GD (QT) Chapter 1

“Second Brother, have you thought over that marriage proposal I mentioned? They’re pressing for an answer. Give it to me straight—yes or no. If it weren’t for Pandi’s¹Pandi means “Hoping for a Brother” exceptional looks, a windfall like this would never fall into your lap.”

“The Qian family said the dowry would be this much. There’s no mother-in-law over there to answer to; once Pandi marries in, she’ll be the mistress of the house. Whatever she wants to send back to help her own family will be entirely up to her.”

“Others could beg for a match like this and never get it.”

The moment Lin Yu entered this small world and opened his eyes, he saw a stout woman spraying saliva as she spoke.

“Sure, the man is a bit older, but older men know how to dote on a wife. His family has land and a house. Pandi won’t even have to work the fields if she marries in. She’ll just lie back and enjoy a life of blessing every day.”

The woman talked a big game, reaching out to pull at the young girl standing silently beside her.

“Pandi, tell me, would you be happy with such a good family? Your mother is gone, so as your Eldest Aunt, I have to manage your marriage. If you miss out on this house, you’ll never find another one this good.”

“If you marry someone in the village, you’ll be working the fields and managing the household from dawn till dusk. It’s exhausting. It doesn’t compare to this.”

“Your Aunt is doing this for your own good. I would never hurt you.”

The girl being tugged was fourteen or fifteen at most, thin and small—completely a child. At this moment, she was like a chick caught in the beak of an old hen, unable to move.

“Eldest Sister-in-law, speak if you must, but why are you scaring the child?” Lin Yu snapped coldly.

Aunt Lin let go of the girl’s hand sheepishly. “I’ve said so much; did any of it actually go in? At least give me a straight answer.”

Lin Yu looked at the two young girls in the room. The elder one had her head bowed, her expression hidden, while the younger one hid by the doorway, staring at them timidly.

“If you agree, I’ll bring them over tomorrow to propose, and we’ll consider the matter settled.” Aunt Lin looked like she already had victory in her grasp.

“I don’t agree,” Lin Yu rejected her outright.

Aunt Lin’s smile froze. “What?”

“I said, I don’t agree.”

Her sharp voice broke into a screech. “How can you not agree?! You couldn’t find a family this good even if you searched with a lantern. Once you pass this shop, there’s no second chance!”

Lin Yu furrowed his brows. “I don’t care what kind of shop it is; our family isn’t interested. Please leave, Sister-in-law.”

“Lin Yu, you’re treating my kindness like a dog’s liver! You’re wasting my hard work. If you don’t agree today, don’t expect me to lift a finger for your family’s affairs in the future!” Aunt Lin began to shout.

Lin Yu was anxious to receive the original body’s memories. He waved her off impatiently. “You don’t need to worry about my family’s business.”

“Fine! Remember what you said today. Don’t come begging me later!” Aunt Lin’s face turned beet red. With a cold sneer, she slammed the door and left.

Inside the house, both girls flinched, startled by the noise.

Pandi began to cry out of fear. “Dad, maybe you should just agree. I have to marry someone anyway; it’s all the same regardless of who it is.”

Lin Yu’s head throbbed from her crying. He stood up abruptly. “I’m going to lie down for a bit.”

He walked into the inner room, lay down in the meager bedding stuffed with straw, and began to accept the memories.

Decades of the original host’s life flooded his mind. It took Lin Yu some time to process it all. Once he straightened everything out, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

“What a psycho. A total, pure-bred sucker.”

“Dad, what’s wrong? Are you sick?” A voice full of worry and care came from outside.

Lin Yu pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired. I’ll be fine after a rest.”

It was a good thing he had refused just now. If he had listened to Aunt Lin, he would have been sending his daughter straight into a fire pit.

The original host’s family lived in a small mountain village. There were two brothers; the host was the second son. The woman who just came to play matchmaker was the eldest brother’s wife.

Since they were children, the Lin elders had been biased toward the eldest son. After both sons married, they kicked the second son out with nothing. Yet, every year, they demanded a hundred pounds of grain as pension.

Lin Er and his wife were hardworking and capable. Through blood and sweat, they managed to build up a small estate, but they only had three daughters. Since giving birth to the third, his wife had remained bedridden and died within two years.

The Lin elders became increasingly biased, brainwashing the host into believing he had to rely on his nephews to care for him in his old age. As a result, whenever there was good food or drink in the house, the host sent it all to his brother’s side.

You could tell just by the daughters’ names that the host was obsessed with having a son.

When the eldest nephew reached school age and that family couldn’t afford the fees, the eldest brother’s side actually instigated the host to marry off his daughters so they could keep the dowry money for the nephew’s education.

Now, Aunt Lin had come under the guise of matchmaking, but in reality, she was planning to sell her niece again.

The “good family” she spoke of was actually a widower in his forties with two sons and three daughters. If Pandi married him, she would become a workhorse for the entire household. Even worse, the widower was a wife-beater; his previous wife had committed suicide by jumping into a well because she couldn’t take the abuse.

Lin Yu’s eyes were cold.

If he hadn’t crossed over, the original host would have agreed. Pandi would have followed her eldest sister’s tragic path—her dowry stolen for her cousin’s schooling while she lived a life worse than death. Even the youngest, Laidi, would suffer the same fate. All three sisters would be sold for the sake of their male cousins.

The original host didn’t end up well either. After his two nephews sucked him dry of every drop of blood and marrow, they left him to starve to death in his own home.

Fortunately, he had arrived in time. The second and third daughters weren’t married yet. With him here, no one would even dream of selling his daughters.

Outside, Pandi was still crying, her tears falling uncontrollably. She felt incredibly guilty. “It’s all my fault. I should have just agreed. Now we’ve gone and offended Eldest Aunt.”

Laidi²Laidi means “Bring a Brother” comforted her: “Sister, don’t say that. I don’t think Eldest Aunt had good intentions. That man is forty years old—older than Dad! How could you marry him and be a stepmother?”

At the thought of such an old man, Pandi felt a deep chill of fear. “But what can I do? Our family is poor. We don’t even have rice for the pot.”

“If there’s no rice, we’ll eat wild herbs. I don’t want you to marry. And Dad didn’t agree; no one can force you,” Laidi said.

Pandi sniffled. “Dad doesn’t agree now, but once Grandma comes, he’ll give in.”

At the mention of Grandma Lin, both sisters fell silent. They knew in their hearts that their father was “foolishly filial.” He could refuse Aunt Lin, but he could never win against his own mother.

“They’re just bullying us because we don’t have a mother.”

When Lin Yu stepped out, he saw the sisters huddled together, weeping.

“What are you crying for?”

Pandi wiped her eyes, not daring to complain. She only said, “Dad, we’re out of rice.”

Lin Yu went into the kitchen and checked; the rice jar was indeed empty. “Weren’t there some left yesterday?”

“Last night, Grandma said she wanted porridge, so she took it all. She didn’t leave us a single grain,” Laidi said resentfully.

Pandi pulled at her sister’s sleeve, afraid she would be scolded. Normally, whenever Grandma was involved, their father always took her side, telling them they must be filial and obedient to their elders.

Lin Yu frowned, cursing the original host once more for being a brainless, filial fool. His own family was starving on husks, yet he was subsidizing others. Looking at Aunt Lin’s plump figure, it was clear the first branch of the family wasn’t lacking food.

Remembering how the eldest daughter’s two-tael silver dowry had ended up entirely in Grandma Lin’s hands, Lin Yu felt even more stifled. Feudal filial piety was a killer. The original host was a grade-A sucker who hurt himself and his children.

“Dad will find a way. Wait here.”

Lin Yu grabbed a wood-cutting knife and headed out. The sisters looked at each other. “Where is Dad going to get food?”

“He’s not going to ask Eldest Uncle to borrow some, is he?”

“Eldest Uncle and Aunt only take; they never give. When has our family ever eaten a single grain of theirs?”

Lin Yu, of course, wasn’t going to his brother’s house. He went straight up the mountain. Qingshan Village was nestled against the mountains and water—a beautiful place. Lin Yu climbed nimbly to the top, from where he could see the Lin family’s dilapidated little hut.

Smoke was rising from the kitchen; the girls must have started boiling water.

Lin Yu dived into the woods. When he emerged, he was carrying two plump wild pheasants. Just catching these two had left him gasping for breath. This body was exhausted from years of overwork and malnutrition, but luckily, his skills were still intact.

Ever since their father left, Pandi and Laidi had been peering outside repeatedly, filled with both hope and dread.

“Sister, I’m afraid Dad won’t be able to borrow food, and then Eldest Uncle will mock him and make him upset again,” Laidi said gloomily.

Pandi could only comfort her. “If it comes to it, we can get by on wild herbs for a few meals.”

“Maybe we should ask Eldest Sister?” Laidi suggested tentatively.

Pandi shook her head. “No. Since she married, she only had one daughter, Xiaohua. That old woman in her house torments her all day. Her life is hard enough; we can’t add to her troubles.”

Laidi fell silent. In the pot, there was nothing but wild herbs. The green mush looked unappetizing.

“Pandi, Laidi, let’s eat this for lunch.”

Lin Yu felt like their names were a bitter pill to swallow. He planned to find a chance to change them—no sense in keeping names that just begged for a brother. But that wasn’t urgent; filling their stomachs was.

The girls didn’t notice his internal shift. Their eyes were pinned to the two pheasants.

“Pheasants!”

“Dad, you caught these?” They couldn’t believe it.

Lin Yu didn’t answer directly. He went into the room and started to prepare the birds.

“Dad, let me do it.” Seeing his movements were clumsy, Pandi took over.

Lin Yu let go sheepishly, realizing the girl was far more skilled than him. With practiced motions, she slaughtered and plucked the birds. She was pleasantly surprised. “These are so fat!”

“Dad, are we eating all of this? I haven’t had meat in so long.” Laidi was younger and couldn’t stop her mouth from watering.

Pandi paused, stealing a glance at her father. Usually, such good things would be sent to the eldest brother’s house for Grandma to eat first. The two girls would be lucky to get a sip of broth to satisfy their cravings.

Lin Yu nodded. “Yes. We’re eating it ourselves. We aren’t saving any for anyone else.”

“Really? That’s great!” Laidi jumped for joy and crouched down to help her sister.

Working together, the pheasants were soon turned into a stew. They had no spices, but wild pheasant only needs a bit of salt for the flavor to be so fresh it could make your eyebrows drop off.

The aroma drifted through the air. Even Pandi couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. The two sisters smiled, imagining the delicious meal.

Watching them, Lin Yu cursed the original host again for not being a decent human being. Why wouldn’t you raise such well-behaved daughters properly instead of feeding your money and grain to those white-eyed wolf nephews? His brain must have been rotten.

“It smells so good! Sister, can we eat yet?” Laidi asked for the umpteenth time.

Pandi poked the meat with a chopstick; it was soft and tender. “It’s ready. Go get the biggest clay bowl.”

Just then, a violent pounding sounded at the door.

“Erzi! Open up, quick! Mother has something to discuss with you!”

Grandma Lin had arrived.

The sisters’ faces turned pale. They looked at their father in terror.