Xu Zifan woke up in a dimly lit room, lying alone on the kang (a heated brick bed). However, the environment was very different from the worlds he had traveled to before, and it looked very dilapidated.
After his eyes adjusted to the light, he quickly looked around and found that it was an adobe house, about ten square meters in size. He was lying on a kang (a heated brick bed) that could sleep two or three people. Next to it was a wooden table about a meter wide and a long bench. Under the window on the other side of the wooden table were two wooden cabinets painted red. Apart from these, there was no other furniture. The room was very simple, but it was very clean. Even the quilt covering him was only old and had no odor.
Xu Zifan closed his eyes and began to understand the situation of this world.
This is a world where a peasant girl repents and is reborn. The peasant girl's name is Su Qing. In her previous life, she refused the marriage arranged by her parents and insisted on marrying a educated youth who was completely useless. She went to the fields every day to help him with the work; everyone could see her intentions. Her parents, unable to resolve the situation, had no choice but to let him break off the engagement. The educated youth also loved her, and the two naturally began dating and married.
Shortly after their marriage, the college entrance examination was reinstated. The educated youth wanted to return to the city and studied hard, leaving all the household chores to Su Qing, causing her considerable hardship. Later, the educated youth failed the university entrance exam and became depressed and frustrated. He wanted to work but couldn't do it well, and Su Qing regretted her decision. What good is marrying a man just because he's good-looking? What good is being educated? What good is being clean and refined? He's practically useless!
But it was no use regretting it; she would be vilified and cursed behind her back if she got divorced, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep going.
Later, with the opening up of national policies, the couple finally returned to the city. However, Su Qing couldn't get along with her in-laws and suffered countless grievances and hardships, which led to her developing stomach cancer at the young age of thirty. Before she died, she unexpectedly encountered the man her parents had arranged for her. Seeing that he had become a regimental commander, caring for his wife and children, and even giving her a thousand yuan for medical treatment without holding a grudge, she was filled with regret. Unexpectedly, she was reborn after death!
Su Qing was reborn a little late; she was reborn after working for the educated youth for two days, but before she could break off her engagement with her fiancé. She knew her reputation had been damaged and she had to deal with it properly to salvage it. Also, not long after she broke off her engagement in her previous life, her fiancé married Yang Wanyun, the village chief's daughter, which gave her a sense of urgency. In addition, her personality change needed a catalyst, so she set her sights on them.
She orchestrated a scene where the educated youth fell into the water, then passed by with Yang Wanyun. She couldn't swim, but Yang Wanyun could, so naturally she went in to save him. During the rescue, the two ended up soaking wet and pressed together. She shouted for help, attracting several people who witnessed the scene. In the end, of course, the educated youth married Yang Wanyun; otherwise, what would have become of Yang Wanyun?
Taking advantage of this period of despondency, Su Qing seemed to have come to a change, shedding her girlish sentiments and becoming more positive and optimistic. She even gladly accepted her parents' arrangement to marry her fiancé and become a military wife. Relying on her understanding of the future, she sold food and clothes, gradually becoming wealthy.
Although her husband eventually ran into some trouble and didn't become the regimental commander, but instead transferred to become the police chief of a small city, she was still very content and happy because she was living a much better life than in her previous life.
The educated youth, who initially had feelings for Su Qing, was naturally resistant to the sudden marriage to Yang Wanyun, having no feelings for her. Su Qing, driven by jealousy, privately told the educated youth some ambiguous things, leading him to believe that Yang Wanyun had orchestrated the marriage and causing him to despise Yang Wanyun.
Later, he failed the college entrance examination again, believing that the fall into the water had injured his body and delayed his studies. He hated Yang Wanyun even more, and when the policy was relaxed, he ran away! Yang Wanyun's family was pointed at and gossiped about. Yang Wanyun had kindly saved someone but ended up like this. She was depressed and could not get over it. One day, while digging for wild vegetables in the mountains, she was in a daze, lost her footing, hit her head, and lost her life.
Yang Wanyun never did anything to wrong Su Qing, yet Su Qing orchestrated her relationship with a former educated youth, leading to her tragic and innocent death. Xu Zifan came to this world to ensure Yang Wanyun's happiness and peace, and he transmigrated into the body of that former educated youth.
It was a month after the original owner of this body married Yang Wanyun. Because he hated Yang Wanyun's schemes, the original owner insisted on sleeping with a pillow between them, not allowing anyone to cross that line. The day before, news came that the college entrance examination had been reinstated, and the original owner wanted to buy books to study. His mother-in-law knew he wasn't good to her daughter, so she naturally gave him a cold shoulder. He was so angry that he lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) all day, not even eating.
Xu Zifan threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), reaching for the mirror on the table. The man in the mirror was somewhat pale, but his handsome features were still undeniable; his looks were in no way inferior to the most popular idols in the entertainment industry, and he would turn heads wherever he went. He was just a little too thin and lacked strength.
He glanced at the sky outside; it was almost dinnertime. He got off the kang (heated brick bed), put on his outer garment and shoes, and went out.
Yang Wanyun was squatting by the well washing clothes. When she saw him come out, she was surprised for a moment. She quickly got up, wiped her hands clean on her apron, and asked, "Do you want to eat? There is cornmeal porridge and eggs in the kitchen."
Xu Zifan nodded and washed up without much expression. Although he had seen the target of the mission, given the original owner's personality, he shouldn't change much without experiencing something. Until he found a suitable reason, he still wanted to maintain the original owner's image.
There was a square table in the main room, which was usually used for meals. When Xu Zifan finished washing up and went over, Yang Wanyun had already set out a large bowl of cornmeal porridge, two boiled eggs, a small dish of pickled radish strips, and a teacup of steaming sugar water. This was specially prepared to nourish him after he fell into the water and was a unique treatment she gave him.
The food wasn't very tasty, but Xu Zifan was hungry, so he ate it all without complaining.
Perhaps it was because Xu Zifan's expression wasn't so cold anymore, but Yang Wanyun's expression...
She paused for a moment, then sat down opposite him and whispered, "Brother Fan, my mom doesn't mean she doesn't want you to take the college entrance exam. She just thinks that having more time to study might give you a better chance. Since the country has reinstated the college entrance exam, it will definitely be held again next year. She's saying that you should take it again next year and try to get into a good university on your first try."
Xu Zifan glanced at her, and while drinking his sugar water, said, "Are you making me take the exam next year? Or are you deliberately keeping me here?"
Yang Wanyun said somewhat anxiously, "I've never thought of it that way before. If you don't believe me, we can go buy the book tomorrow..."
"What books? Where would we get the money to buy books?" A middle-aged woman with short hair, who looked quite formidable, walked in. She glared at Xu Zifan as soon as she saw the things on the table. "All you do is eat and sleep all day. You don't appreciate anything about your family. Even a pig would be better off than you! You think you can fool Yunyun into buying you books? How can you be so shameless!"
Xu Zifan silently swallowed the water. This was his mother-in-law, Feng Yuying, who disliked him very much. Should he argue with her or storm off?
He thought about it carefully and felt that after lying down for a day, he could calm down and reason with her. So he put down his chopsticks and said, "I know that I am weak and can't do any work, so I want to get into university as soon as possible and get a good job. But it is a fact that I don't have money to buy books. I am not a son-in-law of your Yang family. Since you think that I am shameless for buying books, then I will find a way to earn money to buy books myself."
Feng Yuying's face darkened further, and she shouted, "You make money? How do you make money? You always act like you've suffered some great injustice. Don't forget that Yunyun went into the water to save your life. If she hadn't saved you, would she have married you? And you still dare to look down on Yunyun! Let me tell you, Yunyun doesn't owe you anything. Don't try to act like a city person. I'm not buying it!"
Xu Zifan sneered and stood up. "Save me? She knows best what really happened. If you don't know, ask her. Don't take it out on me all the time. I'm not buying it."
After saying that, he strode back into his room and slammed the door shut. Feng Yuying's eyes widened, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to storm in. "You good-for-nothing! You dare to argue with me?!"
Yang Wanyun quickly pulled her aside and whispered, "Okay, Mom, stop arguing. The neighbors can hear us."
Feng Yuying said angrily, "Look at his attitude! He complains that I'm throwing a tantrum. If he were to treat you well, would I be throwing a tantrum?"
"I know you mean well, Mom, but arguing like this isn't a solution. I tried to reason with him while he was eating, and he seemed to listen. I think we should try to talk things out calmly from now on, otherwise we'll just get angrier the more we argue." Yang Wanyun helped Feng Yuying sit down and poured her a bowl of sugar water. "Mom, drink some water, be careful your throat hurts."
Feng Yuying took a few sips of water, feeling a bit better. She took Yang Wanyun's hand and sighed, "What is he thinking all day? It's like he has something wrong with his head. Why can't he just live a normal life? By the way, what did he mean by what he just said? Why did you make me ask you? Did anything else happen when you saved him that day?"
Yang Wanyun shook her head in confusion, "No, I don't know what he meant either."
"Why does he seem so ungrateful to me? It's like you didn't save him, but rather harmed him."
Yang Wanyun lowered her head and thought for a moment, then frowned. "Mom, weren't Su Qing and him getting quite close back then? Do you think he's taken a liking to Su Qing? Does he hate me for ruining their relationship? But you don't need to ask me about this, I didn't do it on purpose." She then widened her eyes in surprise. "Really? Does he think I did it on purpose?"
Feng Yuying frowned, thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution. She snorted coldly, "Does he think he's some kind of hot commodity? Who would want to ruin him? Go back to your room later and ask him properly. What can't he explain clearly? What's the point of leaving things half-said? Who has time to guess!"
Yang Wanyun nodded, "Then I'll ask him. We need to figure out what's wrong, otherwise our family won't be able to continue living together."
Xu Zifan looked through the things in the room. There were two hair ties, a notebook, and a pencil on the wooden table. The wardrobe was empty, with only six or seven sets of clothes inside. Another cabinet, however, was quite full, filled with bedding. This family was truly poor, and this was the village chief's family; they were considered better off than others.
He and Yang Wanyun were already husband and wife, and everything else could wait. Improving their lives had to be put on the agenda, so he needed to find a way to earn some money first. Fortunately, he had learned a lot when he was filming a survival show on a desert island. These skills were unrelated to working in the fields and didn't require much physical effort. He could say that he had come up with them using his brain, so there was nothing wrong with them. He would give it a try after a day's rest.