Chapter 1: The Matchmaker Pays a Visit
Summer of 1974.
"The sun's already shining on your butt, and you're still not up? Do you expect me to wait on you?"
"You don't have a missy's fate, but you were born with lazy bones. I must've had the worst luck for eight lifetimes to have you as my daughter!"
"Who in the whole of South River Village is as lazy and greedy as you? A good-for-nothing, acting like a rich missy!"
Jiang Yu rolled over and slowly woke up. It was her mother outside scolding her. She was used to it by now. Every morning was the same.
She sat on the kang, her face full of tiredness.
Usually, she'd stay in bed just because she was lazy, but today she really hadn't slept well.
It was all because of a dream she had last night, like a movie playing in her mind.
Jiang Yu tilted her head slightly, a strand of hair sliding down, tickling the side of her jaw.
Last night's dream was too vivid, as if she had experienced it herself.
She dreamed of marrying a man from the city.
The man, Fu Xiangyang, worked as a mechanic at the Second State Cotton Mill.
She still remembered Fu Xiangyang's appearance from the dream. He wasn't extraordinarily handsome, but he had a fresh and clean appearance, about ten centimeters taller than her.
To Jiang Yu, being a "city person" mattered more than anything else.
What kept Jiang Yu up all night was the dream of her life falling apart.
Her city mother-in-law was domineering. A year after marriage, when she didn't become pregnant, her mother-in-law started forcing all kinds of folk remedies on her.
Even drinking boys' urine didn't help her conceive. Her mother-in-law grew more dissatisfied and would beat and scold her at every turn.
When Fu Xiangyang's elder sister passed away, her two children were left without care and were legally adopted into Fu Xiangyang's family.
But these two children were older, and no matter how much she did for them, she remained an outsider.
What horrified her most was that, until Fu Xiangyang's elder sister passed away, she found out that it was Fu Xiangyang who couldn't have children. His family had hidden the truth, leaving her to live with guilt and work like a slave for the Fu family her whole life.
Jiang Yu clutched her chest, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.
She did want to marry into the city and eat from the public pot, but she had never imagined marrying such a man.
Knock knock knock—
"Jiang Yu! Jiang Yu! Are you dead? If you don't get up, I'll skin you alive!!!"
Wang Meili's scolding skills had been honed over a decade, enough to fill one's ears to the brim.
Jiang Yu hurriedly got up, changed her clothes, and put on her shoes to go outside.
She braided her hair while yawning.
"Mom, I'm up. Stop scolding."
Jiang Yu's voice was soft and sweet, like it was laced with sugar, sounding like she was throwing a tantrum.
But not even the sweetest voice could soften Wang Meili's heart.
Wang Meili huffed angrily and swung out with a slap. Jiang Yu was prepared and evaded to the side.
The slap, thrown with full force, landed squarely on her younger brother, Jiang Hao.
Wang Meili had four children, but Jiang Hao was her only son, and she doted on him like a precious jewel.
Jiang Hao, having been slapped, immediately started howling, "Mom, why did you hit me!"
Wang Meili, distressed, quickly began to rub the spot for him.
"Mom didn't mean to hit you, it's all your elder sister's fault for dodging the slap!"
Jiang Yu spat out the toothpaste saliva and quickly wiped her face.
"I'm not stupid. If I hadn't dodged, wouldn't I just be asking for a hit?"
Her face was delicate and fair, fresh as a lotus, nothing like someone who did hard labor in the countryside.
Jiang Yu indeed rarely worked, always finding opportunities to slack off.
She was notorious in South River Village for being lazy and gluttonous, and Wang Meili could do nothing about it. She still counted on this pretty daughter to marry well and bring in a high bride price.
Unable to vent her frustration on Jiang Yu, Wang Meili turned her anger on Jiang Ting.
"What are you standing there for? Go make breakfast! Cook an egg for your brother; he needs to be nourished."
Jiang Ting and Jiang Yu were twin sisters, with Jiang Yu being only two minutes older.
They bore a certain resemblance, yet Jiang Ting possessed a more reticent disposition, seldom speaking, much like a gourd with a sealed mouth.
Wang Meili's large palm swung at her, but even then, Jiang Ting remained silent.
Jiang Yu shook her head and sighed inwardly.
She had tried to teach her younger sister when they were little that she didn't have to be so obedient.
In Wang Meili's eyes, sons were treasures and daughters were just weeds. Other than marrying them off for a good bride price or a good husband to help their brother, daughters had no other purpose.
But Jiang Ting wouldn't listen, thinking her sister's words were nonsense. She obeyed their parents without question, putting up with everything, and was even eager to be a blood bag for Jiang Hao.
Over time, Jiang Yu stopped trying.
"Jiang Ting, cook an egg for me too. I didn't sleep well last night!" Jiang Yu called out.
Jiang Ting didn't respond, but Wang Meili began cursing again, "Eat, eat, eat! Do you think someone like you, a lazy bone, deserves to eat eggs? Those are to nourish your brother. Are you that insensible?"
Jiang Yu pouted, "If you keep nourishing Jiang Hao, he's going to hit two hundred jin."
Her brother was a rare chubby kid in the village. Jiang Yonghua and Wang Meili both had tall figures, but Jiang Hao was less than 1.7 meters tall.
With a weight of 180 jin, he was undoubtedly chubby.
Just as Wang Meili was about to strike again, before Jiang Yu could even run, Ye Laotai's angry shout rang out, "What's all the commotion early in the morning!"
Seeing her mother-in-law's anger, Wang Meili hastily lowered her hand.
"It's because this little good-for-nothing wants to fight with her brother over eggs, so she's being unreasonable!"
Jiang Yu shot back lazily, "Mom, stop calling me a 'good-for-nothing.' I'm your daughter. If I'm a 'good-for-nothing,' does that make you and Dad the 'big good-for-nothings?' And what about Grandma, the 'old good-for-nothing?' So, does that mean our whole family are good-for-nothings?"
Ye Laotai shot her a glance and walked in through the door. It wasn't until then that Jiang Yu realized someone else was standing behind her.
"Dear sister, please don't mind this mess."
Seeing Ye Laotai's undignified demeanor, Jiang Yu began to wonder who this person was.
Wang Meili beat her to the question, "Mom, who's this lady?"
Ye Laotai affectionately took the elderly lady's hand, treating her like a sister.
"This is the well-known city matchmaker, Madam Yao."
As soon as Jiang Yu heard the woman was from the city, her heart sank.
Matchmaker Yao—Jiang Yu had also dreamed about her the previous night, though she hadn't gotten a clear look at her.
However, the floral blouse and navy pants were the same clothes the matchmaker who had boasted about Fu Xiangyang had been wearing!
Wang Meili had already stepped forward and eagerly took Matchmaker Yao by the arm, guiding her inside.
"Sit down. Jiang Ting, go boil two more eggs for Auntie Yao!"
She then glared at Jiang Yu. "What are you standing around for? Go pour some sugar water! Auntie Yao must be thirsty after coming all this way."
Jiang Yu thought Wang Meili hadn't been this enthusiastic even when her own mother had visited.
But Wang Meili's attitude seemed to really please Matchmaker Yao.
"No need to be so polite. I'm not one of those relatives looking to mooch off you. I'm here to propose a match."
Wang Meili beamed with joy, her eyes almost disappearing behind the grin. "Auntie, thanks to your kindness, it just so happens that we have two unwed daughters in the family."
Matchmaker Yao smiled smugly. "I've inquired beforehand. Your twin daughters are known for their beauty, famous far and wide."