Just as the three Yun siblings were discussing how to deal with Hu Daqiang, it was also quite lively inside Yun Feng’s house, right across the way.
“Eldest sister, who was that just now?”
Yun Yan immediately went up to her eldest sister as soon as she returned. Seeing this, her twin sister Yun Que promptly crowded around to ask as well.
Yun Feng had been in a good mood. But after being pestered by her two younger sisters, she suddenly didn’t feel like talking. She forced a smile and asked instead, “Where are Yun Ying and A Cai?”
Yun Ying was the youngest sister, and A Cai was the only boy in the family—the little brother born after four daughters.
Truth be told, Yun Feng had never liked how her family favored sons over daughters. Unlike her uncle’s family, who had two boys and one girl but treated the girl very well.
Since she was young, she had to do a lot of housework. She was only allowed to finish primary school. If her uncle hadn’t spoken up, she probably wouldn’t have even been allowed that.
Her uncle had offered to pay for her school supplies, but in the end, her family made her come home to work and take care of her younger sisters and brother.
Meanwhile, Yun Su, who was two years younger than her, got to graduate from high school. If not for the fact that university entrance exams were suspended, her uncle would have sold everything he had to put Yun Su through college.
Yun Feng often thought that if only she were her uncle’s child, she would surely be very happy.
Take today, for example. As soon as Yun Su got into trouble, her third cousin rushed over to save her. If she had fallen into the sea, she probably wouldn’t have gotten the same treatment.
Thinking of this, Yun Feng’s mood soured. To make matters worse, Yun Yan and Yun Que kept chattering in her ears, asking about Comrade Gu. This made her even more uncomfortable.
A good man like Comrade Gu, and a promising PLA comrade at that—how could Yun Yan or Yun Que, those clueless girls, ever be worthy of him?
“I’m asking you, where are Yun Ying and A Cai?”
——
After saying this, Yun Feng realized that her parents weren’t home either. She immediately grabbed Yun Yan, her second sister, and questioned her.
Yun Yan curled her lip at the mention of their parents. “They went to He Hua’s house. He Hua’s father came back from Yangcheng today, and they say he brought back some things from Little Aunt’s place.”
It turned out that their little aunt in Yangcheng had given birth. Their parents had wanted to go, but their little aunt thought they were useless and would embarrass her in the city. So she only let the eldest and third uncles bring the grandparents.
Hmph, it was just bullying because their family had only one son, A Cai.
Their mother had said that because of this, the eldest uncle’s, the third uncle’s, and the little aunt’s families had looked down on them for years.
When Yun Feng heard that her little aunt had sent things back, she felt a stir of excitement. If there was anything useful, she would give some to Comrade Gu. Earlier on the beach, he had lent her his clothes to cover herself.
With this good news, the three sisters’ mood improved, and they started guessing what their parents might bring back.
But this harmonious atmosphere didn’t last long. Soon, someone rushed into Yun Feng’s house through the pouring rain.
Inside the main room, Yun Su, sitting by the open door, saw the whole thing.
Even though the rain was heavy, her body’s eyesight wasn’t like her nearsighted eyes in her past life from staring at computers all day. Her excellent vision let her make out the figure.
She couldn’t help but smile.
Thinking of the plans her eldest brother had laid out, she couldn’t help but look forward to the show that would come once the rain stopped.
——
“I’m going to lie down in my room for a bit, big brother.”
After finishing their discussion on how to deal with Hu Daqiang, Yun Su yawned and headed inside.
Her body had been sick for days. After all that thrashing about in the sea today, she was exhausted.
Yun Huaimin quickly ushered her into her room. “We’ll have boat congee for lunch. Go get some sleep.”
Back in her room, Yun Su lay straight down.
The room wasn’t large—about ten-plus square meters. Just inside the door was a partitioned shower area. Besides the shower, the room held a high-legged wooden bed, a camphor wood wardrobe, and a desk. When she’d first come in to wash up, she had taken a quick look and saw that she had quite a few clothes.
It was clear how much the original owner was doted on in the family.
That was fine. Even though being reborn as a cannon fodder character was frustrating, at least her family was easy to get along with. That was nice.
In her past life, she had been an orphan, struggling hard to finally buy a small apartment. She hadn’t even lived in it for a few days before she died.
Thinking of her small but beautiful apartment, Yun Su felt a sharp pang in her heart.
Since she had been reborn anyway, she might as well live a different kind of life.
In her past life, she was an overachiever. In this life, Yun Su decided she wanted to take it easy.
Yeah, that was settled.
Yun Su slowly drifted off to sleep, imagining the path her new life might take.
…
The white noise of the heavy rain gave Yun Su a good night’s sleep. When she woke up, she lifted the mosquito net and glanced at the tin alarm clock on her desk. Seeing that it was already 1:00 PM, she washed her face, changed her clothes, and came out.
In the main hall, her eldest brother and little brother were nowhere to be seen. The earlier downpour had already stopped.
The weather by the sea was just that unpredictable.
Yun Su took a deep breath of the humid, salty air. To her surprise, she found it quite agreeable.
A large clay pot was still being kept warm on the kitchen stove. Inside was the boat congee specially left for her.
The congee was cooked with various slices of fish, dried scallops, shredded squid, egg drops, and spring onions—very generous with the ingredients. Just looking at it made Yun Su feel hungry, and she couldn’t help but devour two large bowls until her belly was full.
According to her memories, the sea near Yunjia’ao was rich in marine resources. Her family had seafood at every meal, to the point where people got sick of it. For Yun Su, who had grown up inland in her past life, this was a delightful surprise.
Just then, someone walked out of the second uncle’s house across the way.
Yun Su grinned at the sight.
——
“Yun Su, it’s good that you’re home! Chunhua is here looking for you.”
Watching Yun Feng lead Hu Chunhua across from the opposite house, Yun Su found it amusing. Pretending not to hear, she began clearing away the dishes she had just used.
Seeing this, Yun Feng stepped forward and snatched the dishes from Yun Su’s hands.
“Hey, you don’t know how to do chores. And since your aunt isn’t home, let me, your elder sister, wash these two bowls for you!” With that, Yun Feng deftly took the bowls and chopsticks, squatted down by the well pump, and started washing.
Her movements were very skilled, clearly showing she had done this many times before.
Hu Chunhua, who had come with her, was unhappy about this. “Yun Feng, why are you helping this lazy girl? She’s the laziest one in our whole brigade. A girl like that will never find a husband. You already have plenty of work at home. Stop helping her, you’re spoiling her…”
Standing by, watching the two of them, Yun Su spread her hands. She found it quite hilarious.
In her memory, this was exactly Yun Feng’s style. She always came to Yun Su’s house to do chores for her whenever there were outsiders around. Then later, people would say that the girl from the third branch of the Yun family was lazy, while Yun Feng from the first branch was smart and capable.
Yun Su had seen this kind of behavior—using someone as a foil to make oneself look better—many times before and wasn’t particularly bothered by it. After all, Yun Feng did actually do the work.
Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, Yun Su decided to observe the situation a bit longer.
But when it came to lackeys like Hu Chunhua, Yun Su wasn’t about to be polite.
——
“What? You said you came to see me about something, but it turns out you just came to pick a fight? If that’s the case, go back wherever you came from. Or did you come to apologize to me?”
Yun Su had always been direct in her past life, disliking beating around the bush. Having been reborn here, she was even less inclined to put up with nonsense.
Hu Chunhua was left speechless by Yun Su’s bluntness. She quickly looked toward Yun Feng, who was still squatting by the well washing dishes. The suggestion to come see Yun Su had come from Yun Feng—to say some nice things and get Yun Su to forgive her. Otherwise, once Yun Su’s parents returned, they might come to her door demanding justice.
She had had her calculations when she pushed Yun Su earlier, but she never expected things to turn out like this. She hadn’t even gotten to eat the chicken, yet she’d ended up covered in filth.
Yun Feng maintained her gentle demeanor. She placed the washed dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen, then came out drying her hands, her expression warm as she looked at Yun Su.
“Little sister, Chunhua really did come to apologize. This morning at the beach, she really didn’t push you on purpose. I happened to be right there and saw with my own eyes that she accidentally bumped into you.”
Yun Su raised an eyebrow at this. She looked at Yun Feng’s sincere face and wondered whether she truly believed that or if she had planned this with Hu Chunhua.
“Oh, accidentally, huh?”
Having said that, Yun Su ignored them again. She picked up the clothes she had changed out of that morning and carried them to the well to wash.
Seeing this, Yun Feng once again tried to grab them and wash them herself.
Yun Su was exasperated. But she didn’t argue with her. She had already washed her undershirt and underwear and hung them in the backyard anyway. If Yun Feng loved working so much, she could go ahead.
This gave Yun Su an even deeper understanding of the original female lead’s character.
Diligent and “eager to help others.” Even Hu Chunhua’s deliberate push could be dismissed as an accident. How kind! This kind of hardworking, kind person was exactly the type people admired in this era.
Sure enough, it made sense that the male lead, Gu Zhengrong, would fall for her.
——
Over by the well, Hu Chunhua saw that Yun Su was treating her like she was invisible no matter what she said. She was so angry she wanted to lunge at Yun Su and scratch her. But remembering what Yun Feng had said, she forcibly held herself back.
“Oh dear, Chunhua. What are you still doing here? Hurry up, your elder brother has fallen into a drainage ditch…” A passing auntie called out as soon as she spotted Hu Chunhua.
Yun Su, who had just been starting to feel bored, immediately perked up at these words.
“Let’s go, let’s go. They’re calling for people to go help.”
Hu Chunhua, upon hearing this, forgot all about causing trouble for Yun Su. She jumped up and ran outside, asking what had happened as she ran.
Seeing this, Yun Su quickly locked the door and followed along. As for Yun Feng, who was still washing clothes—well, she had no intention of dealing with her. After all, since being reborn here, she didn’t plan on becoming close sisters with Yun Feng.
Who knew if she had some sort of protagonist halo?
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