Lin Yuhe from the Lin family, who had jumped into the river, did not die and came back to life. However, the one living now was no longer the Lin Yuhe from Lianhua Gou, but Lin Yuhe who had traveled from the 21st century.
The night passed quickly. At the second crow of the rooster, there was movement in the yard—the sound of Mother Bai Haitang getting up to cook.
The family gradually woke up. Grandpa Lin, along with Father Lin and Uncle Lin, took advantage of the cool morning weather to work in the fields, planning to eat breakfast after finishing their tasks.
"Old man, our son still needs to go to Zhangjiazhuang today. Don’t work too late; come back early," Grandma Lin reminded the head of the household, not wanting to delay important matters.
"Understood," the father and his two sons replied as they left the yard.
"Changping, Changan, get up early and go to the mountains to dig for some wild vegetables, or we won’t have anything to eat tonight," Grandma Lin stood at the door of the woodshed, assigning tasks.
"Understood, Grandma," came the voices of the younger brothers from the adjacent room.
"Mother, I’m going to the river to wash clothes. When Father and the others return, you all eat first. Let Yuhe sleep a little longer today," Mother Lin gathered a large basin of clothes the family had changed out of the day before and informed Grandma Lin.
"Alright, go ahead."
The noise in the yard gradually quieted down, and in her drowsiness, Lin Yuhe fell back asleep.
It felt like she hadn’t slept long when Mother Lin’s voice reached her ears. "Yuhe, wake up. Come, put on your clothes; it’s time for breakfast," Mother Lin took out the clothes Lin Yuhe usually wore.
Mother Lin was a diligent and quiet woman, typical of a farming family—deferring to her in-laws on major matters and her husband on minor ones.
"Yuhe, my dear Yuhe, don’t scare your mother. If you’re feeling unwell, tell me. Don’t keep it bottled up for too long; it’ll make you sick."
Mother Lin watched her once cheerful and lively daughter, who had remained silent and lifeless like a wooden doll since waking up the day before, and felt deeply worried.
While turning to fetch Lin Yuhe’s clothes, she secretly wiped away a tear.
Lin Yuhe saw it clearly, but her throat hurt—likely from choking on water the day before. When she tried to make a sound in the room, it felt searingly painful.
Moreover, in her previous life, after her mother passed away, she had always eaten alone, traveled alone, and lived alone in a big house.
Now, suddenly thrust into a bustling, lively family, she felt very out of place and unsure how to integrate with them. She also wanted to take this opportunity to observe whether this family was as selfish and self-serving as her family in her previous life, aside from her mother.
"You’re up. Hurry and wash your face; come eat," Grandma Lin pointed to the basin of water she had poured.
The rest of the family had already eaten, leaving only Mother Lin, who had just returned from washing clothes, yet to have her meal.
Similarly, Mother Lin served her a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, a peeled egg, and an extra wild vegetable pancake for breakfast.
Looking at Mother Lin’s bowl across from her, the porridge seemed diluted with water—thin and only half-full—accompanied by a single vegetable pancake.
"You must be hungry! Eat quickly; don’t just sit there. The food is getting cold," Mother Lin pushed the bowl closer to Lin Yuhe.
Enduring the pain in her throat, Lin Yuhe managed to drink half the bowl of porridge before pushing it back toward Mother Lin.
Grandma Lin, who had been feeding the chickens nearby, dumped the wild vegetable roots on the ground and hurried over to check on Lin Yuhe.
"Where does it hurt? Tell Grandma," she said, looking at the pale, lifeless face of the silent Lin Yuhe, her heart aching with concern.
She only had this one granddaughter, whom she usually doted on immensely. Faced with this situation, there was nothing they could do. The old woman could only blame herself for being incapable.
"Changan, go to the village and fetch Doctor Qian to take a look at your sister," Grandma Lin instructed her grandson to call for the doctor.
"Got it," the younger brother Changan dashed out in a flash.
Changping had gone to the woods to gather firewood, deliberately leaving Changan at home to run errands.
Lianhua Gou was not a large village. Doctor Qian lived in the west of the village, while the Lin family lived in the east. The doctor arrived quite quickly.
"Come, open your mouth and let me see. Hmm, your throat is swollen, probably from choking yesterday. Auntie Lin, have Changan come to my place to fetch two doses of medicine. It's nothing serious; she should recover in two days."
Doctor Qian had come to the village a few years ago. His household consisted only of his wife, with no children. In the village, he treated poor families for minor ailments like headaches, fevers, and minor injuries, charging very little.
"Alright, alright, thank you, Doctor Qian. How much for the medicine?" Grandma Lin asked, rubbing her hands together.
"Auntie Lin, it's thirty copper coins, but you can give twenty!" Doctor Qian sensed Grandma Lin's difficulty. After all, the herbs were gathered from the back hills. To prevent villagers from taking advantage without effort, he charged a nominal fee.
She went back into the room, counted out twenty copper coins, handed them to Doctor Qian, and thanked him repeatedly.
Lin Yuhe, sitting to the side, still showed no change in expression. Doctor Qian advised the family to spend more time with the child.
Mother Lin stood outside the fence gate of the courtyard, standing on tiptoe to look down the road toward the village entrance. Lin Yuhe knew what Mother Lin was watching for—wasn't it just to see if Father Lin and Uncle Lin had returned from calling off the engagement?
Farming families did not eat lunch, mainly because they were too poor. Lin Yuhe looked at the sun; it should be around noon.
It wasn't until the sun began to set in the west that Father Lin and Uncle Lin returned home. Judging by their expressions, neither looked well. It seemed calling off the engagement had not gone smoothly.
Before Father Lin could even take a sip of water, Grandpa Lin began pressing him, "How did it go? Has Yuhe's engagement been formally called off?"
Father Lin, his face flushed red, didn't know where to start. It was the quick-witted Uncle Lin who spoke up.
"It's called off. The Zhang Village Clan Elder witnessed it," Uncle Lin hadn't finished speaking when Grandma Lin interrupted.
"Why did you involve the Zhang Clan Elder?" Grandma Lin's question was what everyone in the family wanted to know.
"When the engagement was settled back then, we gave two taels. Who would have thought the Zhang family would demand ten taels with a lion's mouth? They said they wouldn't return the Gengtie otherwise."
Grandma Lin exploded upon hearing this. "What? That cursed Zhang family wants ten taels? Did you agree to give it?" She grabbed a broom handle and was about to hit Uncle Lin.
"Mother, I didn't! How could I? Our entire family's savings are only five taels. Where would I get ten taels? Even if you sold me, it wouldn't be enough."
To avoid being beaten, Uncle Lin quickly explained the solution.
"Let me explain," Father Lin said, having calmed down. No matter what, he had retrieved his precious daughter's Gengtie. He had never laid a finger on his child and absolutely could not let the Zhang family mistreat his daughter any longer.
Originally, he had already made up his mind: if the Zhang family stubbornly insisted on ten taels, he would sell himself to the mines to get his daughter's Gengtie back.
"It was Second Brother who went to find the Zhang Clan Elder. He said if the Zhang family went too far, we would report them to the school and the county yamen, asking the yamen to revoke Zhang Yuqing's Tongsheng status."
Zhangjiazhuang had only this one Tongsheng who studied, and they truly feared the Lin family would cause trouble, which would leave the Zhang family worse off. In the end, after negotiating down to five taels, they managed to retrieve the Gengtie.
Sitting to the side, Lin Yuhe understood clearly: the Zhang family had withheld her Gengtie, demanding ten taels of silver in exchange. It was Uncle Lin who had devised a plan, and it was also because people nowadays feared the authorities.
"Alright, let's not bring this up again from now on. With it retrieved, our Yuhe girl remains part of our family. Without this leverage, there’s no need to worry anymore."
Grandpa Lin’s words brought some comfort to the family, even though they were once again left with nothing.