After hearing from the villagers that they had visitors at home, Yu Huan’s parents returned from the fields ahead of schedule. As soon as they reached their front gate, they saw Yu Chunmei and her companion waiting there.
Yu Huan’s father’s expression immediately darkened.
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
Once everyone had entered the house, they took their seats in the main room.
“Huanhuan, go to the kitchen and start preparing lunch,” her mother instructed.
Yu Huan understood that her parents wanted to get her out of the room so they could talk privately. She obediently agreed and walked out.
However, she didn’t go to the kitchen. Instead, she quietly moved behind the main room’s door.
The moment Yu Huan was out of sight, her paternal aunt eagerly spoke up.
“Eldest Brother, let me introduce you. This is the mother of Factory Director Li. She’s specially come today to discuss a marriage proposal.”
The older woman, Sister Zhao—also known as Li’s mother—had been sizing up the house ever since she walked through the door. Although the place was tidy, it was still old and shabby. A look of disdain appeared on her face.
“Village Chief Yu, since our families will soon be related, I’ll speak frankly.”
“Our family is willing to offer three hundred yuan, a wristwatch, and a sewing machine as the bride price. We already have a bicycle at home, so there’s no need to buy another one.”
“I’ve also seen your daughter just now. She’s certainly pretty, though her temper is a little too fiery. Once she marries my son, she’ll have to learn to change that.”
“Our family doesn’t expect your daughter to get a job or earn money. She can simply stay home, wash clothes, and cook. Most importantly, she must take good care of my son.”
“And my son already has two sons from his previous marriage. It doesn’t matter if your daughter doesn’t have children of her own. She just needs to raise those two boys properly.”
Li’s mother spoke with an air of superiority, as though she were offering Yu Huan an extraordinary opportunity.
The three members of the Yu family, inside and outside the room, were utterly stunned.
Yu Huan’s father’s face darkened so much that it looked as though water might drip from it.
“Madam, I don’t know what Yu Chunmei has told you, but my daughter is still young, and we have no plans to arrange a marriage for her. Please go home.”
Li’s mother immediately looked displeased. Was he trying to bargain for a higher bride price?
If her own son hadn’t insisted on finding a young and pretty wife, she wouldn’t have bothered coming all the way out to the countryside. They had searched the county town for ages without finding anyone suitable.
“If you think the bride price isn’t appropriate, you can make a counteroffer.”
“Eldest Brother, look how sincere they are! If Huanhuan marries into their family, she’ll have a comfortable life. Besides, girls her age in the village are already getting married. What a wonderful opportunity to marry into the county town, especially into a factory director’s family! Don’t be foolish and turn this down!”
Yu Chunmei was getting anxious.
Yu Huan’s mother’s expression turned unpleasant.
“Little Sister, stop trying to persuade us. No matter how much you say, your brother and I won’t agree.”
She then turned to Li’s mother.
“Madam, this isn’t about the bride price. We genuinely have no intention of arranging a marriage for our youngest daughter. She has three older brothers, after all. If anyone should be getting married first, it certainly wouldn’t be her.”
“I also had no idea my younger sister would do something so foolish. I’m sorry you’ve had to make this trip for nothing. It’s almost lunchtime, so I won’t keep you any longer.”
Seeing their attitude, Li’s mother finally understood. The Yu family simply had no interest in marrying their daughter into her family.
“Yu Chunmei! If you hadn’t told me that your eldest brother and sister-in-law had already agreed, I wouldn’t have made this trip. So your whole family has been playing me for a fool!”
Li’s mother had never been humiliated like this before. Her face turned red with anger.
She then turned toward Yu Huan’s parents and spoke even more rudely.
“Your daughter looks like a little vixen. You’d think someone that pretty could find herself a decent family to marry into!”
“With your family’s status, you’ll be nothing but country folk for the rest of your lives!”
After saying that, she turned around and stormed out.
Yu Chunmei was now furious with her eldest brother and sister-in-law.
“She’s just a girl! You treat her like she’s some precious treasure. You’ll regret it one day!”
She hurried after Li’s mother, continuously apologizing as she went.
There was no chance of the marriage proposal succeeding now. What Yu Chunmei feared most was that Li’s mother would return home and complain to Deputy Factory Director Li. If that happened, her husband might not only lose out on the benefits he had hoped to receive, but could also end up being deliberately given a hard time at work.
After watching the two women leave, Yu Huan secretly slipped a Bad Luck Talisman onto each of them.
The talismans would only last three days. She considered it a small lesson for the pair. After all, they had come all the way to her home just to insult her.
Returning to the main room, she saw that her parents were still fuming. She quickly went over to comfort them.
“Dad, Mom, don’t be angry anymore. It’s not worth ruining your health over people like that.”
“Huanhuan, did you hear everything?” her father asked gently, suppressing his anger.
“Huanhuan, you’re still young. Even if you don’t continue on to high school, there’s no need to rush into marriage. And there’s certainly no reason for you to become someone else’s stepmother!”
Her mother was still seething.
“Your mother is right. Our family may not be as wealthy as those city families, but that doesn’t mean we’ll let you marry just anyone. Don’t take those women’s words to heart.”
Her father was also worried that his young daughter might dwell on their insults and become upset.
“Dad, Mom, I haven’t taken their words to heart. As long as you two don’t dislike me, that’s all that matters.”
Yu Huan had no intention of continuing her studies at high school. There wasn’t much more she could learn at school anyway, and considering her physical condition, she had decided to study independently at home.
She had already discussed this with her parents when she returned from school. Her father and mother had completely respected her decision.
Although Yu Huan’s father was the village chief, he couldn’t simply recommend his daughter for admission to a worker-peasant-soldier university. After all, she had never worked in the fields or made any contributions to the village.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t ever think that way again,” her mother scolded affectionately.
“Dad, Mom, why don’t we build a new house?”
Yu Huan had noticed the disdainful look in Li’s mother’s eyes. Their current house really was rather old and run-down.
Her parents didn’t immediately understand what she meant. How had the conversation suddenly turned to building a house?
“Your sons are all grown up now. They’ll eventually get married and have children, and there definitely won’t be enough rooms for everyone. Since our family has money now, why don’t we build a new house first? That way, it’ll be easier for my brothers to find wives later.”
Her mother hesitated.
“Wouldn’t that attract unwanted attention?”
Yu Huan’s father thought it over carefully and decided that it was a reasonable idea.
His sons were grown men who would eventually need homes of their own when they got married. Both of his sons had been working for several years and contributed part of their monthly wages to the household. There was a perfectly legitimate source for the money needed to build a house, so there was nothing suspicious about it.
“Huanhuan is right. Our sons are grown up and need houses before they can get married. Once things settle down a little, I’ll start looking for workers.”
With that, Yu Huan’s father made the decision.
Now that the family matters had been settled, it was nearly time for the midday work bell. Yu Huan’s father still had to ring the bell to signal the end of the morning shift.
Her mother simply decided to prepare lunch at home. The few work points she might earn weren’t worth the trouble of going back and forth.
After lunch, Yu Huan’s parents returned to their room to rest.
Yu Huan, meanwhile, stared at the barrier blocking the entrance to the courtyard inside her space, wondering what she needed to do to get beyond it.
She had already sold half of the grain stored in the room. She planned to keep the remaining half for her family to eat. Once she managed to remove the barrier and cultivate crops in the spiritual fields, she could sell the harvest instead.
Yu Huan went to the talisman room, picked up the paper and brush on the table, and began practicing how to draw talismans.
Talismans would eventually run out, so she had decided to learn how to make them herself.
As for the Hehuan Art, she had only just entered its second level. The spiritual energy she could summon within her body was still quite limited. Even after exhausting all her spiritual energy, she hadn’t managed to produce a single talisman.
It seemed she would have to practice much harder.
Although the afternoon sun was bright, cool breezes occasionally swept through the air. It was exactly the kind of weather that made a person sleepy.
Yu Huan left her space, returned to her bedroom, and stretched out on the bed.
In the end, she simply couldn’t resist the natural urge to take an afternoon nap.
A while later, Yu Huan suddenly jolted awake from her dream, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed.
She… she had actually dreamed about Educated Youth Ling!
Yu Huan patted her burning cheeks, her eyes filled with confusion.
Could he really be the person destined to be her cultivation partner?
When her parents went back to work in the fields that afternoon, Yu Huan insisted on going with them.
Her parents assumed she was still affected by what had happened that morning.
They tried repeatedly to comfort her, but no matter what she said, they refused to let their pampered little girl do hard labor in the fields.