“Hey, Aunt Wang, can this really work? That boy from the Lu family is a regiment commander. Even if he’s crippled, would he really take a fancy to our eldest girl?”
In the dim main room of the mud-brick house, Su Jianguo squatted on a small stool, holding a long-stemmed pipe and taking slow puffs.
The matchmaker, Aunt Wang, slapped her thigh.“Oh my, Brother Su, you just don’t get it. Lu Huaizhou used to be impressive, sure—but what is he now? A cripple! I heard he’ll have to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. What decent girl would want to marry into that and live like a widow? Our Hongxia may not be the sharpest, but her looks are the best for miles around. Big hips too—one look and you can tell she’ll bear sons! The old lady of the Lu family is desperate for a grandson!”
Su’s mother, Li Xiulian, cracked sunflower seeds and chimed in with a shrill voice.
“Exactly! Besides, the Lu family came begging us first! If it weren’t for getting our Hongbing a wife and exchanging Hongmei for a job in the city, I wouldn’t agree unless they give two hundred yuan as bride price, plus the Three Turns and One Sound. Not a single thing less!”
“Two hundred?” Su Jianguo’s hand trembled, dropping ash onto his trousers.“Will the Lu family really agree?”
The matchmaker rolled her eyes and leaned closer.
“Brother, sister-in-law, leave it to me!
Lu Huaizhou gets a high military allowance.
His parents are cadres in Beijing who eat state grain—they’re not short of money.
I’ve already asked around.
Lu Huaizhou was injured while saving someone, and the government gave him a large compensation.
If he doesn’t use that money to get married, what else is he going to do with it?”
Li Xiulian’s eyes lit up immediately.
In her mind she could already see a brand-new sewing machine and bicycle being pushed into their courtyard.
She nudged her husband.
“Did you hear that? Then it’s settled! Two hundred yuan, plus ration coupons! Cloth coupons, industrial vouchers, sugar coupons—none of them can be missing!”
..
Lying on the cold clay kang bed in the inner room, Su Hongxia woke up from hunger amid the noisy scheming.
Her stomach burned like a ball of fire.
She felt empty from the inside out.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a dark roof beam and spider webs hanging in the corner.
What was going on?
Wasn’t she supposed to be preparing the finale dish—“Buddha Jumps Over the Wall”—for a foreign head of state’s 70th birthday state banquet?
After working continuously for forty-eight hours, she had just dozed off in the kitchen…
So how did she wake up in a completely different place?
Then, suddenly, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her forced its way into her mind.
The original owner of this body was also named Su Hongxia, the eldest daughter of the Su family.
Unfortunately, she had suffered a severe fever as a child that damaged her brain. Since then she had been slow-witted, known in the village as the “big fool.”
In this household she lived worse than pigs or dogs—doing the heaviest work while eating the least food.
Her father didn’t care for her, her mother didn’t love her. The only value she had was to be sold in marriage to obtain bride price for her younger brother Su Hongbing and to secure a city job quota for her younger sister Su Hongmei.
And this time, the buyer was Lu Huaizhou, a retired officer from the neighboring village who had been injured in service.
..
After digesting everything, Su Hongxia could only curse silently in her heart.
Great. Just great.
She, the top chef of state banquets, heir of an imperial culinary lineage, had somehow transmigrated to the food-scarce year of 1977—and even worse, into the body of a foolish girl being sold off like cheap goods.
“Mom, is Lu Huaizhou really crippled?” a sweet voice asked from outside. It was her younger sister, Su Hongmei, who had just returned.
“I heard his leg is ruined. He’ll never stand again. Isn’t that basically a useless man?”
Su Hongmei’s face was full of disdain.
She didn’t want anything to do with a cripple, even if he had once been a regiment commander.
Li Xiulian glared at her.
“What do you know? So what if he’s useless? A useless man pays a bigger bride price!
Your idiot sister can bring in two hundred yuan and a job quota—that’s her good fortune! Otherwise she’d stay here eating all day and bankrupt the family!”
“Exactly,” Su Jianguo muttered. “She’ll be lucky if she even gets something to eat after marrying over there.”
Each cold sentence stabbed into Su Hongxia’s heart like a knife.
She lay still on the kang bed, but her thoughts churned violently.
Run away?
Where could she go? In this era, a “fool” with no household registration or introduction letter would either be arrested as a vagrant or starve to death.
Make a scene?
With whom? These parents who treated her like merchandise?
They would just beat her up and tie her up before sending her to the Lu family.
Su Hongxia looked at her thin wrist—so skinny it looked like a chicken claw—and felt the painful hunger twisting in her stomach.
The dignity of a state banquet chef meant nothing in the face of survival.
Right now she had only one thought:
Food.
Eat.
Meat.
White rice.
Marriage?
Fine.
Marrying a cripple?
No problem.
As long as she could eat her fill—even if she had to marry someone ugly, she’d accept it!
Besides…
According to the memories, although Lu Huaizhou had lost the use of his leg, his retirement allowance was shockingly high—dozens of yuan every month. At a time when most workers earned only thirty or forty yuan a month, that was basically an iron rice bowl.
And most importantly—he was a soldier.
That meant access to scarce goods like meat, eggs, and cooking oil.
Thinking about the rich layers of braised pork belly, the crispy savory flavor of oil-braised shrimp, and the tender chewiness of braised sea cucumber with scallions…
Tears of saliva slid uncontrollably from the corner of Su Hongxia’s mouth.
Fine.
She’d take the deal.
She’d treat it like moving somewhere new to start a career—first secure this long-term meal ticket.
..
In the main room, Li Xiulian and the matchmaker had almost finalized the bride-price details, both wearing satisfied smiles.
“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow morning I’ll take you to the Lu family to meet them and finalize everything!” Aunt Wang said as she stood up to leave.
Li Xiulian happily walked her to the door.
“Take care, Aunt Wang. Once this works out, you’ll definitely get your reward!”
Just then—
“Grrrrrrrr… grrr—”
A thunderous rumble suddenly came from the inner room.
The sound was long and loud, instantly drowning out all conversation.
Su Jianguo and Li Xiulian froze.
The matchmaker stopped mid-step at the door.
The three of them looked at each other, then simultaneously turned toward the curtain of the inner room.
“What was that?” Su Jianguo asked.
Li Xiulian’s face darkened.
“What else could it be? That useless girl! She must be hungry again!”
She was about to rush inside to scold her when the curtain was suddenly lifted from within.
Su Hongxia stood there, holding onto the doorframe. Her face was pale, her hair a messy bird’s nest, and the patched old clothes on her body hung loosely.
She simply stood there.
Her eyes—usually dull and empty—were now staring straight at the half piece of coarse corn bun in Li Xiulian’s hand.
Everyone was stunned by her appearance.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Su Hongxia licked her cracked lips.
Her stomach growled again on cue.
She slowly raised her head, her gaze sweeping from her mother, to her father, and finally to the matchmaker.
Then she opened her mouth and said, word by word:
“Mom… I’m hungry. I want food.”