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

CHAPTER 63: The 1960s Marriage Swap: Marrying a Cook (17)

　　Luo Meiling noticed from the corner of her eye that her son kept staring at Ye Su. Every now and then, he would even break into a silly little smile, which made her quietly amused.

　　“I’ll go make lunch. You two chat,” she said.

　　She threw on a coat and walked out, giving the two young people their space.

　　After his mother left and closed the door, Duan Ziyu set his cup down, reached over to take Ye Su’s hand, and gently held it in his palm. His gaze was soft as he looked at her.

　　“Susu, I kind of miss you.”

　　Ye Su let out a playful hum and tilted her head at him. “Kind of? Shouldn’t it be like you’ve been apart for three years and can’t even eat properly?”

　　Duan Ziyu laughed softly. “I’m not starving myself, but it does feel like it’s been almost three years.”

　　While he was in town, besides worrying about his mother, he kept thinking about Ye Su too. Her smile, her expressions, everything about her kept playing in his mind.

　　Without her around, even the days felt longer and more boring.

　　His deep, affectionate eyes were smiling, so warm it almost felt like you could drown in them.

　　Ye Su couldn’t help herself. She leaned in and kissed his slightly red lips.

　　Ye Su liked Duan Ziyu’s eyes and lips the most. His eyes were captivating, and his lips had a beautiful shape, soft and slightly rosy, with just the right kind of gentle fullness.

　　Kissing him felt just as nice. Warm, soft, and comforting.

　　Duan Ziyu froze for a second, then quickly realized what had just happened. His face and ears turned red in an instant, like his whole body was overheating.

　　Seeing it happen so clearly, Ye Su laughed and pulled back.

　　Still flushed, Duan Ziyu watched her smile, then hesitantly leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

　　It was light, brief, and gone in a heartbeat, shy and innocent, just like him.

　　Ye Su couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She reached up and pinched his cheeks. “So obedient. So cute. I really like you.”

　　Duan Ziyu let her mess with him without resisting. He was already used to it. A faint smile stayed on his lips as he held her hands, watching her play around.

　　……

　　Meanwhile, at the Tan household.

　　With grain prices rising and strict rationing in the city, the Tan family survived on thin porridge every day. It was basically a bowl of watery soup with just a few grains of rice sinking at the bottom.

　　Each person got one coarse grain and wild vegetable bun. It was so hard it made their jaws ache, and swallowing it felt like it scraped their throat on the way down.

　　Ye Liu no longer had the lively confidence she once carried when she first returned to the city. Her once healthy and pretty face had turned thin and drawn, and even her figure seemed to have shrunk.

　　Wearing a patched cotton jacket and chewing on a rough bun, she stared blankly at the sky with tired eyes.

　　When would this kind of life ever end? At times, she even missed life in the countryside. At least there, there was enough food and she didn’t have to worry about anything.

　　Ever since the wedding, Tan Jun had never come back. The two of them still hadn’t even consummated the marriage.

　　When she brought the child back, her mother-in-law had scolded her harshly, complaining that bringing back another mouth to feed would waste money. Every word made it clear she blamed Ye Liu for everything. She said if Ye Liu hadn't gone to her son, none of this would have happened.

　　The Tan family was clearly wealthy. One night when she got up to use the bathroom, she even saw the old woman secretly counting cash, a thick stack of it.

　　But this mother-in-law was strange. She insisted on living a hard life, drinking plain watery soup every day and eating those awful coarse buns. By nighttime, Ye Liu would get so hungry she felt dizzy.

　　“Big sister-in-law, go wash the dishes. Also, boil some hot water later, I want to wash my hair before going on a blind date.”

　　“Big sister-in-law, remember to mend my clothes, and polish my leather shoes. I need to go out this afternoon too.”

　　The two younger sisters-in-law bossed her around with ease every single day. They dressed up beautifully and went out for blind dates constantly, yet a whole month had passed and not a single match had worked out.

　　Ye Liu stared at their plump, rosy cheeks and started to suspect something. Were they secretly eating good food outside every day? Otherwise, how could they never seem hungry like her?

　　“Bad woman! I’m hungry, I want meat. If you don’t give me food, I’ll report you to the police and have you arrested.”

　　The child brought back from the army was only three or four years old. No one knew who taught him, but he was sharp-tongued and constantly chased after Ye Liu, shouting insults at her every day.

　　Tan Jun had specifically told them this was the child of a hero. He couldn’t be hit or scolded, so Ye Liu could only swallow her anger and ignore him.

　　She had just finished a bowl of thin rice soup, and her stomach was still rumbling loudly.

　　But she had no money. Out of the twenty yuan bride price from Mother Tan, she had already given fifteen to her own mother. The remaining five had gone into buying a few necessities, and that was it.

　　She didn’t even have money for a proper cotton coat. She was still wearing old clothes the younger sisters-in-law had discarded.

　　Smack!

　　A clump of dirt hit her right in the face. Ye Liu snapped out of her thoughts and stood up in anger. She glared at the brat and couldn’t hold back anymore.

　　“If you throw that again, I swear I’ll beat you!”

　　“Waaah—!”

　　The child immediately burst into loud crying, his voice piercing and deafening.

　　Ye Liu was so furious she felt like exploding, but worried the neighbors might hear and cause trouble, she forced herself to calm down and coax him instead.

　　“Stop crying, I’ll go find you some candy…”

　　……

　　Before long, the year came to an end, and once it passed, it was already 1961.

　　Food became even more scarce. In the villages, every household had their grain rations cut in half. In towns and cities, workers did everything they could just to buy food from the black market.

　　The Ye family kept a low profile as well. Even during New Year, they still wore old clothes. Around the holiday period, there had been quite a few petty thefts and small crimes.

　　Right now, food was more valuable than money.

　　Ye Su still went up the mountain whenever she could. With the space treasure-hunting guide, she even dug up a few buried boxes underground. Inside were antiques and paintings, and there was even a box of goldfish. No one knew which wealthy family had hidden them there.

　　Ye Su quietly stored everything in her space. Over those months before and after the New Year, she spent all her time shopping online, almost filling one room in her space.

　　When you have food in hand, there’s nothing to panic about.

　　When spring arrived, Ye Bai finally sent a letter home.

　　In it, he said he missed his family and shared that he had successfully become a squad deputy. He also sent back all his monthly allowance from the past few months.

　　It came out to about a hundred yuan. The couple from the Ye family held the money and cried for a long time, not because of the money, but because they missed their son and felt sorry for him.

　　By May, when the weather warmed up, the Ye family and the Duan family finally set a wedding date for the two children.

　　It was set for the seventh day of the sixth lunar month.

　　Ye Su and Duan Ziyu went to the county town together to prepare what they needed for the wedding. Even though it wasn’t a time for big celebrations, the essentials still had to be bought.    

　　Meanwhile, Ye Liu returned to West Village by train, accompanied by a man in his thirties wearing small round glasses and carrying a leather briefcase.

　　The villagers of West Village all recognized her. As soon as she appeared, they pointed and whispered among themselves.

　　“Susu is getting married to that Duan boy. Ye Liu shows up at a time like this, she must be up to something.”

　　“Look at her acting all high and mighty. Her clothes do look new, but her face has aged a lot. Didn’t she say she went to the city to live well? She’s only been gone a little over a year and she’s already changed so much…”

　　Ye Liu wasn’t deaf. She heard every word, but she simply clenched her jaw and gave them a cold glance, choosing not to respond.

　　She had come back this time for a reason.

　　In her previous life, not long after she learned about her biological parents, something big happened in West Village. Rumor had it that archaeological experts discovered a treasure in the mountains.

　　Several large boxes were dug up, and among them was even a box of goldfish. She only remembered hearing that the entire haul was worth tens of millions.

　　During her time at the Tan family, she had been starved down to skin and bones over the New Year. Later, she ran back to the Ye family and hid there for a month. She racked her brain trying to make money because she truly didn’t want to live like that anymore.

　　But official jobs in the county were hard to get. On top of that, she still had to take care of the Tan family, leaving her with no time or energy for anything else.

　　Then it suddenly clicked. She remembered this opportunity.

　　She couldn’t handle it alone, so she had specifically brought a partner with her.

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