The old lady was relentless, insisting that he become a widow for her dead son.
Because he had no family, no one to help him — although the people of Fenshan Village thought the old lady was heartless, they didn’t want to get involved in the mess. They chose to stand by and watch the spectacle.
Even the conscience-stricken village chief felt helpless.
If he gave in, then this innocent child — even without having gone through the wedding ceremony — would be married off to the dead Gong eldest for the rest of her life.
Lu Youling looked up at the shrewish old lady and the indifferent villagers. A wave of despair washed over him. He wished someone would come to save him, but he also knew how slim that possibility was.
Was I transmigrated into this world just to be a beggar, to lose my family, to suffer hunger and cold, and finally to be locked away in a feudal courtyard for the rest of my life?
Why is heaven treating me like this?
Lu Youling clenched his fists. His head was foggy from low blood sugar.
Am I going to die?
Lu Youling’s stubborn eyes closed. He laughed bitterly to himself. Die, then… maybe if I die, I’ll transmigrate back…
In those two years of begging, Lu Youling had stuffed even grass into his mouth. In winter, his body was covered in sores, his ears and toes rotting from frostbite.
In summer, he fainted from the heat, stank, was chased away and beaten everywhere he went.
You could say he — a modern person — had tasted every kind of hardship.
Enough…
Lu Youling closed his eyes in despair.
I’ve had enough… Let me end it here…
But just then, the village chief — who had been smoking his pipe in frustration — spotted Gong Ze outside the crowd.
His eyes lit up.
Gong Er was educated — literate, reasonable. Even if no one knew whether he was a good person, if he could sympathize even a little with this girl, maybe she could still be saved.
So the village chief immediately waved at Gong Ze and shouted like he’d seen a savior: “Gong Er!”
In an instant, everyone’s gazes followed where the village chief was waving.
Gong Ze: …
If you watch the drama, eventually you get pulled in.
Seeing the dignified, handsome man, the villagers of Fenshan Village restrained their gossipy chatter. The old lady’s expression shifted. Before Gong Ze could react, the village chief came scurrying over, grabbed Gong Ze’s hand, and dragged him to the front of the crowd.
“Gong Er, perfect timing — come here, hurry. Say something.”
The village chief looked at Gong Ze expectantly.
Meanwhile, Lu Youling noticed a pair of leather shoes beside him. He looked up in a daze and, following the Zhongshan suit that stood in such contrast to the villagers’ clothes, made out the face of ‘Gong Er.’
It was an exceptionally noble and elegant young man.
His striking appearance made Lu Youling think, for a moment, of the big stars from his later life.
No —
Some of those later stars didn’t have this man’s aura.
This man carried the unique essence of this era — a time when the country was broken but ready to rise. It was a mix of lingering old-world charm and the soaring spirit of a new age.
Like the old photographs of revolutionary pioneers in textbooks — even through the black and white, you could sense their strength.
Seeing that Zhongshan suit, Lu Youling felt a wave of familiarity. Modern people, he thought, actually had plenty of patriotism. And they admired the ambitious figures of this era like they would elders.
His eyes reddened. His nose inexplicably tingled with emotion. He looked at Gong Ze with hope.
Gong Ze noticed Lu Youling staring at him, stunned for a few seconds, then wearing an expression that said, “At last, you’ve come, respected elder!” — as if he saw Gong Ze through a ten-foot-thick filter of admiration. Gong Ze couldn’t help but find it amusing.
He asked the system in a low voice:
“System, what’s my main mission?”
[I haven’t finished reading the mission details yet… Probably still redemption… Wait… What are you going to do? You’re not going to slack off again like last time, are you?!]
System Nǐ Hǎo Dà stared at Gong Ze with wide, wary eyes.
It looked as if it was ready to perish together with Gong Ze if he so much as nodded.
Gong Ze: “Of course not.”
He looked meaningfully at Lu Youling, who had just transmigrated and hadn’t yet become a big shot. “I already know what kind of role I need to play.”
For example, a guide of this era.
A striver of this era.
A pioneer of resolute ideals.
Just like the young people in Lu Youling’s admiring imagination — the ones described in textbooks, the ones from that era when the brilliant Chinese civilization rose again, the era of fearless, heroic youth!
So, Gong Ze would definitely help Lu Youling.
·
With the appearance of Gong Er, the villagers whispered among themselves, guessing what would become of the bride. The old lady still refused to budge — she wanted Lu Youling as a widow.
The village chief urged Gong Er to give an answer.
His name is Gong Er? Lu Youling listened to the exchange between the village chief and the man in the Zhongshan suit. Instinctively, he felt the name didn’t suit him — because the man was so, so handsome and upright.
It was no different from calling a handsome guy “Dog Egg.”
And — would he help me?
Lu Youling couldn’t help but stare fixedly at Gong Ze’s mouth as it opened and closed. He bent his thin, reedy waist in nervous anticipation, clutching the wedding gown at his legs.
Then he heard the man frown and say to the village chief: “This ‘good luck’ marriage is feudal superstition to begin with. We’ve already entered the era of reform and opening up — instead of sending a sick man to the hospital, you try to save his life with a wedding? Absurd! I didn’t agree with it in the first place.”
“Even if she has no family, she’s still a living, breathing woman. How can you just dispose of her life as you please?”
The man’s brow and eyes were as striking as they were coldly resolute.
He said to the shrieking, wailing old lady: “This is already a new, lawful society. She never got a marriage certificate with my brother, never completed the ceremony, never ate at the feast — how can you claim she ever entered this family? There’s no justification for making her a widow for a dead man.”
“Besides, forcing women into widowhood against their will is illegal!”
The old lady trembled with rage. She knew this black-hearted wretch, not born of her own womb, would never take her side.
She cursed Gong Ze at the top of her lungs.
“You heartless beast! Have you no shame before your brother?!”
“You little bastard—”
Watching the man be cursed at for his sake, Lu Youling’s heart trembled.
He was willing to help him…
The man frowned but didn’t back down. He turned to the village chief and said, “I’m the head of this household now. You don’t need to listen to her. Village Chief, could you see if you can help this girl find her family? Or find her someplace to go?”
Hearing that the girl had escaped disaster, the village chief was privately delighted that the second Gong son was a good man. He nodded frantically.
Then he hesitated and said, “But all of that takes time. Where will she stay in the meantime? There are a few abandoned old houses in the village, but they’ll need repairs first.”
“She doesn’t have household registration either. Even if we solve the housing problem, food and water…”
Gong Ze nodded. “I’ll handle it.”
Lu Youling’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“I’ll arrange a place for her to stay at the Gong house until the old house is repaired, and I’ll provide her food. Once the house is ready, I’ll give her some grain and lend her a plot of land from the Gong family’s fields to farm.”
The man sighed.
“After all, if it weren’t for my family, she wouldn’t have come here — she nearly became my sister-in-law. In the future, if her family finds her, they can take her away. If no one comes for her, she’ll have a way to live. And if she wants to marry, the Gong family won’t stand in her way.”
When he finished, the crowd buzzed with shock.
“Oh my, Gong Er is so kind-hearted?! I thought this bride’s life was over. Who would’ve known it would turn around like this? Gong Er is truly righteous!”
“See, this is what you get from an education. Look at the old lady’s shrewish behavior, and now look at Gong Er.”
“No wonder the village chief always tells our kids to study.”
The villagers of Fenshan Village nodded approvingly.
Lu Youling looked at the man’s face, his eyes gradually reddening.
The village chief was beaming, saying “Good!” several times in a row. Then he said to Gong Ze, “Gong Er, since you’re so righteous, the village chief can’t just stand by. Here’s what we’ll do — I’ll take care of the repairs. I’ll have the girl moved in within a few days, guaranteed.”
Gong Ze nodded. “Thank you, Village Chief.”
“Don’t mention it. With you in charge, your family’s future is secure, haha.”
The village chief kept patting Gong Ze on the shoulder.
Hearing this, the old lady nearly had a fit. “On what grounds — on what grounds do you spend my family’s money and still not make her a widow for my son—”
The old lady plopped down on the ground, ready to wail and make a scene, when Gong Ze let out a sharp shout: “Enough!”
In an instant, the old lady froze.
She stared at Gong Ze with bulging eyes, her breath caught in her throat.
Gong Ze didn’t indulge her. He said flatly, “We’re already in the wrong here to begin with. And right now, we’re supposed to be holding the funerals for my father and brother. Are you determined to make such a scene that they can’t even leave in peace?”
He shot a glance at the two old maids. “What are you standing there for? Why aren’t you taking the old lady inside?”
The two maids knew that Gong Er would be the head of the household in the future and didn’t dare disobey. Even as the old lady protested, they carried her away with soothing words.
“Alright, alright, everyone stop looking. Go on, disperse.”
The village chief clapped his hands, shooing the crowd away.
“Is the mourning hall set up yet? All you know is gawking at dramas — off you go, off you go!”
Realizing the show was over, the villagers brushed the sunflower seed shells off their hands and dispersed noisily to their work.
Knowing he had escaped disaster, Lu Youling strained his neck to look up at the man called Gong Er, wanting to imprint his face in his heart so that he might repay him someday.
But unexpectedly, the other man noticed his gaze and looked down in confusion. Seeing his pale complexion, a trace of pity appeared in the man’s eyes. Then, he bent down and reached out his hand toward Lu Youling, who was kneeling on the ground, disguised as a woman.
Perhaps he was trying to avoid any suggestion of impropriety between men and women.
Or perhaps it was because this “girl” had nearly become his sister-in-law.
The man’s outstretched hand clenched into a fist, the back of his hand facing upward. His expression softened slightly. He said to Lu Youling in a low voice, “Can your legs move? Let me help you up.”
The long-missed concern made Lu Youling’s heart ache.
He suppressed his grievance and soreness and let out a soft “Mm.”
The face before him and that Zhongshan suit added layer upon layer of admiration in Lu Youling’s eyes.
Modern people tend to trust authority figures in uniform. In the story, Lu Youling had encountered the protagonist gong in military uniform and, taking a risk, had saved the protagonist gong’s grandfather — feeling an immediate strong liking for him.
The black-hearted scumbag Gong Ze thought, without a shred of guilt: Sorry, future protagonist gong — that filter of yours, that beautiful first meeting — it’s mine now.
“…Thank you.”
He must be a good person.
Lu Youling, full of trust for the man who had saved him, carefully placed his hand on Gong Ze’s and let Gong Ze help him up.
Specking in a high-pitched voice to disguise himself as a woman, he repeated his thanks. “Thank you for helping me earlier.”
“It’s nothing. It was my family’s fault to begin with.” Gong Ze introduced himself generously. “Come to think of it, I don’t know your name yet. I’m Gong Ze. What’s yours?”
“Ah — you’re Gong Ze?”
Lu Youling’s brain was too foggy from hunger to keep up. He blurted out, “I thought you were Gong Er.”
Gong Ze couldn’t help but puff out a laugh. “That’s just my place in the family — I’m the second son, so everyone calls me Gong Er.”
Lu Youling’s face instantly burned bright red. Of course — how could this handsome man in a Zhongshan suit, exuding an air of learning and refinement, possibly be named “Gong Er”?!
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