There used to be an old blind man in the village, but he had passed away by now. Back then, he had read Jiang Qian’s fortune and said that her Eight Characters were excellent and that she was born with a life of comfort and good fortune.
Everyone was envious, jealous, and resentful when they heard that. If Jiang Qian truly had such a blessed fate, how could she have never worked in the fields from childhood onward?
Even attending literacy classes was an unattainable wish for them. Their families would say, “What use is it for a girl to study and learn to read? With that free time, you might as well do more work for the family!”
Yet Jiang Qian had gone straight to the county town to attend high school!
That was something they truly would not even dare to imagine, and it was also something that made them envious to the point of turning green.
Precisely because of this, Jiang Qian actually had few companions or friends in the village. Jiang Yue, on the other hand, was very well-liked there and had many close girlfriends.
This was also a form of isolation.
However, whether it was Jiang Qian before her main soul returned or Jiang Qian after its return, neither of them cared about it in the slightest.
She had a warm family. Why would she need friends? Besides, she truly had nothing to talk about with them.
Because of Jiang Qian’s completely unapologetic behavior, everyone isolated and rejected her even more.
Later, Jiang Qian graduated from high school, only to encounter the cancellation of the college entrance examination. Those jealous, sour-faced girls even took pleasure in her misfortune. Now she had no way to attend college or become a college student. All those years of studying had been wasted. Wouldn’t she still have to work in the fields just like them?
But then Jiang Qian turned around and used her own abilities to get hired as a teacher at the township primary school, securing an iron rice bowl.
So just how much did Heaven favor her? It was practically feeding her food straight into her mouth!
That left all the girls who had been waiting to laugh at the college student speechless.
This time, there was even less to say. She had gone on a blind date with a military officer who had become a battalion commander at such a young age. Most importantly, everyone had seen Han Shiguo’s appearance and build. Who could fail to praise him?
The aunties and older women adored a son-in-law like that. He was also their unattainable ideal son-in-law.
It was the same old story: Heaven had reserved all the good things for Jiang Qian.
Nowadays, whenever anyone mentioned Captain Jiang’s younger daughter, didn’t they have to praise her as someone born lucky?
When this village girl came to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and saw Jiang Yue, she naturally could not help chattering on about it.
Jiang Yue tugged at the corner of her mouth, disdain in her eyes. What was so naturally fortunate about Jiang Qian? She had merely picked up the man Jiang Yue had rejected!
However, if word truly got out that two women were fighting over one man, Jiang Yue would also end up covered in scandal.
Therefore, she did not mention the matter of switching brides at all. She merely said, “I’ve simply come to terms with it. Serving in the military has good benefits, that’s true, but you also have to endure the hardships. I was truly afraid after those three years. Now that I have this job, I can’t spare the time. There’s no one else in my family who can take on this work, and my Eldest Sister-in-law has no education at all. The family can’t do without me. As for this marriage, since Qianqian is willing, then I’ll give it to her.”
The village girl said, “Don’t regret it later. I saw that military officer from the Han family today. He’s exceptionally handsome and heroic!”
It really made people envious and jealous. How could Jiang Qian be so fortunate?
Although Jiang Yue had not seen Han Shiguo’s appearance with her own eyes, she had already expected it. In the book, Han Shiguo was someone who could rival the male lead. Even standing beside the male lead, he was not inferior in the slightest.
The two of them stood side by side as the military camp’s two spearheads, constantly competing for first place in the assessments.
Sometimes Han Shiguo took the position, and sometimes the male lead did. In the military camp, Han Shiguo was the only one capable of competing with the male lead to that extent. He truly was extraordinarily outstanding.
But a supporting character was still a supporting character, merely cannon fodder meant to set off the male lead.
The male lead lived a happy and fulfilling life, but no matter how good or capable Han Shiguo was, it was useless. He would still end up living a miserable life.
Jiang Yue smiled and said, “There’s no point talking about regret. I can only say that it wasn’t my fate. I’m perfectly at peace with it.”
She sneered inwardly. Regret? How could she possibly regret it?
Jiang Qian was smiling now, but once she became a widow, there would be plenty of time for her to weep bitterly!
As soon as Jiang Yue got off work, she immediately went to tell Wang Hesong the good news that Jiang Qian had gone on a blind date with Han Shiguo.
She had no time while at work, but after work, she naturally had to meet him.
If Jiang Yue wanted to keep Wang Hesong, the future small-town top official, firmly in her grasp, wouldn’t she have to employ a few little tricks?
Wang Hesong was stunned when he heard this. “That quickly?”
“Of course.” Jiang Yue had initially been quite happy, but after hearing his tone, she could not help giving him a look. “My Auntie had always wanted to marry into a good family. Han Shiguo is a military officer now, with such excellent conditions. How could my Auntie let him get away? I just heard that both families are very satisfied. I estimate that Jiang Qian will be marrying into the Han family very soon!”
The implication was: I gave up such a good marriage for you!
“They’ve only just gone on a blind date, and they’re already getting married? Isn’t that a little rushed?” Wang Hesong had not understood the deeper meaning, so he could not help saying this.
Jiang Yue said, “It is a little rushed, but Han Shiguo can’t afford to delay it. He doesn’t have much leave either. If the two of them hit it off, of course they’ll get married!”
Wang Hesong fell silent. He felt that Jiang Qian was marrying so quickly because she wanted to anger him.
He had let her down, and she hated him to the bone. That was why she was rushing to marry herself off.
He had to find an opportunity to go over and persuade her not to act so recklessly and marry some random man just because of him.
Seeing his devastated expression, Jiang Yue grew somewhat angry. However, since he had not married her yet, she could only suppress her temper. She still could not help complaining, “Hesong, tell me, does your mother dislike me? Before this, she often brought eggs, milk candy, and biscuits to Jiang Qian, but when it comes to me, she hasn’t even come to see me once. I’m carrying the grandchild of the Wang family in my belly!”
“My mother was so angered by what happened between us that she’s bedridden. Where would she find the time to come see you? Besides, you’re different from Jiang Qian. Jiang Qian was someone my mother took a liking to at first sight, so of course she liked her.”
What Wang Hesong did not say was that his mother especially looked down on Jiang Yue for becoming pregnant before entering the family. She had bluntly said that Jiang Yue was not a respectable woman!
She had even wanted to give Jiang Yue money to get an abortion, while still wanting him to marry Jiang Qian.
Because a girl like Jiang Qian was a truly proper and good young woman, and the Old Lady genuinely liked her from the bottom of her heart.
Teachers, preschool teachers, and nurses—the three professions most loved by Chinese uncles and aunties.
Jiang Qian happened to be a teacher.
Of course, the position was only one factor. More importantly, Granny Wang liked Jiang Qian’s personality and temperament. The girl was gentle and soft-spoken, polite in both speech and manner, with a nature as calm and fluid as water. The more Granny Wang interacted with her, the more she liked her.
So she truly could not bear to part with her.
But now the bride had been switched, and the replacement was someone so lacking in propriety that she had seduced a man and gotten pregnant before marriage. Granny Wang disliked her from the bottom of her heart!
The only reason she had not come over to curse Jiang Yue for her shamelessness was out of consideration for her son’s reputation and career, as well as for the sake of the child in her belly. And Jiang Yue still expected her to come see her and bring her food?
She could go eat shit!
But Wang Hesong naturally could not say any of this outright.