Yu Huan eventually managed to convince her parents to let her go to work.
After all, she was already grown up. She wasn’t continuing her studies, nor was she planning to find a job in the county town. If she simply stayed at home doing nothing, her own family might not say anything, but outsiders would certainly gossip.
Even so, Yu Huan’s father couldn’t bear the thought of his daughter suffering. He decided that she could start working the following day. She would only need to gather pigweed every morning. That way, she could satisfy her desire to work without exhausting herself.
As for whatever nonsense other people might say, he couldn’t care less. His daughter deserved to be pampered.
As soon as Yu Huan’s mother arrived at the fields, two women she was usually on friendly terms with came over to surround her.
“Cuifen, is it true that your younger sister-in-law brought someone over to arrange a marriage for Huanhuan?”
Sister-in-law Wang was the first to speak. She and Yu Huan’s mother had grown up in the same village. After getting married, they had both settled in the same village as well. Because of this connection, they had always been quite close.
Zhao Cuifen, Yu Huan’s mother, asked, “Who told you that?”
“At noon, when your younger sister-in-law was leaving the village with that older woman, the two of them somehow ended up falling into a ditch together,” another woman, Sister-in-law Li, chimed in.
“Some people went over to help them, and your younger sister-in-law ended up telling everyone the whole story. She said your family didn’t appreciate a good opportunity and had even rejected a marriage proposal from a factory director’s family.”
“Yes, something like that happened. But Huanhuan is still young. If we’re going to arrange a marriage, her older brothers should get settled first. So we turned the proposal down.”
Yu Huan’s mother answered casually, as though it were nothing worth discussing.
“That’s true. Huanhuan is such a pretty girl. She certainly won’t have any trouble finding a good husband in the future.”
Seeing that Yu Huan’s mother didn’t want to discuss the matter any further, Sister-in-law Wang agreed with her briefly before heading to the neighboring field.
Sister-in-law Li also took the hint and walked away.
Meanwhile, several other women nearby watched them and began whispering among themselves.
“Sigh… The village chief’s daughter won’t even consider marrying into a factory director’s family. Our sons don’t stand a chance at all.”
One of the women sighed.
Quite a few young men in the village had their eyes on the village chief’s daughter. Some families had originally planned to approach the Yu family and try their luck. Now, however, they had given up the idea.
Of course, every parent thought their own son was wonderful. But no matter how good their sons were, they couldn’t compete with someone from the city in terms of family background.
The village chief had even rejected a factory director’s family from the county town. There was no way an ordinary village family would have a chance.
Many families shared the same thoughts. After this incident, quite a few abandoned the idea of proposing marriage to Yu Huan.
However, some families began considering whether they could arrange marriages with the Yu family’s sons instead. After all, the village chief had three sons, even if those brothers hadn’t been seen around the village much over the past couple of years.
“Hmph! They treat a lazy girl like she’s some precious treasure. They even look down on people from the city. Just wait. They’ll regret it one day!”
Zhang Caifeng sneered.
She came from the same village as Yu Huan’s mother and had been jealous of her since childhood.
Why was it that they were both girls, yet Zhao Cuifen had been loved and cherished by her parents and brothers, while Zhang Caifeng had only received beatings and scoldings?
Her two older brothers often bullied her as well.
Zhao Cuifen had been treated like a treasure, while she herself had been treated like a weed.
After growing up, Zhang Caifeng had always felt that she was no less attractive than Yu Huan’s mother. Yet Zhao Cuifen had married into the relatively well-off Yu family and eventually become the village chief’s wife.
Meanwhile, Zhang Caifeng had been forced to marry into the Zhao family in Yushui Village, another household that favored sons over daughters, just so her parents could collect enough money for her older brother’s bride price.
After getting married, Zhao Cuifen had given birth to three sons in a row, while Zhang Caifeng had given birth to three daughters.
It wasn’t until Zhao Cuifen gave birth to a daughter that Zhang Caifeng finally managed to have a son of her own.
In her eyes, Zhao Cuifen seemed to have been born specifically to bring her bad luck.
The women standing nearby knew that Zhang Caifeng was having one of her usual fits. Whenever the village chief’s family came up in conversation, she never had anything good to say.
They also knew that as long as they didn’t entertain her comments, she would eventually get angry and leave on her own.
Having grown accustomed to this, the women continued chatting among themselves for a while before dispersing.
Zhang Caifeng was absolutely furious.
These people were nothing but bootlickers! They didn’t even dare join her in gossiping about someone.
Hmph! She refused to believe she couldn’t find anyone willing to spread rumors with her!
Within two days, everyone in the village had heard that the village chief’s daughter was destined to marry into a wealthy family from the city or even the provincial capital.
The rumored requirements were extremely strict:
The prospective groom had to be no older than twenty, and most importantly, he had to be handsome.
The bride price had to be at least one thousand yuan, along with the famous “three major items and one major purchase”—a watch, a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a radio.
Not a single condition could be missing!
After hearing this, Yu Huan’s parents were speechless for quite some time.
Yu Huan, on the other hand, laughed until she could hardly breathe.
Whoever had come up with this rumor was a genius! They had practically saved her from having matchmakers constantly knocking on her door.
At the educated youth compound.
“Brother, don’t you think those marriage requirements sound exactly like they’re describing you?”
Song Yujie had just heard the gossip and immediately started worrying that his older brother might become the target of the village chief’s daughter.
After all, his brother was the most handsome man around. He was also an educated youth from the city.
Although the villagers didn’t know his true family background, he seemed to fit every single one of those requirements.
It was true that the village chief’s daughter was beautiful, but they were eventually going back to the city. Even if his brother got together with her, their father would never approve of the marriage.
Ling Yuan glanced at Song Yujie’s constantly changing expression and immediately understood what he was thinking.
“You’re overthinking it.”
“Anyway, Brother, you should stay away from the village chief’s daughter from now on. Better safe than sorry!”
Seeing that Ling Yuan had closed his eyes as though he were already asleep, Song Yujie stopped talking.
Meanwhile, in the female educated youths’ dormitory.
“Hey, have you heard? The village chief’s daughter has incredibly high standards when it comes to choosing a husband. If she wants someone with all those qualifications around here, she’d practically have to marry an educated youth from a good family. The male educated youths here are all from the cities or provincial capitals.”
Chen Meiling looked rather amused as she shared the gossip.
“According to what you’re saying, wouldn’t Zhao, Song, and Ling all qualify? They’re certainly the most handsome men here. We just don’t know what their family backgrounds are like.”
Su Qing casually chimed in from her bed.
Lin Zhiyu paused in the middle of sewing.
“Don’t make assumptions. Ling and the others come from good families. There’s no way someone like him would marry a village girl.”
“Zhiyu, how do you know they come from good families?” Chen Meiling asked in surprise.
They hadn’t been living together for very long, and none of them really knew much about one another’s family backgrounds. How could Lin Zhiyu know?
“Just look at their clothes, the things they use, and the way they speak. Do you think an ordinary family could raise people like that?”
Lin Zhiyu came up with an excuse rather than telling them the truth.
She was from Beijing herself. Through a friend, she had once met several young people from influential military compound families. She had gone to the movies with them a few times and had even caught distant glimpses of Ling Yuan and Song Yujie.
From the very first moment she saw Ling Yuan, she had fallen for him.
Unfortunately, before she could find an opportunity to get closer to him, she had been assigned to the countryside.
Her parents were university professors. Although they hadn’t been sent away for labor reform like some other veteran professors, their family had always kept a low profile. They didn’t dare offend anyone easily, fearing that someone might report them one day.
Her eldest brother had started working several years earlier, leaving only her eligible for the countryside assignment.
No matter how reluctant her parents were, they didn’t dare defy the national policy at a time like this.
When she discovered on the train that Ling Yuan and the others had also been assigned to Yushui Village, just like her, she felt it was fate.
She didn’t dare act too enthusiastic around him, afraid of making him dislike her. Instead, she planned to gradually build up his impression of her and let their feelings develop over time.
If she could marry Ling Yuan, given his family background, he would eventually be able to return to the city. And when that happened, she could go back with him.
After listening to her explanation, Chen Meiling thought about it carefully.
“Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case. I never paid attention to those details before. Zhiyu, you’re much more observant than I am.”
Su Qing, however, glanced at Lin Zhiyu without saying anything.