CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 33: SPACE PROSPERITY 15

The next day, Jiang Mingyue woke up automatically on time. This might be related to not staying up late; there was no electricity in the village, let alone any electronic devices, which allowed her to sleep early. Early to bed and early to rise was no longer just a slogan.

After a simple wash, Jiang Mingyue headed straight into the kitchen. In tough times, only good food could dispel worries.

What’s more, she wanted to contribute to the family.

The cupboard was running low on supplies, so Jiang Mingyue replenished it from her stash, adding an additional twenty kilograms of rice, among other things. Luckily, she carried the basket into her room yesterday as soon as she got home, and her third sister was a rule-abiding person who wouldn’t go through her things without permission. The cloth covered everything tightly, so no one saw what was inside.

Later, she would say that she brought some braised pork into town yesterday, which was traded for food by familiar people from the compound. This would cover where the grains came from. Moreover, once she was back, the cupboard key was handed to her, so only she knew what was inside.

Rolling up her sleeves to knead the dough, she took out a piece of meat from her stash and chopped it up. Just as she was about to start the fire, her third sister woke up too.

"Ming Yue, you’re up so early. Why not sleep a bit more? Also, next time, wake me up when you get up."

Jiang Mingyue looked at her, amused, as her third sister’s sleepy eyes betrayed that she didn’t get enough rest, yet she still pushed herself to get up. Feeling a bit sorry, she said, "Sis, I’m not working in the fields, so naturally, my body won’t be tired and I’ll wake up early. However, you and Mom are out early and back late every day, you should sleep more. It’s fine, I can handle the kitchen. Besides, does third sister still want to eat the food I make?"

Speaking of this, Jiang Zhenmei had a lot to say.

Yesterday, she was too tired and had intended to complain to Ming Yue, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep, missing the chance completely.

"Little Yue, I’m fed up with our big brother. You wouldn’t believe it. We ate pig food all day yesterday, so from now on, you should cook. I don’t want to eat food Big Brother makes anymore."

"Why did Big Brother end up cooking? What about you and Mom?"

"Don’t even bring it up. Mom said Big Brother needs to prepare for starting his own family, that men in the kitchen will care for women, and they want Big Brother and Second Brother in the kitchen more often to learn."

Jiang Mingyue also remembered that Jiang Jian Country was seemingly in his twenties already, which in the countryside, was the right age for arranging marriages.

"Does big brother have someone he likes?"

The mention of this elicited a complex expression from Jiang Zhenmei.

"If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t need to."

"There’s nothing hard to talk about. It’s Liu Yinghe; she lives in the neighboring village. Brother seemed to be bewitched, liked her since he saw her three years ago, asked Mom to have someone propose in the neighboring village, but it didn’t work out. Matchmaker Zhao returned saying the girl’s family thought we were too poor, and nothing came of it.

But yesterday, Liu Yinghe suddenly came to our village and waited all day at the entrance to stop Brother after work, saying she’s willing to marry him.

She explained that three years ago, she liked Brother, but her parents threatened her, forbidding it. For these past three years, she kept persuading them, insisting she’ll marry no one but Brother... Wow, she’s too bold, I have to admire her courage.

However, Second Brother and I don’t like her.

You know, Liu Yinghe is friends with Jiang Beishan, and when Jiang Zhenzhu was around, the three of them often met secretly. Jiang Beishan and Jiang Zhenzhu aren’t good people; anyone who gets along with them can’t be much better. Anyway, I’m not happy with her becoming my sister-in-law."

Jiang Mingyue: "...Did Brother agree?"

"He wants to agree, so excited that he can’t handle it. But according to customs here, the matchmaker has to visit, or it’s considered a private deal and could be reported as having an improper relationship."

Jiang Mingyue suddenly thought of a name—Hehua. The book said that Hehua was as beautiful as her name suggested, a lotus emerging from the water, the local beauty of Lotus Village. She was mentioned because she was a close friend of Jiang Zhenzhu and Jiang Beishan, had deep ties with them, and supposedly was Jiang Jian Country’s dream girl. Jiang Jian Country did indeed marry his dream girl, but it marked the beginning of his misfortunes.

It turned out this Hehua was not decent; five years after marriage, Jiang Jian Country returned home one day to find Hehua fooling around with a man in front of the kids. Because of this, Jiang Jian Country’s life took a downturn, and towards the end of his life, he tearfully looked back, regretting his blindness from the start, wishing he had met his second wife sooner, as his life would have been different.

Liu Yinghe...Hehua?

"Is the girl’s name Hehua?"

"Ming Yue, how did you know?"

"Just guessing."

"Yes, her name is Hehua. She’s pretty, but I just don’t like her. But Brother likes her. You know, we’re too poor, nobody wants to marry into our family. If..."

"If Brother misses this Hehua, it will be difficult for him to find another wife?"

"Exactly!" Jiang Zhenmei sighed.

Jiang Mingyue had a plan in mind but couldn’t tell Jiang Zhenmei just yet.

The fragrant noodles were ready, and others in the house began to wake up and have breakfast before heading to work, leaving Jiang Mingyue alone at home once more. As usual, she carried a bowl to Granny Shi.

The old lady was sweeping the yard and saw Jiang Mingyue coming, gave a cold hum, pretending not to see, and continued sweeping.

Jiang Mingyue found it amusing. This really was just an old child.

"Granny Shi, have a bite first, I’ll help you sweep."

"Humph! Do I need you to sweep? Do you want me to eat dirt?"

"Then I won’t sweep. Please eat quickly, otherwise, it’ll get lumpy."

"Humph!" The old lady seemed particularly cranky today, even without asking.

"What’s wrong? Did my third sister bring over something yesterday that wasn’t to your taste?"

"That was suitable for humans? Even pigs wouldn’t eat it. If you go somewhere in the future, make sure to prepare more braised meat for me, I can cook the rice myself."

Jiang Mingyue readily agreed: "Alright, I’ll listen to Granny. By the way, doesn’t Granny need to go to work?"

Granny Shi glared at her: "Have you ever seen a disabled person working?"

"..." Today, Granny Shi was like a firecracker.

Jiang Mingyue intended to appease her: "Granny Shi, come, have some candy, I bought it especially for you."

Granny Shi stared at her as if she’d seen a ghost: "Are you trying to make my teeth fall out even more?"

Jiang Mingyue: "..." What does it feel like when you try flattering but end up hitting the wrong spot?

"Alright, don’t feel bad trying to appease me. So, what do you want to ask?"

"Wow! You saw through that. We really have a connection as grandmother and granddaughter! I heard rumors that Granny Shi has lots of connections, so I’d like to ask about Liu Yinghe’s character from the neighboring Lotus Village?"

Granny Shi rolled her only good eye and coldly snorted: "Next time, just say what you mean. You asked the right person. That Hehua, has your brother taken a liking to her? Tell him to open his eyes wide, that girl is not right for him. As for her character? She’s not my child, how should I know?"

Jiang Mingyue: "..."

Although Granny Shi didn’t explicitly say anything, Jiang Mingyue sensed there were issues with that Hehua. It seemed she had to visit Lotus Village to meet that Hehua.