Chapter 2

Jiang Nian looked down at the hand that was holding her arm.

The man was two steps away from her, holding her with his arms straight, his palms clenched, maintaining the proper distance and propriety between men and women.

She pursed her lips and looked down at her toes: "No, I, I want to go to the toilet."

The man looked away uncomfortably where Jiang Nian could not see.

Lu Yu loosened his hand, walked two steps to the side to make room for her, and glanced at Jiang Nian's forehead wrapped in gauze for a few times: "Walk slowly."

To be honest, Jiang Nian was not used to this identity.

She was a woman who had been single for more than 20 years, and suddenly became a widow whose husband had just died. Not only that, she was also called sister-in-law by a strange man. Looking at the brother-in-law who had appeared out of nowhere, although it was only in name, Jiang Nian still complained in her heart.

She didn't know how she got into the book, and now she couldn't find a way to get back.

Jiang Nian held onto the wall, endured the headache and dizziness, and slowly walked out of the house.

It was getting dark.

The courtyard showed a hazy outline in the twilight, just like what she saw last night, with a very old-fashioned feel.

The toilet was at the corner of the west wall. Jiang Nian held onto the wall and walked in. It was a dry toilet with two bricks on both sides of the pit. She stepped on the bricks and squatted, thinking about how to go next.

According to the plot in the book, the hero will come back five days later. After dealing with the original owner's funeral, he will take the train to leave. Later, he will meet the heroine on the train. The two of them secretly fall in love and get married naturally. She read the book until the hero and the heroine are about to get married before she put down the book and went to sleep.

Now the hero came back five days earlier than the plot in the book. She doesn't know if it is because of the butterfly effect caused by her transmigrating into the book, but she can't think so much at the moment. She has to find a way to let the hero take her away from the mountain village. The only one she can rely on now is this hero who came out of nowhere.

"Sister-in-law."

Lu Yu's voice came from outside.

Jiang Nian was startled: "I'm here!"

She quickly packed up and walked out of the toilet holding the wall. She saw Lu Yu standing by the well. The man's sleeves were rolled up, revealing his wheat-colored skin, long and beautiful wrist joints, and tight and powerful forearm muscle texture. The light from the kerosene lamp placed by the well shone on the handsome face, softening the man's cold and hard jaw line.

Jiang Nian couldn't help but sigh, worthy of being the male lead. He

is really good-looking.

She asked: "Is there something you want to call me for?"

She tried her best to imitate the original owner's voice and temperament. She deliberately spoke in a sullen voice, always looking at the ground, and dared not look at people. She was a typical inferiority complex personality.

Seeing that she was fine, Lu Yu threw the bucket into the well: "You sit down and rest first, I'll go cook." Jiang Nian

stood with the help of the wall. She had just stood up too fast, and blood suddenly rushed to her head. She was even more dizzy now. She slowed down and watched Lu Yu skillfully fetch water from the well and walk to the kitchen. There was a kerosene lamp on in the kitchen, and through the open window she could see Lu Yu making a fire to cook.

The man rolled up his sleeves, skillfully cut vegetables, heated the pot, and did it all in one go. The book did not mention whether the male protagonist could cook, but now she saw it with her own eyes. She didn't expect the male protagonist to be quite good at cooking.

Lu Yu lit the kerosene lamp in the house. Jiang Nian went to the washbasin stand at the door to wash her hands. She slowly walked to the small wooden table in the yard, holding the wall, and sat down on a small stool. She looked up at the male protagonist who was still cooking in the kitchen.

According to the plot, the male protagonist who was supposed to come back in five days came back early, and the original owner who had died was now alive and well. The plot was completely different from the track in the book.

She was actually a little scared.

She was afraid that because she occupied the original owner's body, the plot would collapse and she would be retaliated.

Although she didn't know what the punishment would be for the backlash, she felt uneasy anyway. If she wanted the plot to get back on track, she had to wait until seven days before letting the hero leave by train. That time point was exactly the first time the hero and heroine met in the book.

As for herself...

Jiang Nian raised her hand and touched the wound on her forehead. At worst, she could try to hit the wall again. What if she died and went back in time?

She didn't want to hit the wall now.

The wound on her forehead was throbbing with pain. If she hit the wall again, she would not die, but her injury would be aggravated, and she would be the one to suffer.

Lu Yu cooked the meal and brought it to the table in the yard, then went back to the kitchen to get the kerosene lamp and chopsticks.

Jiang Nian glanced at the food on the table. Lu Yu had prepared a plate of stir-fried beans with meat, a plate of stir-fried cabbage with meat, and two bowls of egg soup. There were a few steamed buns in the chipped plate. The aroma of the food filled the air. For the starving Jiang Nian, this was a sumptuous dinner.

She swallowed and lowered her head to hide the light in her eyes.

She searched the original owner's memory and knew that the family had run out of food. The family relied on the monthly allowance sent back by the male protagonist to survive. After Xu Cheng's father died, Jiang's mother came to the original owner every month to cry about her poverty, and took most of the allowance from the female protagonist, leaving the original owner with a little bit, which was only enough for the original owner and Xu Cheng's monthly food allowance.

The original owner had always lived a tight life. After Xu Cheng died two days ago, the original owner used the little money she had left to ask neighbors to help with Xu Cheng's funeral. Now she is so poor that she can't even afford to eat, let alone meat and vegetables.

These are the stalls left by the original owner. Since she inherited the original owner's body, she has to take responsibility for what she did when she was alive.

Jiang Nian thought about it and decided that it would be better to speak first, but before she could speak, Lu Yu said, "I came back last night and found that there was no flour and vegetables in the kitchen. I went to the county to buy them today. Sister-in-law, please eat quickly, or it will get cold later."

Jiang Nian choked up.

Lu Yu avoided talking about the original owner's near-miss last night, and did not mention why the subsidy he sent back every month was not enough for the family's food. He just casually said that he went to the county to buy vegetables and meat today.

He is worthy of being the male protagonist. He

is good-looking and courageous.

"Oh."

Jiang Nian responded.

She first drank a sip of the hot egg soup. It is called egg soup, but in fact it is just eggs stirred and poured into boiling water to boil. It is different from the egg soup in the new century. The white flour steamed buns are hot and eaten with stir-fried vegetables. It is much more delicious than the steamed buns and pickled vegetables that Aunt Zhao brought over in the afternoon.

In fact, this meal was a very luxurious meal in that era, especially in the villages, where people might not even be able to eat two plates of meat during the Chinese New Year.

During the break of eating, Jiang Nian secretly glanced at Lu Yu across from her. Perhaps because he had been in the army for many years, the man ate quickly, but not rudely. Seeing him put down his bowl and chopsticks after finishing eating, Jiang Nian quickly retracted her gaze, lowered her head and continued to eat quietly. From the corner of her eye, she saw the man fetching water from the well, carrying a bucket of water in each hand and carrying it to the stove room effortlessly. The sound of pouring water echoed in the quiet and peaceful courtyard.

When she finished eating, Lu Yu was also busy.

He pulled out the bench and sat across from Jiang Nian, with his back straight, his palms on his knees, looking at Jiang Nian sitting across from her. She was shyly crossing her legs, her hands clenched on her legs, and her eyes were always looking at the ground at all times.

In fact, he had only seen Jiang Nian once since she married into the Lu family.

He came back once the year when Uncle Xu died, and stayed at home for two days, taking care of the old man's funeral with Jiang Nian. On the day he returned to the army, Jiang Nian, wearing a thick cotton jacket, stood at the door of the house and watched him go. In the vast snow, her figure became smaller and smaller in his eyes.

That was the first time he saw Jiang Nian, and also the last time.

After learning that Jiang Nian was bullied by the village hooligans and hit her head against the wall and died, Lu Yu lived in regret every day in the future, until he had an accident and accidentally returned to this time in the past. He asked for leave from the army, bought a train ticket and rushed back overnight. Although he did not have time to see his eldest brother for the last time, fortunately, he saved poor Jiang Nian in time, making up for the regret of his previous life.

Lu Yu said, "I want to tell my sister-in-law something."

Jiang Nian didn't look up, looking at the ants crawling on the ground. In order not to arouse the male protagonist's suspicion, she tried her best to imitate the original owner's tone and expression: "Just you talk, I'm listening."

Lu Yu said, "I want my sister-in-law to go to the army with me."

"Ah?!"

Jiang Nian looked up, stunned.

Seeing her big reaction, Lu Yu patiently explained: "You are following the army. The army has a military compound. You can move there to live. The neighbors are all army wives, and they will take care of you to some extent. If there is anything at home, I can help you solve it. Living in the army is much safer than here. I have already reported to the team before I came back, and we will have a place to live directly when we go there."

Jiang Nian is timid and cowardly. This time, because of the opportunity of rebirth, he learned that after she married into the Xu family, she still could not get rid of the torture of the Jiang family. He also saved Jiang Nian in time by chance. If he did not take her away and kept her at home, she would not live long alone, and her final end might be the same as in her previous life.

Jiang Nian has taken care of Uncle Xu and Big Brother Xu for four years, the Xu family owes her, and he has also been taken care of by the Xu family for more than ten years, so he also owes her, so he continued: "I have taken five days off this time. It takes two days to take the train back and forth, so I can only stay at home for three days. I will clean up the house tomorrow, and we will leave the day after tomorrow morning, and we can reach the train station in the afternoon."

The man finished the remaining food on the plate in one breath, got up and took the dishes to the kitchen to wash. Hearing the sound of washing dishes in the kitchen, Jiang Nian came back to her senses, digested what Lu Yu had just said, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

She was originally thinking about how to tactfully let Lu Yu take her away from this hellhole, but she didn't expect him to speak first, which saved her from speaking again.

Jiang Nian turned around and thought of one more thing. The heroine would not appear on the train until seven days later. The hero would definitely not meet the heroine if he left the day after tomorrow. In this way, the plot would only go off the track, not to mention getting back on track.

No, she had to delay it until seven days later.

Jiang Nian slowly stood up and walked to the kitchen door. She held the door frame and looked at Lu Yu who was boiling water inside. She hesitated about how to start the conversation. Lu Yu picked up another bucket of water and poured it into the big pot. He said to Jiang Nian, "I boiled hot water for my sister-in-law to take a bath later."

She would have forgotten it if the hero hadn't said it.

There were no bathrooms in the countryside at that time. If you wanted to take a bath, you had to boil water in a big pot, mix it with cold water and pour it into the bathtub to wash in the house. It was summer now, and people would sweat if they moved. What's more, the original owner had suffered a lot yesterday and was covered in mud. She also sweated a lot while lying in bed today. Her body was sticky and uncomfortable, and she had been uncomfortable for a long time.

"Lu Yu, I want to say something."

Jiang Nian pressed his fingers on the door frame and looked down at the firewood piled next to the stove. His inferiority complex and cowardly character that dared not look people in the eye was exactly like the original owner.