Chapter 6: Zhao Ke knows how to comfort.

After a short distance, Zhao Ke let go of Zhao Feng and teasingly said with a half-smile, “Zhao Feng, you’ve really come a long way.”

Zhao Feng awkwardly smiled, “Er Jie~”

“You’ve fallen for the new female educated youth, haven’t you? She’s pretty, right?”

Zhao Feng immediately denied it, “Of course not.”

“Oh? Then what is it?”

Zhao Feng blushed but still said boldly, “I think she’s different from other girls.”

Now even Zhao Mian became a bit curious.

Zhao Feng grinned foolishly, “Although she’s as skinny as a little chick, I just feel like she’ll live a really long time.”

Zhao Ke and Zhao Mian: “…”

It would have been better if he had just said she was pretty. What girl would want to hear such a thing?

Zhao Feng didn’t notice at all, still grinning foolishly.

Zhao Ke hadn’t spoken with Zhuang Lan earlier, but she had glanced a few times. Zhuang Lan was a bit frail, but with thick brows and large eyes, especially her gaze, which had a kind of determination.

If Zhao Feng’s words were understood differently, they could also mean she was full of vitality and resilience?

In the book, Zhuang Lan was this kind of person. Her family had always favored her younger brother, so she was forced to come to Zhao Village. She endured the heavy farm work, resolved all the unfriendliness and crises, and became a phoenix flying out of Zhao Village.

The male lead, Fu Hang, had watched her from the sidelines for a long time. Eventually, he was moved by her resilience and helped her at a critical moment. That was when their relationship began to develop.

At this point, the male and female leads were still just acquaintances.

Zhao Ke didn’t actually dislike Zhuang Lan, but since Zhuang Lan and the male lead were a well-matched official couple, she naturally didn’t want her silly little brother to get too involved and hurt both himself and others.

However, even if Zhao Feng, this male bird, was simply daydreaming, Zhao Ke wouldn’t be foolish enough to directly break up the couple.

When the three siblings returned home, Zhao Feng called out to Zhao Ke, smiling ingratiatingly, “Er Jie, can you not tell Mom?”

“Why?”

Zhao Feng frowned deeply.

Zhao Mian spoke up for him, “Mom doesn’t like the educated youth. When the new ones arrived, she warned him not to associate with the female educated youths.”

Zhao Feng defended Zhuang Lan, “Zhuang Lan isn’t the kind of educated youth who would marry a villager just to have an easier life.”

“How long has it been, and you’ve already figured her out?” Zhao Ke pushed open the wooden door. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it, but try not to go near the educated youth too much. Don’t you care about the bad influence, and don’t you think Zhuang’s educated youth will be annoyed?”

Zhao Feng rolled his eyes and reluctantly said, “Oh.”

·

The next day, Zhao Wu Nai, early in the morning, carried a basket and rode her son’s ox cart toward Li Village.

The ox cart passed under the old locust tree, and someone saw it and asked where she was going.

Zhao Wu Nai didn’t hide it and directly patted the basket on the cart, saying, “Going to reject the Li family. Xiu Lan didn’t fancy him.”

Aunt Sun, who had four daughters, exclaimed, “Such a good match, and Director Yu didn’t fancy him?!”

Zhao Wu Nai laughed and said, “What’s the big deal? Maybe they just didn’t hit it off.”

Aunt Sun’s eyes flickered, and she jogged a few steps closer, grinning as she asked, “Aunt Wu, why don’t you introduce him to my Dong Ni’er? I think that Li family’s son is a good match.”

Aunt Dong under the tree mocked her, “What are you thinking? Would the accountant’s son like your dark girl^[1]As a black girl I am very offended😭[Bushi][Doge]?”

Aunt Sun retorted, “What’s wrong with being dark? My Dong Ni’er is very capable, and she’s got a big behind, definitely good for bearing children.”

Aunt Dong asked, “What about your Chun Ni’er?”

Aunt Sun’s face immediately turned sour.

By the time the two were chatting back and forth, Zhao Wu Nai’s cart had already left the village.

Li Village, the accountant’s home—

When arranging a marriage, whether it works out or not, they usually give some sort of response.

Yesterday, on their way back, the Li family had asked Li Dasheng about how things were going with Zhao Mian.

Li Dasheng didn’t mention the near-conflict between the Zhao siblings and him, only speaking confidently, “How could she not like me? When I accidentally ran into her sister, she was really nervous.”

Li Dasheng’s mother even asked about Zhao Ke, but Li Dasheng was clearly disdainful. Although she felt regretful, she accepted that Zhao Mian would become her daughter-in-law.

So, the Li family was all under the impression that Zhao Wu Nai was coming to give them a confirmation.

However, after Zhao Wu Nai entered the Li family’s yard with Li Dasheng’s mother, she took off the basket from her arm. “Da Sheng Ma, I’m here to return something for the Zhao family.”

Li Dasheng’s mother’s face stiffened, “Aunt Wu, what do you mean by this?”

Zhao Wu Nai was very polite and tactful, “The Zhao family feels that the children’s personalities don’t match, so the relationship is off.”

Li Dasheng’s mother became anxious, “How would you know if they don’t even give it a try? Is there any young man better than my Da Sheng?”

Zhao Wu Nai praised him, “Your Da Sheng is really good. When I left, a family from our village heard about this and even wanted me to introduce him to their daughter, but I didn’t agree. Da Sheng surely deserves an even better match, doesn’t he?”

“What about Director Yu’s family…”

Zhao Wu Nai was about to continue politely, but Li Dasheng stormed out of the house angrily, “Mom! If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. So what if she’s a little more good-looking? What’s so special about her?”

They couldn’t afford to offend the matchmaker, especially since she was an elder from the Zhao family.

Li Dasheng’s mother slapped her son lightly, as if brushing away dust, and turned to Zhao Wu Nai to apologize, “He’s young, his words were too sharp, he didn’t mean anything bad.”

Zhao Wu Nai just smiled and didn’t say anything, unloading the things and preparing to leave.

Li Dasheng’s mother saw her off, then returned, her tone dripping with sarcasm, “She looks like a fox spirit, definitely not the type to settle down. There are better women without her.”

Li Dasheng clenched his fists and said nothing, frustration and unwillingness burning inside him… 

·

Zhao Family—

Zhao Ke woke up, and the others were already gone from the house.

She went to the kitchen, took out the food that had been kept warm in the pot, and stood under the eaves, eating while scanning the courtyard.

The place was clean and tidy, clearly showing that after reaching a consensus on “transferring the work,” they no longer expected her to be diligent.

Zhao Ke didn’t wait for the whole family to work. When she was alone at home with nothing to do, she went inside and began sorting through the family’s dirty clothes, preparing to wash them.

While she was adding hot water to the laundry basin, someone shouted from outside, “Zhao Ke, are you home?”

Zhao Ke was startled for a moment, then called back, “I’m here, Yunyun, come in.”

Then, a slightly plump young woman walked in. Her skin wasn’t as fair as Zhao Ke’s, but it was more delicate than most village girls, though her cheeks had two patches of redness, making her appear somewhat rustic.

Zhao Yunyun, the daughter of the Zhao Village production team leader, was Zhao Ke’s childhood friend, her cousin, and also her age. She was also the female antagonist in the book, who repeatedly entangled with the male protagonist and bullied and framed the female lead.

In the book, Zhao Yunyun even climbed into bed with the male protagonist, Fu Hang, to be with him. After the scandal broke, her reputation was ruined.

She didn’t want to marry far away, so she ran away but tragically fell into a river and drowned.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Zhao Yunyun looked at her strangely and snorted, “What, now that you’re a city person, you look down on your poor relatives from the countryside?”

This familiar sarcastic tone… Zhao Ke couldn’t be bothered to argue with her and casually pointed to the bench in front of the stove. “You can sit for a bit.”

Zhao Yunyun pursed her lips and sat down.

The fire in the stove was a bit weak, and she easily added a handful of firewood to it. The moment she finished adding the wood, she froze.

Why was she doing work for Zhao Ke? She never did any work at home!

Zhao Yunyun seemed to have been pricked and jumped up suddenly. “I’m not sitting anymore.”

If she wasn’t sitting, Zhao Ke sat.

Zhao Ke naturally picked up the fire poker and pushed the firewood from the outside of the stove into it.

Zhao Yunyun glanced around, and with no chair available, she had no choice but to stand and urged Zhao Ke, “I came to find you to hang out, let’s go.”

Zhao Ke lazily stoked the fire. “Where to? I need to wash clothes.”

“You? Wash clothes?” Zhao Yunyun just noticed the basin full of clothes next to the stove and immediately said, “You only come back once every half month. Let your sister and brother wash them.”

Zhao Yunyun was favored at home, working as the record keeper for the production team. She hardly did any work but ate the best food, and her temperament was spoiled and willful.

Zhao Ke didn’t indulge her and shoved the washboard into the basin, starting to scrub the clothes by herself.

Zhao Yunyun stomped her foot in frustration. “How long is this going to take? When can we go?”

“Go for what?”

Zhao Yunyun hesitated, her blush spreading to her cheeks, making her look even more rustic. “If you come with me, you’ll know.”

“Oh.”

Zhao Ke responded nonchalantly, slowly working.

Zhao Yunyun walked in circles beside her but eventually rolled up her sleeves and stretched out her hand to help.

Once the clothes were all hung on the line, Zhao Yunyun put her hands on her hips and asked, “Can we go now?”

Zhao Ke wiped her hands. “Sure, why not.”

She had already helped her with the work, so she might as well fulfill the other’s request, it was a small thing.

Five minutes later, Zhao Ke and Zhao Yunyun appeared behind the familiar willow tree outside the educated youth station.

Zhao Ke: “What are we doing here?”

Zhao Yunyun pointed at the educated youth station and whispered, “Wait a moment, you’ll see.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a window opened at the educated youth station, revealing the figure of a young man.

The young man had a handsome appearance, refined and cultured, and he looked well-educated.

He seemed to notice the gaze and looked up, his eyes calmly sweeping over Zhao Yunyun before locking eyes with Zhao Ke.

In just one second, the other person lowered his head, as if he hadn’t seen the uninvited guests at all.

Zhao Ke instantly confirmed that this was the male protagonist, Fu Hang.

She hadn’t expected him to be so good-looking…

Like a young bamboo shoot thrust into the barren land of the Northeast, it was strikingly out of place.

Zhao Yunyun looked at Zhao Ke warily and said, “I came to you for advice, and no matter how good-looking he is, you can’t steal him from me.”

Zhao Ke was speechless. “He is good-looking, but he looks like someone who can’t even carry a bag or do any work. Are you planning to support him?”

Zhao Yunyun covered her flushed face. “He’s so good-looking, it wouldn’t be impossible to support him, right?”

Zhao Ke paused for a moment. She had to admit that was true.

But…

Zhao Ke poured cold water on her: “What will you use to support him? Your family’s corn cakes for every meal, or your six work points from wasting time every day? Are you going to have your father and brother support him? Why should they?”

Zhao Yunyun retorted, “It’s just one more mouth to feed, and besides, my family doesn’t only eat corn cakes every meal…”

Zhao Ke nodded. “Oh, yes, there are corn cakes mixed with white flour.”

Zhao Yunyun choked off.

“It’s just the age when you meet a man you like but can’t do anything about it,” Zhao Ke understood and tried to comfort her. “Don’t worry, you’ll meet many more men you like but who don’t belong to you.”

Zhao Yunyun: Ahhhhh—

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

TN:

Read advance chapters using coins(Shanghai’s Patreon-like System).

Before deciding to read the advance chapters, kindly consider supporting the author first by purchasing the raws(Novel link posted on the Table of Contents page). If you have change left, then you can choose to read ahead. If you’re broke, no worries—the two chapters a week schedule is still maintained, so don’t put yourself out just to purchase the chapters, you’ll eventually be able to read for free.