“Eldest Brother, is Child Betrothal something tasty? Have you eaten it?”
Ye Zhifang suddenly blurted out this question—there was no helping it, since she had to act the fool.
Eldest Sister-in-law gave an awkward smile. In truth, the Ye family’s eldest brother and her own family had been close friends for generations. The two families had been exceptionally close since childhood, and as time passed, they naturally arranged a child betrothal for their two children. So when they came of age, they naturally married and soon had a son.
It was only then that Father Ye slowly began to recount the events of fifteen years ago.
“It was the summer of 1970. Continuous rainfall caused the river outside the village to overflow, quickly flooding the village’s houses and farmland. As the village chief, I received orders from above to evacuate all the villagers, but even so, some were unwilling to leave their homes. By the time the higher-ups dispatched soldiers to assist, the heavy rain had already risen nearly to the window frames. With no other choice, and since I was most familiar with each household’s situation, I personally followed the troops door-to-door for search and rescue. After all, I was born and raised in the countryside—that river outside the village had been there since I was a child. I could not only swim but also hold my breath longer than most. Later, when we reached the last few households, we rescued an elderly couple from the west end of the village. The military leader took off his own life jacket and gave it to them. But on the return boat, the leader went missing. It was I who jumped into the water to retrieve him—just a quarter of an hour later, and he would have lost his life.”
As Father Ye recounted these past events, Ye Zhifang listened intently, completely absorbed. This experience was entirely absent from the original host’s memories.
“Old man, that year during the heavy rain, Zhiyuan was still studying at the county school and couldn’t return because of the flooding. How come I didn’t know about all this happening back then?” Mother Ye grew anxious as well.
It seemed Father Ye had never shared these events with his family back then, so they could only wait for him to continue.
“I was the village chief—did I have to tell you every little thing? At the time, you were evacuating with Zhiheng, Xiao Fang, and the other villagers to safety. How could I stand by and watch the soldiers risk their lives for the people without doing anything? Later, I learned that the soldiers hadn’t slept for three days and nights. And that wasn’t all—when they were hungry, they only ate compressed biscuits. Even the military leaders led by example. The leader I saved seemed to be some high-ranking officer, though I didn’t know exactly what rank. Later, when he found out I had a five-year-old daughter, he insisted on arranging a child betrothal between his third son and my daughter as a way to repay me for saving his life. This silver locket was sent to me later after he returned to the capital. It’s been so long, I almost forgot about it.”
Only now did the entire family learn that Father Ye had arranged a child betrothal for Xiao Fang all those years ago—and even Mother Ye hadn’t known about it. He had kept it tightly under wraps.
Second Brother, with his impatient temper, spoke up, “Dad, now that family has written asking Little Sister to go and spend time with the person from the child betrothal, then pick an auspicious day to marry. But with Little Sister’s condition…”
Even Second Brother couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. Back when Little Sister was five, her intelligence had been normal. Who could have known she would later develop so slowly?
“Old man, Xiao Fang’s condition isn’t suitable for marriage. Anyway, our family’s circumstances have improved—it’s not like we can’t afford to support her. Let’s just call off this engagement!”
Mother Ye genuinely cherished her only daughter. Although the daughter didn’t need to do any work, all major and minor family matters over the years had been peaceful and smooth.
Father Ye glanced at his somewhat naive daughter. It seemed breaking off the engagement was unavoidable—the Ye family simply couldn’t measure up!
“From now on, Xiao Fang won’t go anywhere. Our family will support her for life. But this matter still needs a proper resolution. After the New Year…”
Father Ye looked at his eldest son, then at his second son. Accompanying his daughter to the capital to break off the engagement himself seemed inappropriate. The eldest son was now the village clerk, and his presence was essential for recording all matters, big and small. Only the second son could accompany his sister on this trip. Besides, the spring plowing season was still far off.
Plowing typically began around mid-April, when temperatures rose above five degrees Celsius, suitable for tilling and sowing. By that time, the two would have long returned.
“Zhiheng, after the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, take Xiao Fang to the capital in person. Return the Betrothal Contract and the silver locket from back then. Your grandmother made a red bellyband for Xiao Fang, which I gave to the other party as an engagement token. Bring it back when you go. Explain the situation properly to the other party. I believe they will agree to our family breaking off the engagement.”
Father Ye quickly made the decision. Although Eldest Sister-in-law was somewhat displeased, even if Sister-in-law had intellectual issues, this was a child betrothal arranged since childhood—how could they simply go back on their word?
Ye Zhifang secretly gave Father Ye full marks in her heart. It had to be the original host’s father—he genuinely cared for his daughter from the bottom of his heart.
Even if her father didn’t want to break off the engagement, she would have to find a way to do it herself. Now, it saved her the trouble.
“Dad, I’ll listen to you. In the future, Eldest Brother and I will take care of Little Sister for the rest of our lives.”
This was also the best promise the two brothers could make to their parents.
Although Ye Zhifang hadn’t had the chance to read the letter, she already knew everything. She was just waiting until after the Spring Festival to go to the capital city, wondering how today’s capital differed from the later one.
That day, the whole family was busy preparing dinner for Minor New Year. Ye Zhifang joined everyone in making dumplings. Thinking back, before her transmigration, she only ate dumplings at home during the Spring Festival. Usually, she was too busy with studies to find the leisure to make them.
“Mom, look, are the dumplings I made pretty?”
The dumplings Ye Zhifang shaped looked a bit different from everyone else’s. The family’s dumplings resembled little ingots, while hers couldn’t even stand upright—they just flopped over when placed down.
“Little Aunt, even I can make dumplings, and yours aren’t as good as mine.”
As the four-year-old in the family, Ye Yong indeed made better dumplings than Ye Zhifang.
“I can make them. I’ll make another one that’s definitely better than the last,” Ye Zhifang insisted stubbornly.
But she was interrupted by Mother Ye and Eldest Sister-in-law. “Xiao Fang, you don’t need to make dumplings anymore. Go peel a head of garlic and put it on the table.”
Ye Zhifang hadn’t expected to be looked down upon by the Ye Family. Well, peeling garlic it was.
Amid the liveliness, Ye Zhifang welcomed her first Minor New Year with the Ye Family. On the table, besides several plates of dumplings, there were Braised Fish and Steamed Fish, chicken stewed with mushrooms, and fried peanuts—truly the most sumptuous year the Ye Family had ever celebrated.
“Little Aunt, today my dad and Second Uncle were amazing—they caught so many fish! Yesterday, you didn’t catch a single one.”
Ye Yong was both proud of the two men and a little dismissive of his little aunt.
Ye Zhifang’s eyes darted around, and she immediately thought of an idea.
“Xiao Yong, if you and I both fell into the river at the same time, who do you think Eldest Brother and Second Brother would save first?”
Oh my, this classic question from later times truly tested people’s hearts. Come to think of it, Ye Zhifang knew how to swim before her transmigration.