At this moment, Yao Yunzhen heard the distinctive scolding voice of her second aunt, Yang Erni, approaching from a distance.
After arguing outside for so long, she’s finally willing to come back.
I wonder what the final discussion outcome was.
Yao Yunzhen quickly turned over and sat up from the bed, then went to the room doorway to peek outside.
She saw Yang Erni walking angrily toward the house, dragging Yao Kemei – who had just been rescued from the water – while cursing nonstop.
Yes, the “little sister” Yao Yunzhen had mentioned earlier was named Yao Kemei.
In the village, almost everyone favored boys over girls, but the Yao family’s second branch was particularly extreme in their son preference.
Their three daughters were named: the eldest called Zhaodi (Seeking Brother), the second called Pandi (Awaiting Brother), and the third was the most extreme – Kemei (Overcoming Sisters)!
The meaning was to tell female spirits not to be reincarnated here anymore – any who came would be overcome.
So overcome that they wouldn’t dare to come.
This name carried too much malice, and Yao Yunzhen found it quite repulsive, which made her dislike Yao Hai and Yang Erni as well.
Since Yao Kemei was a few months younger than her, Yao Yunzhen always called her “little sister.”
Other family members almost always indulged Yao Yunzhen’s requests, so they naturally followed suit and used the same address. Only her biological mother Yang Erni didn’t care, continuing to call her “Kemei” with considerable pride.
If she hadn’t given that wretched girl such a name, how could her precious son have been reincarnated into her womb?
Wouldn’t those money-losing goods have taken all the spots long ago!
Perhaps the name worked as intended, as Yang Erni hadn’t been able to get pregnant again in the following years. It wasn’t until Yao Kemei was 10 years old that she finally conceived again.
This time she got her wish – she gave birth to a son.
“You wretched girl, you money-losing trash, how dare you defy me! I’ll beat you to death!”
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Yang Erni unexpectedly slapped Yao Kemei across the face.
Earlier outside, Yang Erni had been pulling on Li Yunqi, preventing him from leaving, demanding that he take responsibility for Yao Kemei.
With so many people present – all neighbors – they would surely help their family.
Yang Erni was quite confident the other party would agree.
Who would have thought this money-losing trash would dare to undermine her and jump out to oppose it?
Yao Kemei covered her face, looking dazed, her head slightly lowered, lost in thought.
“Listen to me carefully – you must marry Educated Youth Li. Tomorrow I’ll go talk to him. He held you and ruined your purity, so he must marry you!”
At these words, Yao Kemei seemed to have been stepped on, suddenly lifting her head.
“I won’t! I won’t marry Li Yunqi! I refuse to marry Li Yunqi!”
Her voice was sharp, as if she were screaming with all her strength.
Yao Yunzhen narrowed her eyes, sensing something wasn’t right.
If she remembered correctly, Yao Kemei liked Li Yunqi – she had seen her secretly take eggs from home to give him on multiple occasions.
Now with this perfect opportunity, why was she refusing instead?
Yang Erni also raised her voice: “You won’t? I think you wretched girl must be tired of living! You don’t want Educated Youth Li with his excellent conditions? Then what do you want? Do you want dragon meat from the heavens?”
Yao Kemei stared fixedly at Yang Erni, her eyes shadowed: “Anyway, I absolutely will not marry Li Yunqi – I’d rather die than marry him!”
Yang Erni’s anger instantly intensified: “You dare to glare at me? I think you’re asking for a beating.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand to strike again.
Yao Kemei snapped back to reality and instinctively dodged backward.
“How dare you dodge! I’ll beat you to death, you wretched girl! You worthless burden! After raising you all these years, you’ve grown to resent us! If I don’t teach you a proper lesson today, I’ll take your surname!”
Yang Erni lunged to grab her, but Yao Kemei turned and fled, leading them into a frantic chase around the courtyard.
This was yet another surprise for Yao Yunzhen.
Having grown up under constant parental abuse, the Three Golden Flowers had developed particularly timid dispositions—enduring hardships, labor, and beatings without complaint.
Grandmother Tan Guihua and her mother Miao Cuilan had intervened before, but the three sisters remained unable to stand up for themselves. When Yang Erni beat or scolded them again, they would only gaze pitifully at Miao Cuilan and the others, not daring to utter a word.
Over time, Miao Cuilan grew tired of intervening—after all, they weren’t her own children.
Only Tan Guihua still occasionally stepped in.
Thus, Yao Kemei would never have dared to defy Yang Erni before, much less run away during a beating.
Yao Yunzhen studied the still-evading Yao Kemei with curiosity.
Just this morning when she left home, Yao Kemei had been her usual timid self—how could falling into the water have completely transformed her personality?
Just then, Yao Daqiang and Tan Guihua entered the courtyard. Seeing the commotion, Tan Guihua immediately shouted:
“Second daughter-in-law, stop this right now!”
They had stayed behind to dismiss the villagers who insisted on following to watch the spectacle, only to return home to another uproar.
Yang Erni didn’t dare disobey her mother-in-law and reluctantly stopped, instead turning to Tan Guihua with tearful complaints.
“Mom, this girl is completely unreasonable! Just think—Educated Youth Li has such excellent qualifications, yet she actually refuses him! I only want what’s best for her! In front of all those people earlier, she publicly objected—it’s utterly heartbreaking! If I don’t teach her a lesson, she’ll think she can get away with anything!”
Did Tan Guihua not know what kind of person her daughter-in-law was?
“If Xiaomei doesn’t want to, then forget it.”
The Yao family had few descendants. While the three daughters from the second branch were treated like weeds by their parents, they still held some value in the old couple’s hearts.
Yang Erni grew frantic: “No, we can’t just drop this! He’s already seen this wretched girl—how can we let it go? He must marry Kemei! Just think, Mom—with his family’s circumstances, he can definitely provide this much in betrothal gifts when marrying Kemei.”
Yang Erni held up two fingers.
Tan Guihua’s heart skipped a beat as she tentatively asked: “Two hundred?”
Yang Erni nodded vigorously: “Exactly! If Kemei married anyone else, could we ever get so much in betrothal gifts? But with Educated Youth Li’s family background, it’s different—he can definitely afford it! Otherwise, I’ll report him to the commune for harassment!”
Yao Kemei stared coldly at Yang Erni and suddenly interjected: “Don’t even think about it. His family has no money at all.”
Yang Erni’s eyebrows shot up in renewed anger, but upon seeing Tan Guihua, she forcibly suppressed her temper.
“Go away, what do you know? Mom, our family must seize this opportunity! With this money, we’ll be much better off—especially for Da Bao. He’s growing up year by year—won’t he need money for schooling and marriage?”
Yao Kemei clenched her fists until they turned white, her eyes burning with hatred: “It all comes down to this—you’re doing this for Yao Jigen. You’d sell your daughter for your son.”
“You good-for-nothing! If I’m not thinking for your brother, who should I be thinking for? He’ll be the support for all you sisters in the future. It’s only right that you sacrifice for him now! Besides, what’s wrong with Educated Youth Li? He’s handsome and comes from a well-off family. Marrying him would be falling into a nest of blessings. Finding you such a man, I’ve done right by you.”
“Enough, that’s enough talking.” Tan Guihua looked at Yao Kemei: “Little sister, are you really unwilling to marry Educated Youth Li?”
Yao Kemei responded stiffly: “Yes.”
Tan Guihua made the final decision: “In that case, let’s not bring this up again.”
It would be false to say she wasn’t tempted, but in Tan Guihua’s view, Educated Youth Li truly wasn’t a suitable match.
Educated Youth Li had good qualifications, but after all, he was an educated youth – like rootless duckweed in the village.
The Yao family didn’t have many descendants. She and her husband had only raised two sons and one daughter, and their sons didn’t have many children either. Tan Guihua still hoped her granddaughter could marry into a family with many descendants, preferably within the village or nearby, so they could support each other in the future.
“Mom!”
Yang Erni was unwilling to give up and tried to say more, but seeing her mother-in-law’s firm expression, she ultimately didn’t dare to continue.
In previous years, before she had given birth to a son, she had been looked down upon by her mother-in-law and had always been cautious. It was only after bearing a son that she finally straightened her back, but years of habit had formed, making her afraid to defy any of her mother-in-law’s decisions.
Seeing that the people in the courtyard had finished their discussion, Miao Cuilan, who had been staying in the kitchen all along, finally came out.
“Father, Mother, the meal is ready. Shall we eat?”
Tan Guihua declared: “Let’s eat.”
Then she looked at Yao Kemei: “Little sister, go change your clothes too. Come eat after you’ve changed.”
Having watched the whole drama unfold, Yao Yunzhen had long felt hungry. Hearing it was time to eat, she immediately dashed to the kitchen like a rabbit.
Yao Jigen, who had been playing outside all along, suddenly appeared from somewhere and directly slipped into the kitchen, without giving his sister who had fallen into the water because of him so much as a glance.
Seeing her precious son, Yang Erni immediately became blind to everyone else and quickly followed him in, forgetting to continue scolding Yao Kemei.
Farming families weren’t particular about such things, and the kitchen was built quite spacious, with the dining table placed directly inside.
Miao Cuilan put the basin in her hands on the table and tapped Yao Yunzhen: “You girl, when it comes to eating, you run faster than anyone.”
“Hehe.” Yao Yunzhen giggled foolishly.
Tan Guihua didn’t like her precious granddaughter being criticized: “Having a good appetite is a blessing. Our Zhenzhen loves to eat, which shows she’s a fortunate person.”
She was very fond of this granddaughter too. Since childhood, she had been like jade carved from powder, growing more beautiful with age, so lovely she didn’t seem real.
Looking at such a face, Tan Guihua often suspected this granddaughter wasn’t ordinary – probably a fairy maiden reincarnated from heaven.
Plus, Yao Yunzhen had a sweet mouth and was clever and obedient, so Tan Guihua inevitably favored her a bit more.
As for Yang Erni, her preference for sons over daughters had long penetrated her bones. No matter how beautiful she was, wasn’t she still just a good-for-nothing…
Yang Erni couldn’t help but look at Yao Yunzhen again.
Yao Yunzhen was wearing ordinary blue cloth clothes with two patches, her hair simply braided into a single plait.
Many people in the village dressed like this – ordinary and plain – but Yao Yunzhen sitting there inexplicably drew people’s attention.
She seemed to radiate light, making the dull kitchen appear different under her presence.
Yang Erni didn’t know how to describe this feeling, but she couldn’t help stealing glances.
After several looks, Yang Erni finally managed to tear her gaze away.
Hmph, she’s just a girl after all, never as good as a son who carries on the family line.
They soon took their seats.
As for Yao Yunzhen’s father Yao Sheng and second uncle Yao Hai, both were currently working at the brick factory in the county town.
Their aunt Yao Liuzhi had married into the county town. Through her efforts, Yao Sheng and his brother managed to get temporary jobs at the brick factory during the agricultural off-season.
With food rations scarce in farming families and this not being the busy farming season, there was no need for elaborate meals. The table held a pot of mixed grain porridge and a stir-fried cabbage dish.
The very same cabbage Yao Yunzhen had washed.
Though called stir-fried cabbage, it would be more accurate to describe it as boiled cabbage—not a single drop of oil could be seen in it.
Seeing this, Yao Yunzhen felt somewhat disappointed.
What a waste of her earlier rush.
Yao Yunzhen pouted, her appetite waning, but her empty stomach wouldn’t allow her to be picky.
She picked up her bowl and handed it to Tan Guihua, saying pitifully:
“Grandma, I’m so hungry~”
The household’s food had always been distributed by Tan Guihua.
How could Tan Guihua resist such an appeal? Instantly, she saw no one else but her precious granddaughter.
Originally reaching for Yao Daqiang’s bowl, her hand changed course and took Yao Yunzhen’s bowl instead.
“Starving, aren’t you? Grandma will give you a bigger portion.”
Yao Daqiang showed no displeasure; instead, he chuckled happily.
“Yes, give her more, scoop from the bottom.”
Tan Guihua had the same idea. Without stirring the ladle, she dipped it straight to the bottom and slowly scooped upward.
Yao Yunzhen successfully obtained a bowl of thick porridge.
“Thank you, Grandpa, thank you, Grandma~”
Though it was just coarse grain porridge and not the meat she craved, she still needed to eat more.
Yao Yunzhen wasn’t one to accept losses.
Her mother had told her: Only fools pass up advantages.
A look of satisfaction flashed in Miao Cuilan’s eyes.
That’s my daughter.
But she still had to show modesty in her words.
“You’ve all spoiled Zhenzhen, Mom and Dad. She has no sense of propriety—starting to eat before Dad has even picked up his chopsticks.”
“Ah, Mom, don’t say that. Grandpa and Grandma are just doting on me, right, Grandma?”
Tan Guihua grinned from ear to ear: “Yes, yes, Grandma dotes on our Zhenzhen the most.”
Yao Daqiang wouldn’t be outdone: “Grandpa does too.”
It could be said that with Yao Yunzhen around, even the two eldest grandsons took a back seat in the old couple’s eyes.
Yao Yunzhen was special in the Yao family. Although Yang Erni looked down on girls in her heart, she didn’t say anything when Yao Yunzhen received preferential treatment.
Subconsciously, she also believed that a niece with such appearance was born to enjoy good fortune.
However, she wouldn’t forget her own precious son. Seeing the situation, she quickly handed Yao Jigen’s bowl over, smiling obsequiously:
“Mom, Da Bao is hungry too. Could you give him a bigger portion as well?”
Tan Guihua shot her a glare but still scooped a ladle from the bottom of the pot into the bowl.
Although she didn’t particularly like her second daughter-in-law, Da Bao was, after all, the only son of the second branch, long-awaited after so many years, and she cherished him in her heart.
Yao Kemei, who had just changed clothes and entered the kitchen with her head lowered, suddenly looked up when she heard that clear, ethereal, and unfamiliar voice.
“Who are you?!”