Xia Yulan felt the same way. Her own daughter was so exceptional; she didn’t have to marry that Chen boy.
“Good. I think so too, Mom. No matter how good that Chen boy is, he was engaged to Yueyue. Once they break off the engagement, I’ll find you someone even better—someone who’s definitely better than him!”
Xia Yulan was already trying to think of another family with a good son.
If all else failed, she could ask her eldest son in the army to introduce Jingjing to someone.
Li Wenjing: Is this for real? She knew people in the countryside married young, but this was way too early. If she remembered correctly, she was only sixteen.
“Let’s not rush into finding me someone. I’m still young. We can look in a couple of years.”
Xia Yulan thought that made sense. Her biological daughter had only just come home; she couldn’t marry her off so quickly. She should stay with them at home for a couple more years, so they could grow closer.
With that in mind, she left Li Wenjing alone in the room to unpack and went to cook.
Jingjing had traveled all the way from the capital to here by train. It must have been a long, exhausting journey. For her daughter’s first meal at home, Xia Yulan wanted to make sure she was pleased.
Li Wenjing began unpacking her things and put all her clothes in the wardrobe.
To her surprise, she found an envelope at the very bottom of her suitcase.
Li Yonggang had put it there. Inside were three hundred yuan and some ration coupons that could be used anywhere in the country.
Li Jianguo and Wang Jinju knew nothing about the money. It was from Li Yonggang’s own private savings. He’d told Li Wenjing to accept it without feeling burdened; it was his pocket money for his Little Sister, given to her as her older brother.
He’d also said many good things on behalf of Li Jianguo and Wang Jinju, hoping Li Wenjing wouldn’t blame them.
In truth, Li Wenjing didn’t blame Li Jianguo and Wang Jinju anymore. Nor was she in any position to blame them. After all, what they had done was only human nature.
In the eyes of Li Jianguo and Wang Jinju, she was nothing but a thief who had stolen sixteen years of wealth and comfort from their biological daughter.
Even though she, too, was innocent, they still resented her.
Li Yonggang, as their son, really didn’t understand his parents. They were hardhearted.
At least they lived so far away now. She probably wouldn’t see them again.
She put the money and coupons away. After all, she had only just arrived here. She had no job, and she really didn’t have any money or coupons of her own.
She was still registered as a sent-down youth, and once the busy farming season began, she would have to work in the fields.
She put the money and letter into her Portable Space.
After closing the door, she entered her Portable Space.
This was her first time going there since her rebirth.
Looking at the boundless fields, mountains, orchards, and medicinal herb garden, Li Wenjing suddenly felt that she wasn’t empty-handed at all. In fact, she was incredibly rich!
There was so much in her space that she couldn’t eat it all in several lifetimes. The System had really treated her well: even after their contract ended, it had left her with so many good things.
And then there were all the supplies she’d collected while completing missions in different worlds. Just thinking about them made her happy. If she could sell all that stuff, wouldn’t she become the richest person in the country?
At the thought, Li Wenjing couldn’t help giggling. Then she remembered that free trade probably wasn’t allowed in this era.
Even the things on the mountains belonged to the state or the collective.
If you caught a pheasant or a rabbit, you could secretly eat it at home.
But if you caught a large animal, like a wild boar or a roe deer, you had to turn it in. If someone found out and reported you, you’d be accused of stealing from the socialist collective, subjected to a struggle session, and sent to a labor camp.
Selling things would count as profiteering. In a serious case, you could be executed by firing squad; at best, you’d be sent down to a farm for labor reform!
At that thought, Li Wenjing’s excitement slowly ebbed.
It was 1975 now; the new year would bring 1976. She remembered that the college entrance examination was supposed to be reinstated in 1977. In other words, the country would restore the college entrance examination in just two years. She could take it and change her life.
Thinking about it, she had to admit she owed Li Jianguo and Wang Jinju some thanks for letting her go to school and get her high school diploma.
But she hadn’t brought her high school textbooks with her this time. That had been a real oversight.
Still, it was fine. One of these days, she could go to the county seat. The salvage station should have high school textbooks.
It had been so long since her previous life that she’d forgotten most of what she learned in high school. She had to buckle down and study over the next two years, and find a way to earn some money too.
She’d been unusually strong since she was little. She wondered if it was hereditary, and whether there were any other women in her family who were as strong as she was.
As she kept looking around, she came across the things she’d collected from the cultivation world.
She wondered if the pills and cultivation techniques could be used in this world.
She would have to try them sometime—and see whether her body had a spiritual root.
…
Meanwhile, in the Chen household in the same village, the family was gathered together, discussing something.
“Just what kind of mess is this? The wedding was right around the corner, and the bride ran off! Now the whole village is laughing at our family.”
Chen Yibin’s face was dark, and he was deeply frustrated too.
He was the eldest son of the Chen family. He had a younger brother and a Little Sister.
He had joined the army at sixteen, and was now twenty-six. After ten full years, he had risen to the rank of Battalion Commander.
He was six foot tall, with sharp brows, bright eyes, a heroic air, and tanned skin.
His only flaw was that he couldn’t move around easily at the moment; he walked with a crutch.
A few months earlier, Chen Yibin had injured his leg while carrying out a mission.
The army had given him leave to return home and recuperate. They would decide whether he could stay in the army based on how well his injury healed.
If he hadn’t been injured and sent home this time, he wouldn’t have had time to come back and get married.
After more than two months of recuperation, Chen Yibin’s leg had healed about eighty percent. He still limped a little when he walked, but he could do physical work.
That was why Mother Chen wanted her son to get married while he was home.
Li Yuerong was only sixteen, but Chen Yibin wasn’t young anymore. In the countryside, twenty-five was already considered old for a bachelor. Other men his age already had children old enough to fetch soy sauce.
Seeing other people’s grandchildren made her so envious.
Besides, she was worried that if her son’s leg never healed properly and he became a cripple, Li Yuerong might refuse to marry him, and it would be even harder for him to find someone later.
What mother wouldn’t protect her own child?
The two families had already agreed on the bride price and set the wedding date. The big day was almost here, yet Li Yuerong had run off without even saying a word. She’d trampled the Chen family’s dignity into the dirt!
Chen Yibin was miserable! The whole Chen family was miserable! But worst of all, it was so damn humiliating!
“Mom, let’s break off the engagement!”
How could Mother Chen agree? What was wrong with her Chen Yibin? Even if he’d injured his leg, he was still a battalion-level cadre. How could they let someone make a fool of him like this?