After Wang Xiangxiu learned that Shen Jiao had been divorced before, she burned with impatience to rush over to Gu Xinguo and expose Shen Jiao’s true nature.
However, Li Mingxia stopped her.
“Little Sister Xiangxiu, I feel as though fate brought the two of us together. We’ve only just met, yet I already think of you as my own younger sister.”
“If this Shen Jiao really is the Shen Jiao from our village, then you must be extremely careful when dealing with her. She’s no easy opponent.”
“Her former husband was an educated youth who had been sent to our village. He looked refined and scholarly and was so popular that the young women who liked him could have formed a queue.”
“But in the end, Shen Jiao was still the one who succeeded in getting him.”
“From that alone, you can imagine how capable she is at manipulating men.”
“Even after that man was admitted to university, he never intended to divorce her. He planned to take her to the capital so she could enjoy a comfortable life.”
“But when he returned, he happened to catch her behaving improperly with another man. That was why they divorced.”
“Think about all the other men and women who married educated youths. How many of them were actually taken back to the city?”
“If Shen Jiao hadn’t ruined everything herself, she would already be a city resident.”
“Everyone in our brigade thought she would remain quiet for a while, but who would have imagined that she would find another husband so quickly?”
“Worse still, he’s another excellent man—the sort you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern.”
“Just think about how formidable her methods must be.”
Li Mingxia’s shameless fabrications successfully pushed Wang Xiangxiu’s hatred for Shen Jiao to its limit.
Such an immoral woman had stolen her Brother Xinguo.
Because of that, Wang Xiangxiu’s parents were now planning to marry her to an elderly bachelor in town simply so they could demand a larger bride price.
Had Shen Jiao never appeared, Brother Xinguo would have belonged to her.
Yesterday’s grand and respectable wedding would also have been hers.
“Sister Mingxia, what should I do?”
Wang Xiangxiu’s voice was urgent.
“I can’t allow an indecent woman like Shen Jiao to destroy Brother Xinguo!”
A smile appeared in Li Mingxia’s eyes, but inwardly, she scoffed.
How foolish.
She believed everything people told her without using her brain.
No wonder she had lost the man she wanted to an outsider like Shen Jiao.
In truth, Wang Xiangxiu had only lost her normal judgement because she cared too much.
Her obsession had temporarily deprived her of the ability to think clearly, making her appear far more foolish than usual.
“Shen Jiao is from our village, so I understand her better than anyone.”
“She has always been exceptionally skilled at winning men over. Moreover, she has only just married, so her current husband is still infatuated with her.”
“If you storm over there and loudly expose her true nature, her husband will only believe you’re deliberately causing trouble.”
“So, what you should do is…”
As Li Mingxia explained her plan, Wang Xiangxiu’s overheated mind gradually cooled and began operating normally again.
Why was Li Mingxia so eager to help her?
Her intentions could not possibly be simple.
Although Wang Xiangxiu also disliked Shen Jiao, she had no desire to become someone else’s weapon.
“Sister Mingxia, why are you helping me so much?”
“This is the first time we’ve met, isn’t it? Even though you’re staying with my family, you’ve paid us money. It isn’t as though you owe us anything.”
Li Mingxia’s expression stiffened.
She quickly returned to normal.
She had not expected this foolish young woman to regain her senses so quickly.
It seemed she was not entirely stupid.
That was actually good. It would make Li Mingxia’s plan to take revenge on Shen Jiao easier to carry out.
She did not necessarily need Shen Jiao to divorce again.
Her goal was very simple.
She merely wanted Shen Jiao’s life to become difficult.
If a woman like Wang Xiangxiu remained in the village and constantly caused Shen Jiao trouble, while Shen Jiao’s husband gradually came to dislike her, then one could easily imagine what Shen Jiao’s future would look like.
Rather than allowing her the possibility of finding yet another man and living happily, it would be far better to trap her inside a hopeless marriage and force her to suffer slowly.
“Since things have reached this point, I won’t hide the truth from you anymore.”
Li Mingxia sighed heavily.
“Shen Jiao isn’t merely immoral. She’s a vicious woman!”
“She stood by and refused to save people, causing the deaths of both my husband and my son!”
“Yet even after taking two lives, the law can do nothing to her.”
“She only refused to help. She didn’t personally kill anyone, so the state cannot punish her.”
“Little Sister Xiangxiu, I hate her!”
“I can’t sleep night after night. Sometimes, I want nothing more than to follow my husband and son in death.”
“But my enemy is still alive and well.”
“If I don’t avenge them first, how could I possibly face the two of them in the afterlife?”
Li Mingxia cried with heart-wrenching grief.
Wang Xiangxiu was moved enough to shed two sympathetic tears.
She had never imagined that the hatred between Li Mingxia and Shen Jiao ran so deeply, nor that Shen Jiao could be such a dreadful person.
A heroic feeling immediately surged through her heart.
She had to rescue Brother Xinguo from suffering.
Thus, although the two women each possessed their own motives, they immediately reached an agreement.
They began enthusiastically planning how to deal with Shen Jiao.
Meanwhile, Shen Jiao and Gu Xinguo finally finished returning all the utensils and other items they had borrowed for the wedding.
By the time they were done, the entire morning had passed.
When they returned home, Gu Xinmin had arrived with her whole family.
The two households had already agreed on this arrangement.
Firstly, Grandma’s illness was serious, and her life had already entered its final countdown.
Secondly, they had purchased a large quantity of ingredients for the wedding.
Although they had used a great deal during the banquet, plenty remained.
The weather was becoming warmer, and the food would not keep for long.
Gu Xinmin’s family could accompany Grandma while also helping finish the remaining ingredients.
They had all been expensive, high-quality foods. Allowing them to spoil would be a terrible waste.
“Oh my, Grandma, you can simply sit back and enjoy the blessings your granddaughter-in-law brings you from now on.”
Gu Xinmin looked at the clothing Grandma wore.
“Just look at this outfit. Forget our brigade—I haven’t even seen anyone in the county town dressed more fashionably than you.”
“Your granddaughter-in-law made this especially for you with her own hands.”
“Look at the workmanship and the design!”
“You didn’t see Great-Aunt and the other elderly women yesterday. They were so jealous of your clothes that their eyes practically turned red.”
Grandma was happiest whenever Gu Xinmin’s family visited.
During the final period of her life, how could she not be delighted to see her descendants every day?
In this respect, Shen Jiao had behaved extremely well.
She had encouraged Gu Xinmin’s family to come over daily to eat, keep Grandma company, and help care for her.
Shen Jiao was generous in handling family matters and did not fuss over a little food or money.
She was also sufficiently filial towards Grandma.
Even though Grandma had already accepted that Gu Xinguo had prepared breakfast that morning, a small knot still remained in her heart.
While chatting with her granddaughter, she mentioned the matter.
That was what prompted Gu Xinmin’s praise of Shen Jiao.
“I know she’s good,” Grandma said.
“I’m simply worried that Xinguo will have a difficult life in the future. He works hard and tires himself outside, then has to come home and serve his wife.”
“Grandma, you can put your mind completely at ease.”
“Jiaojiao doesn’t look like a lazy person.”
“They’ve only just married, and their relationship is still as sweet as honey. It’s normal for Xinguo to feel sorry for her and voluntarily do some housework.”
“Once they truly settle into married life, we’ll see whether he continues.”
“When Chengjun and I first married, didn’t he also feel sorry for me and rush to do everything?”
“Look at him now. Apart from cooking, which he genuinely enjoys, he only occasionally helps me. When has he lifted a hand for anything else?”
After Gu Xinmin’s explanation, the last knot in Grandma’s heart disappeared.
Although many years had passed, she vaguely remembered that her own husband had once treated her with the same consideration when they were newly married.
No matter what they were doing, he had been afraid she would tire herself.
But as the years passed, they gradually became like every other couple.
The man earned money to support the family, while the woman remained at home, constantly busy inside and outside without a moment’s rest.
Her husband had eventually stopped asking whether she was tired.
Their family had simply been too poor.
Merely filling the stomachs of the entire household had been enough to turn their hair white with worry.
How could they have found the energy to think about romance?
As Grandma remembered the past, she finally felt completely relieved.
Children and grandchildren possessed their own destinies.
As long as the young couple could build a prosperous life together, that mattered more than anything else.
Gu Xinmin also relaxed when she noticed the change in Grandma’s expression.
To be honest, she genuinely liked her new sister-in-law.
Having a sweet tongue was one reason, but more importantly, Shen Jiao was generous and capable.
Take the wedding, for example.
Gu Xinmin had never heard of any bride generously making clothing for her elder sister-in-law’s entire family.
All four members of Gu Xinmin’s household now wore crisp, stylish, perfectly fitted outfits made by Shen Jiao.
She had even used good-quality fabric.
Whose sister-in-law would willingly spend that much on her husband’s sister’s family?
Gu Xinmin was not shallow enough to care merely about a set of clothes.
What mattered to her was Shen Jiao’s attitude.
If Shen Jiao’s previous behaviour and the clothing had created a favourable impression, then inviting Gu Xinmin’s entire family to visit daily, eat with them, keep Grandma company, and wholeheartedly care for her had made Gu Xinmin genuinely fond of her.
That was why she had defended Shen Jiao.
When Shen Jiao returned, she immediately sensed that Grandma’s attitude towards her had changed.
Seeing Gu Xinmin wink at her, she quickly gave her a grateful smile.
She had known Grandma would not suddenly change her mind without a reason.
It turned out that her elder sister-in-law had helped.
Sure enough, the clothes she made had not been wasted.
Because of Grandma’s mood at breakfast, Shen Jiao did not allow Gu Xinguo to help prepare lunch.
Instead, she cooked alongside Gu Xinmin.
As she had said before, Grandma did not have much time left.
Whether the old woman’s beliefs were right or wrong no longer mattered.
As the younger generation, they should try not to make her angry and allow her to enjoy her remaining days.
They already had leftovers from the previous day, along with ingredients that had been washed and chopped, so preparing lunch was relatively easy.
Although Shen Jiao had used a wood-burning stove while growing up in the countryside, she had rarely returned after leaving home at sixteen.
Her skills had long since become rusty.
Fortunately, Gu Xinmin helped her both times she cooked, so everything proceeded smoothly.
They prepared red-braised pork ribs, sweet-and-sour fish pieces, cold lotus root and celery salad, and cold shredded chicken.
The soup was a sweetcorn soup.
They also prepared minced-meat porridge for Grandma, although this time they used fish instead of pork.
They had originally considered making chicken soup, but Grandma did not want it because she feared it would cause excessive internal heat.
The minced fish porridge was perfect.
It tasted good, was nutritious, and was easy to digest.
As Gu Xinmin tended the fire, she watched dish after dish emerge from Shen Jiao’s hands.
Once again, she marvelled that her younger brother had married the right woman.
They had only known Shen Jiao for a few days, so it was impossible to understand her entire personality.
However, her abilities were genuine.
Whether sewing clothing or preparing food, she was even better than some experienced professionals.
As the saying went, a skilled craftsperson would never starve, even in a year of famine.
With these two abilities in Shen Jiao’s hands, Gu Xinmin no longer needed to worry about her younger brother’s future life.
Shen Jiao’s cooking once again received enthusiastic support from Gu Xinmin’s two sons.
Their father was also an excellent cook, but as the saying went, food always smelled better when it came from someone else’s pot.
After lunch, Gu Xinmin and Wang Chengjun’s family scattered.
Those who needed to work went to work, while those who needed to attend school went to school.
In the blink of an eye, everyone was gone.
Only the newly formed family of three remained at home.
“Grandma, Doctor Zhang will come this afternoon to check your pulse and perform acupuncture.”
“You should lie down on the heated bed and rest for a while.”
“Jiaojiao and I will finish cleaning the house.”
Grandma was already physically weak.
After accompanying everyone for so long, she had become exhausted.
When Gu Xinguo suggested that she rest, she naturally returned to the heated bed.
Her failing body had one fewer day remaining every time she survived another.
Even so, she wanted to live a little longer.
Perhaps she might even live long enough to hear that Shen Jiao was expecting a child.
Because the wedding had been held at home, there were many greasy stains on the floors both inside the house and throughout the courtyard.
Only the newlywed room had escaped the mess.
They needed to clean everything as quickly as possible.
The husband and wife did not divide the work.
Instead, they worked together.
They cleaned the floors indoors first, then moved on to the courtyard.
The Gu family home was similar to Gu Xinmin’s.
It was built from grey brick and had a main house with eastern and western side rooms.
The eastern side room served as Shen Jiao and Gu Xinguo’s newlywed room.
A wooden shed had been built along the southern side of the courtyard.
In front of it stood a wild jujube tree.
The moment Shen Jiao saw it, she remembered Gu Xinguo’s embarrassing childhood story and pressed her lips together to suppress her laughter.
At first, Gu Xinguo did not understand why she was smiling.
However, when he noticed her gaze repeatedly moving between him and the jujube tree, how could he fail to understand?
His biological sister had sold him out and revealed the humiliating story from his childhood.
Faced with his wife’s teasing gaze, he did his best to pretend he understood nothing.
Otherwise, she would certainly tease him openly.
Although the incident had occurred in childhood, recounting it now would still damage his heroic and impressive image.
Shen Jiao did not mention it.
They had only just married, so she should protect the groom’s good mood.
Instead, she changed the subject.
“Brother Gu, how many days of wedding leave do you have left? When do you return to work?”
“Because of the trip to the capital, I already took several days off.”
“The transport team has been extremely busy recently. When we went into the county last time, our director told me to return to work as soon as possible.”
“At most, I can remain at home for another two days.”
“Only two days?”
“What’s wrong? Will you miss me?”
“Of course. You’re my man.”
Gu Xinguo had intended to tease his wife and watch her blush.
However, he had forgotten that his wife was a heroic woman bold enough to propose to a man.
How could such a simple question embarrass her?
Not only did Shen Jiao remain unashamed, but she even turned around and teased him instead.
The corners of his mouth twitched.
He could already imagine that married life with her would never be dull.
“Brother Gu, once you return to work, I won’t have anything to do at home.”
“Besides, this household belongs to both of us. We can’t possibly allow you to be the only person earning money to support it.”
“When I was staying at Master Lin’s home and sewing our wedding clothes, everyone in the residential compound praised my work and asked whether I could make clothes for them.”
“I was thinking that after you return to work, perhaps I could open a tailoring shop in the county town. What do you think?”
Gu Xinguo had not expected his young wife to possess so many plans.
However, her tailoring truly was excellent.
If she opened a shop, she would not lack customers.
Moreover, a tailoring business was safer than shops that relied heavily on buying and selling physical goods.
“That’s fine.”
“I’ll keep an eye on the shopfronts near our transport team and see whether any suitable premises become available.”
“However, because Grandma’s health is poor, you probably won’t be able to open the tailoring shop for a while.”
When he mentioned Grandma, Gu Xinguo felt both grief and guilt.
Her failing health had become an unbearable pain he could not express.
At the same time, his wife had only just entered the family, yet household responsibilities would immediately restrict her freedom.
He felt he had wronged her.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Nothing is more important than Grandma’s health.”
“Brother Gu, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her. You can work without distractions.”
“I heard drivers must never allow their attention to wander. Otherwise, if the steering wheel slips out of control, something terrible could happen.”
Shen Jiao’s understanding nature deepened Gu Xinguo’s guilt while also causing affection to grow within him.
In the future, he must treat this woman well.
“By the way, Brother Gu, I’ve now married into the Gu family, but my household registration is still attached to Shenjia Village Brigade.”
“When should we transfer it to Shuanma Village?”
“I’ll make sure your household registration is transferred before I return to work.”
“We have our marriage certificate, and you’re the only person listed in your household registration booklet. It will be very easy to handle.”
Gu Xinguo’s words reassured Shen Jiao.
Ever since travelling to this era, one of her greatest concerns had been the household registration issue.
This was nothing like later generations, when people moved frequently and registration management was relatively flexible.
It was already 1979, but the production teams still existed throughout the countryside.
Household registration directly affected grain and oil rations.
Although Shen Jiao’s registration had already been separated from the Shen family household, she still believed it would be safer to transfer it out of Shenjia Village Brigade as quickly as possible.
Almost everyone in the brigade belonged to Shen Chunshan’s extended clan.
She genuinely feared that if something unexpected happened, her household registration might become a weakness they could use to threaten her.
After discussing the important matters, Gu Xinguo explained the general situation in Shuanma Village to her.
Although Shuanma was technically only a village, it had a large population—approximately five or six thousand people.
That was almost the size of an entire commune.
With so many residents, the village naturally contained many clans.
However, the Gu and Wang families were the largest.
“Our brigade’s Party secretary and brigade captain belong to the two largest clans. One is surnamed Gu, and the other is surnamed Wang.”
“Before Liberation, the Gu and Wang families constantly competed over the village’s resources. They fought several times every year.”
“After the founding of the country, the conflict between the two clans eased considerably, and there were no more bloody incidents.”
“The other clans are smaller, so they rarely express opinions regarding major brigade affairs.”
“However, during the past two years, the Li family has become increasingly influential because one of their members works within the commune government.”
“They’re now capable of competing with the Gu and Wang families.”
Listening to him made Shen Jiao’s head ache.
Conflict truly existed everywhere.
It reminded her of a sentence she had once read online: wherever people gathered, there would be disputes.
Life never contained a true paradise hidden from the world.
“Brother Gu, don’t worry. I won’t deliberately cause trouble in the village and make things difficult for you.”
Of course, other people had better not provoke her either.
Her teeth remained perfectly sharp.
She had swallowed every grievance when she was a child.
After growing up, she no longer intended to wrong herself.
“Jiaojiao, I’m explaining these things so you’ll understand the situation in our brigade.”
“I’m not telling you to swallow your anger.”
“I might only be a driver, but I’m still capable of protecting my wife.”
“We won’t cause trouble, but we aren’t afraid of it either.”
“If anyone bullies you, fight back without hesitation.”
“No matter what happens, I’ll support you!”
This time, Shen Jiao’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Gu Xinguo.
As expected of her man.
Just listen to how impressive his words were.
She discovered that she loved him a little more.
Being stared at by his wife in that manner caused heat to surge through Gu Xinguo.
All the blood in his body seemed to rush towards one place.
He looked at the sky and sighed inwardly.
Why was it still so bright outside?
Back at Wang Naozi’s home, Li Mingxia and Wang Xiangxiu finally reached a mutual understanding and developed a series of plans to make Shen Jiao’s life difficult.
Only then did Li Mingxia prepare to return to Shenjia Village in an excellent mood.
She had originally travelled there merely to investigate the situation.
Who would have expected her to receive such an unexpected reward?
She glanced in the direction of Gu Xinguo’s home.
A sinister smile slowly appeared on her lips.
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