At that time, the roof mostly consisted of wooden beams, along with some aloe vera stalks, which gathered dust all the time. The taste of the well water was already a bit salty, and she didn’t want any dust added to it.

After changing her clothes, Tian Mi hung the mostly dry garments in the window. She only had two short-sleeved shirts, so she had to be careful; otherwise, she might not have any clothes to change into the next day.

This life was tough, leaving her feeling powerless to complain. While thinking about how to make money, Tian Mi kicked off her cloth shoes and flopped onto her bed.

She rolled over listlessly.

Forget it; there’s no rush to make money.

Sleep~ 

Sleep!

=

The weather in October had a large temperature difference between morning and evening.

It wasn’t quite at the point of needing a cotton jacket in the morning and a thin garment at noon, nor was it the time to hold a stove while eating watermelon.

But during dusk, when the sun withdrew its scorching heat, a chilly breeze still penetrated to the bones.

Tian Mi put on a thin jacket, tied on an apron, and squatted by the well, preparing to clean the fish.

The black fish was not easy to handle. Its surface was not only covered in scales but also a layer of slime, and the kitchen knife was somewhat dull, making it quite a laborious task.

When she returned to the kitchen and was chopping the fish into small pieces with difficulty, her parents, Father Tian and Mother Tian, returned home carrying a hoe.

“Where did the fish come from? You wretched little girl, you went to the river again?” Mother Tian, Luan Hongmei, was not particularly outstanding in appearance. She was petite, probably under 1.6 meters tall, thin, and had a round face that looked somewhat fierce. Yet her skin was exceptionally good. At her age, having been exposed to the wind and sun for years, her complexion was much fairer than the average person. She also had a nice nose shape, which Tian Mi inherited along with her delicate skin.

Tian Mi brought out the tofu that her third sister had traded back from the cupboard and smiled as she replied, “Isn’t it just after the autumn harvest? You and Dad have worked hard, so I thought I’d catch some fish to help everyone replenish their strength; after all, it’s still meat.”

Her daughter had grown into a beautiful young woman. Once so dull and silent, she now seemed to have suddenly become more eloquent and sweet-talking. Luan Hongmei couldn’t help but smile and scold, “Only you know how to talk.”

“I’m just speaking the truth. Dad, Mom, you two should take a break; dinner will be ready with me and San Mei^[1]Third sister.” The kitchen was small, cramped with four people, making it difficult to turn around.

Luan Hongmei had intended to give her daughter some more guidance, but feeling good at the moment, she didn’t rush it. She propped the hoe against the door and went outside to fetch water to wash her hands and feet.

“Mom is biased. If I went to the river, she would definitely beat me up,” Tian Lai Di, sitting behind the stove, grumbled while following her sister’s instructions to light the fire and add firewood.

“With your little body, if you dared to go to the river, you wouldn’t need Mom to beat you; I’d be the first to do it so you couldn’t take care of yourself,” Tian Mi shot a cold warning glance at the little girl.

The long river of Chaoyang Village was also called Chaoyang River. Its exact destination was unknown, as information was quite scarce. However, Tian Mi was very clear about its depth, having personally verified it. The deep spots were at least four or five meters deep.

Over the years, people had drowned there, and with her third sister’s frail body, if an accident happened, she wouldn’t even be able to create a splash.

She only dared to go to the river because she had a golden finger and her safety was 100% guaranteed.

Tian Lai Di shrank her neck at her sister’s fierce tone. “I… I was just saying.”

Tian Mi snorted lightly and ignored her, tapping the edge of the iron pot with a spatula. “Turn up the heat.”

After giving the instruction, she scooped out a small piece of lard from the jar with the spatula, slid it around the iron pot, and waited for the lard to melt. Once a thin layer coated the bottom of the pot and the oil started to heat up, she tossed in the prepped green onions, ginger, and garlic to sauté them until fragrant.

After coaxing out the aroma, Tian Mi quickly used chopsticks to fish out the green onions and garlic, leaving only the ginger, before placing the fish pieces into the pot to fry.

In fact, it was best to use soybean oil for making fish soup, as it would result in a milky white broth.

However, the conditions didn’t allow for it; there was only a little vegetable oil at home. Luan Hongmei watched it closely and would never waste it unless it was a significant matter.

From the perspective of her mother, having a bit of lard was already quite luxurious. Didn’t she see that many families in the village were eating boiled vegetables in saltwater?

“Turn down the heat a bit.” Once the fish pieces started to turn a light golden brown, Tian Mi took a ladle and scooped water from the large water tank until the iron pot was full, then covered it with a wooden lid that was leaning against the wall.

The family only had one iron pot, so they wouldn’t wait for the fish soup to be ready before preparing a cold dish of greens.

Tian Mi lit the coal stove next to her, using a clay pot to boil water, preparing to blanch the greens.

Though it was called a coal stove, it actually burned small blocks of wood cut to the size of half a palm. Coal was expensive, and while they had a dozen pieces stacked in the house, they generally wouldn’t use it. After all, the wood was adequate for cooking and cost nothing.

Having been there for over half a month, Tian Mi had become quite skilled at using this old-fashioned coal stove. Once she filled the clay pot with water, she began to prepare the ingredients for the cold dish.

“Er Jie, Si Mei^[2]Fourth younger sister doesn’t like garlic, so don’t put any in the greens.” When Tian Lai Di saw her sister grab a garlic clove, she thought she had forgotten about Si Mei’s aversion and quickly reminded her.

“I remember. She’s the only one who doesn’t like it, so I’ll prepare a separate portion for her.” Since there weren’t many seasonings to begin with, taking one more away would only make the dish even more bland, no matter how good Tian Mi’s cooking was.

Tian Lai Di grumbled, “That’s too much trouble.”

Hearing this, Tian Mi didn’t even look up. “No matter how troublesome food preparation is, you can’t complain. Speaking of which, are you really not going to school?”

In truth, the Tian family was considered peculiar in Chaoyang Village.

Tian Hongxing had attended school, albeit only elementary school. However, in his rural era, that was considered a high level of education. Plus, after serving in the army for a few years, he managed to get a job in the Public Security Bureau through connections upon returning home.

Perhaps having seen the outside world and knowing the benefits of education, although he favored boys over girls, he didn’t oppose girls studying.

The only difference was that he insisted his son must finish high school, no matter what, even if it meant breaking his legs, while for his daughters, he didn’t force them if their grades were poor or if they didn’t want to continue.

San Mei Lai Di had poor health and only attended elementary school, but Tian Mi still hoped she could study more, at least graduating from high school.

By then, if college entrance exams were reinstated, she would have a fighting chance.

Moreover, even if she didn’t get into university, having a high school diploma would still allow her to find a decent job in the future, which was certainly better than toiling in the fields.

Black Fish Soup