Li Baoying frowned, cursing under her breath at how annoying the woman was.
In her past life, Old Lady Lin had been so picky about finding a son-in-law that she ended up with no one at all. Lin Xiaohong had actually been in love with a male educated youth from the village barracks; had her mother not intervened, he would have stayed in the village and lived a happy life with her. The young man had been willing to give up his chance to return to the city just to marry Lin Xiaohong, but Old Lady Lin looked down on him. She was short-sighted, convinced that educated youths would never amount to anything more than endless farm labor, and that their prospects were perhaps even worse than those of the locals. So, she had caused such a scene that her daughter was forced to break it off.
Years later, the young man returned to the city, and while Lin Xiaohong remained caught in her mother’s cycle of picky scrutiny, she reached her thirties still unmarried. Eventually, Old Lady Lin married her off to a divorced man with children.
Lin Xiaohong had never lifted a finger at home, relying entirely on her mother to earn their living and work points. For a farm girl, she had pampered, delicate hands—if anyone sat on her bed, she would tear it apart to scrub it for hours. Her neighbors detested her. Yet, she ended up the wife of a man over a decade her senior, raising his children and tending to his laundry and cooking; those delicate hands soon grew rough and cracked. Later on, the man began to abuse her. Old Lady Lin was so furious she wanted her daughter to divorce him, but seeing her daughter's faded beauty and her own aged hands, she could only urge her to endure it, saying every family had its own troubles and that was just how life went for everyone. Eventually, her daughter stopped coming home often because she had given birth to a son for the old man, and at last, she was no longer beaten every day.
"Baoying, I'm talking to you," Old Lady Lin urged, seeing her lack of response.
Li Baoying quickly said, "Auntie, I was just thinking if there’s anyone suitable." She didn't want to get involved; nothing good ever came of interfering. "I’ve gone over it from start to finish, and I don’t see anyone suitable. The young men in our area are all married with kids. There are some divorced men, but they’re fifteen or twenty years older than Xiaohong!"
Lin Xiaohong was only eighteen; surely she wouldn't settle for a man in his thirties or forties—unless Old Lady Lin had lost her mind.
Old Lady Lin shook her head immediately. "No, no, that won't do."
"Baoying, the next time you go back, keep an eye out for me. If you find someone suitable, let me know, and I’ll have a matchmaker arrange it."
Li Baoying nodded. "Auntie, those three male educated youths in our village are all quite good. Why not consider them? They’re city folk!"
"What good are city folk? They came here just to farm, didn't they? They don't have a soul to rely on here. If Xiaohong marries one of them, who knows how much she’ll suffer in the future!" Old Lady Lin immediately retorted.
Li Baoying fell silent. There was some truth to what the old woman said, but surely marrying an educated youth was better than being a second wife to an old man? Besides, that young man had been genuinely willing to give up his chance to return to the city to stay and marry her. She suspected that Old Lady Lin didn't know about the budding romance between Lin Xiaohong and the tall educated youth; she had spotted them strolling by the river a few times herself.
Not far away, the male educated youth who was building a wall kept glancing back at Old Lady Lin. When he met Li Baoying’s gaze, he smiled politely and reservedly. This young man was Lin Xiaohong’s sweetheart.
Li Baoying thought that if Zhang Hua were the same age as Xiaohong, she would have agreed to the match right then and there. Then, her own Xiaohua could marry a literate, diligent man and escape the miserable life she’d had in the previous existence. To this day, thinking of her own shiftless son-in-law made her furious and filled her with self-reproach; how could she have ever let her daughter marry a man who didn't care for his own family? And those bloodsucking in-laws of hers, who did nothing but order Xiaohua around while they lay in bed waiting to be served.
The educated youth was still watching Old Lady Lin.
Li Baoying said, "Auntie, what do you think of that young man over there? He’s tall and handsome. He and Xiaohong would make a perfect match." *Xiaohong, sister-in-law can only help you this much. If your mother still doesn't agree, you'll have to save yourself.*
Following Li Baoying’s gaze, Old Lady Lin saw the young man and immediately shook her head. "No, no. Isn't he just an educated youth in our village? My daughter cannot marry an educated youth."
"What’s wrong with an educated youth? He’s well-educated and refined—isn't it enough that he treats Xiaohong well? If they work hard together, they’ll have a good life." Besides, considering Lin Xiaohong had never lifted a finger, it was rare to find someone who didn't mind that!
"Culture and refinement? Can you eat that? I’d rather find a wealthy local peasant than an educated youth for a son-in-law!"
"Fine, pretend I didn't say anything."
In the last life, after being rejected, this young man had been depressed for a while, then seemed to give up entirely. He stopped seeing Lin Xiaohong and returned to the city a few years later.
Li Baoying pursed her lips and went back to work. *You can't save someone who’s hell-bent on their own destruction!* If things stayed like this, she’d regret it soon enough.
After the workday ended, Li Baoying headed home with her daughter, stopping by their private garden to check on their vegetables. As they passed the river embankment, she saw Lin Xiaohong.
Lin Xiaohong saw her too and walked over tentatively. "Sister-in-law, are you done for the day?"
Li Baoying nodded. Lin Xiaohong was so fresh and pretty now; who would have thought that, as an older single woman, she would end up marrying an old man and becoming a stepmother to his children? Life was truly unpredictable.
"Sister-in-law, has my mom... gone back?"
"She should have. She left as soon as work finished. Are you looking for her?"
"Oh, just asking."
After saying this, Lin Xiaohong blushed and quickly bid Li Baoying farewell. Li Baoying watched her head toward the educated youth barracks and smiled knowingly. *Sigh, the course of history is destined to repeat itself.*
When she returned from the garden, she saw Old Lady Lin peering into the alleyway and asked, "Auntie, are you waiting for someone?"
Old Lady Lin grabbed her in a panic. "Have you seen Xiaohong? She hasn't been home since work, and she never wanders off like this."
Li Baoying hesitated, then said, "I saw her by the river embankment when I went to the garden, but I don't know where she is now."
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Lin let go of Li Baoying and ran toward the embankment, as if she were searching for an eight-year-old child rather than an eighteen-year-old woman. Li Baoying shook her head and brought Xiaohua home.
Once inside, she was startled to see Zhang Jinlin. There was a clear handprint on his face, and his cheek was quite swollen.
"Jinlin, who hit you?" Li Baoying asked calmly. "Did Liu Cui and her husband block your path again?"
The already miserable Zhang Jinlin felt even worse. He wiped away his tears and said, "No, it was my older brother."
Seeing his stepmother’s puzzled expression, he quickly explained, "I mean Brother Xiangwei. He wouldn't let me get near his house, and he said his mother never lost a child. These slaps were a lesson for me."
*He’s already claiming him as a brother!* Li Baoying wanted to laugh, but fearing it would affect the current mood, she said, "Well, of course—if you go there, you’ll definitely be fighting him for the family property."
"So, was I really kidnapped and abandoned by Brother Xiangwei? How could he be so cruel?" Zhang Jinlin asked, clutching his face.