Font Size:
After Old Ye sent out the telegram, Old Master Lu quickly replied, saying that Lu Wei would be coming to Xitang Town soon.
Although the arranged childhood engagement was already set, Old Ye didn’t want any unnecessary complications, so he forbade the Ye family from spreading the news. After all, the telegram only mentioned that Lu Wei was visiting Xitang Town, but nothing was confirmed about the engagement.
Moreover, he knew his daughter’s preferences—she had always liked handsome young men. If Lu Wei wasn’t good-looking, there was a real chance she’d refuse the engagement on the spot.
Ye Zhi had to work at the textile factory every day, so she wouldn’t have the chance to mention it to anyone. Besides, she hadn’t even seen Lu Wei before. The telegram didn’t include any details about him, only that he was currently stationed on Qiongzhou Island and held the rank of regiment commander.
Since both Ye Zhi’s grandparents had passed away suddenly, they hadn’t left behind any written records about the engagement, so even Old Ye wasn’t sure what kind of person Lu Wei was.
When Ye’s mother failed to get any information about Lu Wei, she began to regret the ‘blind marriage, mute wedding’ arrangement just a little. Had they acted too hastily?
But Ye Zhi figured that as long as she didn’t have to marry Gao Wenbo and play nanny to his three children, anything was an improvement.
Not to mention, Lu Wei was an honorable military officer.
At first, it seemed that very few people knew about Ye Zhi’s childhood engagement.
However, during the factory’s anniversary celebration, when Ye Zhi casually mentioned to the director that she had a fiancé, the news quickly reached Li Xueling.
As soon as Ye Zhi returned to her department, Li Xueling grabbed her arm and asked, “Comrade Ye, since when did you have a fiancé?”
Wasn’t Ye Zhi interested in that new engineer from the construction group?
How did she suddenly have a fiancé?
Ye Zhi glanced around at her coworkers, who were all obviously eavesdropping, their curiosity practically written on their faces.
People were naturally nosy.
So she pulled Li Xueling aside into the hallway and said, “I only found out a few days ago. Turns out my grandfather arranged a childhood engagement for me a long time ago.”
Li Xueling stared at the fair-skinned beauty before her in disbelief. “A childhood engagement? In this day and age? How can you just agree to marry someone like that?!”
As the factory director’s niece, Li Xueling came from a well-off family. Her husband was also a respected figure in town. Though she was a few years older than Ye Zhi, she had married for love.
Naturally, she didn’t support feudal traditions like arranged marriages.
Ever since Ye Zhi won first prize in the competition, Li Xueling had grown increasingly fond of her. Not only was she beautiful, but she wasn’t lazy at work either. She was a bit delicate, but then again, so was Li Xueling.
Looking at this stunning young woman, whose skin was as white as snow and whose eyes sparkled like water, Li Xueling couldn’t help but feel protective of her.
She had even asked her uncle to introduce Ye Zhi to the new engineer.
But now Ye Zhi was saying she already had a fiancé? Because of that, her uncle had scolded her!
And now it turned out the fiancé was from a childhood engagement? Who even knew what kind of person he was?
Ye Zhi smiled gently. She was naturally more fair-skinned and beautiful than others. When she smiled, a small dimple appeared, making her look even more playful.
“Sister Xueling, even though it’s an arranged engagement, my fiancé is a soldier. It’s an honor to marry a military officer.”
Li Xueling was momentarily stunned by Ye Zhi’s soft and elegant smile. “Well… that’s true…”
Military officers protected the country, and being a military wife was definitely an honor.
Seeing Li Xueling waver, Ye Zhi continued with a smile, “I’ve already accepted him as my fiancé.”
“I really appreciate your kindness, Sister Xueling, but I’m afraid I won’t need the introduction after all.”
Hearing this, Li Xueling suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
“Oh, come on. Marrying a soldier is still way better than marrying that man with three kids!”
Li Xueling sighed in relief. “Honestly, I used to think you were a bit naïve. That Engineer Gao might have a good job, but being a stepmother—especially to three kids—isn’t easy.”
“I’ve seen his kids before…”
She then launched into a long rant about how troublesome Gao Wenbo’s children were, finishing with a snort. “Even if you didn’t have this engagement, I’d still say you shouldn’t marry him.”
Ye Zhi chuckled and nodded. “I understand. Thank you for looking out for me, Sister Xueling.”
Even outsiders could see that this man wasn’t a good match for her.
The people’s eyes were sharp, after all.
During the factory’s anniversary celebration, Ye Zhi won first place, earning a prize of 30 yuan along with some ration tickets for grain and meat.
For the past few days, she had been waking up late and kept missing the chance to buy pork.
Luckily, thanks to Li Xueling’s connections, she managed to get over a pound of pork and some flour from the textile factory’s cafeteria using her ration tickets.
Ye Zhi’s stomach growled loudly. Right now, all she wanted was to hurry home and cook herself a good meal.
She hadn’t had a proper meal in days. The factory cafeteria rarely served meat, and when they did, the pieces were sliced so thin they looked like leaves—one gust of wind and they’d be gone.
In her past life, she hadn’t eaten lavishly, but she had always had a balanced diet with both meat and vegetables. She had never craved meat before.
But in this era, food was scarce. Meat was rare, rice wasn’t guaranteed every day, and even getting full was a luxury.
Even though her parents loved her dearly, it was difficult to provide enough food for a household of over ten people. That was why her body was so weak.
Today, she was going to eat well and reward herself properly.
This Xitang Town is a Jiangnan water town, where many tile-roofed houses are built close to the water. Because of this, each household’s house isn’t very big and is often connected to the neighboring one.
The Ye family’s house is a two-story tile-roofed building. Upon entering, there’s a small courtyard. To the right is a small kitchen that was just built last year.
Directly facing the main entrance is the central hall, which is pitifully small.
Ye Zhi has three older brothers, all of whom are married with children. In this era, people generally have several kids.
As a result, Ye Zhi has to squeeze into the attic every night with her three nieces, leading to several nights of poor sleep.
Not being able to eat meat already made her miserable, but having to squeeze onto a bed with a few half-grown kids every night was what truly drove her to the brink.
Children tend to roll around in their sleep, their hands and feet always ending up on her stomach or neck. She’d push them away, and they’d place them back—again and again.
Several nights, Ye Zhi woke up feeling suffocated, unable to breathe properly from being pressed down.
The worst part? She couldn’t even scold them in the morning. How could they remember what they did while sleeping?
Because of this, Ye Zhi now desperately misses the days when she could sleep alone—sprawled out however she wanted, without anyone crushing her.
She had heard from her arranged marriage partner that if they got married, she would have to follow him into the military.
Just thinking about moving to the beautiful Qiongzhou Island, where she could eat seafood freely and have her own room, made Ye Zhi extremely excited.
Carrying a piece of pork and two pounds of “construction flour,” Ye Zhi stepped into the house.
As soon as she entered, she saw a woman sitting by the courtyard edge, wearing a blue floral blouse and sporting a “Jiang Jie” hairstyle, picking wild vegetables in her hands.
Hearing the noise, the woman looked up toward the entrance. Her sharp eyes immediately caught sight of the half-fat, half-lean piece of pork in Ye Zhi’s hand. Smiling, she said, “Xiaomei, back from work?”
Ye Zhi also smiled and called out, “Yes, that’s right, Da Sao.”
Her eldest sister-in-law put down the wild vegetables, wiped her hands on her clothes, and walked over with a wide grin. “Xiaomei, you bought pork?”
Ye Zhi nodded. “Mm, didn’t they give out some meat coupons for the anniversary celebration a few days ago? The supply and marketing cooperative hasn’t had pork lately, so I bought some from the factory cafeteria.”
Eldest sister-in-law happily took the pork from Ye Zhi’s hands. “Here, let me handle it! You just got off work—go inside, rest, and drink some tea. This heat is unbearable; you have to stay hydrated!”
Ye Zhi readily handed over the pork, grinning. “Then I’ll trouble you, Da Sao. I’ll go have some water first.”
Ye Zhi was known for being lazy. Even though her textile factory job was the easiest in the family, she did the least housework.
Her eldest and third sisters-in-law had long disliked her laziness and had secretly been plotting to get her married off as soon as possible.
But unexpectedly, Father and Mother Ye had kept her at home until she was already 23, and people often mocked her for being an “old maid.”
Her two sisters-in-law had long since given up pushing for her marriage. These past two years, they had even stopped actively introducing her to anyone.
Previously, the original Ye Zhi had taken a liking to Gao Wenbo, but Father and Mother Ye were firmly against it. Her two sisters-in-law, though also disapproving of Gao Wenbo having three kids, said nothing against it—after all, as long as Ye Zhi got married, that was all that mattered to them.
Then, out of nowhere, a telegram arrived, saying that an arranged marriage from childhood had surfaced. This time, the sisters-in-law actually showed some interest and became more supportive, even making sure Ye Zhi was well-fed every day.
Ye Zhi was naturally lazy. Since she had already provided the pork, she certainly didn’t intend to do any more work.
Besides, she wasn’t good at burning firewood. The kitchen was small, and once the firewood started burning, the smoke could choke a person to death.
Since her sister-in-law was willing to cook, she might as well let her do it.
Ye Zhi was just waiting to eat.
But before she could even take a sip of water and catch her breath, a sharp, noisy voice suddenly rang out at the door.
“Big Brother, Big Sister, are you home?”
A middle-aged woman in a gray-green plaid blouse stepped inside, her face full of displeasure. “If you’re home, come out. I have something to discuss with you.”
Eldest sister-in-law was plucking pig hairs and, upon hearing the loud voice, shouted back, “Who is it? Yelling so loudly—who are you looking for?”
The woman stood with her hands on her hips. “I’m here for your parents. Are they home?”
Eldest sister-in-law squinted. “Oh, it’s Third Aunt. I was wondering who was shouting so loud.”
This woman, Li Ermei, was the wife of Father Ye’s third younger brother. Before the family split up, she and Mother Ye never got along and often quarreled.
Eldest sister-in-law curled her lips. “My parents aren’t back from work yet. Come back later.”
Li Ermei scoffed and suddenly spotted Ye Zhi, who had just finished drinking water and was stepping out of the hall. She immediately raised her voice.
“Ye Zhi, let me ask you—did you secretly contact that childhood fiancé your grandfather arranged for you? Did you even ask for our opinion on this?”
Ye Zhi stood at the doorway, looking completely innocent. But in Li Ermei’s eyes, this only made her more infuriating.
Ye Zhi was undeniably beautiful—the recognized top beauty within a ten-mile radius. Fair-skinned and stunning, even a slight frown could make young men feel protective of her.
In Li Ermei’s eyes, she had a “vixen’s face,” perfect for seducing men. She had always disliked her.
But Father and Mother Ye treated her like a precious gem, shielding her from both harm and criticism.
So pampered!
Just then, Mother Ye walked in from outside. The moment she heard Li Ermei’s words, she was instantly furious.
“I was wondering who was barking like a dog—turns out it’s you!”
“Li Ermei, explain yourself! What do you mean by ‘secretly’? Do we need your permission for who we talk to?”
“Who do you think you are?!”
Hearing Mother Ye’s sharp voice, Li Ermei turned around and sneered, “Oh, you came back just in time.”
“I’m asking you, how could you not consult me on such a major marriage arrangement? That old ghost of a father-in-law never said before he died that this childhood engagement was definitely meant for your Ye Zhi!”
When Zhang Xiaomei heard this, she finally understood.
So Li Ermei had set her sights on her daughter’s childhood fiancé.
Zhang Xiaomei asked, “If it wasn’t meant for our Ye Zhi, then was it meant for you? What are you yelling about?”
Li Ermei curled her lips and said, “My Hongying was born just two days after your Ye Zhi. Why couldn’t this childhood engagement be for her? Why does it have to be your Ye Zhi?”
“Besides, your Ye Zhi is nothing but a fox spirit, seducing men everywhere! She even says she wants to be a stepmother, rushing to men’s houses to do their laundry and cook for them! How could such an indecent flirt be engaged to a righteous soldier?”
“Bullshit!” Zhang Xiaomei trembled with rage. She grabbed a broom from the side and swung it straight at Li Ermei.