Lin Anning squatted beside the unique countryside stove, watching the red flames in the stove, her face wearing a gentle smile.
On the other side of the stove, Lin Anning's mother in this life, Wang Cuixhua, wore clothes devoid of patches, busily stir-frying with a spoon.
As she cooked, she muttered, "Anning, add some more firewood, let the fire burn brighter."
"Got it."
Lin Anning added more firewood to the stove and stretched out her delicate hands to warm them by the fire.
It was already October, and October in the north is actually quite cold.
Moreover, rural stoves are mostly built outside, usually under the eaves, and this time of the year, sitting under the eaves cooking is truly uncomfortable.
Facing the heat of the stove while the cold wind chills your back.
Lin Anning also felt a bit cold, but this coldness was still within an acceptable range.
She warmed her hands and focused on tending the fire.
Soon, Wang Cuixhua finished cooking, placing the food into a thick ceramic bowl for Lin Anning to carry into the main hall.
In the main hall, the Lin Family clansmen were discussing the marriage of Lin Anning's sister, Lin Anjie.
Lin Anning's grandfather, Lin Jiugen, took a puff of his tobacco pipe: "The Su family has already spoken, they will give 600 for the bride price, plus a bicycle, discuss amongst yourselves how much dowry to give Anjie."
Lin Anning's eldest uncle, Lin Hongjun, smiled, "I've already discussed with the second eldest, his wife and I will give two cabinets."
At this moment, Lin Anning walked over and placed the dishes on the table.
Lin Jiugen quickly put away his tobacco pipe, smiling at Lin Anning with a face full of creases: "Our Anning is becoming more sensible."
Lin Hongjun looked at Lin Anning affectionately: "Anning is growing more and more beautiful."
Lin Anning's uncle, Lin Aimin, grinned broadly at Lin Anning: "Our Anning is not only good-looking but also does well in school, I heard she came first again in the recent exams."
Lin Anning pursed her lips and smiled gently and amiably, making her appear especially approachable: "My performance isn't much to boast about, it looks good in our town, but it pales in comparison to the county or city levels, I still need to push harder."
"Such ambition."
Lin Jiugen, who doted on Lin Anning the most among all his grandchildren, always praised her.
Lin Hongjun and Lin Aimin also hurriedly chimed in with several compliments.
Sitting next to Lin Jiugen was Lin Anning's Grandma, Wu Panni.
Her face was thin and long with a sharp chin, giving her a somewhat stern look, but Lin Anning felt her grandmother was quite endearing.
She glanced at the dishes on the table, then at Lin Anning: "Where has Anjie run off to again? On such a day, instead of helping, she's not even around, leaving you, her younger sister, to manage, which is really quite shameless."
Lin Anning wasn't much of a complainer.
She smiled, revealing two shallow dimples: "My sister was tired from climbing the mountain yesterday, so she's resting a bit more in the room today."
"Rest, always resting, when is she not…"
Wu Panni grew even more displeased, standing up to call Lin Anjie.
Lin Anning quickly grabbed her: "Grandma, please sit down, it's with mom's permission that my sister is resting. After all, she's getting married soon and can only have these few easy days at home, mom said to let her be."
Lin Anning said so, making Wu Pan'ni stop talking, but she still frowned and glared, clearly dissatisfied with Lin Anjie.
On the bed in the bedroom, Lin Anjie sat up with a quilt, the voices in the hall were loud, and she heard everything clearly.
Hearing Lin Anning's voice, a flash of hatred crossed Lin Anjie's eyes.
She hated Lin Anning extremely, cursing her endlessly in her heart.
"Look at you, Lin Anning, truly a pure lotus of the grand age, you take all the good words and pin the bad reputation on me, no wonder in the last...
Lin Anjie remembered her past life, tears streaming down her face while she covered herself with the quilt.
She dared not cry loudly, merely shedding silent tears.
In her past life, she was truly foolish, failed to see her sister's ill intentions, and couldn't detect Xue Feng's selfishness and incompetence; she despised her fiancé Su Zhiqiang from childhood engagement, and on the day before the wedding, she eloped with Xue Feng.
After eloping, she and Xue Feng had some good days, but neither of them were capable and not involved in production. They spent all the money they had taken from home and couldn't find a good job. They could only live hand to mouth.
Later, relying on Xue Feng's good looks, he took up with a wealthy woman and dumped her.
She dared not return home, and could only do the lowest tier jobs.
After wandering outside for over a decade, Lin Anjie finally gathered the courage to return home.
Upon returning, she found out that her sister Lin Anning had taken her place and married Su Zhiqiang. Afterwards, Su Zhiqiang cultivated greenhouse vegetables, contracted forests for fruit trees, also grew mushrooms, engaged in the breeding industry, and became the locally renowned Great King of breeding industry, his wealth unimaginable.
And because Lin Anning married Su Zhiqiang, her life was undoubtedly wonderful.
When the worn-out Lin Anjie, resembling a woman in her fifties, saw the well-dressed Lin Anning, looking like a young woman in her twenties, and saw Su Zhiqiang tenderly caring for Lin Anning, Lin Anjie felt both great hatred and regret.
Afterward, Lin Anjie didn't know what happened, but when she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the past, back to before she had eloped.
Lin Anjie finished crying in the bed, sat up, wiped her tears and said hatefully: "Lin Anning, this time I will not listen to you, I will marry Su Zhiqiang, I will win a good reputation, and... those good days can only belong to me, only me."
Lin Anjie wiped her tears, hearing Wang Cuixhua's knocking noises from the kitchen, "An Jie, An Jie, come out to eat."
Lin Anjie didn't respond.
She didn't know how to face her family now.
So, she simply covered herself with the quilt to sleep again.
Wang Cuixhua called several times with no response, then cursed: "Lazy bug, not even cooking or coming out for a meal, do you expect mother to feed you directly?"
Lin Anning was carrying bowls of food to the hall and ignored Wang Cuixhua's scolding.
After the family finished eating, Lin Anning hurried to help Wang Cuixhua clean up, washing pots and dishes, and sweeping the house, busy as a bee.
Wu Pan'ni felt heartbroken seeing this, quickly went to pull Lin Anning: "Enough, enough, you are still young, don't exhaust yourself, sit down and rest."
Lin Anning obediently sat next to Wu Pan'ni, had a brief chat with her, then got up and continued to help Wang Cuixhua work.
Lin Jiugen, smoking his dry pipe, looked at Lin Aiguo and sighed: "Second, your eldest daughter is too thoughtless, but this second daughter is so sensible it's heartbreaking. I'm just afraid that the second daughter will suffer in the future."
Lin Aiguo also felt pained for Lin Anning: "Dad, I will discipline An Jie better in the future."
Lin Jiugen truly disapproved of Lin Anjie's behavior: "Discipline, I'm afraid it might not be effective. She's already nineteen, lazy as a pig, you... never mind, she's about to get married, let her mother-in-law manage her then."