The more Wang Lingling thought about it, the more she felt it was a brilliant idea. Xu Shuang was a useless good-for-nothing, and so was Wang Ying. Putting the two of them together was a perfect match.
Wang Ying, with no parents to her name—how could she be worthy of marrying Zhao Jun and becoming the wife of a future tycoon? She ought to marry Xu Shuang, that pathetic loser, and the two of them could die in poverty out in the countryside.
Wang Lingling was beside herself with joy, as if a bright future was right within reach.
Wang Ying lounged in her chair like a lazy kitten, watching Wang Lingling out of the corner of her eye.
She noticed the shifting expressions on Wang Lingling’s face—malice and jealousy that had nothing to do with her young age.
Wang Ying was a little puzzled. Was this all just because she refused to do Wang Lingling’s laundry? Did that really warrant such hatred?
Wang Lingling was lost in her own thoughts. How could she get Wang Ying to marry Xu Shuang? The problem was, her mother probably wouldn’t agree. After all, Xu Shuang still had a job in town—he was considered a good match in the brigade. He even had an older brother studying at university in the provincial capital. Old Lady Zhao was blessed—both her sons were promising. If it hadn’t been for the bit of incense-burning friendship between her mother and Xu Shuang’s mother, the engagement wouldn’t have landed on her in the first place.
If it were Wang Ying instead, neither family would likely agree so easily.
Wang Ying watched Wang Lingling’s changing expressions with interest, then slowly let out a yawn. The sun was so warm and cozy, she didn’t feel like bothering with these petty schemes anymore—she just wanted to nap.
Wang Lingling racked her brains for a long time and finally came up with something that barely qualified as a plan.
Since talking it through with either side wouldn’t work, she would just make Wang Ying and Xu Shuang fall in love! All she had to do was set them up to be seen together at the right moment—wouldn’t that do the trick?
Wang Ying had no parents. If her reputation was ruined, what choice would she have but to marry Xu Shuang?
And Xu Shuang? Even more so. He was still working at a state-run restaurant—if he got caught up in a scandal, he would definitely lose his job.
Moreover, with this plan, both Wang Ying and Xu Shuang would lose face. Wang Ying would be seen as a scheming woman trying to steal her sister’s husband, and Xu Shuang would be the fickle man, betraying his fiancée. Who knows, maybe she could even use this as leverage to get some benefits from them!
Especially Xu Shuang. After being a cook for these years, he must have saved up some money. Just for canceling the engagement, he would have to obediently pay her. She could take the money and marry into the Zhao family, and then she could also try to win over Zhao Jun’s two children.
Those two kids would have a bright future! One would inherit the family business, and the other would become a big star.
As long as she captured their hearts, she wouldn’t have to worry about a good life in the future.
The more Wang Lingling thought about it, the more excited she became. Her mind was full of plans to set up Wang Ying and Xu Shuang, and how she would spend money once she became the wife of a tycoon.
By the time Wang Ying had taken a good nap, Wang Lingling had also come back to her senses.
Under the sunlight, although Wang Ying’s skin looked yellowish, with her large, watery eyes, she still looked enviable.
Wang Lingling remembered how, in her past life, she had returned from the south, weary, standing at the village entrance. She had seen Zhao Jun driving a small car, and Wang Ying, though older, still exuded an aura that made it clear they were no longer from the same world. Her heart had burned with resentment.
But now, she couldn’t afford to hate Wang Ying. At least she had to win her over first and get her to follow her plan to hook up with Xu Shuang.
Wang Lingling carefully looked Wang Ying over. To be fair, Wang Ying was indeed very attractive. This beauty, which usually made Wang Lingling envious, now made her feel fortunate.
Wang Ying, true to her name, had a small, delicate face. Her big eyes and small mouth, coupled with her usually soft and fragile appearance, made her look endearing.
“San Ya, do you have time tomorrow?”
Wang Ying thought for a moment. How could she not have time? In the past few days, Wang Lingling had been sick, and Li Chunjuan had been taking care of her. The rest of the time, she had to work. Though she knew Wang Ying had been a little rebellious these days, no one had the time to deal with her.
She was eighteen this year and had already graduated from high school. Her grades had been good, and she should have gone on to university. But now, with the situation as it was, it was clear that she couldn’t attend university. Wang Ying didn’t care much about university; after all, it was 1969, and everyone knew what the universities were like at the time. It seemed more practical to use her high school diploma to find a way out in the countryside.
“Yes.”
She was curious to see what her cousin was up to.
“Then, would you like to go to town with me tomorrow? I’ll treat you to meat buns from the state-run restaurant.”
Wang Ying stared at Wang Lingling, feeling somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze.
It was clear that this cousin had no good intentions, but…
Meat buns from the state-run restaurant…
The white, soft dough with rich meat filling, that unique smell of flour mixed with minced meat…
It had been so long since she had tasted meat, after the apocalypse. While plants could still be cultivated in greenhouses, there was no condition to raise livestock. In the densely packed base, the mutated bacteria from the apocalypse made it impossible to raise healthy chickens, ducks, or pigs.
“Okay!”
No matter what her cousin’s scheme was, she could at least enjoy the meat buns first.
Wang Lingling almost jumped for joy. “It’s settled then! We’ll go to town tomorrow.”
As she was about to turn and leave, Wang Ying called her back.
“Second sister, how much money will you bring tomorrow?”
Wang Lingling sneered in her heart. Did her cousin think she was as poor as her? She was not like Wang Ying, with nothing.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring enough money.”
A meat bun costs one mao. She would bring one yuan, which would be more than enough for Wang Ying to eat, right?
Wang Ying was reassured. “Good, then I’ll be waiting for you to take me to eat meat buns tomorrow.”
The original family’s debts would have to be settled, but for now, she could put that aside in exchange for a meat bun.
When Li Chunjuan came home in the evening, she was happy to see her daughter had gotten out of bed.
“Have you thought it over? Can your mother harm you? Xu Shuang is such a good match. If you’ve made up your mind, just stay home and don’t run around. In a month, Xu Shuang’s family will come to offer gifts.”
The two families had already agreed on this, and it was well-known in the village.
Besides, Xu Shuang was two years older than Wang Lingling, and she was eighteen, so it was about time she got married.
Wang Lingling impatiently said, “I know, I know. Don’t say it anymore.”
Li Chunjuan laughed and replied, “Alright, alright, it’s time to get married. I see you’re finally shy.”
Wang Lingling: …
Seeing that her daughter no longer argued with her, Li Chunjuan felt relieved.
The table was empty, and only then did Li Chunjuan realize that, in the past few days, she had been so busy taking care of the sick Wang Lingling that she had been the one cooking. Wang Ying hadn’t cooked for the family? She hadn’t done the laundry either, and she hadn’t fed the pigs?
Suddenly, she remembered the task pig. Li Chunjuan rushed out to the pigsty in a panic.
Before long, her wailing voice could be heard from outside.
“Dammit! Look at how starved this pig is!”
“San Ya! San Ya! You little brat, come out here! How have you been feeding the pigs these past few days?”
“I’ll skin you alive!”
Li Chunjuan angrily grabbed the stick used to stir the pig food and stormed toward Wang Ying’s room.
Wang Ying, who had secretly drunk a bowl of egg soup, was now asleep.
The original body was clearly malnourished, with arms and legs so thin they looked like small sticks. To recover, she would need good food, rest, and the spiritual spring water, and it would take about a month to recover.
Li Chunjuan, banging the stick against the door, woke Wang Ying from her dream. Wang Ying was ready to unleash her morning grumpiness when she suddenly heard Wang Lingling’s voice outside.
“Mom, stop knocking at the door! I’ve been sick these past few days. San Ya has been busy taking care of me and hasn’t even gone out. How could she go and gather pig feed or mix the pig food?”
Her daughter took the initiative to take the blame, but Li Chunjuan kept arguing.
“Making you a meal isn’t hard! I think this lazy little brat is just slacking off! Ling’er, don’t worry about it. Watch how I don’t beat this jinx. She can even forget to feed the pigs, but how could she forget to eat?”
“Oh, it’s outrageous. This jinx killed her parents. If your father and I hadn’t been kind enough to take her in, she’d have been dead by now. She doesn’t work in the fields, and she’s just sitting at home eating her fill. She even forgot to feed the pigs. Why doesn’t the sky send down a lightning bolt to strike her dead?”
“San Ya! I know you’re in your room. Stop hiding and come out here right now!”
Wang Ying smirked inwardly. Li Chunjuan was truly shameless. She took the original owner’s money and food and still had the nerve to criticize her for living off of them. The original owner probably never realized how long she would continue receiving subsidies, but once Wang Ying took over the memories, she immediately realized something was off. Adding to that the fact that last year, Li Chunjuan had swindled the original owner’s Martyr’s Child certificate, Wang Ying was now 100% certain that the original owner’s money and food had been embezzled by her uncle’s family.
The Martyr’s Child welfare policy generally lasted until the child turned eighteen; it certainly wasn’t based on whether the original owner went to school or not.
Originally, Wang Ying had planned to wait until tomorrow to have the meat buns and then settle the score with them, perhaps giving them some face for taking care of the original owner over the years. But now, seeing how shameless this family was, she had made up her mind to deal with them right away.
Outside, Li Chunjuan was still cursing. Wang Lingling, already irritated, said, “Mom, can you stop making a scene? If you don’t feed the pigs, they’ll starve to death!”
Li Chunjuan was snapped out of her anger by her daughter’s words and no longer bothered to scold Wang Ying.
The pigs in the house didn’t just belong to them; they were provided by the commune, in the name of Wang Ying’s Martyr’s Child status. Raising piglets wasn’t easy, and if any of them died now, the commune would definitely make trouble. There was even a possibility they might be banned from raising pigs the next year.
Li Chunjuan hurried to prepare the pig food and, before leaving, spat angrily toward Wang Ying’s room.
“Ugh! You little brat, you won’t get dinner tonight! Watch how I don’t starve you!”
Wang Ying turned over in bed, her thoughts drifting to the meat buns. Who cared about food? This family had never really given her anything to eat. The meal last night consisted of cornmeal porridge for the three of them, while she had to eat a single sorghum bun.
She still had two eggs left, which she would use to make some egg soup later.
After all, she was a disaster in the kitchen; the only thing she could manage was egg soup. She was saving her strength for tomorrow’s meat buns!
It seemed that Li Chunjuan was determined to starve Wang Ying, as she didn’t come to call her for dinner that night.
Wang Ying could hear her uncle’s voice outside, seemingly asking why she hadn’t come out for dinner, but there was no further conversation.
Wang Ying understood. Among this family, Li Chunjuan had been the harshest toward the original owner. Her uncle, Wang Yongshun, was a simple man with a good reputation in the commune.
In the original memories, whenever Li Chunjuan scolded the original owner or refused to let her eat, Wang Yongshun would always step in to smooth things over. Occasionally, he would secretly bring her one or two sorghum buns.
But Wang Ying didn’t think this way. If they truly considered the original owner family, could they not control Li Chunjuan? Even if Li Chunjuan didn’t hit or scold the original owner, how could her “honest and simple” uncle not notice the problem with having two different meals at the same table?
Wang Ying narrowed her eyes in the darkness. Dealing with Li Chunjuan was not a difficult task. After all, she was in the right. But sometimes, the world itself was troublesome.
To outsiders, she always seemed to benefit from the care of these two relatives. Over the past few years, without parents, her uncle’s family had still let her study all the way to high school. This was a rare thing in the entire commune.
It could be imagined that if this issue were to get out, some people would inevitably say, “Your uncle took care of you until high school; you should be grateful.”
Wang Ying rolled over, putting those thoughts aside for now. No matter what, tomorrow she would get to eat meat buns!
I am just a novice translator and Chinese is not my native language. I try my best to translate the chapters as accurate as possible.
If there are any mistakes then kindly comment and remind me. Your support means a lot.
