After all, Ye Yong was just a four-year-old child, lacking the intricate thoughts adults have in their minds. The thing he heard most often was Da Sao’s Mother saying she didn’t like Little Aunt, and that if Little Aunt were at home, the family wouldn’t be mocked by the villagers.
The issue with Ye Zhifang’s intelligence started from the second grade of elementary school. In first grade, she could handle addition and subtraction within twenty, but no matter how the teacher taught her, she couldn’t grasp addition and subtraction within one hundred.
Besides math, she also struggled with memorizing ancient poems in Chinese class. She could remember the first line but not the next.
Later, all her classmates distanced themselves from Ye Zhifang. When everyone moved up to third grade, Ye Zhifang took her final exams for second grade and scored single digits in both Chinese and math. In the end, she had no choice but to be taken home by her family.
Even with Eldest Brother and Second Brother personally tutoring her, Ye Zhifang still couldn’t understand the knowledge in the books. Over time, some of her behaviors also became different from normal people.
It was only then that the family realized Ye Zhifang had an intellectual disability. From then on, some children in the village started calling Ye Zhifang “little fool.”
At first, Eldest Brother and Second Brother would argue or even fight with those who said it, but over time, they couldn’t stop others from talking about their sister that way.
Until one day, Ye Zhifang suddenly said, “I’m not a fool. I just can’t learn the knowledge in books. Those who call me a fool will get sick.”
Sure enough, within a few days, children in the village fell ill one after another. Some had fevers that wouldn’t go down, some had colds with constant runny noses, and others had stomachaches so severe they rolled on the ground. Even after calling the village doctor, they couldn’t be cured.
In the end, all those who had spoken ill of Ye Zhifang were punished. It was only after their families took them to the county hospital that they fully recovered, with each family spending a lot of money on their children’s treatment.
From then on, Eldest Brother and Second Brother no longer argued with those who spoke ill of Little Sister. Whenever their sister was unhappy, someone would inevitably suffer misfortune.
But now, Little Sister had asked such a question. Eldest Brother and Second Brother exchanged glances. If it really came down to Little Sister and Xiao Yong falling into the river at the same time, it seemed they would both rescue Little Sister first.
Ye Yong looked left and right but didn’t get a response from Dad or Second Brother. Unhappy, he lowered his head, as if he already knew the answer.
“Little Aunt, I can swim, so I don’t need anyone to save me. But you’ve never known how to swim. If you fall into the river, let Dad and Second Brother save you first.”
People should know their limits, and even a four-year-old child understood this principle.
Ye Zhifang ate the dumplings in her bowl while searching through the original host’s memories. It seemed that from childhood to adulthood, she really couldn’t swim—but she herself could!
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. Many villagers came to fish on the ice of the river outside the village, all because the Ye brothers had caught a bucketful of fish the day before. With those fish, the whole family could enjoy a bountiful Spring Festival.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, only a few families actually managed to catch any fish. A one-catty fish was considered big.
Ye Zhifang fully embraced her role as the young lady of the Ye family—eating when hungry and sleeping when full.
After all, the whole family was busy preparing for the Spring Festival, but it had nothing to do with her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help, but she only ended up causing more trouble. In the end, the whole family told her to watch TV in her room.
In the exclusive courtyard of the military compound far away in the capital city, the Pei Family of six resides. As the elder of the Pei Family, he now holds the rank of brigade commander in the military.
Back during the rescue, Pei Father was still a battalion commander. After all these years, he had finally risen to the position of brigade commander.
The Pei Family had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Pei Shaojun, was 28 years old and served as a battalion commander in the military. He was fully devoted to his work, never showing any interest in romantic affairs. He would directly reject any advances from women, which was why he remained single to this day.
The middle son was Pei Shaowu, aged 25, who served as a company commander in the military. He had always wanted to surpass his eldest brother, so he spent most of his time in the military, practically a training fanatic.
The one betrothed to Ye Zhifang was the third son of the Pei Family, Pei Shaoting, now 23 years old. He had recently been promoted to company commander, having previously served as a platoon leader.
After Pei Shaoting was promoted to company commander, Pei Father felt that his son had now reached marriageable age. With the rank of company commander, he was qualified to marry the youngest daughter of the Ye Family, who had once saved his life. That was why Pei Father personally wrote a letter and sent it to the village chief of Ye Family Village.
The youngest of the Pei Family was Pei Shaoning, now 18 years old and currently a senior in high school. He would soon take the college entrance exam in the summer and was still living at home.
“Old Pei, you arranged that Child Betrothal for Shaoting back then, but we have no idea what the girl looks like now. Will she be willing to marry into our family? With Shaoting’s carefree attitude, I’m really worried this marriage might fall through.”
Pei Mother spoke while peeling an apple, soon handing it to Pei Father.
“Ah, I suppose the Ye Family has received my letter by now. Logically, I should have gone to pick up the girl myself, but I’m just too busy with military duties to leave. In the letter, I already mentioned that they should come after the New Year. When you have time, tidy up two guest rooms—just in case Ye Family Elder Brother comes along too. Back then, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today, and I wouldn’t even have been able to meet Shaoning.”
Speaking of this, Pei Mother still felt a lingering fear. Pei Father had been assigned by the military to support flood-stricken areas at the time. She was already ten months pregnant then, and her mind was filled with worries. Fortunately, their daughter was born safely in the end.
Half a month later, her husband returned, bringing back a Betrothal Contract and a child’s red bellyband.
It was only then that she learned how close her husband had come to never returning. Thankfully, fate had been kind.
“Alright, let’s not tell Shaoting about this for now. We’ll bring it up once they arrive. Who knows—maybe Shaoting will like the girl, and everything will work out!”
Fortunately, the Pei Family had also prospered in the military over the years. They had moved from shared barracks to their own independent courtyard, with the house built neatly and orderly. Anyone who visited couldn’t help but admire the Pei Family’s independent courtyard.
A few days later, on New Year’s Eve, the Ye Family prepared brand-new clothes for Ye Zhifang—everything from the inside out was new, even the shoes. Dressing Ye Zhifang up like this made her feel a bit embarrassed.
“Xiao Fang, Dad is telling you that on the seventh day after the New Year, your Second Brother will take you into the city to visit relatives. Once you’ve had enough fun, come back home. No matter how good the relatives’ home is, it’s never as good as your own. When you’re at the relatives’ house, listen to your Second Brother in everything. If you don’t understand something, ask him more. Understood?”
In the end, Father Ye lied. Telling a child with the intellect of an eight-year-old about breaking off an engagement would likely be beyond her understanding. It was better to phrase it as visiting relatives instead.
Ye Zhifang also felt the warmth of her family’s affection. If the engagement could be successfully called off this time, she would tell her family after returning that her illness had been cured. Then, she would lead the whole family to prosperity—surely that would be far better than scraping a living from the soil.
“Dad, won’t you come along? I’ve seen on TV that there are tall buildings in the city, and those cars that run. I’ve never ridden in a car in all my life.”
Ah, Ye Zhifang felt quite helpless. Speaking like a fool was exhausting—better to return to normal soon.
“No, we’ll go to the city together as a family another time. When we do, if you like anything, just have your Second Brother buy it for you.”
Father Ye was still very kind to his daughter. He planned to take advantage of this engagement cancellation to have Zhiheng take her around the capital city properly and buy some things girls like.
Friendly reminder: If you can’t find the book by title, try searching by the author’s name—it might just have been renamed!