On the way back from digging vegetables, Sun Jiaming helped Zhou Gu'er by carrying her basket to the village entrance, where he handed it back to her. He did this mainly to avoid being seen and starting gossip.
It wouldn't matter much for him, a grown man, but Zhou Gu'er was an unmarried young woman. What's more, with Zhang Da's marriage proposal just a few days ago, she was already the talk of the village. If people saw her getting close to him now, it would surely start even more rumors. Too much gossip would make life very difficult for her.
That was just how society was—lenient toward men but often harsh toward women. He didn't want this girl, who already had a difficult life, to face even more hardship.
Zhou Gu'er understood Sun Jiaming's intentions, and she was very grateful. 'Even though I've already lived a lifetime and learned to let many things go, a woman's reputation is always important. The way he's acting shows he's truly kind, considerate, and knows his boundaries.'
"These scallions are extra flavorful today, much tastier than usual. Did we grow them?"
At the dinner table, Zhou Mazi asked the question while eating scallions dipped in sauce and sipping some liquor. For once, he didn't curse.
"We didn't grow these. Ours don't taste like this," Li Hua replied with a smile. "Gu'er brought them back. She was on the mountain digging for wild vegetables today and ran into Jia Ming, who was digging for scallions. He gave her a couple of bunches. They're from the Sun Family's plot; they're much tastier than ours."
Zhou Gu'er had already told her about running into Sun Jiaming, so she knew what had happened.
"You useless old hag! Look at the scallions they grow. You've lived this long for nothing! You can't even grow a decent scallion."
Zhou Mazi glared at Li Hua, then raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zhou Gu'er, who was eating with her head lowered.
"Jia Ming from the Sun Family? You ran into Sun Jiaming on the mountain today?"
He asked, a little uncertainly. In his mind, his adopted daughter and Sun Jiaming should have had no reason to interact.
Zhou Gu'er nodded.
Zhou Mazi lowered his gaze, his mind churning.
"That Jia Ming is such a good young man, and his family is well-off too," Li Hua lamented. "His older brother works in the city and even married a city girl—he's a capable man. Jia Ming's parents are in the city with him, and I heard his brother wanted to find him a job there, but he refused. He stayed behind to care for his paralyzed grandmother. He's a rare find. Whoever marries him will be truly fortunate."
As she spoke, her thoughts couldn't help but turn to Gu'er. 'Gu'er is beautiful and capable. It's a pity that coming from a family like ours, she could never be a match for someone like Sun Jiaming. Otherwise, it would have been a wonderful thing.'
Zhou Mazi glanced at Zhou Gu'er and threw his head back, downing a mouthful of liquor.
'I wonder if Sun Jiaming is interested in my daughter. If he became my son-in-law, he'd be a hundred times better than Zhang Da. No, there's no comparison at all. If I could get in-laws like that, I might even get to live a comfortable life in the city.'
At this thought, he looked at Zhou Gu'er again. 'I never really noticed before, but this adopted girl is actually quite pretty. Much better looking than my own two daughters. Maybe there's a real chance here.'
"Do you have any idea who Brother Jia Ming is? Not just anyone is good enough for him," Zhou Feng'er spat. "I heard Sister Mei is interested in him. If Brother Jia Ming is going to get married, it'll be to someone like her."
Zhou Feng'er saw the look on her parents' faces and knew exactly what they were thinking. She was furious. 'Who the hell does Zhou Gu'er think she is? A worthless stray we picked up! And she thinks she's good enough for Brother Jia Ming? In her dreams!'
"Is Zhou Mei really interested in Jia Ming?"
Li Hua put down her chopsticks and asked Zhou Feng'er, her brow furrowed with worry.
"Why would I lie to you? I heard it from Hua'er. She said our uncle plans to go to the city in the second half of the year to discuss the matter with Aunt Sun."
After speaking, Zhou Feng'er shot a sideways glance at Zhou Gu'er, her expression smug and defiant.
Hearing Zhou Feng'er, Zhou Gu'er frowned slightly. She remembered now. 'That's right, it was Zhou Mei. In my past life, Sun Jiaming's wife was Zhou Mei.'
Come to think of it, Zhou Mei's family and Zhou Mazi's family were part of the same clan, but they were very distant relatives, far beyond the traditional five generations of kinship.
Zhou Mei's father was named Zhou Erpao, whom Gu'er also had to address as Uncle. He was the "uncle" Zhou Feng'er had just mentioned.
Zhou Erpao's family had two daughters, Zhou Mei and Zhou Hua, and two sons, Zhou Cheng and Zhou Min.
Although both families shared the surname Zhou, Zhou Erpao's family was much better off than Zhou Mazi's.
Zhou Erpao had worked in the city for a few years, and he had two clan brothers. Although they were distant relatives, they were on good terms and remained close. One of them, Zhou Da Kui, was the village leader and was also doing well for himself. Their families were considered among the most prominent in the village.
As for Zhou Mei, she was decent-looking. While not as beautiful as Zhou Gu'er, she was certainly prettier than Zhou Feng'er and Zhou Duo'er.
In Zhou Gu'er's memory, Zhou Mei was a highly ambitious person, determined to find an excellent husband. She eventually set her sights on Sun Jiaming, and in the past life, they had married. The union of the Zhou and Sun families was celebrated as a perfect match throughout the village. For some reason, however, they never had any children. Then, for reasons Gu'er never understood, Zhou Mei had an affair with her cousin—the son of her uncle who was the village head.
Even though their blood relation was distant, they lived in the same village and were still considered family. What's more, her cousin was a married man. When their affair was exposed, it was a massive scandal. The story spread through all the surrounding villages, and they became a laughingstock.
'I didn't pay much attention to this in my past life,' she thought. 'It's only now that the people and events from my memories are starting to connect.'
Zhou Gu'er couldn't understand why Zhou Mei would do something like that. She felt it was a great injustice to Sun Jiaming. 'From our two brief encounters, he seems like an upright, kind, and warm-hearted person. His family is well-off, and he's handsome, too. A man like that deserves to be cherished. Why would his wife throw that away and have an affair?'
"If Zhou Mei has set her sights on him, no one else stands a chance. Oh, well."
Li Hua sighed, feeling it was unfair to her daughter and a great pity.
Hearing her mother's words, Zhou Feng'er felt a flash of glee. 'Even if he isn't mine, it's satisfying to know he won't be Zhou Gu'er's either. Why should an adopted girl have it better than me!'
"Alright, that's enough! Can't you just eat without all this chatter?"
Zhou Mazi muttered, then went back to drinking sullenly. He knew that aside from her looks, Zhou Gu'er stood no chance against Zhou Mei.
'But it's no loss to me,' he thought. 'I never expected to latch onto a fine young man like Sun Jiaming anyway. If Zhou Gu'er has the skill to actually hook him, that's on her. I'll just sit back and reap the rewards. And if she can't, it's no skin off my back. With a face like hers, I can always sell her for a good price one way or another.'