Chapter 2: Marriage

In the field, Tianye was lost in thought when suddenly there was a commotion of chickens flying and dogs jumping. Mrs. Zhu grabbed a broom and the sound of her chasing and scolding the unlucky children filled the courtyard.

Mrs. Zhu's sharp voice scolded, "You heartless brat, what does Siya know at such a young age? I'll beat you to death, you brat. I owe your family, the Zhus."

Mixed with the wailing of the Zhu family's three children, the whole village became noisy, and Tianye couldn't tell how many layers of singing it was.

But from the crying, it was clear that Mrs. Zhu favored her eldest son. She didn't hit them hard, just scolded them.

Comparing this to her own fingers, which she didn't even want to move, it seemed that Mrs. Zhu had been sparing with her strength when working in the team. Otherwise, how could she swing the broom to chase and beat the children all over the yard?

The head of the Zhu family next door, Zhu Tiezhu, impatiently spoke up, "Alright, you've worked all day, hurry up and cook. Beating the children won't fill their stomachs. Can't you see Xiao Er has already lit the fire? Keep quiet, all of you."

Instantly, Mrs. Zhu quieted down, and the wailing of the Zhu children stopped as well, as if someone had pressed the mute button, and the courtyard immediately became quiet. This was the authority of the head of the family. A man is like the sky, and when a man speaks, his wife and children must obey.

Tianye had also heard Zhu Tiezhu using the sole of his shoe to hit his wife. It had scared her so much that she didn't dare to leave the house for several days, as if she had been hit with the sole of a shoe. Just thinking about it made her panic.

Tianye's strength was also due to this incident. She worked even harder, thinking that if she spent her whole life in the mountains, she would end up being hit by someone else's shoe sole, and she couldn't let someone else hit her with a shoe sole.

After a short silence, the eldest son of the Zhu family spoke up, "Mom, make something dry for once. We always eat porridge, and it's not filling at night. A few trips to the toilet and we're hungry again."

In response, Mrs. Zhu complained again, "Dry, dry, what can I make for you? If there's something to eat, be content that you won't starve."

Tianye shook her head. With a father and a mother like that, it was no wonder the children turned out that way.

But it was better than being alone, unable to make a fuss.

She didn't blame Mrs. Zhu for complaining. Nowadays, there were few families who could fill their stomachs.

The Zhu family worked hard, but with so many children, they couldn't make ends meet. They had three and a half children, plus a five-and-a-half-year-old daughter. The couple worked all day, but they couldn't support a large family.

It was only this year that the Zhu couple had spoken nicely to the team leader, and their eldest son had started working with the team, earning six and a half cents, not as much as Tianye earned.

Unfortunately, this year's harvest was not good. It had been dry since spring, and with such a large family, they had to tighten their belts. But nowadays, almost every family was in the same situation, and it was hard to say who was better off.

Seeing that it was getting late, Tianye prepared to get up from the water. She had worked all day, and she also needed to fill her stomach. She had more strength and ate more than others, so she wasn't afraid of hunger.

Just then, Mrs. Zhu next door spoke again, this time in a much lower tone, as if she were sneaking around. If Tianye hadn't been soaking water just by the east wall, she wouldn't have heard a thing.

People were always more curious about secretive things. Tianye perked up her ears and listened carefully to what Mrs. Zhu was saying.

Mrs. Zhu said, "Eldest son, what do you think of the wild girl next door? Tell Mom, she looks pretty good. Nowadays, being able to eat and not starve means she's from a good family.

Eldest son, you should consider marrying her. Otherwise, we'll have to send someone to the next door to bring her in. The team leader's eldest son got engaged a few days ago. When the new daughter-in-law comes in, we might be able to earn a few more cents."

Tianye couldn't help but touch her own face. When did Mrs. Zhu steal a glance at her? Otherwise, with her appearance while working outside, she didn't dare to look at herself too much. It was rare for someone to think of her.

But she wasn't too angry. As the saying goes, a girl in demand is sought after by many. She wasn't even at the age to get engaged, and someone was already thinking about it. It meant she was in demand.

The eldest son of the Zhu family clearly didn't agree with his mother's choice. "I don't want to. The wild girl next door is as dark as a monkey, with messy hair that could hatch birds. I've never seen her face clearly. I want to marry someone with a good appearance, a big-bottomed wife. Even if I can't marry a city girl with knowledge, I want someone like Tianhua."

Perhaps the eldest son of the Zhu family was too emotional about not marrying Tianye, and his tone became louder, which made Tianye really angry. She ground her back teeth, making a creaking sound.

If he didn't want to marry, then he didn't want to. But to be so ugly about herself, was she really that unattractive? She would poke holes in their window paper.

Mrs. Zhu was so angry that she wanted to hit her eldest son. Her voice became louder, "You ungrateful brat, how dare you think like that? City girls are not for you. Why can't you be content?"

The eldest son of the Zhu family argued with his mother, "Why can't I think about it? City girls are also human beings. They come to our village for what? To marry into our family, to enjoy themselves."

The confidence is a bit blind. Those who don't know would think that the Zhu family has such good conditions. Tianye looked at it and thought that the eldest son of the Zhu family is probably going to remain single. He is too ambitious and incapable. Anyway, she doesn't fancy this kind of man.

The Zhu family's mother is obviously more confident than her son: "What kind of eyes do you have? Those few maidservants who don't even bother to look at people, they look down on us country folks from the bottom of their hearts. Marrying them would be a disaster. Listen to me, let's find someone who can live a good life, maybe from the educated youth over there. Don't attract them in the future."

Looking at her son's rebellious attitude, it's obvious that he didn't take her words to heart. The Zhu family's mother looked sharply at him: "Don't even think about that girl Tianhua. She doesn't seem like someone who can work in the fields, and besides, she has her eyes set on the educated youth just like you, both of you are aiming too high."

The eldest son of the Zhu family said firmly, "Then I don't want the next-door girl who can hatch eggs on her hair."

Tianye was so angry that she almost fell over. She was definitely being targeted. If he doesn't want to marry, then don't. Why resort to personal attacks? The whole family is like black monkeys.

She felt like she was being unfairly targeted. How could she be so eager to court the eldest son of their family? Why would she want to peep into their windows?

She touched her hair and thought about how much effort she puts into styling her hair every morning. It's not easy for her. You can't just casually style a hairstyle that can hatch eggs like a bird's nest.

Then she heard the voice of the third son of the Zhu family, "Brother, be content. At least the black monkey on her head has grown some hair in the past two years. I heard from my second brother that a few years ago, the wild girl next door had a bald head. If you married her, you would have to live with a bald black monkey." At the end, there was a series of strange laughter.

Tianye continued to grind her teeth. Zhu San, remember this, I'll deal with you. That voice, it sounds like someone who deserves a beating. Why didn't the Zhu family's mother kill this unlucky child just now?