1973.
In the residential area east of the Meat Processing Plant No. 3.
Jiang Lai stood at the doorway.
The arguing inside carried through the door with piercing clarity:
“What else can we do? Do you really want our own daughter to go down to the countryside and suffer?”
“I’ve raised Lai Lai for years and never treated her poorly. Now the family is in difficulty; it’s only fair that she gives up her job as a form of repayment.”
“The Liu family at the Meat Processing Plant is so well-off. If Jiang Lai marries into that family, she’d be living a life of comfort as a young madam.”
Jiang Lai didn’t immediately respond but quietly listened, while scanning the original host’s memories.
She had transmigrated into a book!
The body she now occupied also belonged to a woman named Jiang Lai, just turned twenty-two.
This was a complex blended family with five children, and she was the only one from her father’s first marriage.
In the original story, she was sharp-tongued and scheming, always trying to climb the social ladder. Yet, she was stunningly beautiful and held a coveted job at the meat processing plant, inherited from her deceased mother.
Her stepmother had always been outwardly submissive but treated her even better than her own children. Gradually, the original host had let her guard down.
But when the local authorities called for young people to go to the countryside, her stepmother revealed her true nature.
To keep her biological youngest daughter in the city, she coaxed the original host into giving up her job, then sold her off for an exorbitant bride price.
The original host, foolishly believing she was marrying into comfort, discovered on her wedding night that her husband had a hidden, twisted obsession. Less than six months later, she was tortured to death.
Afterward, her natal family received a hefty compensation payment.
Her only blood-related parent, her father, was weak and powerless, offering nothing but a hollow sigh in front of her cold tomb: “Beauty meets a short life.”
Reading this far, Jiang Lai felt speechless. She never imagined she’d transmigrate into such a foolish, ill-fated beauty.
Now that it had happened, she needed to deal with the pressing situation: she had no idea how far along this marriage arrangement was, or whether there was any room to maneuver.
“Third Sister, why are you just standing at the door?”
Jiang Lai tilted her head to see her half-sister, Jiang Bao’er, approaching.
This girl was the beloved heroine of the original story.
Being the youngest child born late in the family, her parents doted on her, stealing jobs and fiancés from her stepsister so she could live an effortless life.
Jiang Lai couldn’t help but smile: “Nothing. I just suddenly felt a bit envious of you.”
“Envious of me?” Jiang Bao’er was incredulous.
From Bao’er’s perspective, the wide brim of Jiang Lai’s bamboo hat obscured most of her face, leaving only a slightly upturned nose and stunning red lips visible—already enough to stop anyone in their tracks. And this beautiful woman said she envied her?
Ignoring the flutter in her heart, Bao’er asked innocently: “Third Sister, what do you mean?”
Jiang Lai sighed lightly: “Your parents are inside planning to ‘sell’ me off to the Liu family, so the job can be given to you.”
“Impossible!” Bao’er’s heart skipped a beat.
Jiang Lai stepped aside, gesturing toward the door: “If you don’t believe me, go in and ask them yourself.”
Bao’er hesitated. A few days ago, her mother had hinted that there was a way for her to stay in the city, and she had been told to keep quiet. What Jiang Lai said now wasn’t impossible.
Jiang Lai coldly pressed her point: “Your mother has already given her own position to our youngest brother. If you want to stay in the city, there are only two options: marry someone quickly, or hope some factory will accept you.”
“But all the decent matches nearby have been promised long ago. Mom wouldn’t casually let me marry someone and suffer,” Bao’er said.
“The deadline for going down to the countryside is the day after tomorrow. You haven’t even packed your basics yet. Clearly, she is determined to get my position.”
With each word, Bao’er’s face paled further.
“Don’t speak so unfairly!” she snapped, tightening her fingers and avoiding Jiang Lai’s sharp gaze. “She isn’t your mother, but she’s treated you like her own. How can you think so poorly of her?”
Jiang Lai smirked inwardly. That was Zhou Chuanfang’s cunning: six years of planning a scheme where, even if exposed, others would think well of her. In contrast, the original host’s foolishness and vanity had made her temper worse.
“Besides, you’ve always complained about our poor conditions, haven’t you?” Jiang Lai’s eyes were sharp and piercing.
Bao’er’s confidence wavered: “The Liu family is wealthy, I’ve heard they eat meat every day. Marrying them would be a blessing.”
Jiang Lai’s expression remained calm, her eyes sharper than ever: “So good? Then you marry into the Liu family.”
Bao’er was speechless. Even a good family didn’t make up for being forced into a marriage. And besides, if it were truly a suitable match, her mother’s nature would never allow it to fall to Jiang Lai.
“Anyway, don’t worry. Even if you go to the countryside, I won’t take your job.”
Truly the heroine: virtuous and kind.
But if she didn’t want it, others would gladly give it up.
Squinting, Jiang Lai teased Bao’er: “I won’t believe you without proof. Let’s draw up a written agreement right now.”
Bao’er’s heart raced, but she refused to let Jiang Lai look down on her. Bravely, she said: “Fine, we’ll do it.”
Ten minutes later, they walked out of the local office, each holding a freshly stamped agreement. Bao’er was dazed.
Usually, the office didn’t bother with trivial agreements like this. Jiang Lai’s sweet words had charmed the director: “You don’t know how nasty the rumors outside are. They say Aunt Zhou wants to marry me off early just to give my job to Bao’er.”
“That’s impossible! Aunt Zhou isn’t the scheming type. I trust her character,” the director said, moved by the sisters’ bond.
Pausing, Jiang Lai feigned difficulty, biting her lip: “Bao’er also feels wronged and insisted I come here to get it stamped, so we won’t let gossip drive a wedge between us—and to slap the long-tongued gossips in the face.”
Bao’er nodded, still flustered.
The director, touched by their sisterly bond, carefully handed Bao’er a form: “Bao’er, you can also apply for a voluntary countryside placement. The treatment differs from forced placement—voluntary placement can get you a better location.”
Bao’er’s hands trembled holding the form. No matter how good the conditions, rural life still meant hard labor. The first groups of sent-down youth had tried to return to the city through connections—few succeeded.
Jiang Lai’s eyes sparkled. Smiling, she linked arms with Bao’er: “That’s wonderful, thank you, Director Gao.”
Once they left, Bao’er quickly shook off her hand and stomped home in a huff.
They returned just in time for dinner, which was exceptionally lavish—meat and vegetables, white rice without sweet potatoes, almost like a festive meal.
At the table, stepmother Zhou Chuanfang kept feeding Jiang Lai eggs: “Lai Lai, the plant’s profits are low this month. Things will only get harder at home, so eat more eggs to keep healthy.”
Hearing this, it was clear why the original host had been coaxed and deceived into marriage—she couldn’t endure hardship.