Yu Yao mixed all the spiritual spring water she had stored in her spatial dimension into the tea and brought it to Yu Hongyuan, repeatedly reminding him to finish it.
Liang Hui rode his bicycle out and used grain ration tickets at a high price to exchange for some fine grains.
Yu Yao said that if they didn’t use the ration tickets soon, they would expire.
He used twenty jin of fine grain tickets to exchange for six jin of white flour and six jin of white rice. The rest he planned to take to the town grain supply office and exchange entirely for food.
Yu Yao took the grain, kneaded some flour, and made several large flatbreads, then cooked white rice porridge—preparing dinner for her grand-uncle and his grandson.
After finishing the meal, she gave Xiao Yong a few instructions, said goodbye to Yu Hongyuan, and left the grand-uncle’s house with Liang Hui.
Yu Yao knew that Hao Lizhi usually stayed at the butcher shop at noon and only returned home to eat after the peak lunch hour. She planned to go to the butcher shop and confront him.
However, her plan to demand her dowry ran into resistance from Liang Hui.
Liang Hui raised an eyebrow slightly and said calmly, “I came back with you this time to visit Grand-uncle, not to demand a dowry.”
“You already brought a bicycle as your dowry—that’s enough to save face. There’s no need to go back to your family and make a scene over it. If we want anything in the future, we’ll earn money together and buy it.”
“It’s getting late. We still need to go to town to buy things. Let’s go.”
Hao Lizhi had inherited his in-law family’s butcher shop. Every morning he sold meat there, and his information network was even more up-to-date than Wang Yulan’s.
News that Yu Yao had returned to Youjiagou Village with her new husband quickly reached his ears.
He couldn’t help feeling uneasy, frowning as he thought: A married daughter is like water spilled—why come back?
He considered closing the shop early, but felt reluctant.
By noon he was still hesitating when news finally came—those two had ridden a bicycle to town!
Hao Lizhi finally let out a breath of relief.
But then he realized the bicycle they were riding belonged to Feng Xueqing, and his mood turned sour again.
Last night, Feng Xueqing had been brought back in the middle of the night by the eldest and second sons of the Liang family.
She had been crying and sobbing, her face bruised and swollen, covered in bumps, and even her bicycle had been taken by Yu Yao.
“Dad, Yu Yao beat me nearly to death and stole my bicycle. You have to stand up for me!”
Hao Lizhi immediately grabbed the two Liang brothers and demanded they explain everything.
After hearing the full story, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled—since when had Yu Yao become so capable?
Yu Yao had always been willful but not clever. Even though she was his biological daughter, he didn’t like her.
Feng Xueqing, on the other hand, was smart, even said to have a “lucky star” aura—everything she said seemed to come true—and he favored her greatly.
He had assumed that even if Yu Yao married Liang Laosi, she would not affect Feng Xueqing at all.
With Feng Xueqing’s intelligence, dealing with Yu Yao should have been effortless.
Who would have thought Feng Xueqing would be beaten into a pig’s head before even marrying in.
Hao Lizhi couldn’t help feeling uneasy: Yu Yao has changed so much—could she have been possessed by something?
Hearing that she had returned to the village, he felt as if facing a great enemy.
Fortunately, she had only made a feint and left again.
Unable to figure out what was going on, Hao Lizhi finally decided to close the butcher shop and go home to discuss countermeasures with Wang Yulan and her daughter.
Yu Yao’s plan to storm the butcher shop and demand her dowry was aborted due to Liang Hui’s opposition, leaving her a bit gloomy.
But once Liang Hui carried her over mountains and ridges to the town, and she saw the buildings and bustling streets, her mood immediately lifted.
She had arrived in the city!
The journey took more than two hours, including a section of mountain path where they even had to bend low and climb.
Liang Hui carried the bicycle while Yu Yao followed behind, struggling along a narrow, barely passable trail.
Even though the bicycle seat jolted her sore, her excitement about entering town quickly replaced the discomfort.
First, Liang Hui took her to the department store—the largest shopping center in Shilong Town.
He picked out several pieces of nice fabric for her clothes, and before she could even take out money, he had already paid.
Yu Yao was surprised—wasn’t all the remaining money from the bride price supposed to be with her?
Turns out this man still had a secret stash of money.
After buying fabric, he also got her a pair of trendy wedge-heel plastic sandals.
Yu Yao immediately put them on—they were light and comfortable.
They also bought daily necessities, spare underwear, socks, and more.
Sea Gull brand shampoo, a bar of jasmine soap, and a box of Youyi face cream.
Yu Yao even picked out two toothbrushes of different colors, a tube of Zhonghua toothpaste, and two small enamel cups for brushing.
Liang Hui glanced at them and said, “Liang San uses this stuff every day.”
Every morning he stood by the well, brushing until his mouth was full of white foam.
Because Liang Haifeng was a university student, everything he did was accepted by the villagers. If it were anyone else, they would have been mocked.
Yu Yao seriously said, “We should develop the habit of brushing our teeth every morning and night. It has nothing to do with Liang Haifeng.”
Liang Hui hung the purchases on the bicycle handlebars and rode her to a house he clearly knew well, knocking on the door.
A woman in her fifties opened the gate warmly. “Ah, Liang Hui, Xiao Hai isn’t home—”
“Aunt Fang, this is my wife. We bought some things in town, and I’d like her to stay at your place for a while. I’ll come back to pick her up after I finish my business,” Liang Hui explained.
The woman quickly invited Yu Yao in and helped unload the goods from the bicycle.
Liang Hui said to Yu Yao, “I’m going to handle some matters. I’ll definitely come back before dark to pick you up.”
Yu Yao blinked and nodded obediently. “Mm, go ahead.”
It seemed Liang Hui’s trip to town wasn’t just for shopping with her—she wasn’t either.
She just hadn’t expected him to be so familiar with the town, even having acquaintances here.
Liang Hui then asked for all of Yu Yao’s grain ration tickets, planning to exchange them for food.
Yu Yao smiled faintly—they had thought of the same thing, saving her time and effort.
She handed over all the ration tickets given by Grandma Liang and Yu Hongyuan.
Liang Hui took them and rode off on his bicycle.
Aunt Fang invited Yu Yao into the house, poured her tea, and brought out roasted peanuts.
“So Liang Hui really married such a beautiful wife—how nice.”
A while ago she had even considered introducing a girl from town to him, but he had refused, saying he lived in the mountains and didn’t want to delay a city girl.
She hadn’t expected his wife to be so lovely—fair-skinned, delicate features, and even more graceful than the girls in town.
Yu Yao held her teacup, looked around, and asked, “Auntie, how did Liang Hui and your Xiao Hai meet?”
At the mention of this, Aunt Fang’s tone became full of gratitude.
“Xiao Hai’s father passed away early, and I don’t have a proper job. It’s just me and Xiao Hai, and life was very hard.”
“Don’t be fooled by living in town—we might not even be better off than you villagers. One bad year and we could starve.”
“Fortunately, Xiao Hai met Liang Hui. He brought him into doing small business so we could make a living.”
“If it weren’t for Liang Hui helping us all these years, I don’t know how we would’ve survived.”