Chapter 137

Ye Yuan eventually married. Fortunately for her, the man who ruined her innocence was a responsible man. Though a penniless foreigner, he was willing to arrange the wedding in a respectable manner and even gave Ye Wangshan the unreasonable twenty taels of betrothal money he had demanded. Regardless of anything else, his generosity in this matter alone made Ye Di accept this fourth brother-in-law as her husband.

Being poor doesn't matter, but you must treat your wife as a human being. Compared to the Jin family who rushed to the Ye family to cancel the engagement after hearing the news, this is much better.

However, because Ye Wangshan was still holding up Ye Yuan's marriage and insisting on a dowry, Ye Di had completely given up on her father. Ye Wangshan treated them like nothing, completely disregarding their lives. She harbored a deep resentment, and after Ye Yuan's marriage, she became even more depressed. Sometimes, Ye Di thought, even if she ran away and was abducted by human traffickers, it would be better than having her own parents stab her in the heart.

Although she longed to sever ties with the Ye family, a girl could never escape her natal family except by marrying. Ye Di used to think about that officer, but now she had no thoughts at all. In this world, you can't rely on anyone.

The days became harder and harder. After Ye Yuan got married, almost all the housework in the Ye family fell on Ye Di's shoulders.

Not only did she have to prepare three meals a day, do the laundry, and clean the house, she also had to take care of the children for the first and second wives. Even when Ye Qinghe injured his leg, she had to take care of him personally. Every day, she toiled like a workhorse. Sometimes, Ye Di would stare at her rough hands and think, "No wonder the officer looked down on her. Her wasted appearance made her look less delicate than the city girls."

Libei Town, nestled at the northernmost edge of the Beiting Protectorate, was frequently harassed by bandits. The garrison troops would suppress the bandits every three years, but their efforts were always in vain. Now, another three years had passed, and every household in the village was on tenterhooks, waiting.

Sure enough, as soon as February came, horse bandits attacked the village.

For the first time, they bypassed Yejiazhuang and headed straight for town, passing through Yujia Village in the back. During the days when bandits attacked the village, Ye Di couldn't sleep at night. Besides robbing property and food, these bandits also raped and tortured young women. Three years ago, many girls were left half-dead by their abuse. While Ye Di wasn't as beautiful as the city girls, she was still considered a beauty in Yejiazhuang.

She lived in fear day and night, having heard that the bandits had massacred the entire Yujia Village population. Young women and girls were brutally murdered, and her mouth blisters formed from anxiety. Even if her fourth sister had married into Yujia Village, she had no idea how she would fare now.

But she was worried and wanted to ask the men in the family to go. Ye Qingjiang locked the door tightly and refused to agree. The second nephew from the eldest wife's house was willing to go, but as soon as he left the house, Ye Zhang slapped him back: "Ye Di, if you want to die, go die! Don't harm my son! We don't know what the bandits outside are doing, and you actually encouraged the grandson of the old Ye family to go to that wolf's den. I think you are tired of living!"

"Dad!" Ye Zhang had been holding back her anger for a long time because of all the losses she had suffered before. This time, she finally got her chance. "Aren't you going to do anything about this money-losing bastard? This damn girl doesn't know how to protect her own family. She's really turning her elbow outward!"

The entire Yejia Village was wary of bandits, and they didn't dare to provoke them, fearing they might bring disaster to the entire village. When Ye Wangshan heard Ye Zhangshi exaggerating, his anger grew. He slapped Ye Di in the face, then angrily ordered Ye Zhangshi to lock her up in the house: "If you're confused, just be honest and don't harm your family!"

Although I had guessed long ago that Ye Wangshan would not take risks for Ye Yuan, I still felt chilled when I heard him say that.

She really can't stay in this house anymore...

The bandits came to plunder and then left, but the people of Yejiazhuang hid for several days. Seeing that the bandits hadn't come back, every household felt relieved to leave their cellars. Ye Di hadn't spoken to her family in a long time, and she buried herself in her work every day.

Ye Su called her aside, wiped her tears, and secretly asked her to go to Yujia Village to inquire. Ye Di looked at her mother, her eyes red, expressionless. She knew her father was the boss in the family, and her mother's weak temper meant her words were ineffective. But she couldn't contain her anger, blaming Ye Su for not protecting them and ignoring her daughters in order to live a comfortable life.

But she said nothing in the end, and agreed silently: "I will go there by the small road in the evening."

Ye Su heard her say this and sobbed again. Ye Di didn't stay by her side. Instead, she turned around, carrying two buckets, and went to the fields with her second sister-in-law to water and fertilize the vegetables. The second sister-in-law was several years younger than the eldest sister-in-law, but she looked much older. She couldn't remember if the second sister-in-law had always been so silent, but it seemed that for as long as she could remember, the second sister-in-law had never said a word at home.

The two of them buried themselves in their farm work. When Ye Di returned home, she heard Ye Jia had arrived. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but then she remembered how Ye Jia had paid for three pieces of jewelry for Ye Yuan's wedding. She knew that even if her third sister didn't like them, she still treated them like human beings. She was the only one in the family who treated them like human beings.

Ye Jia must have said something unpleasant that upset his parents, and Ye Di heard Ye Wangshan standing in the main hall and cursing loudly.

Ye Di stood outside the door, bucket in hand, eavesdropping. When she heard Ye Jia say that the bandits might come again and advised the Ye family to move out as soon as possible, her heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare to go in and disturb them, but listened intently to what was going on inside. Ye Ersao, who was standing next to her, had put away her hoe and bucket, and came back to see her standing there stupidly. She put away the farm tools in her hands and muttered, "Mom told you to go cook."

Ye Di lowered her eyes, nodded, and went to the kitchen without saying a word.

That day, Ye Jia did not leave any food for the Ye family. The main reason was that the old couple of the Ye family were unhappy because they did not get the subsidy money, and they did not want to give the food to the ungrateful Ye Jia. Ye Jia naturally did not care about the Ye family's food, so he just went to Ye Qinghe's room and sat for a long time before coming out. Ye Di met Ye Jia at the door after finishing the meal and asked Ye Jia, "Sister, when are you planning to move out?"

Ye Jia looked at her for a long time, not knowing what he was looking at. After a long while, he mentioned the date of moving out.

Ye Di's heart pounded, and a sour feeling rose in her nose. She stood there, clenching her palms so hard her nails dug into them. After a long moment, she let out a deep breath. She had made a decision: she would move away with her third sister and her family.

She knew that making this decision on her own was annoying; no one wanted to be a burden. Ye Jia and the Zhou family didn't owe her anything. Her parents and brothers were all there. If she ran away without permission, they would hate her to death. But she had no choice. She couldn't stay in this house for even a day! Ye Di's face was wooden as tears fell, and she gritted her teeth as she packed her luggage.

The third sister may have a bad mouth, but she cares about her sisters in her heart. She can do a lot of work, and she will work harder if she follows the third sister!

After making this decision, Ye Di's heart seemed to have found its purpose and calmed down. She patiently waited for the days to pass, and when the day came for Ye Jia to move out, before dawn, she quietly opened the door and slipped away from the Ye family's house. She didn't dare to block the Zhou family's door, fearing that Ye Jia would send her back, so she simply waited on the official road.

She had made up her mind that if Ye Jia didn't show up, she would go to Dongxiang Town to look for him herself. The Zhou family was running a food stall, so they would definitely sell it at the market. If she couldn't find him in one day, she would try two days, and if she couldn't find him in two days, she would try three days...

The sky grew brighter, and the sun grew hotter. Ye Di felt dizzy and saw stars, but she still waited stubbornly under the tree.

After waiting for an indeterminate amount of time, feeling her throat smolder and nearly pass out, she finally spotted one or two oxcarts creaking down the road. The Zhou family sat on them, along with many of Ye Jia's belongings from his pancake stall. Ye Di swallowed hard, then rushed forward to stop the carts as they approached.

Ye Jia, who was sitting on the ox cart, was surprised for a moment, and frowned before asking her why she came.

Ye Di knew that Ye Jia probably disliked her. She also knew that her sudden appearance was a form of coercion. But she gritted her teeth and looked at her third sister stubbornly: "Third sister, I also want to move to Dongxiang Town. Can you take me with you?"

Ye Jia didn't speak for a long time, and stared at her after getting off the ox cart.

Ye Di's heart was pounding, tears threatening to burst out. She bit her lip tightly, afraid to cry. But before long, a flicker of helplessness flashed across Ye Jia's eyes. With a sigh, he lifted the heavy bag from her shoulder and handed it to the ox cart, promising to take her along.

The trip to Dongxiang Town was quick, arriving in a single day. It was then that Ye Di realized the Ye Jia food stall the villagers had been talking about was truly excellent. It was actually helping the impoverished Zhou family thrive. Not only could they afford to eat both dry and thick dishes daily, but they could also afford a larger house. Only after moving into the Zhou family did Ye Di understand what true elders were like. She had never met an elder as gentle as Aunt Yu.

The days at the Zhou family were the brightest ones Ye Di had experienced in her thirteen years. Although she had to do housework, her third sister wouldn't leave it all to her, nor would she give her a cold shoulder if she didn't do her job well. If there was something delicious at home, Aunt Yu could eat it, and Rui Jie could eat it, so could she.

Ye Di thought it would be nice to stay with Ye Jia for the rest of her life, although she was also keenly aware that this 'third sister' was probably no longer her third sister.

She discovered that Ye Jia possessed a wealth of skills: cooking, business, building houses, and walls... These were things that not only her former, incompetent Third Sister couldn't do, but even the most learned Master Tongsheng in the Ye family couldn't do. Ye Di had no idea how this person had become her Third Sister, or why no one had noticed. But she thought her Third Sister was fine the way she was. She firmly accepted the person before her as her Third Sister.

Ye Jia had no intention of hiding anything and continued to pursue his own career.

Yes, career. It wasn't until she lived with Ye Jia that Ye Di realized that women could also pursue careers and build substantial capital for themselves. As long as she was willing to endure hardships and learn, and as long as she had the courage to dream, she could succeed.

"The bolder the man, the more fertile the land." This is a sentence that Ye Di often heard Ye Jia say.

Although she hadn't read much, she understood. Her third sister told her that if she didn't dare to think, she wouldn't be qualified to possess those things. Ye Di knew she didn't have Ye Jia's skills, but she was still young; she could watch, learn, and ask. Ye Di had never imagined that if she was willing to do it, Ye Jia would actually give her the recipe and let her do it.

Ye Di felt as sweet as if she had eaten a large jar of honey. Third sister was her real sister, and she loved her so much!

After studying with Ye Jia for so long, Ye Di also learned a saying: "Three-legged men are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere." A woman's precious youth shouldn't be wasted on being a slave to men. Men are human, and women are human too. Even if she never gets married, as long as she has enough money, she can still live a happy life in her old age.

Because of this, Ye Di finally let go of her worries and never thought about getting married again when she was about to reach marriage age.

Why marry someone? What's the point of giving birth to a bunch of sons? She still can't even get enough to eat. If she meets someone with bad intentions, who knows, they might just beat her up out of frustration. She's marrying someone because her life is worthless!

Ye Jia had no idea that his occasional rants were being taken as gospel wisdom by Ye Di, seriously distorting her principles. Ye Jia admired Ye Di's unyielding spirit and rebellious nature. Seeing that she genuinely listened, he often brought her along to teach her.

Ye Di plunged headfirst into the vortex of moneymaking, intent on never escaping. Then, one day, by chance, her third brother-in-law brought home two men. They were incredibly handsome, young men who could make even young wives blush on the street (though certainly not as handsome as her third brother-in-law). One of them was a military officer who looked down on village girls. Ye Di stood behind Ye Jia, expressionlessly pouring water over the side. She didn't need to ask for the names of the men she'd spent so much time trying to motivate herself; now she knew them.

It turned out that the officer's surname was Liu, and his given name was Yuan. Ye Di didn't know which Yuan he was, but he was definitely from the garrisoned cavalry battalion.

Ye Di lowered her eyes as she went to the well to scoop water and wash the vegetables. Her third brother-in-law had brought people home today to entertain guests. She had specially bought a lot of vegetables, so naturally, she had to pick them clean. She completely ignored the affectionate glances Liu Yuan sent her, only sneering in her heart.

Why are you so arrogant? You say he is handsome, but he is still not even one tenth as handsome as my third brother-in-law.

Liu Yuan didn't know Ye Di was sneering inwardly, but he was a little puzzled by the girl's apathy. After all, he was her savior, right? The last time he saw her, he looked like he was about to come closer, so why was he pretending not to see her this time?

Glancing at Zhou Jingchen beside him, Liu Yuan rubbed his chin, feeling as if he'd figured it out. Perhaps they were at a relative's house, and it wouldn't be good for a young girl to act too frivolous and offend her sister and brother-in-law. Thinking he understood Ye Di's thoughts, Liu Yuan gave up the idea of ​​greeting her. A girl, no matter how young, still had to maintain dignity and decorum, so he'd better keep his distance.

Thinking this in his mind, he pretended not to know Ye Di.

Seeing him tease her for a bit, then immediately subdued his expression when she didn't react, Ye Di became even more convinced. This Liu Yuan simply despised her and was teasing her for fun. She silently cleaned and washed a basin of vegetables and brought it back to the kitchen. Ye Jia was already chopping meat; he should be cooking something delicious today. Ye Di's mouth was watering, and she decisively put Liu Yuan out of her mind.

Who cares! He's just an old man, how can he be worth a meal for my third sister? It's hilarious!