It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 4

Li Erhua’s mouth opened, but the words she intended to say got stuck in her throat. Her mind raced, thinking, “This is absolutely impossible.”

How could her daughter possibly associate with that scoundrel named Xiao?

“Hongping, I heard people say they saw you talking to that Xiao scoundrel.”

Jiang Hongping showed an impatient expression. “Mom, don’t call people scoundrels. It sounds bad. He’s already a grown man. Still calling him a scoundrel, you should change your vocabulary.”

“What’s wrong with saying a few words? I talk to many people every day, neighbors in the village. Is it a crime to greet them? I also talked to Li Zhiqing, Lin Zhiqing, and that boy from the Zhang family… Do I need to sew my mouth shut?”

“You shouldn’t listen to those gossiping women.”

Li Erhua’s heart settled, she cautioned, “Anyway, stay away from that Xiao guy. Keep your distance. His family background is not good.”

“Now everything is about family background. Your sister was able to get into a university for workers, peasants, and soldiers before, wasn’t she?”

“Mom!” Jiang Hongping interrupted her, having come from several decades in the future, aware of the developments of the era ahead. “Maybe in a few more years, family background won’t matter anymore, and the college entrance examination will be reinstated.”

“Forget about the college entrance examination. You shouldn’t chat with those young intellectuals, indulging in their fantasies.”

Li Erhua didn’t take her words seriously.

Jiang Hongping wasn’t interested in arguing with her either, so she found an excuse to slip out of the house. In her memory, the college entrance examination would be restored in the late 1970s, along with the reform and opening up. However, she wasn’t quite sure about the specifics.

She never paid attention to current events or remembered such details.

Of course, these things didn’t matter to her anyway. What mattered most to her now was building a good relationship with Xiao Zhenchang.

She wanted Xiao Zhenchang to fall in love with her.

Jiang Hongping walked through the rural path and hid under an old osmanthus tree. She lowered her head and tidied her hair carefully, waiting patiently until the person she was waiting for arrived.

A man carrying a burden approached. He was dressed plainly, with patched trousers, and his hair, tousled by the wind, clung together untidily.

The man had well-defined features, slightly dark skin, and a habit of walking with his head down, heading straight ahead.

He was Xiao Zhenchang.

Jiang Hongping frowned. Before her rebirth, she had liked Xiao Zhenchang. But in her memory, Xiao Zhenchang had the appearance of a refined and successful man. He stood beside Jiang Shuangling, impeccably dressed in a suit, with exceptional manners, a very charming man.

But now, Xiao Zhenchang couldn’t even compare to the ordinary young men in the village.

“Now that I’ve got hold of him, all those good days ahead are mine.”

Jiang Hongping imagined the current Xiao Zhenchang as the future Xiao Zhenchang. She shyly lowered her head, curled her hair at the ends, and squeezed out a radiant smile, walking out from behind the osmanthus tree.

Xiao Zhenchang, carrying his burden, habitually lowered his head to avoid people, but he didn’t expect this person to follow him. Xiao Zhenchang raised his head, expressionless, looking at the girl standing in front of him with a smile.

“Oh…” Jiang Hongping only noticed when she walked in that he was carrying two baskets of animal dung, emitting a strong smell. She almost couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

She took a small step back involuntarily. She was deliberately wearing new clothes, made for the New Year, and she hadn’t been willing to wear them until today… for this occasion.

Xiao Zhenchang observed this scene.

Jiang Hongping’s face stiffened for a moment, but then she immediately remembered why she was there. Her smile became even brighter, and she blinked her eyes sweetly at the man in front of her, her voice as sweet as honey, “Big Brother Xiao, would you like some water? You must be tired from walking all the way here.”

It wasn’t that Jiang Hongping was confident, but the Jiang sisters were famous for their good looks in these parts, although most of the reputation came from Jiang Shuangling. Jiang Hongping considered herself to have a decent face, although not as good as Jiang Shuangling. But her figure was much better than her cousin’s—big breasts, big buttocks—most in-laws preferred a daughter-in-law like her.

Now, with a charming beauty showing him attention, Xiao Zhenchang couldn’t possibly remain indifferent.

Jiang Hongping waited for him to take the bait, but Xiao Zhenchang, like a stubborn boulder, completely ignored her and continued walking briskly with his head down, carrying the animal dung.

Jiang Hongping: “…”

Jiang Hongping wanted to catch up to him, but then remembered the two baskets of dung. She thought it would be better to try another day.

They say, when a man pursues a woman, it’s like crossing mountains; when a woman pursues a man, it’s like crossing layers of gauze.

After getting rid of the annoying Jiang Shuangling, she would have plenty of time to win over Xiao Zhenchang.

That guy surnamed Qi would be coming soon, wouldn’t he?

The Jiang family sat around a square table, having their meal.

Jiang Chuanfu sat on a long bench, Li Erhua on another, Jiang Shuangling sat with her brother Jiang Che, Jiang Hongping sat with her brother Jiang Yimin, and six of them gathered around the table.

On the table were three dishes, a bowl of pickled vegetables, a bowl of plain boiled greens with little oil, and finally, a bowl with a bit of cured meat mixed with vegetables.

In the bowls they held were yellowish sweet potato rice, with mostly sweet potato mixed with a few grains of rice.

Jiang Chuanfu’s bowl had the most rice, while Jiang Che’s had the least. According to Li Erhua, that meant the hardworking men should have the best food.

However, there was a mystery in Jiang Yimin’s bowl. Underneath the sweet potato visibly placed on top, there was white rice hidden beneath.

Jiang Shuangling picked up a piece of cured meat for her brother who was eating absent-mindedly. Little Jiang Che hesitated for a moment, then silently ate it.

He chewed the small piece of bitter and salty cured meat several times before carefully finishing it.

Jiang Shuangling felt a pang in her heart and gave him another piece. Li Erhua shot her a sharp look. “One piece each is enough. Who can afford to eat so much meat? Yimin, Hongping, serve yourselves after you’re done.”

After Jiang Yimin finished the meat in his bowl, he happily picked up a large piece of meat. Jiang Hongping followed suit with her chopsticks.

Jiang Shuangling couldn’t be bothered to give her a glance. She couldn’t even eat this kind of overcooked, salty, and bitter cured meat; it was beneath her dignity to compete for such things.

Jiang Chuanfu set down his bowl and looked at Jiang Shuangling, lighting a dry cigarette before speaking, “Shuangling.”

“This afternoon, guests will be coming. You… dress up nicely.”

Before Jiang Shuangling could respond, Li Erhua interjected from the side, “Our niece looks so beautiful already, why bother dressing up more? I think she looks fine just the way she is now.”

Li Erhua still didn’t want this marriage proposal to succeed.

After finishing the meal, Jiang Shuangling returned to her room, followed by Jiang Hongping. They shared a room.

Jiang Shuangling sat in front of the mirror, while Jiang Hongping briskly pulled out a few sets of clothes and tossed them in front of Jiang Shuangling.

“Sis, change into something nice.”

Their body shapes were similar, with Jiang Shuangling being slightly taller. They could mix and match their clothes as cousins, but they never wore each other’s clothes.

Jiang Shuangling looked at her in surprise, smiled, and casually declined, “No need, I’m fine with what I’m wearing now.”

The pile of so-called “nice clothes” thrown at her were all flashy, tacky floral dresses, leaving Jiang Shuangling speechless.

Her surprise stemmed from the fact that these tacky clothes were Jiang Hongping’s cherished favorites. Why was she so generous to throw them at her now?

Offering kindness without reason often hides ulterior motives.

Seeing her refusal, Jiang Hongping shrugged and put the clothes away. She genuinely hoped that Jiang Shuangling would hit it off with Captain Qi, and she didn’t want any mishaps in this marriage proposal.

The reason she brought out the clothes so generously was because… even Jiang Hongping from decades later wouldn’t like these tacky clothes.

Her taste in fashion was indeed not very good when she was young.

Jiang Shuangling ignored her and instead stared absentmindedly at her reflection in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror looked exactly like her when she was seventeen or eighteen. Her delicate eyebrows slightly arched, her eyes sparkling like autumn water. Sitting there quietly, with graceful poise, she seemed like a figure stepping out from a painting.

She and the Jiang Shuangling of this era not only looked alike but also had the same skin type. Both had the kind of skin that didn’t tan easily; even if they got sunburnt, it would quickly peel off and return to its fair complexion.

Their fair skin was exceptionally smooth, free from acne or blemishes, leaning towards dryness. Jiang Shuangling had loved eating fish since she was young; her classmates often joked that her skin was as white and smooth as fish meat.

Her mother also loved eating fish, and she inherited her mother’s skin type.

In this era, Jiang Shuangling’s mother was the daughter of a fisherman and often consumed fish.

Jiang Shuangling picked up scissors and trimmed her hair slightly, then tied two twisted braids falling to her chest. Once again, she looked up at the person in the mirror.

Though she had been looking at herself for almost half a month now, she still felt a sense of novelty about her appearance.

After graduating from high school, she had permed her hair, maintaining a mature and attractive curly-haired image over the years.

Now, the person in the mirror wore a light gray-green plain dress, with two braids hanging down to her waist. There was a refreshing innocence about her.

—Pretty good.

She could pretend to have the face of a naive first love for a while.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

The reason she diligently tied her twisted braids every day was to see herself looking so innocent and young. Only in this era could she confidently go out with twisted braids without attracting strange looks from others.

Sometimes, touching the twisted braids on her chest, she coughed… and her face would flush.

She treasured her long, black waist-length hair, a “fortune” she could never have accumulated in her past.

Jiang Hongping, sitting on the bed, couldn’t help but glance at her cousin. It was fine not to look, but once she did, it made her feel uneasy.

Her cousin wore a simple gray-green dress, making her skin even fairer. The sunlight outside cast a halo around her, and when she raised her hand, the blue veins were faintly visible.

Whether it was Jiang Hongping’s imagination or not, she felt that her cousin had become even more beautiful after recovering from her illness, exuding more charm in her every move.

Jiang Hongping bit her lip, silently competing in her mind, and then seriously began to dress up.

Xu Youfeng and her daughter carried baskets of pig grass back home, and they saw several people running in one direction.

“What’s going on?”

“The Jiang family has visitors, let’s go see what’s happening.”

“Who’s visiting?”

“The eldest daughter of the Jiang family got a military officer suitor.”

“The one who’s going to be a stepmother? Really?!”

…

Upon hearing these words, Zhang Hongmei’s interest was piqued. She nudged Xu Youfeng with her elbow. “Mom, let’s go join the fun too.”

“Alright.”

The rumors about Jiang Shuangling’s marriage were spreading throughout the village, creating quite a buzz. Such excitement was rare in the village.

With few entertainment options available, everyone flocked to see what was happening.

Zhang Hongmei turned around with a hidden smile. She wasn’t going to watch the excitement; she was going to watch the jokes.

“Mom, Jiang Shuangling’s found herself a military officer in his thirties or forties. What if he looks just like the militia captain? Haha, with a face as dark as charcoal, all rough and full of wrinkles, looking especially old…”

Zhang Hongmei tiptoed and looked around, wondering if the group of educated youth was also going to join the excitement.

She had a crush on a male educated youth named Lin, who had an interest in Jiang Shuangling. Now that Jiang Shuangling was about to marry a much older and uglier man just to become a military officer’s wife, Zhang Hongmei really wanted to drag Lin over to see the commotion.

To let him see Jiang Shuangling’s true colors.

Maybe under his despondency, he might start to appreciate her attentiveness and care.