《All The Bigshots Love Me [Quick Transmigration]》


 Chapter 1

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to! I mean it!¡±


    As soon as Jiang Rui stepped into the courtyard, she heard tearful cries coming from the house.


    She placed the basket on her back down. Half of the basket was filled with dandelions and plantain herbs. Since she plucked them from the mountains during dawn, dew was still clinging to those wild herbs. She poured them on an empty space in the courtyard and used her hands to spread them out. After the sun dries the wild herbs, she will feed them to the rabbits.


    The argument in the house went on while Jiang Rui stood up and brushed some loose grass away from her clothes. She picked two siberian cockleburs from the bottom hem of her pants and threw them casually near a wall. After she washed herself clean with some water from a vat, she walked to the kitchen.


    On the stove, the flickering flame lapped at the remaining burning red charcoal. She lifted the lid of the pot, revealing the rice porridge with golden pumpkin that has been boiled to a mush. She crouched under the stove and used the wood ash to cover the charcoal completely to extinguish the fire.


    She could still hear someone crying in the living room through the thin walls. However, the sound is much softer than before as if the person is tired from crying or backing down from the fight.


    After waiting for the perfect moment, she called at the top of her voice, ¡°Mother, breakfast is ready. Shall we eat now?¡±


    ¡°You should bring your father and A¡¯qiang their share first. They are excavating the land beside the river today to build a canal.¡± Wang Tonghua replied from the adjoining room. Her voice came closer and closer. Before she ended her sentence, she already reached the kitchen with a glum face.


    ¡°Aye, okay.¡± Jiang Rui took a few bowls from the cabinet and filled two large bowls to the brim with pumpkin porridge.


    This reduced the pumpkin porridge in the pot by half, exposing the two eggs on the bottom. She took the eggs out and put them in a basin filled with cold water. When the eggs cooled, she cut one of them into half and placed one halves on each large bowl of porridge.


    Wang Tonghua¡¯s furrowed eyebrows relaxed a little when she saw that Jiang Rui was deftly doing her chores. She sighed resignedly, ¡°Why is Baozhen so obstinate¡­¡±


    ¡°She is still young.¡± Jiang Rui smiled at her, before putting the breakfast into a wicker basket.


    Wang Tonghua nagged, ¡°She is already seventeen. How is that young? Your father pampered her too much. Just because she wanted to study, he supported her education for so many years. She is too ambitious now! Earlier, she kept pestering me to let her go to university. She wanted to live a better life in the city. Does she think it¡¯s easy to get into a university and live in the city? If it¡¯s that simple, why hasn¡¯t anyone in our commune succeeded in the city? We should keep our feet on the ground.¡±


    Jiang Rui listened to her silently while she lined the other four small bowls on the stove. She ladled out the pumpkin porridge and left it to cool. She sliced the other egg into two and put each halves on two of the three small bowls.


    Regardless, Wang Tonghua did not need any response from her. She continued, ¡°How could she be dissatisfied with the Zhao family? The only thing that¡¯s on her mind is leaving our village. I think that all the studying has muddled her mind. What¡¯s so good about the city? She would rather forsake her parents for that!¡±


    Seeing that Wang Tonghua was about to get mad again, Jiang Rui spoke softly as she cut the preserved vegetables into pieces, ¡°The teachers at school said Baozhen excels in her studies. In the future, she will definitely make you proud.¡±


    She managed to appease Wang Tonghua¡¯s anger with a single sentence.


    When it came to her life, she was not cherished as a daughter in this lifetime. Moreover, she married an ordinary man. Even though she was clearly the most beautiful woman amongst her friends, she felt inferior to them. The only thing that gave her a sense of achievement was giving birth to a son and two daughters who are brilliant and filial.


    Leaving aside her eldest son, every member of Xishan Production Brigade knew that the eldest daughter of the Du family was hardworking, gentle, and great at doing house chores and farming. On the other hand, the younger daughter was a bright girl who is currently studying in the commune. Her excellent results could put most male students to shame. It was also worth mentioning that the two sisters were extremely good-looking. They were lille two flowers that bloomed on the same branch. Even though the young men in the brigade might not talk about them at all, they were secretly attracted to the Du sisters.


    Recalling the report card that her youngest daughter brought home, Wang Tonghua¡¯s heart was swayed. Although she kept finding fault with the city out of anger, everyone knew deep down that living in the city was the better choice.


    Opportunity knocks but once. She did not want to miss the chance to marry her daughter into a great family. Many young ladies were interested in the sons of the Zhao family. When the Zhao family came to visit her the other day, Wang Tonghua was on cloud nine.


    However, the large city was also as tempting to her. If her youngest daughter could become the first university student in the Xishan Production Brigade, people will be impressed!


    Both options are equally enticing to Wang Tonghua.


    ¡°Girl, do you think that we can believe the teachers from the commune? Can Baozhen really enter the university?¡±


    Jiang Rui placed the chopped preserved vegetables on a plate and washed the knife, before saying, ¡°The teachers have been teaching for a few decades. They should be able to tell whether a student has the potential to succeed. Since they said that Baozhen can get accepted into the university, there is an eighty percent chance that this will happen.¡±


    After Wang Tonghua heard this, the scales in her heart tipped in Baozhen¡¯s favor. If she was to have her way, she really hoped that her youngest daughter would stay by her side and get married. However, it was clear that Du Baozhen was unwilling to do so. She cried and made a huge fuss about it. This daughter of hers was stubborn as ever. Wang Tonghua and her husband did not dare to coerce her. They were afraid that she would take her life on impulse.


    However, the thought of giving up on the Zhao family made Wang Tonghua feel as if someone was slicing her flesh with a knife.


    She was pleased that her daughter was such an exceptional person, but at the same time, she felt sad about not having her cake and eating it. She wished that she would split her youngest daughter into two.


    Just as the thought occurred to her, she suddenly noticed her eldest daughter, who was engrossed in preparing their breakfast, and came up with a solution.


    Although she didn¡¯t have two youngest daughters, she still had an eldest daughter! Since Bao Zhen was hell-bent on studying in the university, why don¡¯t she let Baoqin marry into the Zhao family instead?


    It¡¯s not that no one came to ask for her eldest daughter¡¯s hand in marriage in the past two years. But Wang Tonghua was sick of poverty, so she wanted to find a better man for her daughters. Therefore, she hasn¡¯t agreed to anyone¡¯s proposal until today. However, the Zhao family was not an average family.


    The Zhao family was one of the few financially stable families in the brigade. Zhao Daqiu and his sons were skilled individuals. He and his eldest son bred beads when they were not working at the farm. The slightest mention of honey made people drool. His youngest son was the only apprentice in the only state-run restaurant in the county. Many people covet this job opportunity. Because of this, the Zhao family could afford a better life, such as using more oil in their cooking, compared to other families. As for the second son who was being matchmade by his parents this time, he was a soldier for more than ten years. She heard that he is holding quite a high rank in the army now!


    The more Wang Tonghua thought about her plan, the more convinced she was that it would work out. Gradually, she became more and more confident about the idea. Her creased eyebrows relaxed immediately. When she looked at her thoughtful eldest daughter again, her eyes were filled with pride.


    Even if the Zhao family came to ask for her youngest daughter¡¯s hand in marriage, her eldest daughter was comparable to her. Besides, she was obedient, unlike Baozhen.


    Even if the Zhaos came to ask for marriage because of her youngest, her eldest daughter is not lacking. Unlike Baozhen, she was an obedient girl.


    Jiang Rui ¨C or she should be called Du Baoqin now, was fully aware of Wang Tonghua¡¯s change of heart.


    Half a month ago, Du Baoqin fell into the reservoir because she was careless. Luckily, she was saved by Zhao Nan who returned to the village to visit his family. That day, Du family members went to his house to express their gratitude. After a few days, Zhao family members came to the Du family¡¯s house and talked about matching Zhao Nan with Du Baoqin.


    However, Du Baozhen refused to marry him. That night, a fight erupted in their house and it lasted until today.


    The original Du Baoqin knew from experience that her parents will surely relent eventually. If her family could not bear to give up on the Zhao family, it¡¯s very likely that she would be her sister¡¯s replacement.


    In that few days, she agonized over this matter. Even when she went to the riverside to wash clothes, her eyebrows were tightly knitted. In a moment of distraction, she fell into the water and her legs were entangled with the water reeds.


    When Du Baozhen fell into the water, she was lucky that someone saved her. Du Baoqin, on the other hand, lost her life.


    Jiang Rui found her soul and asked her if she was willing to give the right to use her body to her. In return, she would fulfill her wish.


    It did not take Du Baoqin long to agree to her request. Her wish was simple. She hoped that Jiang Rui could take care of her family on her behalf and not let her parents know about her death. If her family really wanted her to marry Zhao Nan in Du Baozhen¡¯s stead, she hoped that Jiang Rui could agree to the marriage.


    Jiang Rui did not decline her. No one knew that Zhao Nan, who seemed like an extraordinary human being, had an incomplete soul. In fact, this was only a fragment of his soul. Her mission was to nurture his soul and bring him back to where he belonged.


    In order to achieve her goal, she approached many recently deceased men and women, old and young. She wanted to make a deal with them to get their body and identity. However, she failed because most people were too unreasonable in their demands. Some of them only looked at her with an expressionless face. She could not communicate with them. The others went insane, unable to accept their death. Du Baoqin was an exception.

 Chapter 2

    After she returned from delivering breakfast to her father and brother, the dining table was already set up and there were only two people at the table, Wang Tonghua, and her daughter-in-law Zhang Xiaohua. Du Baozhen was still angry and locked herself in the room.


    Although Wang Tonghua had made concessions in her heart, as an elder, she could not bring herself to coax her daughter. Du Baozhen did not come out to eat, and so she held herself back, barring anyone from persuading her.


    Jiang Rui put away the bamboo basket, looked at Wang Tonghua¡¯s expression, and picked up her breakfast as she sat down silently.


    On the table were four bowls of pumpkin porridge, a plate of pickled vegetables, and among them, two bowls of porridge each had half an egg.


    Eggs were in short supply. If it weren¡¯t for the rabbits raised in the house, where the rabbit fur was exchanged for eggs once in a while, there wouldn¡¯t even be any meat on the dinner table.


    It¡¯s not that they did not try to raise chickens, but chickens were different from rabbits. If they were only fed grass, the chickens wouldn¡¯t have enough energy to lay eggs, and there was also the fear of being stolen if they were let outside. If the chickens were fed grains, the Du family had a lot of people but little labor, every time the rations were given out, it was barely enough to feed everyone, where were they going to get extra grains?


    Therefore, the eggs were not for everyone. In the Du family of six, only two eggs were boiled. The team had just finished harvesting the rice grains, and there was not much work on the farm. Only two men were working in the family, so they had to eat a little better. Daughter-in-law Zhang Xiaohua was pregnant with a child and would need some supplements, as for Du Baozhen, studying used a lot of brainpower, hence she too had half an egg every day. As for Wang Tonghua and Du Baoqin, they could only make do with pickled vegetables.


    Jiang Rui ate very fast, and seeing that Wang Tonghua had finished her meal, she did not get up immediately.  She kept glancing at the door from time to time, and she knew that her mother¡¯s anger had subsided, hence at this time, she said: ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go get Baozhen to eat.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua also agreed: ¡°Baozhen still needs to study, she shouldn¡¯t starve.¡±


    ¡°Can a person starve from missing one meal? She is like that because you all spoiled her.¡± Wang Tonghua grumbled as she put down her chopsticks and went to the yard to feed the rabbits.


    This meant consent.


    Jiang Rui shared a look with Zhang Xiaohua, she got up and said smilingly: ¡°Sister-in-law eat more, there is more in the pot.¡±


    Du¡¯s family house did not have many rooms, the two sisters both shared a small room.


    When Jiang Rui pushed open the door, Du Baozhen was lying on the narrow desk in front of the window. Hearing movements from the door, she immediately stuffed something into the drawer. When she turned and saw who it was, she breathed a sigh of relief.


    Jiang Rui¡¯s expression did not change as she stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder, softly saying: ¡°Go and eat, today¡¯s pumpkin porridge is really sweet.¡±


    Du Baozhen pouted. Du¡¯s family had to cook a large pot of porridge every day, and they naturally could not afford white sugar, hence they could only add those small packets of saccharin in the porridge, each worth a penny. Although it was sweeter than sugar, it had no nutritional value, and eating too much was bad for the body. The only reason for adding them was to satisfy their cravings for something sweet.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating.¡± Du Baozhen said sullenly, previously she cried too much, and now her voice was a little hoarse.


    The room only had a table and a stool, the stool had been taken and Jiang Rui could only sit on the edge of the bed. The two of them looked at each other. She reached out and gently touched Du Baozhen¡¯s slightly red and swollen eyelids, ¡°Still angry? Even if you are angry you should not mistreat yourself, what are we going to do if you starved and harmed your body?¡±


    Du Baozhen¡¯s eyes became watery again, her voice choked up as she turned to her sister with a look of grievance, ¡°It was Mom that is unreasonable, why should I marry that Zhao Nan just because he saved me? If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯d rather drown!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± Jiang Rui covered her mouth, her usually soft expression became stern, ¡°It¡¯s all children¡¯s words, talking about death so casually, do you not care about your parents anymore? What about me, too?¡±


    ¡°Wu¡­.Sister¡ª¡ª¡± Du Baozhen threw herself into her arms and burst into tears.


    Jiang Rui lightly patted her on the back until she stopped crying, then said: ¡°Let¡¯s go and eat first, you haven¡¯t been eating well these past few days, are you deliberately making others feel distressed by starving yourself?¡±


    After crying, Du Baozhen felt a lot more relieved, she rubbed her eyes and retorted, ¡°Anyway, Mom won¡¯t feel bad.¡±


    ¡°And how would you know that?¡± Jiang Rui took her hand and wiped her face using a clean handkerchief.


    Du Baozhen raised her head to facilitate her actions, she wrinkled her nose and mumbled, ¡°Even if she feels bad for me, she still can¡¯t bear to lose the Zhao family. If you ask me, I think she hates that she can¡¯t marry herself over.¡±


    ¡°You.¡± Jiang Rui tapped her nose, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, ¡°What are you saying, be careful, if mom hears what you said, she will reward you with a meal of fried pork with bamboo shoots.¡±


    [T/N: it probably meant that her mom will cane her]


    Du Baozhen smiled, hugged her waist, and laid her head on her sister¡¯s lap as she whispered, ¡°Sister, I don¡¯t want to get married.¡±


    ¡°I know, didn¡¯t you notice, these few days our parents¡¯ attitude has softened a lot. Think about it, from young till now, is there anything that they forced you to do?¡±


    Du Baozhen went silent for a while, then she slowly shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s different this time, sister, mom will never give up on the Zhao family.¡±


    Any decisions regarding the Du family, no matter big or small, had always been made by Wang Tonghua. Du Baozhen was mischievous and naughty since young, she had tested her mother¡¯s bottom line many times but this time, she could feel her mother¡¯s determination. She panicked in her heart, which was why she made a lot of trouble this time.


    Not only her, but the original owner Du Baoqin had also guessed that Wang Tonghua did not planned to give up on the Zhao family. It¡¯s just that the ever silent Du Baoqin understood their mother more, knowing that in the end, most of this matter fell upon her, but Du Baozhen had not realized it yet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, there is still me, let¡¯s find a way together. All you have to do now, is have a good meal. You will only have the strength to fight when you are full. What if in the end our parents give in but you also become ill, wouldn¡¯t that be a lose-lose then?¡± Jiang Rui advised.


    Du Baozhen accepted her words, she raised her head and look at her pitifully, ¡°Sister, you have to help me, you can¡¯t ignore me.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Rui held her hand and led her outside, ¡°When have I not cared about you?¡±


    Du Baozhen felt more secure in her heart, she obediently followed, even having the mind to be angry at others, ¡°From what I can see, that Zhao Nan has bad intentions when saving me, next time when I see him, I will let brother beat him up!¡±


    Jiang Rui looked at her sideways, her tone still soft and gentle, ¡°If he didn¡¯t save you, would you still have your life here, for you to beat up this and that? Besides, I heard the next day after saving you, he returned to the army. It was only several days later that Aunt Zhang came to our house. This matter, is mostly the intentions of the Zhao family¡¯s elders.¡±


    Du Baozhen pouted, she had nothing else to say.


    There was no one at the dining table, Du Baozhen peeled her half of the egg and brought it up to Jiang Rui¡¯s mouth, ¡°Sister, I¡¯ll share half with you.¡±


    Jiang Rui tilted her head and pushed her hand away, ¡°I don¡¯t need to supplement my brain, why would I need to eat it.¡±


    ¡°But still, you have a lot of work to do.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not heavy work, I won¡¯t be tired and I don¡¯t like to eat eggs. Eat it quickly, the porridge is turning cold.¡±


    Du Baozhen asked skeptically, ¡°You don¡¯t like to eat?¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°You are so weird, not liking eggs.¡± Du Baozhen muttered. She finished the egg in two bites, then picked up the bowl and devoured the porridge. After making trouble all morning, she had long been hungry, and she didn¡¯t care about maintaining a girl¡¯s image as she ate.


    Jiang Rui cleaned up the table, ¡°I¡¯m going to wash the dishes. After you finish eating, bring the dishes and chopsticks to the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes¡­.¡± Du Baozhen said with her mouth full, carelessly nodding her head.


    In the yard, Wang Tonghua fed the rabbits absent-mindedly, her head full of the thoughts that popped up before.


    She wanted to let the eldest daughter marry into the Zhao family instead of the younger daughter. The more she thought about it, the more excited she got as she felt that it was not a bad idea. But now that she calmed down a bit, she realized that there was a key issue with this idea, would the Zhao family agree? What if the Zhao family¡¯s second son would only accept her youngest daughter, even to death?


    She had to find a way to find out about the Zhao family¡¯s intentions¡­.


    Looking at Jiang Rui¡¯s busy figure in the kitchen, she gradually came up with an idea.


    After Jiang Rui tidied up the kitchen, looking at the sun that was not very bright today, she went back to her room and changed into an old long-sleeved shirt. She was preparing to go up the mountain to pick some dead leaves and branches to make a fire.


    When she just stepped out, Wang Tonghua stopped her and made a fuss, ¡°Why are you wearing this old antique out? Quick, go and change your clothes.¡±


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going up the mountain.¡±


    Wang Tonghua pushed her inside, ¡°Can¡¯t you go up the mountain another day? For now, make a trip to the reservoir for your mother. A few days ago, your Aunt Zhang gave us some honey, we don¡¯t have anything good in our house, you can just send them these two rabbits.¡±


    Jiang Rui glanced at the bamboo basket, two small dumplings were born not long ago. After raising them for two more days, they would be able to exchange them for some eggs and salt. She couldn¡¯t help but hesitate: ¡°The eggs at home are running out¡­¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Wang Tonghua thought of the days when they had to scrimp and save, she felt depressed but she became even more determined to form a marriage relationship with the Zhao family¡ª¡ªher life was destined to be hard and bitter, but there was no reason that her children had to continue to suffer.


    ¡°If there are no eggs, then we will just make honey water for your dad and siblings. I heard that honey is a good thing, more nutritious than eggs!¡± Originally she planned to give half of her honey to her maiden parents, but now she had to forget it, anyway even if good things were sent back, her parents might not appreciate it.


    Seeing that she had made up her mind and Jiang Rui couldn¡¯t persuade her otherwise, she could only return and change her clothes.


    ¡°Wear the new clothes made last year!¡± Wang Tonghua instructed from her back.


    Jiang Rui changed into a white floral shirt and aqua blue pants, both of which were really of good quality and were cooling to wear. She also wore plastic sandals on her feet. This whole outfit was bought by her mother with gritted teeth. It was the look of a young girl and only when she needed to greet guests outside would she wear it.


    As soon as she came out, Wang Tonghua¡¯s eyes lit up, and she couldn¡¯t help but tutted her tongue in praise: ¡°My daughter is the most beautiful, let alone our team, I think the entire Chaoyang commune can be counted!¡±


    Jiang Rui lowered her head slightly, ¡°Keep your voice down.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Wang Tonghua circled her, and the more she looked, the more satisfied she became. A few years ago, Du Baoqin had not grown much, she was flat no matter what she wore but now, her chest and hips have grown, and her waist looked more slender, it was hard to take your eyes off of her.


    Wang Tonghua had made up her mind, even if this time the Zhao family did not agree to the marriage, based on her daughter¡¯s looks and temperament, was she scared that she could not find a good family?


    She happily shoved the basket into Jiang Rui¡¯s hand and pushed her out the door, ¡°Go on, when you see Aunt Zhang, remember to have a sweeter mouth. Also, bear in mind to walk under the shade of a tree, don¡¯t get tanned.¡±


    [T/N: sweet mouth to sweet talk, not literally put sweets in the mouth xD]


    The time now was neither early nor late, there weren¡¯t many people on the streets. Jiang Rui kept her head down as she walked, and luckily she didn¡¯t meet any acquaintances on her way, or they would have spent a lot of time talking.


    Zhao¡¯s family lived halfway up the mountainside of the reservoir, while the Du family lived at the foot of the opposite mountain. Although they were a part of the same team, the two families did not have many interactions. Jiang Rui walked past the reservoir dam, and after climbing a gentle slope, a courtyard appeared in front of her. There were several brick houses in the courtyard, and from her memories, she knew that this was the Zhao house.


    The courtyard door was shut tightly, she tiptoed and peered in, ¡°Is Aunt Zhang home?¡±


    Zhang Liyun was picking beans in the house when she heard a voice. She looked up and saw a familiar young girl standing outside her courtyard. The sun was hitting her on her body, looking so bright and dazzling, ¡°You are?¡±


    Jiang Rui hurriedly said with a smile, ¡°Auntie, I am Baoqin, Baozhen¡¯s elder sister. A few days ago you made a trip to my house.¡±


    Du¡¯s family¡¯s daughters, Zhang Liyun had heard about them. She occasionally met them on the road in the village, it¡¯s just that at the moment she couldn¡¯t match the name to the person. After hearing what she said, she immediately recalled. She opened the courtyard door, and greeted her with a smile as she invited her in, ¡°Baoqin, quickly come in.¡±


    Zhao¡¯s family conditions were better than the Du family¡¯s, the hall was much brighter and the house was fully furnished.


    Zhang Liyun wanted to pour tea for her but Jiang Rui stopped her. She passed the bamboo basket over while conveying her intentions for coming: ¡°The rabbits at home have just given birth a few days ago, my mom asked me to bring a couple for Auntie to raise and play with.¡±


    Zhang Liyun took a glance and she didn¡¯t reject, she just smiled and said: ¡°Your mother is too polite. Have a seat first, Auntie has some canned food in the house. It¡¯s sweet and cool, and it¡¯s comfortable to drink.¡±


    Jiang Rui wanted to stop her again, she got up, ready to leave but was pressed firmly on the chair, ¡°In this hot weather, how can I let you make a trip for nothing, be obedient.¡±


    After speaking, Zhang Liyun entered her bedroom, and Jiang Rui could only sit and wait for her.


    Zhang Liyun took out a can from the bottom of her closet, but she did not walk out the door immediately. Instead, she looked at Jiang Rui in the main room through the crack of the door. From the face to the figure, then from the figure to the pair of legs that were kept appropriately, she nodded while watching.


    Such an obvious gaze, how could Jiang Rui not feel it? Pretending not to know, Jiang Rui tilted her head and looked curiously at the family portrait on the wall.


    Zhang Liyun, and her husband, had four children, named Zhao Dong, Zhao Nan, Zhao Qianqian, and Zhao Bei, of which Zhao Qianqin was the daughter.


    In the picture, Zhang Liyun and her husband sat, each with a child on their laps, while two teenagers stood behind them.


    When Jiang Rui was still not Du Baoqin, she had seen Zhao Nan secretly, hence at this moment, she recognized instantly that the fellow on the left was him. At that time, he looked fifteen or sixteen years old, with a calmness that did not reflect his age, and a pair of long and narrow eyebrows, looking sharp and piercing. It was hard to imagine that a teenager from the farm would have such a look in his eyes.


    At this moment, Zhang Liyun came out of the room, and Jiang Rui withdrew her gaze and stood up.


    ¡°Sit down.¡± Zhang Liyun pried open the can of oranges, poured a large bowl for her, and said as she tried to looked casual: ¡°That picture was taken years ago, it was taken before our second son joined the army.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Auntie.¡± Jiang Rui received the bowl with two hands and took a sip carefully. She then raised her head and said with a smile: ¡°Auntie still looks as young as before.¡±


    Zhang Liyun was delighted, she handed her a spoon, ¡°I love hearing this, eat more, Auntie has a lot.¡±


    The two chatted while they ate, Zhang Liyun gained a thorough understanding of how old Du Baoqin was, how long she had been studying, what she usually did at home, and so on.


    Whatever she asked, Jiang Rui answered honestly. The two of them, one asked and one answered. Seeing that it was almost lunchtime, Zhang Liyun patted her thighs: ¡°Look at me, so chatty, it¡¯s almost time to eat, Baoqin, have a meal here at your Auntie¡¯s place?¡±


    Jiang Rui quickly refused, saying that she still had to deliver meals to her working family. After a few rejections, Zhang Liyun stuffed a bottle of canned food and a handful of fruit candies into her basket, only then did she let her go.


    It was already quite late, Jiang Rui briskly went down the mountain, and just past the reservoir, she saw a young woman walking toward her. The woman had short shoulder-length hair, and she was carrying an army green bag. She recognized her to be Zhao Qianqian, and since the two of them did not have any contact usually, she just smiled at her.


    Zhao Qianqian stopped and watched her walk away, she then looked up towards the mountain and trotted home with her feet raised. When she got home, she did not smell the aroma of food. Instead, she heard her mother humming a tune in the kitchen. Zhao Qianqian touched her belly and shouted: ¡°Mom, I¡¯m back, is the meal ready?¡±


    ¡°Why are you shouting?¡± Zhang Liyun stuck her head out from behind the stove, ¡°There are canned foods in the cabinet, eat those first if you are hungry.¡±


    Zhao Qianqian was overjoyed when she heard that there were canned foods for her, but when she took out the can, she saw that there was only half left. She ran in front of her mother and asked relentlessly, ¡°Who ate half of the can? Didn¡¯t my sister-in-law bring Xiaobo back to her maiden home?¡±


    Zhang Liyun glared, ¡°What, only you are allowed to eat, but I¡¯m not?¡±


    Zhao Qianqian shrank her neck, picked up the can, and took a sip. She narrowed her eyes in delight and as she thought of the person she saw on the way home, she asked again: ¡°I saw Du Baoqin just past the reservoir, what was she doing here? Could it be that she came to visit our house?¡±


    Zhang Liyun looked at her with a straight face, and instead of answering, she asked: ¡°Qianqian, if Baoqin became your second sister-in-law, what would you think?¡±


    Zhao Qianqian opened her mouth: ¡°Isn¡¯t, isn¡¯t Du Baozhen going to be my second sister-in-law?¡±


    ¡°That also has to depend on the other person, if they agree or not.¡±


    When Du Baoqin visited today, Zhang Liyun was stunned. That day she went to the Du family, she wanted to matchmake her son and the Du family¡¯s youngest daughter but she understood the Du family¡¯s intentions today. Their youngest daughter was not willing to marry, so they asked their eldest daughter to make a trip here, for her to take a look. If the two families could form a marriage relationship between them, that was for the best. If not, then it was just an excuse for her daughter to send a gift in return, others would not be able to gossip even if they saw.


    Thinking of her second son Zhao Nan, Zhang Liyun wanted to sigh. He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Those companions younger than him already had children running all over the place, but he had never thought of starting a family, and when mentioning this to him, he would either evade the topic or keep silent.


    A few years ago when he just joined the army, he would still come home for a few days at the beginning of the year. Now that he had a high rank, it became even more difficult to meet him. This time, after waiting for two years, he finally came back but in the end, he only stayed for one night and rushed back to the army the next day. Even the leaders were not as busy as him!


    Zhang Liyun felt that if this continued, the stinky boy would not even come home in the future, hence she made up her mind, whether her son agreed or not, she couldn¡¯t delay any longer and had to find a daughter-in-law for him.


    As for deciding on which girl, she didn¡¯t mind. Previously when she chose Du Baozhen, it was because her son saved the other¡¯s life and there might be some affection between them, but now she realized that she thought too much, her son did not even think about it and the other family¡¯s daughter did not feel this way either.


    Fortunately, without Du Baozhen, there¡¯s another Du Baoqin who was more in line with her heart. The little lady was born clean and white, gentle and well-behaved, but not to the point where she was cowardly, whereas she looked calm and poised. This temperament, there probably wasn¡¯t a second one in the whole brigade.


    Such a good candidate, if the stinky boy still did not want to marry, then she would personally go to the army and beat him up!

 Chapter 3

    One fine day in June, the weather was so hot and humid that even sleeping on a mat at night felt like a fish in a steamer.


    It was silent in the Du¡¯s family yard, everyone had gone to sleep.


    Zhang Xiaohua held her tummy, she was more afraid of the heat than others, and she couldn¡¯t fall asleep after tossing and turning, whereas Du Baoqiang slept beside her, snoring happily. She was so annoyed that she kicked him.


    ¡°Hmm¡­what¡¯s the matter?¡± Du Baoqiang asked groggily. Thinking that she wanted some water, he got off the bed before even opening his eyes.


    Zhang Xiaohua pulled him back, ¡°What are you doing, I can¡¯t sleep, talk with me for a while.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± Du Baoqiang laid back in bed, his voice faded and his snoring started again.


    Zhang Xiaohua was so angry that she wanted to choke him, but looking at how tired he was, she just fanned herself with a paper fan.


    After some time had passed, a breeze blew in through the half-closed window and she quickly took advantage of the drowsiness brought about by coolness to try and sleep. Just as she was in a drowsy state, about to fall asleep, Du Baoqiang suddenly sat up and woke her up, ¡°Wife, did you call for me just now?¡±


    She finally managed to fall asleep but it was gone in a moment, Zhang Xiaohua was so angry that she wanted to cry, she sat up and pounded at him.


    Du Baoqiang didn¡¯t dare to fight back. After she got tired from hitting him, he got out of bed to pour a cup of tea and served her affably.


    Zhang Xiaohua finished the tea with a huff, seeing the confusion on his face, she felt even more depressed, ¡°Look at how stupid you are, luckily you are a guy, if you were born a girl, according to the eccentricity of our parents, you would have long been sold to support the studies of their precious daughter!¡±


    ¡°Our parents wouldn¡¯t do that¡­¡± Du Baoqiang scratched his head.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t do what? Wouldn¡¯t be partial?¡± Zhang Xiaohua squinted at him, and said sarcastically: ¡°If they aren¡¯t partial, then how come two daughters, one have to work bitterly at home every day, while the other gets to study and go to university as she pleases?¡±


    Du Baoqiang glanced outside the house and whispered: ¡°Wasn¡¯t that because Baoqin said that her grades were bad, and took the initiative to stop studying?¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua sneered and said nothing. Du Baoqin didn¡¯t get good grades? I¡¯m afraid only the Du family believed this. She had a cousin who studied in the same class as Du Baoqin that year; her cousin was full of compliments for Du Baoqin, she said that the girl was the first in their class. She was graceful and beautiful, with good grades. Later, after finishing middle school, Du Baoqin did not continue on to high school, which of her classmates were not surprised?


    Zhang Xiaohua only found out when she married into the Du family, Du Baoqin didn¡¯t continue her studies at that time because Du Baozhen was of age to attend middle school. The family could not afford the tuition fees for two people, hence she took the initiative to say that she was not as smart as her sister, and didn¡¯t have good grades, so she would stop studying.


    Who didn¡¯t know that the crying child got the candy? Last year Du Baozhen wanted to attend high school, and the tuition fees per year amounted to tens of dollars. At first, they didn¡¯t manage to raise that much money, but after she cried and threw a tantrum, they arduously squeezed out the amount.


    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t talk about their studies, we can tell from the two eggs every day. The rabbits at home, needed feeding, mowing of the grass, shearing of their fur, and cleaning of their cages, which one wasn¡¯t done by Baoqin? In the end, the eggs that were exchanged using the rabbit fur, none was for her. Let¡¯s not talk about the work done by you and your father, I am pregnant with a child, if not, I wouldn¡¯t have the face to eat it too. But what about Baozhen? Everyone said that she needs to supplement her brain because of her studies, but look at these days when she is on a holiday, which day is she holding a book, reading it? Everyone in the Du family is blind, but I¡¯m not.¡±


    She still had something in her heart that she didn¡¯t say: Don¡¯t think no one knew why Baozhen would run to the reservoir alone every day. Of course, it¡¯s for that wild man!  That man was admitted to a university and went back to the city, that¡¯s why Baozhen, dead or alive, also wanted to study high school, so that she could get into the university.


    Du Baoqiang scratched his cheeks and didn¡¯t speak, but Zhang Xiaohua dropped a bomb on him, ¡°Today, Mom let Baoqin make a trip to Zhao¡¯s house, as I see it, mostly it¡¯s because Baozhen does not want to marry, so she is thinking of pushing Baoqin out.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be¡­.¡± Du Baoqiang immediately raised his head.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be what?¡± Zhang Xiaohua sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t feel anything before? Actually, everyone is clear on this matter, but they just try to cover up their shame, not willing to show it. This is your Du family¡¯s issue, and I, a person surnamed Zhang does not care. I only care about this child in my belly. I¡¯m telling you, Du Baoqiang, if the child in my belly is a girl and your Du family dares to be so biased, don¡¯t blame me for fighting you till the end!¡±


    After speaking, she laid down with her back facing him and stopped talking.


    After going to Zhao¡¯s house that day, Jiang Rui behaved as normal, digging the rabbit¡¯s grass, shearing the rabbit¡¯s fur, and doing the housework. On this day, when she went to the back mountain to pick up some firewood, she saw a tea tree that had no owner, hence she picked a handful of tea leaves, packed them in her clothes, and went back.


    As she entered the house, Wang Tonghua pulled her into the room, ¡°Girl, let me tell you something.¡±


    She was sweating all over her body, bangs uncomfortably sticking to her forehead, so she wiped it with her sleeves, ¡°What is it, Mom?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you make a trip to the Zhao¡¯s house a few days ago? Your Aunt Zhang came over just now, she told me that she likes you a lot and wants you to be her second daughter-in-law, what do you think?¡±


    It was as Jiang Rui expected, but she still showed a surprised look on her face, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be Baozhen¡­.¡±


    Wang Tonghua interrupted her, ¡°As you can see, Baozhen is not willing. Besides, your Aunt Zhang told me that she likes you more. Girl, this is a good thing, you see, you are getting old and these past two years people had been asking. I just told them that I can¡¯t bear to let you go and would like to keep you with me for two more years. In reality, Mom is afraid that you would not marry into a good family and suffer like me. Look at your mother¡¯s life, because of poverty, because your dad is incompetent, how much hardship have we endured? How many people have looked down on us? I don¡¯t wish for anything, but the best for you three siblings. As long as you are all well, have a good life, no matter how much suffering, mom is not afraid.¡±


    As she spoke, she thought of the sad things and her tears fell.


    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t be like this, it¡¯s all in the past.¡± Jiang Rui persuaded her softly.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all over.¡± Wang Tonghua wiped the corner of her eyes, ¡°You see, now the Zhao family wants you to be their daughter-in-law, girl, your good days are here!¡±


    Jiang Rui said embarrassedly: ¡°I¡¯ve never even met Zhao Nan¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Wang Tonghua hurriedly went to take out a picture from the drawer, ¡°Your Aunt Zhang also mentioned that Ah Nan is busy with his work and can¡¯t come back for a while, so she brought over this photo for you to take a look. This is what he previously left at home, look, how spirited!¡±


    The picture was stuffed into Jiang Rui¡¯s hands. The man in the picture was in his twenties, wearing a neat military uniform, with his hair cut short as he looked at the camera solemnly. Compared to the fifteen, sixteen-year-old him in the picture that she saw a few days ago at Zhao¡¯s house, the man in front of her was more masculine and calm. The hard-edged and sharpness of the youth was all wrapped under the military uniform, like a sharp sword that was sheathed.


    Wang Tonghua added: ¡°Your Aunt Zhang¡¯s intention, is for us to take a picture for Ah Nan to see. Girl, go to the county to take a picture tomorrow.¡±


    Jiang Rui frowned slightly, ¡°It costs a lot to take a picture.¡±


    ¡°No worries, Mom has money!¡± seemingly afraid that she wouldn¡¯t agree, Wang Tonghua patted her chest and said: ¡°You just need to have a good sleep tonight, keep your spirits up and take a pretty picture tomorrow. Don¡¯t worry about anything else!¡±


    With all that being said, Jiang Rui had no reason to object.


    The next day, she changed into clothes of decent quality and carried a cloth bag that held the rabbit fur that was saved recently. Usually, she would take it to the commune¡¯s supply and marketing cooperatives to exchange for some common household items but today, she would be going to the county to trade. When asked about it on the road, she only said that she was going to sell the rabbit fur.


    From Chaoyang commune to Yang¡¯an County, there were only two trips made a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Jiang Rui walked from the Xishan Brigade to the commune, and she set off early in the morning, afraid of missing the bus. She waited for nearly half an hour before the bus came, and the ticket cost twenty-five cents.


    The roads were not in good condition, they were paved with yellow mud and the road was full of potholes. The seats were very hard, and when she got off the bus, half her body was numb.


    This was the first time Jiang Rui had ever been to Yang¡¯an County, luckily she heard others mention before, that there was one street in the whole county that was the most prosperous. The supply and marketing cooperatives, state-run restaurants, photo studios, Xinhua bookstore, etc. were all in one place. After she got off the bus, she asked someone for directions and found her way quickly.


    The county seat was much larger than the Chaoyang commune, the roads were much wider and the people walking on the streets were dressed in brighter colors, unlike the people in the village, dull and gray. The supply and marketing cooperatives here were also much larger than the one from the commune, called Yang¡¯an Department Store. As soon as you entered, you would be dazzled by the gleaming array of items. The glass counters were filled with fabrics, food, and furniture, all sorted by category. Behind the counter, stood a young salesperson, who wore a white shirt with her hair tied into braids, looking very fashionable.


    Jiang Rui strolled around the store with her cloth bag before locating the purchase station in the corner. There were already many people in the queue, all of them were villagers who, like her, came from the commune and the brigade, selling eggs or scraps, as well as herbs and animal skins.


    The queue moved slowly, when it was their turn, everyone stared closely at the scale in the buyer¡¯s hand, and the money exchanged was counted carefully several times.


    Rabbit fur was priced per catty, one catty for four cents. They had four rabbits in their family, after three months of saving, they had accumulated a little more than one pound and one catty, and after selling, they earned four dollars and five cents. In the past, there were still rabbits for sale, but this time, there were only six babies. Of which, four were exchanged with people from the same brigade for some eggs, and the other two were given as return gifts to the Zhao family, hence there were only rabbit fur left.


    She counted the money again, carefully putting it in her pocket, and left the department store. After walking for a while more, she found the photo studio.


    Photo taking was an extravagant and western thing. Even at her age, Du Baoqin had never been to a photo studio. This time, one entry and exit cost Jiang Rui nearly three dollars. The pictures could not be collected immediately, hence she left them her home address, once the picture had developed, someone from the photo studio would send it to her.


    Before going out today, Wang Tonghua prepared three dollars for her, just in case. She didn¡¯t touch the three dollars, and after setting aside the ticket money for the return trip, she still had one dollar and fourteen cents left on hand.


    She went back to the department store and bought a set of matches, that had ten small boxes inside, for twenty cents, as well as two pounds of coarse salt for fifty cents. She also saw white sugar and soap, but both of these items were in short supply and needed tickets to purchase. Without tickets, even if you had the money, you wouldn¡¯t be able to buy them. In the end, she only bought a few eggs and even spent eight cents on a pack of cheap cigarettes for her father, Du Youfu.


    At noon, a group of young people came. They bought bread and biscuits with food stamps, and looking at them, they seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. They were probably still students, and they came out to play together.


    Jiang Rui watched curiously at the side until they left, then took out a pie from her bag.


    She stayed in the department store until the afternoon, only then did the bus returning to Chaoyang commune came.


    As soon as she got home, Du Baozhen rushed over and pulled at her cloth bag, she took a few glances then said disappointedly: ¡°Sister, Mom said you went to the county seat to sell some rabbit fur, I thought there could be something different there.¡±


    She had a short temper, it came and left quickly. Since Wang Tonghua did not mention anything about her marriage for the past few days, she also wasn¡¯t angry anymore.


    Wang Tonghua waved her hands and chased her away, ¡°Only thinking about eating, like a hungry ghost trying to reincarnate!¡±


    Du Baozhen stuck out her tongue and went back to her room.


    With no one around, Jiang Rui handed over the remaining money to Wang Tonghua and told her about today¡¯s affairs.


    ¡°You, this girl, are too sincere. Why do you have to be so calculative? Since you went all the way to the county, you should¡¯ve bought yourself some candies.¡±


    Jiang Rui just smiled.


    The picture was sent to the house several days later, Jiang Rui only had one glance at it before it was put away by Wang Tonghua, and then it was sent to Zhang Liyun without her knowledge.


    About a month later, in a military region thousands of miles away, Zhao Nan was sitting in his office, looking at the combat training plan.


    A series of footsteps sounded from outside, the person approaching knocked on the door twice, then pushed the door, and entered, ¡° Old Zhao, there is a letter for you.¡±


    Zhao Nan, who did not take his eyes off the documents in his hands, reached out to receive the letter.


    Zheng Bin did not give it to him. With the letter between his two fingers, he waved it in front of him with a look of schadenfreude, ¡°Looking at the address, it was sent from your hometown, and from the feel of it, there should be a picture inside. Old Zhao, looks like aunt and uncle can¡¯t take it anymore, they are urging you to marry!¡±


    Zhao Nan did not care for his teasing and took his hand back.


    ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you going to take a look? Let me see what the girl looks like. Could it be that previously when you went back home to visit your relatives, you met a love interest? Impressive, you didn¡¯t say anything even after coming back for so long, could it be that you settled a lifelong event in one night? Is the girl pretty? How old is she? Hmm? Hurry up, Old Zhao, tell me.¡±


    Zhao Nan couldn¡¯t stand his teasing, he frowned and took the letter from him. As soon as he tore open the letter, a picture slipped out. Before he could pick it up, it was snatched by a hand next to him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check it out for you!¡± Zheng Bin said with a smile, he took a closer look at the picture using the light by the window.


    The picture was of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, who had her hair combed into two braids. She had a heart-shaped face, big eyes, and fair skin. With a slight smile hanging on her lips and two cute, little dimples on her cheeks, she stared at the camera quietly, looking demure and sweet.


    Author¡¯s notes:


    Regarding the male protagonist of this story, I¡¯m afraid that the cubs would be confused so let me talk about it here. Every world has a male lead HE, and every male lead are soul fragments that will combine into one in the main world. Little cubs can understand it this way: the male lead is like a glass crystal that accidentally fell on the ground, shattering into 800 pieces. He needs the female lead to piece him back one by one, which is only possible if she kiss kiss, hug hug, and holds him high high. (direct translation, but sounds so cute xD) Therefore, this is a boyfriend assembled by the female lead¡¯s own abilities!

 Chapter 4

    Holding the picture, Zheng Bin took a breath and exclaimed, ¡°Old Zhao, where did Auntie find such a beautiful girl for you? She¡¯s not worse than the mainstays of the art troupe!¡±


    He knew that Zhao Nan was from the countryside, and although there was no intention to discriminate, the impression that normal people had was, that the rural girls who worked on the farm, weren¡¯t they tanned and skinny? It was a bit surprising for him to see such a fair-skinned and delicate girl.


    ¡°Look, look,¡± he stuffed the picture in front of Zhao Nan¡¯s eyes, ¡°If they are all such beautiful girls, why would you reject them? What else is there to be dissatisfied with?¡±


    Zhao Nan accepted the picture and took a glance, he then read the letter that came together with it.


    The letter was dictated by Zhang Liyun and written by Zhao Qianqian. The general idea was that the family found him a good girl, and no matter what, he had to take a family leave. They wanted him to go home in the near future or at least at the end of the year, to meet the girl and settle his lifelong event. At the end of the letter, harsh words were written. If he didn¡¯t do it, Zhang Liyun would find the leader of the army and let the leader care for his subordinates.


    After reading the letter, Zhao Nan frowned. (T/N: the original text says that he frowned with a ¡°´¨¡± word in between his eyebrows, like a -.-lll expression)


    The last time he went home to visit relatives, he rescued a girl from the reservoir. After Zhang Liyun learned of it, she intentionally or unintentionally, tried to probe him. He thought that his mother wouldn¡¯t give up this time and hence sent the girl¡¯s picture over, but unexpectedly, it was the girl¡¯s sister. He didn¡¯t know what had happened in the family over this short period of time, to have such a change.


    He put the picture and letter back into the envelope. The yellow envelope gradually covered the person in the picture, as if in slow-motion. From the slightly upturned lips to the dimples on her cheeks, then to the eyes that seemed to be smiling, until all had disappeared.


    Zheng Bin had been beside him the whole time, waiting for his response, but after Zhao Nan kept the letter away, he picked up the document and continued reading.


    ¡°Old Zhao, don¡¯t you feel anything at all? Are you not even a little tempted? Don¡¯t be shy, you can talk to your elder brother. Your elder brother, me, is a person who has been around. You see here, it¡¯s all experience!¡± Zheng Bin said while patting his chest.


    ¡°Is the deployment of the training plan for the third battalion completed? Do you have the determination to not be the last for the exercise this time?¡± After some time, Zhao Nan slowly looked up from the documents.


    Zheng Bin was choked by the words and he covered his chest, his fingers shaking as he pointed at Zhao Nan. It took him a while to speak, ¡°Old Zhao! This is too much! What do you mean by the determination to not be the last? Could it be that my third battalion is always at the bottom? The soldiers of your second battalion are capable, but we, the third battalion, are not weak! Just wait and see, sooner or later, we will surpass you!¡±


    Zhao Nan listened, put down the document in his hand, and solemnly looked at him, ¡°I have been waiting and I am still waiting.¡±


    Zheng Bin felt even more aggrieved, he took two heavy steps, turned around, and pointed at him sharply. Then, took another two heavy steps. In the end, he didn¡¯t say anything as he left while clutching his chest.


    The warmest two-month summer vacation passed slowly, and school was about to start.


    For the past two days, Wang Tonghua had been thinking about Du Baozhen¡¯s tuition fees. After several calculations, they were still short of a few dollars. The family had no income at the moment, and she did not plan to borrow from anyone. She could only go to the commune¡¯s high school when school starts, and ask the teacher for some grace. Fortunately, this kind of thing was quite common in the rural areas, and the schools were more tolerant.


    The night before school started, Du Baozhen tossed and turned as she couldn¡¯t sleep. Nowadays, high school only took two years, that is to say, she would have to take the university entrance examination in less than a year. She couldn¡¯t wait, she envisioned the city she was going to go to, the university she was going to be admitted to, and the person she was going to meet again. She was so excited that she couldn¡¯t stop.


    She suddenly turned sideways, faced Jiang Rui¡¯s bed, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Sister, are you asleep?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± In the darkness, Jiang Rui¡¯s voice softly sounded, ¡°Why are you not sleeping yet? You have to get up early tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I just can¡¯t sleep, sister, talk with me.¡±


    There was a rustling sound in the dark, Jiang Rui also turned and laid on her side, her head resting on her arm, ¡± What do you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about¡­.the future! Sister, have you ever thought about what the future would be like?¡±


    ¡°The future¡­¡± Jiang Rui opened her eyes and looked into the darkness. If the real Du Baoqin was still alive, what would it be like in the future? Perhaps she would marry someone who is neither too good nor too bad, have two children who are neither smart nor stupid, live a life that is not rich but not poor to the point of embarrassment, and grow old like this, average and ordinary, full of children and grandchildren.


    But Du Baoqin was no longer here.


    She shook her head slightly, ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    Du Baozhen laughed and said excitedly, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, I want to go to university, stay in the big city, and be with the person I like!¡±


    Jiang Rui nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good, you have to work hard.¡±


    ¡°I will!¡± Du Baozhen agreed cheerfully, ¡°Sister, in the future, wait for me to find a job in the city, then I¡¯ll bring you around to have fun! I heard that the city is way larger than Yang¡¯an County, there can be four cars on the road at the same time, and there are buildings that have dozen of floors!¡±


    Jiang Rui didn¡¯t ask who she heard that from, she just smiled and said softly, ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal!¡± Du Baozhen said happily as if that scene had already occurred.


    The first night, she slept in the middle of the night and the next day she had to get up early to go to school. In order to have more time to review her homework, she applied for accommodations this semester and only went home on the weekends.


    Many of her books and clothes were moved out of the room. It was a lot more empty and also looked a bit messy. After Jiang Rui finished the housework, she tidied up the house, and a letter was swept out from the desk drawer. There was a name inscribed on the envelope, Han Wenke.


    This person was deeply imprinted on Du Baoqin¡¯s memories, second only to her family.


    Han Wenke was an educated youth who came from the big city, and he was different from the young people of the commune. He was pale and skinny, cultured and refined, always neatly dressed. He wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, had beautiful handwriting, and could play the harmonica, the accordion, and even sing Russian songs.


    It could be said that back then, he was popular in the entire Chaoyang Commune, and at least half of the girls from the commune fell in love with him, including the two daughters of the Du family.


    Du Baoqin did not let anyone discover her love for Han Wenke, and when she gave up her studies, she knew that that person had already become an unattainable wish. Last year, when Han Wenke was admitted to a university and returned back to the city, she completely buried this past in her heart.


    Du Baozhen also liked Han Wenke, and Du Baoqin was very clear that she was trying for university admission because of him. She watched her younger sister embark on the road that she could not finish at the beginning, getting closer and closer to that person at the end of the road.


    And she, would forever stay where she¡¯s at.


    Jiang Rui didn¡¯t move the letter, she just wiped the drawer and put the letter back in its place.

 Chapter 5

    There was a small plot of private land behind the Du family¡¯s house. Pumpkins were planted and now that the season was almost over, the pumpkin vines were beginning to wither and turn yellow.


    From under the layers of leaves, Jiang Rui found the last pumpkin and put it in the bamboo basket. There were already three or four pumpkins in the basket and they were not big, only a little larger than two palms. The skin of the pumpkins was slightly yellow, and it looked a bit old.


    She carried the bamboo basket back into the house. Wang Tonghua took the basket from her, glanced at it, and picked out the pumpkin with the best appearance. Just as she was about to let her send it to the Zhao family, she thought about it for a while, then swallowed what she was going to say.


    It had been quite some time since the picture was given to Zhang Liyun, and the Zhao family had not given an affirmative. Although it could be said that Zhao Nan was far away, and it took a lot of time for the letters to be delivered back and forth, Wang Tonghua still felt a little anxious.


    Because this matter did not seem to have a prospect of a solution yet, the two families have tacitly agreed to not announce anything. Especially the Du family, only Jiang Rui and Wang Tonghua knew about it, and Wang Tonghua couldn¡¯t talk to anyone even if she wanted to.


    She looked at her eldest daughter¡¯s calm expression and shook her head in her heart. She was really worried.


    Logically speaking, since the Zhao and the Du family had privately made such a decision, the two families should have more contact with each other as compared to before. She also wanted her daughter to interact more with Zhang Liyun to leave a good impression, and if they really became a family in the future, her in-laws would less likely make things difficult for her daughter. But she was also afraid that this would make her seem impatient and in turn, let people look down upon her. After all, it was because of their poor family conditions and lack of confidence, that she had so many concerns.


    Jiang Rui arranged the pumpkins in a row under the wall outside the house, looked up, and said to her, ¡°Mom, the pumpkins are not growing anymore. Tomorrow, I want to tidy up the plot of land behind the house, what do you think we should plant after?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that land, wait for your dad and your brother to get off work, and let the two men do it. Girl, try not to work at noon in the future, you are the palest in our family, don¡¯t get tanned.¡±


    Jiang Rui smiled and said: ¡°Tomorrow Baozhen is coming home, do you want to exchange some eggs for her?¡±


    Wang Tonghua frowned for a while, then looked inside the house, and sighed: ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it later, your sister-in-law is about to give birth.¡±


    After giving birth to a child, there was a need for postpartum confinement. If the family conditions were good, a chicken would be killed every three to five days, and the mother would be nourished with chicken soup. The Du family did not have such good conditions, and Wang Tonghua was not a harsh person, she couldn¡¯t make her daughter-in-law work, so she could only find ways to hoard some eggs, and ask someone to buy some brown sugar, which was better than nothing.


    When faced with such an urgent matter, she could only move her daughter, Du Baozhen back a bit, and only think about her after Zhang Xiaohua finished her confinement.


    There were four adult rabbits in the family, and they had a big appetite. Jiang Rui had to ascend the mountain to dig for rabbit grass every other day. After digging for the grass that day and while she was preparing to go down the mountain, two people approached her. It was Zhao Daqiu and his eldest son, Zhao Dong.


    The Zhao family were beekeepers and they raised bees. They kept several hive bodies under a tree on the mountain and after finishing work on the farm every day, or when the farming was slack, Zhao Daqiu would take his son up the mountain to check on the hives.


    This was the first time Jiang Rui met them on the mountain. The mountain road was narrow, so she stepped aside and softly called, ¡°Uncle Zhao¡±.


    Zhao Daqiu hastily responded. After he walked far away, he stopped to look back, and asked Zhao Dong, ¡°Who was that just now?


    ¡°She¡¯s the eldest daughter of the Du family,¡± Zhao Dong looked around, then continued: ¡°Didn¡¯t Mom mention that she showed Ah Nan a picture of a girl? That¡¯s her.¡±


    When Zhao Daqiu returned home, he said to Zhang Liyun, ¡°That girl from the Du family is not bad.¡±


    Zhang Liyun gave him a basin of water for him to wash his face, and asked strangely, ¡°So ambiguous and random, where did such a sentence come from?¡±


    ¡°I went up the mountain with Ah Dong in the morning and we met that girl. She even greeted me, but I didn¡¯t recognize her.¡± Zhao Daqiu wiped his face, then threw the towel back in the basin and washed his hands, ¡°Early in the morning, there was no one on the mountain, but she had already finished her work and was preparing to descend the mountain. She is more diligent than those in our family.¡±


    Zhang Liyun said, ¡°I¡¯ve inquired about her a long time ago. That girl, at home, does all the housework by herself, and although she looked shy with nothing much to say when meeting someone on the road, she would conscientiously greet them. Her temperament is indescribably good.¡±


    Precisely, because she thought Du Baoqin to be satisfactory, Zhang Liyun made up her mind and insisted that Zhao Nan come home to meet her. Otherwise, if it was too late, she was afraid that others will take the lead.


    Thinking of this, she frowned and said with dissatisfaction: ¡°Ah Nan¡¯s reply should be here, why is there no news until now? Could it be that that stinky boy really disagreed?¡±


    Right after she said that, Zhao Qianqian¡¯s voice sounded from the yard, ¡°Mom, second older brother¡¯s letter is here! I met the postman on the road just now, and I conveniently brought the letter back.¡±


    That night, using the twilight, Zhang Liyun went to Du¡¯s house again.


    Du Youfu and his son, Du Baoqiang had just turned over the small plot of land behind the house, and the family had not yet cleaned up the table after they finished eating.


    Seeing that they had visitors, Jiang Rui hurriedly called out, ¡°Aunt Zhang¡±, then moved a chair for her, went to the kitchen to pour a bowl of tea, and then picked up the dishes and chopsticks to wash.


    Zhang Liyun watched her go with a smile, turned her head to look at Wang Tonghua, and said sincerely, ¡°Sister, you have raised a good daughter.¡±


    Looking at her expression, Wang Tonghua knew that she had come with good news to share, and her heart mostly settled down, she modestly said, ¡°Baoqin is reserved and speaks less, she only knows how to work, but she is inarticulate and has a stupid mouth.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡± Zhang Liyun waved her hand, ¡°A down-to-earth and well-behaved girl like Baoqin, people will love dearly. I believe you¡¯ve already guessed what I am here for this time. Our family¡¯s Ah Nan sent us a letter today, saying that he will be back home during the New Year to visit relatives. I was thinking, should we let the two young people meet then?¡±


    The two of them were talking in the main room, and the rest of the Du family, intentionally or otherwise, avoided them.


    In the room, Zhang Xiaohua was sitting beside the bed, washing her feet. She lowered her voice and said to Du Baoqiang, ¡°You see? I really guessed it right.¡±


    Du Baoqiang sat at the side, and after a long time, he said, ¡°The Zhao family is quite good.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua glared at him, ¡°What do you know?¡±


    In the eyes of others, the Zhao family was certainly not bad. Zhao Daqiu and his son, Zhao Dong, were beekeepers. All year round, others couldn¡¯t even see white sugar but their family drank honey water like drinking water. Their second son, Zhao Nan, had been in the army for more than ten years and he was an army officer with a sizeable amount of allowance every month. He was in charge of food and housing in the army and the amount of money that could be saved depended on how much money the state sent. After so many years, how considerable was that sum of money? Their daughter, Zhao Qianqian, and their youngest son, Zhao Bei, were both employees and they did not rely on the land for food.


    It could be said that there were no idlers in the Zhao family.


    In Zhang Xiaohua¡¯s opinion, if Du Baoqin married Zhao Dong or Zhao Bei, then it would be great, but she, unfortunately, was going to marry Zhao Nan.


    Who is Zhao Nan? He¡¯s a soldier, and had a military rank, how wonderful that sounds!


    But in reality? To a woman, he was nothing more than a man who could never go home all year round.


    Being married to such a person and living in an empty house year after year, was it any different from being a widow? And she still had to take care of his family.


    If Zhang Xiaohua were to choose, even though the Du family were poor and Du Baoqiang was stupid, she would still prefer the person next to her now, as compared to the beautiful Zhao family. At least every night, when she was thirsty and hot, there was someone who would get up to pour tea and fan her, and when her feet cramped, someone could help her rub her feet in the middle of the night.


    This man was incompetent, but he loved her dearly and knew how to be considerate.


    After Zhang Liyun left, Wang Tonghua went into the kitchen, unable to hide her joy, ¡°Girl, Zhao Nan is coming home for the New Year, and the two of you will meet each other then.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Rui agreed as she held the clean bowl upside down to drain away the water inside.


    Wang Tonghua took the bowl from her, put it in the cupboard, and said with glee, ¡°Aunt Zhang didn¡¯t shy away from the topic just now, she told me all about it, she had introduced a lot of girls to Ah Nan in the past, and he didn¡¯t even want to meet them. This is the first time he gave in, it means he definitely likes you!¡±


    Jiang Rui lowered her head and cleaned the stove, ¡°Mom, it¡¯s still too early to tell.¡±


    Wang Tonghua smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s not too early, that is, even if you are a shy child, after the two of you met, we should discuss the wedding date. By the way, girl, from now until the New Year, you should save all the rabbit hair you sheared over this period of time. When the time comes, you can exchange it for money and buy a piece of cloth to make a new padded jacket. I think the red padded jacket that Lingling wore last year looked very good. Let¡¯s make the same one and when you wear it, you will certainly look prettier than her!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t the family need money recently? I can still wear my old clothes, let¡¯s not make new ones?¡± Jiang Rui said while she rummage through the common purslane (T/N: it¡¯s a type of plant/weed) dug from the land behind their house that evening, as she prepared to boil it with some water.


    ¡°Let me do it.¡± Wang Tonghua took the basket in her hand, ¡°Mom will think of a way to accomplish the things at home, no matter how difficult it is, there will always be new clothes for you. It has been two years since you had new clothes, you are meeting Ah Nan this time, you can¡¯t wear your old clothes. Bring some hot water back to your room and wash up, go to bed early. The things here, leave it to Mom.¡±


    Jiang Rui lay in bed after washing up, looking at the clear night sky through the window.


    She was not surprised that Zhao Nan agreed to come home and meet her.


    She did promise the original owner, Du Baoqin, to properly act like her, but she couldn¡¯t let go of her task. Although she could take her time to slowly complete the task, Du Baoqin, a young girl, could not stand the drag of time.


    Therefore, she had to attract Zhao Nan¡¯s attention in a short period of time.


    The picture that was sent to him, had been manipulated as she left a trace of spiritual energy on it. When Zhao Nan touched it, that little spiritual energy would have entered his body, making him feel calm and peaceful. This difference should have given him some good impressions of the person in the picture.


    And if other people touched it, they wouldn¡¯t feel a thing as that trace of aura only affects Zhao Nan.


    Because, she is his cure.


    ©¦Mochi: *internal screaming*

 Chapter 6

    Zhang Xiaohua¡¯s pregnancy due date was approaching, almost at the end of the month.


    In the past few days, Wang Tonghua and a few women in the brigade left early and returned late, as they went deep into the mountains to look for wild chestnuts. Because she didn¡¯t have a ticket, she could not buy any sugar from the supply and marketing cooperatives. Hence, she wanted to exchange for more money, and ask someone to quietly buy some brown sugar from a nearby house.


    The rabbits at home gave birth again. Generally speaking, a rabbit could give birth to seven, eight kits a year, but if they couldn¡¯t keep up with their nutrition level, the female rabbit would not be able to bear it, and there wouldn¡¯t be much milk during lactation. Du Baoqin had been controlling them this whole time, only letting them have three to four kits a year, sometimes a litter had five or six kits, sometimes seven or eight, and the most they had at a time was eleven kits.


    If there were too many rabbits, they would not be able to completely care for them, and often a few would die, so it did not mean that more would be better. This time, eight kits were born. If they could survive until weaning, Zhang Xiaohua wouldn¡¯t have to worry about eggs for the whole month.


    For a while now, Jiang Rui had been digging for rabbit grass more diligently. She had almost gone through the entire back mountain, and she could be seen from time to time, on the roadside near the ridge. Sometimes she went to the river to wash clothes, and when she came back, she would be holding a handful of dandelions.


    After exchanging for the eggs and brown sugar, they would be solemnly placed in the rice jar by Wang Tonghua, and no one could touch them without permission.


    A few days later, Zhang Xiaohua had abdominal pains and she gave birth to a girl at home.


    The Zhang family came the next day. Her mother and sister-in-law were both carrying a cloth bag, each full of clothes that were sewed using old cloth, for the child. After entering the house, they pulled out a bag of dried longan from the bottom of the bag.


    Zhang Xiaohua¡¯s eyes turned red when she saw this. The conditions of her maiden family were not much different from that of the Du family. To obtain this package of longan, she did not know how much effort it took for her family.


    The addition of this new child had added a lot of things and increased the workload thus, the Du family divided the work among themselves. Du Youfu and Du Baoqiang would go to the brigade and dig canals during the day. After work, they were responsible for filling the large water tank at home, and they also had to take care of the private plot of land in the backyard. Jiang Rui still took care of the few rabbits, as well as, the three meals for the family. Wang Tonghua had experience, hence she slept with Zhang Xiaohua at night, helped her to take care of the child, and washed diapers during the day.


    Zhang Xiaohua could not go out and she ate all the meals in her room. Every morning, she had a bowl of brown sugar millet porridge and a steamed egg. At noon she would have egg custard with rice, and in the evening, other than the usual meal, she would have an additional bowl of longan brown sugar water. Every other day, Jiang Rui would go to the fisherman¡¯s house to pick up a crucian carp and stewed soup for her so that she could have enough milk to breastfeed.


    Although such meals were not comparable to that of a wealthy family, it was within the Du family¡¯s best capabilities. These days, the whole family had tightened their belts, as they prioritized the mother and her child.


    On Friday night, when Du Baozhen returned home, after seeing her little niece, she was led to the kitchen by the sweet aroma.


    Jiang Rui had just stewed the longan and was about to bring it to the room. When she turned around, she saw Du Baozhen standing behind her, staring at the bowl in her hands, while she swallowed her saliva.


    ¡°You came back pretty early this week. Go wash your face first, we are having dinner soon.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Du Baozhen responded, but she did not move. She stayed in school this semester as her academic tasks were heavier than before, but the food there was not as good as the food from home. She used to think that the pumpkin porridge at home was made with saccharin, hence was not as flavorful as white sugar, but now all day long, her mouth felt so bland that she had to suck her fingers. (T/N: that¡¯s what it says in the original text, but I don¡¯t know why she would suck her fingers  ¨r(¨s?¨t)¨q )


    Jiang Rui saw the greed in her eyes, she said helplessly, ¡°This longan was sent by our sister-in-law¡¯s maiden family to nourish her body, we can¡¯t eat it.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Du Baozhen took two deep breaths and with a look of longing, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll just smell it, sister, don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    Jiang Rui went into the house and when she came back, Du Baozhen was still scenting the residual sweetness in the kitchen, looking gluttonous and pitiful.


    She shook her head, took out the jar of brown sugar, and looked at it. She found a fingernail-sized piece and stuffed it into Du Baozhen¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Mmm¡­..it¡¯s delicious!¡± Du Baozhen squinted her eyes and said sweetly, ¡°It¡¯s still my sister who loves me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go set the table, then ask dad, mom, and brother to eat.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, okay.¡± She got what she wanted, and ran outside while bouncing around with joy.


    Du Baozhen¡¯s greed and cravings lasted till Zhang Xiaohua was out of confinement and only eased when her family took care of her.


    At the end of the year, the commune distributed grain dividends. Other than money, they also distributed several cloth and cotton tickets to each family.


    When Wang Tonghua and the rest of the family were present at the dinner table, she talked about how the tickets would be usedÒ»Ò»when it came to the cloth tickets, she glanced at Jiang Rui with happiness on her face, ¡°This year¡¯s cloth tickets will be used to make new clothes for Baoqin, and everyone elses¡¯ will be pushed back.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there more? Mom, I also want to make new clothes.¡± Du Baozhen pulled on Wang Tonghua¡¯s hand and acted like a spoiled child.


    Wang Tonghua glared at her weakly, ¡°Baoqin is making new clothes because she has to meet someone, why are you joining in on this?¡±


    Du Baozhen was surprised: ¡°Sister is meeting someone? Why am I not aware of this?!¡±


    ¡°You, this child, just need to focus on your studies, why do you need to know?¡± Wang Tonghua ignored her and turned to instruct Jiang Rui: ¡°Tomorrow, go to the commune, sell the rabbit furs, and buy some cloth and cotton back. If we are too late, the good designs and colors would¡¯ve been chosen by others.¡±


    Jiang Rui nodded, and seeing Du Baozhen pouting unhappily, she softly persuaded: ¡°Xiao Shanzha does not have any new cotton-padded clothes yet, the extra cloth would first be used to make her one. You are now an aunt, you have to give way to your little niece.¡±


    Xiao Shanzha was the nickname of the Du family¡¯s newly added granddaughter and she had not yet been given an official name. Hearing Jiang Rui¡¯s words, Zhang Xiaohua glanced at her gratefully.


    After eating, Du Baozhen followed Jiang Rui into the kitchen, ¡°Sister, who are you meeting? Are they in the same brigade as us?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Jiang Rui said truthfully, ¡°It¡¯s Zhao Nan who saved you before.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s him?¡± Du Baozhen was surprised, ¡°How could it be him? Does sister know him?¡±


    ¡°Help me start the fire first.¡± Jiang Rui put the tableware and chopsticks into the pot, added half a pot of water, directed Du Baozhen to boil the water, then said, ¡°We¡¯re not quite acquainted.¡±


    Du Baozhen sat down and put some firewood into the stove. Hearing her answer, she frowned, ¡°You don¡¯t know him, then isn¡¯t it strange to meet him? Sister, why don¡¯t you choose someone you like?¡±


    Jiang Rui just smiled and shook her head.


    Du Baozhen stared at the fire in the stove, and after a while, she seemed to be telling her, or maybe she was talking to herself, ¡°I would never do this¡­¡­¡±


    ©¦Mochi: bruh, she¡¯s marrying him because of you (? ?Ãó? )


    Zhang Xiaohua happened to be walking around the yard with her child and she heard the conversation between the two. She snorted in her heart and went back to the room. When she saw Du Baoqiang soaking his feet comfortably, she felt even angrier, she stepped forward and gave his wooden basin a kick.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°What do you think is wrong?¡± Zhang Xiaohua lowered her voice and said angrily, ¡°At the dinner table just now, Baozhen was about to snatch away our daughter¡¯s new clothes, and you didn¡¯t even give a sh*t!¡±


    Du Baoqiang scratched his cheeks, ¡°Mom didn¡¯t say to give it to her.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because Baoqin spoke up! If she didn¡¯t say anything, with Mom¡¯s partiality, do you think that cloth could still belong to our girl? I understand clearly now, this Baozhen is a blood-sucking worm, sucking the whole family dry, all for the sake of supporting her alone!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say it so unpleasantly.¡± Du Baoqiang frowned.


    ¡°Heh¡­.¡± Zhang Xiaohua sneered, thinking of what she heard just now, that Du Baozhen said that she would never want to be like Du Baoqin, what a big joke. She let the whole family take care of her, study, go to university and move to a big city in the future. She was like a phoenix flying out of a chicken coop, different from them, the rural people. Of course she wouldn¡¯t have to be like them! She never even thought about, if without everything the Du family had done for her and without Du Baoqin¡¯s sacrifice, would she still be able to say such sarcastic words?


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see, have a look at what this precious little sister of your Du family can give you all in return, in the future.¡±


    The next day, Jiang Rui went to the supply and marketing cooperatives to choose a piece of cotton cloth with red printed flowers. From the taking of her measurement, boarding, and tailoring, it was all completed under the guidance of Wang Tonghua.


    When Du Baoqiang got married, the family bought a sewing machine. Because they seldom made new clothes, it had accumulated dust in the corner. Du Baoqin took it out, pedaled it every day in her spare time, and made a new dress in seven to eight days.


    She had been Du Baoqin for quite some time and she felt that this was the most interesting thing, thus she took another two to three days to finish Xiao Shanzha¡¯s new clothes.


    In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the twelfth lunar month. Wang Tonghua waited eagerly and finally, there was news that Zhao Nan had returned home to visit relatives.


    Zhang Liyun quickly came to an agreement with her, about the time and place for the two young people to meet.


    Because it was their first time meeting, it wasn¡¯t good for the two parents to meet this early on, but they could not let Jiang Rui go alone. The Du family discussed it and decided to let Zhang Xiaohua accompany her.


    That morning, after Jiang Rui had breakfast, she was pushed into the room to dress herself up.


    Zhang Xiaohua took out her dowry from when she got married, drew Jiang Rui¡¯s eyebrows, and painted a little red on her lips. It was only because of Jiang Rui¡¯s strong resistance that Zhang Xiaohua did not put powder on her face, but she was pale and white, hence it did not really matter.


    After drawing her eyebrows and combing her hair into two braids, Jiang Rui came out of the room wearing her new clothes. Wang Tonghua and Du Baozhen were stunned for a while.


    It took a while for Du Baozhen to react, ¡°Sister, you are so beautiful today!¡±


    ¡°It really is not bad.¡± Wang Tonghua said happily.


    Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said, ¡°Baoqin¡¯s craftsmanship is good. The padded coat she is wearing looks no different from others, but while they looked bulging, she cleverly tucked it in around her waist, making it look more western-styled.¡±


    Du Baozhen nodded as she circled Jiang Rui, then held her hand and said: ¡°Sister, I will be making new clothes next year, and I want the same as you. Can you do it for me?¡±


    ¡°I think, Baoqin won¡¯t be in our house next year.¡± Zhang Xiaohua smilingly.


    Wang Tonghua glanced at the sky and urged both of them: ¡°It¡¯s almost time, you two set off now, don¡¯t let others wait too long. Baoqin, an unmarried girl, would feel uneasy. Xiaohua, you are her sister-in-law, just say what you need to say, and ask what should be asked, don¡¯t let there be any awkward silences.¡±


    ¡°I know, Mom, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    The two of them left hand in hand. Those who met Jiang Rui on the road did a double-take, then curiously asked them where they were headed to. Zhang Xiaohua only briefly said that they were going to the commune to buy some New Year¡¯s goods.


    As the two walked to the commune, they saw a man standing at the bus stop from a distance. Looking at his back, he was tall and straight like a green pine, also like a sword.


    Zhang Xiaohua laughed as she whispered in Jiang Rui¡¯s ear: ¡°Is that him? He looks very spirited.¡±


    Jiang Rui looked up at him, and as though the man could feel it, he turned around.


    ©¦Mochi: they¡¯re finally meeting each other!! ¨R¦Ø¨Q


    Author¡¯s notes:


    Some cubs asked if the male protagonist had an illness. He¡¯s indeed sick, already broken into 800 pieces, how could he not be sick? Heeheehee, the male protagonist is sick, and the female protagonist is his cure.


    Author: Come come, time for your medicine.


    Male protagonist: Okay. (Happy-ing¡­)

 Chapter 7

    Both of them had seen pictures of each other, but it didn¡¯t feel the same as meeting face-to-face.


    Jiang Rui was wearing a red floral-printed, short cotton coat. It was lightly tucked at her waist and when paired with navy blue trousers, showed off her good complexion and lithe figure. On her heart-shaped face, two thin curved eyebrows were akin to the distant mountains shrouded in clouds, a pair of eyes that were like a misty lake in the winter and tiny lips dyed vermilion, at first glance, thought to be the cranberries in the mountains.


    Zhao Nan was dressed in his military uniform, looking refined and tall.


    The two stared at each other from a distance. Jiang Rui turned away first and she stared at her feet.


    Zhang Xiaohua whereas did not have any scruples as she looked on casually while walking, and she even spoke in Jiang Rui¡¯s ear.


    ¡°He¡¯s very tall, much taller than your brother. Sure enough, soldiers are different. Look at his chest and waist, he seems energetic from head to toe.¡±


    Walking closer, they were able to see more clearly, and she added: ¡°He looks good. A few years ago, the girls on our brigade said that Han Wenke is good-looking, with a scholarly appearance, but in my opinion, he looked a bit soft and weak. It¡¯s still guys like this, masculine and tough, that seem more manly. You little girls don¡¯t understand, after you marry, you will know what¡¯s good and bad.¡±


    Hearing that she had other meanings to her words, Jiang Rui was slightly embarrassed, ¡°Sister-in-law, stop talking.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, you are surprisingly shy.¡± Zhang Xiaohua giggled.


    As they got closer, they saw that at this time, Zhao Nan was the only one at the bus stop by the side of the road. Zhang Xiaohua pulled Jiang Rui¡¯s hand and walked over, ¡°You are Zhao Nan, right? This is our family¡¯s Baoqin, and I am Baoqin¡¯s sister-in-law.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Zhao Nan nodded to Zhang Xiaohua, then looked at Jiang Rui and said with a straight face, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Zhao Nan.¡±


    Jiang Rui gave him a quick glance and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m Du Baoqin.¡±


    When she finished speaking, Zhang Xiaohua snorted, then she covered her mouth and laughed.


    Jiang Rui looked at her strangely.


    Zhang Xiaohua waved her hand, and said with a smile on her face, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I just think you two are too well-behaved, just like children, ¡°hello¡±, ¡°who am i¡±, like two little dolls that are seeing each other on the first day, about to meet a new friend.¡±


    ¡°Sister-in-law¡­¡­¡± Jiang Rui tugged on Zhang Xiaohua¡¯s sleeves and quietly looked at Zhao Nan, but found that he was also looking at her. She immediately turned her eyes away, her face slightly hot.


    But in her heart, she felt relieved.


    If she wanted to restore Zhao Nan¡¯s soul, she needed to get close to him and use the spiritual energy around her to nourish him, or like what she did with the picture previously, guide the spiritual energy out from her body and store it in the object, though this method would not last long.


    The best way would be to become someone close to him, to be in constant contact, influencing him subtly and imperceptibly. Originally, she wanted to be his comrade-in-arms, but she couldn¡¯t find a suitable body, and later, she found Du Baoqin.


    Now it seemed that this approach was quite effective, Zhao Nan should have a good impression of her.


    Zhang Xiaohua saw the small movements of the two, and just laughed, til Jiang Rui was embarrassed, then said, ¡°Don¡¯t need to be so restrained, Ah Nan¡­¡­ can I call you that?¡± Seeing Zhao Nan nod, she continued: ¡°I heard that you just got home yesterday, how did you get back? How long did it take?¡±


    ¡°It took 40 hours of travel, by train.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua said in surprise, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not close at all, it must be a hard journey, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Zhao Nan said.


    ¡°Looking at your physique, you seem to be able to endure hardship,¡± Zhang Xiaohua said with a smile: ¡°Like our Baoqin, she looks pale, gentle, and weak, but in fact, she¡¯s not squeamish at all, our housework was all done by her, and all the rabbits are taken care of by her. She is capable and diligent, and although I am her sister-in-law, I¡¯m not half as good as she is. She just doesn¡¯t talk much, and she can¡¯t say pretty words to make people happy, but she is indeed the most well-behaved.¡±


    Hearing what she said, Jiang Rui didn¡¯t stop her, letting her praise as she blushed and said in a low voice, ¡°How can sister-in-law say that sort of thing¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°You silly girl,¡± Zhang Xiaohua patted her hand lightly, but looked at Zhao Nan, obviously speaking to him, ¡°Sister-in-law is being honest, what¡¯s wrong with letting Ah Nan listen? Ah Nan, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Zhao Nan nodded earnestly, without the slightest perfunctory, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The two of them were not talkative people in the first place, so when they met for the first time today, they were somewhat restrained and even less talkative. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohua was able to speak well, and she was all smiles as she spoke which did not let the situation become awkward.


    Gradually, a few more people came. The three of them stopped talking and waited a few steps away by the roadside.


    Not long after, the bus came. Zhao Nan bought three tickets and gave two to Zhang Xiaohua.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Xiaohua smiled politely and did not shirk.


    Zhao Nan waited till the two of them boarded the bus, then he followed. When he was at home, Zhang Liyun had told him back and forth many times, when going out to meet the girl and her family, if he wanted to make a good impression on the other party, he had to be proactive and thoughtful. It was also better to be sweet, and you couldn¡¯t always wait for the girl to talk to you. If you really could not think of anything to say, then you should be diligent in your actions, and be generous, always try to let the other party see the good in you.


    He merely heard it without listening to it before, as her words went in one ear and out the other. Now that he saw the actual person, he realized that the little intimacy he felt from the picture was not an illusion, and more than the picture, the feeling of wanting to be closer to her is stronger in real life. Thus, he started struggling to remember what his mother had said.


    When the bus arrived at the county seat, it was neither early nor late. If you had lunch at this time, it would be too early and if you wanted to go to the park with someone, it would be too cold as it was in the winter. As for watching a movie, no one would go there in the morning.


    The three of them were walking down the street, Zhang Xiaohua and Jiang Rui were holding hands, and Zhao Nan followed from the side. The three of them were all young people, Zhao Nan was dressed in military uniform, Jiang Rui was brightly dressed and looked beautiful, while Zhang Xiaohua also looked not bad. As they walked together, they frequently attracted attention. It¡¯s just that even if the scenery was beautiful, the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month was quite unpleasant, so they had to find a place to settle down.


    As the year-end approached, the stores on both sides were much busier than before. Zhang Xiaohua wanted to suggest shopping in the stores, but it was not up to her to say this, for she feared being misunderstood by the male¡¯s side, thinking that the woman was taking advantage of him. Although she knew that a wealthy family like the Zhao family should not be so stingy and sensitive, it was their first time meeting, and both parties were still trying to figure out each other¡¯s bottom line, hence they had to be careful.


    Fortunately, when Zhao Nan saw the Yang¡¯an Department Store in front, he finally remembered what Zhang Liyun had said to him and he suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look around at the supply and marketing cooperatives?¡±


    The two of them naturally agreed.


    The supply and marketing cooperatives were full of people. After working hard for a year, at the end of the year, no matter whether or not there were any remnants, people should always treat themselves well. The counter was crowded with people holding money and various tickets, and huge piles of New Year¡¯s goods were moved home as if they were free of charge.


    Zhang Xiaohua was stunned. The Du family also bought some things, but they could not be compared to the people in front of them. Besides, although the commune issued a few tickets, some of them were in short supply and could not be obtained, such as sugar. Those who had tickets, most of them were factory workers.


    Jiang Rui and Zhang Xiaohua only came in to watch the fun and to pass the time. They could not afford anything themselves, but they still felt a sense of satisfaction from looking at the counter that was filled with a variety of goods.


    On the first floor were cigarettes, candies, pastries, and other non-staple foods. Whereas, the second floor had assorted fabrics, wool, and ready-to-wear clothes. Lastly, on the third floor were some large pieces of furniture.


    Zhang Xiaohua circled a 12-inch black-and-white TV, carefully looked at the price marked, then turned to share a look with Jiang Rui. Both of them covered their mouths at the same time and ran away with a smile.


    At that price, even if they sheared rabbit fur for a lifetime, they still might not be able to buy it, which was simply too scary!


    Zhao Nan was behind the two of them. He watched them run down to the second floor without stopping, and as they prepared to directly go to the first floor, he asked, ¡°Do you have anything you want to buy?¡±


    Jiang Rui stopped and shook her head gently, ¡°Just taking a look.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua asked with a smile, ¡°Are you buying something for your family? We can give you some reference.¡±


    Zhao Nan nodded in agreement and the three of them walked around on the second floor. After looking around, he saw a few woolen scarves for women. According to the salesperson, they were a trendy style from the south, and every girl in the big city had one. The thin scarf was soft and warm to the touch, much warmer than the one woven with fleece, and each cost several dollars.


    Zhao Nan bought seven at once and spent dozens of dollars. Not only Zhang Xiaohua and Jiang Rui were startled, even the salesperson was shocked.


    Zhang Xiaohua had guessed a little bit, and she joked: ¡°Ah Nan bought so many, is he planning to change career and sell scarves?¡±


    ©¦Mochi: Aww, he wants to show off to the girl he likes (?}?{?)


    When they were on the first floor, Zhao Nan also bought a pack of fruit candies and another pack of toffees, then he proposed to have lunch together.


    There was only one state-run restaurant in Yang¡¯an County. Now that it was lunchtime, there were many people in the restaurant. The three of them found a table and sat down, and Zhao Nan asked them what they liked to eat.


    The menu was written on the wall, and Jiang Rui chose the stir-fried small rapeseed, while Zhang Xiaohua ordered a radish, pork ribs soup. Zhao Nan got up and went to the window to pay for the ticket, and then sent the ticket to the back kitchen.


    When he was far enough, Zhang Xiaohua sighed and said to Jiang Rui: ¡°Looking at the way he spent money just now, I was taken aback. When buying a scarf, do you know how long it takes for people to consider it? He bought seven at once, and also when others buy candies, they buy them one piece by one piece but he bought them in packs. Fortunately, I kept it under control and didn¡¯t show too much surprise, otherwise, he would take me for a country bumpkin.¡±


    Jiang Rui said smilingly, ¡°Sister-in-law is not at all unsophisticated. In our family, you are the best at holding the stage.¡±


    ¡°I love hearing this. Look at you, what is the point of you smiling at me so prettily and being such a high-hat? (T/N: this means that she is being snobbish and supercilious) You should also smile at other people. Listen to sister-in-law, don¡¯t look at how extravagantly he was spending money just now, it¡¯s mostly because he wanted to show off in front of you and he is also doing it for you. How many people are there in their family, would he need to buy seven ladies¡¯ scarves? There must be your share too. Ah, my sister-in-law is just amazing, the first face-to-face meeting, and the other party is so fascinated that he¡¯s racking his brains, trying to please you.¡±


    Jiang Rui pursed her lips and said softly: ¡°Sister-in-law, lower your voice. If other people heard you, it would cause you to lose face together with me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still making fun of me?¡± Zhang Xiaohua raised her eyebrows, ¡°I just said in front of others, that you don¡¯t talk much, and that you are not a loquacious person. But now you are proving me wrong, how are you not talkative, you are just covert and deeply hidden!¡±


    Jiang Rui smiled without saying a word.


    Zhang Xiaohua saw this, and for some reason, she suddenly felt that this little sister-in-law of hers was not that simple.


    In the past, she only saw her working hard, not fighting or vying for anything, and at first glance, seemed like she would suffer. Today was the first time she was meeting the other person, if it was a normal little girl, they would be shy and panicky. But, although her sister-in-law looked ashamed and shy, she did not panic at all. Now, with the smile hanging from the corner of her lips, she clearly looked calm and composed, like she was doing it with ease.


    She then thought about Zhao Nan, though he didn¡¯t talk much, he could not control his eyes once he saw her sister-in-law, and he kept glancing at her now and then. From his proactive behavior just now, anyone could see that he had his heart set on her. But she unexpectedly couldn¡¯t tell what Baoqin was thinking.


    Zhang Xiaohua couldn¡¯t help thinking to herself: Maybe everyone was wrong, in this Du family, Baoqin was the one that was most deeply hidden.

 Chapter 8.1

    After Zhao Nan had ordered the dishes, he returned with a pot of hot tea and poured a cup for Zhang Xiaohua and Jiang Rui.


    The weather was cold, so Jiang Rui held the teacup in her hands for some warmth. This body had a good foundation and under the nourishment of her spiritual energy, there were fewer impurities in the body. Du Baoqin used to be just white, but now she was a little paler and her skin looked clearer. Her slender fingers held a white porcelain cup, and they actually looked more delicate than the cup.


    Zhao Nan glanced at her, followed by a second and a third glance.


    Jiang Rui felt something and she raised her eyes, looking at him through the slits of her long eyelashes.


    This time, Zhao Nan was the first to evade and he took a sip from the teacup as if nothing had happened. But he forgot that the tea had just been brewed, and it was still hot. As soon as he drank the tea, his whole body froze. After a while, his throat rolled as he swallowed the tea.


    Jiang Rui covered her mouth with a smile in her eyes.


    Zhang Xiaohua saw all of this and wanted to laugh a little, but she held back and coughed dryly. Afraid that the situation would turn awkward, she looked for something to talk about: ¡°By the way, I heard Aunt Zhang say, Ah Nan, you have been in the army for more than ten years. How old were you when you joined the army?¡±


    ¡°Sixteen years old.¡± Zhao Nan put down the teacup and intentionally or unintentionally, pushed it further away.


    ¡°You were still half a kid then, it¡¯s not easy to be so far away from home. However, from what I see, other people in the army can make a trip home every year, and they will live at home for half a month to one month. Why haven¡¯t I seen you back home?¡±


    ¡°The military is different, sometimes there are special tasks.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua half-understood and she nodded. She glanced at Jiang Rui, and said jokingly, ¡°You are so busy, in the future after marriage, you both will have to work hard, living separately in two different places.¡±


    Zhao Nan seemed to follow her gaze and looked at Jiang Rui before saying, ¡°My rank is high enough, family members can accompany me to the army.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Zhang Xiaohua was surprised, she thought that if you were to marry a soldier, you would have to live apart from each other, suffering like a widow.


    She still had more to say but she saw that the food was being served, hence she stopped temporarily.


    Just now, Jiang Rui ordered a vegetarian dish, and what Zhang Xiaohua ordered had only half a meat, but when the dishes came to the table, there were no less than five dishes. Three of these were large dishes, braised pork with plum vegetables, braised pork shanks, and Jiuzhuan fat sausages. One after another, the dishes were served, delicious and savory with the fragrance of the oil. Their eyes stared straight and unwaveringly, unable to take their eyes off the food.


    The Du family, at the end of the year, had only a few pounds of meat distributed by the commune, allowing them to add a little meat to their diet. As soon as the meat was brought home, it was marinated by Wang Tonghua with coarse salt and hung from the beam above the stove. Each time a dish was cooked, a small piece of meat, at most two fingers thick would be cut off. That little bit of meat had to be cooked from the twelfth lunar month until the beginning of the first lunar month. (T/N: the small piece of meat had to last them for a month, that¡¯s pretty sad ( ¡ä?¦à?` ) )


    Normally, if they were craving meat, they could only eat some if it was raised by themselves. Otherwise without a meat ticket, even if they had money, they could not buy any. To eat in a restaurant like this, you would need food stamps for rice and noodles, meat stamps for meat, and even if you wanted to eat a fried dough stick, you needed half a catty of fine grains. So these days, people from the countryside dare not go to restaurants, because without a ticket, they would not sell you anything.


    Zhang Xiaohua only knew that Zhao Nan was a soldier and probably owned some tickets, but she did not know that he had so many. A moment ago, at the supply and marketing cooperatives, even when he took out money and tickets to buy the scarves and candies, he did it without blinking.


    Not long ago, she was still thinking in her mind that if she was given a choice, she would rather choose a man like Du Baoqiang who knew how to be considerate, than a soldier like Zhao Nan, who would seldom be able to see each other, only several a times in a year. But now under such a sugar-coated cannonball attack, she was hardly able to remain resolute as she wavered: being able to eat and drink, what do you need a man for?


    ©¦Mochi: that¡¯s right sis, food is more important than a man ?( ? ¡ã ? ¡ã ? )?


    She looked at Zhao Nan again, feeling that his tall figure seemed to be taller and bigger, and his back was shining with golden light.


    She turned to look at Jiang Rui again but saw that this little sister-in-law still had a subtle smile on the corner of her mouth with two dimples on her cheeks. Her whole person was quiet and delicate.


    She sighed secretly, how could she have thought this little girl to be silly before? Those truly smart and powerful people would never be those who like to compete with others for petty benefits.


    When the food was served, Zhang Xiaohua did not have time to think much. She almost exerted all of her strength to not let herself gorge on the food. Even then, once the meal started, she did not look up, and the table was quiet for a while.


    Jiang Rui ate her rice in small bites, eating only the small rapeseed and radish, while occasionally picking some of the plum vegetables.


    Zhao Nan noticed her behavior and immediately asked, ¡°Is it not to your liking?¡±


    ¡°No, it tastes good.¡± Jiang Rui smiled, looked at him, and said, ¡°It¡¯s all delicious, but I don¡¯t like meat very much.¡±


    Being looked at by her, Zhao Nan only responded vaguely and took a few mouthfuls of rice. He then seemed to feel that his response just now was not good, and added: ¡°Not eating meat is bad for your health.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Rui tilted her head.


    Zhang Xiaohua was even more surprised: ¡°Baoqin doesn¡¯t like eating meat? You don¡¯t know how to enjoy, is there anything in the world that tastes better than meat? Besides, Ah Nan is right, always eating vegetables, there is no oil and water in the body, how can you bear it?¡±


    Usually, at home, she could occasionally eat some eggs, tricking her stomach into thinking it was meat. Looking back now, it seems that she has never seen Du Baoqin eat meat dishes, she even rarely ate any eggs.


    Zhang Xiaohua took the initiative to pick a piece of braised pork that was thinner, with less fat, and put it in her bowl, ¡°If you don¡¯t like meat, then eat those with less fat and have more that are leaner.¡±


    The chefs in the restaurant were very skilled. The braised pork was bright with red sauce and the thick soup had a mellow fragrance. With a glance, you could tell that the taste would be very good. Jiang Rui, however, stared at it distressedly, her brows wrinkled slightly, and it took her a while to pick it up and bite off a small piece. The meat entering her mouth was salty and fragrant, with the meat stewed softly, lean and skinny, not greasy at all. It was much better than the mouth full of oil and grease she had imagined.


    The two of them stared at her intently. Seeing her eating, Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly asked, ¡°How is it, is it delicious?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s good.¡± Jiang Rui nodded.


    ¡°Look at you, how many good things have you missed in the past? Come, try this pork shank, I guarantee you won¡¯t be able to stop eating it. The two of us were able to eat this today, it¡¯s all thanks to Ah Nan.¡±


    Jiang Rui¡¯s pink and tender cheeks were puffed up with meat in her mouth. Hearing this, she looked at Zhao Nan and saw that he was also looking at her, her eyes curved up as she smiled at him.


    Zhao Nan did not speak. He lowered his head to scoop and eat the rice. After scooping twice, he realized that his bowl was empty. He went to get some rice again but when he got up, he moved so abruptly that he almost knocked the chair over.


    Looking at him walked away, Zhang Xiaohua snorted, patted Jiang Rui¡¯s hand, and said, ¡°I told you to smile more at others just now, but thinking about it now, forget it. Even without you smiling at him, he is already dizzy. If you smile again, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to find my way home later.¡±


    Jiang Rui gave her a piece of fat intestines, ¡°There is so much to eat, but it¡¯s still not enough for my sister-in-law¡¯s mouth to be busy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t say anymore, I will just eat.¡± Zhang Xiaohua said with a smile.


    After eating, the three of them were about to leave when a young man ran out from the back kitchen, ¡°Second brother, wait for me!¡±


    It was the youngest son of the Zhao family, Zhao Bei, who was working as an apprentice in the restaurant. Do not belittle the apprentice position, there were many people eyeing this position. The reason why Zhao Bei was able to be an apprentice was that the chef of the restaurant is their granduncle. The old man had no children, so the grandfather of the Zhao family made the decision, and handed the youngest grandson to his younger brother, to inherit his mantle and in the future, take care of him in retirement.


    The Zhao family¡¯s children were quite different in age, Zhao Bei was eight, nine years younger than Zhao Nan and he still looked like a teenager. Wearing an apron, he caught up to them with a few steps, and patted Zhao Nan on the shoulder, ¡± Didn¡¯t you say we can sit together for a while when I¡¯m done, why are you leaving already?¡± Before Zhao Nan could speak, he looked at Jiangrui, them both, and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s older sister Baoqin and sister-in-law, my name is Zhao Bei, you can just call me Xiaobei.¡±


    He had a familiar temperament, unlike his second brother who was taciturn. He¡¯s a few months older than Du Baoqin, but he still smoothly called her ¡°older sister¡±.


    Jiang Rui and Zhang Xiaohua also greeted him.


    Zhao Bei pressed down on Zhao Nan¡¯s shoulders and nudged him back to his seat: ¡°Sit sit,  sit down for a while more, I still have some melon seeds, wait for me to bring them.¡±


    The three sat down again and watched him run back to the kitchen. Shortly after, he brought out a plate, which had apples, oranges, melon seeds, and peanuts.


    ¡°Sister Baoqin and sister-in-law have something to eat, this is what I bought hurriedly, I didn¡¯t buy anything good, hope you won¡¯t dislike it.¡± (T/N: I¡¯ll use ¡°sister¡± from here on, but he means older sister)


    He invited them graciously. Jiang Rui took an orange and slowly peeled it in her hand, and Zhang Xiaohua also ate.


    ¡°Did you all come here in the morning? Have you taken a look around? There is a park not far from here, or should I take a leave of absence and go shopping with you all?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too much trouble for you.¡± Jiang Rui shook her head.


    Zhang Xiaohua also smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re both idlers, just wandering around and having fun, how can we delay you from your serious matters?¡±


    Zhao Bei smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s only proper to accompany Sister Baoqin and sister-in-law.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua added: ¡°The main thing is that it¡¯s not early anymore. If it¡¯s too late, there will be no bus back to the commune.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true.¡± Zhao Bei nodded, turned, and gave Zhao Nan a glance, then elbowed him in the chest, ¡°Elder brother, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Next time you and Sister Baoqin come to play in the county town, remember to look for me earlier and I will show you around.¡±


    ¡°Ah Nan took us to the supply and marketing cooperative today, it was quite lively.¡± Zhang Xiaohua said.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Sister Baoqin, sister-in-law, if you bought anything, just ask my brother to help you carry it. My mother talks about it every day, saying that my brother is a gourd with a sawed mouth since he was a child. (T/N: a gourd with the mouth sawed-off and there¡¯s no opening, which means he doesn¡¯t talk much) He only says a few words all day long and doesn¡¯t know how to make people happy, he only has strength, so you two, don¡¯t hesitate to order him around. Also, don¡¯t think that my brother, dressed in military uniform, looks like he has nothing, in fact, his purse is bigger than mine. If you see anything you like, Sister Baoqin, don¡¯t be polite and just speak up, give him a chance to be attentive and ingratiate himself, lest he feels suffocated.¡±


    Zhao Nan didn¡¯t say a word, just look askance at Zhao Bei.


    Zhao Bei shrank his neck, thinking: I worked so hard, and it was all for you, elder brother¡¯s lifelong happiness. You, old man, have to be careful and perceptive of even the finest detail.


    Just this morning, Zhang Xiaohua, in front of Zhao Nan, praised her little sister-in-law openly and covertly. Now that the Zhao family is here, they are also taking the same route as her.


    Zhao Bei said that his brother had a stupid mouth and could not do anything right. In fact, he just offhandedly mentioned that he had a great body, a great personality, and a great wallet, not to be missed out on.


    Zhang Xiaohua listened and she secretly reflected that her skills were still insufficient. Her glib talk was not smooth enough, she wasn¡¯t thick-skinned enough, and she still had much to learn.


    In the end, Zhao Nan couldn¡¯t listen anymore, he took the man back to the kitchen and left with the two.


    It was not early anymore, hence they did not continue to stay in the county, and took the bus back to Chaoyang Commune.


    After getting off the bus, Zhang Xiaohua grabbed Jiang Rui and said to Zhao Nan, ¡°Ah Nan, thank you for your hospitality today. If you are free another day, we¡¯ll go visit and say hello to you instead. Baoqin and I have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to get something, we won¡¯t be going back with you.¡±


    This was also done to avoid gossip, the two of them had only met for the first time today, and after returning home tonight, the two families would have to discuss the happenings of today. On the off chance that the two did not work out in the end, yet walked in pairs on the road for others to see, it would still be okay for the Zhao family who was on the male side, but Du Baoqin, a girl, could not stand the gossip of others.


    There were some black-hearted people, it was uncertain if they would spread the word everywhere, saying that it must be Du Baoqin¡¯s fault, otherwise, why would the Zhao family dislike her?


    Zhao Nan looked at Jiang Rui, nodded, then took out three scarves from the cloth bag in his hand, and handed the rest to her, ¡°For you.¡±


    Inside the bag were the scarves and candies he bought in the county seat.


    Jiang Rui and Zhang Xiaohua looked at each other. Zhang Xiaohua joked before that Zhao Nan must have included her share in the scarves that he bought. Now it seems that not only her, but even Zhang Xiaohua, Wang Tonghua, and Du Baozhen had a share.

 Chapter 8.2

    Jiang Rui shook her head and took a small step back, ¡°I can¡¯t accept it, you can take it back.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± Zhao Nan frowned slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like it, you should take it back and give it to your family, they would be so happy.¡±


    Zhao Nan said sullenly, ¡°I bought these for you.¡± He pointed to the three scarves in his hand, ¡°Those are for them.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua glanced at the cloth bag. Other than the four scarves, there were two large packets of fruit candy and toffee sweets. Although she coveted them a little, they really couldn¡¯t accept it.


    Thinking about it from another angle, if she was from the Zhao family, her son was already gifting big and small things to the female party after only meeting for the first time. They weren¡¯t even married yet but he had already forgotten his mother, would she be happy? Besides, these things were not a small amount, maybe the Zhao family would wonder if she and Baoqin coaxed Zhao Nan into it. At that time, even if the Zhao family were satisfied with Du Baoqin, they would still have a knot in their hearts.


    Seeing that the two were in a deadlock, she was about to speak when she heard Jiang Rui say softly: ¡°You take it home first, whether it¡¯s a scarf or candy, let Aunt Zhao and Qianqian choose first, and the rest, if Aunt Zhao asks you to gift it to me, I will then accept it, okay?¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua swallowed her words after hearing this. It seems that there was no need to persuade him. Her words, one hundred sentences may not even be compared to the one sentence that her little sister-in-law said softly. Did you not see that when Zhao Nan left, it was as if he was floating?


    They said that they were going to the supply and marketing cooperative to get things, but it was just a pretext. After Zhao Nan was gone, they also started to walk home.


    As soon as they got home, Wang Tonghua greeted them with Xiao Shanzha in her arms, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re back. You¡¯ve worked hard today, Mom.¡± Zhang Xiaohua took her daughter.


    ¡°That¡¯s my eldest granddaughter, it wasn¡¯t hard.¡± Wang Tonghua looked at the faces of the two and lowered her voice, ¡°How was it, did it go well?¡±


    Jiang Rui walked into the house with her head lowered, as if shy to talk about this issue, ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll go back to the room and change my clothes first.¡±


    ¡°Are you still shy even after seeing each other?¡± Wang Tonghua joked, then asked Zhang Xiaohua, ¡°Hurry, tell me now, it¡¯s making me anxious.¡±


    Zhang Xiaohua shook Xiao Shanzha in her arms, smiled, and said, ¡°With Baoqin¡¯s appearance and personality, how could anyone not like her? Don¡¯t worry, Zhao Nan is fine, now we have to see what the Zhao family has to say.¡±


    ¡°That will do!¡± Wang Tonghua clapped her hands with joy, ¡°There wouldn¡¯t be any problem with the Zhao family. Their family is more anxious than ours. Your aunt Zhang told me a long time ago that as long as the two children nodded, the wedding date can be discussed immediately.¡±


    After speaking, she rubbed her hands and walked to the kitchen, ready to make something delicious for the evening to celebrate.


    In the room, Du Baozhen was reviewing her homework by the desk in front of the window. When she saw Jiang Rui, she threw the book away, ¡°Sister, you¡¯re back, is the county town fun?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s quite lively.¡± Jiang Rui took off the new clothes she was wearing, put on an old cotton-padded jacket, and when bending over, showed a little skin around the waist, fair and delicate.


    Du Baozhen leaned over immediately, ¡°Sister, when did you become so white? My eyes were dazzled just now.¡±


    ¡°How can it be so exaggerated? Maybe because it¡¯s winter and there¡¯s not much sun.¡± Jiang Rui pushed away her hand that was going to pull at the hem of her clothes, ¡°How are your studies? The New Year is coming soon, and at that time, it will not be as quiet as it is now.¡±


    Du Baozhen rubbed her stomach and puffed out her lips, ¡°I always get hungry just looking at it, I can¡¯t concentrate at all.¡±


    She inhaled suddenly and sniffed Jiang Rui twice. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened her eyes and said with certainty, ¡°It¡¯s the smell of meat, so fragrant!¡±


    Jiang Rui laughed and tapped the tip of her nose, ¡°You have a dog¡¯s nose.¡±


    Du Baozhen wrapped her hands around her, ¡°Is it meat, it¡¯s meat right? Sister, what did you eat today? Is it delicious?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s meat. I ate braised pork with plum vegetables, it¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a smell again,¡± Du Baozhen leaned against her, a face full of yearning for meat, ¡°Was it that Zhao Nan who invited y¡¯all to eat? It seems that he is not bad.¡±


    ¡°Just by treating me to a meal with meat, he¡¯s not bad?¡± Jiang Rui asked with a smile.


    Du Baozhen nodded affirmatively and said, ¡°It¡¯s better than not having a meal with meat.¡±


    ¡°Okay fine, you are a foodie, and meat is of paramount importance.¡±


    Du Baozhen admitted as she giggled, then touched her tummy with self-pity, ¡°My poor belly, I haven¡¯t seen meat for a long time, I don¡¯t know if it will still recognize meat the next time I see it?¡±


    Jiang Rui changed her clothes and walked out, ¡°I¡¯m afraid even if you can¡¯t remember your surname, you still won¡¯t forget about meat.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, Sister, you know me so well!¡±


    In the next room, Zhang Xiaohua was breastfeeding the child, and Du Baoqiang, by her side, asked her, ¡°How¡¯s Zhao Nan?¡±


    ¡°What about it? He¡¯s better than you.¡± Zhang Xiaohua gave him a sideways glance.


    Du Baoqiang did not get angry, and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say before that it¡¯s not good to be with a soldier, I¡¯m worried about Baoqin¡­¡±


    ¡°Why would Baoqin need you to worry? Besides, it¡¯s too late to worry now.¡±


    Today¡¯s matter allowed Zhang Xiaohua to understand clearly that marrying Zhao Nan would be a relief for Du Baoqin. In the future, she would follow him to the army, and there would only be the two young couples outside. They wouldn¡¯t need to wait on a big family, and they don¡¯t have to look at the faces of their in-laws. With Zhao Nan firmly in her hands, she had money and the person by her side, is life not happier than an emperor¡¯s? The rest of the family, I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t be able to keep up with her.


    On the other side, Zhao Nan returned to Zhao¡¯s house and was also surrounded by a group of people.


    After Zhang Liyun gave an order, the others backed away, and she started the interrogation.


    She first looked up and down at Zhao Nan. She knows her son, and although his face had no expression, she could still tell whether he was happy or not. When he went out this morning, he was clearly a little reluctant and not very happy. But when he came back just now, the sound of his footsteps was different. Obviously, he went out for a while, and after seeing the girl, he was now willing.


    ¡°Talk to Mom first, you didn¡¯t make the girl unhappy today, right?¡±


    Zhao Nan, dressed in his military uniform, sat on the small bench, recalled a little, then shook his head.


    Zhang Liyun put down some snacks and said, ¡°What have you all done today? Let¡¯s hear about it.¡±


    Zhao Nan recounted the happenings one by one, from meeting on the roadside in the morning to riding on the bus together, then shopping in the department store, and after, having a meal together.


    Hearing him talk about being at the restaurant, Zhang Liyun asked, ¡°Did you see your brother? Did he come out to say hello?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If you are half as good as him at smooth-talking, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry so much.¡±


    Zhang Liyun shook her head and even asked about what dishes he ordered in the restaurant. Finally, she took the cloth bag he brought back and took out the contents. When she saw that all the scarves were of women¡¯s styles, and there were seven of them, she understood in her heart.


    ¡°Our family, including your sister-in-law, me, and Qianqian, would only need three, who did you buy the other four for?¡±


    Zhao Nan was silent for a while, and finally said, ¡°You pick three.¡±


    Zhang Liyun raised her eyebrows and looked at him, ¡°After I picked the three, are you going to send the rest to the Du family right away?¡±


    Zhao Nan didn¡¯t answer, and took out the two packets of candies as well, ¡°Pick the sweets too.¡±


    Zhang Liyun was angry.


    Before, her son doesn¡¯t want to get married, and she was anxious. Now, he finally had someone he likes, but he only met her once, yet he was already buying things for the other girl and it was even more than the things he bought for home. In the future, when the daughter-in-law is married into the family, would there still be a position for her, this old lady?


    Fortunately, he still knows that when he bought something, he had to take it home first, let his old mother choose, and then use the rest to please the girl.


    But she thought about it again, with the pitiful worldly wisdom of her son¡¯s mind, could he have thought of doing this? Could it be that this was also under the instruction of others?


    Zhang Liyun sighed helplessly, and she could only enlighten herself: Forget it, raising sons and daughters was all about repaying debt. When they grow up, the debt would not be considered repaid until they get married and have children. Expecting them to reciprocate, it would be better to grow sweet potatoes!


    However, thinking about it this way, she still ruthlessly put away all the scarves and candies. Meeting Zhao Nan¡¯s eyes, she sneered unceremoniously, ¡°What are you looking at me for? You, stinky boy, still have a time when you need to use me. Now you wish to go to someone¡¯s house to show courtesy, you haven¡¯t even agreed on a date and you still had to see if others would allow you. If I didn¡¯t take the initiative to visit them and talk about your marriage, didn¡¯t help you two get together, would there be a daughter-in-law for you to marry? Dream on.¡±


    Zhao Nan watched his mother take everything away, sat alone for a while, then silently got up to chop wood.


    In the room, Zhao Qianqian, with toffee in her mouth, looked at the yard through the window for a while, then turned to Zhang Liyun and said, ¡°Mom, Second Brother won¡¯t be angry, right?¡±


    ¡°He dares?¡± Zhang Liyun did not lift her head as she looked through the cabinet for their birth dates and eight characters, ¡°It is said that the tide turns. Last night, I went to great lengths to get him to meet the other party. Today, it¡¯s his turn to beg me. If he dares to give me attitude, I¡¯ll be cold to him for two more days and we¡¯ll see if he¡¯s in a hurry or I¡¯m in a hurry.¡±


    Zhao Qianqian stuck out her tongue and whispered, ¡°Older gingers are spicier, can¡¯t afford to offend.¡±


    Zhang Liyun glanced over, ¡°Don¡¯t think your mother is blind and deaf, I¡¯m not old yet. You little girl, too, whoever you like in the future, come back home, politely serve your mother tea, massage my shoulders, knead my legs. When you make me happy, then I¡¯ll consider whether or not to approve your marriage.¡±


    ¡°Mom, you¡¯re an old lady of the feudal society!¡± Zhao Qianqian was speechless.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather be that old lady, whoever is not pleasing to the eye will be served by the family law, and those who do not obey will be subdued one by one, see who dares to give me an attitude.¡±


    Zhao Qianqian patted her small chest and shook her head, feeling that her mother was a little possessed. Looking around again, she saw her second brother who was in the yard chopping firewood like tofu, and she shook his head again. It seems that this future second sister-in-law was not easy, and only after one meeting had bewitched both of them.


    Zhang Liyun finally found the eight characters, and when she saw Qianqian shaking her head and muttering, she came over and flicked on her forehead, ¡°What are you mumbling about, go to the yard and tell your second brother to stop chopping, the ground of our house is not that strong, I¡¯m afraid he will split open the floor.¡±


    When she turned around, she muttered again, ¡°If his hand was hurt, would it not make this old mother feel bad. If you had the ability, go play dumb in front of the girl, if you are able to make people feel distressed and worry, then it¡¯s a skill.¡±


    She pinched the red paper and looked at it, planning to go to the Du¡¯s house after dark. Her son was old enough and not to be kept by her side, most importantly, he couldn¡¯t be held on to, a hook from others and he was stolen away.

 Chapter 9

    Zhang Liyun had an efficient personality and she did things resolutely. That night, she and Zhao Daqiu went to Du¡¯s house and chatted with Du Youfu and his wife for a long time.


    The juniors were not allowed to be present. Jiang Rui was stitching an old shirt in the house. When she went up to the mountain to collect firewood today, a seam was ripped through her clothes by the thorns.


    Du Baozhen was leaning over the desk, hiding secretively and covertly, not sure what she was up to. Once in a while, she would look back at her movements, as if she was afraid of being seen by her.


    Jiang Rui knew that she had been in constant contact with Han Wenke, and looking at it right now, she was most likely writing letters to him.


    After a long time, there were noises outside. Zhang Liyun and Zhao Daqiu said their goodbyes as Wang Tonghua sent them to the door, and she called Jiang Rui after returning to the house.


    ¡°Girl, your Uncle Zhao, and the others came just now. They said that Zhao Nan likes you very much and the Zhao family is also very satisfied with you. You know the conditions of his family, there is no second family in the brigade that is better. Compared to our family, we are the ones to have climbed the social ladder. So, your dad and I thought about it, there¡¯s nothing to pick on, this marriage will be settled, what do you think?¡±


    Jiang Rui lowered her head and said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t have any objections.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tonghua smiled happily, and added, ¡°There¡¯s one more thing. Originally, your dad and I thought that there was no hurry. Three to five months or half a year is fine, but Ah Nan¡¯s situation is different from others. This time he came back to visit relatives but the next time he comes back will be a year later. So, the Zhao family¡¯s intention is that the sooner the better, best if the marriage can be settled before Ah Nan returns to the army this time. Time is tight, but your Aunt Zhang also said that their family will prepare all the things that should be prepared. The three major things, furniture, and bed, what others have when they get married, you will also have. Although Mom feels a little anxious, thinking about Ah Nan¡¯s age, delaying for a year is another year of waiting, what do you think?¡±


    Time was indeed a bit rushed, when they met that day, Zhao Nan mentioned that his leave of absence for visiting relatives this time was only for a month. In other words, if the two decided to get married now, it must be done within a month. You must know that, normally when people get married, from seeing each other till setting a date, then to the real wedding, it would take at least half a year.


    But Jiang Rui had no intention of delaying, the more time passed, the greater the variable.


    Even so, she could not agree immediately, otherwise, in the eyes of others, she would seem too urgent.


    She raised her head to look at Wang Tonghua, frowning with awkwardness: ¡°Mom, can I think about it for one night?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tonghua said quickly, ¡°This is a big deal, you have to think about it carefully. Don¡¯t worry, if you seriously think that it¡¯s not possible, Mom will go to Zhao¡¯s house and talk to them, let them push back the marriage.¡±


    That night, Jiang Rui slept peacefully, and the next day told Wang Tonghua that she agreed.


    The marriage between the Zhao family and the Du family was then brought out into the open, and the people in the brigade also got the news.


    Now, when Jiang Rui met people on the road, everyone would tease her a little, but she would only lower her head slightly, with a shy smile on the corner of her mouth.


    Seeing that she was well-behaved and shy, the people around her felt a little bad, talking and laughing it off, but their hearts were full of emotion, an old bamboo like Du Youfu, could produce such a tender bamboo shoot.


    Some people say that the Du family and the Zhao family were not compatible just by looking at their family background, but the daughter of the Du family and the son of the Zhao family were very compatible.


    There was a local tradition. After the two families verbally confirmed the marriage, the relatives of both parties should accompany each other to visit the other¡¯s home.


    The people on the female¡¯s side would mainly look at the male¡¯s house and their patrimony, to see if the young man was capable. Whereas, when the man visits the woman¡¯s house, he would see if the house was clean and tidy, whether the girl was diligent, and whether she loves cleanliness.


    Once both sides had finished observing each other, the two young people¡¯s birthdates and eight characters would be used to count the days. After that, the man would prepare the three major items and send the betrothal gifts to the woman¡¯s house to conclude the marriage.


    A few days before the New Year, Jiang Rui, Wang Tonghua, and several aunts from the Du family¡¯s side went to Zhao¡¯s house.


    The aunt of the Du family was born with a loud voice, she shouted from outside the yard: ¡°Sister Liyun, we have come to your house to ask for some tea!¡±


    The Zhao family greeted them almost immediately.


    Jiang Rui saw Zhao Nan, who was standing behind Zhang Liyun, wearing a pair of military trousers, a white shirt, and a gray sweater with the cuffs rolled up, revealing a strong forearm.


    The Zhao family invited the guests to sit in the main room and brought two large trays of peanuts, melon seeds, and fruits.


    Jiang Rui initially stood behind her elders, but she was suddenly pushed to the front by her aunt. Her aunt laughed and said, ¡°We brought Baoqin for you all to take a look, where is Ah Nan?¡±


    Thus, Zhao Nan was also pushed out. The two stood face to face, Jiang Rui was blushing and didn¡¯t dare look up, while Zhao Nan was standing up straight.


    The surrounding elders saw this and laughed even more cheerfully.


    In the end, it was Zhang Liyun who diffused the awkwardness. Ultimately, today was a confrontation between two relatives and it had nothing to do with them, the parties involved. Hence, she asked Zhao Nan to take Jiang Rui out for a walk.


    After leaving the main room, Jiang Rui raised her head and looked at Zhao Nan: ¡°Let¡¯s go to the dam to take a look?¡±


    Zhao Nan was thinking about where to take her and after hearing her proposal, he agreed immediately.


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Seeing that he was about to go out, Jiang Rui said again, ¡°Would you like to put on your coat? It¡¯s windy outside, don¡¯t catch a cold.¡±


    ¡°Okay, wait a moment.¡± Zhao Nan strode back into the house and took his jacket. Before leaving, he suddenly remembered something and walked back into the house again.


    The Zhao house was on the reservoir and they had to walk down a gentle slope to reach the dam. In the summer, the dam was a good place for people to enjoy the shade, but there were not many people in this season.


    The two walked side by side, with an arm¡¯s length in between them. They walked halfway across the dam without speaking.


    The cold wind was blowing on her face and it was a little cold. Jiang Rui suddenly stopped.


    Although Zhao Nan was staring straight ahead, he was paying attention to her movements through his peripheral vision. Seeing that she stopped, he immediately followed and turned to look at her.


    He was a head taller than her. Jiang Rui had to raise her head slightly when she looked at him, while Zhao Nan had to bow his head.


    They looked at each other, his eyes wandering away unnaturally, but floated back in the next moment, and when he found that she was still looking at him, he immediately glanced away.


    Jiang Rui smiled and laughed softly.


    Zhao Nan pursed his lips tightly, and the corners of his mouth almost became a straight line. People who didn¡¯t know would think that he was angry, but if you looked closely, you could see that his ears were red.


    ¡°Where are you taking me? Don¡¯t you have anything to say to me?¡± Jiang Rui asked him softly.


    Zhao Nan¡¯s throat slid up and down, and he, who cherished his words like gold, spat out, ¡°Yes.¡±


    He stretched out his left hand that had always been in his pocket, spreading out in front of Jiang Rui, and in his palm was a handful of toffee that was a little out of shape from his clenching.


    ¡°Would you like some candy?¡± He asked.


    Jiang Rui was stunned for a moment: ¡°You didn¡¯t speak just now, because you were thinking if I would like to have some candy?¡±


    Zhao Nan answered evasively, ¡°Qianqian said it¡¯s good.¡± The two packs of candy were stored away by his mother, he doesn¡¯t know where she put them and these were taken from Zhao Qianqian just now.


    He thought about it for a while and then said, ¡°The scarves and candies were taken away by my mother. I¡¯ll buy it again next time.¡±


    So he kept silent because the gift he planned to give her was confiscated, and he felt a little embarrassed? Maybe because he thinks that she lost her trust in him, and felt that he lost his face?


    Jiang Rui picked up a candy with a smile, peeled off the outer wrapping paper, and there was a layer of glutinous rice paper inside. She ate the white toffee candy, together with the glutinous rice paper. The sweetness spread in her mouth, followed by a milky fragrance.


    ¡°It¡¯s sweet, very delicious.¡± Jiang Rui said with her eyes curved, her cheeks puffed up with the candy.


    Zhao Nan didn¡¯t speak, he stared at her blushing face for a while, then suddenly moved. He peeled off the wrapping paper of all the toffee candies in his hand and handed it to Jiang Rui.


    There were seven or eight of them. If they were eaten in one go, it would be cloyingly sweet.


    Jiang Rui stood on tiptoes, stretched out a slim white finger, poked a few times in his palm, and divided the candies into two. She looked up at him and said, ¡°Half for you, half for me.¡±


    Zhao Nan didn¡¯t like sweets but under her gaze, he just nodded.


    The two of them shared the sweets while not far away, at the Zhao house, Zhao Qianqian, who was hiding from the guests, went back to her room to secretly eat some candy. She stretched out her hand to touch under the pillow, and she was stunned, ¡°Where are my candies?!¡±

 Chapter 10

    The relatives of the Du family were satisfied with the Zhao family. When the other people in the brigade lived in houses made of mud and stones, the Zhao family had already built a brick house. The house was spacious, bright, and had four to five rooms. Other than Zhao Daqiu and his wife, each of the other children had their own rooms, and there was no need to squeeze with each other.


    Their family background was adequate and Zhao Nan himself also did not fall short. At that time, the young man was only fifteen or sixteen years old, other peers of his age were still idle, but he went thousands of miles from home to join the army. Now, every one of his childhood companions was working in the field for food, but he already had a high military rank. It was said that with his allowance alone, supporting a family would not be a problem. More importantly, after he got married, he had the qualifications to let his family accompany him to the army. With just this, how many families who also had people in the army were envious?


    After leaving the Zhao family, several women said that Wang Tonghua was lucky to have Du Baoqin, such a good daughter. In the future, she could have a happy and prosperous life.


    Wang Tonghua was flushed with joy when she heard this. Before matchmaking with the Zhao family, was there anyone that would flatter her like this? It did not matter if these words were sincere or fake, as she felt comfortable all over when she heard them.


    Back home, Wang Tonghua mobilized the whole family to clean the Du¡¯s house inside and out, including the front yard and the rabbit cage, as they waited for the Zhao family to visit them the next day.


    After breakfast the next day, she felt uneasy and began to recheck every corner of the house.


    In the kitchen, Jiang Rui cooked two pots at the same time, one of which was slowly frying melon seeds over a low fire, and the other smothered brown sugar and jujube tea, in preparation for the visitors that would be arriving in a while.


    After frying the melon seeds, don¡¯t hurry to ladle them up, spread them out in the pot and let them cool down slowly. A slightly charred fragrance filled the whole kitchen. In the past, Du Baozhen would have been waiting beside her for a long time, eager to take a bite but now, she was nowhere to be seen.


    Jiang Rui was a little puzzled, but it was just a passing thought and she did not think too deeply about this. She took off her apron and left the kitchen, intending to go back to her room and change her clothes to meet the guests.


    As soon as she stepped into the main room, she heard Du Baozhen and Wang Tonghua arguing. She listened and it turned out that Wang Tonghua felt that Du Baozhen¡¯s desk was not tidy enough and needed to be cleaned again, but Du Baozhen would not let her touch her stuff.


    Jiang Rui knew the reason why she did not allow her to¡ª¡ªthere was a letter from Han Wenke in the desk drawer.


    Seeing that the quarrel between the two of them was getting louder, Jiang Rui pushed open the door and went in, ¡°Mom, there are Baozhen¡¯s review materials on the table, we won¡¯t understand. If we tidy up for her, it may become messier instead, which will delay her studies, why don¡¯t we let her do it herself.¡±


    ¡°You think I like to touch her things? How can a girl¡¯s room look like such a mess? Later, when the Zhao family sees it, they would think that our family has not taught our daughter well!¡± Wang Tonghua said as her chest heaved up and down with anger.


    Du Baozhen held her neck, rambling as she felt anxious and guilty, ¡°Zhao family, Zhao family, it¡¯s always the Zhao family! Just because their family has some money. They are not the emperor, why are you rushing to wait upon them?¡±


    ¡°Baozhen!¡± Jiang Rui stopped her with a shout, ¡°How can you talk to Mom like that?¡± She then stopped Wang Tonghua who was about to speak, ¡°Mom, I will persuade Baozhen to clean up, don¡¯t worry. The melon seeds and tea are ready, you can go check if the taste is alright, if it¡¯s not good enough, I¡¯ll adjust the flavor before the guests come.¡±


    In the end, the matters about the pot were more important. Wang Tonghua glared at Du Baozhen, suppressed her anger, and went to the kitchen.


    Jiang Rui closed the door, glanced at Du Baozhen, and said, ¡°Just tidy the books that are in the open. The guests will be arriving later. Even if you don¡¯t want to, you can¡¯t be too rude, you still have to show effort on the surface.¡±


    Du Baozhen stood for a while, then obeyed obediently with no more stubbornness.


    Jiang Rui changed into clean clothes, untied her hair again, and re-combed it into two braids. A hand suddenly stretched out from the side, with a small hairpin in its palm.


    She raised her head and Du Baozhen stood beside her with her mouth puffed up. Seeing that Jiang Rui did not take the hairpin, she said awkwardly, ¡°Sister, I wasn¡¯t talking about you just now, and I also didn¡¯t mean anything else.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Jiang Rui nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this next time. There are better ways to solve the problem. Why do you have to make a fuss? You were anxious and said something unpleasant. You felt happiness at that moment but won¡¯t you still regret it later?¡±


    Du Baozhen bowed her head sullenly and did not speak.


    Jiang Rui didn¡¯t continue speaking. She then picked up the small hairpin and looked at it under the light, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, where did you get it from?¡±


    ¡°One, one of my classmates gave it to me. She has relatives in the city who bought it for her, and she gave it to me. Sister, you will look good wearing it.¡±


    Jiang Rui said with a smile: ¡°So pink and delicate, it would look better on you than me. Sit down, I will comb your hair for you. The guests will be arriving in a while, if you don¡¯t want to see them, just go out and show your face. Mom likes to look good in the eyes of others, so let¡¯s coax her to be happy, and don¡¯t let her be ashamed in front of so many people.¡±


    She was skilled and helped Du Baozhen comb her hair into two braids, with the small hairpin pinned to the end of the braid.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the Zhao family and their relatives to come, and the Du family went out to meet the guests. Even if there were a knot in their hearts, they were still amiable and polite on the surface.


    Zhao Nan also came and Jiang Rui saw that as soon as he entered the door, his gaze flitted through the Du family, and he quickly found her.


    She quietly smiled at him, but he immediately turned his eyes away.


    Jiang Rui served tea to each guest, then went to the kitchen with a blushing face amid the teasing of the crowd.


    When no one was looking, she sat on the stool, resting her cheeks on one hand and holding a twig in the other, absent-mindedly poking the remaining ashes in the stove that were still warm.


    It suddenly became a little dark, and when she looked up, someone was standing at the door of the kitchen, blocking the light.


    Jiang Rui smiled, ¡°Guess what I was thinking of just now?¡±


    Zhao Nan approached slowly, Jiang Rui patted the other stool beside her, he hesitated for a while before sitting down.


    The tall and big body looked aggrieved as he huddled on the small stool. Because the two stools were close together, there was almost no gap between his and Jiang Rui¡¯s legs. If he was not careful, they would touch each other, hence his whole body was stiff and rigid.


    Not getting an answer, Jiang Rui touched his knee with hers and said with a little dissatisfaction: ¡°Why are you ignoring me?¡±


    Zhao Nan stretched himself straighter, with both his hands on his knees, his upper body upright, and he looked straight ahead. Those who didn¡¯t know would think that he was in a military posture. It took a while before he said, ¡°I can¡¯t guess.¡±


    Jiang Rui puffed out her cheeks, ¡°I was wondering if you would look for me, and if you did, how long would it take?¡±


    Zhao Nan turned his head and looked at her side profile: ¡°Did you wait for a long time?¡±


    ¡°Not too long, but I¡¯m baking two sweet potatoes on the stove, if you had come a little later, they would be overcooked and not edible anymore.¡± She used a wooden stick to poke a few times in the ashes, and pulled out two dark roasted sweet potatoes, still very hot and had to be cooled for a while.


    ¡°By the way, do you still remember Baozhen?¡± she asked casually.


    Zhao Nan nodded, seeing that she wanted to reach for the sweet potato, but didn¡¯t dare to because it was too hot. So he picked one up, turned it around his fingertips, and waited for his fingers to get used to the temperature, then slowly peeled off the hard black shell.


    The dark and hard roasted sweet potatoes¡¯ insides were a sweet yellowish-orange color. Jiang Rui took a breath of the sweet smell and then continued: ¡°At that time, you saved Baozhen. Originally, the marriage that our families are discussing now should be between you and her.¡±


    Her tone was clear and light as if she was saying the weather was good today, but Zhao Nan almost crushed the sweet potato when he heard it. He looked at Jiang Rui, and Jiang Rui looked intently at the sweet potato in his hand.


    He was at a loss, wondering what she meant by this, or did she not mean anything? Gradually, because he was baffled, he began to feel annoyed, annoyed that he was not as smart as Zhao Bei, and he was not as good at coaxing people happy.


    ¡°Why did you stop peeling?¡± Jiang Rui asked uncertainly when she saw that he suddenly stopped.


    Zhao Nan continued the movements in his hands, and after a while, he suddenly said, ¡°Mom mentioned this, but I didn¡¯t agree.¡±


    Jiang Rui nodded while holding her chin, ¡°I know, Aunt Zhang told my mother before. She said that she tried matchmaking you with a lot of girls, but you didn¡¯t agree with any of them. You only agreed to meet me. After I knew this, I felt a little vain.¡±


    Zhao Nan couldn¡¯t help but look at her again, and seeing that her eyebrows were curved, the corners of his mouth subconsciously followed and bent up a little.


    Jiang Rui however, changed the subject, ¡°Why did you stare at Baozhen just now?¡±


    Zhao Nan paused and was about to shake his head, but Jiang Rui continued, ¡°I saw it, you glanced at everyone at first, and then just look at her, why were you looking at her?¡±


    Zhao Nan was silent for a while, then asked honestly, ¡°Do you like the flowers on her hair?¡±


    ¡°Flowers? Oh¡­you mean the hairpin.¡±


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Zhao Nan nodded and asked again.


    Jiang Rui understood what he meant, and two dimples slowly emerged from the corners of her mouth. She didn¡¯t answer him, but said, ¡°In the morning, Baozhen was going to lend me her hairpin, but I didn¡¯t want it, it was a gift from the person she likes. If I want to wear a hairpin, it would be from the person I like.¡±


    The atmosphere froze for a moment, then Zhao Nan spoke, a little rushed, ¡°I¡¯ll go buy one tomorrow.¡±


    Jiang Rui covered her mouth and laughed, ¡°Tomorrow will be New Year¡¯s eve, where are you going to buy it from? I¡¯m joking with you. It doesn¡¯t have to be a hairpin, if it¡¯s someone I like, even if he gives me¡­um¡­¡± She looked around the kitchen as if trying to find an example and finally, her eyes fell on the sweet potato that Zhao Nan was peeling, ¡°Even if he gave me a baked sweet potato, I would be happy.¡±


    Afterward, Zhao Nan lowered his head and did not say a word, but he peeled both the sweet potatoes, and until the Zhao family left, his auricles were still red, but fortunately, it was not very obvious on his face so no one could tell.