The moment she saw the rabbit, Wang Ying’s mind was filled with one word: meat, meat, meat.
She crept quietly toward the rabbit, glancing around to find a handy stick—preferably something thin. The wild rabbit looked plump and round, clearly well-fed. But Wang Ying didn’t dare let her guard down.
Times weren’t easy, and people from the production brigade often came up the mountain too. For this rabbit to be so fat, it must be good at running and surviving.
Sure enough, the rabbit was alert. The moment Wang Ying made the slightest movement in the grass, the rabbit shot off toward a nearby rabbit hole.
Quick as a flash, Wang Ying swiftly thrust the branch she was holding forward. Almost at the same moment, the rabbit was struck by two branches—one pierced its neck, and the other its leg.
Wang Ying sighed. The one that struck the leg was hers—her aim had been a little off. If not for the strike from the opposite direction, the rabbit probably would’ve made it into the hole.
So, technically, the rabbit should belong to the person on the other side.
Wang Ying looked longingly at the lifeless rabbit, but decided to shamelessly ask the person hiding behind the tree to trade her a rabbit leg. After all, she didn’t really know how to cook it, so she might as well exchange it for some black fungus.
But when the person behind the tree stepped out, Wang Ying was puzzled.
Why is it this person again?
In just a few short days, this was already the third time they’d run into each other.
Xu Shuang looked about the same as Wang Ying in terms of clothing—both carried baskets on their backs. The difference was that from afar, Xu Shuang’s basket looked much fuller than Wang Ying’s.
Wang Ying didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point: “So, um… brother-in-law? Can I trade you a rabbit leg?”
Although she didn’t believe the person across from her would actually end up with her cousin Wang Lingling, it never hurt to establish a connection in a situation like this.
Wang Ying showed Xu Shuang her basket: “I’ll trade you some black fungus. How about it?”
Xu Shuang’s face gave away nothing. Wang Ying sighed, thinking to herself that while this man was undeniably good-looking, his personality was just too cold—no wonder Wang Lingling was so reluctant.
“Alright then, if you’re not willing, forget it.”
She figured she might as well head deeper into the woods—who knows, maybe she’d run into another rabbit?
“Don’t go in any farther. There are wolves this time of year.”
As he spoke, Wang Ying suddenly felt her basket drop slightly, as if something heavy had been placed inside.
She turned back only to catch a glimpse of Xu Shuang’s retreating figure.
Looking down at the fully intact rabbit in her basket, Wang Ying was practically glowing with joy.
How narrow-minded she had been!
Not only was the guy handsome, he had a kind heart too!
Now that she had a rabbit in hand, Wang Ying was no longer in the mood to gather more. She casually picked some common herbs from the mountain and cheerfully began her descent.
But Wang Ying had taken the wrong path down. She had wandered around the mountain so much that she no longer ended up on the path she’d originally used to come up.
As a result, Wang Ying appeared on the other side of the village and would have to walk through the entire brigade to get home.
Wang Ying: …A miscalculation!
She quickly shoved the rabbit deeper into her basket. Even with her limited knowledge, she knew the back mountain was considered collective property. Picking wild vegetables was fine, but catching wild game? That technically belonged to the brigade.
Wang Ying packed the rabbit in tightly and covered it with a layer of herbs to make it look like ordinary weeds.
Because of what had happened a few days ago, the entire brigade now had a better impression of Wang Ying. As she passed by, quite a few people greeted her.
Wang Ying wiped away an invisible bead of sweat. Luckily, the original host had rarely gone out, so people just assumed her shyness was from being mistreated by her uncle’s family.
“San’ya, is there some happy occasion at your uncle’s house today? I saw Er’ya just traded for half a chicken.”
News traveled fast in the brigade, and there were no secrets. Forget eating meat or getting new clothes—people even knew each other’s household assets.
The one asking was Aunt Guihua, who had always had issues with Li Chunjuan. Their bad blood went way back.
Both women had married into the brigade from other places and were even neighbors at first!
But despite living close by, their relationship had never been good.
Wu Guihua’s family looked down on Li Chunjuan’s household for having three grown men but still ordering the women around to do farm work. Meanwhile, Li Chunjuan’s family looked down on Wu Guihua’s for not having any sons.
The grudge between them grew deeper and deeper until things got downright ugly.
So even now, though both families had children, they still couldn’t see eye to eye.
Wu Guihua kept her tone light but was clearly prying: “I just saw Li Chunjuan bringing a woman to your house—are they planning to bring in a matchmaker?”
She wasn’t suspicious of anything unusual; her first thought was that Wang Lingling had come of age. Everyone in the village knew Li Chunjuan had been cozying up to the Xu family, trying to marry Wang Lingling off to Xu Shuang.
Thinking of this made Wu Guihua a little bitter.
“Is your sister’s wedding being arranged?”
Wang Ying smiled bashfully: “No, today’s just her birthday.”
Wu Guihua visibly brightened at that, but she still looked puzzled: “Then who was that woman who went to your house? Didn’t look like someone from our brigade.”
Wang Ying didn’t know either. After some brief small talk, she hurried home.
She wasn’t curious about who the woman was—she was more focused on that half a chicken.
When Wang Ying got to her door and stepped inside to put down her basket, she spotted an older woman with sharp eyebrows and thin lips standing at the doorway, brazenly sizing her up.
Just as Wang Ying was wondering what was going on, Li Chunjuan popped out from who knows where, smiling awkwardly as she greeted her: “San’ya, you’re back. The chicken is already cooking—it’ll be ready soon.”
As she spoke, she tried to tug the old woman into the inner room.
The sharp-browed old lady seemed reluctant, and before even reaching the room, she shrugged Li Chunjuan off and grumbled, “I just want a look, what’s the big deal? Didn’t you say—”
Li Chunjuan, flustered, dragged the woman inside, shut the door tightly, and still wasn’t reassured. She peered nervously out the window, worried Wang Ying might overhear something.
The old lady gave a cold snort: “What’s the big deal? She’s of age and should settle down. Our Little Third is excellent—marrying a barren girl like her is more than she deserves. How could she possibly be unwilling? Ugh, you dragged me away so fast just now, I didn’t even get a good look at whether that girl had a boy-favoring face. No, I have to go back out for another look!”
Li Chunjuan quickly hushed her: “She definitely has a boy-favoring face—I guarantee it!”
Only then did the old lady calm down. She sat down in a chair, then suddenly remembered something else and added: “But even if she doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. My Little Third already has two kids—a boy and a girl, both! Let me tell you, there isn’t another household in the entire commune that’s as good as ours. Forget just a job, my Little Third is a platoon leader in the army! Do you understand? A platoon leader!”
“If your niece hadn’t graduated from high school, I wouldn’t even have come to take a look! And let’s be honest, she’s a barren girl with no parents—who knows if she’s cursed. I’m telling you, I need her birthdate and time today. I’ll have someone calculate it. I can’t let some bringer of misfortune ruin my son’s future…”
Li Chunjuan forced herself to listen patiently and replied, “That’s all fine. My poor niece has had a hard life. Her uncle and I really just want to find her a good match. And after looking around, your Zhao family really has the best standing—so we reached out to you.”
Such flattery was clearly not something Li Chunjuan was good at. She awkwardly repeated what Wang Yongshun had taught her to say, and when she saw the smug look on the old woman’s face, she felt a little more at ease.
“We don’t have any other demands,” she said, seizing the moment while the mood was good. “We’re not some wealthy family. As for the bride price, just follow the usual practice…”
Li Chunjuan quickly put forward her own suggestion: “Our girl here, she graduated from high school. Although she’s a bit thin, she’s great at working in the fields and taking care of the household. Let’s say, for the bride price, just give eighty-eight yuan — it’s a lucky number. And on our side, we’ll provide a new quilt as a dowry…”
Her heart ached. That quilt was such a good one. She had been saving up for a long time just for the cotton inside. The quilt cover was a complete set too — not pieced together like others’ quilts, which used scraps or mismatched patches.
And now, that nice quilt had to be given as dowry for Wang Ying?
It made her feel like her flesh was being cut.
The old woman looked shocked. “Eighty-eight? Why don’t you go rob someone instead? Who pays that much for a wife these days? Don’t think I don’t know the market — I have sons and daughters too. Twenty yuan, tops! Don’t get greedy now. My son is a platoon leader! I’m telling you, my Xiao Sanzi is good enough to marry a girl from the city! And those city girls even come with three big dowries!”
Li Chunjuan cursed inwardly — then why don’t you go get yourself a city girl?
All said and done, your son’s just a second-hand soldier!
If her family situation was any better, who’d be willing to marry their daughter off to be a stepmother?
But she didn’t say those things out loud. Wang Yongshun had harshly warned her — the priority now was to marry Wang Ying off, not to argue about all this nonsense.
Still, Li Chunjuan couldn’t swallow the bitterness. Even in the old days, a person was worth a few dozen yuan. And now Wang Ying was worth just twenty?
A real money-losing deal!
That old Zhao woman kept rambling, “With a girl like yours, being able to marry into my family is like your ancestors are blessing you! My Xiao Sanzi isn’t just capable — he’s got a promising future in the army. Might even become a company commander or battalion commander!”
“If it wasn’t for that useless first wife of his who died early, we wouldn’t even consider this orphan girl.”
Li Chunjuan gritted her teeth. “Thirty yuan! You pay thirty, and we’ll drop all other conditions. Don’t think it’s a bad deal — our family’s situation is clear. This girl marries in, she’ll definitely take good care of the two little ones. We won’t be calling her home every other day. Thirty yuan for a wife — it’s worth it!”
Old Lady Zhao mumbled, clearly still unhappy.
But then she thought of what her son had written in his letter from far away — he said he wanted someone with a good education, for the kids’ sake.
Zhao didn’t understand. Wasn’t education now considered counter-revolutionary? What was so great about bookish girls?
Still, she knew her son had seen the world. If he said someone with education would teach the children well, then he was probably right.
“Alright then, thirty it is!”
She figured her son would be home soon, and the house was a mess — the daughters-in-law were always arguing, the grandkids were growing fast, and those two little ones still didn’t have a mother. It couldn’t go on like this.
Better to settle this now, and get a woman into the house to take care of them.
Suddenly, she remembered something and said sternly, “There’s one thing I need to make clear. I’ve talked this over with my husband — our family has rules. The ancestral grave already holds my Xiao Sanzi’s first wife. This new one, she can’t be buried with us.”
She emphasized, “If she has a son later, we’ll save her a spot next to the ancestral grave. If not, then it’s not our problem.”
Li Chunjuan didn’t care. “Fine by me.”
She thought the old woman was just being fussy, worrying about something so far off. Who knew what would happen by then? By that time, maybe not even she herself would still be around.
Since it was far in the future, she’d deal with it then.
Besides, a girl who’s married out can’t be buried in the Wang family grave anyway. As for where she’d be buried… Li Chunjuan didn’t want to think about it.
Old Lady Zhao was pleased to see her agree so easily.
As for the ancestral grave — honestly, she hadn’t liked her son’s previous wife all that much. But for the sake of the kids, and also because Wang Ying’s status as an orphan might bring bad luck, she thought it was safer to keep her away from the family’s grave and its feng shui.
With the marriage settled, Old Lady Zhao added, “Tomorrow I’ll bring the two kids over to meet her. My Xiao Sanzi should be back any day now — the sooner we settle this, the better.”
Li Chunjuan nodded. “Alright!”
After the discussion, Li Chunjuan even sent her out the door with extra enthusiasm.
But behind the wall, Wang Ying’s face was as cold as ice.
Even though Li Chunjuan had carefully closed all the doors and windows, Wang Ying’s hearing had become sharper thanks to the nourishing effects of the spring water she’d been drinking. As a result, she had heard every word of her aunt’s plotting.
They were going to sell her off for thirty yuan. These people were determined to suck dry everything her parents had left behind.
Wang Ying kicked a stool in frustration. How unlucky she was to be stuck with a family like this. Just for a share of her family’s “orphan fortune,” they were ready to throw her into the fire.
She began calculating her own assets. She had a house, some money, and her identity as a martyr’s child. As long as she didn’t agree, this marriage couldn’t go through.
But…
Wang Ying thought of Wang Yongshun — that uncle of hers was far more difficult to deal with than she’d imagined.
If she refused this time, he’d surely set up another match.
Once or twice was fine, but by the third or fourth time, gossip would start. By the fifth or sixth, people in the brigade would start to change their opinions — saying she was picky, or had too high expectations.
By that time, whatever kind of man Wang Yongshun picked for her, she would have no choice but to accept.
Wang Ying narrowed her eyes — in a situation like this, the best move was to turn the passive into the active.
As long as she could find a suitable person to marry first, then that uncle’s family would no longer be able to use her marriage as a bargaining chip.
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.
