“Matchmaker Liu, explain yourself clearly. Is this the person you found for my daughter? If you don’t explain this to me today, I’m not done with you!”
Aunt Wu was famous in the village for being a shrew. If she really started a fight, she could curse someone for three days and three nights without repeating herself.
Today, Matchmaker Liu had offended someone she absolutely should not have messed with. If she wasn’t afraid, what else could she do?
Matchmaker Liu ran ahead while Aunt Wu chased after her from behind, cursing as she went.
The whole village became lively. Before long, even all the dogs in the village started barking, and everyone came out to watch the commotion.
Lin Yi also squeezed into the crowd, cracking sunflower seeds while watching the show. She hadn’t said anything, okay? If things got big, it wasn’t her fault.
Everyone was busy trying to break up the fight and persuade them to calm down. No one remembered who had said what earlier.
Yingzi happily munched on sunflower seeds, watching with great interest.
“Second Sister-in-law, that Matchmaker Liu is really hateful. How could she introduce a fool to someone? That man obviously isn’t right in the head. Luckily you had sharp eyes, otherwise they wouldn’t have noticed him.”
Lin Yi quickly told her to lower her voice so no one else would hear.
She didn’t want to get dragged into this mess. She had only reminded them and helped them catch the person. Once things started escalating, everyone had already forgotten about her.
Wasn’t watching the drama fun? Wasn’t it enjoyable?
The two of them watched with great enthusiasm.
Yingzi said, “That Matchmaker Liu really brought this on herself. Who told her to provoke Aunt Wu?”
She really did bring it upon herself. But that was because Aunt Wu’s daughter Xiumei had a weak personality. As long as she managed to marry Xiumei off to that man named Bao Guo, even if Aunt Wu was fierce, there would be nothing she could do. Her daughter would already belong to the man’s family.
That was why Matchmaker Liu dared to make such a move.
She never expected someone to suddenly appear halfway through the plan. Lin Yi discovered the truth and even exposed the man.
Others might forget about this matter, but Matchmaker Liu would never forget.
From her perspective, if Lin Yi hadn’t shouted those two times, the villagers definitely would not have discovered anything.
How had Lin Yi noticed him from such a distance?
After Lin Yi got married, she rarely came out of the house. She didn’t even know all the villagers. So how had she recognized Ma Bao Guo?
This was troublesome.
Aunt Wu was chasing her like a madwoman. Just thinking about it gave Matchmaker Liu a headache.
After watching enough of the excitement, Lin Yi took Yingzi home.
As soon as they entered the house, Liu Huilan also came back. The commotion outside had been so loud that she had gone out to watch.
“You tell me, of all the people Matchmaker Liu could have offended, she just had to offend Aunt Wu. This time, if Aunt Wu doesn’t go to her house and curse for three days, she can change her surname to Wu.”
Having lived in the village for so many years, Liu Huilan understood everyone’s personalities very well. Aunt Wu was the most vengeful person and also the hardest to provoke.
Back then, Aunt Wu’s mother-in-law had been the village’s most notorious difficult woman, but even she had been defeated by Aunt Wu.
What was Matchmaker Liu compared to her?
“Although, this Matchmaker Liu really isn’t honest when she arranges marriages. She should just tell people the man’s actual situation.”
Yingzi said, “Then doesn’t that mean we’ll have a lot of excitement to watch these next few days?”
“You little girl!”
Although Liu Huilan scolded Yingzi, she was actually worried in her heart.
When she went out today, someone had told her that a man had come looking for Lin Yi.
Could it be…
When it was almost time to turn off the lamp and sleep, Liu Huilan was still lost in thought. Unexpectedly, Yingzi quietly slipped over and whispered:
“Mom, my sister-in-law met someone today. She said she won’t leave our house and won’t go away with him.”
“Really?”
Liu Huilan couldn’t believe it.
These past few days, Lin Yi hadn’t mentioned the matter, and Liu Huilan hadn’t dared to ask.
Yingzi nodded vigorously.
“I overheard it.”
Liu Huilan pinched her little nose.
“You little rascal!”
Yingzi rubbed against her shoulder, then turned around and ran away.
“Where are you going? It’s dark already. Aren’t you sleeping?”
“I’m going to sleep with my sister-in-law. She smells nice. Your side doesn’t smell good.”
Liu Huilan’s face instantly darkened.
This girl really was something. How had she become her second sister-in-law’s little shadow?
That afternoon, as soon as Lin Yi lay down, Yingzi quietly climbed onto the kang and lay beside her like a cute little kitten.
Lin Yi reached out and touched her head.
She knew this little girl was clever. She had definitely gone to report everything to her mother.
But Lin Yi wasn’t angry at all.
Growing up, this was the first time someone had been this close to her and this attached to her. It actually made her feel quite secure.
Just as Liu Huilan expected, Aunt Wu really argued with Matchmaker Liu for three days.
The villagers got plenty of entertainment from it. No one knew whether Matchmaker Liu had promised some benefit, but eventually the matter slowly died down.
One afternoon, Xiumei came to Lin Yi’s house carrying a basket.
Zhou Xiangdong and Liu Huilan had gone to work in the production team, leaving only Lin Yi and Yingzi at home.
Yingzi was surprised when she saw Xiumei.
“Xiumei-jie, why are you here? Do you need something?”
They were around the same age. Xiumei was three years older than Yingzi.
Although three years didn’t sound like much, their lives were already completely different.
Girls Xiumei’s age were already busy looking for husbands and discussing marriage. Girls Yingzi’s age still talked about knitting, making clothes, delicious food, and fun things.
They had nothing to talk about, so they weren’t especially close.
Yet Xiumei had actually come to their house.
The moment she entered, she put down her bamboo basket and took out more than a dozen large peaches.
The bright red peaches were wrapped in green leaves, giving off a sweet fragrance.
“That day… thank you, Sister Lin Yi…”
Xiumei spoke with difficulty, her cheeks turning red despite herself.
After speaking, she tightly pressed her lips together. Her eyes looking at Lin Yi were filled with shyness and sincerity.
Many people had already forgotten what happened that day. They didn’t remember what Lin Yi had said or done at all. Everyone had been focused on watching Aunt Wu tear into Matchmaker Liu.
But Xiumei remembered everything clearly.
At that time, she had actually been tempted by Matchmaker Liu’s words.
If Lin Yi hadn’t interrupted, perhaps that marriage really would have happened.
Just thinking about it frightened her.
That day, she had carefully looked at Ma Bao Guo.
He was indeed big, rough, dark, and strong, exactly as Matchmaker Liu had described.
But anyone could tell he was simple-minded. When he saw her, he had only smiled foolishly.
She had been so frightened that she had nightmares all night after returning home.
So today she came specifically to thank Lin Yi.
“I’ll call you Sister Lin Yi. That day, it was all thanks to you!”
Others might forget Lin Yi’s kindness, but she herself had to remember it, even for a lifetime.
She knew what kind of person she was. She didn’t know how to speak well, and she didn’t know how to refuse people during blind dates.
If Matchmaker Liu kept arranging matches for her, how could things possibly end well?
Lin Yi thought this girl was quite interesting.
She was also a little relieved.
Luckily, she had softened yesterday. Otherwise, if things had continued developing, she wouldn’t have been able to help.
Perhaps this was fate.
“No need to keep it in your heart. It was just a coincidence. Your peaches are so big. They look really sweet. Yingzi, quickly wash a few so we can try them.”
Yingzi had already been drooling.
She originally planned to just wipe the peach fuzz off and bite into it directly, but since her second sister-in-law told her to wash it first…
Then she would wash them.
After washing three large peaches, she gave one to Xiumei. The two sisters-in-law each took one, and the three girls started eating happily.
Xiumei was still a little embarrassed.
These peaches were ones she had brought from home. If she ate them again, wouldn’t that be strange?
But for some reason, Lin Yi’s smile made it impossible for her to refuse.
It felt like these peaches were different from the ones at her house.
Even the taste was different—especially sweet and fragrant.
After finishing the peaches, Xiumei thanked Lin Yi once more and left with a flushed face.
Yingzi said, “Look at Xiumei. Ever since she entered our yard, her face has been as red as a monkey’s butt. She even blushes when talking to you. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
Lin Yi: “……”
After eating, the two of them boiled two pots of hot water.
In the afternoon, they needed to take water to Zhou Xiangdong and Liu Huilan in the fields.
The production team provided one meal at noon, so the workers all ate communal meals there. They heard that the educated youths would also come help today.
In the past, whenever educated youths were mentioned, Yingzi would instinctively become nervous, afraid that her sister-in-law would run away with one of them.
Now, she wasn’t as afraid anymore.
The two packed up and went out together.
Originally, one person could have gone, but Yingzi insisted on sticking with Lin Yi.
Lin Yi had no choice.
The fields of Xiao Guan Village were located at the southern end of the village, backed by a small mountain.
At the foot of the mountain was a stretch of flat land.
The villagers were divided into three production teams. Liu Dalong was the captain of their third team and also the village chief.
In Xiao Guan Village, the person everyone respected most was Liu Dalong.
He had become a village cadre at eighteen years old. Back then, he led the entire village—young and old—to build reservoirs, reclaim farmland, and grow crops.
Up until now, several nearby villages still did not have as much farmland as Xiao Guan Village, and life in Xiao Guan Village was much better than in the others.
During the difficult years, their village had lost the fewest people.
Therefore, Liu Dalong had the highest prestige in the village. Basically, once he made a decision, no one dared to disagree.
Today, Liu Dalong was once again personally leading the people from their third production team in the fields to work.
The corn seedlings in the fields had already been dried by the sun until they were drooping. The weeds were even taller than the corn seedlings. Liu Dalong led his team members in pulling out the weeds before the rainy season arrived. Otherwise, once the rains came, the corn seedlings would be completely choked out by the weeds.
They had eaten the communal meal at noon and were now busy working in the fields.
When Zhou Xiangdong was young, he had also been a strong worker. Although he was older now, he was still very hardworking. His cotton jacket had already been soaked halfway through with sweat. Liu Huilan was the same. Whenever she got tired, she would rest for a while before continuing to work.
At this moment, Sun Danniang, nicknamed “Sun the Sharp-Tongued,” looked around and, seeing that no one was nearby, said:
“I heard your Lin Yi wants to remarry. Is that true?”
“Who did you hear that from?”
Liu Huilan was very displeased about this matter and did not want to pay attention to her.
Sun the Sharp-Tongued curled her lips.
“I’ve already heard about it!”
Liu Huilan glared at her fiercely.
“I haven’t even heard of it myself. How did you hear about it?”
One sentence left Sun the Sharp-Tongued speechless.
Just then, more than a dozen educated youths walked over in a line toward them.
Leading them was Li Jing, the captain of the educated youth settlement.
Li Jing was twenty-six years old this year, but because he had spent so much time working in the fields, his skin had been tanned dark and rough. He looked even more weathered than the men from the village. The educated youths behind him also looked dusty and worn, clearly people who often participated in labor.
However, among all these educated youths, the most eye-catching one was Yuan Jinfeng.
Among the group, Yuan Jinfeng was not only the tallest, but his skin was also fair and delicate. More importantly, the clothes he wore were washed extremely clean, and his hair was combed until it shone, without a single strand out of place.