Chapter 5

Su Qianqian needed to figure out what was going on with her husband, whose fate was still uncertain. The original host had fallen into the water by accident, and it was Cheng Yue who saved her. Afterward, he claimed that since he had seen her body, he demanded that she marry him.

Reluctantly, Cheng Yue married the original host, and even that was done only after she cried, caused a scene, and threatened to hang herself.

Shortly afterward, an opportunity to enlist in the army arose, and Cheng Yue decisively joined. He went off and never returned. After that, the original host became pregnant with triplets!!

It had to be said, Cheng Yue was quite impressive.

Thinking about these memories, Su Qianqian’s face turned red. Some of those memories didn’t need to be so detailed.

“Cheng Yue hasn’t written back, we haven’t heard from him at all,” Zhu Tianfang said, feeling a little sad at the thought that her youngest son might be dead. Cheng Yue had been known for his excellence in the Tianshui Village—smart, hardworking, and ambitious.

She controlled her emotions and turned to Su Qianqian, hesitating before asking, “Erbao’s mom, are you…thinking of remarrying?”

If she was considering remarriage, then the recent changes in her behavior could be understood.

“No, I was just asking,” Su Qianqian quickly explained. She thought that if Cheng Yue really was gone, she would take good care of the three children and focus on building a career to become prosperous. But if Cheng Yue wasn’t dead, she needed to mentally prepare herself.

Zhu Tianfang shook her head. “No news, not a single word. If he’s really gone, he should have sent us some word, right? I believe Xiao Yue is definitely still alive! No news could mean good news.”

“You’re right, that makes sense.”

Even in ancient times, when soldiers sacrificed their lives, there would be news and compensation. Now, everything was registered, so Cheng Yue was probably still alive. It was just a matter of when they would hear something.

“If you really want to remarry…it’s fine, when Xiao Yue returns, I’ll talk to him about it,” Zhu Tianfang said, thinking that if Su Qianqian remarried, it might save a lot of trouble.

Su Qianqian immediately shook her head. “Mom, I’m not remarrying. This is fine. I’ll go out and gather some wild vegetables.”

“Your injury isn’t fully healed yet, take it easy.”

She quickly ran off. If they made her remarry, that would really annoy her. She thought, Cheng Yue had been gone for five years with no news, maybe there would still be no news for the next five years? That would be comfortable.

Though she had the original host’s memories, she still wanted to experience life for herself. It was 1977 now, and next year would be the start of the reform and opening-up. At that time, she would definitely have to do some business to make money, or life would be too hard.

She looked at her clothes, the fabric wasn’t good, and they were old with many patches.

The Cheng family, with Cheng Youmin and the eldest son Cheng Song, earned work points, but it was hard to support such a big family. They could only ensure they wouldn’t freeze or starve, and anything beyond that was a luxury.

“Qianqian, where are you going?”

“To gather some wild vegetables.” Su Qianqian recognized the voice—it was Su Yinhua, the original host’s childhood friend. Two years after the original host married Cheng Yue, Su Yinhua also married and moved to the Tianshui Village, marrying the brigade leader’s son.

“You’re injured and still going to work? What’s wrong with your in-laws? I think Cheng Yue is probably dead, and they’ve been hiding it from you, making you do all the hard work. I advise you to remarry as soon as possible. It’ll be harder to get remarried when you’re older.”

Su Qianqian stared at Su Yinhua for a while, and Su Yinhua started feeling uneasy under her gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing, I’m just envious that you married such a good husband,” Su Qianqian said with a faint smile, tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Su Yinhua immediately laughed, touching her braid. “Actually, Maocai isn’t as good as Cheng Yue, but he treats me well.”

“Look at you. You used to be so beautiful, but now you’re old and dark. You’d better remarry, or no one will want you.”

“…” That was very well said, but next time, just don’t say it.

“I’ll help you find someone good. Don’t take the three kids with you, they’re just baggage.”

Su Qianqian smiled and responded, “You should stop worrying about me. Go have a baby first. You’ve been married to Cheng Maocai for three years, it’s time for you to have one.”

Su Yinhua’s expression immediately changed. “Su Qianqian, what do you mean by that? I’m just trying to help you, and you’re saying I can’t have children?”

“Ah? No, I’m just looking out for you! Cheng Maocai treats you so well, you should really have a child for him, shouldn’t you?” She gave an innocent look. “I’ll go now, you hurry up, okay?”

You pierce my heart, so I’ll poke your lungs!

Old and dark?

Sigh… it really is true!

She dug up half a basket of wild vegetables and found some medicinal herbs. She was glad that in her past life, she had been a PhD at the Agricultural Institute; otherwise, she would have been completely clueless in this era. Now, at least she knew which plants were edible and which were not.

In her previous life, she had been very studious, majoring in agricultural sciences and minoring in biology, with a broad range of knowledge. She never had time for love, all her time went into studying.

When she returned home, she saw Zhu Tianfang preparing to go out.

“Mom, are you taking lunch to Dad and Eldest Brother?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go deliver it.”

Zhu Tianfang was stunned. Her youngest daughter-in-law was so eager to help? In the past, asking her to deliver lunch felt like asking for her life. They always argued, so after that, she never asked Su Qianqian to do it. Now, she was offering?

“No need, your injury isn’t healed yet, rest.” It wasn’t that she feared Su Qianqian might poison the food; she was more worried Su Qianqian would spill it, after all, she could be both stupid and malicious.

Su Qianqian sighed inwardly. Trying to redeem herself really wasn’t easy.

“Let’s go together then.” She smiled and said, “Daya, Erbao, Sanya, you all come too. When we get back, I’ll wash your hair and give you a bath.”

The three kids hadn’t had a bath or washed their hair in a long time. In the countryside, a bath was a luxury, but today the sun was out, so it was the perfect opportunity.

The three little ones were astonished. Mom was going to give them a bath? They would usually get scolded for even using a little extra water when washing their faces.

Su Qianqian added two drops of spring water into the kettle that Zhu Tianfang had prepared, then led the three kids to follow her out to deliver lunch.

Sometimes, her sister-in-law, Wu Yuexiang, also worked; otherwise, the work points wouldn’t be enough to feed the whole family.

“Dad, Dasong, come and eat.” Zhu Tianfang called.

Cheng Youmin and Cheng Song came over, took the kettle, filled it with water, and then drank several mouthfuls. They were surprised—today the water tasted so sweet, and after drinking it, they felt completely refreshed.

Su Qianqian brought food to Wu Yuexiang. “Sister-in-law, here’s your lunch.”

Wu Yuexiang froze, staring at the food in disbelief. She instinctively checked it to make sure there were no stones in it. Once, when the original host was angry, she had put rocks in her food, nearly breaking a tooth.

There were no stones? That was extraordinary.

Noticing Wu Yuexiang’s reaction, Su Qianqian felt embarrassed and quickly left.

“Su Qianqian actually brought you food? How is that possible?”

“Quick, check if there are any boogers in it!” The people working nearby were also shocked.

Wu Yuexiang: “…” She didn’t want to eat it anymore, she really didn’t.

Just as Su Qianqian and Zhu Tianfang were about to head back, they saw Zhou Cuiqin and a few others rushing over, out of breath. They came up to them, still gasping for air.

And to their surprise, Tiedan was being carried.

Zhou Cuiqin wiped her tears and began wailing, “My son! Such a hard life! This wicked woman Su Qianqian beat him so badly that he can’t even stand up. Villagers, come and judge! This is too much!”