Wu Huani remembered that in her previous life, it had gone like this: in Jiang Jianguo’s second year at university, the Jiang family’s second son was admitted to the Medical University in the capital city, not far from Jiang Jianguo’s campus.
Afterward, the Jiang family rented a house near the university. Jiang Li started a business with the third son, who was a natural-born businessman. Before long, the Jiang family even bought property in the city.
Later, the third and fourth sons both dropped out—one to focus on business, the other to enter the entertainment industry—and money flowed steadily into the Jiang family.
Because she bore a son for Jiang Jianguo, she was treated like a treasure by the Jiang family. She also knew how to curry favor with Jiang Tiezhu and his wife, so she never even ran out of pocket money.
Soon, she brought the entire family to the city.
Although the current situation differed slightly from her previous life, the fact that Jiang Jianguo was a university student was undeniable. Once he went to the city for university, everything would return to the proper course.
Even if he didn’t apprentice under Jiang Ting, she believed that with Jiang Jianguo’s abilities, he could still achieve great success.
So, she could not afford to give up on the Jiang family now.
After hearing Wu Huani, Wu Changgeng felt a little tempted. Of course, he wanted to go to the city himself, but for now…
He furrowed his brows and looked at Wu Huani: “Are you really confident you can win Jiang Jianguo’s heart and convince him to take you with him to the city for university?”
“Don’t worry,” Wu Huani said confidently. “He’s liked me since we were kids. If he’s willing to give up his own sister to marry me, how could he not take me to the city?”
Wu Changgeng still wasn’t entirely reassured: “Then hurry up—there’s less than a month until school starts.”
Wu Huani didn’t know that Jiang Tiezhu had already decided to give her up and bring Jiang Li back. She was thinking that, since the apprenticeship failed, she should persuade Jiang Jianguo to go to the city as soon as possible.
She remembered that in her previous life, when Jiang Jianguo first entered university, a professor took a liking to him, eventually taking him on as a disciple. That professor guided him in research, and Jiang Jianguo was recognized by relevant institutions.
So even without Jiang Ting, as long as Jiang Jianguo attended university, it wouldn’t affect his future success.
Her immediate priority was to convince Jiang Jianguo to marry her and take her with him to study at university.
Wu Huani quickly returned to her room, changed into a fresh outfit, dressed up beautifully, and prepared to meet Jiang Jianguo.
At the same time, Jiang Jianguo had already gone to the Ding household with Li Qiujun, carrying gifts.
Meanwhile, some things were happening at the Jiang family’s small courtyard.
“Your leg just finished healing, and you have surgery tomorrow. Why are you coming back with us at this time?” Jiang Li said, a little annoyed.
“This is settled—you stay here. Qiujun and I will go back, pack up our clothes and bedding, and return early tomorrow morning.”
Ding Shijun nodded: “I think what sister-in-law said makes sense. Big brother, don’t overexert yourself—if your wound opens again, Dr. Liu will be angry.”
“I’m not worried about her, I’m worried about myself. I still want Dr. Liu to teach me about herbs! So just behave,” Jiang Li said.
If she learned more about pharmacology and herbs, she could later go up the mountain with her sister-in-law to gather and sell herbs, and also take care of their mother without spending extra money.
This way, they could also save money for her two younger brothers’ education and improve the family’s meals. Her sister-in-law was too thin—now that she had come to the Ding household, they couldn’t let her starve.
Ding Shijun had everything planned out meticulously, acting like a little adult.
“The sky is getting dark, and the mountain roads are tricky. I can’t feel at ease letting you two go back now.”
Ding Shichen, being a bit older and a former soldier, viewed Jiang Li and Ding Shijun as children in need of protection.
But he didn’t think about the fact that by age and condition classification, Jiang Li and Ding Shijun didn’t really qualify—he, on the other hand…
Jiang Li didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“You know the mountain roads aren’t easy. No need to push the wheelchair and exhaust yourself. Shijun is right. You’re a patient now—listen to the doctor and stay put.”
The mentally mature Jiang Li reached out and patted Ding Shichen’s head.
Ding Shichen froze, his heart thumping wildly. In his whole life, no girl had ever touched his head like that!
It felt strange!
Ding Shijun’s eyes went wide—his sister-in-law was bold. She had patted his older brother’s head, turning his face red. How funny…
The usually stern, authoritative eldest brother was being treated like a child by their sister-in-law—it was hilarious.
Once they returned, he would tell his two younger brothers about it.
Unaware of Ding Shijun’s thoughts, Jiang Li seized the moment while Ding Shichen was still stunned, and led Ding Shijun out of the Jiang family courtyard.
On the way back, while there was still enough light to see, they wandered through the mountains, gathering some common herbs, mushrooms, and wild fruits.
Late summer to early autumn was a time when there was plenty of edible produce in the mountains. Over the past few years, the villagers’ conditions had improved. Although still poor, they were no longer starving, and fewer people were willing to go up the mountains.
This worked in Jiang Li’s favor—before leaving the village, mountain goods were probably their only source of income.
“Sister-in-law, what are you thinking?” Ding Shijun noticed Jiang Li lost in thought and called out worriedly.
Jiang Li looked at him: “You’re in your second year of high school, right? After the summer break, you’ll start your final year. Have you thought about which university you want to attend?”
She remembered that in her previous life, Ding Shijun had given up on the college entrance exam. After their eldest brother’s accident, he took his two younger brothers to the city to work.
Now that she had entered the Ding household, she definitely wouldn’t let Ding Shijun drop out.
“My mom is sick, and my younger brothers are still young. I can’t put all the pressure on my eldest brother. So I plan not to study now. Once big brother is better, I’ll go to the city to work.”
“Then we can earn money for mom’s treatment. This way, big brother’s allowance can be used, and the two younger brothers can live a better life—even if it means sister-in-law has to make some sacrifices.”
“I’ll probably have to live a few tough years with big brother.”
Ding Shijun was worried that Jiang Li wouldn’t be able to stay in the Ding household—not because of any fault of hers, he knew she was a good person.
His eldest brother was always reserved, stern, and cold—hardly the type a girl would like.
“Sister-in-law, big brother’s leg will definitely get better. Although he’s a bit stern and cold, he’s not a bad person. You won’t dislike him, right?”
Ding Shijun knew that if it weren’t for the Jiang family forcing her, Jiang Li wouldn’t have chosen to marry into the Ding household. Besides, she hadn’t formally registered marriage with big brother yet, so the future was uncertain.
“Shijun, the things I said to the Jiang family about marrying your big brother weren’t to appease them. I truly think your brother is good, truly a hero.”
“And it turned out I wasn’t wrong. Big brother was willing to take your family’s house as a betrothal gift to help me. So why shouldn’t I really be part of the Ding family?”
“You’ve already called me sister-in-law. How could I dislike your brother?”
Jiang Li patted Ding Shijun on the shoulder:
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay in the Ding household, take care of mom, take care of your two younger brothers. So don’t drop out—keep studying, okay?”
“If you really want to help big brother, study hard and get into a good university. Then we can bring the Ding family into the city, and we’ll all live as city people. Wouldn’t that make big brother’s life easier?”
Ding Shijun was touched, but he hesitated. Continuing school meant tuition and other expenses. Once he entered university, costs would increase, and he still had two younger brothers…
He was momentarily uncertain.