After finishing all that, Su Tian acted as if nothing had happened and went to serve dishes at the other tables. On her way back to the kitchen, she happened to run into Guo Zhiwei. The courtyard wasn’t large, the tables were crowded, and the aisles were narrow. They collided briefly. Today, Guo Zhiwei was marrying, his face full of joy, clearly very pleased with Su Lili—young, delicate, innocent, pure, and easy to deceive. Being able to marry a second-time bride who was a proper big daughter, how could he not be happy?
This time, looking at Su Tian helping out, his gaze paused on her fair, beautiful, pure, and gentle face, revealing a hint of astonishment. He stared at her blankly, dumbfounded.
Su Tian furrowed her brows slightly and shot a glance of mild disdain at the red-nosed Guo Zhiwei—his nose turned bright red from drinking, looking like he’d been hit. Not wanting to deal with him, Su Tian turned and went to the kitchen, taking a detour. How unlucky to run into him here.
Guo Zhiwei watched her leave and wanted another look, but someone grabbed his wrist, and he realized the bride today wasn’t that pretty girl. He felt a bit disappointed. He realized who had grabbed his hand, and just moments ago, he had thought the bride looked young, delicate, innocent, and pure—but now he felt Su Lili wasn’t quite as pleasing to the eye.
Su Lili panicked. She had originally asked her mother to arrange a corner for Su Tian so she could eat and leave, but unexpectedly, Su Tian showed off by helping serve dishes, catching Guo Zhiwei’s attention. Now that he noticed her, Su Lili feared he might regret marrying her and want Su Tian instead. Impossible.
Su Lili deliberately tried to distract Guo Zhiwei: “My second uncle is over there, let’s go toast with him!”
Guo Zhiwei didn’t refuse. Knowing he had to marry anyway, he followed Su Lili to toast, while his eyes kept scanning the courtyard for that figure—but after that one glance, he didn’t see her again. He couldn’t ask Su Lili about the woman either, for fear she’d catch on and make trouble.
Su Tian deliberately stayed hidden, eating braised pork head, gnawing on chicken legs and duck feet in the kitchen. Huang Guifei helped her pile her plate with good food—whatever she ate went straight to her own stomach. Eat!
After eating her fill, the courtyard banquet ended. The people escorting the bride couldn’t delay, so they brushed their mouths and loaded Su Lili’s dowry onto the truck. Su Lili pouted, cried a little for show, and got on the truck amid everyone’s envy. Guo Zhiwei still glanced at the people seeing her off but didn’t see the figure he wanted to notice. Su Lili didn’t see Su Tian and breathed a sigh of relief.
When Qin Yan fastened his seatbelt while driving, he accidentally brushed against the pocket on his chest. Looking down, he saw the egg, once warm, had gone cold. Understanding her intention, he instinctively rubbed his swollen forehead.
When he returned with his injury, Guo Zhiwei and the others asked if he had been hit. He didn’t admit it—he couldn’t very well say he’d been beaten by a delicate young woman, could he? So he just said it was an accident. Knowing his taciturn nature, no one pressed further.
The person who hit him, feeling guilty, had even boiled an egg for him to roll on his wound—but now the egg was cold in his pocket. Though cold, it still provided protein and filled him up, so he didn’t return it—just kept it in his pocket. If he hadn’t felt it just now, he might have forgotten it entirely.
Glancing at the egg, he then started the truck expressionlessly. The engine clattered as the truck carried Su Lili toward the life of hardships waiting for her. Watching Su Jiawan shrink behind them, Su Lili’s anxiety and fear completely vanished—she had successfully married Guo Zhiwei. The thousand yuan she spent was worth it. She had bribed Chen Xiaojun and blocked Su Tian’s mouth.
She didn’t know whether Su Tian and the scumbag Chen Xiaojun had become involved. The more she thought about it, the more she suspected Su Tian was deceiving her. Su Tian wasn’t as strong as her—how could she have beaten Chen Xiaojun bloody, breaking his hands and legs? Surely she was lying to cover the truth.
After all, in her previous life, she had faced domestic abuse and tried to resist—but she still couldn’t overpower him and ended up beaten half to death, having to protect her head and endure until he was done venting.
Glancing at Guo Zhiwei beside her, passing over the mole on his nose, she thought: ugly or not, it’s better than being completely useless and penniless. This life, she wouldn’t care about looks—only money. As for Su Tian and Chen Xiaojun, she would ask him about it when she returned to her in-laws. If Su Tian didn’t speak, there would always be others to tell the truth.
What Su Tian didn’t expect was that on Su Lili’s wedding day, she got a bonus opportunity.
System Xiao Ba: “Life trajectory deviation detected. You have a 30-minute livestream opportunity. Enable livestream?”
Caught off guard, Su Tian said she wasn’t ready: “Can I choose the time myself?”
System Xiao Ba: “Any time before 11:30 is fine. After that, it will automatically expire.”
Su Tian relaxed: “Then I’ll livestream at 8 PM. The homemade salted duck eggs at home aren’t ready yet and might not sell. I’ll collect more from the village before the livestream. If I’m going live, I need plenty of stock.”
System Xiao Ba: “Livestream time confirmed. Start promptly at 8 PM.”
Su Tian nodded, planned everything, and got her mother’s help to collect the salted duck eggs and gather some capital.
Huang Guiflower eagerly took out the money for Su Tian: “How many do you want to buy this time?”
“Any amount is fine. Maybe Mom can check the neighboring village and collect more. We can earn a bit extra,” Su Tian replied. In half an hour, they’d surely sell out. Previously, 61 eggs had been snapped up instantly. Now, based on past performance, even 600 eggs could sell in just half an hour.
Seeing her daughter so confident, unfazed by the risk of spoiled salted duck eggs, Huang Guiflower didn’t hold back either. She thought, “Even one more egg earns five cents, ten is fifty cents, a hundred is five bucks, a thousand….” She could almost see the money waving at her. Excited, she hurried to the neighboring village to collect more salted duck eggs, spending all the cash she had.
Meanwhile, Su Tian went around the village and collected two baskets of salted duck eggs—270 in total. The village had little income, and Su Tian offered fair prices, so they were happy to sell to her. Unlike before, there were no strict restrictions or opportunities for speculation. Now, everyone knew Su Tian would buy salted duck eggs and pay in cash.
Su Tian didn’t expect that her mother had gone to the village where Chen Xiaojun lived. When she returned, she couldn’t wait to share the gossip: Chen Xiaojun, who had once dated Su Lili, had been beaten badly, covered in blood, and sent to the hospital.
Su Tian straightened her back and secretly grinned with satisfaction. He deserved it! If it weren’t for Qin Yan stopping her, she almost would have killed him. Breaking his leg was already lenient. She now regretted not breaking his third leg.
In rural areas in this era, people were frugal with kerosene lamps and went to bed early once it got dark. Before going to sleep, Huang Guiflower checked the salted duck eggs in Su Tian’s room—over 700 in reed baskets. If they didn’t sell, they’d be a huge loss.
Seeing her mother’s worry, Su Tian reassured her: “Don’t worry, Mom. He already paid a 50-yuan deposit. Even if he doesn’t pick up the goods tomorrow morning, we won’t lose out. Fifty yuan can buy a lot of salted duck eggs.”
Su Tian showed the 50-yuan deposit to Huang Guiflower, who finally felt at ease and went to bed.
After everyone had gone to sleep, Su Tian straightened her washed but slightly faded floral shirt and carefully brushed her hair, adjusting her facial expression while facing the wall.
As the clock struck eight, the 1980s-style livestream officially began.