Chapter 30

Lin Hongna had started working at the town’s light bulb factory, working six consecutive days a week. She had to stand for eight to nine hours in temperatures of thirty-five or thirty-six degrees Celsius. By the end of the day, her legs felt like they were filled with lead, sore and unable to move.

That wasn’t all. The factory dormitory was filled with noisy and unruly female workers who argued loudly, and at night, there were hiccups, teeth grinding, and food spills in bed—everything was filthy.

Lin Hongna had had enough and begged Sun Jialiang to let her move to his family’s home.

The Sun family had a standalone courtyard in the town, where all the prominent families lived. If she moved in, it would be quite prestigious!

However, when Lin Hongna brought it up, Sun Jialiang became impatient and scolded her, “Do you want to go to my place? Don’t you know how my mother feels about you? She got sick because of you before, and now that she’s finally recovered, you’re causing trouble again! Stay put in the factory dormitory. If you keep being restless, don’t blame me for being heartless!”

Sun Jialiang made it clear: if she continued to make trouble, he would kick her out.

Lin Hongna’s face twitched as she cursed Sun Jialiang’s wicked mother inwardly a thousand times. Sun Jialiang was a mama’s boy, and his mother’s words held more weight than her own.

In her previous life, Sun Jialiang’s mother chose Lin Yao because of her weakness and lack of assertiveness, and not competing with her for her son was how she got into the Sun family.

Lin Yao, that vixen, was worthless except for her looks. Sun Jialiang’s mother was out of her mind!

It seemed the only way to enter the Sun family was to bear a son!

Lin Hongna sweet-talked Sun Jialiang and secretly drugged him. After they spent the night together, she was satisfied and went back home.

The next day, on her day off, she had to get more of her “fairy powder” as she was running low.

Every time Lin Hongna came home, Li Aifeng would search through her bag, taking whatever useful items like money or tickets she could find.

This time, Lin Hongna had wised up and only brought an empty bag home.

When she walked in, Li Aifeng, who was boiling water in the kitchen, rushed out and scrutinized Lin Hongna with her triangular eyes. Seeing no money to be made, she sneered, “Why are you so thoughtless? You only come home once a week, and you don’t even bring some meat to show your filial piety. You’re living well, but your mother eats wild vegetable cakes every day. When is your salary going to be paid? When it is, bring it back! Your brother needs a lot of money for his wedding! The family’s broke; shouldn’t you contribute something? When your brother gets married and you have a few nephews, you’ll have people to back you up in your in-laws’ family! The maternal family gives you strength…”

Li Aifeng’s constant nagging was irritating, so Lin Hongna tossed her two yuan bills.

Li Aifeng quickly grabbed the money and stuffed it into her waistband, finally smiling.

“Thank you for your filial piety, daughter. I’ll accept it.”

Lin Hongna didn’t respond, heading straight to her room to lie down.

She had spent most of the day on the tractor, and her bones felt like they were falling apart.

Lin Hongna was truly exhausted and quickly fell asleep. In her drowsy state, she had a long, incredibly wonderful dream.

In the dream, she married Sun Jialiang and moved with him to Hong Kong, becoming a wealthy socialite envied by everyone. She flew in private jets, ate steak, salad, and caviar, and drank French wine, while Lin Yao ended up in a rundown courtyard, trampled underfoot, living in poverty.

In one scene, she goes out wearing high-end leather shoes and sees the disheveled Lin Yao selling vegetables on the street.

She generously donated a few yuan, and Lin Yao bowed and thanked her, which was a delightful sight. Lin Hongna couldn’t help but laugh loudly in her dream.

Li Aifeng was in the yard raking pigweed when she heard the commotion and said, “Which old sow is making such a horrible noise?”

“…….”

*

At the Yunshui County People’s Commune office, the clerk stamped the marriage certificate with a large red seal and handed it over with a smile, “Congratulations.”

Lin Yao took the certificate with her slender fingers, feeling a sense of unreality. Was she really married now?

And to a man from the old generation!

She glanced at Gu Shi’an, who was usually cold and distant but now had a smile he couldn’t hide. His stern features softened like winter snow melting.

Noticing Lin Yao’s gaze, Gu Shi’an looked back at her with a questioning expression, “Yaoyao?”

Lin Yao’s face turned red. Why was he calling her so affectionately in broad daylight?

While most couples celebrated after getting their marriage certificates, Lin Yao was an exception.

She carefully folded the certificate and tucked it into her small handbag, then hopped onto the bicycle, patting Gu Shi’an’s back, “Let’s go, Old Gu! To the farmers’ market!”

To buy mother rabbits for meat!

The whole world may be vast, but meat is the best!

Lin Yao was determined to eat meat openly.

Gu Shi’an, now a driver rather than a deputy director, was left speechless.

At two or three o’clock in the afternoon, Yunshui County was still sweltering with heat.

The farmer’s market is opposite Antique Street. Most of the dishes served in the county’s canteens and state-owned restaurants are sourced from the farmer’s market.

The market vendors sold not only vegetables but also small chickens, ducks, and rabbits from the countryside.

Since many people lived in crowded courtyards in the city, some kept rabbits, chickens, and ducks for their own consumption.

Lin Yao wanted to buy a pair of rabbits, one male and one female.

There were many vendors selling rabbits. Lin Yao looked around, overwhelmed by the sight of fluffy, chubby rabbits, wanting to buy them all.

Eventually, Gu Shi’an suggested a pair of gray rabbits. Each rabbit cost thirty cents, and a pair was six cents. Lin Yao haggled the price down to fifty-five cents and gave the vendor two candies, buying a small bamboo cage.

The vendor, an elderly man, was in good spirits. He happily put the candies in his pocket, saying he would give them to his grandson, and placed the two little rabbits into the cage.

Lin Yao was like a curious baby, asking the old man all kinds of questions, such as what rabbits eat, will they feel bloated if they eat too much, how big they grow in a day, when can they eat the rabbits… and whether they can sell the rabbits and so on.

The vendor patiently answered that rabbits were easy to care for in those days. They ate carrots, vegetable leaves, corn stalks, and wild vegetables.

Lin Yao was thrilled and turned to Gu Shi’an, saying, “Our rabbits don’t have any food yet. Let’s go dig some wild vegetables for them.”

Gu Shi’an naturally agreed.

Of course, Gu Shi’an did the digging while Lin Yao relaxed nearby.

The vendor, unaware of this arrangement, remarked, “You two seem to get along very well. When will you have a little one?”

Lin Yao played with the rabbits, pretending not to hear, while Gu Shi’an smiled slightly, “Soon.”

The vendor wanted to ask more about the children, but Lin Yao, unable to endure any longer, quickly dragged Gu Shi’an away.

Having children was still a long way off.

On the way home, the cool shade was pleasant, and Lin Yao felt happy, thinking they would be home soon.

At home, only Gu Shidong was left. The little guy was bored and sleeping at home.

Lin Yao chatted with Gu Shi’an, while Gu Shidong’s ears perked up at the mention of “rabbits” and “nest,” and he jumped out of bed, running to the yard.

“Sister-in-law, Brother! Did you buy rabbits?”

The kid bounced over, eager to touch the rabbits’ long ears.

Lin Yao protected the rabbits behind her and scolded Gu Shidong, “What are you doing? Keep your hands away or you’ll scare the rabbits, and we won’t have any meat!”

Don’t scare my spicy little rabbits!

Gu Shidong reluctantly withdrew his hand, sighing about how hard it was to get some meat.

Lin Yao ignored him and called Gu Shi’an over to build a stone nest for the rabbits.

She had just learned that rabbits would dig holes and chew on their nests, so bamboo cages often had big holes. No wonder Aunt Dafu’s family used iron cages for their rabbits.

The Gu family didn’t have an iron cage, but that was okay!

Gu Shi’an, the deputy director, could handle it all!

He smiled wryly, knowing he had to learn how to build a rabbit nest to please his little wife.

Gu Shi’an, using his ingenuity, worked on making the rabbit nest, while Gu Shidong proudly showed off to anyone who came by, saying, “We have rabbits now, haha, my sister-in-law bought them!”

Aunt Dafu deliberately teased him, “What does it have to do with you that your sister-in-law bought them?”

The little brat was very serious, “Of course it matters. My sister-in-law and I are family, even closer than my brother! If my brother told me to eat something nasty, I wouldn’t, but if my sister-in-law told me, I’d do it!”

Aunt Dafu was left speechless.

The little brat’s show-off was really something to behold.

Lin Yao told him to tone it down.

Gu Shidong nodded, understanding that being too flashy might attract the attention of Zheng Haozi from the front yard. What if his rabbits were stolen?

However, Zheng Haozi had already heard Gu Shidong’s shouting from his house and was itching to steal the rabbits for a roast!

Hiding behind a tree, Zheng Haozi tried to see where the rabbits were kept so he could plan his theft for the night.

He stepped on a twig and the sharp sound alerted the vigilant Gu Shian. With a piercing look, Gu Shi’an startled Zheng Haozi, causing him to stumble and fall, hitting his mouth on the steps. Crying, he ran home.

Lin Yao was inside eating watermelon when she heard the noise and came out to see, “Which child is crying?”

Gu Shi’an wiped the watermelon crumbs from her mouth with a gentle smile in his eyes, “It’s nothing. You must have heard wrong.”

Lin Yao, obedient, replied with an “Oh” and went back inside to continue her tasks.

Gu Shidong, hiding nearby, was laughing and clapping his thighs. Zheng Haozi, you’ve finally met your match. Trying to steal and ending up with nothing—serves you right!

In the afternoon, Brother Da Tou came to the courtyard, sweating and saying there was an urgent matter at the police station. Hearing this, Gu Shi’an and Lin Yao hurriedly left.

That evening, Zheng Dacheng’s wife came home and found her son’s mouth swollen. She chased Zheng Haozi, demanding to know what happened. Zheng Haozi, not daring to tell the truth, sniffled and claimed that Wang Shengcai’s eldest son had bullied him.

This stirred up a hornet’s nest. Zheng Dacheng’s wife caused a scene in the courtyard, angrily cursing, and indirectly pointing fingers at Wang Shengcai’s family.

Wang Shengcai’s wife, just returning from work, found herself grabbed by the hair and thrown to the ground by Zheng Dacheng’s wife.