It was late at night, and Fu Wenyu lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

As dawn began to break, he finally couldn’t resist the drowsiness and drifted off. But it wasn’t long before he was startled awake by the sharp voice of the original host’s second aunt, Liu, outside.

“…Elder sister-in-law, Landlord Chen has promised that if Xiao Rong marries into his family, he will treat her like his own daughter. In the future, our Xiao Rong will not have to worry about food or drink. She’ll live in luxury, adorned with gold and silver, commanding servants and maids.

“What a blessing this is!”

Landlord Chen…

Wasn’t his family’s only son a fool?!

Landlord Chen’s foolish son and the dandy son of Scholar Liu were the two notorious marriage prospects in the area. Matchmakers would go out of their way to avoid them—a pair of absolute disasters in the marriage market.

Fu Wenyu’s drowsy eyes snapped wide open.

He had transmigrated, having been hit by a car that ran a red light while he was crossing the street. When he woke up, he found himself here. He wasn’t too worried about his life back in the modern world since his parents and close relatives had long passed away, and he’d been single all his life.

But in this world, things weren’t so simple.

The original host was also named Fu Wenyu, a fifteen-year-old boy.

His father, Fu Qingshan, was a scholar, but unfortunately, he died six months ago while traveling to take the imperial examination. Over the years, Fu Qingshan had spent a significant amount of money on his studies and travel, as well as on his funeral. This left behind a widow, Zhou, and two children who were powerless to work in the fields, which angered the second branch of the family and led to the household splitting apart.

Currently, the Fu family’s first branch consisted only of the three of them. They had just two acres of paddy fields, two acres of dry land, and their current dwelling—a shabby, two-room brick house. Fu Wenyu lived in one room, while Zhou and Fu Rong shared the other.

Unable to cope with the sudden death of his father, the original Fu Wenyu had fallen gravely ill, hovering between life and death. It was during this time that Fu Wenyu passed through.

Faced with such dire circumstances, Fu Wenyu felt utterly hopeless.

Although he had been here for half a month and had mostly recovered from his illness without needing further medication, his mood remained heavy, and he struggled to sleep at night. Now, hearing Liu trying to persuade his mother to marry his younger sister Fu Rong into the Chen family as a child bride, anger surged through him. Old grievances and new frustrations welled up, and he grabbed the clothes at the head of his bed and quickly dressed.

There was no way he would allow his sister to marry a fool!

Meanwhile, outside the room, Liu continued her persuasion.

“Elder sister-in-law, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“You won’t find another match like this even with a lantern!”

The “elder sister-in-law,” Zhou, was a woman in her thirties.

She was very thin—not just from malnutrition but also from mental exhaustion. Standing next to the sturdier Liu, her frailty was even more pronounced.

At this moment, Zhou’s face was flushed red with frustration.

She is the daughter of Fu Qingshan’s mentor. She has been studying with her parents since she was a child and had a gentle temperament. After marrying Fu Qingshan, their relationship had always been harmonious, without any major arguments. Because of this, words like “Landlord Chen’s son is a fool and can’t be married” hovered on the tip of her tongue but ultimately went unsaid.

“No, my husband has only recently passed away, and Xiao Rong is only ten years old.”

But whether Liu failed to notice Zhou’s restraint or deliberately chose to provoke her, she grabbed Zhou’s arm with her thick hand to prevent her from leaving. Leaning closer, she said with a brazen smile:

“Elder sister-in-law, don’t you remember? There’s such a thing as marriage during mourning—what they call ‘bringing joy to dispel sorrow.’ That’s it, exactly!

“If people hear about it, they’ll praise Xiao Rong for her filial piety and won’t say a bad word about her.

“And as for her age, that’s even less of an issue. Landlord Chen’s son is only three years older than Xiao Rong.”

Lowering her voice, she leaned even closer to offer what she thought was a brilliant suggestion. “Besides, Xiao Rong could move into the Chen family now and get married in a couple of years. How about that?”

What nonsense!

Zhou’s face instantly turned pale, her hand trembling as she pointed at Liu. “You… you…”

Just then, Fu Wenyu, having dressed, burst out of the room. He rushed to Zhou’s side, steadied her trembling figure, and said sharply,

“If this is such a great marriage, why don’t you send your daughter over?”

Liu’s face turned red at his words.

Her daughter, Fu Chunhua, was a year older than Fu Rong. It wasn’t that she couldn’t bear to let her daughter go—it was just that the Chen family wouldn’t take her!

Because Landlord Chen’s only son was a fool, he wanted a smart daughter-in-law. Fu Rong, who was beautiful and literate, fit the bill perfectly.

Initially, this had never crossed Landlord Chen’s mind, but the Fu family’s first branch was having a hard times.

First, the breadwinner, Fu Qingshan, passed away, forcing Zhou and her children to move back to the village. Then, whatever silver they received during the family split was nearly depleted due to Fu Wenyu’s illness.

Seizing this opportunity, Landlord Chen proposed the match.

After Zhou rejected him, Landlord Chen turned to Fu Wenyu’s grandfather, Fu Dashi. But since the family had already split, Fu Dashi couldn’t intervene. However, Liu was tempted by the Chen family’s offer of two taels of silver as a thank-you gift. So, she had woken up early today and stationed herself at the first branch’s door.

Hearing Fu Wenyu’s question, she forced a smile, her chubby face stretching awkwardly. “Chunhua isn’t so lucky. They’ve got their eye on Xiao Rong.”

“Besides, Wenyu, I’m doing this for your own good…”

Fu Wenyu was so angry he laughed.

Because Zhou bore a slight resemblance to his mother in the modern world and treated him very well, Fu Wenyu had already come to see Zhou and Fu Rong as his family.

Hearing Liu’s words now, he felt an overwhelming urge to hit her.

Trying to marry his sister off to a fool—how could that possibly be “for his own good”?

Liu had no idea that Fu Wenyu was contemplating violence. After her last comment, she seemed to find new confidence and spoke with even more conviction, as though she were entirely in the right.

“Wenyu, this is truly a good match!”

She raised two fingers and crossed them to form a “ten.” “The Chen family promised ten mu of land and ten taels of silver as a betrothal gift! That’s the best offer in the village! With that, Wenyu, you could lease out the land and live off the rent. Who knows, you might even be able to resume your studies someday.

“Isn’t that a good deal?

“Otherwise, with your frail body, how are you supposed to work the fields?”

Liu slapped her skirt, her face showing disdain. “Your family of three has never farmed before and doesn’t know any other trade. Without this marriage, how do you plan to survive…”

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?!”

“Get lost!” Fu Wenyu, who could no longer hold back, grabbed the broom in the corner and swept it toward Liu while shouting angrily, “I will never trade my sister for anything! Give up on this idea right now!”

“Get out!”

If his mother hadn’t instilled in him the principle of never hitting women, the broom would have landed squarely on Liu’s face. He might not care about other families, but his own sister would never marry a fool!

Liu, unwilling to give up, turned to Zhou. “Elder sister-in-law, really, this is such a good match. Wenyu—”

Seeing Fu Wenyu burst out, Zhou’s earlier anger dissipated, replaced by relief. Hearing Liu’s continued insistence, she said firmly, “There’s no need to discuss this further. Neither Wenyu nor I agree to it.”

“Please leave now.”

Fu Wenyu waved the broom again, his expression fierce. “Leave. Now!”

Frightened, Liu took several steps back, turned, and retreated to the part of the house that belonged to her branch of the family. As she left, she muttered reluctantly, “Well, think about it, elder sister-in-law. I’ll come back in a couple of days.”

With that, she hurried inside and slammed the door shut. Moments later, loud scolding echoed from across the yard.

“You lazy thing! Hiding here in broad daylight. Go wash the dishes, now…”

Witnessing this scene, Zhou shook her head and sighed. “Chunhua has it rough.”

She then turned to Fu Wenyu, her expression softening into a gentle smile, her tone full of affection. “Wenyu, are you hungry? I saved a bowl of porridge for you. Let me bring it out.”

But seeing her thin frame and sallow complexion, Fu Wenyu couldn’t bear to let her do it. He quickly said, “No, Mother, I can get it myself. You should rest.”

After helping Zhou back into the house to rest, Fu Wenyu turned and headed to the kitchen.

The “kitchen” was really just a small shed made of straw and bamboo that the villagers had helped build when the family split. It had a door but no windows, and it was drafty on all sides.

As soon as Fu Wenyu stepped inside, someone jumped up in fright.

“…Brother.”

The person was a ten-year-old girl with twin buns tied with blue cloth strips. Her face was gaunt from months of poor food and drink, coupled with constant worry and fear.

This was the original host’s younger sister, Fu Rong.

Seeing her pale face, Fu Wenyu felt a pang of tenderness.

Judging by her expression, she had clearly overheard Liu’s words earlier.

So he softened his tone and said, “Don’t worry. Mother and I will never agree to let you marry into the Chen family.”

Not just the Chen family—no other family would do either. Fu Wenyu couldn’t bring himself to send his ten-year-old sister away as a child bride. Marriage wouldn’t even be considered until Fu Rong was at least eighteen.

Fu Rong immediately smiled with relief.

“Okay!”

…

After finishing a bowl of porridge so thin it reflected his shadow, Fu Wenyu rubbed his still-growling stomach. After a moment’s hesitation, he knocked on the door of Zhou and Fu Rong’s room.

“Mother, I have something to discuss with you.”

Zhou was inside, teaching Fu Rong how to sew. Both of them were focused on their work, their heads lowered. Hearing him, Zhou stood up. “What is it? Did your second aunt come back again?”

“No, it’s something else.”

Standing at the door, Fu Wenyu quickly explained, “I noticed that we’re running out of rice at home. I was thinking we could talk to the clan leader about renting out our land.

“Second Aunt did make one valid point—our family doesn’t know how to farm. Now that we’ve split from the main family, it’s not right to trouble Grandfather or Second Uncle. So I thought it’d be better to lease out the land and collect rent each year. This year, we could even negotiate for them to pay half the rent upfront.”

He was determined not to eat more thin porridge.

Zhou’s expression softened. After thinking for a moment, she said, “That’s a good idea.

You go talk to the clan leader about it. I’m just a woman and wouldn’t be much help.”

Fu Wenyu hesitated.

He had hoped Zhou would accompany him. For one, he had the memory of the original owner, but it was not very detailed. The second and very important reason is that Zhou’s character is too soft.

Although Zhou looked a lot like his mother from the modern world, their personalities were completely different. One was a resilient rose, while the other was more like clinging ivy. This wasn’t to say Zhou was bad—she was simply used to obeying others, whether it was her parents, her husband, or now her son.

Under her influence, Fu Rong had also developed a similar disposition.

Fu Wenyu felt this wasn’t ideal.

Still, he decided not to push things for now. He would go alone this time and figure out how to help his mother and sister grow stronger over time.

After making up his mind, he went back to his room and changed into more presentable clothes. When he reached the door, he turned back and retrieved two books from a chest, tucking them into his robe.

If all went well, he hoped to bring back more food today.