That would never do! She might be fine without work, but Gu Yanping still had none! A government job was an iron rice bowl—one position, one person; no extras. Why should she get the better end of this bargain? No! Absolutely not!
She was already plotting how to refuse while still securing the apartment—when Shen Niannian suddenly pointed to the pickled cucumber jar sitting on the table.
“If Eldest Sister-in-law is willing to give me this jar of pickled cucumbers… then I will gladly give up the apartment for you!”
Every face in the room turned toward her in utter bewilderment. Gu Yanzhen stared at her as if she had lost her mind.
“Second Sister-in-law—are you quite well? That is just pickled cucumbers! They are worth almost nothing!”
Surely she was not trading a perfectly good apartment for mere pickles? Everyone had assumed she would demand a hefty price from Sun Meiling. Tian Yuefang, Gu Zhenhua, and Gu Yanping all thought exactly the same thing—she wants pickled cucumbers???
Gu Yanping squeezed her hand gently. “Niannian… are you very fond of pickled cucumbers, then?”
Shen Niannian fell silent for a moment. She could not possibly explain the truth. Instead, she nodded earnestly.
“I am indeed! Especially these—they smell so wonderfully good! I simply must taste them! So—if you will give me this jar, I will give you the apartment!”
Sun Meiling looked at her as though she were a simpleton and burst into mocking laughter. “Done! They are yours! I have another jar inside the house—take that too! Two jars! All of them!”
At hearing there was a second jar, Shen Niannian’s eyes lit up with pure delight. Seeing her excitement, everyone simply assumed she had a peculiar passion for pickled cucumbers.
Gu Yanping, desperate to cement this miracle compromise before anyone changed their mind, hurried out and returned moments later carrying the second jar. Shen Niannian’s eyes shone even brighter. Gu Yanping, holding her hand, felt more than just excitement—her entire body trembled visibly. He marveled silently. My wife loves pickled cucumbers that much? I must learn how to pickle them myself! I shall ensure she has them at every meal, forever!
Shen Niannian, meanwhile, had no idea she was about to be inundated with pickles for the rest of her life. Every ounce of her attention belonged to those two jars.
Good heavens! If she was not mistaken, the first jar was a genuine Junyao kiln ceramic from the Song Dynasty! And now—two! Two identical Song Dynasty Junyao kiln jars!!! To find one was extraordinary luck! To find two together…
Her mind swam. This was not pottery—it was vast fortune calling her name. In the twenty-first century, Song Junyao pieces fetched tens of millions at auction. Even in her past life, with her entire private collection, she had owned only one. She grew lightheaded just thinking about it.
Fearful Sun Meiling might change her mind and cause trouble later, Shen Niannian turned to Gu Yanzhen.
“Yanzhen… might I trouble you for paper and ink? I should like to write a simple agreement. It shall state clearly: she gives me both jars, and I give her the apartment. No further arguments or claims from either side ever again.”
The family hesitated only briefly before agreeing—it was sensible to have it written down, so Sun Meiling could not make trouble later. Gu Yanzhen admired her practicality—truly a thoughtful, capable sister-in-law.
“Of course! I shall fetch it at once!”
Sun Meiling, meanwhile, looked at Shen Niannian as if she were the biggest fool alive—gleeful and eager to sign. She glanced at the two jars with utter contempt. Cucumbers grown in our garden. Ugly old jars reeking of sour brine. Worthless trash.
“Write it then!” she scoffed. “Best get it on paper so no one goes back on their word!”
Shen Niannian wrote out the agreement in duplicate, specifying plainly: two jars of pickled cucumbers together with their ceramic vessels. Sun Meiling barely glanced at it before scribbling her signature carelessly. Each kept one copy.
Tian Yuefang heaved a great sigh of relief. “Splendid! Now that it is settled—let us eat before the food grows cold!”
Sun Meiling sat down triumphantly, tucked the paper casually into her pocket, and picked up her chopsticks.
“At last! I am famished! Oh—never mind me—but we must keep our precious first grandson well-fed!”
Gu Yanzhen rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they still worked.
Shen Niannian carefully carried both jars to a safe corner, setting them down gently, as if afraid they might slip and shatter. Watching her tender reverence, everyone—including Gu Yanzhi—thought the same thing: Second Brother’s wife truly loves pickled cucumbers.
After the meal, Sun Meiling immediately set about moving.
“Since we are agreed—let us move at once! We have a signed agreement, do we not, Second Sister-in-law?”
Shen Niannian nodded. “Indeed.” She turned to Gu Yanzhi. “Let us go too. While there is still daylight.”
Their belongings were few—mostly Shen Niannian’s modest dowry: a single wooden chest holding two thick cotton quilts, cups, towels, and a washbasin. It was humble enough, she knew—but it had been scraped together by her father Shen Dajun with great difficulty. Her grandparents and uncles had refused to contribute, remembering always that she was but a foundling he had raised as his own. Those quilts—he had borrowed the cotton ration coupons from every household in the village. Cotton coupons were strictly rationed: half a jin per person, per year. Her father had not bought new winter clothing in years; his padded coat, patched and frayed beyond counting, held almost no warmth left.
Thinking of him brought a lump to her throat. She longed to fly to Dashen Village this very instant! But tradition bound her—newlyweds must visit the bride’s home only on the third day of marriage. She would not give the villagers fresh cause to mock him. She would finish moving today, then go with Gu Yanzhi to buy proper gifts for their homecoming.
While things proceeded calmly here, the Wang household was in absolute chaos. Shen Youyou had chosen to be married on the exact same day as Shen Niannian—deliberately. She had wanted them to return to their families on the same day, so she could gloat and watch Shen Niannian suffer in that wretched Gu family. But the Gu family, it turned out, was not the pit she had imagined. And the Wang family… was no better at all.