Chapter 1 One lives in luxury, the other toils under the sun and rain...
The spring chill lingered, and a fine drizzle fell.
In the family compound of the East District of Guangcheng, Zhang Guihua, the nanny of Commander Fu's family, walked briskly with an umbrella in one hand and a vegetable basket in the other, and finally stopped in front of a white two-story villa.
In the living room on the first floor of the villa, Mrs. Fu, with her full head of silver hair, was sitting on a soft sofa reading a newspaper.
Hearing the door open, I looked up and saw Zhang Guihua push the door open and enter.
Madam Fu noticed the corner of her clothes that was wet from the rain and quickly said, "Your clothes are all wet, go and change them quickly."
Zhang Guihua smiled and said, "It's alright, only this outer garment got wet. The rain wasn't heavy, I just wasn't paying attention and it got wet."
After saying that, he took the things into the kitchen and put them away before returning to the living room, where he took off his rain-soaked coat and hung it on the hanger.
The Fu family has heating, so it's not cold inside.
As Zhang Guihua rolled up her sleeves, she asked, "Has Mingli not gotten up yet?"
When she mentioned her granddaughter-in-law, Madam Fu smiled.
"No. Let her be. She doesn't have to go to work, and with this weather, she has nothing to do getting up so early."
Zhang Guihua joked, "You didn't say that before. You used to say that the day's plan starts in the morning, but you changed your tune when you saw Mingli."
Madam Fu smiled again, tacitly acknowledging her fickleness.
After they finished talking, Zhang Guihua went into the kitchen to start working, while Madam Fu sat on the sofa and continued reading the newspaper she hadn't finished.
Time passed quietly until the jarring ring of the telephone rang out.
Madam Fu answered the phone.
It was the security guard calling. Someone claimed to be a relative of the Fu family and was calling specifically to confirm.
A moment later, another person spoke on the other end, their tone somewhat ingratiating.
"Auntie, I am Mingli's aunt, Li Hong."
Madam Fu was somewhat surprised, but she didn't lose her composure: "Hello, hello, my dear in-laws."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, she hung up the phone. Madam Fu got up and went to the kitchen door. She said to Zhang Guihua, who was washing vegetables, "Mingli's aunt is here. Boil some water, and I'll go wake Mingli up."
"Okay, I'll burn it right away."
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The villa where the Fu family lives was allocated by the government. It has two floors, with four rooms on the first floor and two rooms with a large terrace on the second floor. Each floor has its own bathroom, which is very convenient.
The four elders of the Fu family and the nanny all lived on the first floor, while the second floor was Fu Ci and his wife's private world.
Grandma Fu arrived at the door of her grandson and granddaughter-in-law's bedroom and knocked lightly: "Mingli, are you awake?"
After waiting a moment without a response, they raised their voices and shouted again.
This time, a sound still heavy with sleepiness finally came from inside.
A moment later, Tang Mingli, still in her pajamas, opened the door and, fighting off her sleepiness, asked, "Grandma, is it time for lunch? It feels like Fu Ci just went to work, how come it's lunchtime already?"
His sleepy, drowsy look softened Old Madam Fu's heart.
She only had one son, and her son only had one grandson. Both her son and grandson inherited her husband's rigid and meticulous nature. Before Tang Mingli entered the family, she had never experienced the happiness of being pampered by a younger generation, so she was particularly susceptible to this.
Madam Fu said affectionately, "You're still half asleep. It's not even noon yet."
I wake her up before noon, probably because I'm afraid she'll go hungry if she doesn't eat breakfast.
Tang Mingli yawned, took Madam Fu's arm, and said coquettishly, "Actually, it's really okay to skip breakfast occasionally."
Grandma Fu affectionately patted her granddaughter-in-law's messy hair and told her, "Your aunt is here. She's already at the gate of the compound. Quickly wash up, change your clothes, and come downstairs."
Upon hearing that her aunt had arrived, Tang Mingli fully sobered up: "Why did you suddenly come over?"
"Maybe he came to see you."
Madam Fu was also guessing, but she herself didn't really believe it, let alone Tang Mingli.
Now that everyone's here, whether she believes it or not is irrelevant; as her niece, she should indeed come forward to greet them.
Tang Mingli went to wash up, and then Madam Fu went downstairs first.
Despite speeding up, Li Hong still got there before her by going downstairs.
As soon as Li Hong saw Madam Fu, she greeted her warmly, "Long time no see! How have you been lately?"
As he spoke, he didn't forget to hand over the net bag of eggs he had brought.
She knew that these few eggs were nothing to her family, but for her, it was a precious thing that she had to grit her teeth and buy.
When Madam Fu saw that she had brought some things, she said politely, "We're all family, so it's fine for you to come. There's no need to bring anything."
However, it was a token of my appreciation, and it would be impolite to refuse, so I gladly accepted it.
The two sat down on the sofa, and Madam Fu asked with concern, "It's raining outside, are you alright?"
Li Hong shook her head: "I was wearing a raincoat, and it was just a light drizzle."
Li Hong didn't take this drizzle seriously at all.
If it weren't for the fact that being soaking wet would be impolite to people, she wouldn't even want to wear a raincoat; an umbrella would suffice.
"The drizzle at this time of year is the most refreshing." With that, Old Man Fu instructed Zhang Guihua to brew a cup of ginger and jujube tea for Li Hong to warm her up.
Zhang Guihua readily agreed and soon brought over a cup of ginger and jujube tea, handing it to Li Hong with both hands.
Li Hong took the cup and looked at the exquisite porcelain cup in her hand, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.
The Fu family even uses such fine teacups. How could their daughter have been so bewitched, preferring to go to the countryside rather than marry Fu Ci?
Li Hong's heart ached at the thought of her daughter suffering in the countryside.
After sitting for a while without seeing anyone else, Li Hong became a little nervous and asked, "Aren't Uncle and Mingli here?"
Whether Grandpa Fu was there or not wasn't her biggest concern; what she cared about was Tang Mingli. If he wasn't there, then her trip through the wind and rain today would have been for nothing.
Fortunately, Madam Fu replied, "The old man went out early this morning to see his old comrades-in-arms. Mingli is upstairs."
Fearing that Li Hong might misunderstand that her granddaughter-in-law was neglecting her, the old lady quickly explained, "It's a bit cold today, so I told her not to get up so early. I already went to call her when I knew you were coming, and she'll be down in a bit."
Li Hong tightened her grip on the porcelain cup.
She had never seen a woman who could sleep in late at her husband's house after getting married, which showed how happy Tang Mingli was in the Fu family.
The fact that her niece was living such a happy life in her husband's family did not make Li Hong happy. Instead, she felt even more distressed and heartbroken for her daughter who was still in the countryside.
One lives a life of luxury in the Fu family, while the other toils in the countryside under the scorching sun and rain.
God, why did you do this to her daughter?
Li Hong couldn't imagine, nor dared to think about, how miserable her daughter's life was in the countryside.
It must have been incredibly difficult, so difficult that she couldn't bear it anymore, that she wrote to her and her husband, begging them to find a way to bring her back.
Thinking of the letter her daughter had sent her the day before yesterday, Li Hong felt so heartbroken that tears welled up in her eyes.
Fearing he would lose his composure in front of Madam Fu, he quickly pretended to drink tea to cover it up.
The warm, spicy tea made Li Hong pause in surprise.
It's not like I've never had good tea before, but I'm still always amazed every time I come to the Fu family's place.
For example, this tea today makes you feel warm and cozy after drinking it.
Zhang Guihua had a keen eye. Seeing that Li Hong had drunk most of the tea in one gulp after another, she immediately brought over the teapot and filled her cup to the brim.
Not long after, Tang Mingli, who had hurriedly tidied herself up, also came downstairs.
Upon seeing Li Hong, he immediately greeted her with a smile as "Auntie" and naturally sat down beside her.
Li Hong looked at her beautiful niece with a somewhat dazed expression.
With fair skin, rosy lips, and smiling eyes, she looks like someone who has lived a very comfortable life.
Since marrying into the Fu family, every time I see my eldest niece, I feel that she is even more charming than the last time I saw her.
Zhang Guihua was worried that Tang Mingli would be hungry since she hadn't eaten breakfast, so she heated up the milk that had just been delivered that day and also gave her some snacks to fill her stomach.
Tang Mingli took a sip of milk, found it a little hot, put it down, and continued talking to Li Hong.
She smiled and chatted about topics that were sure to be interesting. But she knew perfectly well that her aunt had come for a reason, though she wouldn't ask.
Her aunt is quite sensitive. Even if you don't mean anything by it, asking "Why did you come today?" might be interpreted as you being unhappy that she came.
Sensitive and petty people are exhausting, but fortunately, although the two families live in the same city, one is in the west district and the other in the east district. It takes more than an hour to travel between them by bus, so they only visit each other a few times a year, which she can accept.
Tang Mingli didn't ask what her aunt had come for today; she just kept bringing out delicious food to entertain her and the conversation revolved around how her health and life were going.
Although it was a bit polite, no one could find any fault with it.
Li Hong also fell for this, and felt much more comfortable after being soothed by Tang Mingli.
He even thought to himself that raising her for several years hadn't been in vain, as he'd even managed to get her a good marriage for free. But he had come with a purpose today, and he still had to say what needed to be said.
So after exchanging pleasantries, Li Hong braced herself and said, "I received a letter from your cousin a few days ago."
She actually received the letter yesterday evening, but she didn't dare tell the truth, afraid of appearing too anxious.
Even after mentally preparing herself, Li Hong choked up when she mentioned her daughter, and the tears she had been holding back slipped down her cheeks. She quickly raised her hand to wipe them away.
Seeing this, Tang Mingli considerately handed her a tissue.
"How is my cousin?"
“How could things be good in the countryside?” Li Hong took a tissue and wiped her tears, saying with heartache, “In the blink of an eye, Mingmei has been in the countryside for two years.”
"Yes." Tang Mingli lowered her head.
Her cousin, Tang Mingmei, responded to the call for educated youth to go to the countryside two years ago and went to a rural area hundreds of kilometers away from Guangcheng.
In fact, she was the one who should have been sent to the countryside back then.
No, to be precise, it should be 'she'.
Although she shares the same name as Tang Mingli, she actually transmigrated into the book.
Two years ago, she died suddenly after working overtime for two consecutive months. When she opened her eyes again, she was in this world.
When Tang Mingli first opened her eyes to this unfamiliar world, she was completely bewildered.
However, before they could remain bewildered for long, they heard a fierce argument.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman who looked to be about forty years old and a girl who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old arguing.
The woman, hands on her hips, yelled at the girl, "You're nineteen years old! Why are you still so immature? Is marriage a game? One minute you say you'll marry me, the next you say you won't!"
The girl's eyes were red, but she didn't back down at all: "I don't care, I just won't marry him."
The woman laughed in exasperation and asked her, "Do you know what the consequences are of not getting married?"
“I know I would rather go to the countryside than marry Fu Ci.”
The girl's stubborn expression made the woman's chest heave rapidly with anger, but she still managed to take a deep breath to control her rage and earnestly persuaded her.
"The Fu family is such a good match, you couldn't find one even with a lantern. Your father and I shamelessly begged the Fu family elders because of your deceased grandfather's kindness, and that's how we got such a good match."
The girl bit her lower lip tightly, and after a brief silence, she suddenly walked towards Tang Mingli, who was still in a daze, and pulled her up from the chair.
"Since you are unwilling to give up the marriage with the Fu family, then let Tang Mingli marry into the family."
The moment the bodies touched, Tang Mingli felt as if she had been electrocuted, and a flash of white light went through her mind.
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