Chapter 4: The Little Village Girl in the 1970s

Yao Yunzhen thought Yao Kemei was just talking nonsense and that was the end of it. Little did she know that this was just her assumption.

Therefore, when Tan Guihua came to her room, her first words shocked Yao Yunzhen.

"Zhenzhen, I heard you also like that educated youth Li, is that true?"

Tan Guihua spoke carefully, while also observing Yao Yunzhen's expression.

"Grandma, what nonsense are you talking about! How could I like Li Yunqi?"

Yao Yunzhen stomped her feet in anger.

Her mother said that with her looks, it's only natural that others would like her. How could she possibly like someone else?

Not to mention a pretentious pretty boy like Li Yunqi.

This is an insult to her, a tremendous insult!

Tan Guihua looked skeptical. "Really? Then how do you know that pretty boy's name is Li Yunqi?"

At this point, Li Zhiqing had become a gigolo in her eyes, and she no longer had any goodwill towards him as before.

Clearly, in Tan Guihua's view, the other party was far from good enough for her beloved granddaughter.

Yao Yunzhen never expected that this could be used as evidence that she liked it.

"There are only a few educated youths in the village, and everyone knows their names, so it's not surprising that I know them too. I also know the names of other people in the village. Does that mean I like all of them?"

"Grandma, who told you I like him?"

Yao Yunzhen wasn't stupid; her intuition told her that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Seeing Yao Yunzhen's firm expression and resolute attitude, Tan Guihua finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's not my younger sister. She told me that you like that Li Zhiqing, and she said she couldn't take away the person you like, so she would give him to you."

At this point, Tan Guihua became a little angry.

"How could she say such nonsense? You have a fiancé. If this gets out, people will misunderstand."

Yao Yunzhen was absolutely furious.

It's one thing for Yao Kemei to talk nonsense in front of her, but she even went to her grandmother to spout nonsense. Wouldn't she then take it outside and talk about it?

She absolutely had to teach them a lesson!

"mom--"

Yao Yunzhen ran out.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Miao Cuilan was just about to go to sleep when she heard her beloved daughter's aggrieved voice, and she rushed out of the room immediately.

"Mom, Yao Kemei bullied me and spread rumors about me."

"What?!"

She's still at home, and they've already started bullying her daughter! This is outrageous!

Miao Cuilan instantly exploded, rolled up her sleeves, and rushed into Yao Kemei's room.

The house she built herself was not soundproof at all, and when Yao Yunzhen complained about it, Yao Kemei's heart skipped a beat.

Yao Kemei originally thought that Yao Yunzhen denied it because she disliked her, so she used her grandmother's words to speak. Who knew that Yao Yunzhen would still deny it.

Why? Shouldn't she be happy to agree to marry Li Yunqi?

To everyone's surprise, not only did she refuse, she also made a public statement about it.

Thinking of her aunt's fierce nature, Yao Kemei shuddered.

Unlike her mother, her aunt didn't take her daughter seriously.

She dotes on Yao Yunzhen a lot and will stand up for her in everything, big or small.

Yao Kemei instinctively tried to run away, but as soon as she got up, she bumped into Miao Cuilan's hand.

"You little slut, how dare you bully my daughter! I'll teach you a lesson!"

Miao Cuilan grabbed Yao Kemei's collar and slapped her across the face.

Yao Kemei wanted to resist, but she was always hungry and looked like a skinny chick. In addition, she had just been in the water, so she was no match for the burly Miao Cuilan.

Miao Cuilan reacted quickly, slapping the woman several times.

He was still muttering curses under his breath.

"You dared to bully my daughter, you filthy mouth..."

"That's right, let's see if you still talk nonsense."

Yao Yunzhen stood to the side, hands on her hips, acting like a bully.

Tan Guihua originally wanted to mediate the fight, but seeing Yao Yunzhen like this, she ultimately didn't say anything.

This time, it was my sister's fault.

Sigh, it's her own fault for talking nonsense. You can't just say things like that.

Tan Guihua has always been in charge of these family matters, and since she doesn't speak up, Yao Daqiang naturally doesn't either.

As for Yang Erni, it was as if she wasn't the daughter being beaten; she stayed huddled in her room the whole time, not uttering a single sound.

Miao Cuilan knew her limits and stopped when she had enough.

Finally, a warning was given.

"If I find out you've bullied Zhenzhen again, you'll be sorry!"

Yao Kemei collapsed to the ground, clenching her fists tightly, her eyes lowered to conceal the jealousy and hatred in them.

Just you wait, she will not let anyone who has wronged her get away with it, absolutely not!

These people will never be able to trample on her again in her lifetime.

After giving the woman a good beating, Miao Cuilan questioned Yao Yunzhen carefully. Upon hearing what Yao Kemei had done, she wanted nothing more than to tear her mouth apart and slap her a few more times.

"This is outrageous! Our Zhenzhen has a fiancé. Could it be that Yao Kemei is eyeing Zhenzhen's fiancé?"

Miao Cuilan had only said it casually, but the more she talked about it, the more she realized how reasonable it was.

"That must be it, otherwise why would that girl not even like Li Zhiqing and want to push him to Zhenzhen? She must have her eye on someone better."

When he was young, Mr. Yao saved an injured military officer and they kept in touch. Later, the two arranged a marriage between their children.

At that time, Yao Yunzhen had just been born. Looking at the beautiful child, Miao Cuilan couldn't love her too much.

This marriage was obviously a good one, so Miao Cuilan naturally wouldn't let it pass her by.

At that time, the second wife only had two daughters. Yang Erni was not upright and did not dare to compete with this domineering sister-in-law. She was also too lazy to bother with the money-losing daughter, so the marriage fell to Yao Yunzhen.

However, the two families lived in completely different parts of the country and had not seen each other since then. They even lost contact for a time, and neither side knew what the other's child looked like. If they wanted to replace the child, they could easily keep it a secret.

During their previous communications, Miao Cuilan had mentioned exchanging photos of their children.

She was confident that once the other party saw the photo, the son-in-law would be hers for sure.

Unfortunately, the other party refused, saying that the man was serving in the military and the photos were not suitable for release.

They didn't really understand either, and the woman couldn't be too eager to do it, so the matter of exchanging photos was left unresolved.

If Yao Yunzhen marries that pretty boy surnamed Li, then Yao Kemei will be the only eligible girl left in the Yao family.

"How insidious."

Miao Cuilan gritted her teeth. It was all for nothing that she had taken care of Yang Erni when she was a child, and had been ridiculed and even fought with her for it. Who knew that this brat would repay her like this?

They actually dared to scheme against her daughter.

At this point, Miao Cuilan's remaining pity for Yao Kemei was completely extinguished.

Tan Guihua hesitated, "That can't be, can it?"

No matter what, Yao Kemei is her own granddaughter, so it's hard for her to think so badly of her.

Yao Yunzhen completely trusted Miao Cuilan's judgment and looked at Miao Cuilan with admiration.

"Mom, you're so smart."

Silly girl, is this the time to talk about these things?

The mother-in-law naturally still had feelings for her granddaughter and didn't want to think too badly of her, but Miao Cuilan firmly believed her own guess. She didn't intend to argue with Tan Guihua, but instead said:

"Mom, why don't we bring it up ourselves? These two kids are getting older, it's good to settle things sooner rather than later."

Miao Cuilan originally planned to keep Yao Yunzhen for another two years, as she was reluctant to let her daughter get married too early. But now that she saw someone trying to snatch away the eligible bachelor she had her eye on, she couldn't sit still any longer.

Tan Guihua was also afraid that things might change, so she agreed without much hesitation.

"When Yun Chuan returns, have him write a letter to ask him about it."

The Yao family are just ordinary farmers with no connections. If they miss this opportunity, Yao Yunzhen will probably only be able to marry someone from the village, or at most, someone from the county town.

With a face like Zhen's, most families couldn't protect her, and they wouldn't feel at ease if she married too low.