Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 56: The 1960s Marriage Swap: Marrying a Cook (10)

　　Duan Ziyu wrote: “It’s malt sugar, made by fermenting and saccharifying grains like barley.”

　　“No wonder it doesn’t feel cloying or sticky. It’s really good.”

　　After praising it, Ye Su turned her chopsticks toward the plain-looking square mung bean cake.

　　The moment she took a bite, she was genuinely surprised. Her eyes lit up instantly.

　　It was lightly sweet without being overwhelming, with a clean, refreshing aftertaste. It had that refined, high-end pastry vibe to it.

　　Duan Ziyu noticed how her eyes lit up in an instant, looking at him both happily and a little shocked while chewing, as if she still had more questions.

　　He curved his lips into a small smile and wrote in his notebook: “This is a cooling snack for summer. I adjusted the original recipe and made some changes to the ingredients and method. Everyone who’s tried it says it tastes good. It’s one of my specialties.”

　　After reading it, Ye Su gave a thumbs-up. Once she swallowed, she immediately praised him, “It’s really delicious. Your cooking skills are amazing.”

　　Duan Ziyu smiled and wrote: “I’ll make more for you next time.”

　　Although they hadn’t met many times, Ye Su had a lively and cheerful personality, so there was no awkwardness between them.

　　As she ate, Ye Su chatted with him about work and daily life, making sure the conversation never fell silent.

　　Neither of them noticed how fast time was passing. In reality, more than half an hour had already gone by. Outside, Tian Daniu was a little worried and kept coming in every so often to grab something and check on them.

　　On her third trip in, Duan Ziyu couldn’t pretend nothing was going on anymore. A little flushed, he stood up and said his goodbyes.

　　Ye Su walked him out to the courtyard and said, “I’ll come visit you at the restaurant when I have time. You should come find me too when you’re free.”

　　Duan Ziyu’s ears were burning red. He nodded lightly and wrote: “Okay.”

　　After seeing him off, Ye Su walked back inside and saw her sister-in-law standing there with her arms crossed, smiling at her.

　　“Little sister, can you be a bit more reserved? A few bites of food and you’re already won over.”

　　Ye Su laughed. “What do you mean? Food alone isn’t enough. He also has to look good.”

　　The reason she chose Duan Ziyu, besides his looks, was that him being able to cook was a big plus.

　　In the 1960s, workers were highly sought after, mainly because they had stable jobs and guaranteed enough to eat.

　　In this era, what people wanted most was stability. And she hadn’t forgotten that she was still in a “counterpart role” compared to the original heroine.

　　Just having a good-looking partner who went out of his way to cook delicious food for her and provided emotional value already put Ye Liu far behind, didn’t it?

　　Step by step, she was clearly doing better than Ye Liu right now.

　　And speaking of Ye Liu, she was currently on a blind date with Tan Jun.

　　It was also at a state-owned restaurant, the people at the table included the two on the blind date as well as both families’ parents.

　　Five people sat around a single table. In the middle were just two bowls of plain noodles, ordered by Mother Tan, who said her son had been getting heaty lately and couldn’t eat anything oily.

　　“Ye Liu, you two have a good chat. Your parents and I will go out for a walk.”

　　Mother Tan was short, but her cheekbones were high and her slightly upturned eyes gave her a somewhat sharp, intimidating look.

　　Ye Liu’s parents had originally wanted to discuss the betrothal gifts, but hearing that, they quickly stood up with smiles and went out together.

　　After both sets of parents left, Ye Liu quietly let out a breath of relief and looked at the man across from her with slightly flushed cheeks.

　　The man was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark skin and strong, well-defined features on a square face. He looked dependable, the kind of person who gave off a solid sense of security.

　　“Brother Jun, y-you wanted to ask me something?”

　　Tan Jun glanced at Ye Liu and lowered his gaze. “Nothing to ask. My mother already told me everything.”

　　When he saw her photo earlier, he had felt a bit moved and even went through a lot of trouble to get time off and come back. In the end, though, his mother had swapped the person out.

　　Since his father passed early, his mother had raised the three siblings on her own, and as the eldest son, he naturally had to listen to her.

　　The blind date in front of him was not as striking as the girl in the photo, but she had a quiet, decent charm. If his mother approved, then he could accept it too.

　　After all, he was no longer young. If he kept delaying marriage, it would only make his mother more worried and anxious.

　　Hearing this, Ye Liu took the initiative and asked, “Brother Jun, I heard you can bring your wife to live with you in the army. After we get married…”

　　Before she could finish, he cut her off.

　　“Even after marriage, I can’t bring you with me to the army. My mother is getting older, and my two younger sisters will need to marry out eventually. I hope my wife can help share the responsibilities at home and stay behind to take care of my mother.”

　　Ye Liu felt like she had been struck by lightning. She couldn’t go with him to the army, and she would have to stay behind and serve his whole family.

　　However, Tan Jun still looked apologetic as he said, “If you think this condition is too much, we can just pretend we never met today. You can consider someone else.”

　　Ye Liu snapped back to her senses and blurted out instinctively, “Brother Jun, what are you saying? Your family is my family too. I should be the one helping take care of them.”

　　She couldn’t let this go. As long as she married this man and got the marriage registered, she would have a share in a life of comfort and wealth in the future.

　　This was just a bit of hardship at the start.

　　She comforted herself, telling herself it wouldn’t last long. Once the two younger sisters were married off, at worst she could bring the mother-in-law with her to live near the army. It would just be suffering first, enjoying later.

　　Seeing how sensible she was, Tan Jun felt more satisfied. “Comrade Ye, I’m very satisfied with you. Since you have no objections, let’s settle it. Once I return to the unit and submit the marriage application, we’ll be family.”

　　Ye Liu’s heart pounded wildly. She stammered, “O-okay.”

　　After they finished talking, Tan Jun glanced at the bowl of plain noodles.

　　Thinking that his mother liked them and had always lived frugally, she would definitely not want to waste food or order more. So he simply didn’t touch his chopsticks, intentionally saving it for her return.

　　Ye Liu was starving, but since he wasn’t eating, she didn’t feel comfortable starting either.    

　　Not long after, Mother Tan returned alone.

　　Not seeing Ye Liu’s parents with her, Ye Liu felt a bit confused. Those two had insisted on tagging along when they left. Where had they gone now?

　　Mother Tan walked over with a long face and said straight away, “Ye Liu, your parents aren’t marrying off a daughter, they’re selling one. They’re asking for 200 yuan as bride price. You’d better go talk to them properly. In our family, the most we can offer is 20 yuan, not a cent more.”

　　Tan Jun originally wanted to say that 20 yuan seemed too little. His comrades’ marriages usually cost 66 or even 88 yuan.

　　But when he met his mother’s eyes and saw her weathered face, with a streak of white hair at her temples, he swallowed the words immediately.

　　Everything his mother did was for him. When elders were teaching younger ones, it was better not to step in and embarrass her.

　　“Mom, eat your noodles. I’m not hungry.”

　　Tan Jun served his mother the noodles, and she kept trying to pass them back to him, insisting he eat.

　　Then she glanced at Ye Liu. “Why aren’t you eating? The noodles are getting soggy. If you’re not going to eat them, don’t waste them. That’s just wasting food.”

　　Before Ye Liu could even respond, the bowl in front of her was taken away.

　　Mother Tan immediately started slurping the noodles down.   

　　Hearing his mother say that, Tan Jun also assumed Ye Liu wasn’t going to eat. Since his mother couldn’t possibly finish two bowls, he picked one up and started eating with big, hurried bites.

　　Across from them, Ye Liu was completely ignored.

　　Her face darkened as she bit her lip, her fists clenching again.

　　Twenty yuan for a bride price? They actually had the nerve to say that out loud.

　　In her previous life, when she married that mute man from the Duan family, the bride price alone was a full 300 yuan, not to mention all the other wedding gifts and arrangements.

　　Tan Jun was a military officer, and his family was from the city. How could they be worse off than some village cook?

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