“Oh, you two sisters are truly blessed. You’ve both found good matches. One of you found a soldier, and the other found a doctor.”
“Don’t even mention it. This kind of thing really comes down to fate. Our youngest sister over there is destined to marry a fisherman.”
Just past seven in the morning, the sky was already bright.
Many women, having finished breakfast, were working in their private plots of land. Near the seaside, each household’s allotted plot was quite large, but the soil was very poor and couldn’t grow much of value. Still, planting some vegetables—even with poor yields—was better than leaving the land barren.
Yun Feng had eaten breakfast early and followed her mother, Liu Zhaodi, to the vegetable plot to pull weeds and pick off insects. Not only her, but all three of her younger sisters—except for her brother A Cai—had to come work in the plot as well.
This kind of unequal treatment made Yun Feng uncomfortable. But she knew how important boys were and didn’t dare say much.
Hearing the neighbors praise her good fortune now finally made her feel a bit better. It would have been even better if they hadn’t mentioned Yun Su.
Yun Su was such a copycat. The moment she found a good match, Yun Su had to go and find one too.
Not being the only one made Yun Feng feel discontented. She herself was so capable—it was only right that she found a good match. Someone as lazy and good-for-nothing as Yun Su deserved nothing more than a good-for-nothing vagrant.
“Oh, don’t go on about good fortune or not. Yun Feng got such a good match because of her own ability. I ask you, who else here has the courage to save someone from a pile of collapsing firewood? That life-saving grace—no matter how many benefits come from it, it’s justified.”
An elderly woman nearby nodded. “That’s right. I wouldn’t have saved anyone. I’m not that noble. Ah, Yun Feng has always been capable since she was little. Just look at how she keeps everything in her household tidy. And she’s always running over to her uncle’s house to help with chores. Compared to her, Yun Su really doesn’t measure up. That one is just a lazy, good-for-nothing girl.”
Yun Feng felt especially satisfied hearing this. Exactly! Someone as good as herself deserved a good marriage.
——
Yun Su had come to the private plot early that morning with her parents. Hearing these remarks, she rolled her eyes directly.
What did they mean calling her lazy and good-for-nothing? She ate her own family’s food—what business was it of theirs?
Yun Su’s mother, already operating at peak fighting capacity, fired back: “Li Pandi, you shameless woman! What gives you the right to run your mouth about my daughter this early in the morning? Whether my daughter is lazy or not has nothing to do with you! She eats my family’s food.”
The woman called Li Pandi, who usually stuck close to Liu Zhaodi and often gossiped about Yun Su’s family behind their backs, didn’t dare utter a peep in front of Yun Su’s mother.
Seeing the woman shrink back like a quail, Yun Su’s mother gave a satisfied snort, turned back to her own plot, and told her husband and younger son to start picking cucumbers.
The rainfall had been good this year, so the cucumbers in their plot were finally looking decent. She would pick some to make a cold dish—perfect for a hot summer day’s meal.
The other gossiping women, having witnessed Yun Su’s mother’s formidable presence, quickly changed the subject, wondering what might be for sale at the town market that day.
“Su Su, take these cucumbers home and wash them first. After Xiao Ji gets here, give him two to take with you. If you get hungry or thirsty on the road, they’ll make a good snack.”
It was market day, and Yun Su had indeed arranged to go shopping with Ji Xiangtian. Cucumbers counted as a snack.
Yun Su nodded, took a few freshly picked cucumbers, and headed home.
But after walking just a few steps, she noticed a jeep coming down the main road.
Who knew! A jeep was a real rarity.
In fact, since being transported here, Yun Su hadn’t seen a single car—not even when she went to the town market.
——
Yun Su stood by the road holding her cucumbers, ready to let the jeep pass.
But the vehicle stopped right in front of her.
What followed was a scene straight out of a CEO romance novel. The passenger door of the jeep opened, revealing a long leg. Then Yun Su saw a familiar, cool, handsome face.
“So early! And you came by car.”
Yun Su’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her fresh, new boyfriend.
Seeing Yun Su’s delighted expression, Ji Xiangtian couldn’t help but smile. He got out of the car, turned around, and pulled out a pile of gifts.
“Brother Li, sorry to trouble you with this trip.”
Only then did Yun Su notice that the driver was a soldier. And the jeep hadn’t carried just Ji Xiangtian—there were three female comrades in the back seat.
Among the three were two young women and a middle-aged, thin woman. The middle-aged woman had her right arm in a sling, which looked rather similar to her own father’s injury.
Oh, right. Yun Su immediately realized who these three were.
Wasn’t this Gu Zhengrong’s mother and his two younger sisters?
Yun Su raised an eyebrow and looked at Ji Xiangtian.
Ji Xiangtian shrugged, gathered his bags and bundles, and walked over to Yun Su. “Let’s go, let’s head to your place.”
But Ji Xiangtian wasn’t going to get away that easily.
From behind came Gu mother’s harsh, raspy voice: “Little Doctor Ji, if you’re getting off here, don’t you still need to go to the village? We haven’t arrived yet.”
As she spoke, Gu mother looked Yun Su over with a probing gaze, feeling quite contemptuous.
Here was Doctor Ji, from such a good family background, yet he’d set his sights on a fishing village girl. She didn’t know if he was blind, or if the girls from this Yunjia’ao Production Brigade were particularly skilled at seducing men.
That Yun Feng, that little tramp, had seduced her precious son. And now this fox-faced girl in front of her had gone and gotten together with little Doctor Ji too.
Hmph.
Gu mother let out a harsh snort. Remembering the purpose of her visit, she swallowed the scolding she had been about to unleash.
——
“Auntie, the place you’re looking for is just ahead. I don’t have time to chat with you.”
With that, Ji Xiangtian carried his bags and walked with Yun Su along the main road toward her house.
“It’s really only a ten-minute walk,” Yun Su murmured, then asked directly, “How did you end up in the same car as Gu Zhengrong’s family?”
Ji Xiangtian said, somewhat displeased, “I didn’t want to. That old lady insisted on tagging along. I was afraid of wasting time, so I just brought her along.”
Last night, after his mother had packed up a pile of gifts, Ji Xiangtian had arranged for an acquaintance to drive him over. Carrying so many things, taking the bus and then transferring to an oxcart would have been too inconvenient and time-consuming.
But somehow, Gu Zhengrong’s mother had found out. She had shown up at his doorstep early in the morning and shamelessly barged into the car he had called.
Hmph, if it weren’t for the fear of wasting time, Ji Xiangtian would have canceled the car altogether.
He had known Gu Zhengrong’s mother was eccentric, but he hadn’t expected her to be this outrageous.
Yun Su, for her part, no longer felt any sympathy that Yun Feng had schemed against this woman. Someone like this was simply rotten to the core.
“What is she doing bringing her two daughters to our village? It can’t be to propose marriage for her son, can it…”
Yun Su had a bad feeling about this. But when she had looked at the jeep, she had noticed that the three women were carrying quite a few gifts.
Hearing this, Ji Xiangtian recounted what the deputy chief of staff’s wife had told his mother the day before—how she had come to vent about her troubles.
“I heard she found a way to get rid of that girl Yun Feng and have Gu Zhengrong go on a blind date with the original female comrade instead.”
Yun Su’s mouth twitched.
——
“Gu Zhengrong isn’t home, right?”
Ji Xiangtian nodded. “He was sent out on an urgent mission yesterday. Otherwise, given his character, he probably would have stopped this.”
Although he didn’t know Gu Zhengrong well, the man had solid integrity.
Gu Zhengrong had been transferred to the island not long ago. His family had come with him to settle in the military compound. Because they arrived late, they weren’t housed with other military officers of the same rank. Instead, they were placed in housing for logistics personnel.
The family compound where Ji Xiangtian lived was primarily occupied by military personnel and their families from support departments—the military hospital, logistics, the cafeteria, transportation, and so on.
Gu Zhengrong’s home was just a few dozen meters from his own. So the day before, even without asking, news of the Gu family’s affairs had flowed into his ears nonstop.
As Yun Su listened to Ji Xiangtian’s explanations, she began to form a rough picture of the military region here. In her previous life, she had never had the chance to learn about such things. She hadn’t realized there were so many functional departments within it.
Then a possibility occurred to Yun Su. If she married Ji Xiangtian, and Yun Feng—just like in the original story—married Gu Zhengrong, wouldn’t the two of them end up as neighbors?
Although their homes wouldn’t be right next to each other, there would only be a few houses between them.
Now that would be something…
Yun Su found it a bit ridiculous, but she wasn’t afraid.
——
Just then, a half-grown child came running toward them. Yun Su recognized him at once. “A Cai, where are you running off to?”
Yun Huaicai, only ten years old, was short and chubby, not looking like a Yun at all. Instead, he was the spitting image of his mother, Liu Zhaodi.
“Oh, Sister Su, we have guests at my house! Important guests! In a car that’s this, this tall…”
Yun Su was speechless. “They’re looking for your mother and your sister, right? They’re both at the private plot.”
With that, without listening to any more of Yun Huaicai’s showing off, she pulled Ji Xiangtian along and continued walking.
Ji Xiangtian looked down at his arm, which she had suddenly grabbed. He felt that the patch of skin Yun Su was touching was exceptionally, exceptionally hot. It wasn’t even eight in the morning yet, but Ji Xiangtian felt the sun overhead was far too intense. Why else would he be starting to feel dizzy?
Yun Su also noticed that the solid arm beneath her grasp seemed to be growing hotter, almost scalding.
Startled, she immediately let go and looked up at the man.
Good heavens, his face was flushed red again.
This discovery made Yun Su realize just how pure-hearted Ji Xiangtian really was.
“Are you just sensitive to the heat?” She gave him an excuse to save face and teased him while suppressing a laugh. “For the sake of your health, I think I shouldn’t touch you.”
“No, no, no… I… I…”
Ji Xiangtian wanted to smack his own forehead. At this critical moment, he had no idea what to say. And with both hands full of bags, he couldn’t even gesture properly.
“Alright, alright. I’m just joking with you. Have you had breakfast yet? Let me tell you…”
…
The two walked slowly and leisurely, the sea breeze blowing and seagulls calling—it was wonderfully comfortable.
But soon, the sound of chattering voices and hurried footsteps came from behind. Without turning around, Yun Su knew it had to be Yun Feng and her family.
The whole bunch rushed past her without a second glance, running off as fast as they could. Anyone watching would have thought something urgent was happening.
Following behind them were a number of villagers.
As they passed Yun Su and Ji Xiangtian, each person instinctively glanced at them. But the jeep was a bigger attraction than this, so no one stopped to ask questions.
“Sister, why are you still taking it so easy? A Cai just ran over and said a big car showed up at his house.”
Yun Huaifu (Fu Zai) came running up from behind as well. Seeing his sister, he called out to her. Then he noticed Ji Xiangtian and addressed him as Brother Ji.
“Don’t run. That car was arranged by your Brother Ji. But someone else is using it to show off. Come help your Brother Ji carry his things. Once we get home, Big Sister will give you some chocolate.”
That was right—chocolate was very rare in the country at this time. But among the gifts Ji Xiangtian had brought was a box of imported chocolate, probably bought at a Friendship Store.
Yun Su had heard quite a bit about the Friendship Store in Yangcheng but had never been inside. This area was close to Hong Kong and served as an important place for receiving foreign guests, so the Friendship Store here was said to have the most extensive selection of goods in the entire country.
——
Over at Yun Feng’s house, things were incredibly lively.
The jeep had driven in from the village entrance, and every household it passed was stunned. Many villagers had never seen a military jeep before. One by one, they wanted to go up to it but didn’t dare, afraid they might damage it.
Brother Li, the driver, observed this and thought the villagers were quite simple and honest. At least they were better than the people in the back seat.
Last night, he had received orders from his leadership to drive the son of Director Ji from the military hospital. He knew Xiao Ji, the young Doctor Ji, and didn’t mind making the trip. What he hadn’t expected was to be pestered by Commander Gu’s family.
Commander Gu was a good man, so he couldn’t very well refuse his family a ride.
“Auntie, we’ve arrived. Please get out. I still have duties to attend to and need to get back to the military compound.”
Gu’s mother had wanted to put on airs and wait until that girl Yun Feng arrived before getting out. Hearing this, she had no choice but to get out of the car with her two daughters.
She had wanted to ask the driver, Xiao Li, to come back later to pick the three of them up. But as soon as she got out, he stepped on the gas and drove off, leaving her covered in dark exhaust fumes.
“Cough, cough…”
Gu’s mother coughed several times, and then the villagers surrounded her.
They bombarded her with questions. Several loudly asked if she was Commander Gu’s mother and whether she had come to propose marriage on his behalf.
Gu’s mother’s face turned red with anger.
But before she could react, two elderly people who had been waiting by the door walked over. “You’re Commander Gu’s mother, right? Haha. Our Yun Feng and her mother are out working in the fields. Her father is out at sea and hasn’t returned yet. We’ve already sent someone to call Yun Feng and her mother back. Please, come inside and have a seat…”
Grandma Yun warmly welcomed Gu’s mother. Although they were from different generations, because her son was so successful, Grandma Yun didn’t mind coming out to greet a guest.
Grandpa Yun was more silent. He stood by his wife’s side, sizing up the three women who had shown up unannounced. He had a feeling things weren’t so simple.
——
Yun Su and Ji Xiangtian arrived home about ten minutes later. By then, the road in front of her house and the yard of Yun Feng’s house were packed with villagers who had come to gawk.
Everyone was mainly curious about what a regiment commander’s mother looked like, and what she had come to their village to do. Proposing marriage seemed a bit early—after all, the young couple had only been together for a few days.
“Hey, Yun Su, why are you still taking it so slow? There have been loud arguments coming from your cousin’s house. Aren’t you curious?”
Yun Ximei, the daughter of the elderly Aunt Lin next door, saw Yun Su’s leisurely manner and stomped her foot in frustration.
Yun Su laughed. “If you want to watch the drama, why don’t you go with your mother?” She had seen Aunt Lin already standing at the door of Yun Feng’s main room.
Yun Ximei said, “I wanted to! My mother said young girls shouldn’t listen to such things and kicked me out.”
Yun Su pointed at Ji Xiangtian. “My boyfriend is here. I can go watch the drama later.”
With that, Yun Su took Ji Xiangtian home to drop off his things.
At home, her parents and younger brother had returned ahead of them and were discussing whether to go over to Yun Feng’s house. After all, it involved her father’s own brother’s family, and their parents were there. Yun Su’s father felt he couldn’t stay out of it.
When they saw Yun Su bring Ji Xiangtian home, Yun Su’s mother made a decision. She locked the door and took the whole family straight to Yun Feng’s house.
Naturally, Yun Su’s mother already considered Ji Xiangtian part of the family. There was no reason to keep family matters from outsiders.
——
“Perfect timing. My two daughters have been clamoring for a big sister. You’re 20 this year, just the right age to be their sister…”
Yun Su pushed her way into Yun Feng’s house behind her mother. The moment she entered, she heard Gu’s mother say this.
She thought to herself, Wow. So she had come to propose a sworn relationship. Once this sworn relationship was established, a marriage alliance between families would be impossible. Among the coastal people, acknowledging a sworn relationship was a very serious matter. After that, the families would have to interact as if they were real relatives.
“What are you…”
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